Tone. Projection. Sustain. Even Sonics. Presence. Volume. Tonal Range. Head Room.
These qualities are important in an acoustic guitar. How they are executed makes all the difference in the end result.
Our patented Suspended Bracing System™ (“SBS”) blends these qualities into a unique combination that makes a great acoustic guitar. The instruments have outstanding tone, stability, improved sustain, more head room, and low to zero feedback characteristics.
The SBS involves two tone bars “suspended” a 1/4″ below the sound board allowing us to have fewer contact points. This design gives the sound board greater resonance while better transmitting the string energy throughout the body of the instrument.
Balanced and Full Tonal Range
Many of the big name brands require a tradeoff in their dynamic range. Some favor the highs leaving you wanting in the lower-mids and lows. Others favor the mids leaving gaps in the highs and lows. And others are boomy but are weak in the higher ranges.
With Boulder Creeks, the lows, mids, and highs are all there. Use a light attack to build emotion then dig in with a hard and heavy attack bringing home that emotional punch. You won’t find dead spots in our dynamic range. Our guitars will go with you musically wherever your playing takes you.
Projection and Volume
You wouldn’t cut a whole in a snare drum head to get more sound. Why do it to your sound board?
The sweet spot in the sound board is located where the sound hole is on a traditional acoustic guitar. Without this traditional placement, Boulder Creeks offer more sound board area creating great projection and volume.
Low to No Feedback
The guitars have little to no feedback in performance environments. On stage, there is no need to “choke” the instrument with a sound hole cover because there is no center sound hole to create feedback.
You get increased head room and your sound is more natural without losing the instrument’s ability to breathe and resonate.
Structural Stability and Fat Sustain
The steel string tension on a tuned 6-stringed guitar is approximately 160lbs. To handle this strain, traditional X-braced sound boards require more bracing to withstand this constant pull. The extra bracing creates extra rigidity. Imagine taping an “X” onto a snare drum head using two fat pieces of duct tape. What does it do to the sound?
The SBS’s small number of contact points and mounting free-up the sound board creating resonance. This makes for incredible sustain and voice articulation for each string.
Our acoustic guitars ring on and on. This quality makes our acoustic basses a popular choice because they hold their own in the mix.
The dual tone-bars better stabilize the top making it less susceptible to environmental changes. The guitars also hold tuning longer, and the SBS does a better job of minimizing possible sound board warping over time.
Side Port / Dual Port System
Boulder Creek Musical Instruments was one of the first to exclusively focus on a side port system for our acoustic guitar and ukulele lines.
Our original Solitaire Series dreadnought line uses a single side-port yet projects like a cannon. The other Boulder Creek guitar models use a dual port system – 1 on the side, 1 small port in the front on the upper right bout.
Over the years, we have heard many “original” explanations and ideas as to the reason for it. Love the creativity! Now, here is the real reason…
In addition to not cutting a big hole in the sound board sweet spot, the side port allows you to hear more of what you are playing. There is no more need to lean over the instrument to monitor the sound. Our design brings the sound to your ears. Many players have commented on how gratifying it is!