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Lattice Bracing After getting many inquires from players asking about lattice bracing, I decided to add this page. I realized that many players are not up to date on the recent developments in this area. When the term "lattice-bracing" comes up, many classical guitarists immediately think of Greg Smallman, and the type of guitar he prototyped over 30 years ago. His guitar design was revolutionary at that time, and it has proven itself over the decades, as many leading players (like John Williams) chose to perform on his guitars. Many luthiers followed in Smallman's footsteps, leading to the "Australian School" of classical guitar making. The Aussie lattice concept is that the guitar soundboard should be extremely thin (1.5mm or less) and supported with a light, rigid, carbon fibre lattice structure. The back and sides must be thick, laminated structures, to inhibit vibrational loss into those areas. The neck must be very rigid to ensure that the energy of the strings is not wasted as neck vibration, and instead goes to the soundboard, producing more volume. Soundports are often used with this system so that the player can hear the instrument better, especially in ensemble situations, as this type of design tends to project the sound away from the player. Although the Smallman type of lattice braced guitar can be very loud, many players have criticized it for its tonal quality, often being described as "tinny" or metalic sounding, or perhaps "nasal," or "banjoey" in quality. The vast majority of classical guitar players still prefer the tonal quality of the traditional fan braced guitar, but many still appreciate the Smallman style lattice for ease of playability, and big voice for the concert hall.
Dominelli "Hybrid" Lattice This desire to get more volume out of the classical guitar, yet maintain as much of the traditional tone quality as possible, has led to refinements in the lattice bracing concept by myself and many other luthiers. I prefer to call this new type of bracing "hybrid lattice" bracing. It incorporates a lattice bracing design within the context of a traditionally made guitar. In many respects, the hybrid lattice, in the hands of an experienced luthier, has the best of both worlds - traditional tonal quality combined with more volume and ease of playability. The Dominelli hybrid lattice bracing system is all wood, and uses no carbon fibre in the soundboard. The exclusion of carbon fibre in the design is not for reasons of economy; it is well known now that carbon fibre (although extremely stiff, light and stable) is detrimental to tone quality. Carbon fiber works fine as a structural agent, but where sound is concerned, wood bracing (especially spruce) is a superior material. The lattice structure is glued into place with hide glue, not epoxy. Hide glue has proven itself as the best adhesive for musical instruments for centuries. Hide glue is also the best adhesive from the perspective of repairability, should the guitar ever get accidentally damaged, or need restorative work. Other features: Soundports, graphite reinforced neck, and laminated sides are features that I often incorporate with the Dominelli hybrid lattice, and with my traditional fan braced guitars, depending on the needs of the player. This concludes my blurb on lattice bracing for now. I'll be updating this page with more information and some photos soon. -Marcus |