Bellucci Phase 3 guitar construction

A Doming of the back is achieved by mounting curved struts and by heating the back panels. Domes are the most resistant structures in the universe

B Nomex is a synthetic material developed by Du Pont. It is light, resistant and has great acoustic properties that make it ideal for doubletop construction.

C The use of cedar and spruce in the fan work, allows the builder to assign different degrees of stiffness to different areas of the soundboard. Greater control of the sound output is achieved this way.

D The violin tie places the huge strain of the pulling of the strings on the bottom heel of the guitar allowing the top to produce sound exclusively and prolonging its life by decades

E The armrest is also a "violin" inspired gadget...it is the equivalent of the chin support that violin players use to hold the instrument under the chin. No interference of the arm or elbow with the vibrating top.

A whole new set of measures in the strutting, a unique combination of woods inside the box, special thickness of the back, sides and top, a dome like curvature to the top and back that I have been experimenting with for the past 15 months, have merged in a true masterpiece of elegance, and cathedral of sound. The curvature of the top and back (image A), is inspired by the stringed instruments family (violin, cello, bass) and also present in the jazz archtop. This allows the builder to augment the overall volume of the guitar body, without changing the measures, and also allows the builder to thin the top to otherwise impossible measures. The pull of the bridge causes less strain to the top because the dome structure is far more resistant than the standard flat one. The doming becomes essential when working with the lattice bracing and with the double top with Nomex core (image B)  since these two types of constructions require thinning of the top to less than 1 mm. Among the other incorporation present in the phase 3 construction, the violin tie (image D) is without a doubt an essential addition that transfers the pull of the bridge to a much more resistant part of the instrument.  The triple neck reinforcement acts like a truss rod and the armrest (image E), which is standard on all Bellucci guitars, ensures a gain of approximately 12 dbs to the sound because it allows for full vibration of the top without any interference from the forearm or elbow. Finally, the cedar/spruce hybrid bracing of the top (image C) that we use to enhance the response of the top to the different attacks of the right hand and the radiused fingerboard that makes stopping for the left hand a lot easier and much more natural.

Below I illustrate how I dome the top on my concert guitars. The fan braces are glued to the top applying pressure on the fans by means of metal or acrylic pressure rods. These transfer the pressure to the top which is forced into a concave bottom surface. The fan bracing, under bridge and side fans dry under pressure. When the pressure rods are removed, the top is domed.

The acrylic struts push the fan braces and the top in a concave surface while the glue dries... The result is a domed top.
Below, you can see a domed double top with nomex