French Bass Brace advice

[Adrian Levi]

Originally Posted by Adrian Levi

I've removed the fat brace from the back and what a nice piece of old spruce it is . It will come in super handy for the top repairs that are needed.

The back is in decent shape and Ill be inserting a centre strip throughout which means Ill need to remove a bit of back wood.
Im sticking to Kens ''do it right first time '' advice.

Now for yet another question or two ( if Im asking too much please tell me to shut up )!
How many back braces should this bass have ?And also is there an optimal positions for them ?
I've seen basses with 3 , 4 and 5 braces before ?

oooook , no bites on this one

So now Ill try and be more direct .

'' Is the Venerable Arnold E. Schnitzer in the house ? "

What really interests me is the middle back brace seeing that it is directly coupled with the sound post .
Are there any thoughts on maybe using lighter wood to facilitate vibration to the back plate , or would heavier wood be better better for some reason , or is it just a simple matter of there being no definitives here ?