GB2586275A

GB2586275A - A stringed instrument and a structural support arrangement for a stringed instrument

Info

Publication number: GB2586275A
Application number: GB1911778.7A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Stephen Lowden George
Original assignee: George Lowden Guitars Ltd
Current assignee: George Lowden Guitars Ltd
Priority date: 2019-08-16
Filing date: 2019-08-16
Publication date: 2021-02-17
Anticipated expiration: 2039-08-16
Also published as: GB201911778D0; GB2586275B

Abstract

A stringed instrument 10 such as an acoustic guitar comprises a soundboard 11 with a longitudinal profile extending between a first end 12 engagable with a neck member 13 and a second end 14 distal the first end. The soundboard is shaped and dimensioned to support a bridge member 15 on a top surface between the first and second ends. The soundboard longitudinal profile comprises at least first and second profile regions 17, 18 with differently shaped profiles to each other, preferably convex and concave profiles. A planar transitional profile region beneath the bridge may connect the first and second profile regions. A structural support arrangement comprising a least one bracing member may be attached to a lower surface of the soundboard and the bracing member(s) may be shaped to correspond to the profiles of the soundboard. The instrument aims to reduce the likelihood of soundboard deformations while retaining desired acoustic performance and repsonsiveness. A claim to a structural support arrangement is also disclosed.

Description

A Stringed Instrument and a Structural Support Arrangement for a Stringed Instrument

Field of the Invention

This invention relates to a stringed instrument and in particular to a stringed instrument having improved soundboard structural support.

Background of the invention

Traditional soundboard bracing in stringed instruments consists of small pieces of softwood glued to the underside of the soundboard. The purpose of these pieces of wood is to stiffen and strengthen the soundboard to help it withstand the compression exerted by the string tension and bridge torque. It also has an acoustic function in that the bracing also disciplines the notes played and allows them to sustain. Tuning the bracing involves exact placement of the bracing pieces combined with their final size, profile and mass. All such soundboard bracing exerts either a convex arch on the soundboard itself, or in some cases is just flat. Most have a convex arch of around 40' radius. The limitation of a simple convex arch is that, whilst it does withstand the downward pressure of the bridge in front of the saddle, it cannot withstand the upward pressure behind the bridge. These two-opposite forces on the bridge happen because of string tension. On older guitars it is well known that a pronounced hump can form behind the bridge as it tilts downwards in front and upwards behind. The typical method used to resist the tendency for the guitar bridge to tilt is to stiffen the area around the bridge in general, adding weight and strength. This is often achieved by using a large heavy bridge plate for example. However, such stiffening and strengthening of the bridge area of the soundboard has significant disadvantages. Firstly, some acoustic responsiveness is lost. Secondly, over time the wood used to achieve such stiffening loses resilience and the forces exerted by the bridge may still eventually result in a hump on the soundboard. A standard repair in stringed instruments is the addition of even more weight to correct long term tilting of the bridge It is desirable to provide a stringed instrument which prevents or reduces the likelihood of deformations in the soundboard caused by forces exerted thereon by the bridge. yet retains the 30 desired acoustic performance and responsiveness.

Summary of the Invention

According to the invention there is provided a stringed instrument comprising a soundboard, the soundboard comprising a longitudinal profile extending between a first and engagable with a neck member and a second end distal the first end, the soundboard being shaped and dimensioned to support a bridge member on a top surface thereof between the first and second ends, and wherein the soundboard longitudinal profile comprises at least first and second profile regions, wherein the at least first and second profile regions comprise differently shaped profiles with respect to each other.

Ideally, the stringed instrument comprises a first profile region on a first side of the bridge and a second profile region on a second side of the bridge.

Preferably, the profile of the soundboard transitions from the first profile region to the second profile 5 region at or about the bridge.

Ideally, the profile of the soundboard transitions from the first profile region to the second profile region via a third transitional profile region.

Ideally, the third transitional profile region is a profile region comprising no curvature. Preferably, the third transitional profile region is a generally planar or flat profile region. Ideally, the third transitional profile region is locatable generally beneath the bridge. Ideally, the first and second profile regions comprise convex and concave profiles respectively.

Ideally, the bridge is configured to transfer at least a portion of a tension force stored in strings attachable between the bridge and the neck to the soundboard.

Preferably, the stringed instrument comprises a structural support arrangement, the structural support arrangement further comprising at least one bracing member having a first surface for attachment to a lower surface of the soundboard such that at least a portion of the soundboard is encouraged to conform to the shape of the first surface when attached thereto.

