A lot of different perspectives..

I agree that if a guitar doesn't sound good to begin with all the time in the world probably won't turn your 'sows ear into a silk purse'. However, I do have a sitka-topped guitar that to my ears has become more responsive over the years.

Various companies' warranties only apply in the US & Canada re:full coverage/limited lifetime etc.

I owned this all-mahogany 1964 Gibson LG0 (seen here in December 1965) from 1964 until 1976 and it most assuredly opened up over that time. Wish I'd never sold it...

http://i657.photobucket.com/albums/u...band1965-1.jpg

I have a 1996 Taylor 412-M that I bought used in 2007. It sounded pretty good when I bought it and it sounds even better now. I recently bought a Taylor 528e and a 322. Both sound amazing now...if/when they open up over the years they will sound unbelievable!

http://i657.photobucket.com/albums/u...ps8662f970.jpg

http://i657.photobucket.com/albums/u...psadd7e170.jpg

BTW, Bob Taylor says that most guitars will open up over time whether you play them or not. FWIW.

Actually, I only need to wait about a month...I recently bought a 1934 Martin 00-17 off of Craigslist that went directly into the shop for a neck reset:


http://i1113.photobucket.com/albums/...Martin0017.jpg

I never experienced this with my acoustics, but I thinking it may be because they were opened up when I bought them. I had a 414ce for about a year and it sounded the same when I sold it as it did the day I bought it. My 15 year old Seagull S6 I suspect I never even realized it opened up because I was such a new guitar player. Other than my Seagull and the Taylor 414, I've never kept an acoustic more than a year. I've been an electric player my entire live and really only plinked around on the Seagull from time to time.

As I get older, I am gravitating towards acoustic more and more. I'm honestly flirting dangerously close to becoming primarily acoustic as I haven't touched my electrics in close to a year.


PS (sorry for old thread resurrection....didn't realize it when I posted)

Tell the classical players that. ;)

If you don't like the sound of your guitar now then good luck with waiting for the magical opening up to happen. I bought a higher end guitar in the mid-70s mainly for it's crisp and bright sound. Didn't play it for more than 30 years, and when I played it again I found it sounded fairly boring and unbalanced, with a tad too much overtones. Now if it "opened up" and I simply didn't like the result, or my hearing changed with age and exposure to other instruments ... who knows ...

I can't talk specifically to Gibson's warranty but for Martin, unless you're in North America, Martin does not honor the warranty - I believe it would be up to the dealer.

What I have found is that guitars with hardwood tops - whether mahogany, koa or walnut - tend to take three to four times as long to fully open up as similar guitars with spruce tops tend to take. The wood of the top is harder, so it takes longer.

When shopping for a new guitar, whether all-mahogany or spruce-topped, I agree that it's best to find one that has a good sound while still brand new. That's always the safest practice.


whm

Wow, yet another zombie thread. :)

Since the OP asked specifically about opening up after 80 years, maybe we should consider this particular zombie a progress report....:guitar:

I tend to agree with this. No scientific evidence, but it's what I believe. :)