Well Bracing it is...

    First off let me just say that bracing is probably the blackest art in the trade of lutherie and not a subject that could be covered in one blog or maybe even 100 blogs. There are so many patterns and styles of bracing that one could literally go insane studying the theories and applications of the concept. I have many different styles I have used in the past from lattice bracing to traditional X bracing to my own hybrids and to be perfectly honest, no matter what bracing you use on the soundboard, the thing will still sound like a guitar. Be that as it may, some bracing patterns can give you certain tonal qualities that others can not.
    I approach bracing very traditionally in one regard and quirky and eccentric in others. Lately I have been playing with the prewar double X bracing patterns. There is something truly unique about the sound of a guitar made before the 1940's, and though I am very much against copying anything out there, (why would someone want to buy an expensive copy of an original?) I think the tonal characteristics of the double X style bracing brings a classic dimension to modern guitars. Though I shave my braces down to get the sound I am looking for the rear portion of the bracing is similar in some regards to the old double X.




Double X bracing

    The above picture shows the beginning stages of this pattern, the main cross braces that form the larger X are actually double arched in an over under pattern. Since I do not allow contact of the finger board to the sound board and there will be no traditional sound hole on this top there is more freedom to use more open designs that allow the top to reach better levels of acoustic reproduction of the strings. The back X is similar in "over under" design without the arch in the base side tone bar, instead a round shouldered rectangular notch is used. The difference in the back X is to allow full contact of the two tone bars for gluing. This top will not be under the same stresses as a normal steel string guitar due to the removal of the sound hole and the loss of downward pressure from the fret board, combined with the extremely stiff master grade bear claw spruce it leaves me a lot more options.

    Since most acoustic guitars are pretty much "dead" from the sound hole forward a great loss of volume and tone occurs. It is probably the most inefficient acoustical design ever devised, but it has somehow made it through many years with little change. Removing the greatest week spots from the most important part of the guitar, gives you the chance to take full advantage of that big rich beautiful piece of wood and to use new and possibly amazing bracing patterns.

 

"Over Under" design

 

    Ultimately all of these surfaces will be scraped down to a glassy smoothness to facilitate better airflow and better sound quality. The upper bout will have another X brace once the area for the cutaway has been established, I am calling it "Cascading X" bracing as the X pattern will run from the top and cascade to the bottom. While the braces are roughed in at this point there is still a lot of work to do in shaping and tap tuning.

    I think this particular piece of spruce is one of the finest pieces of wood I have had the pleasure to work with. When it is tapped it rings like a bell and the sustain is just incredible. Considering I have not even brought the top to final thickness or shaved very much from the braces yet, that says volumes in what this top is capable of. The stiffness on this soundboard is literally phenomenal compared to anything I have worked with before. Bear claw spruce is by all accounts much higher in the stiffness to weight ratio across the many spruce varieties, but this one is truly out of this world. I think I could hang a house off the end of a 1" wide 24" long piece, ok that's an exaggeration but still it is an amazing piece of wood.  

   

Bear Claw Figure




    The photo above shows how much figure there is in this top, and it runs through the entire face only slightly diminished in the center. I used to have mixed feelings about bear claw spruce, but as I listened to more guitars made with it, and started to use it myself I found that I began to love it. At first it was the tone that captured me but later I came to love the look of the bear claw figuring as well. I suppose like many things the more you do something the more your tastes change over time and with much experience.
    While I designed the theme of this guitar as "Colonial" in nature, I wanted to showcase the amazing domestic woods that America has to offer. Maple is a great tone wood especially for larger guitars like this Grand Symphony size body and bear claw spruce has unmatched tonal characteristics (especially this particular piece). Together they should bring the sound and style that that I hope to achieve with this instrument.
    Some inspirational photos for design features... All photos courtesy of respective owners.


Maple stock Musket

Colonial Era Pipehawk



Colonial Era Table

 

 



 

    Perhaps the discerning artistic eye will be able to envision the possible outcome of this endeavor and all the ways it can possibly take shape. Wood is an organic thing just as true sound is organic, always moving always changing never static or the same. I build instruments by hand because I believe in my heart that when you are in contact with every piece of wood "listening" to it and feeling your way through the build you end up with an instrument that is organic by nature and symbiotically sympathetic to the gentle guiding of the luthiers intention. It is a little known fact by most laymen that the most beautiful sounding and looking instruments in the world, the Stradivarius Violins and Chellos are not symmetrical. In fact Stradivari was a genius with his hand tools and most likely could have created instruments of almost CNC precisian if he wished but he did not because he understood the aesthetics and the sound of something that emulates nature and flows organically. Wood will only be stressed so much, tweaked, prodded and coaxed into shape so many ways before it finally loses its ability to hold up. If you run ten thousand pieces of wood through a CNC machine to get perfect thickness uniformly and perfect dimension in all ten thousand pieces, not a single piece of wood will sound the same. Worse mass produced "standard" thicknesses mean nothing in the real world where each piece of wood is different and each needs different thickness to achieve its best sound and strength as decided by the body design and string gauge.
    But I digress, at the end of the day mass produced guitars fill a need for somewhat inexpensive instruments for daily players and that is a good thing. They are the milk of the instrument and eventually some players grow out of the milk and move onto solid food of truly unique custom hand made guitars that give them one of a kind sound, look feel and function.
    Stay tuned for more to come soon!