Questions: Bracing Reinforcement

by Jeffrey R. Elliott

Originally published in American Lutherie #91, 2007



François Leonard of Port-Louis, France, asks:

I’m guitar maker in France and I’ve been following and reading articles in American Lutherie since many years. I had recently an order for a 10-string guitar and I’m asking myself how much I need to reinforce the design of the bracing. My bracing is not so different from the one Jeffrey Elliott uses and talks about in his AL#56 article “Shaping the Sound.”


Jeffrey R. Elliott of Portland, Oregon, responds:

My experience is more extensive with 8-string guitars, but I believe the same principles apply. I suggest the following:

Select top wood that is more stiff than you would choose for a 6-string, one with all the characteristics you usually look for, but also with a somewhat extended tap-tone range toward the lower pitches.