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I recently built an SJ with an arm bevel. The finish is curing and after I buff it out and assemble it I'll post photos for the big reveal. That one went so well that I'm considering another build with a bevel. So, I started wondering what shape would be conducive to an arm bevel. Perhaps, I smaller body would not be suitable because, first of all, its not needed for a small instrument, and also, the bevel would reduce the sound board effective size, impacting the tone. It seems that a shape with a bit larger lower bout would be more suitable, like an SJ or perhaps a round shouldered dread. Maybe an OM or OOO... OO too small? Any thoughts? Comments?

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Steve Sollod (pronounced sorta like "Solid")
www.swiftcreekguitars.com

On the contrary, I find bevels most beneficial on small instruments where my wrist tendons sit on the edge at a 45 degree angle. Larger instruments put the edge closer to my elbow where there's more muscle, and at less of an angle so it's not digging in so much anyway.

With some clever design you can get the bridge centered on the reduced size soundboard, so it's more like adding a bit of extra interior volume to a smaller guitar than cutting into the soundboard of a larger one.

This one is 13" soundboard, 13.5" box, and sounds great.

Very cool. Good point. Thanks for your perspective.

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Steve Sollod (pronounced sorta like "Solid")
www.swiftcreekguitars.com

Dennis - You said that you center the bridge "on the reduced size of the soundboard". Do you adjust your X - brace also?

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Steve Sollod (pronounced sorta like "Solid")
www.swiftcreekguitars.com