Recent frustrations with my acoustics sounding off?

[Treyson]

Hello all, recently I’ve been experiencing or the best I can describe as, a loss of or change of tone with my acoustic guitars. It’s not just one. Not sure if my perception is off or what.

Man, this is hard to describe and kooky sounding at the same time.

I’m trying to determine within the past 30 days what changed. I’ve played 2 hours per day for the past 90+ days as a new commitment 🙂

Circumstances:

1. I usually leave my acoustics out. Yes, I know but this is not new. The RH has been averaging a little lower between 35 to 43rh. vs. 38-48% this winter.
2. Put new string brand on my Takamine (Cedar Top) a few weeks ago. FWIW, went from Elixir PW’s PB to Stringjoy PB which has a higher pitch/ brighter sound with noticeable mildish vibration. Same gauge.
3. My 2017 Taylor 214ce - Elixir Nano’s had some playtime on them and possibly went flat during this and in combo with the RH being lower. I mean dead sounding. BTW, I put it In its case (6-7 days ago) with Boveda’s for peace of mind (dryness) and will put fresh Nanowebs on in a day or two.
4. Just bought a new Fishman loud box mini a few days ago. Although my guitars have preamps I’ve never actually used them with an Amp before. Playing through the amp is a new experience.

I’ve used the Loudbox with my Takamine and can’t say I’ve found a happy setting on either. Kinda muddy, inconsistent , lacking crispness across the strings compared to unplugged. My assumption is my Tak’s CT-4BII is working correctly. But, until I can try the amp with my Taylor can’t compare.

Too escape the madness, I restrung my trusty GSMini with light-med Nano’s. Nice and stretched in, strung the Taylor way..... and it sounds off. It was in the case at 45% RH 🥵 WTH!

Has anyone else ever experienced this? It’s like going from being happy with the sound of one of your guitars & liking it more than the other to feeling the opposite later on.

Your thoughts are appreciated and even some expected (but in good taste) humorous wisecracks. Hey, I will be 100 in 35 1/2 years my skin is thick.

Thanks

[rokdog49]

Hi Treyson,
I think you'll find that most of us will say that we have times when our guitars sound "off."
Here's a for instance. The strings on my D18 were starting to go into the dead zone. That being said, I hesitated to remove them because they had a nice mellow warmth I enjoyed. I finally gave in last evening and put a set of Newtone Heritage PB's on. These are a string I really like.
Aaaghhh! What have I done! All the warm and mellow is gone and it sounds wretched. That will change in time.
My point is, any changes you make can cause you to hear stuff differently and not always for the better. Stay the course no give it some time. Today's a new day.

[Dino Silone]

Some of this could just be that your perceptions and expectations have changed, or that you’re paying more attention now that you’ve committed to playing 2 hours/day. You could be hearing more subtle differences in your playing, which you’re projecting on to the guitar. We all have times when we’re more in the groove than others, and experience some temporary burnout from time to time. And then there’s the “memory” factor - our memories aren’t perfect, and are often idealized. When comparing a current experience of something like a guitar to a memory of it, the current experience can fall short, not of the actual past sound of the guitar, but of our idealized memory of that sound.

That said, there could also be a physical element to what you’re experiencing. I also leave most of my guitars out, and I notice that they sound different at different times. It could be a temperature/humidity thing. I keep my house thermostat set at one value pretty much all day and night, but there are definitely temperature and humidity variations day-to-day, and hour-to-hour.

[catndahats]

I've gone through versions of that myself---most every time it has been humidity related, changing string brands, or sometimes when I am just not feeling quite right (ie: I'm old and my health and hearing is changing)

my first thought was the humidity, but after reading sounds like it has been pretty steady.

sounds like the real change is strings...go back to square one if you don't like what you are hearing now. Another thought---it takes a few days for strings to get played in, takes a while to get used to the sound.

Or (humor)----you are just nuts.....respectfully said.

[Monsoon1]

Your guitars are clearly wore out. It's time for new ones. And if you don't mind sell me your old ones, cheap.

[ctvolfan]

Sometimes I just feel the urge to play and I pick one of my three guitars up and start playing and I am just uninspired. When I play uninspired then all my guitars don't sound as good to me. Of course there are times when I am really in a groove and playing inspired or well and they all sound great to me. We guitar players are a strange and particular bunch. Maybe it is just all in your head. I know that is the case for me lots of the time.

[bufflehead]

Sounds like you're fighting your guitars. You take a cedar-top, mahogany BS guitar and put the brightest PB strings you can find on it. Why? That guitar wants to be warm and woody, not bright. Let it be what it is. Try something like monel Martin Retros on it: strings that will enhance the guitar's natural tone, not fight it.
::::::::::::::::

Too much gain on the Loudbox Mini? It's a great little amp, you just need to figure out the settings for your type of music.

[roylor4]

I think Dino and ctvolfan's comments hit home. There are days when I pick up a guitar I loved yesterday and it doesn't do a thing for me today. Perception is 9/10's of reality. A bad day, a pickier ear - who can say why, but I suspect we have all had this.

I can't count the days when I hear tuning or intonation issues no one else hears. Part of it is my connection to how the guitar SHOULD sound, part of it is just having too picky of an ear on a given day.

If you are just starting to play amplified you are hearing the difference between how your guitar actually sounds and how the pickup and amp represent that. They are two different sounds and it is something to get used to. I have a friend that cannot tell the difference between a piezo, a SBT and a mag pickup??!!

Most of us are not that lucky and have developed a stronger desire for replicating the TRUE sound of our guitar (even if it is largely a lesson in futility without a mic).

[Paddy1951]

What you are noticing could be you. Your hearing, perceptions of the sound.
We are organic beings. Not everything about us works the same way all of the time, every day.

Environmental changes can change the sound of an organic instrument.

We have all experienced those "off" sounds from our guitars. They can change. But so can we.

ie. medications, even simple ones, can effect our senses.

I am suggesting that your frustration isn't unusual and can be pretty normal.

We aren't on top of our game, everyday.

[Lesbark Wagmore]

When my guitar sounds off I just start singing songs with it. The critical part of my brain quickly focuses on my singing, a much bigger target. Soon the guitar sounds great again.

[Jaden]

I used to think inconsistency with performance had to do with the guitar, but it may well have more to do with environmental conditions. I haven’t noticed any inconsistencies since paying close attention to humidity levels.*

There has been a common observation regarding lower humidity around 35% resulting in better performance but I find it much better at 45%. Lower than this can begin to sound bright and brittle.

YMMV

*indoor

[Mr Bojangles]

I experience it also. Simple explanation; voodoo.

As a bike mechanic, whenever someone comes in with a "new" problem or noise or whatever, one of the first questions to ask is "what is the last thing you did to it?" In your case, I would look at the strings, since you changed them on both guitars.

[BT55]

I agree that your issues may be related to environmental conditions. During winter months I maintain about 40% humidity in my man cave and find that I have to adjust neck relief and change strings more often. That seems to keep my rack mounted guitars in proper playing condition.

[merlin666]

You mentioned humidity in your post and that is definitely a factor that would affect all guitars that are left out in the room. Is your hygrometer correct? Also, if you use the same pick for playing, they get worn over time and if it has a fine crack at the tip the sound will deteriorate considerably. So check the pick and maybe use a fresh one if you don't have several spread across the house/your pockets.