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Permalink Reply by Taffy Evans on April 3, 2023 at 10:37am

Hi Engblom, well I don't wish to burst your bubble, but without seeing and hearing the guitar, your question is a bit like asking 'how long is a piece of string", if you get my drift. Too many variables contribute to creating tone. The choice of materials is a major consideration. How well they are put together is another.

In my experience sanding braces only has a minimal effect on changing tone. Carving or shaving is normally the method used, and of course, knowing where to do it, and why.

Cheap guitars, and more so super cheap guitars, are overbuilt for a reason, so they don't fly apart too early in their life.

But no harm in experimenting, let us know the outcome.
Good luck Taff

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Permalink Reply by Engblom on April 3, 2023 at 8:20pm

Thank you for your comment. By sanding, I mean sanding away a lot at certain places, achieving what a carving or shaving would do, but more controlled as I would need to do it in the blind. I did not mean to just smooth the surface.

My guitar is lacking reverb, especially for lower frequencies. The sound is quite harsh and metallic with a lot of treble and no warmth.

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Permalink Reply by Taffy Evans on April 3, 2023 at 10:08pm

Hi, yes that's what I understood you to mean.

Here is a guide that may give you a better understanding of features that are considered when thinking of tone.

Remove 20% off the height = 50% less strength. Cross braces are structural.
Taller braces more treble
Stiffer braces more treble
Thicker timber more treble
Smaller body more treble
Larger soundhole = more treble.

Hope this helps.
Taff
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Permalink Reply by Engblom on April 5, 2023 at 10:09pm

I have done a bit of sanding. While I did not remove very much material, the improvement is noticeable.

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Permalink Reply by BrianQ. on April 5, 2023 at 12:40pm

Taff is right, sanding the bracing will not remedy low quality materials?

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Permalink Reply by Paul Craig on April 6, 2023 at 12:17pm

What guage strings are you using? Heavier guage strings (11 or 12) will sound darker and Flat wound strings as apposed to round wound might help.

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Permalink Reply by Engblom on April 6, 2023 at 10:28pm

I am using D'Addario's phosphor-bronze light (12-53) strings.

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Permalink Reply by Engblom on April 15, 2023 at 2:08am

How would you modify a guitar if you want warmer sound for the plain steel strings (E and B)? Is it possible to do this by taking away something from the bracing? Or are there string sets that just gives more warmth to the sound for these strings? I am afraid there is not much difference between sets when it comes to these strings as plain steel is plain steel.

As a side note and not related to my question: I have experimented so much with my guitar and because of that I have loosened the strings many times over. Last Thursday the G string snapped so yesterday I bought some new string sets. I decided to try something else than the D'Addario EJ16 I have been using. I bought one set of Thomastik Plectrum and one of Martin Guitars Retro. I put on the Retro strings and it gave a lot more of volume and sustain, but also even more treble which it already got too much.

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Permalink Reply by Engblom on April 15, 2023 at 7:13am

I am not able to edit the original post anymore, but I just wanted to correct one thing: now after several hours of playing guitar with the Retro strings it does not have the same strong treble as they had as when the strings were new. They sound more pleasant now. The strings are actually quite good.

Still I wonder what I could do to get warmer sound from the plain steel strings?

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Permalink Reply by Taffy Evans on April 15, 2023 at 9:21am

Hi, possibly what you are hearing is the string sound vibrating off the top of the guitar and not the top vibrating and creating sound waves by exiting the air in the box. A cheap guitar would possibly have little attention paid to timber type, placement, dimensions, and the thickness of the lacquer. 

A bone saddle may also add to the brightness of the guitar.

Thanks for getting back with updates.

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Taff

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Permalink Reply by Engblom on April 15, 2023 at 9:46am

I am looking for modifications I can do without opening the sound box as I am sure I would not get it glued nicely back. There is not much I can do about the timber type without completely taking the guitar into pieces.

So far I have made bone nuts and saddle for the guitar, reduced a bit the bracing by sanding through the sound hole, tried different set of strings and adjusted the truss rod.

The lacquer is very shiny and it looks like it is thick. What would you do about the lacquer?

What kind of saddle gives the warmest sound?

Tomorrow I will maybe make a short video to show what kind of sound it got at this point.

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Permalink Reply by Engblom on April 15, 2023 at 10:45pm

Here is a small sound sample: https://www.cigarboxnation.com/video/trying-to-improve-sound

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