RADIAL BRACING

When it comes to guitar bracing, virtually everything has already been tried. Well, we’ve heard this many times in other areas of life, but from time to time people still come up with new ideas that work. So, from our perspective, why not at least give it a creative try.

There is an ever existing contradiction between the ability of the guitar’s sound board to vibrate (less weight, less bracing), and at the same time, keep its structural integrity while withstanding the permanent tension coming from metal strings (more weight, heavier bracing). There is also a debate as to whether radial bracing (when braces go off the bridge in a “radial” pattern) is better for the sound than the traditional X-bracing. We haven’t reached a conclusion on this issue yet, but have proven that the radial bracing does result in a slightly different sound.

Our idea in technical language is defined as, “A bracing system that allows the sound board of an acoustic instrument, such as a guitar, to be less subjected to the torsional
forces by having a central suspended brace of special design attached to the soundboard in the small area under the bridge only. This way, the soundboard is firmly supported where needed while not inhibited in areas needing less structural support thus allowing other sound board braces to be significantly smaller or lighter resulting in longer sound sustain and better instrument response.” Simply speaking, the idea is based on elementary school geometry. Look at the images and you will understand it.
Each half-end of the suspended central brace forms a triangle by the suspended brace’s central vertical part, suspended brace’s arm and the portion of the soundboard
closest to the suspended brace. This triangle creates a stable structure counterbalancing the up-pulling force coming from strings through the bridge. When the bridge is pulled by the strings, the central part of the brace is pulled too. This results in the brace’s arms pushing the guitar’s sides off of the center, which “stretches” the soundboard countering the initial deflection. The system becomes balanced and responsive to any minor vibration.

We don’t build all guitars with this bracing pattern but it’s definitely a “tool under our belt”.

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