One thing I don't want to hear from a guitar builder

[CaE]

When I was learning from Sergei de Jonge, he said that a guitar should take at least a year to break in. According to him, if a guitar sounded its best right away, it would probably be dead within 5 years.

[Tony Done]

This discussion exemplifies why I now prefer old, well-used guitars to new ones. You know what you are getting in terms of tone and geometry.

[stringjunky]

Originally Posted by Chris Ensor

When I was learning from Sergei de Jonge, he said that a guitar should take at least a year to break in. According to him, if a guitar sounded its best right away, it would probably be dead within 5 years.

I think that's very true.

[BrunoBlack]

Originally Posted by fingeryoga

When I receive my new instrument , I don't want to hear " just wait it will sound better with age " . After I've spent top dollar on an instrument I want it to sound great right now thanks

That’s funny, because this was exactly what Michael Millard said to me when I picked up a beautiful Frog. He said don’t baby it, play it! And I did. It was great off the blocks, but 2 years in, it’s still getting better and better.

[redir]

Originally Posted by Chris Ensor

When I was learning from Sergei de Jonge, he said that a guitar should take at least a year to break in. According to him, if a guitar sounded its best right away, it would probably be dead within 5 years.

Back whne I was experimenting with ultra light designs I had built a few guitars so light that they sounded amazing right out of the box so to speak, and within 5 years they were dead. I would agree with that statement 100%. But I will say they truly did sound fantastic right away

---

It's really an amazing thing to experience, the stringing up of a guitar, for the first time. I've learned now to not wait with great anticipation. Instead I just string it up to tension, play it a bit then set it on the stand or a wall hanger till the next day. The transformation is really something to behold. Even within one hour it changes.

They change very rapidly then taper off. It's a log curve. I wont ship a new guitar off for at least one week after it's been set up. And I make sure to play it in too. But after that I think it's in a reasonable state for a customer to get a descent evaluation of it.

[swilschke]

I would like to hear a builder say, "This instrument sounds great in your hands, but we will both be dead for at least a century before it really starts to sing."

[mercy]

I agree with Roger, My main guitar was a new custom build and it sounded awful at first but after a week it was ok then at the end of a month it was very good. Some time later I thought it sounder better than a Gibson or Martin or any other factory guitar but now Im not so certain. I think its time for a new guitar.

[LouieAtienza]

Well, if there are things I don't want to hear from my guitar builder, it would be:

"Bad news from UPS..."
"Yeah, that HHG was gelling up really quick, man it's cold in the shop..."
"I work with green lumber, much easier to cut!"
"Always aim for that unmistakable Esteban tone in my guitars..."
"What guitar am I building for you? Oh yeah, that one..."
"This is the Attica Correctional Facility. Would you like to take a collect call from..."

[jessupe]

Originally Posted by LouieAtienza

Well, if there are things I don't want to hear from my guitar builder, it would be:

"Bad news from UPS..."
"Yeah, that HHG was gelling up really quick, man it's cold in the shop..."
"I work with green lumber, much easier to cut!"
"Always aim for that unmistakable Esteban tone in my guitars..."
"What guitar am I building for you? Oh yeah, that one..."
"This is the Attica Correctional Facility. Would you like to take a collect call from..."

all I know is when I build a guitar I assure nothing but 100% quality tone, I expect nothing but the best from the Chinese child slave labor I employ

oh' was that said out loud?

Seriously, all kidding aside, all guitars will go through a break in period where things will change, and it for the most part is a good change, so I don;t really see someone saying that as a cop out , unless of course it sounds really bad out of the box.

I've investigated the tonerite and I must admit I'm not sold on it, not so much the concept as the lack of spectrum and dynamic amplitude....

So what I am sold on as far as "relaxing" the instrument is placing it between a Marshall 100watt half stack and an extended range 100 watt keyboard amp and blasting it often with concert hall level decibels of both super low and super high notes , basically play really REALLY loud music to/through your acoustic. Really I've found that if you have the equipment that the best way to get an acoustic "broke in" is to play electric guitar music, loud, to your acoustic, my guitars love kingsx, well maybe it's just an excuse to to play kingsx really loud, but I swear it does something.

[Mr Fingers]

Time won't fix junk, but a lot of time can make some ordinary things into extraordinary things. I have a Ward's (by Gibson) 00 size, probably 1936 or 7, that without any doubt has gone from being a catalog store item to become a beautiful, loud, singing-voiced instrument. This is not my imagination; everyone says so. When you play the guitar, the light build of now very old boards vibrates at the lightest touch while handling hard flat picking just fine, too; far from one-dimensionally "warm" or "thumpy," I drives bass tones with air, clarity, and power. Of course, these guitars were always sloppily made and inconsistent, and plenty of the survivors are cool rhythm instruments or dull "blues" thumpers, but the one I found is a fantastic example of what good wood (Adirondack, mahogany) can contribute to the mix when played every day, for hours, for 80 years.

[Truckjohn]

Originally Posted by redir

Back whne I was experimenting with ultra light designs I had built a few guitars so light that they sounded amazing right out of the box so to speak, and within 5 years they were dead. I would agree with that statement 100%. But I will say they truly did sound fantastic right away..

Its interesting you mention this... I have wondered about guitars that sound great for people who don't really play all that much... So 5 years of fairly regular play and then it declines... But you may well get 10+ years of weekends out of it...

Even the famous Torres la Leona - which by all accounts is well past her prime - but she does very well for occasional concerts with a famous player... So long as he does not play it night and day for a month prior to the concert...

Kinda like the tongue in cheek Toby Keith song...
I was good once - but I am as good once as I ever was

[gitarro]

Of course the guitar will sound even better as it matures, but it should never sounds lifeless or dead when the customer gets the guitar. In suchq
a case the luthier shouldnt be delivering the guitar but should be working on it and doing everything possible until it does sound great. Otherwise the custoner may as well buy a factory guitar.

[printer2]

It all depends on what was asked as a build. If it is a cedar top guitar I would be doubtful of the builder. If it were a red spruce top, maybe have a little more faith in his words if he has shown proficiency in building with it in the past.

[TomB'sox]

Are we all just accepting the premise that some guitars will sound dead in 5 years? I have never heard that before and it seems that this "phenomena" is being assigned to those lightly build guitars especially. It seems to me that most of the luthiers find a lightly built guitar that will not collapse in on itself as their goal. I would like to hear more about why people are saying this and if it actually has some merit?

[stringjunky]

Originally Posted by TomB'sox

Are we all just accepting the premise that some guitars will sound dead in 5 years? I have never heard that before and it seems that this "phenomena" is being assigned to those lightly build guitars especially. It seems to me that most of the luthiers find a lightly built guitar that will not collapse in on itself as their goal. I would like to hear more about why people are saying this and if it actually has some merit?

If you think of the string/top interaction as a bellows, and over time the tension pulls the top, which gradually deforms plastically in the direction of the tension.

The distance the top is able to oscillate over the median point diminishes, which affects tone, because of the excess curvature in the top. The lighter the top, the quicker that plastic deformation will occur. In essence, the top loses it's elasticity to become more plastic. it becomes less efficient at converting the oscillations of the string into movement which displaces the surrounding air.