Used gear for sale

Those guys must be getting really greedy, they even have low-end Harmonys, like the H-165 I pulled off the curb a few years back. It's not bad for slide, but I just don't see it in a glass case.
 
Mutt. These guitars; if they have not been played are they really worth anything? Aren't guitars like violins and become brittle and poor sounding if they sit without attention? The sound of a great violin comes from constant playing and attention. The vibrations are said to inhabit the wood...
 
BroKen_H said:
Mutt. These guitars; if they have not been played are they really worth anything? Aren't guitars like violins and become brittle and poor sounding if they sit without attention? The sound of a great violin comes from constant playing and attention. The vibrations are said to inhabit the wood...
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There is a lot of rubbish spoken on such things and very little solid evidence.
 
muttley600 said:
There is a lot of rubbish spoken on such things and very little solid evidence.
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Wondered about that. I figured someone with your experience could elaborate. I suspect the Stradivarius' built in a certain era had more to do with the water content and specific density of the wood used to craft the instruments than how much they get played. Otherwise you could build a cheap knockoff and get the same sound by playing it 20 hours a day....
 
BroKen_H said:
Wondered about that. I figured someone with your experience could elaborate. I suspect the Stradivarius' built in a certain era had more to do with the water content and specific density of the wood used to craft the instruments than how much they get played. Otherwise you could build a cheap knockoff and get the same sound by playing it 20 hours a day....
Click to expand...

What makes a "good" sounding instrument is a very subjective and complex issue. Part of the problem is that by adding such variables as age, playing time, etc only adds further complications.

The Strad thing can be discounted because there is not a single strad around that survives in anything like it's original condition or set up. He built in the baroque style and all have been modified subsequently.

The guitar is a plucked instrument and not bowed so it needs to examined with a different set of criteria.
The Electric guitar is different to the acoustic guitar so it needs to examined with a different set of criteria.

There is no single set of guide lines that explain or even attempt to explain the perceived qualities of all stringed instruments. You need to focus more tightly on form and function to even begin to examine what qualities and properties are important. You would need several books not several posts to even begin.

The specific issue of age relates to the amount of creep that wood displays and it's effect on the elasticity of the wood. I select tone wood based on a set of principles that are personal to me. Other builders select based on other criteria. I have spent years investigating acoustical properties of instruments and wood but always fall back on a few key principles and experience because as loose as that sounds it is more reliable...
 
muttley600 said:
What makes a "good" sounding instrument is a very subjective and complex issue. Part of the problem is that by adding such variables as age, playing time, etc only adds further complications.
Click to expand...

I agree...and around that subject, I was wondering about your view on the impact of age and playing time.

In your opinon....taking a good sounding new guitar, how much would/could age & playing time potentially improve the sound?
IOW...I've heard some people give the opinion that age & playing time will almost always improve an already good sounding guitar. I'm wondering how much you think that is the case with most...all other things being equal.
Have you generally found that to be the case....or is it more of a random thing...or not really much at all?

Also....how much difference between, and to what degree would age & playing time "imporvement" apply to, acoustics VS solid bodies?
 
Solid wood acoustic guitars 'open up' over time, meaning the grain can vibrate more, giving (possibly) a fuller sound. But if the guitar is not cared for, (allowed to dry out, neck to bend, bridge to pull up...), it ain't worth crap.
 
Since it is generally accepted that what sounds good is entirely subjective it is impossible to say for definite that any guitar will "improve". The question is will the sound change? On a solid spruce top, Yes it will. On a cedar top, unlikely. On a Plywood or other top, unlikely. On an electric guitar the sound is largely also a product of the pickups so you are then introducing a whole new set of variables such as magnetic field decay, any change in the copper in the windings and the changes to any potting of the coils that happens over time.

Best advice is just enjoy your guitar unless you are a maker in which case you should shoot for a decent sound to start using what experience you have. The sound of a completed guitar will not suddenly drop off unless there is some obvious reason. Do not believe any one who suggests that they can predict how the sound may "open up[" or "change". They can't any more than they can predict next weeks lotto numbers...
 
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