[rickm]

Hi, this might be the wrong place for this, but I'm going to give it a try as there is a lot of 'woodsmiths" running around here. The arguement is = does a guitar improve with age? playing on it?
In other words, does a guitar that is old and played a lot develop a sweeter tone? and then perhaps why?
remember that most guitars (nice ones) are made of rosewood, sycamore, spruce, ebony. Hard woods that when aged might get a bit harder and more resonant. But does the vibrations of playing affect the timbre of the wood, more appropriately?
any feedback would be welcome, personal opinions are accepted as there is probably no scientific measurement. thanks!!!

[RoadKingMN]

From the types of woods you list I am assuming you are talking about acoustic instruments. The wood used to construct a musical instrument is key. Over time the wood will harden and change the tone. It also matters were the wood is grown. The wood from slower growth trees have different tones than the same species of tree that grow more quickly. It has a lot to do with where the tree grows. Then you get into the characteristic sounds of different species of wood and where on the instrument you use that wood. Are you planning on building an instrument or buying one? I'm not an expert but have spent more than a few hours with a guitar in my hands.

[Canopener]

Rick,
Good question and I do not know a thing from the scientific point of view. What I do know is that some musicians go out of their way to acquire and play these instruments; and make a detailed list of which instruments were played on which song. Especially old Martins and Gibsons
The best example I know of is Norman Blake, who specializes in old timey music. On one release I checked instruments ranged from 1918 to 1960, but most were from the 30's and 40's. Sounds good to me; I wonder if it helps me carve old timey?
I have heard and seen others do this.
Of course there is good ol' Willie, who evidently does not believe in new guitars, but gets great sound with a big hole in it. Does any body know if that guitar was finally put to rest?
Jim

[rickm]

no, actually the question cam from a flamenco forum I belong too. Some maintain its a "myth" guitars improve with age, and some think they do. It does seem like classical musicans will seek out very old instruments over old ones. So, I guess the question actually has two parts 1) do they improve?
and that could be up to the beholder and then 2) how? is it the wood, the moisture content, where the wood is from? How often it is played etc?
thanks for your answers guys.

[Hi_Ho_Sliver]

Not an expert on anything, but do play a dulcimer, and heard that if you play music in the room the instrument is in, the wood somehow absorbs the sound and is sweeter sounding when played. I had purchased a new dulcimer, and decided to try it..........and its true! Don't ask me how.....so just have to assume that the music the instrument plays, is also absorbs and gives it a sweeter sound..........."There are things in heaven and on earth that man has never dreamed Horatio!"

[falconer]

I think it's a lot more technical than the question you have asked. I have made for a lot of guitars over the years and I play as well and it's been my experience that for the most part it's how the guitar is set up. Meaning, for instance the height of the bridge and saddle, the type of strings used etc. I believe that different woods have different sounds. The more dense the wood, the sharper the sound. Electric guitars for example use hardwoods such as maple. Anyway thats my take on the subject.


www.sierracreekstudios.com

[nameless]

I heard something about a process of crystallization within the wood cells. Both time and contextual physical vibrations affect the crystal growth. Perhaps the vibrations of being played provide the appropriate context/matrix for the crystalline growth/formation to proceed in a 'harmonious, geometric pattern. Like tapping the edge of a bowl of water, the patterned waves..
Perhaps with no orderly vibration, the crystals form in a more chaotic formation. Time is, of course, necessary for the complete transformations to occur.
So, I guess that there would be a 'perfect vintage', but beyond that, in time, there would be no more noticeable 'improvement', just, perhaps, a 'refining'... but that seems a bit 'etheric' for these old unreliable senses, anyway.
"Si non e vero, e bene trovato!" - *__-

[Capt. Bandaid]

It may have something to do with the time in which the tree grew up. Old growth woods may have closer ring growth making the wood denser and more resonant. A recent program on the Stradavarius violins suggested that not only was he a brilliant craftsman, he had better woods to work with in his time. The rings were much closer together than is found today. Global warming will probably have a negative effect on accoustic instruments if this is true.

[PeteM]

I think timber grown after about 1700 is also affected by industrial pollution.

[curly maple]

i dont know anything about musical instrumints or the affect of woods on them but i do know a little about wood being a logger from upper michigan.as far as all the old growth wood being all gone this is not true.now the logging industry promotes thinning out stands of timber to promote faster growth actually better and healthier trees and yes less rings per inchbut not all stand get thinned and even if they do get thinned not all trees respond to the faster growth. i make my living cutting large hardwood timber and take great interest in the trees i cut and have seen trees where you can hardly count the annual rings and this is in modern timber. i seen one maple tree 18 inches in diameter over 300 years old now if that isnt slow growth i dont know what is. i am sure our modern stands of wood are on average faster growth on average but believe me up here in the cold north country there will always be some very slow growing trees.also dont believe the myth that all timber years ago was slow growing perfect big beutiful trees there was a lot of poor quality timber back then also just remember they just like today only took pictures of the biggest and best. a lot of tree growth also is site specific some sites growing better timber than others. i hope this helps although i didnt answer your question specifically. i do believe if you wanted to find slow growth material with a little leg work it would be possible.

curly maple