Ideally, the at least one bracing member is shaped and dimensioned such that the first surface includes at least first and second sections, the at least first and second sections comprising differently shaped profiles which respectively correspond to the profiles of the at least first and second profile regions of the soundboard when the at least one bracing member is attached to the soundboard.

Preferably, the at least first and second sections of the first surface comprise first and second curved sections.

Ideally, one of the at least first and second curved sections is a convexly curved section, the other curved section being a concavely curved section.

Advantageously, as the soundboard comprises both a concavely curved section and a convexly curved section, these respective portions can act to resist both the downwards forces experienced at 40 the front of the bridge and the upwards forces at the rear of the bridge, reducing or eliminating the risk of deformation of the soundboard caused by these forces.

Further advantageously, the resistance of the bridge forces is achieved without sacrificing any acoustic performance or responsiveness.

Preferably, the first section of the first surface of the at least one bracing member is a convexly curved section.

Ideally, when attached to the lower surface of the soundboard, the convexly curved section extends along at least a portion thereof between the neck and a forward portion of a bridge of the stringed 10 instrument.

Preferably, the second section of the first surface of the at least one bracing member is a concavely curved section.

Ideally, when attached to the soundboard, the concavely curved section extends along at least a portion of the lower surface of the soundboard between the bridge and the second end of the soundboard.

Preferably the at least first and second sections of the first surface of the at least one bracing 20 member meet at a transition section.

Ideally, the transition section comprises a generally flat portion of the first surface between the first and second sections of the first surface.

Preferably, the transition section comprises a first end adjoined to the first section of the first surface, and a second end adjoined to the second section of the first surface.

Ideally, the transition section is locatable on the lower surface of the soundboard and aligned such that it is substantially opposing the bridge when the bridge is locatable in an operable position on the 30 top surface of the soundboard.

Preferably, the transition section is sized and dimensioned such that it extends a distance approximately equal to the width of the bridge, said width being the dimension of the bridge extending in the longitudinal direction of the soundboard.

Preferably, the transition section is aligned such that the second end thereof opposes the rearmost portion of the bridge of the stringed instrument when the bridge is locatable in an operable position on the top surface of the soundboard.

Ideally, the rearmost portion of the bridge is the portion thereof proximal the second end of the soundboard.

Preferably, the first surface of the at least one bracing member is a precision milled surface.

Ideally, the first surface of the at least one bracing member is attachable to the lower surface of the 5 soundboard by an adhesive.

Preferably, when attached to the soundboard, a continuous adhesive line between the soundboard and the at least one bracing member, the continuous adhesive line comprising at least a convex curvature along at least a portion of the lower surface of the soundboard between the neck and the bridge, and a concave curvature along at least a portion of the lower surface of the soundboard between the bridge and the second end of the soundboard.

Preferably, the structural support arrangement comprises a plurality of bracing members, each bracing member having a first surface shaped and dimensioned such that, when all bracing members are attached to the soundboard, said bracing members force at least a portion of the soundboard between a neck and a bridge of the stringed instrument to adopt a generally convex curvature, and at least a portion of the soundboard between the bridge and the second end of the soundboard to adopt a generally concave curvature.

Ideally, the stringed instrument is an acoustic guitar.

Most ideally, the stringed instrument is an acoustic guitar with strings attached and anchored to the bridge.

Preferably, the bracing members are wooden bracing members.

According to a second aspect of the invention there is provided a structural support arrangement for a stringed instrument comprising at least one bracing member having a first surface for attachment a lower surface of a soundboard of a stringed instrument such that at least a portion of the soundboard is encouraged to conform to the shape of the first surface when attached thereto, wherein the at least one bracing member is shaped and dimensioned such the first surface includes at least first and second sections, the at least first and second sections comprising differently shaped profiles.

Preferably, the at least first and second sections of the first surface comprise first and second curved 35 sections.

Brief description of the drawings

An embodiment of the invention is now described by way of example and with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 is a side profile view of a prior art stringed instrument; Figure 2 is a detail view of detail A of Figure 1; Figure 3 is an exaggerated conceptual view of a section of soundboard of a prior art stringed instrument including a section of bracing and a bridge; Figure 4 is a side profile view of a stringed instrument; Figure 5 is a an exaggerated conceptual view of a section of soundboard of a stringed instrument including a section of bracing and the bridge; Figure 6 is a view of a lower side of the soundboard showing a bracing arrangement thereon;and Figure 7 is a conceptual view of the relationship between bracing members and a bridge comprising a curved rearmost portion.

