Actually I am interested in acoustic guitars, because sadly my old acoustic steel-string is a total loss. So I watched hundreds of Youtube-videos about acoustic guitars and the differences between body-shapes, brands, 12- or 14-fret neck-joints, tone woods and other interesting stuff. If you enter discussions about steel string guitars you will sooner or later be confronted with the “X versus V”-bracing discussion. For the patient reader, who is not aware of this highly explosive topic, I will sum up, what is the origin of this sensitive theme. When you read some discussions on Youtube or specific forums, you can observe, how older men in their sixties and above turn into aggressive bull-terriers as soon as somebody dares to praise or attack Taylor’s “V-bracing”. I say “older men”, because the more you read and the more you watch the more you get the impression, that the whole steel string-market is occupied by old men, especially when it comes to the high-priced league of Gibson, Martin and Taylor. The young generation is mostly tapping and knocking on cheap Takamines and Yamahas, while the wiser players are discussing the sustain-length and string-separation of models beyond the 3000$-mark.
So what is the Taylor “V-bracing”? Let us first take a look on the traditional X-bracing, which is used by Martin, Gibson, though Gibson is using a special version of it called Double X-bracing. A “scalloped” X-bracing is further optimized by hand to generate more bass and volume.
Until 2018 the steel string-world lived in peace. Then on the Namm 2018 Taylor-guitars and their luthier Andy Powers presented the “V-class”-bracing. According to Taylor’s website it would improve every aspect of a guitar: The volume, the intonation and the overall sound.
“While traditional X-bracing has stood the test of time for over 100 years, it creates an inherent trade-off between two key elements of an acoustic guitar’s sound: volume and sustain. A guitar’s top (the soundboard) contributes to both. Volume comes from the flexibility of the top, while sustain comes from stiffness. The trade-off is that when you make something stiffer, you reduce its flexibility, and vice versa. With an X-braced guitar top, increasing one comes at the expense of the other. V-Class bracing changes that. Now an acoustic guitar top can be both stiff and flexible in ways that produce more volume and sustain. And as it turns out, this innovative bracing design also improves the intonation of the guitar. Discover how we broke away from tradition and reinvented what the acoustic guitar can do.” (https://www.taylorguitars.com/guitars/acoustic/v-class-bracing/story)
From this moment a war between there X-bracers and the V-bracers broke loose. There is not enough space here to weigh all arguments of both sides, but the traditionalists say, that the V-bracing is killing the warmth and depth of an acoustic guitar for the sake of an even and sterile sound. Only the old concepts of Martin and Gibson, which both still make guitars like in the good old days and stick to proven methods, could deliver the true sound of a steel string. The other party states, that Taylor Guitars have improved the balance and sound of the acoustic guitar with a more even frequency response, while older guitar-models like Martin’s classic Dreadnought-model sound muddy and unbalanced.
Anyway this is just the background of the story, which I want to tell you today. I am often on Twitter nowadays and I follow the account of the infamous Hacker-group “Anonymous”, which has declared war to Russia and president Putin, when Russia attacked the Ukraine. They leaked a secret document, stolen from the servers of Taylor Guitars. It unveils another new bracing-method, which Taylor Guitars want to present to the world on Namm 2022. It is just a hand-drawn sketch of master-builder Andy Powers, but you can easily see the revolutionary character of the idea.
According to secret sources of Taylor Guitars this new “Z-bracing” will guarantee additional benefits compared to the already established “V-Bracing”. First it will enable Taylor to use less wood to stabilize the top of the guitar. The unique Z-design can hold the power of the steel-strings with just 5 bars. In times of dangerous carbon-emissions and global warming Taylor Guitars can reduce their ecological footprint. A guitar equipped with the Z-bracing will outperform every old and new design of Martin and Gibson regarding transparency and volume. The reason for the superiority of the upcoming Taylor Z-line is another marvellous feature. When a note is played or a chord strummed on a Z-guitar, the generated overtones and all other subtle ingredients of the tone are transported along the Z-bracing to an additional sound hole at the side of the guitar. Gibson did the same on their “New generation”-line up, but they just did it not right, because they paired it with their outdated X-bracing. Because of this misconception all of those nice, warm overtones are dying inside the guitar. But with the new Taylor-design all the good harmonics are coming out off that side-hole and hit directly the ear of the player. In fact the classic sound hole on the top of the guitar is only left for aesthetic reasons. One luthier of Taylor Guitars has boasted on his Twitter-account, that he had the chance to play a prototype of the new Z-design and he was totally floored by the sound: “In my whole life as a luthier and guitar-player I have never experienced a sound like this. Imagine the best D-28, but with double volume, which could easily compete with a grand piano. And the string-separation is not from this earth, it reminds me on a Russian Balalaika. The notes pop out that precise and fast.”
The next episode of this blog will feature an in-depth review of Taylor’s 717 Builder’s edition, model equipped with the infamous “V-bracing”.
Visit me on Youtube and watch me playing “Stairway to heaven” on my old steel string.
Heartscore's thoughts about music, gear and recording 
Personally, I have never been that impressed by Taylor guitars though I dare say they must be doing something right for many people to buy them. This whole bracing malarkey I cannot be one hundred per cent if it works or not but obviously, it’s used for structural supporting purposes. When it comes to acoustic guitars I certainly have never heard any of them sound as LOUD! as a Martin and I do believe they are a company that is forever bragging about their bracing technique.
I certainly would not put Takamines and Yamahas out of the equation because they also make guitars that go into the 3K price range as well. But like most models, they also make a budget and mid tear range also. Personally, I think 800 to 1400 Euro will get you a top quality sounding acoustic guitar. Anything higher in price the diminishing returns will get lower and lower.
The last paragraph of this article was an April’s fool 🙂 I was inspired to write this article, because I have tested a Taylor in the 3k price-range and it was really a bad experience, though the basic sound of the guitar was really nice. But the fretwork and set-up was horrible, especially for this price. It goes back to the shop, but I will write a critical review next month about it. I would like to try a Martin, but the traditional models like the D-28 are even more expensive than this Taylor and in the same league like a Gibson J-200. The next guitar, which will arrive here is in the price-range, which you are recommending, and I am curious, if it can beat the Taylor. I am not in a hurry to buy a new acoustic, so I will spend probably some time to find the right one.
Personally, I would forget about vintage guitars and go for something around the 800 – 1400 Euro mark but if choosing a Martin you will have to spend around 2-3 grand. But certainly don’t underestimate Yamaha’s ARE LL range they are Gorgeous.
interesting article! Would you be able to hear the difference between the two kinds of bracing? A blindfolded test?
I doubt it, but it would be an interesting challenge