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Every guitar is a mechanical system. Strings put energy into the instrument, and the guitar decides where that energy goes, how fast it moves, and which parts of the body participate. Weight, stiffness, shape, and structure matter just as much as species names. Two guitars made from the same wood can feel completely different if that energy is routed differently.

Rather than chasing the idea that this wood sounds like that, my goal is consistency of behaviour. No matter the wood choice, my instruments are designed so the neck, body, and horns respond together in a controlled, intentional way. Instead of “this body wood sounds like X,” the result is “this guitar behaves like one of mine."

This document exists to explain that philosophy in plain language.

What terms like stiffness, mass, and resonance actually mean, how they affect feel and response, and how those ideas are deliberately applied in my builds so the instrument works as a unified whole, not a collection of parts.

MASS  

     Mass is how much material is present, and where it’s located. More mass takes more energy to start moving, but once moving it tends to carry vibration longer. In a guitar, mass affects response timing and how vibration is shared between parts of the instrument.

• More Mass = Harder to Get Moving
• Once Moving, it tends to keep moving

STIFFNESS

     Stiffness describes how much a material or structure resists bending. A stiff part doesn’t move easily, even if it isn’t heavy. In a guitar, stiffness determines how vibration travels through the instrument, not how much vibration there is.

• More stiffness = harder to bend
• Less stiffness = easier to bend

COMPLIANCE

   Compliance describes how easily something moves when energy is applied. A highly compliant part moves readily, even with little force, while a less compliant part resists motion. 

In a guitar, compliance affects where vibration shows up and how quickly different parts of the instrument begin to participate.

• More compliance = easier to move
• Less compliance = harder to move

COMPLIANCE RELIEF
    Compliance relief is the intentional reduction of stiffness in a specific area so it can move more easily. It does not weaken the structure or remove large amounts of material. In a guitar, compliance relief is used to help certain parts of the body participate in vibration at the right time, rather than absorbing or resisting it.

STIFFNESS CONTINUITY

     Stiffness continuity describes how stiffness is carried through a structure without interruption. A continuous piece of material resists bending more than the same material with a change or break in that stiffness. In a guitar, stiffness continuity affects how vibration is routed, often determining whether energy moves through a part or around it.

BENDING MODE

     A bending mode is the way a part of the guitar naturally flexes when vibration passes through it, instead of just moving straight back and forth. Rather than everything moving together, different areas bend, lag, or respond at slightly different times.

LONGITUDINAL MODE
  A longitudinal mode is vibration that moves along the length of the material. In a guitar neck or body, this mode is closely tied to stiffness, mass distribution, and how efficiently string energy travels from one end to the other. Strong, predictable longitudinal behavior supports clarity, sustain, and note-to-note consistency.

TRANSVERSE MODE
    A transverse mode is vibration that moves across or perpendicular to the length of the material. These modes shape how the instrument flexes, how energy spreads outward, and how resonance is perceived as feel and bloom rather than direct sustain.
 

RESONANCE
    Resonance describes how and where vibration naturally builds within an instrument. When parts of a guitar resonate together, energy is shared smoothly and efficiently. Resonance is not a single frequency or “tone,” but the result of how mass, stiffness, and compliance interact across the whole instrument.

DAMPING
    Damping is how quickly vibration loses energy as heat inside the material. It controls how long something rings and how clean that ringing is.

In a guitar, damping doesn’t stop vibration; it shapes it. Higher damping shortens sustain and smooths harsh peaks. Lower damping lets vibration last longer, but can allow sharper or more uneven resonances.

• High Damping = Faster decay, smoother response
• Low Damping = Longer sustain, stronger peaks

Damping works together with mass and stiffness to determine whether a guitar feels tight and controlled, or open and lively.

ENERGY FLOW
    Energy flow describes how vibration moves through the guitar after a string is played. The instrument naturally directs energy along paths that are stiffer, heavier, or more continuous. How energy is guided through the neck and body affects feel, balance, and how different parts of the guitar participate in the note.

HOW THESE WORK TOGETHER

     A guitar is a system that manages energy. String vibration enters the instrument and is shaped by mass (how much material must be moved), stiffness (how resistant that material is to bending), compliance (how easily it gives), and damping (how quickly energy is absorbed). 

Where stiffness is continuous, energy flows cleanly; where compliance is introduced, motion is encouraged and shared. Resonance isn’t something added after the fact: it emerges from how these properties are distributed. 

