taabru45
Enlightened Member
Wool socks ... how do you get them to not itch so much?[/quote]
Undersocks work.... :lol: Steffan
Undersocks work.... :lol: Steffan
You Canadians are so smart ... you have an answer for every problem you create! :wink:taabru45 said:Undersocks work.... :lol: Steffan
OK John, but as for me, it won't be without a little tear in my eyes..... I'll miss the substance of this great one, around the new Guild prices versus Westerly conundrum.... :? :lol:capnjuan said:It was nothing BP ... maybe we can now get back to work on bumping Post Count and the 'Nothing' thread ... you know ... threads with substance ... :wink:bluesypicky said:I want to take this opportunity to thank all the heavy contributors, etc etc.... :lol:
And why would that be?taabru45 said:You know......this thread has almost 8000 hits as of now.... :shock: :shock:
Steffan
Quite seriously, since I've been suspected of obsessive tracking of my instruments' actual playing hours, how many actual hours of playing do you think are on yours? This is related to the old "Does a guitar really open up, and if so, how long does it take?" debate. (But I'm not looking to revive that one! :lol: )jgwoods said:Oh the day has already arrived, my now 13 month old NH Guild is "vintage" and sounding better than any.
8)
adorshki said:Quite seriously, since I've been suspected of obsessive tracking of my instruments' actual playing hours, how many actual hours of playing do you think are on yours? This is related to the old "Does a guitar really open up, and if so, how long does it take?" debate. (But I'm not looking to revive that one! :lol: )jgwoods said:Oh the day has already arrived, my now 13 month old NH Guild is "vintage" and sounding better than any.
8)
Thanks JG. That was always one of the single biggest reasons I wanted to buy new. You'd know the COMPLETE history of the guitar including how much it's been played. Personally I believe a guitar NEEDS to be played, it doesn't get better just 'cause it's getting old. So it's interesting to actually be able to "Hear it grow."jgwoods said:I think it's got more to give and I am looking forward to playing it for a long time.
adorshki said:Thanks JG. That was always one of the single biggest reasons I wanted to buy new. You'd know the COMPLETE history of the guitar including how much it's been played. Personally I believe a guitar NEEDS to be played, it doesn't get better just 'cause it's getting old. So it's interesting to actually be able to "Hear it grow."jgwoods said:I think it's got more to give and I am looking forward to playing it for a long time.
The last time this subject was ripped to shreds ( :lol: ) several factors were brought up, most of which you hit on, and personally I think they all work together synergistically.West R Lee said:So let's talk for a moment about what might actually take place for a guitar to "open up"? West
adorshki said:The last time this subject was ripped to shreds ( :lol: ) several factors were brought up, most of which you hit on, and personally I think they all work together synergistically.West R Lee said:So let's talk for a moment about what might actually take place for a guitar to "open up"? West
I suspect the single most important factor is how the vibration of playing can loosen up the glue joints, especially the top-to-sides join, allowing more freedom of top motion. That's why I think they NEED to be played to achieve full potential. Also why that tone generating gizmo (I forget its name) probably does help some guitars as some members have reported.
I think the other two main factors have a less noticable impact and are much more slowly "achieved": Real nitrocellulose lacquer DOES in fact dry out and crystallize as it ages which makes it more resonant. IS it really a big factor? The debate will probably rage on. :lol: And as the wood ages it doesn't neccessarily get harder but any residual resins present will also slowly crystallize and dry out and thus result in more resonant wood.
As for NCL "breathing", it's actually there to protect the wood from external environmental excesses like oil and water which will DEFINITELY dampen the wood's resonating ability, so I never got that part about it "breathing" and why that's supposed to be good. Yes it does expand and contract with the wood, just watch out for checking, and maybe that's what's meant by breathing.
Some stuff I've read implies a "moment" of top opening, and my D25 seemed to "open up" suddenly one afternoon, but I suspect it's a constant evolution for a well built and played instrument.
Incidentally when I had that "opening up" moment with my D25, it was a pretty darn warm summer day, like at least high 80's IIRC, so that in itself might have been making the glue a little more flexible that day. But I also know it had about 200-220 hours on it so maybe there is something to the "magic moment" thing.
Wasn't it Worked in Westerly who said he used to string up the new guitars and every once in a while one he thought was dud would wake up overnight and realize it was a guitar? So that's still a bit of a mystery to me. And I like a little mystery.
A final note on poly: It'll never "harden up" like ncl so the theory is that it will always muffle the tone to some degree, although it's probably going to be inaudible to most people.
Anyway it's a good time to refresh the topic for any newbies to the concepts.
Right. And there's a distinction between the atmospheric humidity which easily passes in and out of the wood fibers and the oils and resins inside the cellulose fibers which leave voids as they dry out, this is what's supposed to increase the resonance. Stradivarius was supposed to have soaked his woods in brines for years to accelerate that action, leaching out the resins and oils through osmotic pressure and replacing with mineral salt content which rendered the wood more brittle and thus more resonant. Also special shellacs with a high content of calcium derived from shellfish like shrimp dissolved in it. Again, for brittleness/brightness of tone.West R Lee said:A dry guitar always seems to sound better to me, but then we obviously don't want them too dry.
West
West R Lee said:So let's talk for a moment about what might actually take place for a guitar to "open up"?