Last month I described an experiment I’m conducting with 2 different bracing styles on 2 guitars I’m building. The tops are now attached to the ribs, so I can begin testing the relative strength of their bracing. This deflection jig measures how much the top moves when a force is applied directly on the bridge area.
And this bridge rotation jig measures how much the bridge rotates when a force is applied simulating the force of a set of medium gauge guitar strings.
In both cases, the Trevor Gore bracing pattern was stronger than the traditional Martin guitar bracing. However, they’re both within an acceptable range of structural strength for a steel string guitar, so I won’t make any brace adjustments. What effect this differences has on tone is impossible to determine at this stage. That fun will come when I attach the backs and can start to measure the frequency profile of the two instruments!
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