On Sat, 24 Nov 2012 00:01:39 +0000, Nick Odell
Post by Nick OdellPost by r***@ronperrone.comAny luthiers out there who've hear of Andy Adams and his compensator
bracing system? I heard that there is an expired patent on this system
which turns the back of the guitar into a soundboard. Any info would be
appreciated.
Hello. My name is Ron Perrone. I am not a luthier but I knew Andy,
played music with him for a few years, and was there with him in the
shop in Shepherdstown, WV as he was developing the idea of compensator
struts. I played a number of these guitars and would give my eye teeth
to own one, if it should still be playable. In addition to having some
some interesting structural ideas they also had flaws. Contact me if
Hi Ron,
I haven't seen David Parry in recent times in
rec.music.makers.builders - and the post you quoted goes back to 1996.
Many current subscribers to the group would, I'm sure, be fascinated
to hear more. I would certainly be one of them! If you have the time,
perhaps you could post your thoughts and comments here?
Best wishes,
(Ron wrote back to me with more information. For technical reasons it
is easier for me to post his reply to usenet and he has given me
permission to share it all with you. PS - the patent diagrams in the
link are a work of art in themselves - Nick)
Hi Nick,
I was googling my way around the net searching for any guitars built
by
Andy (there weren't many ever built before he died) and blundered into
the old post to which I responded. Anyway back in the 1970's, Andy was
working on the idea to clear up the problem that so any guitars have,
which is that many great sounding guitars produce unbalanced muddy
sound
when you try to mic them. He went with the idea that the clarity of
the
instrument was a function of the stiffness to mass ratio of the sound
box (including the back of the guitar). He patented a strutting
system
that coupled the X brace under the top of the guitar to the back. As
is
well known, doing so as one would do say, in a violin, normally kills
the sound of a guitar, which is why no one builds them with sound
posts
like a violin. But he thought that it COULD be done and that the
result
would be a loud clear and articulate sound.
As we now know, others have conquered the muddy sound problem in other
ways such as using carbon fiber for instance and other methods which
cope with standing waves inside the instrument such as ports (sound
holes) in the side instead of the front. But Andy thought that using a
properly placed pair of sound posts could pull it off in a more
traditionally built instrument. As he experimented, he found that to
achieve this stiffness to mass ration involved using thin bracing,
slightly thicker wood for the top and back, and careful planing of all
surfaces, including - especially- the back.
Problems arose, I think, because (A) he never had enough money to
experiment and (B) he overlapped other experimental ideas into his
instruments which compromised overall structural stability. In other
words, he tinkered with multiple variables. This produced variable
results, and no 2 of his guitars ever sounded the same. A few wound up
with back necks that were really hard to repair. Also, he really liked
a
style of sound box that resembled some of the old Spanish instruments.
Very rounded shoulders, and an overall small, very round body which
were
deeper than most guitars today. The sound holes seemed large to me.
The
overall craftsmanship was extraordinary.
Additionally, once he patented his ideas for neck reinforcing rods and
the "compensator" struts, he took his ideas to a big trade show. I
did
not go, so what I heard from him on his return is second hand, and
knowing Andy's tendencies toward hyperbole, I really don't know what
to
make of the following. He said that the Ovation booth was right across
from his and that when people started comparing his guitars to theirs,
they became so upset that they took down their booth, and left.
Shortly
afterward, he DID receive a very direct threat from Ovation that if
he
attempted to market his ideas, they would sue. I did see this letter.
Living hand to mouth as he did, there was no way he could cope with
this
and pretty much lost heart in guitar making. He had other skills such
as
gunsmithing to fall back on.
In the mid 70's we bombed around the Shepherstown, West Virginia area
together playing folk music. We lost touch a number of years ago. I
know
he eventually married. He died a couple of years ago Nov 10, 2010.
People I remember as having his guitars are Mark Smith and Don Haerr.
He
built 6, 12 and 14 string instruments. The last one was destined for
William Bogel (sp?) of Spain, but it went somewhere else before it was
finished when Andy ran out of money.
See his patent diagrams at
http://www.google.com/patents?id=J6wtAAAAEBAJ&printsec=abstract&zoom=4#v=onepage&q&f=false
I own a double neck 6/12 string guitar built by Billy Connolly
(formerly
of Kramer), now also deceased, and building on Andy's idea, I later
modified it in a similar way and the results are stunning. But that's
another very strange tale.
-Ron