Does An Acoustic Change it's Sound?

guitarjack66 · February 2022

After having my new Sigma for a couple of weeks I was hardly blown away by its sound,not that I expect anything special given it's price range. During this time I was cursing the strings,the picks,my playing(always a genuine reason!) and often plumping for my old Jumbo as it just felt more comfortable. Then yesterday I just picked it up,tuned it and started playing. It sounded different,just so much better,acoustically too. This is a bit of a new phenomenon for me but is it common? Does the sound of an acoustic change so quickly?

Snags · February 2022

String wear? Your mood? Unless there's a massive humidity/temperature change it's unlikely to be the guitar itself, I'd have thought (from a position of general knowledge, rather than specific).

stickyfiddle · February 2022

Has it been in a room with other instruments (or music) playing in that time? That can definitely help.

Tannin · February 2022

Now there is a topic! Discussion of this goes on and on forever.

Yes, wooden guitars change over time. They change fastest when they are very new, gradually more slowly after that. In general, solid wood changes more than laminated timber. Spruce changes more than cedar. Mahogany (and probably also other harder, heavier woods like Koa and Blackwood) is said to change more slowly than spruce.

Some people say a guitar needs to be played in - unless you actually play it it won't develop proper tone. You can't just wait. Others disagree.

There is a whole wide world of fast-chewing in this topic.

But we also should consider other factors. (I.e., as opposed to the wood maturing). Humidity and temperature changes are very significant. Strings change. You change - you use a different pick, or hold it in a different way, or get out of bed on the other side.

Oh, and let's not forget room acoustics.

Or the other sort of moisture. (After one drink, I play better. After two drinks, I think I play better. After three drinks, I get great ideas and fantastic tone ... pity about all the wrong notes.)

Mellish · February 2022

It can do. I had a Gibson Hummingbird Modern Classic. Its sound was really average if not poor when I bought it. Within three weeks (mostly in its case, listening to the radio) it changed dramatically. Like a fool, I sold it

Cirrus · February 2022

Yes, but... room acoustics are a massive variable here. I had an acoustic I didn't like much, but when I sat in the bay window of my front bedroom strumming it, there was a low end reinforcement that made up for what the guitar lacked, and it sounded great. I swivelled my chair round so the guitar was projecting in the opposite direction, and it sounded mediocre again. Could it be something like that?

guitarjack66 · February 2022

Mellish said:

It can do. I had a Gibson Hummingbird Modern Classic. Its sound was really average if not poor when I bought it. Within three weeks (mostly in its case, listening to the radio) it changed dramatically. Like a fool, I sold it

Interestingly,mine has sat in it's case mostly,other than the hour or so a day I tend to play it. The room is quite cool,no central heating most of the time but a quick blast when needed.

Mellish · February 2022

guitarjack66 said:

Mellish said:

It can do. I had a Gibson Hummingbird Modern Classic. Its sound was really average if not poor when I bought it. Within three weeks (mostly in its case, listening to the radio) it changed dramatically. Like a fool, I sold it

Interestingly,mine has sat in it's case mostly,other than the hour or so a day I tend to play it. The room is quite cool,no central heating most of the time but a quick blast when needed.

It can happen, not always but mine had done nothing, just in its case or on a stand. When a mate came round and played it again "What have you done to this?" Nothing, it had simply been listening to the radio. But it really had blossomed

bertie · February 2022

are you in a different place in the room ? ie closer to a wall ?

PAL · February 2022

Hi yes I think the sound does change over time as the woods settle in. I have a K.Yairi that's 25 years old and have owned it from new and the sound has changed. Also changing strings and any adjustments to your preferences will make sound different and more importantly the feel of the guitar. If action is lowered you can change the bass response of the guitar.

Whitecat · February 2022

PAL said:

Hi yes I think the sound does change over time as the woods settle in. I have a K.Yairi that's 25 years old and have owned it from new and the sound has changed. Also changing strings and any adjustments to your preferences will make sound different and more importantly the feel of the guitar. If action is lowered you can change the bass response of the guitar.

But in 25 years your hearing has also changed measurably and significantly. Can you be sure that’s not what’s going on?

Mellish · February 2022

bertie said:

are you in a different place in the room ? ie closer to a wall ?

Me? No. Just being silly. Ignore

guitarjack66 · February 2022

bertie said:

are you in a different place in the room ? ie closer to a wall ?

I play in the same room and in the same position every day. The wood is certainly much better than my other,which is laminate.

bertie · February 2022

Mellish said:

bertie said:

are you in a different place in the room ? ie closer to a wall ?

Me? No. Just being silly. Ignore

no not you.......................

guitarjack66 · February 2022

bertie said:

Mellish said:

bertie said:

are you in a different place in the room ? ie closer to a wall ?

Me? No. Just being silly. Ignore

no not you.......................

Lol. My mistake.

ToneControl · February 2022

some of my acoustics change drastically after 5 or 10 minutes with the ToneRite

when I first get guitars, I use it for a few hours, some guitars I'd had for ages changed for the better quite a lot, and permanently

meltedbuzzbox · February 2022

I think the sound definitely does change on them.

but there is also the fact that you can never hear the same thing, the same way twice. So many variables affect our perceived hearing that its a bit of a minefield.

