Nova

'Nova' is a prototype guitar, made to put innovations to the test and to experiment with new methods. It features a new style of bracing, designed together by my brother Eric and me, the 'Lamellae' bracing, inspired by Lamella roofing architecture. Lightweight and flexible but stiff, the Lamellae bracing gives a very fast response and a loud and singing voice to the instrument.

For playability, 'Nova' is filled with special features: a bevel as an armrest and a fingerboard reach bevel cutaway make it particularly comfortable for the right arm and the left hand, and a radiused and bound fingerboard makes modern players feel right at home. The specially designed Walnut bridge is also full of features: it is very lightweight and has a slanted saddle that compensates for the rotating forces of the strings at the bridge, and 12 string holes for ease of string changes.

I certainly learned a lot from building this guitar, and I am delighted with the result. As a prototype, it is not available for sale, but it will inspire a future line of Modern Classical Guitars.