RE: My own bracing pattern

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estebanana

Posts: 9352
Joined: Oct. 16 2009

RE: My own bracing pattern (in reply to at_leo_87)

quote:

We used to sand cedar tops to 7mm then taper them around the edges to 4mm. We used very light fan bracing and after the guitar was assembled we continued shaping the top until the voice seemed right. This method resulted in extremely loud and percussive guitars.

maybe those guitars would be good for rumba players. it would d

or braced with a long skinny X and a trapeze bridge it would make a hybrid flat/ archtop with steel strings - could be very effective.

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Feb. 25 2011 23:49:47

Andy Culpepper

Posts: 3023
Joined: Mar. 30 2009
From: NY, USA

RE: My own bracing pattern (in reply to estebanana)

OK so I got this guitar strung up today.
It's quite good. Whoever thought this guitar would be more classical sounding (including me) was dead wrong

It's got massive balls. Very percussive and Flamenco sounding. I like it even though it's not quite what I was hoping for. I think it's better than my old pattern.

I'll try to upload a video tomorrow so you can get an idea. It makes me sound a lot more like Moraito which I like

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Mar. 31 2011 20:16:24

Stephen Eden

Posts: 914
Joined: Apr. 12 2008
From: UK

RE: My own bracing pattern (in reply to estebanana)

Great job Andy! I look forward to hearing what you made.

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Mar. 31 2011 20:24:35

ralexander

Posts: 797
Joined: Jun. 1 2010
From: Halifax, Nova Scotia

RE: My own bracing pattern (in reply to estebanana)

very cool, looking forward to hearing it - nothing wrong with following your intuition

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Apr. 1 2011 14:29:57

Andy Culpepper

Posts: 3023
Joined: Mar. 30 2009
From: NY, USA

RE: My own bracing pattern (in reply to estebanana)

So playing the guitar again this morning I decided I really like it a lot. I'm strongly considering building this pattern for my next order.

Here's a video I made today...
You'll have to excuse the camera mic quality, but I think you can get some idea of the sound.
Oh and excuse my playing! Just noodling a bit with some ideas I had on the spot.

no finish on it yet hence the taped on golpeador

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Apr. 1 2011 20:57:58

Stephen Eden

Posts: 914
Joined: Apr. 12 2008
From: UK

RE: My own bracing pattern (in reply to estebanana)

OLE! nice

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Apr. 1 2011 21:08:00

Doitsujin

Posts: 5078
Joined: Apr. 10 2005

RE: My own bracing pattern (in reply to estebanana)

ui! great sound!! Good work.

And please tell Florian your secret to get that big sound..

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Apr. 1 2011 21:45:55

orsonw

Posts: 1934
Joined: Jul. 4 2009
From: London

RE: My own bracing pattern (in reply to Doitsujin)

This guitar sounds great.

(Also as usual, I'm inspired by your arpeggio technique)

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Apr. 1 2011 22:03:07

Kevin James Shanahan

Posts: 407
Joined: Oct. 10 2010
From: Wooli, NSW Australia

RE: My own bracing pattern (in reply to estebanana)

Wow andy awesome , is that one for sale?

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Apr. 2 2011 3:22:01

KMMI77

Posts: 1821
Joined: Jul. 26 2009
From: The land down under

RE: My own bracing pattern (in reply to estebanana)

Sounds very powerful Andy,

I'm glad the experiment has provided you with another nice guitar to play. I think if i started making guitars i would want to keep all of them. I would also want to make ten at a time just so i could have fun playing them all

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Apr. 2 2011 7:47:28

rogeliocan

Posts: 811
Joined: Nov. 23 2009
From: Canada

RE: My own bracing pattern (in reply to Andy Culpepper)

Nice sound and nice playing Andy.

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Apr. 2 2011 11:01:52

at_leo_87

Posts: 3055
Joined: Aug. 30 2008
From: Boston, MA, U.S.A

RE: My own bracing pattern (in reply to estebanana)

way to go, andy!

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Apr. 2 2011 11:09:31

Escribano

Posts: 6415
Joined: Jul. 6 2003
From: England, living in Italy

RE: My own bracing pattern (in reply to Andy Culpepper)

Sounds really bright - congrats!

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Apr. 2 2011 12:25:05

aarongreen

Posts: 367
Joined: Jan. 16 2004

RE: My own bracing pattern (in reply to estebanana)

Sounds good to me. Keep it up

aaron

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Apr. 2 2011 14:01:05

kozz

Posts: 1766
Joined: Feb. 26 2009
From: Eindhoven NL

RE: My own bracing pattern (in reply to estebanana)

Pretty powerfull....sounds great!

