#46
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I had a pretty good idea what you meant. It's just that I'd always thought of the process of breaking in as a matter of age and vibration, over the ENTIRE TOP. It never occurred to me that certain areas could open up first, or that other areas might remain unaffected (comparatively), depending generally on the player. Can I assume that to be your implication?
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#47
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hmmm, interesting. from my experience with any kind of guitar, and I have only ever owned one _new_ archtop (several vintage) but my new one is still very young, but I would say that guitars do play in and possibly how you play a guitar will effect how it gets played in. for example if all you ever play are first position open chords like G, C, D, E, you aren't really activating the high frequencies that may blossom if you use the entire neck. so the more you access the entire frequency and harmonic band across the entire fret-board, over time this accumulates and may, in part, determine the sonic character or timbre of your guitar. hard to prove scientifically, but from experience with a lot of guitars that is my impression. now as to whether this phenomenon is more pronounced on archtops, it could be but I am not saying that today.
it is possible since the overall design and structure of an archtop is much more rigid as compared to a flattop. thus, if we follow this theory to its logical extreme, over time the player is key in determining the overall tone of a guitar. we know that when two players play the same guitar, that guitar can sound different depending on the style and technique and approach of each player. now would one player versus the other player, all hypothetical mind you, given twenty, thirty years, a lifetime of playing on one archtop, two players with different styles and the archtop develops into a different instrument depending on who played that guitar. yes, possibly this is correct, though remember a guitar only makes a sound when someone is playing it. Last edited by RobertForman; 08-27-2013 at 07:02 PM. Reason: add more content |
#48
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now here's an analogy, a wild one, but I tend to think of guitars or breaking in a guitar as similar to breaking in a pair of blue jeans or breaking in a baseball glove, as you use it it's gets softer and looser and feels more comfortable. now a minute ago I was looking at two pairs of New Balance shoes, same exact model, one brand new, hardly been worn, the other pair over four years old, hiked the Grand Canyon in them. The new pair retains it's perfect new shape. the old pair has the shape of my foot. it doesn't have the shape of my kid's foot or my wife's foot, I stretched those shoes out and they are shaped like my feet. now my wife, her feet are smaller, if she starts wearing those shoes, they aren't going to get smaller or bend to the shape of her foot. now my brother's foot, it's a size larger, maybe two sizes larger, he puts his feet in those shoes and starts walking around and he is going to stretch them even further and those shoes won't perfectly match his foot shape since I already broke them in, but they are going to stretch even more and maybe take on some of the characteristic shape of his foot. if you wrap your mind around this analogy you will understand that guitar tops are like shoes.
Last edited by RobertForman; 08-27-2013 at 06:58 PM. Reason: edit |
#49
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#50
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Given what you're saying, in the interest of future generations, I should probably put my new archtop on permanent loan to a player whose skills far outpace mine.
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#51
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BTW, thanks to all of you more experienced owners/players for the great information I'm getting on this forum...quite educational and fun and is making me even more excited about owning and learning about these fine guitars... |
#52
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What do you think Of the Regal Made .. Fischer B Imperial ?
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#53
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I own a 2010 Godin 4th Avenue Kingpin II, and I love it. However, I have been considering selling this guitar (with 2 P90's) for this one:
http://www.gbase.com/gear/the-loar-lh300-2013-sunburst With the K&K Definity pickup, I am hoping this guitar would have a better acoustic-only tone than the Godin, and also sound more acoustic when plugged in. I have finally determined that I am an acoustic player at heart - the Godin's tone plugged in is a bit "electric-y" for me... |
#54
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I've also got a CW Kingpin II and IME the CW never was about pure acoustic tone, any more than the classic hollowbodies (ES-175, Gretsch 6120, Epiphone Zephyr, Guild X-175, etc.) upon which it was modeled: sweet and mellow close up - and I love chilling out on the couch with it after a week's work (as I'll be doing right after I post ) - but I've also got an acoustic 5th Avenue for straight-up unplugged playing; FWIW, although you'll never get a purely "acoustic" tone out of the CW you can come closer than you think, depending on your setup and the amplification/effects you're using - in this case, the simpler the better (as in avoid the dedicated acoustic guitar amps designed for modern transducers and go through something a little more lo-fi). Try a set of PB strings and a polepiece adjustment (drop your unwound strings - especially the B - and raise the lowest four until the tone/volume is balanced); with some midrange EQ notching (a 10-band stompbox should work nicely in conjunction with your amp's EQ) and a bit of chorus to cut the characteristic "in your face" electric punch you should get a nice jazz tone from the neck pickup, with a definite "acoustic" character...
Hope this helps... |