Classical in Spruce and flame maple

[John Parchem]

Francis,

The inside is every bit as impressive as the outside. How does it sound, your bracing looks like it puts the whole top in play. The back also looks like it would contribute to the sound as well.

[Francis M]

Thanks John, It is 'loud' compared to other classical guitars with standard (if there is such a thing) fan bracing I've built. I've put this down to the floating neck as the fretboard is no longer bonded to the soundboard allowing the whole soundboard to react to vibrations. Similarly with the back plate. The brass pressure plate at the neck block provides a positive juncture between the neck and body. As to sound apart from being louder the sound appears to come from the whole guitar if that makes sense? I've used both normal and hard nylon strings (Savarez and D'Addario) both give a very full and even tonal range.
If I build another like this I'll make the neck a little narrower - these old fingers find it hard to stretch very far these days...