Do laminate guitars improve with age.

Wolfetone

Yes, they certainly do. Some of the nicest sounding acoustic guitars are old Yamaha's.

Jalapeno

On a pedantic note laminate is NOT plywood.

Wolfetone

Jalapeno said:

On a pedantic note laminate is NOT plywood.

Ah, I thought that if it were plies of wood laminated, it was ply wood?

'Plywood and laminated wood are two types of common available alternatives to traditional wood. The main difference between the two is the fact that plywood is made from sheets of wood called veneer, whereas laminates can be manufactured from high-density fiber, melamine resin or wood particles. In case of laminated wood, the wood veneers are pasted parallel to each other, as opposed to the right angles in plywood.'

Bridgehouse

Do you think that Gibson ES-335's get better with age?

Jalapeno

Wolfetone said:

Jalapeno said:

On a pedantic note laminate is NOT plywood.

Ah, I thought that if it were plies of wood laminated, it was ply wood?

'Plywood and laminated wood are two types of common available alternatives to traditional wood. The main difference between the two is the fact that plywood is made from sheets of wood called veneer, whereas laminates can be manufactured from high-density fiber, melamine resin or wood particles. In case of laminated wood, the wood veneers are pasted parallel to each other, as opposed to the right angles in plywood.'

There's a world of difference between the cheap shitty plywood they use in packing cases or the back of Ikea wardrobes and laminated rosewood or mahogany used on acoustics.

ICBM

Plywood is a specific type of laminate. Laminate describes the construction method of thin layers of wood glued together, plywood means that it has layers with the grain alternating at 90 degrees.

So you can legitimately say "laminate" when referring to a plywood guitar if you want to make it sound less cheap .

crunchman

Bridgehouse said:

Do you think that Gibson ES-335's get better with age?

I've got a friend who had one that he said did get better with age.  He told me a story about it being stuck in it's case under the stairs for years (about 5 I think) because he didn't like it.  Someone came round and they were jamming and that was the only spare guitar in the house.  He said the guitar was completely different after all that time.

richardhomer

Bridgehouse said:

Do you think that Gibson ES-335's get better with age?

The neck and bridge are actually attached to the maple centre-block - so it could be argued that what you’re hearing is the ‘solid’ part of the guitar.

In my experience, modern ones do sound different to older ones played unplugged. ‘Woodier’ probably sums up the older ones....

carlos

Fuengi said:

If it's kept in a house with central heating my guess is that guitar will take just a few months to dry out fully, not decades. 

I work in architecture and even thick layers of timber don't take that long to dry out - the rule of thumb is one year per inch. Guitars have incredibly thin tops so most will have dried fully in the store. 

The vibration thing I don't fully get, but seems to sell well. 

Don't bring reason to a discussion on the mythical properties of tonewoods. 

crunchman

carlos said:

Fuengi said:

If it's kept in a house with central heating my guess is that guitar will take just a few months to dry out fully, not decades. 

I work in architecture and even thick layers of timber don't take that long to dry out - the rule of thumb is one year per inch. Guitars have incredibly thin tops so most will have dried fully in the store. 

The vibration thing I don't fully get, but seems to sell well. 

Don't bring reason to a discussion on the mythical properties of tonewoods. 

It isn't just about drying out though.  There are other changes in properties over time. You can see that quite obviously as the wood changes colour.  If you have a spruce topped acoustic, you can see the colour change over time (assuming it hasn't got that horrible fake tan "aging toner" that Martin seem to insist on using these days).  That change takes a lot longer than a year so it's not moisture content related.

This is quite interesting:

http://www.amjbot.org/content/93/10/1439.long

If you scroll down about two thirds of the way there is a section on wood for sound boards that has a couple of paragraphs on aging, and quotes some references that may be worth tracking down if you have more time than me.

jellyroll

crunchman said:

If you scroll down about two thirds of the way there is a section on wood for sound boards that has a couple of paragraphs on aging, and quotes some references that may be worth tracking down if you have more time than me.

I have about 40 years free...waiting for my guitar to dry out. Mind you, I'll be 90 something by then......