[gitnoob]

I have a guitar that I'm willing to sacrifice for the sake of science.

I'm thinking of shaving the braces, but I want it to be a learning experience. I want to understand what is happening to the guitar as I change the brace shapes and sizes.

So I'd like to rig up a deflection gauge and some way to measure the resonance frequencies of the top, back, and air cavity.

Any suggestions on cheap rigs?

For a deflection gauge, I assume one with 1" travel and 0.001" resolution would be sufficient. Various sources seem to have them for under $20.

For resonance testing, I assume doing a slow frequency sweep via PC sound card / speaker and measuring the amplitude with a PC-based microphone should work, right?