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I recently bought a guitar that I fell in love with immediately. Couldn't keep my hands off it, played intensely (at least 6 hours) every day for months, wearing through a set of of strings every 2 weeks and giving myself tendonitis.
I had never done that before, but I noticed that (more than any other newly made guitar I have owned) the "playing in" improved the guitar very noticeably. That got me thinking.
I'm sure there are some of you guys who have had a guitar go unsold and almost unplayed for some time. I once bought a guitar that, when I got it home from Granada (in the '70's), and compared it to the guitars I already had, didn't capture me the way this one did. So I didn't play it enough to "play it in."
My question: If a guitar isn't played enough after it is first made, does it season and "solidify" (for lack of a better word) in the unplayed state, so it can never be played in as fully as it COULD have been when it was new?
Is it important to play it in when it is new? Or can the playing in be put off?
What, in fact, is the luthier's position on what physical changes take place while a guitar is being played in? (assuming it is well made of seasoned woods to begin with).
Also: I know guitarists who habitually tune their guitars a half step low or high, or who almost always play with a capo on a particular fret. Does the habitual frequency (key) or tension used during play in matter?
RE: the consequences of NOT playing ... (in reply to a_arnold)
Hi Tony,
I'm not a luthier so what I'm about to say might be 'mince' but this all made sense to me when I thought to imagine the molicules in the wood being forced into alignment by the vibrations from the sound. This seems to make 'picture sense' in that initially the natural resistance would hinder the tone or the responce from the wood, but after playing the instrument for a while the vibrations force alignment as they seek the shortest path and as a consiquence the wood is 'tuned' and the sound improves with reduced resistance within the molecular structure of the wood.
RE: the consequences of NOT playing ... (in reply to a_arnold)
quote:
This seems to make 'picture sense' in that initially the natural resistance would hinder the tone or the responce from the wood, but after playing the instrument for a while the vibrations force alignment as they seek the shortest path and as a consiquence the wood is 'tuned' and the sound improves with reduced resistance within the molecular structure of the wood.
Yes, but we all know this only applies when it is a leap year, on Tuesday's when it's raining.
RE: the consequences of NOT playing ... (in reply to a_arnold)
I did remember reading something like this somewhere on the internet and I did some googling. Maybe this has been here before on the forum but but they tested four guitars and I think there were two old and two new guitars.
RE: the consequences of NOT playing ... (in reply to a_arnold)
Well, I'm not a luthier either. But I think there's nothing to worry about. Wood is aged after it's cut to dry out, and luthier's intentionally age wood. I think like all things organic, they just get stiff from sitting. Put the guitar on it's stand in front of your biggest stereo speaker, and crank up some really thumpy stuff full volume for a day or two, and it'll sound great again :)
RE: the consequences of NOT playing ... (in reply to n85ae)
quote: Put the guitar on it's stand in front of your biggest stereo speaker, and crank up some really thumpy stuff full volume for a day or two, and it'll sound great again
Ha! That's noot such a crazy idea! In fact, what a great experiment. Do that with a new guitar and then check its responsiveness before and after with an oscilloscope. I wonder if anyone has done that experiment.
Of course the vibration isn't coming through the bridge....
I take it from the resounding lack of response from luthiers that nobody knows what the physical effects of play-in are...?
Or maybe all of you are at the Granada festival. I guess that's going on now...
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