Preserving that new guitar smell - or not?

[ii Cybershot ii]

Hi AGF!

With each of my acoustics, I have kept them as meticulous as possible, and in their cases at all times. As such, they have all maintained the wonderful smell of that "new" guitar, both the wood and the case. This smell is special to me and I love the experience of opening the case. Each guitar has a unique smell and it makes me think of all the good times I've had with it. My oldest guitar is a 2011 Taylor DN3 and it still smells wonderful.

However, as my human age has increased, the simple 30 seconds it takes to pull a guitar out of its case has proven to be a barrier to my playing. I miss my teenage years where my guitar was always on a stand in my room and I would pick it up without even thinking about it.

As such, I am both excited, and worried, about the idea of keeping my guitars out in the open on stands. And I am looking for some online "guitar therapy". My first thought is to buy a guitar that I purposely "don't care about" the smell of, and from the beginning just keep it out on the stand. But this seems silly given that I have 4 nice acoustics that deserve to be played.

Questions:

• What wisdom might you have that you could impart to me about this? Have you struggled with anything similar? Should I just let go of my obsession of the smells of the wood and case?

• If I rotated my guitars, for example, 1 week out on a stand, then 3 weeks in the case, etc. Do you think this would be enough to preserve the smell?

Looking forward to hearing your thoughts, and thank you for indulging my crazy obsession.

[Rosette]

I can relate. One of my guitars, which I purchased used, smelled strongly of rosewood when i first bought it. It was a little too strong - a bit like cheap cologne - but after almost 10 years the scent has faded and it's now a very pleasant sensory experience. I still keep it mostly in its case because I also had assumed the case was partly responsible for preserving the scent. The rest of my guitars are out on a rack or a stand. I only keep this guitar out of its case for maybe 1-2 days every so often. I keep the case in an easy to reach place so it's not much hassle to remove it when I want to play this one.

So I don't think it's weird - or maybe I too am just a crazy obsessive

[abn556]

Doesn’t Taylor use Poly for their clear coats? That doesn’t smell nearly as strong as nitro does. I think the new nitro smell is a good smell and I also like the smell of Brazilian rosewood, which some describe as a kind of chocolate smell. But I also like the smell of gasoline and some solvents, so I might not be in the majority on the smell thing.

[JKA]

Without wishing to cause offence but...you've got to be kidding? Did you buy your guitar to smell? Did you buy it to just to be able to say you own such and such a guitar? Did you buy it to play? If so then play it...stop smelling it.

Some weird stuff on this forum!

[rollypolly]

I have one Martin that I bought new and it had that new smell for a while. But now it's always out on a stand and lost the smell. The case still has the new smell, so whenever I want I can dip it back in for some of that goodness. But eventually that new smell will disappear and it'll all smell like someone's old socks or attic. it's inevitable.

[rllink]

Originally Posted by JKA

Without wishing to cause offence but...you've got to be kidding? Did you buy your guitar to smell? Did you buy it to just to be able to say you own such and such a guitar? Did you buy it to play? If so then play it...stop smelling it.

Some weird stuff on this forum!

Without wishing to cause offence as well, my sentiments exactly.

[RussellHawaii]

Originally Posted by ii Cybershot ii

Hi AGF!

With each of my acoustics, I have kept them as meticulous as possible, and in their cases at all times. As such, they have all maintained the wonderful smell of that "new" guitar, both the wood and the case. This smell is special to me and I love the experience of opening the case. Each guitar has a unique smell and it makes me think of all the good times I've had with it. My oldest guitar is a 2011 Taylor DN3 and it still smells wonderful.

However, as my human age has increased, the simple 30 seconds it takes to pull a guitar out of its case has proven to be a barrier to my playing. I miss my teenage years where my guitar was always on a stand in my room and I would pick it up without even thinking about it.

As such, I am both excited, and worried, about the idea of keeping my guitars out in the open on stands. And I am looking for some online "guitar therapy". My first thought is to buy a guitar that I purposely "don't care about" the smell of, and from the beginning just keep it out on the stand. But this seems silly given that I have 4 nice acoustics that deserve to be played.

Questions:

• What wisdom might you have that you could impart to me about this? Have you struggled with anything similar? Should I just let go of my obsession of the smells of the wood and case?

