Official Luthiers Forum!

Robbie O’Brien has just launched this new video series on his website Lutherie Academy on Building Ladder braced guitars by me
Here’s what he had to say about it…

Brad Goodman, of Goodman Guitars, is a luthier who has been handcrafting instruments for nearly 50 years. He is well-known for building various styles, including: Archtops, Flattops – both x braced and ladder braced, as well as classicals. He specializes in reproduction-style guitars, particularly those based on the vintage Stella and Regal guitars from the 1920s and 1930s. These vintage guitars are famously built with ladder bracing and are associated with early blues, ragtime, and folk music. Ladder bracing is one of the earliest and simplest forms of internal bracing for an acoustic guitar's soundboard. It consists of a few strips of wood glued horizontally (perpendicular to the grain) across the guitar top, resembling the rungs of a ladder. This simple structure typically results in a sound that is often described as: Treble-friendly or "boxier", Loud and dry with less sustain and fewer overtones compared to modern X-braced guitars. This type guitar is Excellent for fingerpicking blues, ragtime, and folk, where a focused, fundamental tone is desired.
In this course he shows how to make a 12 string ladder braced guitar based on the Stella design. A six string guitar can also be built following Brad’s instructions. This course shows everything from wood selection to the finished guitar. It also comes with a set of downloadable plans. If you are interested in how to make a ladder braced guitar or just want to learn how they are made and the history behind them, then this is the course for you.

Learn about:
History of ladder braced guitars with examples
Materials used for ladder braced guitars
Models of traditional ladder braced guitars
12 string and six string scale lengths for these guitars
Wood selection – why white oak was used
Top thicknesses
How to bend sides by hand
Bracing design
Traditional rosettes and binding/purfling schemes
Dovetails – how to cut and fit the joint
And much more!!


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Congrats on your contribution Brad.
Its a proud moment for you.

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Wake up and smell the rosewood!

Thank you!


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What an honor Brad!

Good on you you must feel pretty proud

Cheers,
Bob

Chapeau!

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It's not what you don't know that hurts you, it's what you do know that's wrong.