Brace height and quietness

[Vroomvroom]

This old recurve I have from its 1968 ads, recommends 8” brace height.  It’s very hard for me to tell. And I’m not getting a chance to shoot it much. But when I put it up to 8” to 8-1/8” brace it seemed louder than when the string stretched, lowering it to 7-3/4”.  Or 7-1/2”.    I would assumed it might have been quite the higher brace more often than the other way.  What have some of you found with this?

[Mark R]

I think all bows have a sweet spot, usually the vibration (ie) noise will tell you.

[McDave]

If you can tell a difference in noise, it’s generally a better idea to use the brace height where the noise is the least. All the brace heights you mentioned are probably within the recommended brace height range, although 7 1/2” might be toward the bottom end of the range.

[Vroomvroom]

Yeah. Do you think 8.5” too much?   I’ll stay within 7.5-8.5.  Maybe take a video and listen to the sound.  It’s hard for me to tell to be honest.  But I haven’t concerned myself with it too much.  As I served the string with bcy 0.019” serving but it’s still a touch large.  So before I begin tuning these gt trad classic xt,s,  I wanted to ensure good Nick fit. Then I’d bareshaft with those and also tune the brace height as well.   
I’ve been just using my other arrows tuned for my 6 # higher, 55lb savannah and not concerning myself with this recurves accuracy so much.   That said, these arrows seem to fly good out of this bow too. I did a slow mo video of me hitting a stump 30 yards away.  The arrow came towards the stump straight as could be and when it stuck in the stump it was dead stop.  Not flexing or vibrating.  Just a dead stop.   

[McDave]

It seems to be more important to stay within the upper guideline brace height than the lower. If you go lower than the recommended brace height, you may not like it, but it is unlikely to damage the bow. It does put additional stress on the bow to exceed the upper limit, so it’s better to stay within that limit, even if the bow still seems to work fine at a higher brace height.

[Kirkll]

One of the most common mistakes made on trad bows is bracing them too high.Even the older bows..... The funny thing is... The lower brace ht with a longer string typically increases the string tension or preload at brace height, and helps stop the forward motion of the limbs better, and produces higher performance too.. This also quiets the bow considerably.

A lot of guys think that a higher brace that is bringing the string away from the tips more equal less noise and eliminates string slap... It's simply not true for most bows. The higher string tension at lower brace is always better.....  But every bow has its own sweet spot depending on the limb design.    Kirk