http://www.ryanguitars.com/Gallery/Signature/Signature-Slide5.

html

KEVIN RYAN GUITARS

Ryan Guitar Innovations

The Bevel
Ryan Guitars introduced the Ergonomic Bevel to the guitar world in 2002, and it has
redefined the modern, steel-string flat-top. The primary goal in designing the bevel was to create
a guitar that provides an unprecedented level of comfort in a design that radiates elegance and
style.
The design of the Ryan Ergonomic Bevel was the result of a year of brainstorming the
challenges posed by this innovation; mainly, how to achieve this revolutionary feature while
retaining sleek and elegant lines at the frontiers where it meets the box binding.
The key element was to have the bevel feather into the binding just above the waist (creating
the re-curve necessary for its flowing and balanced look).
But there is more to the Ryan Bevel than extreme comfort and looks: there is an acoustic
component to its design. The quality of the bass response from a guitar is largely (but not solely)
dependent on the sheer geometric volume of its interior: the bigger and deeper the box, the
richer the bass. But the sparkling trebles that are normally associated with a smaller-bodied guitar
are mainly the result of its narrower, more focused soundboard responding more easily to these
delicate frequencies. Therefore, one of the main functions of the bevel is to effectively give the
player the best of both worlds: a deeper box (typical on Ryans) for wonderful bass, and,
effectively, a smaller and more focused soundboard for shimmering trebles.
Not since CF Martins X-brace has there been a single guitar feature so copied by factories and
luthiers around the world. And let me tip my homburg to Grit Laskin, whose Arm Rest was early
inspiration for the Ryan Bevel.

The Ryan Ergonomic Bevel advances the evolution of the modern, steel-string guitar, and is
another step on the path to making a Ryan guitar unlike any in the world.

The Bevel Flutes

My Acoustic Bevel Flutes are one of the most significant acoustic advances I have made
since I introduced the Ryan Ergonomic Bevel in 2002. These Acoustic Flutes allow you to
experience unparalleled clarity, immediacy and transparency from your Ryan Guitar, from a design
that is unique, stylish and elegant.
When I invented the Ryan Bevel in 2002, it redefined the possibilities of the steel-string
guitar. Now, the Ryan Acoustic Flutes redefine the Bevel.
Through the years, I have had requests for sound ports in the guitars side and upper bout
(their typical locations). I resisted making these traditional ports for several acoustic, aesthetic
and structural reasons. With these Acoustic Flutes, I have addressed all those concerns. These
unique Bevel Flutes are the result of fresh thinking about the acoustic and structural
considerations involved.
The prime consideration in designing the Flutes was location. These flutes are near the area
which generates the lions share of the sound: that area of the soundboard just behind the bridge
which is far more acoustically active than the upper bout. And their unique placement directs the
boxs rich, interior sound along the axis of the flutes toward the players ears, optimizing the
acoustic effect.
They also had to look elegant and natural. The typical ports I had seen looked arbitrary and
inelegant, so I determined that my flutes would be integrated into the very DNA of the guitars
design and lines. Since they are integrated into the bevels structure, they add no weight to the
instrumentin fact they reduce it! And they do not require the additional support structure
necessary for the typical upper bout cutouts.
Are these Acoustic Flutes reminiscent of the vents in the edge of an abalone shell?
The mysterious, decreasing-radius pattern of the Chambered Nautilus? Or perhaps the iconic vent
ports in a classic 1950s Buick with its melding of the organic and stylized? Or all three?
Well let you decide. But what I think we will agree on is this: steel-string guitars have never
sounded or looked like this.

EO Bracing
The great challenge of designing bracing for a steel-string soundboard is to make the
bracing light and supple enough to create beautiful, shimmering tone while being muscular
enough to withstand years of 180 lbs. of string torque. EO Bracing (Engineered Openings) is my
innovation to achieve this tightrope walk between structural integrity and sparkling tone.
This innovation was originally developed for my 12-string. In that instrument, the bracing
had to be stronger than regular 6-string bracing to withstand the additional 40% string tension
created by 12 strings. So I conceived of this EO Bracing as a way to minimize the unwanted gain

in mass with the taller bracing. The result was so stunning that I immediately adopted the EO
principle for all my standard fingerstyle instruments.
The journey continues to design and build a guitar like no other in the world.
The EO bracing is a large part of that journey.

