Guitars as they Age

[shredmonster]

So guitars and pick ups are suppose to get better with age.

Is that because the wood drys more increasing resonance or something? I have heard the necks get better?

And the pick ups - oxidation to the copper wire perhaps? causing?

Anyone know?

[MBreinin]

Re: Guitars as they Age

I have always heard/read that the wood of the guitars mellows over time, possibly as the result of thousands and thousands of vibrations being passed through it. Of course, wood naturally mellows as it ages...finishes are worn away, allowing the wood to breathe better etc.

It is a myth that pickups magnets will mellow over time. I think the difference in pickups was how they were made in the past, the materials used for the magnets and wires, the manner in which they were wound, etc. I am certain that a brand new pickup could be made that would sound just as good as, let's say, a real PAF made in 1959.

Mike

[GodOfRhythm]

Re: Guitars as they Age

The finish starts to evaporate and get thinner, the wood 'settles' and I think the whole thing just melts into each other or something, making it more of an 'organic whole'.

[Newc]

Re: Guitars as they Age

That's actually more for acoustics than solidbody electrics.
A guitar that has sat untouched (literally never played) for 30 years will sound just as different than a new guitar as a guitar that had been played religiously for 30 years.

You'd have to compare an untouched guitar to a touched guitar of the exact same age and construction (built on the same day) to get a 100% accurate picture of how aging alone affects an electric solidbody (pickups, wood, etc). Obviously the one that's been played will have wear (finish and wood) and most likely small adjustments from the untouched guitar (pickup, bridge, etc).
Factor in also body oils....

[Zerberus]

Re: Guitars as they Age

[ QUOTE ]
...You'd have to compare an untouched guitar to a touched guitar of the exact same age and construction (built on the same day) to get a 100% accurate picture of how aging alone affects an electric solidbody (pickups, wood, etc). Obviously the one that's been played will have wear (finish and wood) and most likely small adjustments from the untouched guitar (pickup, bridge, etc).
Factor in also body oils....

[/ QUOTE ]

And even then the different pieces of wood could totally throw off the subjective impression, each piece of wood sounds different, even from the same tree [img]/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]

[MBreinin]

Re: Guitars as they Age

All I can say is this...I have owned probably over 50 guitars in the 17 years I have been playing actively. No guitar ever had the tone of the '63 Strat that I owned in the early '90s. That guitar was HUGE, larger than life in the tone department. And, it was a refinished guitar, albeit one done right with very thin nitro that clearly showed the grain of the swamp ash body. It killed.

Mike

[DonP]

Re: Guitars as they Age

This issue is hot with the Gibson crowd as you could imagine. I have a 1963 SG, but it's been refin'd and had the neck reset. It does sound really killer, however.

[noodlesatf]

Re: Guitars as they Age

I'm not sure the validity of this, since it is another "I read it somewhere once" story, but it sounds pretty accurate.

As a guitar ages, the sap in the wood starts dry out of it, leaving behind these little porous chambers in the wood. These little chambers are very resonant, which is what makes an old guitar really sing. I'm sure that it applies more to an acoustic, since the inside of the guitar is completely unfinished, but as long as you have bare wood somewhere (neck pocket, control cavity, trem cavity, wiring holes, etc), then the sap has somewhere to evaporate and escape from.

[charvelguy]

Re: Guitars as they Age

I would tend to agree with that. Theres also the original density and wood type argument applying here. I believe a body of Northern Ash is going to have different tonal characteristics from that of say.... an Alder body of the same age even if they have been played equal amounts under similar conditions/timeframe.

[DonP]

Re: Guitars as they Age

I've heard that too and I'd have to agree as well. A guitar with crystalized sap would sound better (I would think) than one wet and gooey.

That's why I think my ESP that's been finished but unpainted for 15 years should sound pretty killer.

[stevieb91]

Re: Guitars as they Age

even if you had 2 30 year old guitars,one never played,one"broken in",even if cut from the same tree,the variation in grain and density would vary and effect the tonal quality even the day after completion.Over time,the magnets in the pickup would fade,and i am sure that the older pickups didn't contain any recycled material in the windings(better mollecular density).Too many factors to make any true determination.

[Newc]

Re: Guitars as they Age

As for the "sap in the wood" ideas - Everything I've read on the matter says you can't make a guitar with wet wood; it has to be dried in a kiln BEFORE you cut it to make a body because the sap will gum up whatever tool you put to it - from a router to a planer to sandpaper. Some of the more exotic woods are nearly impossible to work with because it takes literally forever for them to dry out, and you have to replace whatever cutting blades you're using on it.
Given that, a Strat made today cannot have enough sap in it to turn into effective acoustic chambers in 50 years.

And yes, Northern Ash (or even Swamp Ash) will sound tonally different from Alder. That's why you see body specs listed as Alder/Poplar and not Alder/Ash/Poplar.