Guitar

Claim 2

A guitar having a body provided with an apertured top for supporting a bridge on its upper side, and bracing means secured to the underside of said top, said bracing means comprising: a. a first pair of braces arranged as a cross with two arms thereof disposed adjacent to the aperture in said top, and with two arms thereof disposed adjacent said bridge; and b. a second pair of braces arranged as a cross with two arms thereof disposed adjacent to said bridge.

Claim 3

A guitar according to claim 1 in which said arms adjacent to said bridge define a quadrilateral area.

Claim 4

A guitar according to claim 1 in which one arm of each cross is parallel to one arm of the other cross, whereby the area jointly defined by the arms adjacent to said bridge is a parallelogram.

Claim 5

A guitar according to claim 3 in which said area is shaped as a rhombus.

Claim 6

A guitar according to claim 2 in which said quadrilateral area is substantially fully underlaid by a stiffener plate secured to said top.

Claim 7

A guitar according to claim 5 in which said top and said stiffener plate are wooden, the wood grain of the stiffener plate being transverse to the wood grain of said top.

Claim 8

A guitar according to claim 1 in which said top is wooden and has a central seam along its length, the intersections of both of said pairs of arms underlying said seam.

Claim 9

A guitar according to claim 7 in which the bracing means includes further bracing so that substantially the entire seam from the aperture to the more remote end of said top is spanned thereby.

Claim 10

A guitar according to claim 7 including a stiffener plate secured to said top and disposed in a quadrilateral area defined by said arms adjacent to said bridge, said plate spanning said seam, and a strip of wood secured to said top and having its grain transverse to its length and disposed in spanning relation to said seam remotely from said stiffener plate.

Claim 11

A guitar according to claim 1 in which said top is wooden and has its grain running along the length of the top, and at least one strip of wood secured to said top and having its grain parallel to the length of said strip and disposed in spanning relation to the grain of the top between the intersection of one of said pairs of arms and the adjacent edge of said top.

Claim 12

A guitar according to claim 1 in which said top is wooden and has its grain running along the length of the top, said bracing including a cross brace extending transversely to said grain adjacent to said aperture remotely from the intersection of said first pair of braces, and a strip of wood secured to said top parallel to said cross brace.

Claim 13

A guitar according to claim 1 in which the construction of said bracing is symmetrical alonG the length of said body.

Claim 14

A guitar according to claim 4, a. said top being wooden and having a central seam parallel to its grain, said seam extending over the intersections of both of said pairs of arms; including b. a stiffener plate of hardwood substantially fully underlying said rhombus-shaped area with its grain transverse to that of said top and to said seam; c. a strip of wood secured to said top and having its grain transverse to the length of said strip, and the grain of said strip being in spanning relation to said seam remotely from said stiffener plate; d. at least one strip of wood secured to said top and having its grain parallel to its own length and spanning the grain of the top between the intersection of said first pair of braces and the opposite edges of said top; e. a cross brace extending transversely to the grain of said top adjacent to said aperture remotely from the intersection of said braces; and f. a strip of wood secured to said top parallel to said cross brace.