Quote:
Originally Posted by fulfillingsoul
Hi are the carbon tubes installed solely for structural reasons, any effect on tone at all?
Is it necessary because soundboards of guitars by custom luthiers are thinner or braced more lightly, compared to the usual factory production guitars? Thanks!
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The carbon tubes are installed to structurally reinforce the neck block area but more importantly to eliminate or re-direct the rotational torque of the neck block. There could be a tonal gain but I have no way to validate that claim. We know that there is a downward force applied to the fingerboard extension upon the sound board above the sound hole of most guitars. The carbon tubes would resist that downward force so it stands to reason the sound board could be freer to vibrate in that area.
Years ago I would have argued the point that the sound board is pretty dead above the sound hole but my view has certainly changed. When I place a ToneRite on my guitars, during the initial settling in period and prior to the final set ups, I run my finger tips all over the top, back, sides and neck to get some tactile feedback about how active those parts are vibrating. Since implementing the carbon tubes into my build design the area above the sound hole feels a LOT more active than my guitars without them. I think there is a lot of high frequency response coming from that area of the top. Therefore its reasonable to assume that this structural design element could reinforce treble response in my guitars.