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- Jun 14, 2007
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In the wine world, it's well known that, if you ship a bottle of wine or transport it a long distance, you should let it sit for a few weeks before opening it, because, if you open it soon after transportation, it's likely to be muted in flavors and aromas. There's even a name for the condition: bottle shock.
Can something similar happen to guitars? I ask because, within the last six months, I've received two guitars that when first played (after acclimatization) were disappointingly dull in sound. In one instance, I put on new strings to little effect; in the other, I also thought new strings would help but didn't get around to changing them. But then, after a couple of months, the guitars seemed to open up, becoming louder and richer sonically. In one instance, my Oxnard F40 Traditional, I did continue to play the guitar during its dull phase, figuring that the problem might simply be that the top was new and tight and needed to be played in. The other guitar, though, was 20 years old, and it had certainly been played in that time. The latter guitar indeed was causing some dismay, as it was not an inexpensive guitar. But this weekend, in anticipation of a visit to a luthier, I played the guitar for a bit, and there it was, the sound I'd been expecting but that had initially been missing. Is this something that happens?
Can something similar happen to guitars? I ask because, within the last six months, I've received two guitars that when first played (after acclimatization) were disappointingly dull in sound. In one instance, I put on new strings to little effect; in the other, I also thought new strings would help but didn't get around to changing them. But then, after a couple of months, the guitars seemed to open up, becoming louder and richer sonically. In one instance, my Oxnard F40 Traditional, I did continue to play the guitar during its dull phase, figuring that the problem might simply be that the top was new and tight and needed to be played in. The other guitar, though, was 20 years old, and it had certainly been played in that time. The latter guitar indeed was causing some dismay, as it was not an inexpensive guitar. But this weekend, in anticipation of a visit to a luthier, I played the guitar for a bit, and there it was, the sound I'd been expecting but that had initially been missing. Is this something that happens?