The first cylinder top guitars were made in the 1890s for the Howe-Orme company in Boston. They were ladder braced. My cylinder top guitars (HO models) are X braced for a more modern sound and more sustain.

The cylindrical arch combined with the X brace makes for a very strong soundboard with the mass reduced by around 40% compared to a conventional steel string guitar. Low mass top = loud!

Wenge 8 String Guitar Bouzouki
HO
New gzouk april 17 LR6-13
New gzouk tail
Gzouk
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