Hi,

I have 000. Anyone know the radius of the top and back? I called Collings and was told that there is a standard radius for the top and back, but that once the guitar is glued up and stressed these dimensions change. No doubt they do, but significantly? Perhaps they just didn't want to tell me. I'm going to make a template from the guitar anyhow.

Thanks in advance.

all guitars are breathing living creatures. It seems logical to me that the radii of the top and back of any guitar at a given moment would depend on temperature and humidity. Just a thought.

May I ask why this is a concern?

I am always eager to learn about nuances pertaining to the anatomy of the acoustic guitar?

The day after the above posting, did make some templates. Laid a good wooden straight edge across the back at various positions first, just to see what was going on. Across the upper bout, virtually straight. Quite dished across the lower bout. Heel to end block, quite dished, but much flatter from the waist toward the neck. Far less dished across the treble and bass sides of the bouts along the length of the body.

No doubt humidity, age, string tension, and wood affect this, with humidity having the most short term influence.

Knowing the top and back shape helps determine aspects of a project I'm working on.