The result isn’t that a wood “sounds like” something, but that the guitar behaves in a predictable way: how fast it responds, how evenly it moves, and how vibration is carried from the strings through the neck and body as a single, connected structure.

WHAT THIS MEANS IN MY GUITARS

     I design guitars by controlling how vibration moves through the instrument. The neck functions as the primary longitudinal beam. The body is not a passive mass or a tone filter; it is tuned to bend, resist, or return energy at specific points. Mass, stiffness, compliance, and damping are placed intentionally so the body’s motion supports the string instead of fighting it.

Rather than selecting woods for a predicted “tone,” I work within a narrow density range and adjust stiffness continuity and compliance relief to achieve consistent mechanical behavior. Where stiffness is continuous, energy stays focused. Where it is interrupted, vibration spreads and re-couples. 

This produces predictable response, evenness across strings, and controlled sustain.

A finished instrument is not the result of wood character or chance. It is the result of a repeatable structural layout. Different materials change the margins, not the mechanism.

The goal isn’t that the guitar sounds like a specific wood; it's one that behaves like one of mine: responsive, even, and physically connected from the headstock to the tail.

A  guitar is not a collection of independent parts.
It is a single mechanical system that moves as a whole.

String energy enters the instrument at the bridge, travels through the neck and body, reflects, and returns. Every component — neck, body, horns, cavities, hardware — influences how that energy is distributed, delayed, or sustained.

In many guitars, the neck dominates this system. Its stiffness and mass create a strong longitudinal path, while the body contributes mostly weight and damping. The result is an instrument that sounds fine, but behaves inconsistently; with dead zones, uneven decay, or notes that feel disconnected.

My approach is to make the body an active participant rather than a passive load.

By controlling where mass is placed, where stiffness is continuous, and where compliance is intentionally introduced, the body is encouraged to engage in predictable bending modes that complement the neck rather than compete with it.

The goal is not to “tune” the guitar to a frequency, or to chase a specific tone.
The goal is to shape how energy moves through the instrument; how quickly it responds, how evenly it sustains, and how consistently it behaves across the fingerboard.

When this system is balanced, the guitar stops feeling like separate parts bolted together, and starts feeling like a single object that moves with intention.

When a string vibrates, its energy does not spread evenly through the guitar.
It follows specific paths where stiffness, mass, and continuity make movement easiest.

The primary load path in a solid-body guitar runs from the strings, through the bridge, into the neck, and back again. This neck-dominant path is naturally strong because the neck is long, stiff, and continuous. Left unchecked, it can absorb most of the energy before the body meaningfully participates.

Secondary load paths exist through the body, into the horns, the rim, and the tail; but these paths only engage when the body’s structure allows them to move in compatible ways.

My designs intentionally shape these load paths rather than leaving them to chance.

By adjusting stiffness continuity, introducing controlled compliance, and placing mass where it can act as an anchor rather than a damper, energy is encouraged to spread into the body in a predictable way. This allows the body to support bending modes that complement the neck instead of fighting it.

The result is not a guitar that vibrates “more,” but one that vibrates more evenly with fewer dead zones, better note consistency, and a stronger sense of connection between the neck and body.

This is why my guitars tend to feel alive in the hands without being loose, hollow, or unfocused

In most solid-body guitars, the neck dominates the mechanical system.

Because it is long, stiff, and continuous, the neck naturally becomes the primary sink for string energy. This creates strong longitudinal vibration along the string path, but often leaves the body acting as little more than added mass and damping.

When this happens, the instrument can sound acceptable but feel uneven. Certain notes bloom while others stall. Some areas of the body remain inactive, and vibration feels concentrated rather than shared.

Body participation doesn’t happen automatically.
It requires the body to be able to move in compatible bending modes without losing structural integrity.

My designs are built to reduce excessive neck dominance without weakening the instrument. By carefully managing stiffness continuity and compliance in the body, especially around the bridge, rim, and horns; energy is allowed to enter the body along secondary load paths instead of being trapped in the neck.

This creates a more balanced system:

• The neck remains stable and articulate
• The body contributes motion and feedback
• Energy is distributed instead of hoarded
   

The goal is not to make the body louder or softer, but to make it present — so the entire instrument behaves as one connected structure.

The bridge is where all string energy enters the guitar.
Everything that happens after the string is plucked is shaped by how energy passes through this point.

