The road to building exceptionally responsive classical guitars is littered with failed attempts and discarded theories. As I experiment a lot I’ve had my fair share of both. But scattered among my failures are diamonds that have pointed the way to designs, materials and processes that consistently result in instruments deemed extraordinary by experienced professionals.
The bracing pattern outlined above is the basis for the most recent, and most highly acclaimed series of guitars I’ve built. I refer to it as the Spyder pattern. I seldom build two identical instruments, but all the Spyder braced guitars have this common conceptual beginning. This design is extremely flexible and seemingly minor variations, like the size of the center diamond, can have very discernible effects on the sound of the instrument.
When paired with a composite soundboard, and properly constructed, this pattern is a great platform for a highly responsive instrument.