Martin’s new “skeletonized bracing”

bertie

TimmyO said:

bertie said:

would carbon fibre not be a good material  just  for bracing ?  (yes Im aware of all carbon fibre geetars)

I think Garrison did something like that at one point 

OK,  I knew they did all CF  (totally unispriring acoustically, but would've been a good "band a/e"  I think)  but didnt know they used it for bracing on wood

TimmyO

bertie said:

TimmyO said:

bertie said:

would carbon fibre not be a good material  just  for bracing ?  (yes Im aware of all carbon fibre geetars)

I think Garrison did something like that at one point 

OK,  I knew they did all CF  (totally unispriring acoustically, but would've been a good "band a/e"  I think)  but didnt know they used it for bracing on wood

sev112

Like the principle, don’t like the hundreds of spots for dust that will collect in them there holes 

DavidR

Interesting to note that when the R101 crashed in 1930 Martin had been making guitars for nearly 100 years. 

Lewy

*puts on Mick Dundee voice* That's not skeletonised bracing. This is skeletonised bracing.....

bertie

TimmyO said:

so not so much bracing, as a whole internal framework............. with some wood glued on for aestthetics

ICBM

guitarjack66 said:

There are plenty of acoustic guitars without pick ups to choose from. I have three of the cheaper ones but there are thousands of more expensive guitars out there the same.

Of course, but why make an innovative acoustic guitar and then make it only available with electrics that a proportion of your buyers don't want? They should at least make two models, one with and one without.

It is actually quite hard to find a cutaway acoustic without electrics, too.

bertie said:

TimmyO said:

so not so much bracing, as a whole internal framework............. with some wood glued on for aestthetics 

Resulting in a slightly over-heavy and remarkably un-innovative-sounding guitar. Not awful, just dull.

TimmyO

ICBM said:

guitarjack66 said:

There are plenty of acoustic guitars without pick ups to choose from. I have three of the cheaper ones but there are thousands of more expensive guitars out there the same.

Of course, but why make an innovative acoustic guitar and then make it only available with electrics that a proportion of your buyers don't want? They should at least make two models, one with and one without.

It is actually quite hard to find a cutaway acoustic without electrics, too.

bertie said:

TimmyO said:

so not so much bracing, as a whole internal framework............. with some wood glued on for aestthetics 

Resulting in a slightly over-heavy and remarkably un-innovative-sounding guitar. Not awful, just dull.

Yeah I played a couple - might have been in Coda? - years ago - not impressed

Jez6345789

I alway think carbon fibre and acoustics tend to be odd bed fellows. In theory it seems like a good idea a few seem to work but nobody in the acoustic world seems to rave about them unless they live in a rain forest.

Tannin

On the contrary, @Jez6345789, carbon fibre is becoming very common in high-end luthier-built guitars and is slowly filtering down to the leading factory-made brands as well. 

If it a revolutionary step forward? Of course not. It's just another step in the gradual evolution of the instrument. 

As always with new technologies, the key is not to go silly with it (e.g., the Garrison above) but to use it sparingly, where there is a clear benefit to be had. Falcate bracing is one example. Furch's use of a carbon fibre neck channel to contain and control the truss rod is another.  

I'm not a great fan of all-carbon fibre guitars (the likes of Emerald and Rainsong) but CF is an absolute no-brainer for travel guitars. I would like to get my hands on an Emerald (or similar) to try one in real life but their direct-selling marketing model makes that pretty much impossible. So I can only judge from You-tube. I do think about buying one for travel now and then - I do long outback trips and taking a valuable wooden guitar along is not sensible - but the price puts me off. 

thomasross20

I note the bit about wood binding in the interview trying to catch on Larrivee lol...

Good they're being progressive. They're not my fave two tonewoods but the bracing idea is cool. Starting price is pretty high. 

BigPaulie

Walden have been doing this for years.

Soupman

Is that the equivalent of go-faster stripes then?
 
 

bertie

serious "luthier" type question,   considering the considerable extra size, what does this actually bring that a smaller, and probably lighter (or as light)  brace has, that has been completely "strong enough" for 100 + years ?  

I mean those Walden things that @BigPaulie ; posted are 3 times the size of what's on my Brook or Furch