In many guitars, the bridge is treated as a mounting location rather than a mechanical interface. The result is energy being funneled almost exclusively into the neck, with limited engagement from the body.

In my builds, the bridge is treated as a gateway rather than a boundary.

Mass near the bridge affects how quickly energy enters the system and how it is distributed. Stiffness around the bridge determines which load paths are favored. Compliance near the bridge influences whether energy is reflected, delayed, or shared.

By shaping the structure behind and around the bridge, I control how energy is allowed to flow into the body without compromising stability or attack. This is where stiffness continuity, compliance relief, and mass placement work together rather than independently.

When this gateway is balanced, the bridge does not trap energy or dump it into a single path. Instead, it meters vibration into the instrument in a controlled, repeatable way.

This is why changes in my designs often affect feel before they affect sound; the system is behaving differently, not just resonating differently.

Consistency is not achieved by chasing specific woods, weights, or frequencies.
It comes from controlling how the instrument behaves as a system.

By managing mass, stiffness, compliance, and load paths together, my guitars are designed to move in predictable ways. Energy enters through the bridge, is shared between the neck and body, and returns without being trapped or lost unevenly.

This approach reduces the variables that normally cause dead spots, uneven decay, or instruments that feel radically different from one build to the next. While materials will always have natural variation, the underlying mechanical behavior remains consistent.

That is why players often describe my guitars as feeling familiar immediately, even when the materials or scale lengths differ. The response is intentional. The feedback is balanced. The instrument behaves like one of mine.

Rather than saying “this body wood sounds like X,” the focus becomes “this guitar responds the way I expect it to.”

That consistency is the result of structure, not superstition.

Wood matters; but not in the way it’s usually described.

Rather than treating wood as a source of fixed tone, I look at it as a structural material with measurable behavior. Properties like density, stiffness, and damping determine how easily energy moves through the instrument and how that movement is controlled.

I select body woods within a narrow weight range because it provides a reliable balance between mass and responsiveness. Within that range, differences in stiffness and internal damping influence how the body participates in the system — not what the guitar “sounds like,” but how it reacts.

A lighter, more compliant piece of wood may engage bending modes more easily, while a stiffer piece may return energy faster. Neither is inherently better. What matters is how that behavior integrates with the neck, bridge, and overall structure.

Because the system itself is designed to control load paths and energy flow, natural variation in wood becomes manageable rather than dominant. The guitar’s behavior remains consistent, even as materials change.

This is why wood choice in my builds is about fit, not folklore. Each piece is selected to work within an established mechanical framework, not to dictate the outcome on its own.

Measurements don’t build great guitars on their own. They prevent bad ones from being built repeatedly.

Properties like density, stiffness, and weight range give me boundaries. They tell me whether a material can realistically behave the way the system requires. This allows design decisions to be intentional instead of reactive.

That said, measurements stop being useful once they’re treated as targets rather than guides. I don’t chase specific frequencies, tap tones, or numerical outcomes. Those values change depending on assembly, hardware, and geometry.

Instead, measurements are used to ensure consistency before the instrument is assembled, so the final behavior is shaped by structure rather than correction.

They matter most early, and less once the system is complete.

Players almost always feel the difference before they hear it.

The first things noticed are response and feedback; how quickly the guitar reacts, how evenly notes sustain, and how connected the instrument feels across the neck. This isn’t about volume or brightness. It’s about whether the guitar moves with the player or against them.

A balanced system feels predictable. Notes don’t jump out or disappear unexpectedly. The body responds without feeling loose, and the neck remains stable without feeling isolated.

This is why players often describe my guitars as “alive” without being wild, or “solid” without being stiff. The instrument isn’t doing anything dramatic; it’s doing everything evenly.

That sensation is the result of controlled energy flow, not a single material choice or finishing step.

I don’t chase mythical tonewood pairings, magic frequencies, or one-off voicing tricks.

I don’t tune guitars to sound impressive in isolation, or optimize them for a single note, chord, or style. I don’t rely on post-build fixes to correct structural decisions that should have been made earlier.

Most importantly, I don’t build instruments that require explanation to be understood.

Instead, I focus on behavior; how the guitar responds, how evenly it vibrates, and how consistently it performs from one build to the next. If the structure is right, the result speaks for itself.

This approach doesn’t remove individuality from each instrument. It gives that individuality a stable framework to exist within.

Every guitar I build is different.

Every guitar I build behaves like one of mine.