I imagine this’ll be contentious, but.... Tonerite

GavRichList

Is this an acoustic centric thing, or also applicable to electrics?

ToneControl

the most drastic effect I've seen with it is on 2 spruce top acoustics, one new, one that had not been played much, and not played at all for years. Both sounded thin and unresponsive. 2 days later: wow, both are now up there with my best instruments

ToneControl

mbe said:

Best not use that with a cedar top. They rarely improve with age and the tone tends to deteriorate with age. That's why you hardly ever see vintage classical guitars for sale.

makes less of a difference to cedar tops, still worth it to simulate the first few months of use on a new one, or to wake one up.

you do see a few old classicals for sale, not sure if it's any smaller a proportion than old steel strung acoustics?
https://www.classicalguitardelcamp.com/viewforum.php?f=3&sid=03d135b77039b9b4fd6e7a14795e16a3

I've head the conventional wisdom is that cedar tops drop off in sound quality after 30 years, but I have spoken to luthiers who reject this. I don't have evidence to reject either view at present

ICBM

guitars4you said:

I've heard stories about players who will leave an acoustic on a guitar stand, by the hi-fi speakers to keep the top 'vibrating'

Violin players talk about it all the time - keep the top vibrating and let it be surrounded by sound if you are not playing it

Mine is kept on a wall hanger above the hi-fi.

If you make a loud sound in the room you often hear the guitar strings vibrating afterwards, so I'm quite sure they're doing so more subtly the whole time.

ToneControl

ICBM said:

guitars4you said:

I've heard stories about players who will leave an acoustic on a guitar stand, by the hi-fi speakers to keep the top 'vibrating'

Violin players talk about it all the time - keep the top vibrating and let it be surrounded by sound if you are not playing it

Mine is kept on a wall hanger above the hi-fi.

If you make a loud sound in the room you often hear the guitar strings vibrating afterwards, so I'm quite sure they're doing so more subtly the whole time.

you could damp those really, it's the wood that needs to vibrate

Sporky

WezV said:

Ever noticed that old well played guitars sound better than old untouched ones?  

Or that better sounding old guitars get played more than worse sounding ones?  

I think the principle of the thing is reasonably sound. 

Dominic

vale said:

rossi said:

Is it a sex toy ?

that was my first thought. just buy a vibrator & rechargeable batteries from the poundshop.
set variable speed to the year of your choosing & tuck it under the strings before bedtime.

Never buy vibrators or Dildo's from pound shops ........you can't trust that they haven't been used and repackaged !

WezV

Sporky said:

WezV said:

Ever noticed that old well played guitars sound better than old untouched ones?  

Or that better sounding old guitars get played more than worse sounding ones?  

I think the principle of the thing is reasonably sound. 

6 of one....

ICBM

ToneControl said:

you could damp those really, it's the wood that needs to vibrate

It is, but the strings increase that by turning an initial transient into a much longer vibration.

Another bit of anecdotal evidence I've noticed a lot is that when guitars come into the shop to be sold - many of which will have been in their cases unused for a while - they often don't sound very good, even set up and with new strings. But after a few weeks - or sometimes just days - on a hanger in the shop with customers trying other guitars and amps in the same space, they start to sound much better, even if they don't get played much.

ToneControl

I'd like to try one of these:
http://prime-vibe.com/

bluechargeboy

Hmmm, my acoustics only come out of their cases for band practice and gigs, so maybe 8-20 hours per month. Maybe I should have them out so they can absorb Strat vibes...(it might even encourage me to practice the set list too)...

ICBM

bluechargeboy said:

Hmmm, my acoustics only come out of their cases for band practice and gigs, so maybe 8-20 hours per month. Maybe I should have them out so they can absorb Strat vibes...(it might even encourage me to practice the set list too)...

If you have more than one you can try a simple experiment - keep one out of its case, in a room where there's a reasonably constant amount of activity, and see if it starts to sound better than the other(s) that stay in them.

guitars4you

They say the worse an acoustic guitar will sound is the day you buy it - the more you play it the better it will sound, so leave the case lid open, on a stand or wall hanger and let it pick up all those good vibrations - as @ICBM states you can sometimes hear the string vibrating, which in turns 'drives' the top into working

vale

crack one open & i strongly suspect you'll find £1 worth of vibrator or doorbell guts. $149?
& the celebrity endorsements & 'proprietorial jargon®' do nothing to convince me otherwise.

ToneControl

vale said:

crack one open & i strongly suspect you'll find £1 worth of vibrator or doorbell guts. $149?
& the celebrity endorsements & 'proprietorial jargon®' do nothing to convince me otherwise.

I'm sure it's something trivial in there, but who wants to experiment on their own pricey guitar, when a device has already been tested?

Anyway it does work, and I'm no celeb

Sporky

WezV said:

Sporky said:

WezV said:

Ever noticed that old well played guitars sound better than old untouched ones?  

Or that better sounding old guitars get played more than worse sounding ones?  

I think the principle of the thing is reasonably sound. 

6 of one....

Absolutely.

Also sorry - I fear my comment may have come across much more dickish than I meant it to!

vale

US7678987B2 - Apparatus and method for vibrating stringed musical instruments - Google Patents.
https://patentimages.storage.googleapis.com/97/f1/f2/8d7c11634f3323/US7678987.pdf

breakstuff

Didn't even realise this was a thing.I currently have my acoustic in my living room,on a floor stand positioned next to my sofa.On the other side of the sofa is my sub woofer for my soundbar.So I'd actually be better off standing my acoustic next to my sub? 

jonnygreentrees

@GavRichList wow you really are running out of stuff to buy!

GavRichList

jonnygreentrees said:

@GavRichList wow you really are running out of stuff to buy!

Hahaha, oh I’m not buying it. As I say, I stumbled across it and it seemed so daft that it had to have merit