the bit you never see

Spent a good while this morning playing my Taylor Big Baby guitar. Just happened to look at the back as I finished and noticed the shapes around where the back joins the neck. The audience never sees this bit, yet it’s one of the most important parts of the instrument.

There’s a lot of tension generated by the strings and if the join isn’t made properly the whole thing could fall apart.

Makers of expensive guitars (luthiers) will often decorate the little triangular part, much like a medieval mason might decorate a particular stone high up on a cathedral wall. The congregation might not know it’s there, but he does.

Mine, being a travel guitar, is more ….. functional.