Zach I like the looks of the brace, what worries me is the long flat ends especialy if you are using spruce. that is the most important brace as far as keeping the correct geometry of the body to neck joint, over time, with the stress of the constant string pull/pressure ! if the brace moves at all,the neck could begin to rotate towards the body from the headstock ! honestly, that is not a place i would sacrifice any strenghth for looks or style.most guitars that need neck resets begin sinking in there. I would just make the brace full height wider , and the transition to the linings a more abrupt angle.. Jody
Zach Ehley wrote:
I didnt do it with any grand sceme to provide X amout of support. I have no real idea what is even required. I was just building some practice tops and started messing around, and thought I'd share. UTB, from what Ive read and seen, dosnt play much into tone. Its just a support beam. Not that this small reduction in weight will be some monumental improvement, but looking at the first top i made it just looked too big and heavy. Its similar size to what I see on most plans. I could have just made it thinner, but whats the fun in that. Plus this is something you can see through the soundhole. Some may think its ugly, but that will always happen. I read a lot about people bracing too heavy and some wanting to reduce as much mass as possible. Other than just show and tell, my only point is that this shape will be stiffer when weights are equal. Nothing more, nothing less.