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Author
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Topic: Kasha guitars
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T.A. Núñez
Member
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posted 05-28-2003 08:25 AM
  
Hi amigos. I'm an amateur builder. Very amateur. I'm currently working on my first two guitars. I'm building in the Spanish tradition and that's basically the only style I'm really familiar with since that has been the bulk of my research.From time to time I hear luthiers mentioning the Kashy style or Kasha guitars. What exactly is this? sounds interesting. |
Matt Hayden
Member
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posted 05-28-2003 09:23 AM
The Kasha design is a new way of bracing the guitar that came about as the results of Dr. Michael Kasha's work -- he was a physical chemist at UFL if I recall. Luthier Richard Schneider built many guitars using Kasha's theories as a basis for the design. Gibson designed their mid-seventies Mark series steel-strings around this design as well. I haven't played many Kasha-braced instruments and so can't really offer an informed opinion. It seems pretty controversial, though. Some discussions I've read have gotten pretty warm. Below is a link to Jay Hargreaves' discussion of the bracing system, with pictures. Jay builds Kasha-braced instruments and is a partisan of the system. http://www.jthbass.com/kasha.html |
T.A. Núñez
Member
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posted 05-28-2003 09:41 AM
Wow, that's some interesting looking bracing. What's the purpose of the heelblock access door? Seems like it would come in handy to put a sandwich and some chips for an afternoon picknick with the guitar. Seriously though, what's it for? added volume when open? |
Paul Robinson
Member
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posted 05-28-2003 12:55 PM
Hi,
I have built three Kasha classicals and I am still playing one...To my ear, the Kasha has better sound and volume than a Torres braced guitar,however, I felt like it was lacking "something"...I designed my own system, with asymetrical bracing using a bit of carbon fiber and not much else. It was designed on the theory that "if it isn't there,it can't cause a problem" I'm still making subtile changes inside and it's getting better.... Matt has played at least two of these guitars and he seemed to like them...Hopefully, after Healdsburg, I can make time to build one for me...Cheers,
Paul |
Paul Hostetter
Member
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posted 05-28-2003 03:24 PM
Having been around for 40 years, the Kasha design ideas are hardly new anymore. I was told last year that Michael Kasha had formally backed off from his acoustical design principles because he felt that the traditional European guitar design, as odd and impractical as it seemed to him in the early Sixties, ultimately had a broader, more balanced and useful sound than any of the various permutations of his scheme. That said, I have played some Kasha-inspired guitars that I thought were really terrific. Steve Klein actually worked with Kasha before Kasha met Richard Schneider. Richard was living in Detroit then (as was I) and later moved to Kalamazoo to develop the ill-fated Mark series of steel-strings for Gibson. Not a high-water event for Gibson or Richard Schneider, unfortunately. When I first met Schneider in Detroit in 1964, he was building a few magnificent ouds as well as guitars. Jeff Elliot was his apprentice at the time.
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C. Vega
Member
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posted 05-28-2003 06:19 PM
I`ve heard that the Gibson Mark series prototypes that were actually built by Schneider were quite good but really lost something in the translation by the time they reached production. |
Paul Hostetter
Member
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posted 05-28-2003 10:00 PM
I never played or even saw any of the prototypes, but I'm sure Richard would have built something very fine. But - jeez - look at everything else Gibson was doing then. Eeek. Soon after, they were history. Richard endured some major psychological trauma over all that and quit making instruments at all for awhile. I remember seeing some wood jewelry he was making then, sort of in line with his amazing marquetry, but not applied to guitars. |
Rick Turner
Member
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posted 05-29-2003 06:13 AM
I visited the Gibson factory during the Schneider time, my company's instruments (Alembic at that point) were being distributed by another subsidiary of Norlin (who owned Gibson)& we were doing some projects with Gibson. The prototype Mark series guitars were very nice. The translation into production was dismal. Richard and Abe Wechter also did a series wood bound Les Pauls at that time. I think they're so rare as to not command the prices they should get since nobody knows about them. |
Randy Reynolds
Member
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posted 05-29-2003 08:09 AM
Hi Tom, I believe the Kasha idea revolves around a few key principles: First is the the idea of asymmetry and the possibility of having the frequency generation produced in a designed or desired area. That is why the bracing pattern is shaped like it is. There is debate about this but the concept is fairly clearly identified by Kasha in earlier writings. Second is the impedance matched bridge design where the bass side of the bridge is much wider than the treble side so that it can match up with the frequency zones and move in some coordination with the respective wave form caused by string vibration. Third and for me the most believable, is the idea of not running solid braces through the bridge area and thereby allowing it to acheive higher amplitude in response to string inputs. Again, this is why the bracing pattern aligns itself to the outline of the bridge shape. Finally there is a series of associated design features such as heavier sides, unique back bracing, counterweighted peghead, stiff necks, etc that serve to complete the package. It is possible that these features have more to do with a "Kasha" sound than any of the above mentioned factors. If you take these things conservatively, you can hear a difference in the performance of the Kasha guitar versus say a conventional Torres design. I like the sound and use it in a specific guitar model and will use the bracing in other models to achieve specific requests from a client who is looking for a certain sound. I have several Kasha guitars being used by local concert performers and they do seem to project and sustain well and to provide a trademark clarity. The criticism of some Kasha-Schneider guitars is that they seem to be "slow", that is that they generate their sound milliseconds later than a conventional guitar. I believe this to be because of Schneider's influence and his use of thicker soundboards and Redwood backs. At one time the Kasha idea was well received in the luthier community but became a pariah because of exaggerated claims, over-zealous promotion and some mix of political involvement by it's proponents. I believe the bracing and asymmetry ideas within the system work pretty well but they can be simplified a good deal and still generate a bit of unique tone contrast to the standard Torres design. |
T.A. Núñez
Member
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posted 05-29-2003 08:29 AM
Thanks everyone. I appreciate your input. All the possible things that can be done with a guitar amazes me. From wood to neck angles, to bracing. So many things to learn. So many experiments. |
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