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A friend of mine has an old, all laminate, Washburn acoustic that he's owned for about 40 odd years or so and he told me recently that it's finally beginning to sound like a decent guitar. I joked that it was probably his playing that's finally started to improve. He insists that the guitar is improving with age.
I thought that acoustics improved in sound due to the wood opening up with years of playing. Surely this wouldn't apply to laminates with all those layers of glue! Would it?
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Thinking about it, it probably does. I used to work in the building industry years ago and fondly remember how the sheets of plywood used to bend if left out in the rain or sun, plenty of movement.
It's true that the plywood has glue in it. So what? At least 90% of it is still wood.
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
@ICBM Your word is good enough for me, I'll have to apologise to my mate now for mocking his playing.
same things happen to solid wood guitars, I cant speak for Washburn but I've got an Yairi-Alvarez laminate b/sides just got noticeably better over 10 / 15 yrs after the soundboard (cedar) became played in over 3 or 4 years
oh and there's more to guitar 'opening up' or 'playing in' than back sides and top - theres the neck, bridge + bracing system normally made of solid woods and all become more resonant as described above.
Think of the bridge / soundboard / bridge plate - thats a laminate, as is any other layered woods in the construction - the braces to soundboard and soundboard to linings etc.
I can’t think of any logical reason why a laminate top won’t improve - at least to some extent - with age/use.
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.
Add to that the fact that it's not all about drying, but about the composition of the glue and changes in the internal structure.
Knowing something's 2nd moment of inertia is different from knowing how it will vibrate in thin sections for small inputs.
my old Sigma is laminate back and sides but solid spruce top. The sound has changed drastically over the years.
Supportact said: [my style is] probably more an accumulation of limitations and bad habits than a 'style'.
New guitars (even back in the days) are made with relatively fresh wood, which is treated in ovens to enhance exsiccation. This kind of process it's effective to shorten guitar production time but it isn't the best way to bring out the sound from them (at least the "cheaper ones").
Of course the inner layers are glued, so that residual humidity takes a lot of time to "escape" the layer. Furthermore, on the exterior you have the gloss, which force the "evaporation" in just one direction, the inner side.
And that's it, I think. In absence of residual humidity (or at least under a certain percentage) the wood tightens up and it's more resonant.
Sorry for my bad english
@viz I hadn't thought of that, nice one. I owe you a pint.
Supportact said: [my style is] probably more an accumulation of limitations and bad habits than a 'style'.
I have an old Ibanez classical guitar that sounds great and is ply. Of course I bought it when it was old so never got to try it any other way but it definitely sounds like a guitar with old worn in materials, even if they are ply. Stands to reason the more something vibrates, the more it will loosen up to those vibrations.
@richardhomer Basically mate, I think it's probably down to me listening to the guitar shop jargon for all these years, telling me I'd be better off spending a bit more and getting the solid wood model as it will age better and the sound will improve, and all that sort of talk.
I also have an Aria dreadnaught which is all laminate, cost about £130. It also sounds really nice, but I don't know if it will improve with age and playing. Time will tell I suppose!
In the 20 years I’ve owned my laminate back and sides dread im guessing it’s likely that my hearing has changed as much as the guitars