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I am building a 000 body and question regarding those short finger braces. I have seen two versions (both on Martins I think). With one version there is only one brace per side and others I have seen two. I have always used two for both dreads and 000 but wondering what the deal is here??

Do I need two on each side for a 000 body?

Hi Rich
    Martin uses 2 on all sizes from 000 on up. 0 is one and I think the 00 uses 2 but I have to check my prints . call me and I can have the info tomorrow as I will be in the shop all weekend
john

My 00-18 has only one finger brace each side. 000-28 has two each side, OM-28 has two, all from pre-war. I don't know if that is also true for later production. I have a 00-18 from 1963 that I bought a couple of days before I shipped out and have not had the chance to get the strings off and get a mirror in it yet. This one is mint and was a real steal at a general auction sale of furniture and ceramics at ?250

Colin

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

Last night I am looking over someones guitar on a forum and it is a relatively large body with only one finger brace - so I guess what I am really asking: is there a need for 2 ?

If one would do the trick and free up the board in the process - doesnt that make sense?

[QUOTE=rich altieri] Last night I am looking over someones guitar on a forum and it is a relatively large body with only one finger brace - so I guess what I am really asking: is there a need for 2 ?

If one would do the trick and free up the board in the process - doesnt that make sense?[/QUOTE]

Rich,

It all depends on the piece of wood you are working with and the sound you are aiming for. Absence of braces doesn't necessarily mean a better sounding top. Braces in the right places and of the right shape help with stiffness and vibration distribution and shape tone. I have used 4 finger braces per side on a baritone that had a "floppier" lateral stiffness, 3 on my guitar bouzoukis and 2 on most of my other guitars. Haven't tried just one.

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Dave White
De Faoite Stringed Instruments
". . . the one thing a machine just can't do is give you character and personalities and sometimes that comes with flaws, but it always comes with humanity" Monty Don talking about hand weaving, "Mastercrafts", Weaving, BBC March 2010

    I think that 1 may be enough. Martin does overbuild to avoid warranty issues. I day try a guitar with one and see if you like it. I know there was a cut off point and wasn't sure of it was 00 or 0 but it appears to be the 00 is one .
    

[QUOTE=rich altieri] Last night I am looking over someones guitar on a forum and it is a relatively large body with only one finger brace - so I guess what I am really asking: is there a need for 2 ?

If one would do the trick and free up the board in the process - doesnt that make sense?[/QUOTE]

I have built a few of Frank Finnochio's Prima style guitars (which is a very nice design BTW) and it only uses one finger brace. It is ~15 3/4" lower bout so it is a decent size guitar. It is a very nice finger picking guitar.

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Brock Poling
Columbus, Ohio
http://www.polingguitars.com

My 13 fret (smailler body) guitars use one finger brace instead of the more
normal two. On the small body instruments I think it tends to open up the
guitar more. That opinion is based on building several with two per side and
several with one per side. I have settled on the one per side on the 13 fret
guitars.

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Sylvan
http://www.wellsguitars.com

I recently seen a high end builders guitars and he didnt use finger braces but rather a flat patch.LanceK38641.4058101852

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Lance@LuthiersForum.com

Lance, how wide a patch did he use? Was it still spruce or the same as his other braces, or maybe maple strips?

Ron

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OLD MAN formerly (and formally) known as:

Ron Wisdom

Somewhere in the middle of Arkansas......

Ron, im not sure what they were made of, but they looked to be about 1.5" wide running from the Xbrace to the linings.

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Lance@LuthiersForum.com

Don't forget that part of the reason finger braces are there is to stiffen the top against potential cracking, besides the effect they have on tone.
That said, in a NEL meeting several months ago, we had the privilege of hearing William Cumpiano speak on some desing elements of guitar building. One of the things he's been experimenting with is reducing the finger braces to only one or none on each side (if I remember correctly). He claims that the reality is that they just don't do all that much. All that to say that whether you use two per side, or one, or a patch, or whatever you do with it, it will add up to what your personal building style and sound will be. Experiment.

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"I want to know what kind of pickups Vince Gill uses in his Tele, because if I had those, as good of a player as I am, I'm sure I could make it sound like that.
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It does seem to me, though, that if you use a domed top and have that curve on the finger braces, that they would help to hold the curvature over the years.

Ron

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OLD MAN formerly (and formally) known as:

Ron Wisdom

Somewhere in the middle of Arkansas......