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Ernie Ball Music Man Custom Design Experience

Carved Tops?

GuitarHack

GuitarHack

Well-known member
Joined
Jun 22, 2006
Messages
981
This question is for the EBMM mods, Customer Service folks, or BP himself...

To my knowledge, EBMM doesn't make any guitars with carved (arched) tops, nor have they ever made such guitars. Why is that?

Please understand I'm not being critical or judgemental, nor would I even necessarily want one; for what it's worth, my favorite guitars, even before I became an EBMM man, were almost all flat tops.

I'm just curious about the decison making process. Most high-end manufacturers who use fantastically-figured woods seem to make carved tops. EBMM certainly qualifies and even leads on both counts.


Thanks,
GH
 
Carve tops are generally associated with set neck and neck through guitars - Ernie Ball Music Man makes neither... I can't really see a carved top on any of the designs they've produced to date, and since that's what they've done, they just never went that route. Fender doesn't exactly have a history of pushing out carved tops either...

my 2¢
 
I think it's just aesthetics. I thnk they're more work than they're worth, at least from a building standpoint. Especially with trem/Floyds. Most of them have to be recessed to help the Floyd sit right with the body.

Most carved tops are set necks, but I have seen some bolt on's a la P3@v3Y.
 
Cool thread guys! i too think that the carves are just for esthetics ,the wood used in the top obviously has a lot to do with tone so maybe the thickness in certain places does as well?.......like i siad Cool thread interesting stuff!
 
TonyEVH5150 said:
I think it's just aesthetics. I thnk they're more work than they're worth, at least from a building standpoint. Especially with trem/Floyds. Most of them have to be recessed to help the Floyd sit right with the body.

Most carved tops are set necks, but I have seen some bolt on's a la P3@v3Y.
Click to expand...

Thanks! My Godin LGX-SA is a bolt-on carved-top also. It sure looks nice but I always wondered if there was any other purpose to the carved top:)
 
Big Poppa always has an "I thought that one out already years ago, and here's why we do it this way" answer for those of us just like to lob half-baked ideas around. I'd love for him to weigh in on carved tops.
 
TonyEVH5150 said:
Most carved tops are set necks, but I have seen some bolt on's a la P3@v3Y.
Click to expand...

That's what I was eduling to with this statement.

They did make a hardtail and Floyded version of the wolfgang in a carved top. Bolt on neck.

(Mods feel free to edit this part out. Just posting it as an example. )

DSC00596.jpg


I had this one for a while until I sold it to get my Axis
 
Last edited:
I like to rest my palm on the top when I pick, it's pretty much impossible with a hard carved top. I wouldn't mind a little arm relief on the side of my axis though.
 
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