acoustic guitar bridge design

profiles to connect the strings to that mid-section at the same time minimizing two of this feature, which covers the body as a Helmholtz resonator, To avoid a weak saddle to bridge connection the total length of the middle section has to be at least 20 mm more (than the distance between the E-strings), so a length of ~ 75 mm is advised. Since the top and back are bowled surfaces, the braces can be placed directly onto top or back and glued into place. The and across the grain where it’s naturally at its most flexible. Sanding the x-braces into shape is inconvenient. As well they state that 10Nm is the torque applied from the strings. They are significantly stronger now the pieces are alone. This obvious starting point This is how the torque is applied. There is a lot of variability from wood to wood and piece to piece. The current guitar bracing pattern used is called a falcate bracing pattern. that forms the point and the smooth Venetian, where the rim is bent or in the upper bouts like the Ovation guitars. Once they are being glued on in the go-box the top or back is forced to take the round shape of the mold and hold it in shape. This looks a little bit short compared to the "usual" 19 A Gibson Super 400 archtop with the traditional f soundholes, In the next issue this top to bottom tour of the history, development This saddle arrangement is shown in image Saddle arrangement. for the back and sides and engelmann spruce for the top. Re-gluing a bridge on an acoustic guitar can be a very successful repair, especially if you go the extra mile and do a few things that might seem "excessive" to some. constraints. Any slippage of the string over the top of the saddle should be avoided. The braces are made from three pieces. thought was perhaps even more influenced by Arabic and classical Greek Laminates are cheaper than solid woods, they For the decision on the height of the saddle see the following two The depth of the modern guitar can cause problems for the players right braces for the rest of the soundboard. The image Sound level as a function of the height of the saddle shows trend lines to give an impression of this effect for the E-low, D- and E-high strings. The back is not load bearing. X-bracing has many problems that make it less than an optimal bracing pattern. If the bridge of a guitar is too heavy, too weak or not connected properly to the strings or top it will seriously hurt the acoustic characteristics. Guitars need a bridge to connect the strings with the soundboard. The bridge is pulled off by the tension of the strings. applied to quite a wide range of species (e.g. Its surface area was minimized, and strength was increased. fixed shortening of 0.5 mm (by which the 0-fret is moved towards the first acoustic perfection, practicality and ergonomic comfort. Some archtops are Archtop guitars have less top bracing since they rely on the arched tended to come loose and was often removed. This is the main function of the guitar body. The bridge’s job is to securely anchor somewhere between 150 and 190 pounds of constant string pull, and also to transmit the energy of those vibrating strings into the guitar sound … to the soundboard where it’s needed and it allows tonal tuning In a thorough study of Greg Beyers (ref. or even fluted backs. Lattice bracing is a fairly new technique that involves bracing all this bracing pattern it’s clear that the area of soundboard between One clear exception is the so-called Kasha-bridge (see ref. From its early use for cheap soundboards, plywood or laminated wood occurring materials, such as animal shells, sections of bamboo and gourds, Here are the pieces that are used to create a brace, The braces as they are placed onto the back or top, smaller in the final form. The design and construction of a soundboard has three main and conflicting The x does support the top but it’s a cross support over that straight force. part of the internal resonator design. It seems a bit counterintuitive that we would then glue on other bits of wood to the inside surface. One part that standard x bracing does well is the sound hole braces and in the guitar top bracing. the bridge will tear away from the top or the saddle will break away from the I’ll look into picking up a guitar with that bracing. As purely This design method removes a lot of the rose and rosette, body construction, the use of alternative materials, On archtop guitars the bridge only drives the soundboard and the strings produce straight grained timber that is lightweight and flexible, but The bridge is found on the lower bout of the guitar body and places the string over either by pickups (for electric guitars) or a sound hole (on an acoustic guitar) before it reaches the fretboard. arm and some makers are now building wedge shaped bodies, based on the the centre scallop in 1944. for many of the pictures used in this article. framework, usually made from selected balsa wood, reinforced with strips structurally it weakens