• If I rotated my guitars, for example, 1 week out on a stand, then 3 weeks in the case, etc. Do you think this would be enough to preserve the smell?

Looking forward to hearing your thoughts, and thank you for indulging my crazy obsession.

I keep my guitars on stands, out of their cases. Yes, the nice smells from a new-ish guitar will lessen faster if kept out. Both the wood smells and the finish smells. The aroma doesn’t disappear but gets weaker, as one would expect.
It’s a trade off! When kept in the case, though, it seems the case smell takes over sometimes…I don’t value that like the nice wood aromas.
Those who say ‘play the guitar, don’t smell it’ are using their guitars all wrong! Without offense. Serially, maybe we shouldn’t look at them either, eh?
Smell them, keep ‘em out, and keep buying new ones for that fresh smell! That’s the ticket. (J/k)

[tommieboy]

Originally Posted by ii Cybershot ii

Looking forward to hearing your thoughts, and thank you for indulging my crazy obsession.

Some wood/finish combinations don't give off much of a scent, if any. It's probably the guitar case itself that has that new guitar smell in those scenarios. Over the years, I've ordered a handful of custom guitar cases, and they all had that wonderful new guitar smell straight out of the factory; no guitar needed.

So, if your obsession becomes a mental disorder, you may want to consider buying a new replacement case for your older guitar. Been there, done that.



Tommy

[Wade Hampton]

I have to admit that how my guitars smell has never been a major concern of mine.


whm

[Rogerblair]

I enjoy the new smell as much as the next guy, but…. I buy them to play and don’t obsess over preserving that nice fragrance. They’re out all the time.

Here’s an idea - try making some covers for the sound holes that can easily be slid off when you want to play. I’d bet that would preserve most of the fragrance, certainly from the raw, unfinished wood of the interior.

Roger

[jim1960]

Originally Posted by ii Cybershot ii

With each of my acoustics, I have kept them as meticulous as possible, and in their cases at all times....If I rotated my guitars, for example, 1 week out on a stand, then 3 weeks in the case, etc. Do you think this would be enough to preserve the smell?

Some folks here make owning a guitar seem like a full-time job.

[JMW01]

Originally Posted by JKA

Without wishing to cause offence but...you've got to be kidding? Did you buy your guitar to smell? Did you buy it to just to be able to say you own such and such a guitar? Did you buy it to play? If so then play it...stop smelling it.

Some weird stuff on this forum!

I agree, I don’t care about how my guitars smell. I care about tone and playability.

However, I inherited my Fathers Gibson J-50 that he bought brand new in 1967 when I was 3 years old. I grew up listening to him play it and it has always had a sweet aroma in the sound hole. To this day, I can sniff the sound hole and it magically takes me back to my childhood and fond memories of my Dad.

My Father did not take care of this guitar the way people do now. It was never humidified and sat out on a stand most of the time. It went in the case only for traveling (in the hot or cold trunk of the car) and he took it everywhere. My point is that it is 57 years old, used and abused, spent most of its time out of the case, and it still has that wonderful smell. If your guitar still has the same smell after 13 years, it will probably smell the same in 50 years regardless of whether you keep it in or out of the case. I say set it on a stand and play it more often!

[CharlieBman]

If you're objective in buying a guitar is to play it, then I would suggest your obsession is eventually a losing cause.

However, if your objective is to smell them, well then, that's a different matter. When the smell fades, sell it and buy a new one.

[Bowie]

Opening the case and being surrounded by that aroma is so rewarding. Puts my mind into the creative zone when I go to play. Especially with certain woods like Brazilian rose, cedar, walnut, mahogany, and cherry.

I keep my guitars in the cases because it's the most stable and safe way to house them, but there's one that stays on the wall for convenience. If taking a few secs is too much of a bother then it's clearly not worth it to you. For me, keeping my guitars in as good condition as possible and enjoying the aroma of the woods is totally worth it.

[Tnfiddler]

I get the smell thing and my D41 and Bourgeois still have a pretty decent smell. That being said, they’re not abused, but they’re not perfect either. I play them out, a lot, and enjoy every second of it. I try to be as careful as possible with them, but If they get a scratch or ding, I keep on, keeping on! Play the fire out of them and don’t fret on them being perfect. You can worry your whole life over them and the next person who ends up with them, could end up gigging them weekly and they acquire tons of character in a short while!! Play them!!