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  #16  
Old 01-17-2018, 06:39 PM
Von Beerhofen Von Beerhofen is offline
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I think my all 2011 Koa Taylor has been the hardest to break in but after 6 years it has devellopped a nice deep bass but is still lacking in sustain.
Not noticing much difference in the high strings. I'd say it's become a bit less Jazzy and a bit more for overall use.

I haven't noticed much change in my Martin OM's perhaps because I'm paying less attention to their changes. My Taylor was bought used and already had 6 years on it, it also hasn't changed much other then me fixing a chipped bridge issue, which made the guitar more sparkly and may have added a little extra overall sustain.

I bought my D28A after it's been shop played for 5 years, I don't think it's going to change much soon. Bought my SCGC OM used too, it had 11 years and must have been pretty matured when I bought it. Don't think that it'll change much soon either.

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  #17  
Old 01-17-2018, 06:52 PM
zmf zmf is offline
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Originally Posted by Theleman View Post
Just wondering, if you noticed tone changes on your guitars.
Not being sarcastic, but the greatest tone change I've noticed is dependent upon how recently I've trimmed the fingernails on my right (picking) hand. Since I play mainly with only my thumb and index fingernails, this can be frustrating. Takes a while for the strings to "retrim" the nails to what they like best.

Anybody have a method for filing down nails without changing their action on the strings?

Long term changes? Hard for me to tell, or differentiate from learning how the best play particular guitars, or playing the strings at various distances from the center of the sound hole.
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  #18  
Old 01-17-2018, 07:23 PM
Von Beerhofen Von Beerhofen is offline
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Originally Posted by L20A View Post
To be truthful, I'm not sure if it is the guitar or me.
I play several guitars in rotation.
The guitar that I have been playing recently, may affect how I hear another guitar that I haven't played for a while.

Does this make any sense?
I don't know wether that makes sense or not because I don't know what you hear. All I can say is that I know pretty well what to expect from the next guitar in my rotation. Perhaps it's because each one sounds so very different and my expectation has not let me down thusfar.

I do however hear a big difference when the weather changes in some of them, depending on Rh ofcourse. It's hard to distguish this from the influence of changing guitars, so perhaps it makes sense after all.

Ludwig
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  #19  
Old 01-18-2018, 12:45 AM
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rogthefrog rogthefrog is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Theleman View Post
Just wondering, if you noticed tone changes on your guitars.

Was it change happened through time - then how long have you had the guitar? Playing a lot? Modification / Upgrade?

What guitars were they? How are they different? Do you like / dislike the change?
The most striking change to me is when humidity goes up. Our place is naturally around 40-45%. During or shortly after heavy rainfall it goes up to 55-60%. Suddenly my guitars sound... Bloated. Kind of muffled. Then it goes away. It's pretty striking--you can hear the moisture

I experienced this at a high end guitar store last winter, after very intense, sustained rainfall. Many guitars I had played before and loved suddenly all sounded pretty bad. The whole store inventory sounded bad. Then a few weeks later it was all back to normal.
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  #20  
Old 01-18-2018, 03:50 AM
Wrighty Wrighty is offline
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Originally Posted by Wade Hampton View Post
While some of the breaking in process seems to have something to do how old the guitar itself is, most of it has to do with how much playing the guitar gets. So a “new old stock” guitar like you’ve described will almost certainly react like a brand new guitar and only start opening up once it starts getting used.



This seems to apply even to decades-old unplayed guitars - I remember reading one of George Gruhn’s columns where he described a pre-war Martin that had been stored in a closet for decades that got brought into his shop. Not only was it in perfect mint condition, but it sounded brand new, as well.



So getting used does seem to be the single most important factor when it comes to guitars breaking in.





whm


I can testify that I had a Martin J40 that I had owned from new in 1997 but for various reasons had very little play over the years and spent most of it’s time in it’s case - the sound, when I got it out mid last year to start using it, was lacklustre and very closed.

As I used it daily for a 6 month period it began to open up and sound fuller and more vibrant (but after 6 months was still not at th level I would expect from a guitar of this quality)
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  #21  
Old 01-18-2018, 08:13 AM
imwjl imwjl is offline
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I noticed it more on past guitars that I bought new, and it was subtle - not all of a sudden some big magic as some kind of describe it. This was new Larrivee and Martin guitars.

My Santa Cruz didn't seem to have so much change. It was amazing from the start. Richard Hoover said it was made with old but not exotic wood so maybe that's part of it. Maybe it's the builder. The guitar has outsized power or responsiveness compared to similar guitars I've had or tried. If it changed beyond my brain doing tricks on me I think it was all of the wound strings being more balanced and maybe less scooped sounding.

Whatever it is or was, I'm really happy to be 100% satisfied with 2009 guitar in 2018 and a whole bunch of stuff I've bought to be gone.

