Under the top of every classical guitar is a pattern of thin wooden struts called bracing. It strengthens the top against the pull of the strings and decides how it vibrates. Traditional fan bracing gives the warm, complex sound of the Spanish guitar. Lattice bracing, a modern design, makes the top stiffer and lighter and gives more volume and sustain.
Why a top needs bracing
The strings of a classical guitar pull on the bridge with a force of around 40 kilograms. A top only two and a half millimetres thick could not resist that on its own: it would bulge behind the bridge and sink in front of it. Bracing gives it strength where it needs it while leaving it free to move.
Fan bracing
Fan bracing is the classical solution. A small number of struts, often seven, spread out from the area below the soundhole towards the lower edge of the body like the ribs of a fan. Antonio de Torres refined it in the nineteenth century, and it remains the basis of most Spanish guitars today.
A fan-braced top gives the sound many guitarists love: warm, complex, rich in colour, with a clear difference between registers. Its limit is power. To make it louder, the top must be thinner or lighter, which makes it less stable.
Lattice bracing
Lattice bracing was developed in the 1980s, most famously by the Australian luthier Greg Smallman for the guitars of John Williams. Instead of a few struts, the top is supported by a grid of very light braces, often of balsa reinforced with carbon fibre. The grid makes the top stiff in every direction, so it can be made very thin and light.
Lattice-braced guitars are typically louder and have longer sustain than traditional guitars. Some players find their sound less varied in colour; others value their power and evenness.
Comparison
| Fan bracing | Lattice bracing | |
| Origin | Spanish tradition, Torres | Australia, 1980s, Smallman |
| Sound | Warm, complex, colourful | Powerful, even, long sustain |
| Volume | Moderate | High |
| Typical player | Traditional repertoire, colour | Large halls, ensembles |
Where we stand
We keep the outward look of our guitars traditional and work inside the body. Our MPR-100 S uses lattice reinforcement of the top, which makes it louder and remarkably robust. Other models combine traditional bracing with our own reinforcements, and the S-1000 gains its power from a double top. Read about the double top.