Body thickness opinions?

[AlNino10]

Hey guys, I'm in the process of building a custom and..

I've got mahogany as core, maple top and bottom. How thick do you reckon I should have them cut? I wouldn't mind a bit of weight. say 9-10lbs?
It's gna be a 5er, 34".

[groooooove]

really really thick bodies, IMO add tons of mojo and tone. at the same time, they add weight. my fretlesses boddy is significantly thicker than my fender, and i wouldent have it any other way.. the thing is a hog, in terms of sheer mass.. and not too heavy, either.

it all comes down to the weight of what your working with.

[AlNino10]

Yeah, I agree with that. Just as an estimate, what's the "really thick" dimensions?

And I reckon the core does most of the work while the layers doesn't make much significant difference to the tone. Am I thinking correctly?

[Cy_Miles]

I'm in the "it should be comfortable" school.

I just don't buy that you have to play a log to get tone.

But hey, I don't like telling others they're wrong. To each their own (spine.)

And as far as mahogany goes, in my experience of just picking up different pieces of mahogany, some was very light, and some was very heavy.

[AlNino10]

Thats also true. I cant be playing a log for a 2 hour straight gig.

What are the dimensions in general?

[Cy_Miles]

most are around 1 3/4"

not many are less the 1 1/2" and I don't think many solid bodies are more than 2", unless it's chambered, semi-hollow, and/or carved.

You can get inexpensive calipers at harbor freight, .Not the electronic calipers, but the kind that kind of look like a drawing compass.

You can use that to check the measuerments on other guitars. Some guitar stores, especially used shops, have no problem letting you (carefully) measure their guitars.

That is the best way to learn.

Oh, have you searched?

[Musiclogic]

Remember when building a "custom" if you make the body exceptionally thick and heavy, that the chances of selling it after you tire of lugging it around are slim.

[mikeyswood]

Originally Posted by AlNino10

Hey guys, I'm in the process of building a custom and..

I've got mahogany as core, maple top and bottom. How thick do you reckon I should have them cut? I wouldn't mind a bit of weight. say 9-10lbs?
It's gna be a 5er, 34".

According to my calculations, for pieces of a mahogany for which no species, origin, specific gravity, or picture was given combined with a maple with similar parameters I would have to round down and compute a body thickness of .274" to obtain your goal.

There is no internet forum that will be able to calculate that for you. My guess is that you have not made one before and completion of your first will allow you valuable experience. Experience is what you get just after you need it.

[John Ruiz]

Originally Posted by mikeyswood

Experience is what you get just after you need it.

awesome.

[OHSPyro89]

I'd say go to guitar center and try out other bass guitars that are of similar shape and maybe similar species to get a feel on weight.

Other than that, make it as thick as you want, then you can just lighten the core mahogany if it's too heavy.