Acoustic Honeycomb
For a number of years the concept of a double-top soundboard has been gaining appreciation and
acceptance in the steel-string world. Ryan Acoustic Honeycomb is my take on this concept. I
wanted to retain a very wooden and organic sound, so I have chosen to make my Acoustic
Honeycomb entirely from wood.
The engineering philosophy behind a Double Top leverages the incredible stiffness of an I-beam
design. I will spare you the involved mechanics of the thing, but just know that the two plates that
comprise the Acoustic Honeycomb (just as in a Double Top) are separated by an extremely
lightweight core with the two skins, one on each face, bonded to this core. One of the skins is,
of course, the soundboard. The resulting plate assembly is phenomenally stiff and light. This
concept was common in the Northrop Aeroscience Laboratory where I worked in the late 80s and
mid 90s as a research assistant, testing fighter jet designs in our transonic wind tunnel.
In the popular Double Tops now being made, the core is Nomex, a phenolic honeycomb
material. In the common method in vogue right now, the entire soundboard is this bonded
assembly. The honeycomb is a section of quarter-sawn spruce which I laser-cut here in my shop.
My thinking was to instead leverage the marvel of this design only in the area immediately behind
the bridge where the lions share of the tone is generated and where most of the torque and
stress of the bridge is concentrated. The goal is to reduce the mass of the soundboard in the area
I call the Acoustic Crescent--that sweeping arc just behind the bridge and which extends to each
edge of the soundboard. This has allowed me to altogether eliminate every single soundboard
brace below my EO X-brace (I have kept all the EO Bracing above the X-brace unchanged).
Nearly light as air, this new plate bracing the soundboard is nonetheless stiffer than any
traditional bracing scheme. I believe it also affords the complementary benefit of quickly
transmitting acoustic energy to a wider area of the Acoustic Crescent. The bridge pins extend
through the bridge, soundboard and APP to anchor the string ball ends against a laser cut ebony
plate designed to be as small as possible. A pinless bridge is also very viable with this system.
The net acoustic result of this new Acoustic Honeycomb is to create a light, stiff and
consistent soundboard that is very responsive to the lightest touch on the strings. But it is robust
enough to welcome an aggressive attack to the strings as well. And to top things off, I find a
lovely shimmer and sparkle at the upper registers and partials of the notes, especially the trebles.
(For more information about harmonics, technically known as partials, please see my article on
Tempered Tuning).
The Ryan Acoustic Honeycomb is now standard on all Ryan Guitars.

Spherically Arched Back

The seven foot radius in the back arch of a Ryan guitar was unprecedented when it was
introduced in 1989. Its true spherical design creates a dome effect for acoustic reflectivity,
strengthens the back plate, and places the deepest part of the body directly beneath the most
dynamic area of the soundboard.
The typical radius for steel-string acoustic guitars has traditionally been 15ft.
Some guitars have a 12ft. radius, though the 15ft. dimension is nearly universal. But in 1989 I
charted a new course in guitar design, and established a radical, new back arch as one of the
defining characteristics of Ryan Guitars. The back arch on all Ryan guitars is 7ft., almost half the
radius common on other guitars. This makes the back arch on a Ryan far more domed and
dramatic.
And there are other significant implications as well. While working at the Northrop
Aeroscience Laboratory in the mid-1980s I learned that whenever a plate (whether an aluminum
skin on a jet fighter, or a rosewood guitar back) is stretched into a radius, the plate is effectively
strengthened, or stiffened. And the tighter the radius, the more pronounced this stiffening effect.
This meant that with a tighter radius, my backs would be stiffer (good for acoustic reflectivity) but
could also be thinner, since the back plate would still have the requisite strength to achieve
stability.
This radical arch also allowed me to achieve a little bit of a satellite dish effect.
The acoustic energy radiating from the soundboard would be reflected back toward the most
dynamic area of the soundboard, that area just behind the bridge, since that is the area located
above the center of the dish, or the deepest part of the box.
As I was working on this new back design, other things started to become clear to me: this
back arch would allow me to design the guitar with a very deep lower bout but a more traditional
depth at the upper bout (the difference between the headblock and the tailblock on Ryan guitars
is about one full inch). A deeper box maximizes bass response, but a guitar that was deeper all
the way from tailblock to headblock would be uncomfortable to hold and aesthetically awkward,
even with the more common headblock/tailblock differential of about a half-inch.
Therefore, my 7ft. radius allowed me to achieve this one-inch differential in a comfortable and
elegant shape, since the sweeping arch of the back creates a visual line from tailblock to
headblock that is compelling, balanced and visually weighted in the middle of the lower bout.
This look is not possible with an ordinary back radius that is far more flat.
Another benefit to this differential was that the upper bout, having a more standard depth,
made the guitar very comfortable to hold. The deeper lower bout is situated to the players right
(off his lap) while the part of the box that nestles against his body is shallower.
This ensures the best of both worlds: the comfort of a standard depth but the bass and voice of a
deep body.
The Ryan Back Arch: another feature establishing Ryan guitars as the benchmark of
acoustic innovation.
http://www.guitarbench.com/2009/03/14/featured-guitar-angelina-by-dennis-leahy/