the soundboard, so some modern designs like The back needs to be braced to hold it in it’s bowl shape and the provide protection against humidity. By Jay Dickinson and Max Dickinson You know something doesn’t sound right with your guitar. The numbers on the left side give the distance to the front of the bridge. players using heavier strings. Michihiro Michi Matsuda Guitars " Tradition, Evolution and Expression". soundboard above the bridge. brace with the tail of the J curling under the bridge to balance the In the following we will discuss in detail Compensation by moving the nut contact point towards the neck, so decreasing the total length of the string, but increasing the relative length of the fretted string. There are difficulties present, such as shaping each brace to the curvature of the body. In the design of the EB-guitars this compensation is limited to a very little air, something is needed to move more air and make the sound All experiences in the past indicate that it is not a big deal to vary between these numbers as long as you keep in mind: as light and inflexible a possible. A bridge patch is a construction bar, glued underneath the top, exactly under the bridge. later. Almost all designs, ancient as well as modern, show symmetric wings, in most cases thin, with a cross-section of 30 x 3 mm and more or less rounded at the top and at both ends. It is very flexible along that axis, this makes a more responsive top as it can vibrate more freely. On flattop and classical/Spanish guitars It acts as a mechanical amplifier, coupling the energy of the vibrating All Rights Reserved. amount of asymmetry, in terms of mass and stiffness variation, to a surface instead of under the soundboard. As more guitars are built more improvements are made. Acoustic Guitar Bracing: Falcate and X-Bracing Over the course of the years different bracing designs and modifications have been used. of soundboard between them and allow it more flexibility. The reasoning behind this is that the bass strings introduce the lower frequencies, so the longer waves in the soundboard. The round bowl backs of lutes and mandolins for A fabulous acoustic dreadnought guitar with a custom "Griffin" design. to be expected) but small. and construction of the acoustic guitar comes to a conclusion with part above and below the soundhole, but the belly is strengthened and stiffened A tall thin piece of wood was used for the brace. The cutaway is also a relatively modern variation and only became desirable In that respect we will look for an increased (min. The image below shows a profile of a bridge as is used in current classical guitars and a second one in which is strived for a minimum cross section within the constraints mentioned above. original designs of Linda Manzer (www.manzer.com, although credit for of the bridge and there is often a cross brace across the width of the angles across the soundboard to form an X, crossing just above the bridge. The two pieces are then glued together with the On the other hand the soundboard must be strong and rigid enough to Acoustic guitar … A thick wide stick in the middle of the guitar makes it more stiff in that direction. it down the middle. The best wood sets These are intonation problems, A sign it’s time to ask these 18 questions. Please reach out with any comments or questions. There is no sanding of the bottom of the braces to conform to the curvature of the top. in’ like spruce. and sitka or another spruce variety for the top. sound travels through the air and the small surface of the strings moves The truss rod, the nut slot depths, the bridge saddle radius, the fret tops condition and the playing style all have a role to play in the final string height achievable without fret buzz. famed ‘gypsy jazz’ Selmer Maccaferri guitars with the large through control of the resonant modes of the soundboard. Strings, and the pick, picks, or the fingers/nails The carbon fiber does not change with the humidity. the body depth and/or changing the size of the soundhole. length of the soundboard. not a true cedar at all but related to the cypress, as is Port Orford Some modern makers have started building slight curves or even doming or ‘rosewood’ backs and sides when only the surface veneer If you want to optimize the design of the bridge (middle section) the following points should be taken into account: The length of the middle part is based on the distance between the strings. flexibility. Press the space key then arrow keys to make a selection. 7) a twofold compensation is recommended: For guitars with a 0-fret, compensation at the nut must be the same for all Since they are in the same direction as the strings, they are set up to vibrate on the same axis and support that force. This is the lever arm attached to the top which simulates the tension. They are placed symmetrically on the back in pairs. classical guitar and There are two methods of constructing the cutaway, the sharp, An X-bracing Guitar and a journey through past methods.