Great guitars have been built for centuries in a traditional manner and some very beautiful instruments exist using this traditional construction. Traditionalists however are overlooking some of the inherent problems in the traditional construction of the steel string acoustic guitars. Guitar building is being taught as it always has been and it takes some real open thinkers to break out of that box and address these inherent construction flaws.

What are the inherent flaws of the current acoustic guitar construction? To see the flaws, let’s look at the dynamics of the acoustic guitar. The acoustic guitar has a body that is braced on the back but with little or no reinforcement or bracing of the sides. The top of the guitar which acts as the sound board for the guitar is braced to produce certain frequencies. The top of the guitar, besides being the sound board, holds the shape that the sides are in and is put under a great deal of stress when the tension of the strings are added into the equation and the guitar is tuned to standard pitch. The bridge, which is where the strings are anchored to the top of the guitar, is pulled by the strings which then run up the neck to the nut and tunings pegs. This string tension is not only pulling on the bridge and top, but constantly pulling the neck of the guitar up and forward at the point where the neck attaches to the top and body of the guitar.

Several guitar builders have pioneered the introduction of an alternate bracing system in the guitar that takes the stress off the top of the guitar and leaves it free to act as a sounding board also changing the dynamics of how the guitars structure is maintained.

So what happens to guitars made in the traditional manner? These stresses are well known and cause the sinking in of the sound hole and the bubbling up of the top around the bridge, that result in a very high playing action over time. Not only that, as the top serves a double function holding the shape of the guitar sides and acting as a sound board, the one action inhibits the full function of the other. This movement is often compensated for by filing down the saddle and/or the bridge to lower the action until the bridge becomes too thin and eventually cracks. This phenomenon necessitates the need for an expensive neck reset to correct the problem, fifteen or twenty years down the road.

Getting back to our innovative guitar builders and their patented construction, well let’s just say, it manages to take those stresses off the guitar so that the guitar body, sides, and top wont move and therefore will never need to have an expensive neck reset. The result of this bracing system creates a guitar that has a great sound and stays easy to play. I know because I own one of these magnificent instruments. You won’t find it built on an assembly line by hourly employees. You won’t even find them in most guitar stores. These instruments are custom handmade guitars and there are currently only two guitar builders or luthiers as they are called in their profession, who currently use this bracing system. My guitar was built by luthier Jim Sullivan.

These guitars are some of the most beautiful and well built guitars in the world. Paul Yandell, a long time acquaintance and right hand man, of Chet Atkins (Mister Guitar as Chet was known) for many years, made the following statement, “Jim Sullivan is one of the best builders of acoustic guitars around! The quality and sound are outstanding! Anyone who is in the market for a great acoustic guitar should give Sullivan Guitars a listen!”

The other guitar builder is Paul McGill. Paul is well known for his classical and resonator guitars and has built guitars for some big names. Jim Sullivan’s guitars have the same quality but will run far less money than many of his competitors. Either way, if you are looking for a beautiful instrument with great sound, check out the work of these innovative guitar builders from Tennessee. Search for “handmade guitars” in the search engines.

By: Karl Bennion

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