I'm realizing that there is something to be said about the resonance. On my first I used hardwood as the bridge, but on my second and third, I used eye bolts. The difference in sound was noticeable. In time I will probably play with the soundboard, but for now I'm just working the basics.
How would I do that? The lid wouldn't hold up. The strings are attached to the neck at the head and at the tail. It is an interesting idea. I don't believe it's been done, judging from what I've read online.
The bridge sits on the lid, so opening and closing the lid would change the string tension. Nonetheless, I think it's an interesting idea and worthy of consideration. I might post it as a question on a CBG forum that I visit, to see what ideas it generates. At this time I'm still trying to tool up for fretting. I wasted funds buying saws that seemed compatible for the task but turned out to have either too wide or too narrow a cut. The tang on the frets is exactly .023", so the saw cut must be exactly the same as the tang. Stewmac has a fretting saw that would probably be perfect, but I need to wait until x-mas before getting one.
So flip it around and put the lid on the back, then no one will know how you are making that sound. I discovered this while muffling the back of my open back banjo with my belly.
That's what I meant earlier, as the setup that gets you access to the soundboard for tone modifications. But this is a slippery slope, and I've seen others take the slide. I hate to show you where you're headed. This thread shows a guy cutting fret slots in a guitar neck by hand, without a Stewmac: http://www.tdpri.com/forum/2009-tdpri-tele-build-challenge/148314-completed-scattesquire-3.html - post 219 is the one
The backside looks terrible, which is why I feel the lid is best on top. I think though there should be a way to accomplish the same with a little ingenuity. It's an idea I've yet seen through my online travels--sounds unique.
In the link, the posts are numbered - #219 is the one with photos of the guy cutting fret slots. There are other relevant posts - 83, say - so I started the link on page 3. 219 is on page 11 - http://www.tdpri.com/forum/2009-tdpri-tele-build-challenge/148314-completed-scattesquire-11.html
I had a look last night. I didn't catch where he got the saw. My problem is that I can't check the width of the blade before buying. Now I have three saws that won't work for my needs. I've thought about dressing the teeth, but then I would need buy a honing stone, and there's no guarantee that will work. In the long run, I think it's best to just get the Stewmac saw