Detailed Description of the drawings

The present teaching will now be described with reference to an exemplary stringed instrument. It will be understood that the exemplary stringed instrument is provided to assist in an understanding of the present teaching and are not to be construed as limiting in any fashion. Furthermore, elements or components that are described with reference to any one Figure may be interchanged with those of other Figures or other equivalent elements without departing from the spirit of the present teaching.

Figures 1 to 3 illustrate stringed instruments 1 of the prior art. The bridge is configured to transfer at least a portion of a tension force stored in strings attachable between the bridge and the neck to the soundboard. As can be seen in Figure 2, the bridge 2 essentially acts as a pivot which causes the tension in the strings 3 to result in a downwards force at the front 4 of the bridge, and an upwards force at the rear 5 of the bridge. The upwards force at the rear 5 of the bridge, over time, can cause the soundboard 6 to bow or otherwise deform, cause cracks or other such defects in the soundboard 6, and/or cause the bridge 2 to become detached from the soundboard 6. Figure 3 shows a prior art instrument having soundboard 6 with a convex curvature of constant radius and corresponding bracing 7 exhibiting this curvature. The curvature of Figure 3 is exaggerated for illustrative purposes.

This is a typical arrangement for prior art instruments, however other known arrangements include flat soundboards. All of these existing arrangements suffer from an inherent inability to sufficiently deal with the upwards pressure exerted by the rear 5 of the bridge. Certain solutions attempt to deal with this upwards force by stiffening the area, for example by adding a bridge plate; however such solutions have a detrimental effect on the acoustic properties of the soundboard 6 and of the instrument as a whole. In addition such solutions often only deal with the issue until the wood used to increase stiffness loses its resilience, at which point the soundboard 6 will still suffer the aforementioned issues.

Referring now to the Figures 4 and 5, there is illustrated a stringed instrument which, in a preferred embodiment is a guitar, but it may be any stringed instrument which would benefit from prevention of deformation of its soundboard due to forces exerted by the bridge thereon. In particular, the instrument of the present invention is one which utilises a bridge located on the soundboard to anchor its strings rather than a tailpiece or the like. The guitar comprises a soundboard 11 extending longitudinally between a first end 12 engagable with a neck member 13 and a second end 14 distal the first end 12. The soundboard 11 is shaped and dimensioned to support a bridge member 15 on a top surface 16 thereof between the first and second ends 12, 14. As is best viewed in Figure 5, the soundboard 11 comprises first and second profile regions 17, 18 having differently shaped profiles with respect to each other. The curvatures of the regions 17, 18 as depicted in Figure 5 are exaggerated for illustrative purposes. It should be understood that the invention may be implemented in such a manner that further profile regions are created. Profile regions refer to different sections of the soundboard 11 when viewed from the side of the instrument 10, the regions differing in their profile when viewed from this side view. Side view refers to a view from a direction generally perpendicular to the longitudinal direction at which the neck 13 of the guitar extends; such a view is shown in Figure 4. In the embodiment of the drawings, the first profile region 17 is a convex region and the second profile region 18 is a concave region. Convex in this context is a curvature of the soundboard 11 which extends away from the back portion 19 of the guitar and concave is a curvature which extends towards said back portion 19. The longitudinal profile of the soundboard transitions from the first profile region 17 to the second profile region 18 via a third transitional profile region 30. The third transitional profile region 30 is a generally flat or planar profile region 30, locatable generally beneath the bridge 15 of the guitar. The flat profile region is preferably flat in the sense that it comprises no curvature. The guitar has a structural support arrangement comprising at least one bracing member 20. Preferably, the structural support comprises a plurality of bracing members 20, 21 which act together to retain the soundboard 11 in a desired shape when attached thereto. The bracing members 20 have a first surface 22 for attachment a lower surface 23 of the soundboard 11 such that at least a portion of the soundboard 11 is encouraged to conform to the shape of the first surface 22 when attached thereto. The lower surface of the soundboard is the surface that faces inwardly to the interior of the sound box of the guitar. The bracing members 20 are shaped and dimensioned such that the first surface 22 includes first and second sections 24, 25, the first and second sections comprising differently shaped profiles which respectively correspond to the desired profiles of the first and second profile regions 17, 18 of the soundboard 11. Namely, the first section 24 of the first surface 22 of the bracing members 20 has a convex profile and the second section 25 has a concave profile. Resultantly, each bracing member 20 is shaped to reflect the desired soundboard shaping at the point which that particular bracing member 20 is attached. When attached by adhesive, each bracing member 20 acts to retain the portion of the soundboard 11 to which it is attached such that the profile of this portion of the soundboard 11 exhibits the desired shape. All of the bracing members 20, 21 act in combination to give the soundboard 11 the desired overall shape/profile. Not all of the bracing members 20, 21 are necessarily required to comprise a first surface 22 having first and second sections 25, 25 of differing profile, only those bracing elements 20 locatable in areas which act to influence the area of transition from convex to concave 10 profile of the soundboard 11 may be shaped as such.

