X-BRACE CONVERSIONS FAQ
First of all… why? Aren’t these low-quality guitars?
There’s some nuance to this — yes, they were built in massive factory environments that did not encourage great craftsmanship from the assemblers. They often needed repair before they were ever even sold as “new”, but guitars are and always have been the sum of craftsmanship and materials. What Harmony, Silvertone, Gibson (sometimes), etc. lacked in craftsmanship was made up for in spades with great materials — specifically the wood. So many of the brands in the early to mid-20th century cut corners when it came to actually building guitars, but the availability and affordability of high quality Spruce, Mahogany, Rosewood, etc. allowed them to use outstanding wood to build with while keeping costs down. While it’s sad to think how many of these guitars have been thought of as junk and been lost to time, it’s exciting to think how many are still out there brimming with potential. Not every one of these guitars needs to be given an X-brace conversion, but the ones that are end up being some of the best bang-for-your-buck instruments in the vintage guitar world today. It’s not about trying to put lipstick on a pig — it’s about helping something live up to the potential that its always had.
What makes them so great after being converted?
Let me first say that tone is subjective — there’s no objectivity in saying one guitar sounds better than another. One person may love the sound of some $25 First Act guitar and another person may love a '30s Martin, but neither are wrong.
With that out of the way — you’re not going to get First Act tone after an X-brace conversion with us. I’s going to be much closer to that vintage Martin hanging on the guitar shop wall with a price exponentially larger than what it costs for a conversion. While every conversion is approached individually, the general blueprints are based on bracing patterns of the most famous guitars of all time. No two guitars sound identical even with the same construction, but some constructions sound wonderful time and time again. Plainly put — we know what works and we have the past work to prove it. Not only will it sound closer to dream guitars of old, it’s going to play incredibly well too — great intonation, action set to you preference, brand new tuners, and high quality fret and fingerboard work so that it plays as smooth as possible with no buzzing. Lastly, you can be confident that the guitar will be as structurally stable as it’s ever been. Most of these guitars originally had poorly fitted joints everywhere and lacked the stability to handle string tension (at least as long as a well-built guitar should be able to). After an X-brace conversion, your guitar will have meticulously fitted joints and bracing patterns designed to withstand years and years of the effects of string tension, just as they were many decades ago.
What sets you apart from other luthiers doing this same work?
There are many, many talented luthiers out there in all areas of guitars. While I’d never consider saying I’m the only one that can do this work well (there are more than a few!), I can tell you what I bring to the table:
I am a one-man shop — the person you’ll talk to during your initial inquiry is me, the person working on every step of the conversion is me, and the person responding to any questions or concerns is also me. This means not only am I familiar with your guitar, but I’m familiar with what you want out of it.
I don’t consider my work done until you’re happy with how the guitar plays. If I send a completed conversion back to you and it’s not playing how you’d requested, I’ll do everything I can to make it right.