Do you smell your guitars

twocorgis

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Late to the thread here, but Chazmo and I are sound hole sniffers from way back! Of note is my new-to-me 2010 F512, which is so pristine, that it still smells like the New Hartford factory. :cool:
 

bluesypicky

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Oh boy do I smell them....
As Joe pointed out, (and I am a true living example of it) olfactory sensations are intense memory trigger points.
For instance, if I smell a particular plant or flower while walking outside, and it happens to be a plant or flower that was part of the garden at my parents house or neighbor, the smell will immediately transport me to a very specific era (when that smell impressed my brain), along with minute details of what I was doing then. Brain is an amazing piece of equipment....
Back to guitars: As a kid growing up in the family home, I remember very well the smell in one of my brothers room (the one who played guitar), as it was a combination of cigarette tobacco and inside of guitars, and I used to love smelling this exotic wood aroma by sticking my nose in the sound holes, well before I even knew I would ever get to play the thing!
Love the smell of guitars. ;)
 

Jeff Haddad

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I can't say that I actually sniff soundholes or f-holes, but I do notice different aromas from different guitars. Some is a wood smell (my Martin D18V) others a lacquer (poly) smell (newer, less played guitars like a PRS or X160). It's usually a good smell, but I'm always leery of sniffing a used guitar that might have been under someone's arm while playing!

On a side note, I also enjoy the smell from an old Fender amp - hot tubes and electronics, I guess.
 

bluesypicky

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I'm always leery of sniffing a used guitar that might have been under someone's arm while playing!

Let me be very clear: I enjoy sniffing the INSIDE of the guitar, though the sound hole. And I don't think anyone's underarm or any other body part ever for that matter went in there.... or we need to discuss this on a whole other kind of forum! ;););)
 

killdeer43

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I returned a Guild that I bought on EBay a while back because it absolutely reeked of cigarette smoke, and nothing I was going to do would change that smell. As soon as I opened the case, I knew there was a problem. The seller, of course, had mentioned nothing about it, probably because he was the smoker!

That's an angle from the other side of a guitar that smells like a nice, aged guitar might smell. ;)

Joe
 

adorshki

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Let me be very clear: I enjoyed sniffing the INSIDE of the guitar, though the sound hole. And I don't think anyone's underarm or other body part ever went in there.... or we need to discuss this on a whole other kind of forum! ;););)
The AGF?
Whoah, I just got a pop-up dialog box telling me that reply was too short to post, said I needed at least 10 characters.
Gentlemen, I think there's an evil postbot on the premises.
 

griehund

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Ok so yesterday I made a point of sticking my generous shnoz in the sound hole of my beloved D40. What did I get? Nuttin Honey. My rather severe disappointment could be attributed to the fact that I live with 7 dogs and a 92 year old MIL. Just mowed the back yard so I got the fresh mowed grass smell. Just did the nursing home gig so I got the smell of heavy medication. I guess my old dread has lost it's romantic aroma. Doesn't make me love it any less. Maybe It's telling me that the past is better forgotten. Maybe I need the smell of a new..........never mind. Maybe a large can of Febreze would suffice. Oh well. OK who did that?????
 

adorshki

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I'm sorry but this thread lost me at "blame the dogs".

It just didn't seem right to throw Qvart under the bus even though he did have that little problem after he Febreezed his case a couple of years back. :wink:
And c'mon I figured everybody who has a dog has blamed a sudden "odor" on 'em at on time or another..... :)
 

gjmalcyon

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I was just thinking about the smell of my guitars when I recently realized my two Tacoma-built rosewood bodies (the DV-6 and F-47R) both have distinctive and similar odor. Its sweet, a little fruity and quite pleasant. The JF-4-12 doesn't have much of a smell, but the F-212XL has a really great "old wood" smell, like the inside of a really old wood closet, or the attic of my house the way it smelled in the summer when the original bead board got hot.
 

adorshki

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I was just thinking about the smell of my guitars when I recently realized my two Tacoma-built rosewood bodies (the DV-6 and F-47R) both have distinctive and similar odor. Its sweet, a little fruity and quite pleasant.
Interesting. It's been said here before that that's supposed to be one of the giveaway traits for Brazilian Rosewood.
Seems now as if that's yet one more "myth" debunked, since we know it's virtually impossible for the Tacomas to have been built with Braz. :wink:
 

roadbiker

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Yes. Not only mine, but whenever I am in a guitar store I smell any guitar I pick up. I especially like the smell of Martin guitars.

Jim
 
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