Advantageously, a soundboard 11 comprising both convex and concave profiles as described above creates a reverse arch behind the bridge 15 as well as the more standard convex arch in front of the bridge 15. The resulting glue lines resist the natural tilting of the bridge 15 both in front and behind the bridge 15. This helps to keep the bridge 15 horizontal and resultantly maintains the natural string rake angle over the bridge saddle. In addition, the resistance of the bridge forces is achieved without sacrificing any acoustic performance or responsiveness of the guitar. Further advantageously, the ability of the soundboard 11 to resist deformation caused by the bridge 15 does not degrade as much over time as would an instrument employing traditional methods of solving this problem which involve adding weight and mass to generally stiffen the area around the bridge 15.

When attached to the lower surface 23 of the soundboard 11, the convexly curved section 24, 24a of the upper surface of the bracing members 20, 20a extends along at least a portion of the soundboard 11 between the neck 13 and a forward portion 33 of a bridge 15 of the stringed instrument. More specifically, in preferred embodiments, bracing members 20, 20a are situated such that the convexly curved sections 24, 24a thereof extend from a first location 34, 34a on a side of the soundboard 11 to a second location 36, 36a generally at the forward portion 33 of the bridge 15, the convexly curved sections 24, 24a extending across a longitudinal centreline 38 of the guitar. As is best viewed in Figure 6, the preferred embodiment has two bracing members 20, 20a which comprise respective convexly curved sections 24, 24a extending in this manner, each convexly curved section 24, 24a extending along the lower surface 23 of the soundboard 11 from a respective first location 34, 34a on a side of the soundboard, to a respective second location 36, 36a at the forward portion 33 of the bridge 15. The second location 36, 36a is on an opposing side of the longitudinal centreline 38 from the first location 34, 34a. The convexly curved sections 24, 24a of the two bracing members 20, 20a cross at a location 39 approximately on the longitudinal centreline 38. The transition section 27 of the bracing member 20, whereat the profile shape of the first surface 22 changes from convex 24 to concave 25, is located on the lower surface 23 of the soundboard 11 generally beneath bridge 15. Advantageously, the convexly curved section 24 acts to lessen or prevent any attempted downward deformation of the soundboard 11 due to the downwards force exerted by the front of the bridge 15 transferring the string tension to the soundboard 11. The rearmost portion 26 of the bridge is the portion proximal the second end 14 of the soundboard 11.

The concavely curved sections 25, 25a of the bracing members 20, 20a extend along at least a portion of the lower surface 23 of the soundboard 11 between the rearmost portion 26 of the bridge 11 and the second end 14 of the soundboard 11. More specifically, each of the concavely curved sections 25, 25a extend along the lower surface 23 of the soundboard 11 from a first location 40, 40a at the rearmost portion 26 of the bridge 15 to a second location 42, 42a on an opposing side of the longitudinal centreline 38 of the soundboard from the first location 40, 40a. Advantageously, the concavely curved section 25 acts to lessen or prevent any attempted upward deformation of the soundboard 11 due to the upwards force exerted by the rearmost portion of the bridge 15 transferring the string tension to the soundboard 11. The induced stress in the wood of the soundboard 11 and/or bracing members 20, 20a caused by the concave curvature thereof may act to counteract at least a portion of any attempted upward deformation of the soundboard 11 due to the upwards force exerted by the rearmost portion of the bridge 15 transferring the string tension to the soundboard 11. In general, any bracing members 20, 20a located on the lower surface 23 of the soundboard 11 such that they traverse the location of the bridge 15 are formed such that they comprise the convex section 24, concave section 25, and transition section 27.

