Official Luthiers Forum!

I posted this link on Bruce Dickey's Gibson thread earlier, however, I am curious to see what others think about this alternative bracing system. (GABS)

http://www.advancedmanufacturing.com/in ... &Itemid=68

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Guitar Building = Continuous Improvement Process

I remember when Garrison first came out, there were issues with the reaction to temperature and humidity changes in the fibreglass bracing. The wood pieces were popping off left, right, and centre. They've reformulated the mixture and I believe it's much better now.

I give them a lot of credit for trying something new.

Of course that is what I always say in these threads where I see something that I don't like.......

I think that the dissimilar materials issues that Warren mentioned is notable and I also wonder what the weight of the finished guitars would be. Anyone know?

The concern that I can't get past in my mind is that fiberglass is not going to sound like wood. If I wanted to hear fiberglass I would buy an O*vation.......

Hesh - Shouldn't that be O*ation?

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Time is a great teacher, but unfortunately it kills all its pupils - Louis Hector Berlioz

Chansen / C hansen / C. Hansen / Christian Hansen - not a handle.

Christian

Christian buddy you are right - thanks!

Christian - Shouldn't that be Abomovation?

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Billy Dean Thomas
Covina, CA

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

Garrison builds a pretty decent guitar for the money. The thing I fear about their bracing scheme is that the braces will not shrink/expand at all whereas the spruce top etc. will. This sounds like a formula for structural issues down the road. A fellow down the street from me has had a Garrison for a couple of years and he told me that his has shown no sign of distress.....so maybe there is something to their bracing system. Garrison guitars sound pretty good to me and they do what they are supposed to in the price range they are at.

I saw a Canadian documentary on Garrison Guitars that showed a lot of their manufacturing processes including use of CNC and robotics...pretty impressive stuff. They CNC a neck in about 45 seconds....scary fast. Garrison looks like it is of the Taylor ilk in terms of process.

If they are still out there .. try one of the Garrison offshore guitars .. now thats funny sounding I know .. Nfld is offshore to us !!! But they actually had a plant in China making cheaper Garrisons with wood kerfing and back braces .... they sounded better than the all active braced guitars to me ... for half the price too.

The biggest issue I had with the Garrisons was that no matter what model you bought, all you could get was black binding,and no purf lines at all ... they couldnt make it work with the injection molding .. so it never really looked any fancier, except for maybe the rosette. For the money thogh, one store i did repairs in had these 279 buck Alvarez, with case, solid top and lam B&S ... ultimate camp guitar if I ever saw one. Sounded and played pretty darn good.

Tom Cochrane and Alex Lifeson are using Garrisons big time on tour .. they work and sound good enough at loud volumes, and they are way easy to replace in ANY town ... roadies dream.

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Tony Karol
www.karol-guitars.com
"let my passion .. fulfill yours"

I have to say first, I've never heard a Garrison, but putting plastic in the bracing seems the "way" wrong way to go!

It's like having a nice BRW B&S guitar with a plastic top! It just comes across wrong! My experience is everyone of these new fangled gawdamits just don't measure up! Show of hands! Show of hands!

I absolutely love looking at these ideas and really appreciate the thread posting, big time... BUT

Does.... it..... work..... really

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Billy Dean Thomas
Covina, CA

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

Never heard a Garrison, but I've said it before here, the very best guitar I have ever heard, bar one particular George Lowden, was the all polymer guitar made by the engineers at Loughborough University here in England, not one bit of wood in the whole thing.

Colin

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I don't believe in anything, I simply make use of a set of reasonable working hypotheses.

From the standpoint of production needs, I think it's a great idea. It offers obvious benefits in terms of time and cost, and could even offer a level of consistency of tone that would be harder to achieve by using traditional materials. Additionally, I would expect that having this consistency in your bracing may allow them to run a little closer to the edge in terms of how lightly the top is constructed.

With that said, I don't know how they sound...I haven't had the chance to play one. If they sound great, then good on them.

From the standpoint of the art of guitar building, it certainly isn't traditional..but the idea of pre-assembly of the braces may have some merit regardless of the materials used.

Does anyone have a link to a video showing that neck carve...if it's even close to 45 seconds...that is great!

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http://www.PeakeGuitars.com

It's a fascinating method for manufacturing, though I've never personally been attracted to the sound.

Chris Griffiths was a student up at Galloups when he was 18 or 19. Went home, had some ideas, secured some capital, became a manufacturer and employer, then 15 or so years later sold to Gibson. Quite the success story if you ask me.

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Eschew obfuscation, espouse elucidation.

Cool Acoustics?

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Billy Dean Thomas
Covina, CA

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

The one I played was the original development instrument, their final experimental one. I think this has led on to Cool Acoustics, but I've never played one of the production models.

Colin

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I don't believe in anything, I simply make use of a set of reasonable working hypotheses.

You are kidding. I thought all wood acoustic meant all wood acoustic.

I was in Maui once with the family, we stumbled on a small manufacturer in a strip mall next door to a church, no kidding. It was Rainsong in Kehei. My son could make one sing and they were great folks.

I liked the owner's infectious smile on his Garrison website.

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http://www.dickeyguitars.com

I've played a few Newfoundland-made Garrisons. Frankly, they're not bad at all. Comparable to say, Seagull and some Taylor models.

I have tried only one Garrison, so that's no way to judge a whole brand...let's just say that the one I tried was heavy and unimpressive in both tone and playability. I don't care if I never try another.

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I'd like to be able to prove, just for once, that money wouldn't make me happy...