![The Build - Martin Mahogany Dreadnought Kit - Part 2](https://magarticles.magzter.com/articles/5213/383955/5dce354e1128a/The-Build-Martin-Mahogany-Dreadnought-Kit-Part-2.jpg)
As regular readers may know I recently embarked on a mission to build the nearest thing I could get to a Martin D-18, using the company’s official ‘Mahogany Dreadnought’ kit. As this kit is not quite a bolt-together affair but requires some moderately serious luthiery skills to assemble properly, I enlisted the aid of Bristol guitar maker Alex Bishop, whose tools and seasoned judgment would help my greenhorn guitar-making skills meet the mark.
In the first installment of this feature, published a few issues back, Alex and I laid the foundations of the instrument, joining the two halves of the back together after learning how to sharpen our tools properly – an important aspect of building guitars correctly. With the backset aside to dry, we turned our attention to the braces.
As mentioned, Martin supplies the kit with all the braces for the top pre-cut roughly to shape. For the uninitiated, braces are reinforcing struts of spruce that prevent the wood of the guitar top being ripped apart by the tension exerted by the strings when tuned to pitch, which equates to 75kg of pull for a standard set of 0.012s – quite a load for a flimsy sheet of spruce to stand up to for years on end. For reference, a hefty Fender Twin only weighs 29kg. So it’s important for those reinforcing braces to impart sufficient strength to the top to prevent it from warping or breaking apart. However, the devil is in the detail (as always), because the braces must also be slender enough to permit the top to resonate freely. It’s this balance between strength and resonance that defines the voice of the guitar. What’s more, the kind of playing you do will also influence how robust the bracing needs to be. It’s a good job Alex is an old hand at this because his judgment will help me judge how to tailor the bracing for the best balance of sound and strength.
ãã®èšäºã¯ Guitarist ã® December 2019 çã«æ²èŒãããŠããŸãã
7 æ¥éã® Magzter GOLD ç¡æãã©ã€ã¢ã«ãéå§ããŠãäœåãã®å³éžããããã¬ãã¢ã ã¹ããŒãªãŒã9,000 以äžã®éèªãæ°èã«ã¢ã¯ã»ã¹ããŠãã ããã
ãã§ã«è³Œèªè ã§ã ?  ãµã€ã³ã€ã³
ãã®èšäºã¯ Guitarist ã® December 2019 çã«æ²èŒãããŠããŸãã
7 æ¥éã® Magzter GOLD ç¡æãã©ã€ã¢ã«ãéå§ããŠãäœåãã®å³éžããããã¬ãã¢ã ã¹ããŒãªãŒã9,000 以äžã®éèªãæ°èã«ã¢ã¯ã»ã¹ããŠãã ããã
ãã§ã«è³Œèªè ã§ã? ãµã€ã³ã€ã³
![BASIC INSTINCTS](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/5213/1708933/MPMlY46Ko1716554046732/BASIC-INSTINCTS.jpg)
BASIC INSTINCTS
The sophisticated range of Swedish-designed guitars made by .strandberg* has lured thousands of players over to the headless side. But the company's new stripped-back Boden Essential model is its strongest play yet for the hearts and minds of mainstream players
![Second String](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/5213/1708933/sBvIB9aL_1716553429966/SECOND-STRING.jpg)
Second String
As PRS's more affordable USA-made S2 line moves into its second decade, the series gets a revamp with - at last - USA-made pickups and electronics. What took so long?
![PABLO VAN DE POEL](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/5213/1708933/pliVW8Gi81716553146589/PABLO-VAN-DE-POEL.jpg)
PABLO VAN DE POEL
When a band from The Netherlands describes themselves as 'raw, psychedelic Southern rock', it may take a little cognitive processing to work out what that might mean. One listen to DeWolff, however, and you will be duly transported to the 60s for some fuzzed-out rock 'n' roll
![THE BERNIE MARSDEN COLLECTION](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/5213/1708933/fTGNQAUsa1716552615812/THE-BERNIE-MARSDEN-COLLECTION.jpg)
THE BERNIE MARSDEN COLLECTION
With a fabulous collection of the late Bernie Marsden's guitars, amps and other highly collectable music gear going under the auctioneer's hammer on 11 June, we were thrilled to have the chance of a sneak preview
![LENNY KRAVITZ](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/5213/1708933/ne2PrIV6l1716552113747/LENNY-KRAVITZ.jpg)
LENNY KRAVITZ
Some 35 years since the release of his debut LP, for his 12th record, Blue Electric Light, Lenny Kravitz is back again with equal doses of vigour and vibes, using vintage guitars and the purest valve amps
![GEORGE VJESTICA](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/5213/1708933/PizpXRgr21716551673569/GEORGE-VJESTICA.jpg)
GEORGE VJESTICA
You may not know him at first glance, but the work of Stoke-on-Trent native George Vjestica has probably impacted some of your favourite albums and movies
![DICKEY BETTS](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/5213/1708933/S1yn6-n1d1716550402126/DICKEY-BETTS.jpg)
DICKEY BETTS
Emerging from the shadow of Duane to write signature hit Ramblin' Man, the Allman Brothers guitarist was a hard-living pioneer of Southern rock
![NICK GUPPY](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/5213/1708933/oT2xY-izl1716550275271/NICK-GUPPY.jpg)
NICK GUPPY
It is with great sadness that we report the passing of our highly valued amplifier guru, who died suddenly in April
![Lucky Break](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/5213/1708933/yNx8pJTlM1716550134770/LUCKY-BREAK.jpg)
Lucky Break
Alex Bishop blends old wood with new in an attempt to fix a severely damaged guitar headstock
![Tones Behind The Tracks](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/5213/1708933/vBB5zBmVh1716549877912/TONES-BEHIND-THE-TRACKS.jpg)
Tones Behind The Tracks
Cedric Burnside learnt at the knee of his fabled grandfather, but his latest album is a hill country blues masterclass on his own terms