Generally, the transition section 27 is located on the lower surface 23 of the soundboard 11 and aligned such that it is opposing the bridge 15 when the bridge 15 is locatable in an operable position on the top surface 16 of the soundboard 11. In a preferred embodiment, the transition section 27 comprises a generally planar or flat portion of the first surface between the first and second sections 24, 25 of the first surface 22. The transition section 27 comprises a first end 31 adjoined to the first section 24 of the first surface 22, and a second end 32 adjoined to the second section 25 of the first surface 22. The transition section 27 is sized and dimensioned such that it extends a distance approximately equal to the width W of the bridge 15, said width W being the dimension of the bridge extending in the longitudinal direction of the soundboard 11. The bracing member 20 is preferably a one piece bracing member 20, the first surface 22 thereof being shaped to comprise the first section 24, second section, 25, and transition section 27. It should be understood that the second end 32 of the transition section 27 is most preferably aligned with the rearmost portion 26 of the bridge 15, but may be located at any position whereat the bracing 20 acts to counteract the upwards force at the rearmost portion 26 of the bridge 25. Most preferably, the transition section 27 may be aligned on the lower surface 23 of the soundboard 11 at a position beneath the bridge 15. In a preferred embodiment, the transition section 27 is approximately 35mm in length. Once attached to the soundboard, the bracing members 20, 20a result in a convex glue line in front of the bridge 15 of the guitar and a concave glue line behind the bridge 15 of the guitar, with a flat transition portion extending between the convex and concave glue lines, below the bridge 15, such that the flat transition portion comprises a corresponding flat glue line beneath the bridge. It should be understood that, in a preferred embodiment, the convex, flat, and concave glue lines combine in sequence to form a continuous glue line between the bracing members 20, 20a and the lower surface 23 of the soundboard. In some embodiments, the transitional section 27, and the third transitional profile region 30 which results thereform may be planar but angled such that it descends or ascends in a planar fashion from the first section 24 of the first surface to the second section 25 of the first surface 22 of the bracing member. In yet further embodiments, the transitional section 27 may have a slight curvature.

Figure 6 shows an example of a bracing arrangement which may be used. In this arrangement the crossed braces 20, 20a may be braces which comprise a first surface having both concave and convex profiles. The remainder of the bracing 21, 21a may comprise a first surface which has only one of a convex or concave profile, said bracing members having a flat section should they extend beneath the bridge 15. For Example, in preferred embodiments, bracing member 21a is shaped such that the portion 44 thereof which extends beneath the bridge 15 comprises a flat first surface, the portion 45 extending rearwards from the bridge 15 comprising a concave first surface, the transition between these two portions 44, 45 of the first surface of the bracing member 20a occurring at a location 46 at the rear of the bridge 15. Figure 6 shows the bridge 15 as a simple rectangle for illustrative purposes; however the bridge may be any shape which would be generally known to the skilled person. The bridge may have a curved forward portion 33 and/or a curved rearward portion.

However, in preferred embodiments, regardless of the bridge shape, the change in shape between the flat, convex, and/or concave shapes as described above of the first surface of any bracing members which traverse the bridge is at the forward portion 33 and/or rearmost portion 26 of the particular bridge used. As such, for a bridge having curved forward and rearmost portions 33, 26, such shape transitions may not occur at the same longitudinal point of the soundboard as shown in Figure 6, but may occur at different longitudinal positions for each bracing member. This can be seen best in Figure 7 which conceptually illustrates a portion of bracing members 20a and 21a of Figure 6 crossing a bridge 15 having a curved rearmost portion 26. The transition from the flat portion 27, 44 of each of these bracing members 20a, 21a to the respective concave portion thereof 25a, 45, occurs at the respective points 50, 51 on the curved rearmost portion 26 of the bridge.

It should be understood that, whilst the preferred embodiment as described above comprises a soundboard 11 and supporting braces 20 with a convex curvature which transitions to a concave curvature at the rear of the bridge 15, various embodiments are envisaged including a convex curvature which transitions to a flat profile at the rear of the bridge 15, or a first convex curvature which transitions to a second convex curvature of greater radius at the rear of the bridge 15. Further, a greater number of transitions in the profile of the soundboard 11 may be employed in some embodiments.

The bracing members 20 are wooden bracing members 20 and comprise a precision milled surface 35 22. Each bracing member 20, 21 may have a bespoke milled profile such that, in combination the bracing members 20, 21 act to impart the desired shape to the soundboard 11.

It should be understood that, in some embodiments, the soundboard 11 may be pre-shaped to take the desired convex and concave form by bending or pressing the soundboard 11. Thus the pre-40 shaped soundboard 11 may act alone or in conjunction with bracing 20, 21 to achieve the desired effect of counteracting the upwards forces at the rearmost portion of the bridge 15.

