LOOSE BRACINGS
Guitar Owner : “ hey man, when strumming the guitar, i heard rattling sounds from the guitar body .”
Maestro Guitars Sfaff: “ ( after strumming a few chords) YEA~~~, i suspect the guitar bracings are loosen. Tell you what... please leave the guitar here, i will deliver the guitar to our guitar workshop and let our technician to confirm the culprit. Once confirmed , he will give you a call.
(At the workshop) Gotcha...
What is guitar bracings?
Guitar bracings are the internal reinforcement or support of a guitar top and back.
It serves 2 functions:
- To keep the guitar from collapsing or deform from string tensions
(Note: total tension of a set of light gauge acoustic steel strings is about 70+ kg, medium gauge; is about 80kg;easily..... a set of normal tension nylon classical guitars strings is about 35kg , hard tension is about 40kg )
- To shape guitar sounds
What are the causes of loose bracings?
The cause can be quite complex.
Generally there are 4 factors:
1) The guitar subjected to extremely high and low temperature (note: ideal temperature is around 16.5 - 25.5 degree Celcius)
2) The guitar subjected to extreme low & high relative humidity (note: ideal relative humidity for a guitar is around 45- 55%)
3) Any accident due to human recklessness
4) Lousy wood glue.
In short, if your guitar fulfill any criteria as per above. You are risking your guitar into any sort of problems.
To Fix it:
- sand or scrap away the old glue.
- apply special wood glue on very thin spatula & push in loose bracing gaps.
- Use jacks (photo shown below) ; well...sometimes clamps were used, depending on the location of the loose brace
- clean away the excess glue before it dries.
- wait for the glue to dry up
FAQ:
“ after fixing it, will my guitar tone be altered?”
short answer: experience tells me ....yes but very subtle (sometimes,even better)
Long answer: What the heck am i suppose to know your guitar?!!!! unless, i tested your guitar before the bracings were loosen & after the fixed.
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9 Kaki Bukit Road 2 Gordon Warehouse Unit #04-34 Singapore 417842
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Tel: 6844 6030
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