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Permalink Reply by Bluesheart on October 28, 2015 at 8:58am

IT is a conundrum. I did my first bracing on my latest build, the Tiki Uke,it uses a glued on traditional uke bridge /saddle set up. It is pretty quiet acoustically but of course I do not have another one just like it without the bracing to compare it to(at least not yet!),so , it is the nylon strings and short scale? the glued on bridge?, this particular box? This is where the Alchemy comes in!

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Permalink Reply by john w on October 28, 2015 at 12:55pm

Jim...check out my blog - Getting better acoustic tone and volume -  documenting my quest for the same acoustic sound you seem to be seeking.  I am not sure how you are bracing your soundboards but my experience is that bracing actually makes the top more lively. Like you I have observed that any attachement of the top to say a through neck or even extending braces to attach them to the sides deadens the guitar .  My successful tops are glued to the body at the edges only and the bracing contacts nothing but the sound board giving it enough strength to resist the downward force at the bridge.   I don't pretend to have the answer but I am quite please with the results I have achieved even with a small bodied cbg - a sound file is attached to the article. 

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Permalink Reply by Jim Saraceno on October 28, 2015 at 4:21pm

Thanks JW, that's probably the direction I should go next. Several questions for you...

What type of wood are you using for the bracing?

How do you attach the neck?

Do you have any sound holes?

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Permalink Reply by Jim Saraceno on October 29, 2015 at 6:11am

And can you give me a link to your blog. Thanks!

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Permalink Reply by john w on October 29, 2015 at 11:31am

Just click on my name and look at my blog posts here on the Nation.

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Permalink Reply by john w on October 29, 2015 at 11:30am

Jim,

I have used red cedar and poplar (ie tulip poplar not aspen).  I am not sure I made myself clear in the last post but try to think of bracing not in the way a house is braced  - ie from the foundation up but more like a long bridge span that gets its strength from the beam and primarily from the height of the beam vs the width.  I am attaching pictures of the various sound holes I have used and my latest and preferred method for neck attachement.  On soundholes I have found that I get a more banjoish sound if I offset them away from the strings.  The neck is glued to a foot and a 3 degree back angle is planed into the neck prior to attachement.  You will also not that I dado the neck to fit the box - I do this after I plane in the back angle and use the planed surface as my reference on the table saw for cutting the neck dado.

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Permalink Reply by john w on October 29, 2015 at 11:38am

Proof is in the playing...I am attaching a soundfile of the La Palina  - shown under construction in the photos above - it is a three string fretless and the recording is acoustic...made with my cellphone.

Attachments:

• Voice 022.3ga, 334 KB

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Permalink Reply by Jim Saraceno on October 30, 2015 at 2:25am

Thanks JW, That's some really great information!

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Permalink Reply by john w on October 30, 2015 at 8:42am

Welcome...let me know if you make any discoveries.

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Permalink Reply by Christopher Dudley on October 30, 2015 at 9:44am

Oh that curly maple is right up my alley!  Love it!!!

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Permalink Reply by Paul Craig on October 30, 2015 at 8:19am

I've always though that the bracing should run with the grain instead of against the grain to not deaden the resonance. Then put some cross pieces on top of the runners. Wonder if that would work better?

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