The invention is not limited to the embodiment(s) described herein but can be amended or modified without departing from the scope of the present invention. 1 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.

Claims

CLAIMSA stringed instrument comprising a soundboard, the soundboard comprising a longitudinal profile extending between a first end engagable with a neck member and a second end distal the first end, the soundboard being shaped and dimensioned to support a bridge member on a top surface thereof between the first and second ends and wherein the soundboard longitudinal profile comprises at least first and second profile regions, wherein the at least first and second profile regions comprise differently shaped profiles with respect to each other.
The stringed instrument of claim 1, wherein the first and second profile regions comprise convex and concave profiles respectively.
The stringed instrument of claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the profile of the soundboard transitions from the first profile region to the second profile region via a third transitional profile region, the third transitional profile region being a generally planar profile region, locatable generally beneath the bridge.
The stringed instrument of any of claims 1 to 3 comprising a structural support arrangement, the structural support arrangement further comprising at least one bracing member having a first surface for attachment to a lower surface of the soundboard such that at least a portion of the soundboard is encouraged to conform to the shape of the first surface when attached thereto, wherein the at least one bracing member is shaped and dimensioned such that the first surface includes at least first and second sections, the at least first and second sections comprising differently shaped profiles which respectively correspond to the profiles of the at least first and second profile regions of the soundboard when the at least one bracing member is attached to the soundboard.
The stringed instrument of claim 4, wherein the at least first and second sections of the first surface comprise first and second curved sections.
The stringed instrument of claim 5, wherein one of the at least first and second curved sections is a convexly curved section, the other curved section being a concavely curved section.
The stringed instrument of claim 5 or claim 6, wherein the first section of the first surface of the at least one bracing member is a convexly curved section.
The stringed instrument of claim 6, wherein, when attached to the lower surface of the soundboard, the convexly curved section extends along at least a portion thereof between the neck and a rearward portion of a bridge of the stringed instrument.
9. The stringed instrument of and of claims 5 to 8, wherein the second section of the first surface of the at least one bracing member is a concavely curved section.
10. The stringed instrument of claim 9, wherein, when attached to the soundboard, the concavely curved section extends along at least a portion of the lower surface of the soundboard between the bridge and the second end of the soundboard.
11. The stringed instrument of any of claims 4 to 10 wherein the at least first and second sections of the first surface of the at least one bracing member meet at respective first and second ends of a transition section, the transition section being locatable on the lower surface of the soundboard and aligned such that it is substantially opposing the bridge when the bridge is locatable in an operable position on the top surface of the soundboard.
12. The stringed instrument of claim 11, wherein the transition section comprises a generally planar or flat portion of the first surface between the first and second sections of the first surface, the transition section further comprising a first end adjoined to the first section of the first surface, and a second end adjoined to the second section of the first surface
13 The stringed instrument of claim 12, wherein the transition section is aligned such that the second end thereof generally opposes a rearmost portion of the bridge of the stringed instrument when the bridge is locatable in an operable position on the top surface of the soundboard, the rearmost portion of the bridge being the portion proximal the second end of the soundboard.
14. The stringed instrument of any of claims 4 to 13 wherein the first surface of the at least one bracing member is a precision milled surface.
15. The stringed instrument of any of claims 4 to 14 wherein the first surface of the at least one bracing member is attachable to the lower surface of the soundboard by an adhesive.
16. The stringed instrument of any of claims 4 to 15 wherein the structural support arrangement comprises a plurality of bracing members, each bracing member having a first surface shaped and dimensioned such that, when all bracing members are attached to the soundboard, said bracing members force at least a portion of the soundboard between a neck and a rearward portion of a bridge of the stringed instrument to adopt a generally convex curvature, and at least a portion of the soundboard between the bridge and the second end of the soundboard to adopt a generally concave curvature.
17. The stringed instrument of any preceding claim wherein the stringed instrument is an acoustic guitar.
18. The stringed instrument of any of claims 4 to 17 wherein the bracing members are wooden bracing members.
19. A structural support arrangement for a stringed instrument comprising at least one bracing member having a first surface for attachment a lower surface of a soundboard of a stringed instrument such that at least a portion of the soundboard is encouraged to conform to the shape of the first surface when attached thereto, wherein the at least one bracing member is shaped and dimensioned such the first surface includes at least first and second sections, the at least first and second sections comprising differently shaped profiles.