Czeiszperger
GUITARS
My Philosophy
Top bracing
My bracing pattern attempts to build on the best aspects of the traditional X brace while correcting some of its shortcomings. The original inspiration of my design comes from the German Latticed braced classical guitar. These guitars are constructed using a lattice lamination of balsa and carbon fiber. In the last several years there have been only a handful of US makers using variations of this approach on steel string guitars. My unique spruce lattice bracing design covers a larger surface of the top with support structure than a typical X brace. Because a larger surface area of the top is supported, all the braces can be very small, and the top itself can be made thinner. The bridge plate is also stabilized in a diamond shaped area if the bracing to prevent excessive rotation and bulging. By braces also do not go all the way to the sides in the lower bout. The top is very stiff in the center which promotes great trebles and long sustain, and loose and flexible at the edges which promotes great bass. The end result is a very light, ultra-responsive, top that is also structurally very strong. It provides fantastic projection with a light string touch. You also have great note separation and sustain all the way up the neck.
Sound hole
The first thing that people obviously notice about my guitars is that my signature models don’t have a sound hole in the top. There are several reasons for this. The first is that the top is the primary sound-producing part of the guitar. To give up this sound-producing real estate for a sound hole is to sacrifice some of its potential. The other issue is that a hole right in the center of the area of highest tension greatly weakens the top. Therefore, you have to add significant areas of additional bracing to compensate for this weakness. In a “normal” guitar with a front sound hole the acoustically active area of the top is below the sound hole. The rest of the top contributes minimally to sound creation.
In my guitars the whole area of the top can be lightly braced and acoustically active creating the maximum potential for great sound. The other nice side effect of locating my sound holes on the side of the guitar is that the player has an immediate feedback on the sound produced by the guitar. After playing my guitars a front sound hole guitar sounds like listening to a stereo with the speakers facing away from you. You can still hear it but the sound is not as direct. This is why even in my occasional front sound hole models, I add a side sound port to provide some feedback to the player. I believe that a side sound port also frees up the top slightly to act as an air-pump as it moves in and out to vibrations. There is less air-pressure on the top and therefore freer movement. What about the projection to the front with a side sound hole guitar? Czeiszperger Guitars project far greater to the front than any guitar you’ve ever played.
Double Sides
To give my guitars great stability and reduce the chances of future neck re-sets being needed, I like to use double the sides. I disagree that very thin sides are needed for a guitar to sound good. In fact, I believe that the opposite can be true. I think that thin sides can allow some of the guitar’s energy to dissipate. Using two layers of wood glued together provides an exceedingly stiff side that allows the top to be lighter and to do its job of creating sound. Think of the job of guitar sides as being similar to the rim of a drum. The drum side’s job is to be stiff to allow the thin top to vibrate.
I also believe that a distortion of the upper bout is one of the primary reasons for neck re-sets being needed, (along with top failure/ distortion). This doubling of the sides also allows me to use side sound holes without sacrificing the structural integrity of the guitar. I also sometimes use a larger bent member in place of the typical kerfing in the area of the side sound hole in order to strengthen this area. This heavier side technique runs contrary to the construction of those pre-war Martins I talked about earlier, but it works. If you have a light, stiff, dynamic, top, it will vibrate the whole guitar. My double sides are also much more resistant to cracking and should help the guitar have a long life. The double side technique is time consuming and obviously requires twice the material, but it is worth it to create a great guitar.