duluthdan Posted November 30, 2012 Share Posted November 30, 2012 Tony from Music Villa in Bozeman gives us a look under the hood. http://www.acousticletter.com/gibson-acoustic-guitar-bracing-explained/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J-1854Me Posted December 1, 2012 Share Posted December 1, 2012 That was a bracing video! Thanks for the support. It really spanned the topic well. Although the delivery was a little wooden.... All kidding aside, it was interesting to see the differences in a side by side comparison. Fred Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
retrorod Posted December 1, 2012 Share Posted December 1, 2012 Thanks for the link, Dan! It is a very good explanation of todays Gibson bracing options.......and the effect that they have on the tone of the guitar.... Good Stuff! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j45nick Posted December 1, 2012 Share Posted December 1, 2012 This is good, but he doesn't seem to use the same terminology that Gibson uses in their descriptions, so I'm not quite sure which bracing is which, although I think I can figure it out. As far as I can tell from the Gibson website, almost all the current J-45 models--Standard, True Vintage, Legend, Paisley--have the "traditional" bracing, which presumably is more mid-range focused. The New Vintage and Custom models are described as having a "variation on the traditonal bracing", which I take to mean the more bass-focused top bracing pattern in the video. Not sure which bracing constitutes the "advanced" bracing that we talk about a lot here, but that would seem to pre-date the J-45, so perhaps that was the standard bracing for the J-45 from day one, and is the same as the "traditional" bracing in Gibson's description. I have a real problem with the descriptions on Gibson's website, in that they seem to try to create descriptive differentiation for characteristics that may in fact be identical from model to model. A bit of a "model" overload perhaps, and equally typical of all the current SJ variations. For example, the True Vintage SJ isn't even listed on the Gibson website, not to mention the five-star dealer exclusives like the Fuller's 1943 re-issue. And, apparentl;y, Gibson doesn't allow the five-star dealers to even advertise their Gibson inventory online, so the entire Gibson approach to presentation and marketing of their acoustic guitars strikes me as incoherent and irrational. Sorry for the rant, but as someone with a serious interest in Gibsons, I find this whole thing frustrating. And it's not like I don't have a lot of money tied up in Gibsons, both modern and vintage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mojorule Posted December 1, 2012 Share Posted December 1, 2012 This is good, but he doesn't seem to use the same terminology that Gibson uses in their descriptions, so I'm not quite sure which bracing is which, although I think I can figure it out. As far as I can tell from the Gibson website, almost all the current J-45 models--Standard, True Vintage, Legend, Paisley--have the "traditional" bracing, which presumably is more mid-range focused. The New Vintage and Custom models are described as having a "variation on the traditonal bracing", which I take to mean the more bass-focused top bracing pattern in the video. Not sure which bracing constitutes the "advanced" bracing that we talk about a lot here, but that would seem to pre-date the J-45, so perhaps that was the standard bracing for the J-45 from day one, and is the same as the "traditional" bracing in Gibson's description. I have a real problem with the descriptions on Gibson's website, in that they seem to try to create descriptive differentiation for characteristics that may in fact be identical from model to model. A bit of a "model" overload perhaps, and equally typical of all the current SJ variations. For example, the True Vintage SJ isn't even listed on the Gibson website, not to mention the five-star dealer exclusives like the Fuller's 1943 re-issue. And, apparentl;y, Gibson doesn't allow the five-star dealers to even advertise their Gibson inventory online, so the entire Gibson approach to presentation and marketing of their acoustic guitars strikes me as incoherent and irrational. Sorry for the rant, but as someone with a serious interest in Gibsons, I find this whole thing frustrating. And it's not like I don't have a lot of money tied up in Gibsons, both modern and vintage. Nick, my understanding from long discussions here is that J45TV models have the advanced pattern which is borrowed from the AJ. Advanced pattern = forward-shifted. The New Vintage is Wildwood's version of the TV so has the same. Standard 45s, 50s, SJs, Woodies, etc. have standard bracing. Some variation at the back maybe. Though advanced bracing is pre-war, it wasn't used on 35s or on original 45s. TVs are the first 45s to have it. Legend should't have it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EuroAussie Posted December 1, 2012 Share Posted December 1, 2012 The J-45TV bracing is clearly prettier ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zombywoof Posted December 1, 2012 Share Posted December 1, 2012 The J-45TV bracing is clearly prettier ... The tapered ends on the braces in my 1942 J-50 look like they were whittled with a dull Barlow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j45nick Posted December 1, 2012 Share Posted December 1, 2012 The tapered ends on the braces in my 1942 J-50 look like they were whittled with a dull Barlow. I've seen a lot of vintage Gibsons with a similar attention to brace-carving details. It does make you scratch your head sometimes. "Out of sight, out of mind"? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roughdiamond Posted December 2, 2012 Share Posted December 2, 2012 Would anyone have any info/ links to the 'floating x-brace'. Very interested if they were used on gibson models (particularly sq. shoulder models if there are any?) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zombywoof Posted December 2, 2012 Share Posted December 2, 2012 Would anyone have any info/ links to the 'floating x-brace'. Very interested if they were used on gibson models (particularly sq. shoulder models if there are any?) Don't have a clue what you mean by floating X brace. I assume you are talking about the large brace attached with a rather large bolt Gibson added to the top bracing in the J-200. There were two versions of this. One ran from the soundhole down to the bridge. The other was down futher asnd pushed up just behind the bridge. I guess Gibson was worried about warranty issues stemming from thet big old top and decided to shore it up. As far as I know the J-200 was the only guitar subjected to this thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roughdiamond Posted December 2, 2012 Share Posted December 2, 2012 Don't have a clue what you mean by floating X brace. I assume you are talking about the large brace attached with a rather large bolt Gibson added to the top bracing in the J-200. There were two versions of this. One ran from the soundhole down to the bridge. The other was down futher asnd pushed up just behind the bridge. I guess Gibson was worried about warranty issues stemming from thet big old top and decided to shore it up. As far as I know the J-200 was the only guitar subjected to this thing. Thnx for the info on the j200, didn't know that about them. Perhaps I should have stated something along the lines as the floating X used as an extension of scalloped bracing. The 'floating' refers to the fact that the X doesn't extend all the ways to the side?:unsure: Just curious of what the general consensus is on these - hype or an extra labour incentive added cost? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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