Do some guitars keep going to sleep

[Dr Tone Control]

I recently bought a used Goodall Brazilian / Adirondack dread

It always sounds great when played with a pick, but I normally play fingerstyle, and it feels unresponsive unless I've woken it up with my Tonerite

Is this a common thing with Adirondack? Or perhaps the guitar was lightly used in the past?

Any advice please?

[jaymarsch]

I think that with red spruce, it can take a while to break in. It is possible that it was not played a lot or it is a relatively new guitar and still needs to break in some more. I bet after you have owned it for a while ad played it more consistently, it will settle into a new norm.

Best,
Jayne

[Bain]

“unless I've woken it up with my Tonerite” I don’t even understand what that means......😎

[zmf]

Originally Posted by Dr Tone Control

..... and it feels unresponsive unless I've woken it up with my Tonerite

Is this a common thing with Adirondack?

I don't put much stock in guitars waking up or going to sleep, but I'll mention that I had a D-18 with a red spruce top that seemed a bit stiff when fingerpicking. It was best at robust Travis picking tunes. And excelled at flatpicking.

I think what is part of a guitar "waking up" is your fingers "waking up" and getting into the rhythm/style of playing that best suits the guitar. Getting into the correct power and attack behind each finger stroke.

Each guitar is different in what is the best input for optimal output. Perhaps the fingers wake up and adjust more than the guitar wakes up?

But perhaps your impression is different.

[Dr Tone Control]

Originally Posted by Bain

“unless I've woken it up with my Tonerite” I don’t even understand what that means......😎

The Tonerite is a gadget to quickly break in guitars

Many people think that guitars also need a "mini break-in" after they have been unused for a long time, and "go to sleep"

[Jaden]

For fingerstyle practice, a smaller guitar than a dreadnought will take less effort to get the top moving (on average more responsive to a light touch).

[brandall10]

I've found the best way to get a guitar to 'wake up' is to spend a few minutes hitting it with cowboy chords at full power.

[Dr Tone Control]

Originally Posted by zmf

I don't put much stock in guitars waking up or going to sleep, but I'll mention that I had a D-18 with a red spruce top that seemed a bit stiff when fingerpicking. It was best at robust Travis picking tunes. And excelled at flatpicking.

I think what is part of a guitar "waking up" is your fingers "waking up" and getting into the rhythm/style of playing that best suits the guitar. Getting into the correct power and attack behind each finger stroke.

Each guitar is different in what is the best input for optimal output. Perhaps the fingers wake up and adjust more than the guitar wakes up?

But perhaps your impression is different.

That could happen, but in this case this is me playing for 10 minutes, putting the Tonerite on for 1 hour, then playing the same piece again, and it sounds very different

I'm wondering if this is a permanent thing, or if it will one day stick in the woken-up mode

[zmf]

Originally Posted by Dr Tone Control

That could happen, but in this case this is me playing for 10 minutes, putting the Tonerite on for 1 hour, then playing the same piece again, and it sounds very different

Someday I'll have to try a Tonerite.

[Dwight]

I had a guitar that needed ten minutes to wake up every time I played it.

[rick-slo]

Ears waking up to the tone of a guitar and playing adaptations account for more than anything else.

[vindibona1]

How many hours have you done with a Tonerite total?

[Tim McKnight]

Originally Posted by Dr Tone Control

The Tonerite is a gadget to quickly break in guitars

Many people think that guitars also need a "mini break-in" after they have been unused for a long time, and "go to sleep"

You are not imagining things Doc. Every Red Spruce Guitar that we’ve built exhibits this same trait. It’s something unique to Red Spruce in that after 20-30 minutes the top does wake up in that it gets louder and more responsive. It happens each and every time and I’ve never known it to totally go away. The entire guitar will generally open up and mature as it ages. The bass and mids will get fuller and louder over time but the trebles will mostly remain very similar to what they were when new.

[jseth]

In my experience, Adirondack spruce needs some SERIOUS pounding for a good number of hours and months before it truly responds like it can... newer guitars with Adirondack spruce can take quite a while, and that's IF they've been thinned correctly...

Even James Goodall can't overcome the inherent stiffness of Adirondack, nor would he want to... keep playing it, hitting it a little harder than your norm (even with fingers) and it will blossom and grow in tone, response and volume.

Although I will add that the bigger the guitar, the less likely it's going to be highly responsive for fingerstyle and softly plucked notes... ever thought about getting more a Concert Jumbo Goodall? Even James' Standard (which is NOT a small guitar) can be highly responsive and touch-sensitive for fingerstyle...

[Dr Tone Control]

Originally Posted by rick-slo

Ears waking up to the tone of a guitar and playing adaptations account for more than anything else.

no, I have enough guitars to be able to test against, it's not me