What is this weirdness? Its the top of my latest guitar. The underside of the guitar top to be precise. The braces are what gives the top strength to stay put year after year with the incredible tension put on the top from the strings. These braces are individually carved to achieve a desired tone. Generally speaking the thinner the bracing the better the sound. There is of course a trade-off as the bracing needs strength as well. I generally solve this problem by laminating carbon fiber in between two layers of wood. Carbon fiber is very strong and very light. This combination makes a very cool sounding guitar. And a guitar that will be around for a while as well. Edwin