What Is Bracing On a Guitar and Why is it So Important?

Every acoustic guitar has bracing and this bracing has an effect on the tone and strength of the guitar.

Different types of bracing will give the guitar a unique tonal character and some bracing methods are better than others.

What is Bracing on a Guitar?

Bracing is essentially strips of wood – or more accurately wooden struts – that are attached the underside of the guitar?s soundboard (aka top) and the guitar?s back.

Why Is It Important

The bracing is important as it adds necessary strength to the top and back of the guitar.

However important that bracing is for strength, it is also important for the tone and important that the bracing does not adversely affect the sound – in particular it needs to support and not restrict the vibrations of the soundboard.

A balance needs to be struck between adding enough strength for the guitar to handle the pressure exerted by the strings and so that any distortion is minimized and also allow the top vibrate enough to respond properly and produce the right amount of vibration.

When done well bracing can add to the sound of a guitar – and give the guitar a unique character. When done poorly it can worsen the sound of the guitar.

Scalloped Bracing

You might of heard of scalloped bracing before but maybe weren?t quite sure what that meant.

Scalloped bracing uses wooden struts that are scooped out in order to reduce weight and allow the guitar to vibrate more.

Scalloped bracing allows guitars to be louder and bassier than they would be without the scalloping.

X Bracing

You might also have heard of X Bracing – so what is this?

X bracing?is essentially bracing that makes and X shape on the underside of the top of the guitar. The ?X? typically intersects just below the soundhole and the ?legs? of the X are typically longer than the arms (see image to the right)

There are other wooden struts too but the X forms the main part of the bracing.

X Bracing is very common, structurally strong and is said to produce a balanced tone.

There are lots of variations on X Bracing as you can imagine. Martin is said to have invented this type of bracing and it?s now widely used by a lot of brands. For example, check out Taylor?s variations on X Bracing at the link below.

• Taylor?s X Bracing Variations

What Wood is Best for Bracing

Top bracing is most commonly made from spruce, regardless of the tone wood used for the top itself. The wood for bracing needs to be light but strong and spruce fits this bill well. Bracing for the top is the most important bracing in terms of the tone of the guitar.

Back bracing is sometimes also made from Spruce but is made from other woods too. It?s not as important as the top?s bracing so the wood used isn?t as important either. Back bracing?s main function is for strength.

Final Thoughts on Bracing

Bracing is often regarded as the most important factor that influences the unique sound of an individual guitar.

It can?t be seen from the outside so it hides away as a guitar?s unsung hero in determining its tonal qualities but make no mistake that each guitar brand puts considerable thought and research into bracing techniques to achieve a better, more balanced, more responsive, more dynamic and more unique sound.

Photo Credits

By Zanthorp (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0 or GFDL], via Wikimedia Commons