Do some guitars keep going to sleep

[Dr Tone Control]

Originally Posted by vindibona1

How many hours have you done with a Tonerite total?

maybe overnight 2 or 3 times, and the odd hour or two

[Dr Tone Control]

Originally Posted by Tim McKnight

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.

thanks for that Tim

That's a bit of a shame, but not the end of the world

[rick-slo]

Originally Posted by Dr Tone Control

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

Yes, having and playing different guitars would be my point.

[Dr Tone Control]

Originally Posted by 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...

thanks for the advice

I can get my sound out of the bigger guitars though, I have a few Dreads and Jumbos.

Most usefully for comparison I have an Goodall RCJ that I've had for a few years, sound is in the perfect zone for me. Very responsive, and warm but sparkly

The TBRD is as responsive as the RCJ too, after using the Tonerite for an hour. Without the Tonerite, I'd tear my nails off trying to get that sound out of it

[Hoyt]

I think guitars do become looser and drier over time. Some call that "waking up."

However, "waking up" after playing it a few minutes is, IMO, due more to one's fingers/arm loosening up, adjusting to what you are hearing, and figuring out how best to play the guitar at that particular time. Finger style during a very humid period, is quite likely to sound more muffled than usual. So, I use more nail, or a flat pick. Similarly, during dry months, the guitar may be a little more bright.

[Dr Tone Control]

Originally Posted by Hoyt

I think guitars do become looser and drier over time. Some call that "waking up."

However, "waking up" after playing it a few minutes is, IMO, due more to one's fingers/arm loosening up, adjusting to what you are hearing, and figuring out how best to play the guitar at that particular time. Finger style during a very humid period, is quite likely to sound more muffled than usual. So, I use more nail, or a flat pick. Similarly, during dry months, the guitar may be a little more bright.

It's not that for me, I'm comparing a Goodall TBRD and a Goodall RCJ, before and after using the Tonerite on the TBRD for one hour, it's not me changing my playing technique

[brandall10]

Originally Posted by Hoyt

I think guitars do become looser and drier over time. Some call that "waking up."

However, "waking up" after playing it a few minutes is, IMO, due more to one's fingers/arm loosening up, adjusting to what you are hearing,

Even my 30 year old SCGC OM w/ a German top is a fair bit louder/looser after whacking on it for a few minutes if I haven't played it for a couple days.

It's not 'me' loosening up, lol. I tend to rotate guitars when I play. It's quite obvious.

[lowrider]

There was another thread here recently where tonerite owners agreed that they have to re-tonerite their guitars after they've sat for a while. So, I don't know maybe the short-cutting the opening up process just doesn't work permanently on some guitars.

My thought is that maybe you should play this guitar a lot for a while and let it open up naturally. Play it hard and be patient, and see what happens.

[jrb715]

I am skeptical about almost all things, but I've come to believe some guitars wake up as you play them. I have three adirondack guitars: two, a Huss and Dalton dread and a Collings OM that come out of the cases singing. The third, a Huss and Dalton slope, though it sounds sensational, wrestles with me for at least ten minutes. During those ten minutes, I'm planning on selling it or at least finding the magical luthier who will set it up for the fourth time and make it more civilized to play, and then, more or less all of a sudden, I'm just playing it and there's no longer an issue. I've worked my way through believing it's just me getting used to it in those ten minutes: once the guitar becomes more playable I can go back and forth with the slope and the other Huss and Dalton and they pretty much play the same--and they sure didn't when I took the slope out to play.

It might well be, as Tim writes, that all adirondack top guitars take a little loosening up as you play them; but I don't hear it or feel it with my dread and OM, so if they respond to playing, the change is pretty subtle. But there is nothing subtle about what happens with the slope.

So, against all my instincts, I think Dr Tone Control is likely to be describing a real process.

[tippy5]

I found that Goodall Adi dreads have a different voice than other Goodall designs. My old one needed more right hand to get in gear. Which is what a bluegrass picker loves. Medium strings medium high action and exploding notes once in gear. If I was 25 I would absolutely love that. But after 55 years of daily playing I need slope dreads with a little less horsepower (output). Easier gear to get in with lighter play and light string gauge. Thinner tops, lighter bracing for a sore finger old player. My old Adi Goodall dread had an extreme amount of clarity and balance.

[Goodallboy]

Having never owned an Adirondack topped guitar, this issue is foreign to me.

Interesting to learn. Seems a bit inconvenient.

[redir]

I have a mahagony guitar with a redwood top that takes a fair bit of time to warm up. I've known about this but this particular one took longer then most and for a while I thought there was just something wrong with it. I don't seem to notice this issue on any of the smaller guitars I have.

[Dr Tone Control]

Originally Posted by lowrider

There was another thread here recently where tonerite owners agreed that they have to re-tonerite their guitars after they've sat for a while. So, I don't know maybe the short-cutting the opening up process just doesn't work permanently on some guitars.

My thought is that maybe you should play this guitar a lot for a while and let it open up naturally. Play it hard and be patient, and see what happens.

some underplayed guitars I've had woke up with the Tonerite, and stayed awake. I don't have the patience to play a guitar that is refusing to respond, I'll let the tonerite wake it up and give it a few months to see what happens next I think
or maybe I'll use my new Primevibe, which is a bit more gentle

[Dr Tone Control]

Originally Posted by redir

I have a mahagony guitar with a redwood top that takes a fair bit of time to warm up. I've known about this but this particular one took longer then most and for a while I thought there was just something wrong with it. I don't seem to notice this issue on any of the smaller guitars I have.

Ironically my new redwood guitar is always fizzing and very reponsive, with no need for Tonerite, which is what set me off wondering what was happening with the Goodall TBRD, sometimes both were similar, sometimes vastly different in responsiveness

[Wild Bill Jones]

I have a 7 month old custom Roberts slope shoulder dread. Adirondack spruce top. It was and still sort of tight as a drum. Tonerite helped. After 2 weeks, better, but not enough. I play the guitar a lot and leave it on the Tonerite when not. This is for 7 months now! Last month I could feel both sides of the lower bout vibrating where they hardly did before. Now it vibrates even more. Sounding better too. My Rockbridge Adirondack really came into its own at 10 years old. My Thompson ( guess I better update my signature) has a torrifaction Lutz top. It was great from day one. I don’t know if I have 10 more years to wait but the tonerite SEE,S TO BE speeding things up on the Roberts. BTW I haven’t found the Tonerite to do anything much with older, broken in guitars. All disclaimers apply, etc.