Braces are wooden bars or strips used to create curvature and reinforcement to the thin plates that make up the guitar body. The top is reinforced to allow it to withstand the string tension. I like to think of it as becoming one thing with all its various bars, braces and patches, bracing is a process that captures the soundboard in a way that turns it from a thin plate into a spring, from a board into a soundboard. The locking of certain curvature into the top using humidity, dished bases and carefully selected brace wood adds strength where needed without excessive weight. The following photos will show a few insights to my bracing techniques and my thoughts about them.
