Laminate guitars open up?

[jklotz]

I was always under the impression laminate guitars will never open up, which is one of the reasons solid wood guitars are considered superior. My beater, a "b stock" The Loar LH200, has been ignored for the last year or so. I just have too many other nice guitars, so it's just been sitting there on the stand (I don't even have a case for it). I picked it up yesterday and man, that thing sounded really good! I didn't even change the strings (elixir's)! I am talking a substantial improvement.

So can laminate guitars open up after some time? I didn't think that was possible until yesterday.

[vindibona1]

I've not been able to identify any opening up of the Alvarez Yairi laminate B/S guitars I've owned. But perhaps I should throw a Tonerite on one for a week just to see if it can make any difference on a 25 year old instrument.

[L20A]

Opening up is very controversial at best.
Some claim that flat tops don't open up like arched tops do.
Others say that solid flat tops do open to some degree, depending on the guitar.
I have also heard that an all laminated guitar will never open up and will always sound the way it does when new.

I don't know if it's my ear or if guitars do open up but I do hear a difference in my guitars after several years of playing them.
This includes my old Yamaha all laminated guitar.

I suppose it really doesn't matter that much as long as we like the sound that our guitars give to us.

[boneuphtoner]

In a Wood and steel article written several years ago, Bob Taylor stated that if you have a solid top, it will improve with age - he didn't say "opening up", but you get the point. Don't know about all-laminate construction.

[Manbelton]

My one laminate B/S but solid top guitar (Norman) sounds significantly better than it did when I first got it 25 years ago. I do think the top would age and that could have a significant impact on sound over time.

[HAPPYDAN]

Congrats on a good experience. But here's a wild one I'm sure everyone will argue with. 5 or 6 years ago, I bought an Epiphone ES-339 Pro online. Semi-hollow body electric. I hated it. The frets buzzed, it would not stay in tune, and the intonation was terrible. I tried to adjust it and failed. I took it in for a professional set-up, did not help much. So it has been in the case, virtually untouched, for years. I pulled it out 2 weeks ago, to quietly practice some fingerstyle runs, and it sounded . . . different. My clip-on tuner, which would not work on it at all previously, now worked perfectly(!?). The intonation was good, with very little fret buzz. IMO, the Chinese manufacturer built the guitar before the wood was properly seasoned, and it needed time to settle in. I was going to put it up for sale, but now, maybe not. Good Luck!

[Wade Hampton]

If the guitar has a solid spruce or cedar top, the top will open up just as if it was on an all-solid wood guitar. The top breaking in is what you hear most dramatically in this process, anyway. The back and sides do contribute to the tonal change, but it takes years longer and is more subtle when it eventually occurs.

That’s with all-solid wood. Now, I have heard all-laminate guitars that seem to have broken in a bit after years of being played. I attribute that to the overall loosening up that happens after having all those vibrations running through the guitar.

So, yes, all-laminate guitars can break in if they’re played a lot, and those guitars with solid tops definitely break in with use.


Wade Hampton Miller

[JGinNJ]

Archtops are often laminate topped, even among fairly expensive ones. A common quality is they don't resonate as much, so don't have as much of an acoustic sound. That's actually a good thing for managing feedback. The idea of "opening up", torrefying tops, etc., never comes up with these guitars.

If a laminate flatop improves with age at all, my guess is it takes a lot longer, since it's a wood sandwich, it won't vibrate as much, and the inner, glued layers will not dry.

[CASD57]

Originally Posted by HAPPYDAN

Congrats on a good experience. But here's a wild one I'm sure everyone will argue with. 5 or 6 years ago, I bought an Epiphone ES-339 Pro online. Semi-hollow body electric. I hated it. The frets buzzed, it would not stay in tune, and the intonation was terrible. I tried to adjust it and failed. I took it in for a professional set-up, did not help much. So it has been in the case, virtually untouched, for years. I pulled it out 2 weeks ago, to quietly practice some fingerstyle runs, and it sounded . . . different. My clip-on tuner, which would not work on it at all previously, now worked perfectly(!?). The intonation was good, with very little fret buzz. IMO, the Chinese manufacturer built the guitar before the wood was properly seasoned, and it needed time to settle in. I was going to put it up for sale, but now, maybe not. Good Luck!

I got a ES-339Pro/P90 in 2015 that had the same problems maybe I should pull it out of the case? And see

[DenverSteve]

Older quality laminate guitar's sound better than new quality laminate guitar's do. So, if guitar's open up, I believe laminate guitar's do similar to all-solid guitars.

[Oldguy64]

I think all guitars made of wood, improve with age.
Is it “opening up”?
Is it the glue drying to a consistency that aids and abets tone?
Or is it that after a few years you and it have bonded, any you’ve tried enough strings just “work” on that guitar?
Have you simply learned how to get the most out of that guitar?
I have two fairly “young” all solid guitars. A Takamine made In 2017, and an Alvarez made in 2014.
My 28 year old Yairi with the laminate back and sides, kicks them both to the curb.

That said, the Takamine has a fairly thick top compared to either Alvarez. And I’ve noted that for a cedar topped guitar, it isn’t as “warm” sounding as the Yairi or the Alvarez MD.
So, I think all the factors above are contributors.

[mr. beaumont]

So much of a guitars sound is in the top, so if the top is solid, sure.

I'm not big on the "opening up magic" thing, but a played in solid top guitar will sound DIFFERENT than an unplayed.

[printer2]

Some guitars are built with just enough stiffness in the top to counteract the string pull. They tend to have a tilted bridge with a depression in front of it and slight belly behind it. A solid top guitar with a stiff top will not have the same amount of effect as a top that is less stiff. So the same make of guitar built to the same dimensions will give one guitar that may 'open up' where one does not. I do not see why the same thing could happen with a laminate guitar depending on the characteristics of the wood used to make the laminate.

[TBman]

My Seagull Coastline folk - solid cedar top, laminate cherry b/s has mellowed quite a bit over the last 10 years or so.

Could mean I'm losing my hearing on the treble side though,

[tadol]

My all laminate string bass just opened up - I’m having a heckuva time getting it glued back together -