Quote:
Originally Posted by Ken McKay
Seems like a perfectly good place to put a spring if you are looking to recoup some free green energy.  And here is also where the graduated plate, thick in the center and thin at the recurve, works to a similar advantage. Or a sprung X brace. |
Good stuff, Ken. But why put spring in any brace? To me, that's just asking for future trouble. The cross or x-brace is under spring pressure from the soundpost, so why also stress the glue joint?
While on the subject of bass back bracing, some colleagues of mine suggested installing what amounts to a single angled long brace, which I have used with excellent results. It's up to our esteemed host whether he wants to post the pics. (Nick Lloyd used this same system in his 2009 Silver Medal ISB bass.) It provides the requisite support for the soundpost, but avoids the cross-grain attachment which makes traditionally-braced flat-backs so trouble-prone.