Bracing design
Bracing is designed to cope with both structural and acoustic requirements. The former are due to the string tension while the latter depend on the frequency and shape of the soundboard vibratio modes. In analogy with the soundboard, the bracing design relies on the measuement of the elastic and mechanical properties of materials and their appropriate selection.
On my instruments, I often use composite bracing that allow me to push beyond the limits of conventional wood bracing. In this way i can obtain very mobile soundboards that can resist over time.
Falcate bracing
In some of my instruments, I use curved bracing. This particular geometry avoids to load the soundboard with an excessive mass and to make it too stiff by avoiding braces crossing such as in the case of X-bracing. This makes the instrument loud and with a unique tone.
