Comment

Comment by Moritz Voegeli on March 25, 2016 at 5:39am

Thanks for the info, so the difference must be due to top bracing, you convinced me.

Comment by Hal Robertson on March 25, 2016 at 5:22am

Hey Moritz! I know, it's hard to believe, but here's the poop:

Same design, same tuners, same strings (Martin Phosphor Bronze 80/20), same frets. The plywood pieces were even cut from the same sheets. Same construction techniques (although maybe a bit refined over time). 

I have 2 of the older ones in the house + 2 of the newer ones. Same results all around. When setting up for the video, I also noticed that the tuning is much more stable on the braced ones.

Only difference is the bracing... as far as I can tell. Of course, you mileage may vary...:-)

Comment by Moritz Voegeli on March 25, 2016 at 5:07am

I still have a problem to believe that top bracing makes the difference... Sure that all other parameters are equal? Same strings?

Comment by Hal Robertson on March 23, 2016 at 12:47pm

The audio on the video was as clean as I could record it but it still sounds better in person. I was really happy with the December builds but the sustain on the braced version is ridiculous!

Comment by Moritz Voegeli on March 23, 2016 at 9:36am

Thanks for the video: as heard from the ends of the presentations, the braced version seems to have a somewhat fuller and warmer sound and more sustain. I have to check this with two builds of my own as typically I work also with soundboards of 0.125 inches.

Comment by Hal Robertson on March 23, 2016 at 9:09am

https://youtu.be/yelhO2QbmlM

Comment by Moritz Voegeli on March 23, 2016 at 4:47am

Did you compare two identical builds (box and strings, necks of equal wood, both played acoustically) except for bracing? If so, how would you describe the difference?