FEATURED GUITAR. ANGELINA BY DENNIS LEAHY. NOW WITH Q&A

Model: Angelina
Type: 6 string acoustic
Year: 2006
Serial #: 001
Back/Sides Wood: figured Bubinga
Top Wood: Lutz Spruce
Neck Wood: curly Cherry (laminated, with Walnut/Maple/Walnut veneer center stripe)
Fingerboard: Katalox (including sapwood stripe)
Fret Markers: abalone dots

Bridge: Katalox (rotated 4)

Body Bindings: Katalox, with Birdseye Maple/black dyed veneer/Birdseye Maple purflings
Top Trim: none
Backstrip: none
Rosette: soundhole bound in Katalox
Body Length: in. 19-5/16
Upper Bout: in. 12-5/16
Lower Bout: in. 16-1/8
Body Depth @ Heel: in. 4
Body Depth @ Tail: in. 4-7/8
Scale Length: in. 25.34
Nut Width: in. 1-25/32
String spacing in. 2-1/16

I came to know Dennis after he very kindly contacted me about the interview I had done with
Adrian Lucas (see the interview here). I was intrigued to learn about the guitar he had built as it
was an amalgam of various novel ideas in Lutherie. I asked him to let us in on his project and I
received an amazing amount of resources: pics, MP3s and videos. But most importantly, Dennis
wrote up his thoughts on this guitar & its construction. - TT
When I saw that you had interviewed Adrian Lucas (and, I suspect that many American luthiers
did not know who he is) I got excited and wanted to thank you for your efforts.
Adrian Lucas is one of my mentors, though he doesnt know it. I designed a pivoting radial
bracing system, then, as I was in the process of building it, I became aware of Lucas radial X
design. I was very pleased to hear his results, because my own experiment was not yet finished
and it gave me confidence that I was on the right track.
This is one of those times where someone re-invents something without knowing it.
When my Angelina guitar was designed, I had never heard of Adrian Lucas, had never seen the
Ned Steinberger patent for a bridge system kind of similar to mine, and was unaware that
suspended bracing had been used before notably by Tilton, I think in about the 1850s.
So, I blindly reinvented several concepts to engineer Angelina.
Angelina was a proof of concept guitar even more than a prototype.
And, it was my first guitar. And, so far it is my only guitar.

Angelina was a pile of experiments, very far from the scientific method of starting from a known
guitars engineering, and then modifying one element at a time. So, by all rights, it should have
ended up as guitar-shaped, wall hanging artwork.
Surprisingly, it is one of the best sounding steel string guitars I have ever heard, and a dozen
luthiers and players confirm what Im hearing. Most noticeable to me is the articulation and clarity
of bass and mid-bass notes, and the guitar shines in dropped tunings (I play mostly in DADGAD,
and a few songs in CADGAD and BADGAD, or dropping the low E to C or B and then partial
capoing the other 5 strings on the 2nd through 5th fret.) Surprisingly, even dropping a standard .
053 DAddario Phosphor Bronze down to a B works pretty well, without a huge drop-off in bass
volume.
The engineering of Angelina was a first attempt at breaking free from an X-braced soundboard.
With deep respect for Martin engineering and all of the wonderful guitars that have been built
using an X brace strategy, I had an idea that the X brace is first and foremost a structural element
(to keep the guitar from imploding from 160 to 200 pounds of force from string pull.) The idea
began with, What if I could eliminate the X brace, and design soundboard bracing simply from a
sonic standpoint, rather than structural?

