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I am going to do an experiment with Double X top bracing. IE a lower x brace verses a set of tone bars.

My question is what is driving your angle of the tone bar X? Do you match the splay of the main X? Are you thinning you tops a little more than with a conventional tone bar bracing? Any insight would be helpful.

My only attempt and a double x was a flying x in that one went completely over the top of the other. They were thin and not too tall, maybe 3/16x3/8 where they crossed. The guitar sounded stiff and sterile till I reached in and popped off the leg running from the bottom lower bout. This opened up the guitar tremedously. I haven't repeated yet. It seems like the double x should work but like anything else it will probably require some expirimentation on the part of the luthier. I gave up after the first attempt because I found the tone I wanted without the 2x.
Good luck though.

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Tickle your guitar daily, and it'll tickle you back.

I try to relate the X angle to the ratio of cross grain to long grain stiffness of the top, and make them both the same these days. I have made the lower X angle flatter in some cases, in an effort to gain more control over the stiffness ratio of the top, but it didn't seem to work all that well. BTW, I put the back X on first, and put the main X over it, so that the upper ends of the back X become the finger braces.

Michael and Alan - I am a visual learner and pretty good figuring out 3D images in my mind, but I have no idea what you are talking about here. Do any of you have a drawing or picture as to what you are talking about? Thanks in advance!

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Steve Walden
Aspiring Builder,
Bartlesville, OK

No pic or drawing handy but just think of a typical braceing system and remove the tone bars below the bridge plate and replace them with another smaller X brace in lue of the tone bars

Gotcha!
Thanks,

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Steve Walden
Aspiring Builder,
Bartlesville, OK

Hey Michael,

I use a double X bracing pattern as standard on all my guitars. In fact I have never built a guitar that had the typical tone bar bracing. The angle of my lower X is always the same as the main X. Like Alan I do the lower X first and then the main X. All the braces are interlocking, either running under or over other braces. Hope that helps.

Josh

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Josh House

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Michael,

The double X is my standard brace pattern. The angle is the same as the main X and varies with the cross grain stiffness. I install the lower X first with the upper arms of the lower X ending at the lower arms of the main X. I feather the ends of all my braces in the lower bout, no tucking.

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Randy Muth
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