Craft · 6 pages · 12 min

Why a guitar top is a thin soundboard

The guitar top is a thin wooden plate that the bridge can move, and that moving plate is what pushes the air.

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From the opening

The top of an acoustic guitar is a thin plate, often spruce or cedar, with the bridge glued to it. String energy arrives through the bridge and moves that plate, and the moving plate pushes air out of the body so the note carries. The opening covers the bridge drives the plate, a light plate moves the air, and braces keep the top from folding.

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Inside

The bridge drives the plate
A light plate moves the air
Braces keep the top from folding
Thickness is a tuned compromise
Where the idea stops applying
A distinction worth keeping

Sources

Guitar soundboard and bridge
Braced thin plate under string tension

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Why a guitar top is a thin soundboard

From the opening

Inside

Sources

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