Angelina has suspended bracing (a pair of triangles a nod to architect Buckminster Fuller) from
neck block to tail block. Using a Tunnel Bridge and a tailpiece, all of the shear force of the
strings is removed from the soundboard, although the low exit holes on the backside of the bridge
do create a fulcrum, and so the soundboard does experience torque forces.
I figured an offset soundhole would allow more of the soundboard to be active, especially for bass
notes, and made a large (4 dia.) soundhole to enhance trebles.
The Pivoting Radial soundboard bracing consists of just a single, unbroken pivot brace, glued
laterally in line with and beneath the saddle, and rotated 4 as is the bridge and saddle. There are
a pair of bridge plates, echoing the canoe-shaped bridge, and ten sonic braces slightly overlapping
and radiating out from the bridge plates (a nod to Adrian Lucas.) The bridge is canoe-shaped,
purposely to destabilize it, to permit unfettered longitudinal rocking.
Angelina also sports a compound Venetian cutaway, a Grant Goltz-inspired adjustable 24 fret neck
(floating above the soundboard), a uniquely shaped, Katalox-capped, Bubinga-backed headstock
with straight string paths, and a built-in Katalox tailpiece in the unique butt of the guitar. The
feminine shape of the guitar was part whimsy, and partially to ensure that the longest string
would be long enough to go from tailpiece to tuner.
Immediately, on the first strum on Angelina, I knew I had hit on something special.
Im convinced that the concept will also make a very good baritone guitar, and probably a good
acoustic bass guitar as well. In fact, I am also working on a concert/parlor-sized guitar, which are
usually a bit sparse in bass, to see how well the engineering transfers over to small-bodied

instruments.
I should mention that Angelina sounds like a steel string guitar not like a piano or some other
instrument. I see the success of the engineering in expanding the breadth of articulate bass
capability, and without the soundboard-distorting string shear force (and, with further reduction in
torque in future versions of the tunnel bridge) the soundboard should last longer than other lightly
braced guitars. It even opens a pathway for luthiers that like X-bracing, in that they could shave
and scallop beyond what they would normally dare, in their quest for their sonic signature or Holy
Grail timbre.
I also have a big hunch that the suspended bracing, tunnel bridge, and tailpiece system provides a
larger target or larger sweet spot that may allow a wide variety of sonic bracing styles and
patterns to produce pleasant sounding and balanced instruments if the luthier braces lightly
because then the soundboard is freed to do its sonic job without being forced to perform both
structurally and sonically. Again, thats just my hunch, and it will take quite a few guitars to prove
or disprove that idea.
I was fortunate that Todd Lunneborg, who has written a couple of Fretboard Journal articles and is
himself both a luthier and a player, stopped by my house recently and played Angelina.
I did not get anything approaching broadcast quality, but I got some casual living room playing of
Angelina by Todd. And, Todd graciously allowed me to broadcast clips from the living room
sessions. I really appreciated Todds comment on the Luthier Community forum: Dennis 1st
guitar is killer, crazy bass but not overpowering and even mids and trebles. The mids and trebs
are right where I like em but he figured how to crank the bass to 11 and its still sounds even.
Supremo work for guitar Number 1, Id say!!!)

