Why sometimes....

[lovetheclassics]

Anybody have a scientific reason as to why, some days you pickup your guitar and it just sounds like blaaaaaaah?

Humidity I experience does play a role in the blah, but even when humidity is constant some days, like today for example, just doesnt sound good.

[williejohnson]

Sometimes, it just has to do with the mood you're in...it can be very fickle. IMO, these occurrences have more to do with the operator than the instrument.

Willie

[GuitarDogs62]

Honestly cannot give a reason for this or have experienced this. My guitars always sounded themselves and and never blah. When they sounded off it was due to me not fingering correctly or impropper hand placement on the chords. I always before I practice and play everyday check the tuning. Other than that I never have had this issue.

Sincerely
Andy

[Glennwillow]

I think to a great extent, Willie is right... mood. It could also be humidity, your ears that day, the room you are playing in, or strings getting old and dull. I find that when a guitar sounds bad, I check to see how old the strings are. For me, that's almost always the reason.

- Glenn

[unclerufus]

I heard some guys say that if a guitar sits for a while and is then played, that it has to "open up" a little just like the wood does as it ages. I've never had a guitar that had this problem, but I'm fond of cedar and Englemann and they open up quite a bit quicker than most.

[pf400]

Some days when you least expect it, your guitar just sounds so good !

Also , often after listening to a cd or going to a concert, I cannot wait to play, and I am rewarded with a nice tone and resonance that I forgot had existed from my guitars.

I listened to a cd of a guy playing very mellow acoustic on a Froggy Bottom guitar...really just a lot of open chords played slowly. Got home and did the same on my acoustic with the volume up with reverb and chorus and boy was it wonderful. No, I did not have new strings on.

When I play for others I just assume they hear those beautiful overtones and undertones too....pleases me that I might be pleasing them.

[Taylorplayer]

Scientific causes (using the term loosely): Humidity (too much, too little); strings went dead; head colds -- sinus issues;

Other cause: Just can't get a decent rhythm going; distractions; the neighbor's dog wont stop barking; my cat decides to climb on my lap...

Or maybe all of the above :-)

I dunno' for sure -- sometimes it just happens!

[philo426]

Sometimes if you don't play for a day or two you sound better than if you had played every day.Odd but true at least in my case!

[Judson]

I feel as if I can definitely tell a difference when the humidity increases ... I think my guitars sound best when the humidity in the room is around 45% ... but, this past week, it got into the mid-high 50% range and I felt as if the guitars sounded a bit "dead" as a result. This is just my perception.

[ChuckeyBee]

+1 for humidity. It runs 65%RH to 80%RH here in summer, and until I worked out a solution I was frustrated by the changing tone problem. 65% RH is the cutoff for poor tone, I've found. My case hygrometer now reads ~62%RH most of the time, and the guitar not only sounds consistently good, but is still in tune when I take her out of the case.

In case you're interested (no pun intended), my solution is: 1) weatherstripping on edge of case lid 2) Two renewable mini-dehumidifiers in the case (Eva Dry 333) 3) A 2W aquarium air pump in the case between the two Eva Drys with a 1/8" tubing that I stuff deep into the sound hole when I case the guitar. Had to remove two screws from accessory compartment to fit everything and allow for AC cord to exit case (other hole plugged).

If it sounds complicated, it isn't. Since my case sits in one spot all the time, it works well. 62%RH vs 75 is a world of difference in acoustic tone.

[JoeCharter]

Because of humidity variations, some days your guitar is more in tune than others. I have found the same thing on the piano. Some days, it just sounds sweeter.

And the other part of course is the player.

[Bern]

That's why one should always play in a vacuum.

[jpd]

Originally Posted by lovetheclassics

Anybody have a scientific reason as to why, some days you pickup your guitar and it just sounds like blaaaaaaah?

Humidity I experience does play a role in the blah, but even when humidity is constant some days, like today for example, just doesnt sound good.

yup, subtle sound differences. Somedays a choir of soaring notes, others a little off!

[Macco]

I hope you find the humor in this.

When I was in high school in the coal region of Pennsylvania, I bought a 1952 Buick for fifty bucks. It was in need of a paint job. So off I went to a hardware store and bought a nice paint brush and a quart of "Bermuda Blue" metal paint.

That old Buick served me well. But I gotta tell ya, that sucker ran and rode so much better right after it was washed and proudly wore that Bermuda Blue dressup.

Lovetheclassics, your question made that old car pop right up into my mind. It just happens sometimes and may have a lot to do with how we feel, even though there may be no plausible explanation.