[mhw48]

Originally Posted by iim7V7IM7

To be honest, I do not know the full method behind the madness. I can ask him. Mark has not always used this bracing pattern. Below I am showing a guitar by Mark closer to 20 years ago (left) and a guitar that he made for me about 5 years ago.



With Mark's top bracing pattern at a high level, I see some similarities to one of Jean Larivee's top bracing patterns. I also see influence from classical guitar building in his sound hole reinforcement approach and stiffening of his rim linings. I also see with many builders who utilize Chladni patterns to interpret their tops a trend to use of symmetrical bracing patterns.



What I can say is lay people we see a "pattern" and think that is "it", when in fact many subtle factors in the choice of bracing material, the shaping of the braces, the variable top thickness, the dish and rim radius all contribute to how the top as a "system" sounds.

I wondered if there was some way in which the bracing pattern was influenced by the Chladni patterns. It's interesting to see the evolution of Mark's placement of the braces: One of the things about these build threads that I really enjoy is to get glimpses of how luthiers (at least the best) are willing to rethinking the process, to challenge themselves and are open to discovery.