Questions and responses on the various forums about Dennis Leahys Angelina.
Q: How much does dampening the strings between the bridge and end-block affect the sound?
A: My first, quick answer would be not at all. I had envisioned that I might have to shove a felt
pad beneath the strings to kill any dissonant sound they make, because it is impossible to tune
both lengths of string (unless you had the strings clamped at the saddle, and extra tuners at the
tail.) But, they either make no audible sound or make almost no audible sound.
Every so often when Im playing, there is a sound that I hear, coming from somewhere I would
not call it a wolf note because I cannot predict when it will happen nor duplicate it (and I have
tried), and because it is more complex than a note and sounds more like a chord. There are no
parallel walls within the guitar box to create a standing wave, but the suspended bracing presents
some surfaces that may be propagating certain sound waves. Or, maybe I am occasionally hearing
some chord formed by upper partials coming from those short lengths of string from saddle to
tail. Thats why I have to say those strings may be producing some audible sound.
I know that I read some well-known luthier that mentioned this phenomenon I think it may have
been Steve Klein. When it occurs on Angelina, it is always a surprise, not unpleasant because it is
not dissonant nor loud, but it makes me look around the room wondering where it is coming from.
I laugh and say it is the choir of angels that I wanted Angelina to emulate.
Q: Could you please talk a bit about the inner structure in your guitar. Not the top bracing but the
brace going from the heel to the tail block. i.e. why did you use the shapes etc. that you used?
A: Ill try to answer your question as asked, but then Ill tell you what Im doing on the next one
My concerns were:
That, since there is only a single brace holding a dome or cylinder in the soundboard, that I
would need a secondary lateral method near the waist to help hold the soundboard dome.
I achieved that with the suspended lateral brace, that swoops up and contacts the top by just
the same width as the lining width. Even with an adjustable neck, I found it unnerving not to
have a pretty good idea where the top of the soundboard would be.
I was sure that I would install a soundboard transducer pickup (AST type), and the splayed
out suspended bracing was to give me unfettered access to the bridge plate area.
In reality, the suspended bracing, which crosses near the soundhole, makes it quite difficult
to have unfettered access to anything inside the guitar. And, I have not yet put a pickup in
it.
I didnt want the tips of the triangles that are under compression to be all the way out to the
ends of the suspended lateral brace, knowing that the redirected string shear force would
then be pushing the sides apart, yet I wanted them splayed enough to keep the zone
beneath the bridge clear so I could easily mount the AST pickup. So the spot where the tips
of the triangles meet was a compromise between those criteria
So, my plan for suspended bracing for my next guitar (in progress) is to use 4 straight rods, from
the neck block to the tail block. In this next one they are Oak dowel rods all the same diameter,
but in the future they will probably be carbon fiber tubes or rods, with the upper pair (in
compression) being larger diameter, and the lower pair (in tension) being a smaller diameter.
I decided I would not let the need to get a hand inside the guitar dictate the size or shape or
position of the soundhole or sound ports. Instead, I have decided to install an access panel in
each guitar I build. (Oh, I know, archtop builders and violin family makers have been working
through F-holes for centuries, but I dont wanna.) Im putting an access panel in the lower bout
near the tail, which gives great access to the innards, even with the suspended bracing.
Oh, and the risk of the soundboard relaxing towards flat at the waist and upper bout?
Well, first, it shouldnt matter too much. Ill still know where the bridge/saddle height is because
that area is braced. And just testing the soundboard sitting in a dish with finger pressure where
the linings will make contact show that the dome will be held (at least partially) in that
waist/upper bout area. The rims really cannot relax outward, due to the head to tail rods, so once
it is glued as a dome, it should stay as a dome. And those 3 little pads on the K&K Western Mini

even with the two upper suspended bracing rods, I should have no (physical) trouble placing those
anywhere I want.
I will fully document the build on the Luthier Community, (as my Basia Concert/Parlor), but for
those that dont like traveling to foreign territory, Ill post the results, good or bad, over here at
the OLF
http://www.dreamguitars.com/sold-guitars/1529-matsuda_prototype_ii_15/
2003 Matsuda Prototype II - Experimental OM Acoustic Guita

This is the kind of guitar that we all excited here at Dream Guitars. This is an example of one the
hottest young builders pushing the envelope and searching for new ideas. We first so this guitar at
a guitar Festival in 2003/4 and remembered it well. The bracing features a strut running the entire
length of the body to which the neck is attached in a unique and artistic fashion.

The soundboard and neck are both pitched toward one another creating string pull at a steeper
angle which makes this an extremely lively guitar and makes it very easy to play up the neck.
The soundhole was moved to the area around the neck block and supplies abundant volume to the
player. The Bridge is a work of art all to itself, carved by hand into a beautifully functional
sculpture. The sound is quite extraordinary, the biggest, fattest treble strings you'll find anywhere
and clarity beyond compare. There is a hint of an archtop quality, but mostly it is very strong
flattop sound that is well suited for fingerstyle or single line sole work where power and clarity are
essential. This is sure to be a wonderful collector piece as well as Michihiro Matsuda's career
blossoms as we feel certain it will.
http://www.dreamguitars.com/detail/3540-ivanov_snow_parlor_3/

NEW IVANOV GUITARS SNOW PARLOR - PARLOR ACOUSTIC GUITAR

http://frettedchordophones.tumblr.com/post/142911563280/maxwellcustominfinitum-the-archtop-acoustic

INFINITUM - THE ARCHTOP ACOUSTIC REIMAGINED.

Ive been studying the last year and a half, this is the final guitar from last years work, and now
Im a finalist in the Best Design Awards!!
I cant tell you much about the internal bracing, its a bit hush hush, but the top and back are
Monterey cypress and the side are New Zealand native Kauri. The cypress was harvested from my
property in Clevedon.

DAVID SCHRAMM GUITAR INSPIRED BY DANIEL FREDERICH

https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/8b/e9/fc/8be9fc5ef16e5c166416e
65365830 44.jpg

http://benedettoguitars.com/2010/12/12/holey-teredo-ii/