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  #22  
Old 01-18-2018, 08:21 AM
varmonter varmonter is offline
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i've always thought that over time the materials
n the guitar cure or age. the wood becomes
dryer and the resins and tanins tend to crystallize.
the glues used and the varnishes applied also
cure and become more brittle. all of this i would
think would effect tone.
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  #23  
Old 01-18-2018, 08:30 AM
merlin666 merlin666 is offline
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Many good comments here already on temporal effects on tone. Most important ones identified are environmental such as humidity and temperature, second in importance are player characteristics such as subtle changes in playing style, hearing, and subjective recall of past events, and of course there are the long time changes to the instrument itself as woods, glues, or other materials age.

I am a bit concerned about those who feel they have to "break in" their guitars; those I would ask to please try and buy guitars that are usable and sound great to start with. Guitar (or any other) abuse is just not a good thing!
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  #24  
Old 01-18-2018, 08:48 AM
rokdog49 rokdog49 is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by merlin666 View Post
Many good comments here already on temporal effects on tone. Most important ones identified are environmental such as humidity and temperature, second in importance are player characteristics such as subtle changes in playing style, hearing, and subjective recall of past events, and of course there are the long time changes to the instrument itself as woods, glues, or other materials age.

I am a bit concerned about those who feel they have to "break in" their guitars; those I would ask to please try and buy guitars that are usable and sound great to start with. Guitar (or any other) abuse is just not a good thing!
All my guitars were useable and sounded great from the get-go.
After some daily hard strumming, in about a month or so, they all sounded better.
Guitars are meant to be played and I don't think hard strumming is abuse.
If a guitar can't hold up to hard strumming, it must not be built very well.
JMHO.
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  #25  
Old 01-18-2018, 02:04 PM
Wade Hampton Wade Hampton is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by imwjl View Post
I noticed it more on past guitars that I bought new, and it was subtle - not all of a sudden some big magic as some kind of describe it. This was new Larrivee and Martin guitars.
In my experience, the sort of instrument breaking in that most of us are likely to experience IS subtle, not flashy or dramatic. There can be a very dramatic change during the first thirty minutes or so that a guitar is strung up, and I have witnessed this a couple of times.

But unless you're right there when that happens, a slow, gradual process over many months and then years is what you're most likely to witness.


whm

PS: I agree with rokdog that forceful strumming on a guitar and playing rhythm on it is not abuse, not so long as it's kept under control and your pick hand isn't flailing around and scratching up the top. It's how some of us play.
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  #26  
Old 01-18-2018, 02:25 PM
Earl49 Earl49 is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by rokdog49 View Post
All my guitars were useable and sounded great from the get-go......
I always buy based on current tone, never on the *hope* that it might get better some time down the road. What can this guitar do for me right now? If it matures and mellows over the years, that is icing on the cake. But if the tone is marginal now, I never count on it growing into its own. Pass........
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  #27  
Old 01-18-2018, 03:14 PM
Looburst Looburst is offline
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Me as well, I never buy based on what it will be but what it is now, at the time of purchase. If it ain't no good when new, chances are it ain't getting any better later. But that can be wrong! I've heard some guitars that when new sounded dead and later,,,,,much later, sounded pretty decent.
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  #28  
Old 01-18-2018, 03:27 PM
Jaden Jaden is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by varmonter View Post
i've always thought that over time the materials
n the guitar cure or age. the wood becomes
dryer and the resins and tanins tend to crystallize.
the glues used and the varnishes applied also
cure and become more brittle. all of this i would
think would effect tone.
E. Somogyi talks a lot about how the best back and side wood exhibits qualities of brittleness, but there is a point that if it is too brittle it becomes unstable, so there is a sweet spot for the builder to work toward. I think this is why nato wood used by Yamaha has been so successful: too brittle to be used as solid wood, when laminated it works wonders for reverberation and in that form it is stable.

Last edited by Jaden; 01-18-2018 at 03:28 PM. Reason: Diction
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  #29  
Old 01-18-2018, 03:33 PM
Terry_D Terry_D is offline
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The fastest and most drastic change in tone I've experienced was with a Taylor 514CE LTD cedar top with granadillo back and sides. I ordered it from Sweetwater and the first time I played it I was sure I would send it back. The next night it had improved quite a bit. After a week it became a guitar I will never part with. The only explanation I can come up with is that it traveled quite a distance in frigid temps in the middle of winter, so it probably arrived very dry and maybe the wood just had to loosen up after being so cold. Tuning stability was all over the place that first week also. This wasn't something I imagined either as I had purchased a 414CE R a month earlier which is what prompted me to sell a couple guitars to get another Taylor. Playing them back to back the 414 sounded fantastic while the 514 sounded like a dead, cheap, laminate top guitar. A week later it was the finest sounding guitar I've ever had in my hands and just keeps getting better.
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