This week I've made a great deal of progress on Mark's 8-String Guitar Bass. I'm calling it a guitar/bass because it will cover the range of both instruments. Mark's main target tuning will be the familiar DADGAD, with the addition of two extra bass strings proving a low A, and a lower-still D one octave below the 6th string. The scale length along the treble edge of the fingerboard will be 26.75" and on the bass edge it will be 29". I've braced the top and back, assembled them to the rim, and installed the curly koa binding and veneer for the Ryan armrest bevel. As you can see, the bridge plate is dramatically slanted, and the two x-braces are assymetrically skewed, so as to meet the corners of the bridge in a familiar configuration. Because of this, the rest of the top bracing needs to be re-imagined. This is a really fun and creative process that involves experience and intuition for how the top will flex and what sort of bracing patterns will efficiently reinforce different areas of the soundboard. Notably, on the right side of the bridge plate you can see that there is a large area that was left wide open by the assymetry of the x-braces. My strategy here was to reinforce the area in front of the bridge with a few flat patches and one strong brace running vertically, and to minimally reinforce the area horizontally with just one small brace off to the side. The braces below the bridge plate are a little smaller and lighter than what I might do because I want the top to offer good flexibility for some of the very low bass notes. Next I'll start work on the neck. More soon, Mark! :)
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