Luthier Richard Morgan from Tasmania just sent us a set of amazing photos that present his unique radial bracing system that he created and will be a standard feature of all his new instruments. This new type of bracing, permits the top to respond as fully as possible to the tones generated by the strings, contributing significantly to the type of sound his instruments produce.
Wonder what bracing is? Bracing is a system of wooden struts which internally support and reinforce the soundboard and back of stringed instruments, to allow them to withstand the stress applied by the strings with minimal distortion. The goal of bracing is to transmit the forces exerted by the strings from the bridge to the rim, while supporting the soundboard. Typical bracing systems include X-bracing, fan-bracing and lattice bracing, but many luthiers are known to varying these brace designs, as they seek to produce a sound that conforms to their concept of the ideal.