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Apr. 2 2011 14:48:32

Andy Culpepper

Posts: 3023
Joined: Mar. 30 2009
From: NY, USA

RE: My own bracing pattern (in reply to estebanana)

Thanks everybody! I will post something else when it's finished. The guitar is going to be for sale but I may have an interested party already.

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Apr. 2 2011 19:46:26

RTC

Posts: 667
Joined: Aug. 20 2008
From: DFW Area, Texas

RE: My own bracing pattern (in reply to Andy Culpepper)

I posted on your Youtube, great sound.

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Apr. 5 2011 0:06:33

Richard Jernigan

Posts: 3430
Joined: Jan. 20 2004
From: Austin, Texas USA

RE: My own bracing pattern (in reply to KMMI77)

quote:

ORIGINAL: KMMI77

Sounds very powerful Andy,

I'm glad the experiment has provided you with another nice guitar to play. I think if i started making guitars i would want to keep all of them. I would also want to make ten at a time just so i could have fun playing them all

Great sounding guitar, Andy.

Experimental guitars:

I stopped by the Bernabe shop when it was still at Cuchilleros 8, just off the Plaza Mayor. Bernabe, Sr. was seldom there, but Bernabe, Jr. was behind the counter that day. He offered me a guitar at a good price. He said it was a top model, but had experimental features. It looked beautiful. I played a few scales. Everywhere it appeared, on any string, anywhere on the fretboard, the note "A" ( La ) was considerably louder than the rest. After the scales I played a couple of "A's", and handed the guitar back with no comment. Bernabe, Jr. smiled and put it away in its case.

When Manuel Contreras, Sr.asked me about my visit to Bernabe, I told him about the experimental guitar. Contreras smiled and told me this story. He, Bernabe and Manzanero were all at the Frankfurt music fair. Bernabe was a tall, robust guy. Though a fantastic luthier, sometimes he could dominate the conversation a bit, in my experience.

Bernabe said, "I have made 20 experimental guitars during my career as a luthier, to explore the possibilities of the instrument. I still have every one of them."

Contreras replied, "Oh, that's too bad."

Bernabe: "What do you mean, 'too bad'?"

Contreras: "I too have made 20 experimental guitars. But I was able to sell them all."

RNJ

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Apr. 5 2011 23:53:51

mottallica

Posts: 177
Joined: Mar. 25 2012
From: Israel

RE: My own bracing pattern (in reply to at_leo_87)

quote:

what do you guys think of this?

Attachment (1)

i'm sorry i bring this topic up , but i'm just home after visiting boaz's shop and playing one of this "smurf village" guitars - the "clarita negra"

just amazing......
the volume was huge and the response was immediate
amazing guitar

Images are resized automatically to a maximum width of 800px

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Apr. 27 2012 15:43:35

Arash

Posts: 4495
Joined: Aug. 9 2006
From: Iran (living in Germany)

RE: My own bracing pattern (in reply to Andy Culpepper)

Andy,

i have no idea what you are doing there with your bracing system, but for me your guitars are the best sounding and come closest to my taste in this forum from all builders i have heard (no offence to anybody, just my own taste).

Keep doing what you do and don't let anybody tell you whats wrong and what not.

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Apr. 27 2012 16:23:45

Peter Tsiorba

Posts: 130
Joined: Oct. 27 2009

[Deleted]

Post has been moved to the Recycle Bin at Apr. 27 2012 21:41:26

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Apr. 27 2012 19:22:46

Samarto

Posts: 160
Joined: Mar. 21 2008

RE: My own bracing pattern (in reply to Andy Culpepper)

Andy, Sounds very responsive and powerful. Now if you use wooden golpeadors, that sound will improve and show some real cajones. Using an opening on the harmonic bar and extending the outer braces has been used successfully and mainly with classical. An example would be Jeffery Elliot.

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Apr. 27 2012 20:21:31

Andy Culpepper

Posts: 3023
Joined: Mar. 30 2009
From: NY, USA

RE: My own bracing pattern (in reply to estebanana)

Hehe, this was a while ago... thanks for bringing it back mottallica and your nice comments Arash.

So an update 15 guitars later... I never ended up using that exact bracing pattern again but it was totally freeing to take such a radical departure and come up with such a good guitar.
I DID end up keeping many elements of that pattern but have tweaked a lot of thing since then and now use that pattern in the picture below (no open harmonic bar) on all my flamenco guitars. I'm totally happy and the results keep getting better.
But some day I will go back and try that crazy thing again :)

Peter, I like that idea!! I think Kasha/Schneider would win (sounds like a harpsichord) followed by Smallman (banjo-ish

) btw your top reminds me of a cherry pie.