Comfort point of view

Guitars have long been made exactly the same way. The shapes and sizes are time proven standards. Every now and then somebody has tried to re-think the construction of the guitar, sometimes with great success, sometimes with epic failures. I'm a tradition oriented guy, and try to construct my guitars with the classic shapes in mind. But. During this learning process I've stumbled through since 2008, I've encountered some interesting deviations of the tradition, ones that do little to the overall appearance, but enhance the playability and comfort of the guitar from the player's point of view.

The one's I've tried and liked so far are:
1. Soundport that directs part of the sound from the soundbox toward the players ears. Soundports divide people and real luthiers, but based on my short experience, I'm definitely for them.
2. The Manzer wedge shapes the sides of the guitar so that the treble side is deeper than the bass side, making the guitar sit easier on the lap of the player and slanting the top a bit more towards the player. This eases the probable right hand shoulder problems with bigger bodied guitars.
3. armrest/Ryan style bevel takes the sharp corner off from where the right hand curves over the side to the top. I've done two external armrests, and this is the first time I'm trying the integrated Ryan style bevel (go google for Ryan bevel and Ryan acoustic flutes to get the original idea). Below are a few pics of the "guts" that I think go into it.

I started be laminating scraps of cedar and redwood into a thick enough chunk. Then traced the inline of the side and band sawed to a rough shape

Further shaping was done with belt/disc sander. In finnish the pros call it "jeputtaminen". Something learned from my guitar building friend Miika

The about 45° is the backing surface for the bevel veneer.

Clamp well!

And here we are. The side is trimmed down a bit, and the top gets a little asymmetric. But playing comfort is increased in hours!

Just a little trick to trace down the Manzer Wedge outline. Kerfing is like a flexible ruler. Just don't glue it here!

Under the hood the bevel looks like this

Preparing for the back kerfing.

Proud apprentice peeking through

The subtle wedgines is roughly 15mm

Binding and the tool to get it done

Jyrki's guitar has hit the binding state in the factory.

Rosewood/spruce is getting curly koa binding and a herringbone purfling for the top. To route the ledge for the purling and binding, I've made a little tool that I spotted a pic of somewhere. With this kind of fixture it's a breeze to cut safely and exactly the amount needed to accommodate the trims. Much easier compared to any and held device. Strongly recommended!

The Manzer Wedge visible, plus to my eye a nice maple/koa end graft detail. 

Simple but efficient

Top to the rim

It's funny how a hobby can be so rewarding. Seeing an acoustic guitar coming together piece by piece, brings such a joy to my esthetic eye. Knowing it was I whose hands and effort made it happen, makes the feeling even better. I'm humbled and privileged to have the opportunity to work with these things. Thank you, Heavenly Father! Thank you, my dearest wife! Thank you friends who have asked me to build a guitar for you!

Jyrki's guitar got it's top and sides glued together today. The body is going to have two additions to the "ordinary" double O -style:

First, there's my interpretation of the Manzer Wedge shape, making the body thinner at the bass side and thicker at the treble side, thus making the guitar more comfortable to hold and play. In a small guitar like this, it wouldn't be utterly necessary, but as I build the 00's some 10mm deeper than Martin, the slight wedgines makes a difference for the rib cage in longer sessions.

Second, there's a soundport on the upper bout of the bass side, making the guitar project towards the player's ears too. 

Not much in this pic. Only pressure. The four cam clamps I got
 from Bauhaus are awesome! Light and handy. 

The inside view.  Side kerfing is mahogany, side "bracing"
western red cedar. 

There's propably still homework to do
 with symmetry. But I'm approaching...
This one's a lot better try than #1#.

Getting it together

The baritone box is starting to seriously take shape. I´m trying a Manzer Wedge kind of thing on this one - to make the pretty thick guitar a bit more playable. That's why the rim looks a bit weird if you take a closer look.

I tried X-bracing the back also. Don't know if it makes any difference, but to my eye, it looks kinda cool..

O, and there's a toneport cut to the upper bout of the treble side. It's for projecting the sound of the guitar to the player (that'd be me).