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I like how they consider a guitar that plays well up the neck with the same power and clarity as the low part of the neck an innovation, as if custom builders by the thousands haven't already been doing that for donkeys years.

Ladder Bracing? Aside from the LTB, Colin, don't see it, and where is the lower bout spanning bridge patch?
As far as the groove, depends on what the thicknesses are. Personally, coming from graduated mandolins, I would rather do what I actually did on my guitars, taper the tops on the thickness sander and taper the lower bout edges more after the box is together and bound, but you need a Hacklinger gage for that. The difference between handbuilt and factory. One is always in a hurry...
My guess is the top is not fully braced, and a UTB and popsicle or double UTBs are to be added. Unless they are going to float the F/B extension, the area above the LTB is mostly useless anyway as a major contributor to vibratory tone production.
Why the groove runs way inside the kerfing on the bass side is a mystery to me. Maybe it's some of that corporate doublespeak crap.
They will have big problems with the telegraphing of the longitudinal bracing. Just goes to show that you can put bracing anywhere and it will sound like some kind of guitar as long as it has 6,7,9 or 12 strings. What kind of tonal qualities you end up with is another story and what the instrument looks like in 50 years yet another, but many have drifted away from "traditional" tone with laminated tops, double tops with epoxy/Nomex fiber, plastic backs, carbon fibre guitars, HPLs, etc, etc, in the quest for a "better" sounding instrument than traditional, but I stuck with traditional and it worked VERY well.

"Taylor has been doing the soundboard groove for well over 10 years now. It's not a problem."

10 years is not what I would consider "the long run"
When the top hits a dry spell it seems like the groove would be a weak spot and more likely to have a parting of the ways. The brace system just below the soundhole bothers me more. I just don't see it resisting the pull of the strings for 50 or 100 years.

I'd be interested to see what the neck block looks like. Average sized, or massive?

Alex

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Think this is just the 'new' bracing structure the remainder is not shown as it is the same old stuff, not that that is bad. But new?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w00ty90qZcI

Oh, almost forgot to mention, the lower soundhole brace is the same old classical guitar recipe. Tried and true for a few years.

Personally,I hope it sounds great. Innovation that makes your guitar sound better? I’m in.

Steve

I agree. But it really chaps my hide to see companies with great reputations stoop to shovel fulls of hoopla, hooey, and hyperbole to promote something new as is being done with this bracing design. It reminds me of the shovel fulls of h, h, & h that were tossed around over the past couple years regarding torrified tops (torrefaction time machines come to mind). It's totally unnecessary given the loyal followings these companies have. If I worked there, I would be embarassed to be associated with such nonsense.

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I’d be very interested in how it feels. I mean... my Martin just FEELS so much different than say my Halcyon. I want to know how it feels against me I guess.
When I read that it sounds really weird haha


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I would not worry about the grooves. The light bracing? That's another thing. Tacoma failed with that general design, and a 6 string has way more tension. That said, that extra plate might just be what it takes to prevent the Tacoma belly bulge problem.

I think Collin and I are seeing the same thing re:ladder bracing. Like a classical guitar this design has a huge lower cross brace which essentially cuts the 'working' top at that point into the lower bout. It also has two very strong braces right down the center which tend to divide the top into two sections with a ladder-ish braced design. Like I said I don't know if I am right about this but that's what I see and that's how I think about these things right or wrong.

By no means am I a ladder brace expert but I thought a feature of ladder bracing for tops was a lateral brace under the bridge doing whatever it does there. THis looks like it is derived from classical bracing patterns. There are inverse fan bracing patterns.

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Rorschach test,

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The name catgut is confusing. There are two explanations for the mix up.

Catgut is an abbreviation of the word cattle gut. Gut strings are made from sheep or goat intestines, in the past even from horse, mule or donkey intestines.

Otherwise it could be from the word kitgut or kitstring. Kit meant fiddle, not kitten.

Ladder...



Fishbone...

Definitely fishbone.

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Once in a while you get shown the light in the strangest of places if you look at it right - Robert Hunter

Ha! Fishbone, I like that

The more I see different bracing schemes the more I think they don't matter, X, ladder, Kasha, Lattice, double X, Symmetric Laravee, Old Gibson H, and now this just to name a few.. As Hesh pointed out some are easier for the repair guy to deal with some are better for strength and longevity BUT they can all sound good if treated properly AND I do believe we all hear what we want.. Most truly blind listening tests I've heard seem to agree we hear what we thing we should when we know what we are listening too..

And yes this particular one appears to be lettered with marketing BS

Kerry




As to what it sounds like: My prediction is that everyone will think that is sounds exactly like what they want it to sound like just like all other bracing schemes..... [/quote]

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looks like the cross dipole will be very mobile

At the expense of what, though?

Time will tell. No Doubt there are some cost-saving measures there. I think it is a smart marketing move to have some "technological advances". People eat that stuff up!

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Pat

Yeah,

and making that groove unsymmetrical may be an attempt to make it unsymmetrical
as well to reduce the phase cancellation of the cross dipole?

A couple of thoughts....

First, before I make a formal evaluation of the V system, I want to play a couple of them. That being said....

In listenting to several videos, from Taylor and Peghead Nation, my take is that it is unremarkable. Like others who have commented, it still sounds like a Taylor (or at least a post 1993 one). If that's your flavor, great. I don't notice anything that jumps out at me. I haven't played one, so I can't comment on how it feels up and down the neck, nor how it intonates. The question I have is does it fall within the normal distribution of good and better Taylors or is it an outlier which would be something different. The jury is out. I want to hear what these sound like now, and a year from now.

I'm thinking it's to allow for the armrest.

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Mike Fields

I would almost bet you are right Mike. That just makes me think that they are playing "silly buggers" as the Brits would say.
Have read all the drivel over at that "used to be Taylor" website. I noticed that some were wishing for builders to comment, but haven't seen any. Just gotta love all the "professional players" trying to make builder comments.
Myself, I wished I would have had the time to experiment more with this bracing...



Too complicated for "production" though. Couple of days ago I pulled out one and I was very impressed at the improvement after several years of not playing it. Must have been that mobile cross dipole...

i'm not a fan of the "Taylor tone" but i'd have to play one just to see what it brings to the table. it at least seems interesting. it wouldn't be what I'd do but it might work for Taylor.

gut tells me that this would give the mids a boost and serve up a bit more "perceived" projection but who knows? there's more to a guitar's sound then just the top.

on the other hand it might change the famous "Taylor-tone" and drive people away. again, just don't know yet.

Yes,

that is it, didn't cross my mind.
Somehow I thought this bracing would be for the cheaper end of the line with no such features,
but I just saw a video from where I learned that they start from the top end of the line with this bracing.