OM Crossover Sunburst Cutaway

[Dave Bagwill]

Do you think that 'tighter' sound will mellow a bit over time?

A comparison clip between your regular nylon and the 14 fret nylon would be enlightening if you find the time.

[John Parchem]

Do you think that 'tighter' sound will mellow a bit over time?

A comparison clip between your regular nylon and the 14 fret nylon would be enlightening if you find the time.

My 14 fret nylon is long gone. I do not think it will mellow relative to the 12 fret. The difference is the bridge is pulled off the center of the lower bout which also is closer to stiffer braces. I am not saying it is a bad sound. Just a little tighter. I find the same with steel string guitars. a 14 fret join pulls the bridge up to a stiffer part of the top. People are quite happy with 14th fret joins on a SS. With a SS I say the opposite, a 12th fret join makes a mellower tone. The difference in sound is not that different from an X brace pulled closer or farther from the sound hole in a steel string. The farther down the X brace is the stiffer the top is at the bridge.

[Dave Bagwill]

Understood, thanks.

[Herman]

Dave, I used this design to approach a classical guitar sound. That means the bridge should be in the position it is placed nowadays on classicals. With an OM body, 12 fret neck and a scale of 650 mm, all falls in place. That it is why it sounds just like a classical. And that was the goal.

Tomorrow I take this one to the local music shop and see if they want to sell it for me. The 12 string that hangs there for the last 4 month, I will sell on an international site next week. I did that before twice, and for those it worked fine. Sold smooth, for a good price.
Herman

[Dave Bagwill]

I've often wondered if there has been a successful x-braced classical guitar? There have been good Kasha-braced classical, and the Smallman lattice-braced ones as well and probably others, but x-braced? Why could that not be tweaked to work with nylon strings?

[Herman]

I think that can be done. If all is thinned down properly, it will sound.
So Dave , go for it....

[John Parchem]

I've often wondered if there has been a successful x-braced classical guitar? There have been good Kasha-braced classical, and the Smallman lattice-braced ones as well and probably others, but x-braced? Why could that not be tweaked to work with nylon strings?

Martin made an X braced nylon string. It never caught on. There is nothing wrong with an x brace nylon string. The top needs to be thinner, keep the x brace close to the same height maybe a tad taller. The issue is nylon strings have half the energy of steel string guitars so the thinner top really helps as it reduces the mass of the top. However the body resonance wants to be 10 to 20 Hz higher than a responsive steel string. Where steel string guitars have great trebles and need work to support the bass, Nylon string guitars need support for the trebles, the bass is usually good. So a thinner top, A 2.7 mm steel string top would be around a 2.2 mm top for my nylon string. Thinning the top that much removes stiffness; that is why I suggest a taller X brace to compensate.

My falcate braced guitars are really pretty close to an x braced guitar. I like its sound for a classical.