View Full Version : Transverse Bracing
I have an old Bacon Student oval-A with a single transverse brace and was wondering wHICH other builders have used this system, what are its common traits, and any other illuminating info the collective wisdom of the Cafe can unearth.
The old Bacon has a wonderful, if somewhat simple, tone to it. #No complaints at all.
Bill Snyder
Feb-13-2006, 7:37pm
Gibson used it on some of the old oval hole A's. My understanding is they sound pretty good, but it is not uncommon for there to be some structural problems 70 or 80 years down the road.
Paul Hostetter
Feb-13-2006, 11:19pm
The only bracing system Gibson used for any of their oval-hole mandolins from Day One until they phased them out was a small transverse brace just below the soundhole. They do come loose once in awhile, but fairly seldom, considering how many there are. Frank Ford has a nice illustrated description of that repair here (http://www.frets.com/FRETSPages/Luthier/Technique/Mandolin/Structural/MandoBrace/mandobrace.html).