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Rarely have I ever seen a type of wood other than spruce for bracing up the back. I understand that the whole weight to strength ratio has a lot to do with it. I was wondering about using other types of woods and what considerations need to be taken in account, f/s, q/s wider, narrower, higher. I was thinking of using some of the hardwoods such as maple, walnut, etc...

David L

On my classical guitars I used spanish cedar for the back bracing, spruce for the top. Mainly I liked the smell of the inside of the guitar.

As long as it is dry, stable and 1/4 sawn why not? Taylor is now using matching hardwood linings in their top of the line guitars. For many years I used Honduran Mahogany -- and I was just coping what Sloane, David Russell Young and others had published way back when.

I use a Wenge/Sitka/Wenge laminate....really just because it looks cool.



Just re-did the back on the macacuba....had some damage from a garage storage over a year ago, just getting back to it. made new braces with the same laminates. Very strong, though heavier than sitka or mahogany. That doesn't bother me on the back, I am not looking for the same energy efficiency in the back as I am in the top, rather just the opposite.

Ken, you make some really cool back braces, that was my incentive to stray from the norm. Now, on to the center re-enforcement strip, is it absolutely necessary that it be cross grain or can the grain run lengthwise (neck to butt)?

David L

From what I understand, it aids in strengthening the joint from "folding" in half. Common sense says that the wood should be cross-grained, as it is very difficult to break in that direction as opposed to parallel grain. As usual, however, I have stuck my tongue out at tradition cause "I was just in a mood" over the last few guitars. I had a few long peices of 3/16" thick, 1" wide figured maple that I couldn't bend with the grain for the life of me, was significantly stronger than the back wood, so I thought "why not?" has held up great so far. On the "cuba, I am using a thicker wenge strip (cause I had it, and it felt just as strong as the maple). It really depends what you will use. If you plan on using spruce or redwood (some top wood) I would definitely do cross-grained. If you are going to do a much more dense wood like maple, I don't think parallel grain is a problem.

I was thinking of using either maple or walnut on my next one, but only on the back, I will stick with spruce for tha top bracing.

David L

David: I prefer light woods,mostly spruce and sometimes mahogany.More important is what type of back do you want,a stiff reflective back or a looser one that works more with the top. Two different results. Suggest you should do more reading to explore them both.Take care.
Tom