How often do we write off a good guitar?

[Tico]

Originally Posted by jaybones

Toneright?

Huh?
Could you elaborate?

[ChalkLitIScream]

Wondered about this too. Sometimes a fantastic guitar with strings that haven't been changed in months can sound dull and not upto par. And there we go saying that the entire guitar wasn't good. Same goes with our string discussions. Guitar shop owners will typically put the same string brand and type on all the guitars. Of course, some guitars sound better or qorse with different strings. All it takes is a mismatch to hAve that poor guitar left abandoned.

Same goes with people and life in general. Unfortunate encounters and situations with people can give us a false perception

[AndrewG]

Many people pass on an otherwise good guitar for many of the reasons stated above; poor (usually factory) setup, awful strings etc. The skill lies in being able to assess a guitar from the hints as to its potential that it will still give you in spite of them.

[Silly Moustache]

Originally Posted by Tico

Huh?
Could you elaborate?

The product mentioned is a "Tonerite" - I have one - think it has helped on some tight or dull guitars.

[nitram]

In perfect world the RH would be spot on and remain that way until eternity and we'd all be as happy as clams. However, as soon as you take a guitar to a less than ideal situation changes occur in its sound. Gigging out is a crap shoot, depending on the venue, and then the conditions change returning home. The atmosphere is in a constant state of flux unless you never take an instrument outside of it's climate-controlled zone. It seems almost impossible to hear a guitar the same way twice and therefore this topic will forever be a concern. It's not a perfect world, generally speaking, so we'll just have to be somewhat philosophical and expect the unexpected. Perhaps the best guitars are ones that are best able to deal with change.Enter CF etc.

[Mr Fingers]

I grew up playing in a state with dramatic seasonal changes and remember how every summer brought with it dull, tubby guitar tones. Not to rub it in, but I now live in a state where the RH is virtually always around 40% year round; Guitars sound great, do not experience the expansion/contraction and movement that comes with changes in overall temperature and humidity, and age beautifully. I can't possibly overstate what a luxury this is, or how profoundly positive it is for the guitars as physical objects. It's ironic that living trees love humidity but when we cut them down and make them into guitars -- they don't. There must be some kind of cosmic payback going on.

[Ed-in-Ohio]

This thread is developing into a strong carbon fiber endorsement.

[adaw2821]

I also think it's worth mentioning that it's not just old worn out strings that can sound bad. At one time I had heard lots of stunning examples of guitars strung with elixirs. I tried a few times to make them work on my masterbilt but every time they sounded harsh and metallic and awful. So much so that I would them break in but usually pull off long before they became dead. When I got the A3R I tried again and now they are my favorite strings on that guitar

[Organic Sounds Select Guitars]

This is a good topic, and I've wondered the same thing in the past. A lot of people here say that they can hear the potential of a great guitar even with old, lousy strings. I guess I believe them, up to a point....

[zmf]

Originally Posted by LWSog

A lot of people here say that they can hear the potential of a great guitar even with old, lousy strings. I guess I believe them, up to a point....

Just to change the perspective slightly, it's often said ("they say") that the mark of a good guitar is that it sounds good even with old strings. I'd rather try out a new-to-me guitar with 3-4 week old strings than strings fresh within a day or two..

[Looburst]

There is obviously much you have to be able to hear past when testing out new or used guitars. If you can't do this, you better take someone with you.

[menhir]

I don't know if it's really possible to know if a good guitar has been passed up due to the amount of variables that can effect the sound or playability.

For me, changes in humidity are probably the biggest factor in dampening the sound of my instruments, but I just play through those times.

For all I know some guitar I passed on in a store because of the sound may have sounded beautifully in my living room...if the humidity, temperature, acoustics, etc., came together, the curtains were opened the proper distance, and the dog was sleeping in the proper corner.

Watcha gonna do?


Back when I was playing bass in a band I wanted to upgrade. After touring music stores and trying out a lot of instruments, I found a Yamaha bass that was just...perfect. I played it, fell in love with it, bought it and took it home.

I played it for years, but it never sounded as good as it did in that store that day no matter what I tried. It was still a very good bass to be sure, but I never was able to get that sound again. So it goes.

[tippy5]

That's the mystery of acoustic guitars. Some amaze / some are duds.
Some after 4 years are amazing and some after 20 years rattle the lows.

After buying 30 in the last 30 years and trying hundreds I am twice bitten twice shy which in the concept of GAS is a good personal governor.
Who knows which ones that I resold are now incredibly pleasing sonically?
Or upgraded or setup to be a great guitar?

Maybe that's part of the allure, like a good woman, a moving target and a wild ride?
Maybe once you find a guit fiddle that fits your music it might be a wise move to not look at all the new different offerings?

[TKT]

This is a great thread!

It took me a few years and a lot of study to realize that my lovely instrument that a few weeks ago sounded like angels singing, and currently sounded like a muffled, muddy dead piece of wood, was suffering from over humidification.

I also had to learn that different strings settle in at different rates, and that setup could make or break whether I wanted to keep the guitar because of how it felt to play it.

A guitar that made me struggle with it and want to move it along ASAP, could play like butter and become pure joy with the correct setup.

Probably half of mine have been bought online, most were well under $1K, so I learned to keep them around and try a few things while deciding if they were a good fit to me and a keeper.

RH and strings are a good thing to keep in mind if shopping in person. I can usually tell if a string change will make a difference, on humidity I'd suppose one could take something like my little Acurite gauge that shows temperature and RH and also tracks high and low of both. I refer to it a lot. It was at 63% ten minutes ago, I put the AC on and it came down to 52%. It's a small room though! I have the paper color strips in my cases that don't have a built in gauge inside.

But yeah, good reason to have at least one CF guitar.

[Tico]

Originally Posted by Silly Moustache

The product mentioned is a "Tonerite" - I have one - think it has helped on some tight or dull guitars.

Okay, got it.
I have a Tonerite too, and it's has improved some of my guitars.

But this thread is about not buying a guitar that will sound better in the future.
You can't tell the store you want to install a Tonerite into a new guitar on their floor and return 2 weeks later to see if it then sounds good enough to buy.