How long to bond with a guitar?

[mawmow]

Well, when I was away and had to buy on the net,
I would spend a three months trial or so on an acoustic,
so trying two or three different string sets.
Then I would make my mind to keep or sell.

[rstaight]

I don't wait to bond with a guitar. That's the reason I don't order online. I can't say "when" I am looking for a guitar. When ever I go into a shop and pick one up to try, that is when it feels wright or not.

It needs to grab my attention. Then I ask my self, Does it fit into a niche I don't have filled? Then it's, Do I have the funds? After all that it's the acid test, I talk to my wife. Unless I miraculously have the cash. Only then does it come home.

So by the time I am on the way home I have already bonded.

[PapaLobo]

For most of my instruments it's love at first strum , and the friendship builds from there.

There are a few that have taken time to warm up ..just like people .

I've only had 2 in the last 47 instruments that just never clicked , they are now owned by friends who love them .

[EZYPIKINS]

Sometimes there's nothing you can do. For me it was a USA made Martin 000-15 Mahogany top.

I'm not much of a seller. But after two years of that guitar not keeping up with my others, I let it go.

Interestingly enough. I bought a Taylor 814ce BE. Set it up, and try as I might, I could never like how it played or the tone.

Everybody's different. To each their own.

No matter where you go, there you are.
(Buckaroo Banzai)

[davidbeinct]

Originally Posted by ZeroFretWear

There are two ways to bond with a guitar.
1. Own a really nice guitar (I'm talking $10K+).
2. Own a budget Guitar Center type of guitar (your standard J-45s, D28s, what have you), but use it as your stage guitar on countless shows.

There is one way to never bond with a guitar:
1. Own a budget Guitar Center type of guitar without being a pro musician who plays it live.

Well, we certainly all have different definitions of “budget.”

[GuitarsFromMars]

If I pick up a guitar with the intention of it, being an addition to my musical tools, I can tell in about 10 minutes whether or not it's a keeper. The rest get sold.

[ZeroFretWear]

Originally Posted by davidbeinct

Well, we certainly all have different definitions of “budget.”

Yes, for sure. I was just referring to the most common type of guitars people who are serious about acoustics might get, your J-45/D-18/D-28. These are as common as postcards of Monet and Van Gogh's shoes.
But you can certainly lump in slightly cheaper examples, like Eastmans and others.
In my opinion these are all guitars that can produce quality music, but they do require skill.
Whereas once you get in the Greenfield/Somogyi/etc. level, the guitar itself becomes part of the music. This is why you also see so many of the high-end customers also not be very good musicians. These "art" guitars can compensate for that to an extent.

All of this leads back to what I described as "bonding with an instrument." Satisfying music has to be made, one way or another.

[donlyn]

Originally Posted by Glennwillow

It doesn't take me any time to bond with a guitar. I either like it when I first play it or I don't. If I like it, I like it pretty much forever. I don't change my mind on these things much.

- Glenn

I am in pretty much the same camp as Glenn. But I have figured out a few things why I am that way, and others have expressed similar rationales. First off is play before pay. No two guitars are exactly the same from any manufacturer. The only brand I have found to be consistently very good in their builds is Taylor, but I still want to play one beforehand. Yes, I have rejected Taylors, but not until I at least got to play them. And I am not a Taylor-only owner.

I like Jumbo shaped and sized guitars, so that is something that will catch my eye. But the proof of all the pudding is that if it feels bad in my hands and fingers, then it's bad for me, so that is an instant reject. I am fortunate in that I can play different necks without problems.

The thing I like about Jumbo-shaped guitars is that they are usually given to have a natural sonic balance, which is why I am focussed on them. I have been playing since the 60's, so I do have some experience in what I like and don't like. Taylor Grand Concerts and Grand Auditoriums are shaped like small and medium Jumboes respectively and have that balance thing going for them. Taylor Grand Orchestras have a Jumbo shape with a wider waist and sound better than the older Jumbo models they replaced. When I first played my Grand Orchestra, I wouldn't let it out of my hands after I had picked it up, played it for a bit, and subsequently bought it.

As someone mentioned previously, I don't think of 'bonding' with a guitar as an emotional thing. For me it is how does it play, how is the sound, and how much do I like playing it.

If I know I may be looking at a guitar, I have a go-bag featuring a chromatic tuner, a retractable ruler, an old analog caliper to measure strings already on the guitar, and usually a dental mirror (difficult to easily carry) to look inside.

These are things that have served me well for many years, and I have no need to change them. The big thing is the first. How do they feel? Allowances can be made for strings and set-ups, and don't be afraid to ask for a string change if the old ones are junk.

Oh yeah, price is important too. Don't even pick up anything you can't afford, but stretching your wallet may be OK. It's a situational thing.

I fingerpick all my guitars using my nails as picks.

Be well and play well,

Don
.

[NeptuneBlue]

Originally Posted by edward993

Agree wholly on this! Too many romanticized notions with "bonding" and what not, IMO. Yes, I have "lifer" guitars because I love what they do for me. Guess what, that may change at any given time as my tastes, biases, or priorities change. And it has in the past, resulting in my selling guitars/gear that I had "thought" I'd keep forever.

I agree with everything you said here, with one amusing anecdote to add on my own. I have a guitar that seems to have bonded to me. I haven't heard anyone else try it and actually make it sound good (it's an archtop and requires a different attack, small wonder there).

I like to tell people it's a cursed guitar that's bound itself to me - a statement made funnier given a number of repeated coincidences. Every time I go through a period where I'm not using it, when think about selling it, and find a guitar I think it's worth giving it up as trade or cash for, that guitar suddenly disappears. Pulled from the market or sold, pretty much the day I decide to go for it. It's happened at least 4 times now over all the years I've owned it.

I know it's just a coincidence, I'm not one of those people that ascribes quasi-mystical "everything happens for a reason" in their life, but it is funny at this point and I can weave a good story with it. I've since given up thinking about moving it on - not because I feel compelled, but because it would be hard to get my hands on a quality archtop again for the (low) price I paid for it.



To actually answer the original question, I do think it's important to allow for a few factors, in spite of my viewpoint. Setup and string choice is a big thing. Maybe saddle material. It's usually worth holding off judgment on a guitar until you tweak and personalize it a little. But... maybe you are also still figuring out your preferences - you need to expose yourself to different sounds to learn discernment, right? That's the trouble with being so spoiled for choice these days