jefleppard Posted October 11, 2008 Share Posted October 11, 2008 i just had a semi-pro luthier tell me that when a guitar sounds like its full of socks that overbracing is likely the problem. he suggested that the braces need to be scalloped further by carving them out (carefully by a pro!) with a utility knife. this would open the guitar right up. just the suggestion alone frightened me but does it work? talk to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guitarstrummer Posted October 11, 2008 Share Posted October 11, 2008 It might work, but not a job for a do it yourselfer. Not sure if the braces would be the primary cause for a sock-sound, though. I've heard that an increase in humidity can make guitars sound like that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nolongermike@gibson Posted October 11, 2008 Share Posted October 11, 2008 From a 10,000' perspective, he is right in many cases, but that said, I wouldn't advise anyone go after their guitar's bracing with an Exacto knife all on their own. I only trust a few people that I know to do something like that, and they are highly skilled luthiers. i just had a semi-pro luthier tell me that when a guitar sounds like its full of socks that overbracing is likely the problem. he suggested that the braces need to be scalloped further by carving them out (carefully by a pro!) with a utility knife. this would open the guitar right up. just the suggestion alone frightened me but does it work? talk to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ksdaddy Posted October 11, 2008 Share Posted October 11, 2008 I don't think I'd ever advise anyone to monkey around with the existing bracing. Some guitars are definitely overbraced when compared to others, but there's a lot more to it and I won't even pretend to know what I'm talking about; that's for the Rens of the world. I made a new top for a '68 Fender Shenadoah and I braced it how it made sense to me. It may sound like a million bucks or a million turds or it may explode before I tune it to pitch.... I have no idea. I'm far FAR from educated in bracing but I do laugh at those who can "predict" how a guitar will sound based on something like that. The best anyone can hope for is to make a top that is structurally stable that will still vibrate. And with luck, it will sound pleasing too. I wonder how many scientifically designed tops sound like pigsnot and some hit-or-miss designs sound great? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suburude63 Posted October 11, 2008 Share Posted October 11, 2008 This guy does amazeing tuneups on old Martins and new Martins . From what I know he does incredible work ! Heres his website you can e mail him and ask him. He would know one way or the other. Hes a great guy BTW!!! suburude Bryan Kimsey http://www.bryankimsey.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LesLawrence Posted October 11, 2008 Share Posted October 11, 2008 I've heard that an increase in humidity can make guitars sound like that. When the humidty heads north of 60%, my guitars seem to have a duller sound. In fact, the drier it is , the crisper they sound. Cheers, Les Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thermionik Posted October 11, 2008 Share Posted October 11, 2008 Have you investigated any other aspects: Old strings = muffled sound. Dead neck/body joint = muffled sound. Socks loose in the body = muffled sound. And also - has the guitar ALWAYS sounded dead, or has it got worse lately..... [and ksd - interested in how that sounds with the symetrical bracing - rather than Martin-like asymetrical] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guitarooster52 Posted October 11, 2008 Share Posted October 11, 2008 I would not get into sculpting until you are dead sure everything else has been covered. Humidity is a huge fact to a dull sound as far as my experience has been. They want to be at about 45% @ 72F. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ballcorner Posted October 11, 2008 Share Posted October 11, 2008 Give 'er over to da Red Green, my man and get the Olfa shave with a duct tape liner. Oh, ya, Billy got da blooz now - if yer no what I'z sayin'. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ballcorner Posted October 11, 2008 Share Posted October 11, 2008 I wonder how many scientifically designed tops sound like pigsnot? Jez da wonz what got dat pig snot dizeez, bro. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sfden1 Posted October 12, 2008 Share Posted October 12, 2008 Glad to see its Bryan Kimsey your talking about. Bryan is well known for doing this on Martin's, and has been doing it for years. He's probably one of the very few people in the country you could trust to do this. Hadn't heard he was doing it on Gibson's though. Shaving the braces to improve tone on an already built guitar was once fairly common, not much anymore, in large part because if not done properly and with sensitivity it can ruin a guitar. Not surprisingly, a lot of not very skilled luthiers were making some money "improving" someone's D-18, and long gone when the guitar finally collapsed. So, it's a fairly controversial thing, with many experienced luthiers warning against it (in general and not directed specifically at Bryan, by the way). But, as I said, Bryan Kimsey is very, very experienced at it and knows what the limits are. HE's also one of the ebst repair guys in the country. If it were me though, if changing strings, set up, saddle, and so on didn't work and it still sounded like it had socks in it, I think I'd just sell it and get something else. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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