Big Surprise!

Pete Howlett

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Inspired by DPO's foray into unusal shaped ukulele I thought I'd have acrack at evoking a 1930's classic in concert form. Making an approximation of the proportins for a tear drop, I made a concert. Then I did this...



and created a canon. The unusual departure is a single diagonal brace that passes from the back of the transverse bar below the soundhole on the bass side to the lower treble side, passing under the tip of the bridge.
The front has not distored and the instrument is a complete revelation. Going to make another one next week to see if this was an aberation...
 
Sorry to disappoint -no innovation. Many catalogue guitars of the 1930s had a single diagonal transverse brace tied with a transvers cross brace below the bridge - a sort of half cross/x brace, half ladder brace arrangement. I had no idea how it would deal with the sound. This instrument was a total suprise on all fronts.
 
I thought this looked/sounded great in the original post with concert neck and normal bracing. The big surprise to me was that you made it and are now experimenting with an alternative neck and alternative bracing ( given your previous statements )! I'm glad that you both like the results: it does sound good.

As a hobby maker it's trying something new ( and being continually surprised) that keeps me making instruments!
 
I'm not so arrogant that I cannot change my view or mind. You really ought to get to know me better. I have strong views but I acKnowledge that change is an imortant concept to healthy living.
 
My post was a celebration of your change of heart ( and excitement at being successful with your experiment ) and not in any way intended to be negative. My time on this forum is spent encouraging people to have a go at instrument making and to try new things.

I look forward to meeting you (and Tom) at the Meet the Makers event in Wales next year.
 
That diagonal brace idea goes back a long way, perhaps even to the 17 th century. If it goes all the way across the soundboard we would just term it ladder braced.
It's not all that surprising it works well on a Uke. I made one around a year ago, sounded perfectly fine to my ears.
 
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