Bracing Material

[dave77]

Hi,
I've just started to build a few guitars and before I do my next one would like some thoughts on bracing material.
I see spruce is a popluar choice for soundboard bracing, is this only for spruce topped guitars / should I be matching the same material as top and bracing?
Also what works well for back bracing?

[Trevor Gore]

Unless you intend to use CF reinforcement, spruce is the best wood to use for bracing. If you use anything else, the extra wood you have to put in to get the same stiffness means you end up with a brace that is heavier or that will be too close to it's failure stress. Don't worry about matching top wood and brace wood species.

Balsa on classicals with CF reinforcement (lattice bracing) is very close to its shear stress limit.

For backs, if you want a live back use spruce, otherwise it doesn't matter. The analysis and testing behind all this is in the usual place.

[Rod True]

There's a reason spruce is used by 99% of all guitar makers for brace wood

[dave77]

Okay, Spruce it is!

[JJ model]

There's a reason spruce is used by 99% of all guitar makers for brace wood

ahha, that 1% is me, i used all hardwood for my bracing and it work too.

[woodrat]

I must be in the minority too Jeffery...I use very old growth Douglas Fir or Oregon as its known in Australia. I have 2 billets that are about 1200x150x100 and very clear and tight. Makes lovely bracing.

John

[peter.coombe]

Well I am a member of the minority as well. I use Oregon (Douglas Fir) in my mandolins and the first 3 guitars have Oregon bracing. I scored an amazing piece of Oregon from Bunnings years ago. They had no idea what they had. 6m of 6x2" clear tight grain quarter sawn along the whole 6m and little or no runout. Only 2 knots in the whole 6m. Air dried it and now makes great bracewood, and is even good enough for soundboards. Heavier than Spruce, but is stiffer so you can make the braces smaller. I ran out of Red Spruce bracewood a few years ago and tried the Oregon and liked the results so stuck with it. In mandolins I though it improved the clarity a bit, but the effect is fairly small. Sure works in (steel string) guitars as well. My #3 is probably the best sounding small bodied guitar I ever had in my hands, so don't discard Oregon as a bracewood. One of the best $30 I ever spent at Bunnings.

[Dominic]

Mr Gore uses Narra for the upper transverse brace according to the book and king-billy for the falcate braces. And doesn't use HHG, OMG. So perhaps it is 99% of Americans use it but Australian's have always been more prepared to try something different and don't seem hooked on copying pre-war martins. We are an innovative forward looking bunch and for such a small population of luthiers have had enormous influence in contemporary guitar design around the world. Makes me proud.
Dom

[JJ model]

behind my house i can only find hardwood so even the top i started using them and it still work fine, i think its still better than using plastics for building instruments that cost more

[Tod Gilding]

I'm with you guy's in the 1% I used Aust Red Cedar Braceing on my last and current builds BEAUTIFUL !!!!

[Allen]

I've use Western Red Cedar to great effect on my first Style 5. Absolutely love that guitar as does the fellow who bought it an it now resides in the USA. I've use Kauri Pine and while it works i't not my first choice. On ukes I've use Mahogany as have many and it works just fine.

My first choice though from what I have at hand would be spruce. Sitka is my preference as it's not so stiff as Red Spruce. The Red Spruce is so bloody stiff that I find it difficult to voice the top as compared to the Sitka.

If I still lived in B.C. I'd have a ton of old growth Douglas Fir to pick through and it would be on my list, but it's not all that easy to find up in the tropics.

[woodrat]

If I still lived in B.C. I'd have a ton of old growth Douglas Fir to pick through and it would be on my list, but it's not all that easy to find up in the tropics.

Allen, always check demolition yards if you have them locally as a lot of it came into the country as construction timber...you might reject 95% of it but there are some real gems to be found in such establishments.

John