New acoustics definitely loosen up over time. Being out of a case and exposed to sound seems to help.

ToneControl · February 2022

playing electric guitar then playing acoustic 10 minutes later makes a big difference

dallcorp · February 2022

ToneControl said:

some of my acoustics change drastically after 5 or 10 minutes with the ToneRite

when I first get guitars, I use it for a few hours, some guitars I'd had for ages changed for the better quite a lot, and permanently

......This!
I was initally very sceptical of the Tonerite device, but borrowed one from a mate and was quickly convinced. I use it every time I get a new acoustic and rotate it across my long term stable.

ToneControl · February 2022

dallcorp said:

ToneControl said:

some of my acoustics change drastically after 5 or 10 minutes with the ToneRite

when I first get guitars, I use it for a few hours, some guitars I'd had for ages changed for the better quite a lot, and permanently

......This!
I was initally very sceptical of the Tonerite device, but borrowed one from a mate and was quickly convinced. I use it every time I get a new acoustic and rotate it across my long term stable.

Yes, it seems like it might be snake oil!

The most dramatic ones have been:

an old barely-played rosewood/spruce Avalon that always sounds amazing after the ToneRite was used
My new all-Koa Avalon - really woke up the guitar
A rosewood/Adirondack Dreadnought, which does not work for fingerpicking until you run the ToneRite on it for 10 mins first (or thrash it strumming with a pick for 20 mins)

Ivor Mairants used to have a ToneRite that was used to wake up guitars when needed, and I know that Avalon use one on new guitars before shipping them out

bertie · February 2022

dallcorp said:

ToneControl said:

some of my acoustics change drastically after 5 or 10 minutes with the ToneRite

when I first get guitars, I use it for a few hours, some guitars I'd had for ages changed for the better quite a lot, and permanently

......This!
I was initally very sceptical of the Tonerite device, but borrowed one from a mate and was quickly convinced. I use it every time I get a new acoustic and rotate it across my long term stable.

are those, those things that "whack the soundboard" for hours to imitate "break in" ?

sev112 · February 2022

Yes, definitely day to day as a function of temperature and humidity - huge changes in tone, resonance

ditchboy · February 2022

I much prefer playing in the bedroom than the living room. The living room has high ceilings and wooden floors and amplifies every fault with my technique.

ToneControl · February 2022

bertie said:

dallcorp said:

ToneControl said:

some of my acoustics change drastically after 5 or 10 minutes with the ToneRite

when I first get guitars, I use it for a few hours, some guitars I'd had for ages changed for the better quite a lot, and permanently

......This!
I was initally very sceptical of the Tonerite device, but borrowed one from a mate and was quickly convinced. I use it every time I get a new acoustic and rotate it across my long term stable.

are those, those things that "whack the soundboard" for hours to imitate "break in" ?

just vibrates it via the strings and saddle, to get it used to vibrating as a resonator

bertie · February 2022

ditchboy said:

I much prefer playing in the bedroom than the living room. The living room has high ceilings and wooden floors and amplifies every fault with my technique.

quite literally the best place here, is sat at the top of the stairs, with the guitar facing the wall - you really hear what the "listener" is hearing,

Mellish · February 2022

@PAL ; - btw, welcome to TFB

Andyjr1515 · February 2022

Well, Yamaha put a decent amount of time into this sort of thing...
Yamaha - UK and Ireland

My view (I build acoustics as well as electrics) is that there is, indeed, a 'settling in' of the woods and joints over the first year and - while that will happen over time even if you just hang it on the wall - it probably happens faster if played.

With an electric, the settling in doesn't usually make any audible difference. However, so many elements in the sound of an acoustic are related to the flexibility of the top, braces and joints that yes - I'm sure it generally sounds better after time or playing. Mine certainly do.

Soupman · February 2022

I'm with @bertie here. Top of the stairs facing the wall for the reflected sound.

bertie · February 2022

^^ have a Norman then for such acute taste

Pjon · February 2022

ToneControl said:

A rosewood/Adirondack Dreadnought, which does not work for fingerpicking until you run the ToneRite on it for 10 mins first (or thrash it strumming with a pick for 20 mins)

Hello everyone, new user here (although I've lurked for a while) but this comment made me register. Is it commonly thought that the tone gets better if the guitar is played for a short while? I've got a 2 month old solid-wood Cort and few times I've started fingerpicking on it and found the tone very thin and disappointing, where normally it sounds lovely. I'm wondering if this is because of the above - maybe I normally strum for a little while, or do other things before launching into a folky fingerstyle thing.

BillDL · February 2022

Did your guitar smell quite strongly of lacquer / solvents for a while after you bought it?

Have you kept it in a case a lot of the time since purchase or has it been left out?

Does it now smell less of lacquer / solvents?

I have found that most of the acoustics I bought new that smelled quite strongly of new lacquer sounded better after the smell had dissipated from them when left out and played regularly.

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Does An Acoustic Change it's Sound?

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