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Gil Carnal Lattice Braced Concert Guitar
Cedar Top/South East Asian Rosewood Back and Sides
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When I
designed my top, I had seen only the video of John Williams showing Smallman's reinforced lattice bracing and treatment of the
soundboard. I had been working on racing boats using exotic fibers and glues, creating panels of incredible strength and resilience with minimum weight. I thought it was only logical to apply these concepts to musical instruments. My idea was to enlarge the vibrating surface of the soundboard, without separating the lower and upper bout with a harmonic brace. This is where the iconoclast in me came into play! I always thought that the harmonic brace of the guitar was named after the harmonic brace of the violin, which does not serve the same function. The brace makes total sense structurally in conventional construction as it prevents the soundboard from collapsing at the sound hole, but in my opinion it has very little to do with harmonics. The new technology allows me to create a larger and lighter soundboard encompassing a large portion of the upper bout. I had to refine the process and find the right combination of thickness and materials, but after a few tops I obtained very good results with better sustain, powerful trebles, good balance and very distinct inner voices.
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