#1
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Question about bracing for fan fret guitars
Greetings. I'm new to guitar building. Until now, I've built furniture and a banjo (soon to be 2 banjos), but I think I want to have a try at building a guitar. I think I might start with a kit, at least for the body and customize it. I was considering fan frets and I was wondering if the bracing is different for a fan fret guitar because of the angled bridge placement? Do building plans exist?
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#2
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Howdy and welcome to the forum. I have a multi-scale (fanned fret) acoustic that was built by one of our members.. Glen DeRusha of Green Mountain Guitars. Hopefully Glen will chime in and give you some advice.
Merry Christmas Bill |
#3
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Any info available for this post?
Anybody got any info to share?
Last edited by Quickstep192; 01-06-2013 at 08:19 AM. |
#4
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I know Bruce Sexauer who is on this forum has built them. He has shown pictures of one under construction and IIRC the X brace was turned to accommodate the slant of the bridge.Maybe do a search and see what turns up.
Tom
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A person who has never made a mistake has never made anything |
#5
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Not that you asked, but there are sufficient "challenges" for a novice builder - even with a furniture-making background - to tackle without the added complexity of fan fretting and the structural changes necessary to accommodate it.
I'd suggest you stick with something pretty standard for at least your first guitar before "fanning-out". That said, you know your own knowledge and skills better than I do. |
#6
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Look at post 68 in this thread and you will see some of Bruce's work. Looks like he just slants the bridge plate. Or maybe both.
Tom http://theunofficialmartinguitarforu...osewood?page=4
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A person who has never made a mistake has never made anything |
#7
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I have not yet built a fan fret guitar but hope to do so some time in the future. So, I have pre-qualified my response so you can choose to weight my thoughts with as much or as little importance as you see fit.
Fan frets are not "standard" yet, and no single fan fret design has stood the test of time (ie: nearly a century or more) as the standard X bracing (steel string) or fan bracing (classical) designs have. I expect if you ask 10 fan fret guitar makers, each will have a slightly different thought as to what soundboard changes need to be made. So, even if you find plans, none is going to be "absolute" or "proven by the test of time". As Charles states, if you are new to guitar building, fan-fretting may be best to leave on the back burner for a while. However, if you already feel you have a moderately full and mature understanding of the way a soundboard works, you may wish to develop your own ideas about sound-board adjustment & tuning for fan-frets and then press on with the project. I'd rather think that until you have a good grasp on the soundboard, it is likely best to stick with a standard and proven design to follow. Another suggestion would be to take some instruction from a fan-fret guitar builder. Fully developed woodworking tools are a great benefit, but sound vibration, wave interference, and the overtone series - combined with some basic structural mechanics - is what makes up the meat and potatoes of understanding the soundboard.
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---- Ned Milburn NSDCC Master Artisan Dartmouth, Nova Scotia |
#8
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I like to see the X-braces intersect the bottom corners of the bridge. Whether that means altering the bridge length or relocating the X-braces (or both) is a matter of the overall design.
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#9
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Quote:
Sound advice indeed and a big part of the reason I asked if the bracing patterns were different. If it's a matter of using a standard bracing pattern and slanting the bridge plate, that's one thing, but if I have to design my own bracing, that's completely another. The picture of Bruce's guitar appears to be a pretty standard "X" pattern with the bridge plate slanted. |
#10
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All of my MultiScale guitars are completely asymmetrically braced inside. Many of them asymmetrical outside as well. If the MultiScale seems obvious to you, you are a rare individual and ought to pursue it if you want to. It does present several not insurmountable problems which might take the unwary by surprise, possibly heading them off at the pass. Many people don't easily get it, and would probably be happier if they built something more conventional, raising the likelihood of completion.
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#11
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Thanks, Bruce for the clarification and the diplomatic approach.
After looking at some of your pictures and some other research, it looks as if the entire bracing pattern is rotated on the axis of the intersection of the two "X" braces to accommodate the difference between the treble scale and the bass scale. So, based on this observation, am I one of the ones who easily get it, or am I on the path to a big supply of fireplace kindling? |
#12
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Quickstep192: You still have to do the neck............the neck with fingerboard....!!
Tom
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A person who has never made a mistake has never made anything |
#13
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Quote:
Yes indeed! Look for a flurry of questions about that in half a year or so! |
#14
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[QUOTE=Quickstep192;3289265] I was wondering if the bracing is different for a fan fret guitar because of the angled bridge placement? QUOTE]
It depends. It can be. But it doesn't have to be. Depending on how radical of a multi scale, and the bridge design. "rotated on the axis of the intersection of the two "X" braces" And you can kick the X brace crotch off of the center line of the top, to make things work. If you want to. 12 fret. 14 fret. I line up the back brace, the vertical strip, and the tails of the X brace because, I think it looks cool. Then what ever I rotate the top braces, I rotate the back braces to match. That really freaks some people out. Good luck. Glen |
#15
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I like the adaptation in back bracing!
Do you also move the back braces lower for the 12- vs 14-fretter?
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