Official Luthiers Forum!

I ran across this thread and just have to post it. This is a very interesting thread with lots of pics on the construction of a reproduction Larson Maurer guitar. I sure hope nobody minds -- I found this totally facinating, especially the laminated bracing.

http://theunofficialmartinguitarforum.yuku.com/topic/61591/master/1/?page=1

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Jim Howell
Charlotte, NC

Hello,
Regarding the Larson laminated bracing, I have made 2 guitars with this type of bracing.
The first I built in 1989 a OM Sitka/Zirocote with sitka/ebony/sitka braces ,and the second a all mahogany style 2 Parlour guitar this had sitka/IRW/sitka.
I am certain it made the tone a lot brighter on the mahogany guitar.
In my opinion it's well worth experimenting with.

Rick Sellens 1066 country

I like all the photos. They give a great insight into his process. But I have a couple of questions brought up by his bracing.

I've seen bracing done like this with carbon fiber, I don't really understand the lamination with another type of wood. Wouldn't spruce be stronger?

As well as, instead of vertical lamination, given it's all wood, shouldn't they be horizontal for more strength. Vertical doesn't really give it much more strength than solid wood.

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Billy Dean Thomas
Covina, CA

"Multi famam, conscientiam, pauci verentur."
(Many fear their reputation, few their conscience)

Billy--

I've had to do some homework. The braces are laminated the way they are because this is one of the ways that the Larson Brothers built the originals -- they experimented quite a bit. I had the privilege of playing a old Prairie State guitar by the Larson Brothers a couple of years ago at Elderly Instruments. I'm a pretty marginal player with an even more marginal wallet, but that guitar really impressed me with it's tone. (And a hearty, hearty thanks to Elderly for letting me even touch it! ). I hesitate to try to describe something as subjective as tone in English as I fall back to thinking about how wine tastings were described in Sonoma County in the 80's -- 'an aftertaste of raspberry and tobacco with a hint of gravel and road tar at the finish ). Anyway the guitar really spoke to me and I have a probably warped memory of the sound locked into my mind. It is what I want to aim my small bodies at when I'm capable of aiming them at anything!

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Jim Howell
Charlotte, NC