#1
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To x brace or not to x brace - Sovereign
That is the question...First post here, I mostly build electrics but have been doing more acoustics lately & recently picked up this old Harmony Sovereign. It was rode hard and glued up wet...which along with a few broken/missing braces left the guitar with a badly distorted top. It was dished by the soundhole and misaligned where a crack was glued near the center-line.
I removed the top and managed to separate the bad glue joint, remove the gobs of glue and flatten this mess: I am now left with this. With the amount of distortion that the top received from the bad/missing braces, I am debating whether to: 1.Replace and re-glue missing braces and add a brace around the sound-hole to prevent more distortion or 2.Go all out and X brace the thing. What do you think? |
#2
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Welcome to the forum.
There is no question in my mind that X bracing is the way to go. It has been done many times to Harmony Sovereigns, and the end result is invariably a superior sounding instrument, according to those who have done the mod. I have only heard and played one such instrument, and I hadn't heard it pre-mod, but it sounded great with the X bracing. |
#3
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Thanks.
I do think x bracing will produce a superior (more stable) instrument. My concern would be possible resale value. Do you think x bracing would improve the value of the guitar? |
#4
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Welcome!
You might find the great video below informative and helpful regarding your question. I believe the old Sovereigns are best left as designed with ladder bracing, to preserve their unique character (which I think is beautifully shown in this video). Let us know what you decide to do.
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2017 Alvarez Yairi OY70CE - Sugaree c.1966 Regal Sovereign R235 Jumbo - Old Dollar 2009 Martin 000-15 - Brown Bella 1977 Gibson MK-35 - Apollo 2004 Fender American Stratocaster - The Blue Max 2017 Fender Custom American Telecaster - Brown Sugar Think Hippie Thoughts... |
#5
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For some reason, some people like old Harmony and similar instruments, though most were never really built well in the first place. If you want history, go to a museum. If you want a good playing guitar as a tool for music, then aim for that. Define your goal. Do you want to "collect" the instrument as an investment?? If that is the case, you should probably aim for an old mint condition macafferi or similar. If your goal is to revitalize and improve a guitar that was likely never a great guitar, so thereby having a hybrid (a piece of living near-past history that plays and sounds decent), then aim for that.
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---- Ned Milburn NSDCC Master Artisan Dartmouth, Nova Scotia |
#6
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With so much correction you already needed to do to that top. it needs the best you can glue to it to keep it looking like a flat-top!
Even with the stock bracing these guitars frequently bellied. PAY ATTENTION to the scale length. The bridge isnt in the right place on an original. When i did a neck reset I was floored by the amount I had to shorten the neck to fix that problem. You can just do it in your bracing design. Have fun. -r |
#7
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Ed,
Thanks for the video. I have watched and listened to that one many times. I am still undecided. I'm not big on *******izing vintage equipment, but with the work required to save/flatten the top on this guitar, I want to make sure it stays together for the next person that owns it. Most likely, that will not be me. From what has been done to it already, this will not be a collector's instrument. It has a hole drilled in the side (pickup?) headstock looks to have been cracked, binding missing, etc... With that being said, this is still a solid wood guitar that for the most part is structurally sound. The easiest route would be to reglue the braces, as they are almost all off at this point and reattach the top. My concern is the stability of the instrument and the top. I guess you would have to see how warped it started out... I should have taken better pictures. I appreciate the input and please keep the ideas coming. Chuck |
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#9
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How far off was your bridge placement? That's one thing that I have not looked into yet. |
#10
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#11
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I think a hybrid would turn out to be a more stable instrument and that's the way I'm leaning. |
#12
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__________________
---- Ned Milburn NSDCC Master Artisan Dartmouth, Nova Scotia |
#13
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Just an FYI, my Regal R235 Sovereign was given a replacement Rosewood pin bridge at some point, and I am really glad it was.
__________________
2017 Alvarez Yairi OY70CE - Sugaree c.1966 Regal Sovereign R235 Jumbo - Old Dollar 2009 Martin 000-15 - Brown Bella 1977 Gibson MK-35 - Apollo 2004 Fender American Stratocaster - The Blue Max 2017 Fender Custom American Telecaster - Brown Sugar Think Hippie Thoughts... |
#14
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[QUOTE=Ed-in-Ohio;4549454]No problem! I look forward to hearing what you decide to do.
I have been scouring my woodpile looking for straight-grained spruce... Just an FYI, my Regal R235 Sovereign was given a replacement Rosewood pin bridge at some point, and I am really glad it was. That's a nice looking guitar! |
#15
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It's been a few days and the repairs to the top are almost completed. It was in pretty rough shape.
It's looking a bit better now most of the cracks have been closed up and the top seems to have flattened out sufficiently. As the smaller repairs were completed the large center split has pulled together nicely. It will never be pretty, but it should be a solid joint. |