#16
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The other big factor in how your guitar sounds is temperature.
In the winter, my house is typically around 62 degrees....probably 15 degrees cooler than the midsummer. There is quite a difference in the way lightly built instruments sound at the respective temperatures.
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"One small heart, and a great big soul that's driving" |
#17
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This past week, I have heard a distinct change in the voices of my guitars. They are sweeter and just "breathe" more easily. And none more so than my Merrill OM18, which is a very lightly built, feather weight. I'd say it sounds so much "drier" as the air gets drier. Even the action has moved dramatically - from about 2.75mm on the 6th to about 2mm. Two weeks ago I was concerned that I might have to consider a neck reset. Nope, just a humidity reset. On the other hand, the action on my Froggy Bottom H12, which is a robust build, has not change discernably, though the voice is less congested. And OP, congrats on your Heinonen. I have not had the pleasure of playing one of Drew's guitars but surely look forward to it. David
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I took up the guitar at 62 as penance for a youth well-spent. |
#18
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#19
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#20
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Ray Gibson SJ200 Taylor Grand Symphony Taylor 514CE-NY Taylor 814CE Deluxe V-Class Guild F1512 Alvarez DY74 Snowflake ('78) |
#21
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That is comforting.
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#22
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Not my experience at all. Of course my humidity remains as stable as possible here in the frozen north. It's a full time job with 4 guitars!
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"One small heart, and a great big soul that's driving" |
#23
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So are you saying that temp changes are worrying?
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#24
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Within reason, not so much with structure, but it certainly can affect the tone.
My guitars become a little less responsive when they get around 60 degrees as opposed to 75. About 10 years ago I was living in a home that was VERY hard to heat and I kept it even cooler than where I am now. It had floor to ceiling windows and I'd set my guitars out on the stand with the sun coming in on them for a few minutes before I'd play them for this reason. Disclaimer though - I have dog ears and hear everything! Blessing and a curse.....and the reason I've had 250 guitars pass through my closet!
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"One small heart, and a great big soul that's driving" |
#25
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By the way - I remember one instance where the effect of the temp went the other way.
Elderly had a Walnut/Engelmann Goodall CJ that had just come in. I drove down, took one of my guitars along to A/B and went into the lesson rooms downstairs to play it for about an hour. I loved it for it's crispness and string separation (not typical of my overall Goodall experience) and took it home. The next day I pulled it out and played it a bunch - and the more I played it the more tubby and flabby it sounded (sorry - not great words!) What I mean to say is it lost the things I liked about it. Come to find out when I called them back and asked if it had been stored somewhere on the cold side - and guess what - it was in a room that is around 50 degrees at the store for a while. Stan was gracious and allowed me to return it. So, it can affect it - and it can either hurt or help, dependent on your ear!
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"One small heart, and a great big soul that's driving" |
#26
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Here in Seattle we just had a cold and dry snap.
I wasn't paying attention to RH, which most of the year stays in the safe zone. I picked up my 2020 Irvin custom, which is sensitive to RH change, and it was buzzing a bit. A quick look at the humidity - it was down to 32%. A day with a room humidifier restored the RH to 37% and the guitar sounded glorious again. Now we have rain coming through for a week and the RH is trending back up.
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-Gordon 1978 Larrivee L-26 cutaway 1988 Larrivee L-28 cutaway 2006 Larrivee L03-R 2009 Larrivee LV03-R 2016 Irvin SJ cutaway 2020 Irvin SJ cutaway (build thread) K+K, Dazzo, Schatten/ToneDexter Notable Journey website Facebook page Where the spirit does not work with the hand, there is no art. - Leonardo Da Vinci |
#27
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#28
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My Keystone (Keisuke Nishi) was exposed to the 85% relative humidity of the tropics and very soon all the overtones and brightness started disappearing leaving only the fundamental notes, very direct. After a few days of dehumidification, it became much livelier and sounded far more complex with a more crystalline top end. So yes I am sure the relative humidity makes a huge difference acrually.
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