It looks like you're new here. If you want to get involved, click one of these buttons!
Subscribe to our Patreon, and get image uploads with no ads on the site!
Base theme by DesignModo & ported to Powered by Vanilla by Chris Ireland, modified by the "theFB" team.
Comments
Yes, I think they do, although I would say 'change' rather than 'mature' to be accurate. Old guitars do generally sound different from new ones - not always better, although some can. Some just sound old and still not good.
I'm not sure whether it's to do with vibration or climatic effects over the long term. Or whether the wood they were made from was grown differently or dried and processed differently.
Old plywood guitars also sound different from new ones, despite the standard belief that plywood does not 'mature'.
"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
Tone is partly dependent on wood. Wood ages and changes - you can hear that on an acoustic guitar. The effects aren't likely to be as large on an electric guitar.
Over a long period of time, pickup magnets might degauss (get weaker) slightly as well.
Let's see how many pages this thread runs to.
The older is better argument used to have some basis in that 70s guitars were knocked out on mass, and using more timber that was arguably not as select as we might like. Also the fact that guitars made in the first half of the 20the Century would have used slow growth timber which is almost imposible to find these days in quantities that would please the guitar manufacturing business.
So do guitars improve with age? Maybe a little( see above), however the chances are that an old guitar might have passed through several owners and at some stage a knowledgable craftsman has done the setup right making the guitar a peach to play. Knocking the sharp edges off the fingerboard and fret ends can make a guitar 'feel' better to some players and perhaps knowing that a guitar has been used for a long time to make a lot of music gives the player a certain confidence.
As is often said play the guitar and judge it on its merits before parting with your dole money.
http://www.savartjournal.org/index.php/sj/article/viewFile/22/pdf
That's obviously a much slower process on electric guitars. I don't think any have existed long enough to test it properly but the theory is the wood on a well played guitar will age into a structure that suits its purpose, and may sound better for it. although its obviously hard to tell if it was well played because it always sounded better...and a well played guitar is more likely to see a tech every so often
The wood will have become less hygroscopic. It looses its ability to gain/lose moisture in line with humidity. That, in theory, makes it more stable. Again its a slow process so hard to judge in the relatively short life of the electric guitar
Glues, plastics and finishes can all break down and may affect the structure of the guitar. The thinning of nitro lacquer is one of the most observable changes
Magnets and potting materials in pickups can degrade and change the sound. In a static environment AlNiCo has a half life measurable in the hundreds of years, so again a slow process. But AlNiCO can be affected by knocks and other magnetic fields so in theory a pickup on a well played guitar may get a weaker magnetic field from being put through the stresses of every day life.
So yes, changes will happen. Not all of them will be positive, not all of them will be quick
Instagram
Instagram
Yamaha Marketing Blurb:
IRA(Initial Response Acceleration)
If you've ever played another guitarist's instrument and not been able to get the same sound, it's probably because you are playing a different style than what the guitar is used to. After playing the same guitar for years, the guitar adapts to the guitarist's playing style. It takes time for a new guitar to adapt to your own way of playing. Stress found between parts like finish, woods, body, neck, fingerboard, nut, bridge, etc., must be released before all of the parts can resonate together as an instrument. It takes time and a lot of playing for this to happen. Using IRA technology, stresses like those between the finish and wood are release by applying specific vibrations to the completed guitars. Once this treatment is complete, the guitar responds accurately to the guitarist's performance, and produces sound more easily. It also shortens the time needed for the guitar to adapt to your playing style. And it delivers excellent sustain (RSP20CR)
I'd imagine there is a difference, but how much would you notice, I don't know.
Acoustics go through a very noticeably change in the first few months. Less so with electrics, but there is still a noticeable bedding in period.
Instagram
After all the tonewood, vintage, age, titanium bridge screws, blah blah etc threads I have drawn one conclusion:
It matters not one jot. What matters is how it plays and sounds. New or old, chipboard or Honduran dried mahogany, brass or steel, when you play it, how does it sound to you?
Does it sound good? Does it play well? Excellent. Get it bought and make some music then.