Larsongs Posted August 23, 2014 Share Posted August 23, 2014 Does aging of the wood affect the ES335's Tone? Lars Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capmaster Posted August 23, 2014 Share Posted August 23, 2014 To my experiences, natural aging will improve any guitar's tone. On the other hand I have to say that guitars sounding better when new will also sound better when older. Another point worth mentioning is that guitars allow for faster string action with time. Anyway, I rarely set them bridges lower since the advantage is closely eaten up by inconsistent fret wear. Interestingly I also experienced that aging seems to affect maple, ash and basswood more significantly than mahogany and alder. I expressively say "seems" since depending on fretboard timbers, construction, build and pickups, the changes may translate less or more apparently. Pickups as such including magnets seem to age neglectibly. Just my two cents, based on instruments of my pals and me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IanHenry Posted August 24, 2014 Share Posted August 24, 2014 Lars, I don't believe aging will make any significant difference to the sound of any ES series guitar for the simple reason that they are made from laminated timber. Solid timber acoustic guitars improve with age (one of mine, a Yamaha AC3m improved over a weekend when I first got it, and it is still improving). I'm not sure how aging effects solid bodied guitars like a Les Paul, I would imagine it will change with age but to a lesser extent. One thing that does amuse me is when people pay premium prices for laminated acoustic guitars, with different finishes, an example being Taylors 214 Koa model and then claim that it sounds better than the regular Rosewood model. As the guitar back and sides are laminated they are identical with the exception of a thin finishing veneer, the only difference is in the appearance. I have a little experience of working with Timber, as I served an apprenticeship as a fine cabinet maker in my youth. Ian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Versatile Posted August 24, 2014 Share Posted August 24, 2014 IMO there are several components at work here... Taking the Stradivarius analogy... :blink: The wood may change/dry out/settle structurally etc Many years of 'musical' vibration may favour richer tone A played instrument will sound better than an old unplayed one... V Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larsongs Posted August 24, 2014 Author Share Posted August 24, 2014 Excellent points. I have read that it takes 30 years for an Acoustic Guitar to reach it's own great Tone. Just hadn't read anything pertaining to Laminated Guitars like the ES335. Thanks, Lars Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon S. Posted August 26, 2014 Share Posted August 26, 2014 Many years of 'musical' vibration may favour richer tone A played instrument will sound better than an old unplayed one... V +1. In my experience the age of an instrument has much less affect on tone in comparison to one that has been a regular player. Old wood can still feel tight and sound dead if it never gets played. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
knucklebut Posted August 26, 2014 Share Posted August 26, 2014 ???? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
knucklebut Posted August 26, 2014 Share Posted August 26, 2014 1408907245[/url]' post='1556336']When you get your picture taken with Mickey Mouse at Disneyland, does the guy inside the costume smile? This is an answered questions of the universe. Unless you have 2 exact guitars built at the same time from the same wood. Then one is played every day for lets say 30 years and one is locked away. Then 30 years later they are both played we may never know. And even so, no 2 guitars even the same model are exactly alike. That is what makes each one unique. I know this is OFF TOPIC...but...... .."THE PAUL"...Was made of walnut...I had the "PROTO TYPE".. A Guitar I so miss.Did they change it....? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kaicho8888 Posted September 3, 2014 Share Posted September 3, 2014 I don't know if it's better tone; only a few years ago I noticed that my 47 year old guitar vibrates so much that the guitar body stings my ribs when I play...well, maybe because I'm an older fart now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capmaster Posted September 3, 2014 Share Posted September 3, 2014 +1. In my experience the age of an instrument has much less affect on tone in comparison to one that has been a regular player. Old wood can still feel tight and sound dead if it never gets played. When thinking of instruments of my own and of my pals during the past 35 years, keeping guitars and basses in shape does a lot to their performance. This includes temperature and humidity as well as proper neck adjustment and accurate tuning. Neglecting all of these requirements may literally kill them. I know from reliable reports that stringing up instruments after improper storage and being unstrung for a long period may even cause their tops to crack. In these cases typically the bracing of a guitar or the sound post or sound bar of a string instrument had gone loose, and the instrument wasn't checked for that before stringing up. No matter if hollowbody, semi-hollow or massive instrument, the best things one can do to them are proper environment, basic maintenance and regular playing, in short terms as well as in the long run. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dennis D near Milwaukee Posted September 9, 2014 Share Posted September 9, 2014 Excellent points. I have read that it takes 30 years for an Acoustic Guitar to reach it's own great Tone. Just hadn't read anything pertaining to Laminated Guitars like the ES335. Thanks, Lars I don't think you'll find anything conclusive regarding how a laminated guitar ages. There's enough discussion /opinion etc etc to go around on what solid wood does or does not do. Once you say 'laminated', you get different types of wood, then you get the adhesive that holds the pieces together. If you ask a builder why he or she laminates anything at all, it's usually a cost savings. And who knows how the glue used would age ? Solid wood is solid wood and priced accordingly, and plywood is plywood and priced accordingly too. Of course, MHO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capmaster Posted September 9, 2014 Share Posted September 9, 2014 To be honest, I don't know about the grain angles in plywood used for making guitars. The term Sperrholz in German says "locked wood" and means an odd number of plies with alternating 0° and 90° grain angle. When checking for "Plywood" in Wikipedia, there also are 30° or 45° steps mentioned, depending on number of layers. Fact is that the speed of sound along the grains is a fair multiple compared to that across the grains. In some tonewoods such as ash which is practically not cross-linked, the sound propagation across the grain is slower than that in air at room temperature. So there seem to be lots of possibilities on principal, some regardless of age. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
knucklebut Posted September 19, 2014 Share Posted September 19, 2014 1409047393[/url]' post='1556889']I had one too. It was my first electric guitar. What do you mean did they change it? They have not made that model since I believe 1984. Then The Paul II came out in the mid 90's. Sorry it took so long to get back to you, been really busy jacking a house into he air 6 inches..but I digress..well I had the PROTO type THE PAUL..1976..I think it was...it was all walnut body...flat top and back..I was wondering if that had changed since the first run of them? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ddgr Posted October 6, 2014 Share Posted October 6, 2014 Does aging of the wood affect the ES335's Tone? Lars Hard to say but tour playing will improve and your sound will improve with it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maestro Vibratoer Posted October 6, 2014 Share Posted October 6, 2014 There is an accessory called Tonerite which is placed just above the bridge (for acoustics and archtops). It's a vibrator for guitars, if you will. That's what it does though, simulating the aging process. I have used it (on my guitar) and feel it can enhance tone to some degree. Having said that, a guitar born with average tone will probably always have average tone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gnappi Posted November 22, 2014 Share Posted November 22, 2014 On one hand I don't think age of wood has anything to do with tone, especially with solid bodies, but on the other hand, archies... just maybe. Before I bought my 20 year old 175 I played a LOT of them, some much older, some newer, and some brand new. I found few that varied much, but some clearly had less "tone" that I could justify buying. One in particular which was very well worn but not very old (only 7-8 years old) was unbelievably beautiful sounding but it was a ratty looking dog that was not cared for in the least, and the owner KNEW it was superior as his price was plain stupid high. I had a hard time walking from it, but am glad I did, mine is perfect for me. On the other hand, I have a 60's ES-150 that is outstanding and I have yet to play an ES-150 that I didn't like for as long as I've played them which was way back when they were new! Every one was superb. Is it age? Maybe, maybe not... I let my ears tell me if it sounds right. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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