The large area of the front
of the
guitar below the bridge is called the belly. On some guitars it may
arch out a little bit from the pull of the strings. This is called
"bellying" and is normal as long as it only does it a little bit. This
is how the front of the guitar (soundboard) amplifies the string
vibrations and makes the guitar sound good; however, if it arches out
too much, it could indicate a problem like broken or loose braces.
Other causes can be you are using too heavy a gauge of strings, you're
tuning to too high of a pitch, or your guitar was not fitted with
strong enough braces to begin with. This is usually a problem of steel
string guitars but can happen to nylon string guitars as well.
If bellying becomes severe enough, the bridge will actually start to
tilt towards the
sound hole, the bellying will become very pronounced, and the
playability of the guitar will be in jeopardy. It is a pretty big
repair job if you need to get it fixed. Find a competent repairman.
Bob, Gman ( o )==#
High
humidity can cause bellying and cause the "sunken chest"
if humidity is too low. Either instance can also lead to braces coming
loose.
Later,
Dave Skowron www.13thfret.com
Also read my Tip 14 on
humidity.
Bob, Gman ( o )==#