playing guitars in - whats the secret?

[gwEm]

i was thinking about this last night.

it always seems to me that guitars are a load nicer to play after at least ten years of good playing.

when i first started out i just had my epiphone, and i didn't know anything about guitars, but i stuck with it. when i got my second guitar (a new SG) it didn't feel the same, and at first i was shocked. i thought that it was just because i was used to the epiphone.

when i got my first 'vintage' guitar (if we can call an 80s Greco that..?) it felt familiar straight away. and i think now its because it just has that played in feeling... i can recognise a similar sort of thing in my Steinberger now too, after playing it so much. and the 80s Hohner bass i got the other day also feels very natural.

what exactly is it about playing guitars in which makes them feel so much nicer, and gives them that extra mojo? is it fret wear? blues musician popa chubby reckons wood needs time to 'learn tone'... sounds a bit like bullsh!t, but who knows.

is there some short cut to giving that played in feeling faster?

i think i would actually prefer to look at used guitars from the 80s or 90s these days, if i was in the market for a new axe.

[indysmith]

I think i must have something to do with the wood adjusting to the shape of the human hand, after a few hundred or thousand hours playing it. That's why fender 'roll' their fingerboard edges, to try to short-cut that process.

[WezV]

rolling fretboard edges is one thing.  finishes generally sink in and get thinner and a neck buffed by hands over many years will feel sleeker than a neck buffed with buffing compound

With acoustic instruments its apparent  that the structure of the thin wooden plates changes over the years so the sound will actually change as well.. mainly as the guitar gets used to vibrating at certain frequencies and settles in.  I guess the same thing happens to electrics but it will be much slower and less noticeable due to the dimensions of the wood

There have been many attempts to encourage this process including treating or baking acoustic tops to speed up the process.  You can also encourage an acoustics sound to develop by leaving it in front of some speakers.... or just play the damn thing!!



Lots of other factors too

[Ian Price]

I've heard that Prince used to put any new acoustic guitar between two massive amps/speakers and blast loads of loud music at it for hours.

Not sure if it's true or not though.

[FELINEGUITARS]

I've heard that Prince used to put any new acoustic guitar between two massive amps/speakers and blast loads of loud music at it for hours.

Not sure if it's true or not though.

I regularly hear from players with guitars I have made for them and they report back how the guitars are settling in....

However I've been planning a rig to break in newly built guitars
Nothing will ever replace playing them for hours on end, but it would be nice to make them played in when they are brand new.
The rig will force vibrations through the guitar at the same frequencies as played notes and harmonics- like you would get with feedback from playing loud

I will get it sorted over the next year though - just need time to get it going....

[MDV]

I've heard that Prince used to put any new acoustic guitar between two massive amps/speakers and blast loads of loud music at it for hours.

Not sure if it's true or not though.

I regularly hear from players with guitars I have made for them and they report back how the guitars are settling in....

However I've been planning a rig to break in newly built guitars
Nothing will ever replace playing them for hours on end, but it would be nice to make them played in when they are brand new.
The rig will force vibrations through the guitar at the same frequencies as played notes and harmonics- like you would get with feedback from playing loud

I will get it sorted over the next year though - just need time to get it going....

I've been looking at this thread and trying to think of something that can replicate the playing. Obviously speakers wont do it, because they wont make the guitar resonate the same way a string will: they'll force a different set of engrained vibration patterns to the wood.

Something that clamps it at the bridge and nut with 4 little 6 by 1 cm feet and vibrates with the spectra of strings, going through a large range of values in the standard interval steps through 4 or 5 octaves with principal modes the same pitch as the notes of the guitar but puts a lot more energy into it than a string does would be ideal.

Good luck with that!

[Matt77]

I read an article about a manufacturer using vibrations to treat the body of their electric guitars during construction. I can't remember where I read it now.

The only similar stuff I can find on the web is a bit dated and relates to acoustics

The principles must be similar though:

http://www.acousticguitar.com/gear/advice/vibration.shtml

[38thBeatle]

It is funny but I kind of agree with that guitar learning tone thing. There seems, at least to me, no scientific proof  but it is just a feeling I get.In much the same way as the guitar can soak up the owners vibe in some way. As for playability, a good set up can be good but to me, there is no substitute for playing the thing.

[Muzzzz]

I know there is at least one major piano manufacturer (Bosendorfer maybe?) who, before selling a piano, put it in a big room with lots of other pianos and have machines absolutley pound the keyboard nonstop for a few days to help to 'wear in' all the parts.

i have to hear that!  :)

so yeah there is definately merit in 'wearing in' an instrument

[Ratrod]

Speaker companies should sell speakers broken in.

[ToneMonkey]

There was one company who put their guitars and a vibration table..... read bloody big speaker.

The graphs that a saw certainly did show a difference, I think they justified it by saying that in settled the wood fibres into a more linear pattern which decreased the woods resistance to vibration.

I'm sure that with a quick google, you could find the info on it.

[FELINEGUITARS]

There was one company who put their guitars and a vibration table..... read bloody big speaker.

The graphs that a saw certainly did show a difference, I think they justified it by saying that in settled the wood fibres into a more linear pattern which decreased the woods resistance to vibration.

I'm sure that with a quick google, you could find the info on it.

This is the principle that I am working with....

[ToneMonkey]

There was one company who put their guitars and a vibration table..... read bloody big speaker.

The graphs that a saw certainly did show a difference, I think they justified it by saying that in settled the wood fibres into a more linear pattern which decreased the woods resistance to vibration.

I'm sure that with a quick google, you could find the info on it.

This is the principle that I am working with....

I seem to have been pimping myself as an engineering guitar bitch recently, if you need any help let me know.

[Lazy_McDoesnothing]

Speaker companies should sell speakers broken in.

http://www.avatarspeakers.com
Click on the ToneQuest Report Review on the top of the page.  They talk about their aging process.  I've been meaning to try a cab from this place.  Does anybody have one?  I've heard good things.

[_tom_]

I've noticed something about my Pearl that I really like - the fingerboard edges are rolled off and feel really smooth and comfy to play on. In comparison my Epiphones neck feels pretty hard on the edges. Is it possible to get it artificially done on a guitar so it feels rounded or is it just something that requires years of playing? The pearl is about 30 years old whilst the Epiphone is only about 5..