Bedding in time?

[Bradock PI]

An aweful lot of electronics 'beds in' i.e. improves during either the first few weeks or even sometimes over several months does this apply to the pickups do they change over time or are they at their best from day one?

[Fikealox]

I'm not sure I buy into the "wearing in" of electronic components in low voltage circuits like guitars - except, obviously those components with moving parts (like potentiometers and switches). Over very long periods of time, capacitor values in guitar circuits will drift or degrade, and pickup magnets will degauss. You're talking decades before there's an appreciable difference, though, and it's not by any means necessarily a beneficial change over time. Some people will like the changes, but some will dislike 'em.

[Fourth Feline]

An aweful lot of electronics 'beds in' i.e. improves during either the first few weeks or even sometimes over several months does this apply to the pickups do they change over time or are they at their best from day one?

I found that the pickups / magnets stay strong for decades, but what does 'bed in' - is the way that we ( over time ) experiment with / adjust the pickup heights and  types / thicknesses / alloys of string stretched above them e.t.c. 

Also a well set up neck / truss rod and a good general set up always seems to help resonance and tone somehow - and certainly it affects the whole feel of the instrument .  And of course when the feel changes, we play / react differently to the guitar as a whole - in a truly 'Holistic' way.  I suppose in Piano terms, the way the keys are weighted - and even room humidity can potentially 'change' the way you play and hear the  instrument on any given  occasion.

So yes, the phenomena of 'bedding in'  does occur, but it seems to be one of those enigmas - where the total ( percieved changes ) are greater than the sum of the variables / parts.   


Of course with amplifiers ( as has already been observed ) the 'decline' or 'desirable on set of vintage character ' is much more direct due to electrical stresses and heat factors . :)

[Bradock PI]

Sorry perhaps I should have made clear, for analogue active components a number change over time especially for the first 1-100 hrs or so of use they then are stable for many years. I really did not think this would apply with passive components such as pick ups but it popped in my head and there is a forum here with lots of users so I thought I would ask if people had noticed any effect. Good designers could allow for this and hence there was something of a mystic art with two people using the same principle to design very similar circuits yet one would be hugely better and the designer wouuld be considered an artist. With the digital age much of this has gone and there are very few really good young analogue designers.

I don't believe there is an established proof to it but a lot of people suspect it is due microstructural changes in the materials caused by current flow. It is probably this effect that causes some components to fail early in their life a defect which promotes change leads to a cascade failure. Lot of speculation and my electronics is now very rusty.

[gingataff]

Most Hi-Fi enthusiasts agree that cables take time to sound their best, whether it's to do with grain orientation, dielectric, or whatever. If this is the case then the same is probably true for the windings around the bobbin and of course the rest of the wiring in the guitar, although I think the tiny current will make any changes pretty slow and hard to notice.

[ericsabbath]

my cables usually stop working after a couple months  :lol:

[ailean]

I think the very small current is the key here, not enough power to effect the structure of the materials in a significant way in the short term, over years maybe, although I would imagine that the normal warm / cool room temperature cycle would probably have as much effect as the current.

[AndyR]

my cables usually stop working after a couple months  :lol:

Yeh, my cables are well and truly bedded in after a while too :lol:

I think I'm with what Fourth Feline's saying though - I've found my BKPs "get better" as I get to know them and adjust them and myself... that's how it feels to me anyway :D

I can also sense the instrument changing with the weather, phase of the moon, wotever... but I just kind of accept that and adjust if necessary.

Whether there's actually any measurable physical change going on in the pickups, I've no idea...

[Bradock PI]

It is an irruptable fact that your guitar and amp will sound utterly amazing if you play nekkid upside down hanging from a bar while sucking on a lemon.

Invite your friends round for a listen and i guarantee they will be astonished!

[ailean]

So THATS where I've been going wrong, thanks for the info :)

[tomjackson]

An aweful lot of electronics 'beds in' i.e. improves during either the first few weeks or even sometimes over several months does this apply to the pickups do they change over time or are they at their best from day one?

They do not change over weeks or months, if they sound like they do it's time to change your strings :D