Martin Mod

[bbigsby]

I have a 1983 Martin D28 that has been played and played. The finish is a rich amber, there is light checking, dents and the sound hole has lots of wear. Today I had too much time on my hands and so I took out all my guitars and played them. I couldn't help but notice the 1983 has an older sound, of course it is 36 years older, any how I noticed if I gently rub my fingers along the sound hole the worn bare spruce makes an incredible raw, dry, woody noise. I grabbed all my newer (2007 and greater) guitars and none have any sound hole wear, so when I rubbed my finger along the hole the response was - nothing, very quiet. No resonance, barely any noise.

Warning - Don't try this based off of my experience. I am just posting this to see if any veterans of the forum tried this as well and had the same result.

So I grabbed my 2016 D28 and some 150 grit and 600 grit fine sand paper and went to work. I did not take the finish down to the bare wood, I only sanded a little each time until I was able to generate a noticeable resonance when moving my finger around the sound hole. There was still enough finish on the wood so looking at the guitar 2 feet away, or I would even say on close inspection you can't really tell anything was done, however I do notice the guitar is a little more resonant. This was not a big change but a change never the less, and when I went back to the guitar 6 hours later I still noticed a difference, so much I tried it on my D18V. Yes, the D18V sounded a little better. I may try it on other but not my 2018 D41. That guitar I will never change anything it sounds so good. Well I changed the strings once in a year and a half.

All the best to you but... YIKES!

[zoopeda]

I love this. A guy using ingenuity and elbow grease to enhance the joy around his guitars. The Pre-War Co boys Ben and Wes have been saying for years they hear a huge difference between their highly-"aged" (ie sanded, scratched, beat up) guitars vs their lightly-aged guitars. People who haven't played them think it's all visual, but there is something to the effect mojo has on tone. There's a reason those old guitars sound old (beyond just oxidation of the finish and internal wood). You did it, man. Have fun, and report back when you've taken it another step!

Got any photos??

[Tony Burns]

Their is something i like about people who throw caution to the wind .
Your a brave soul -

[bbigsby]

Have a look at the Martin Website for Aged Authentic's. Notice how they aggressively age around the sound hole. I came across this by accident or too much time on my hands.


https://www.martinguitar.com/media/8082/aged_t.jpg

[vindibona1]

Originally Posted by bbigsby

Have a look at the Martin Website for Aged Authentic's. Notice how they aggressively age around the sound hole. I came across this by accident or too much time on my hands.


https://www.martinguitar.com/media/8082/aged_t.jpg

I dunno... Seems mostly or all cosmetic. I've always cringed when folks beat up a perfectly good new guitar. For a time it was a thing with Stratocasters, but from what I'm seeing now, I think that trend has largely run its course. To me "antiquing" or "relic'ing" a guitar is along the same lines as buying a fake Rolex. I've got a few light pick marks near the soundhole of my '95 Taylor 910 and I'm thinking "How do I repair that?".

[DenverSteve]

The beauty is that it’s your guitar and you can do anything you like with it. Sand away.