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"Breaking In" new Gibson acoustics...


sbpark

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As some may already know I have recently been on the search for a new J45 after parting with on I couldn't bond with after a few years of owning it (purchased new, 2014 Standard). Recently visited a few shops, including a 5-star dealer and played several SJ's and J45 variants (Standards, TV, all-mahogany, etc.) and settled on a 2017 Standard since it sounded the best, and suprisingly was from Guitar Center, and was not molested, dinged, scratched, etc. Guitar has a pretty thunderous low end which I liked over all the others I played. I will say though about newer Gibsons, and have mentioned in previous posts is how "tight" they sound when new. Now I know a new J45 Standard and an older/vintage J45 are really only similar in name, but in your experience do these newer guitars "loosen up" a bit over time and not sound so constricted and tight, or is this just a characteristic of newer Gibson acoustics and how they sound? Like I said, this is just how most of the new J45's and SJ's I've played recently.

 

I took the J45 to a tech today and he looked at the guitar and said he could easily make it more playable (my only complaint about the guitar when playing 1st position chords) since the nut slots are a touch high and bringing down the action a touch (i like 6/64" on the low W, 4/64" on the high E, so not super low in my opinion but not high either). He commented that the fretwork was perfect and probably one of the best-finished necks he's seen on a new Gibson in a very long time (Plek?). I told him I don't like low action, and prefer just a little more relief than most because I feel a dead straight neck doesn't work well with my occasionally heavy right hand and tends to choke the sound on the guitar even more in conjunction with low action and he agreed.

 

I want this guitar to be my daily player, take everywhere, beat the heck out of, take to jams, open mics, playing with buddies, and also as my #1 with a duo I play with (currently my AJ is my #1 for this task as it seems to work great int his situation, and can cut through my buddies singing and playing and he plays a Martin, but the AJ doesn't have a pickup.) I guess I'm just slightly concerned that this guitar wont "open up" over time, as the tech said it could take a good 10 years before this thing blooms or may not at all. I've never bought a guitar based on the hopes that t will open up over time, ad in all honesty have always thought that was a load of bunk. I do like the sound of the guitar now, and like I said it has a very big, thunderous low end, but otherwise is a bit tight and constricted. My old J45 was tight sounding across all strings/frequencies, had it for 2+ years, and noticed no real changes in sound.

 

So what's your experience? New Gibsons need some time to settle in and open up a bit and if I like how it sounds now will it only get better?

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My one a ( 2015 J45 ) is just over a year old now and like yours was a bit tight to start with . Now don't laugh but a very well respected luthier gave me a thumbs up when he looked at the guitar , he told me to place it on a guitar stand with the soundhole really close to a HiFi speaker and play music with a steady bass beat . I done that over a couple of weeks then changed the strings . Yes believe it or not I noticed a difference ( same strings same gauge ) the guitar was deeper and slightly louder . Now I do this quite regularly and haven't looked back .Good luck

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My experience is that a new guitar, a relatively unplayed used guitar, or a long unplayed vintage guitar will be 'tight' to begin. Further, all three will become more 'loose' as they get adequate playing time. How long it takes will vary from guitar to guitar, but generally vintage opens more quickly, used next, new last. There's an interval when the effect kicks in each time you play the instrument, taking less time to engage every time you play, and the thing finally gets to where it needs to be with little or no warmup period. There can be exceptions - my 1943 Martin 000-18 closet queen (now long gone) refused to loosen up no matter what - but it's definitely just that, an exception. Even some laminate-tops will loosen a bit, although nowhere near as dramatically. Ages-old shortcuts like putting the guitar (in its case) where it touches a running refrigerator and setting it (uncased) facing speakers, as mentioned in this thread earlier, will show some results. So my take is that new, used, or vintage, relatively unplayed equates with tight, and all should loosen up to varying degrees as they accumulate playing time. Now and then, it doesn't happen, but usually what you hear and experience early-on should only get better down the road.

 

Apropos of nothing: I've often thought that strapping a guitar to a Harley every time you ride could net results, but have no intention of being the first to try it😖😄

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My experience is that a new guitar, a relatively unplayed used guitar, or a long unplayed vintage guitar will be 'tight' to begin. Further, all three will become more 'loose' as they get adequate playing time. How long it takes will vary from guitar to guitar, but generally vintage opens more quickly, used next, new last. There's an interval when the effect kicks in each time you play the instrument, taking less time to engage every time you play, and the thing finally gets to where it needs to be with little or no warmup period. There can be exceptions - my 1943 Martin 000-18 closet queen (now long gone) refused to loosen up no matter what - but it's definitely just that, an exception. Even some laminate-tops will loosen a bit, although nowhere near as dramatically. Ages-old shortcuts like putting the guitar (in its case) where it touches a running refrigerator and setting it (uncased) facing speakers, as mentioned in this thread earlier, will show some results. So my take is that new, used, or vintage, relatively unplayed equates with tight, and all should loosen up to varying degrees as they accumulate playing time. Now and then, it doesn't happen, but usually what you hear and experience early-on should only get better down the road.

 

Apropos of nothing: I've often thought that strapping a guitar to a Harley every time you ride could net results, but have no intention of being the first to try it😖😄

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My experience is that a new guitar, a relatively unplayed used guitar, or a long unplayed vintage guitar will be 'tight' to begin. Further, all three will become more 'loose' as they get adequate playing time. How long it takes will vary from guitar to guitar, but generally vintage opens more quickly, used next, new last. There's an interval when the effect kicks in each time you play the instrument, taking less time to engage every time you play, and the thing finally gets to where it needs to be with little or no warmup period. There can be exceptions - my 1943 Martin 000-18 closet queen (now long gone) refused to loosen up no matter what - but it's definitely just that, an exception. Even some laminate-tops will loosen a bit, although nowhere near as dramatically. Ages-old shortcuts like putting the guitar (in its case) where it touches a running refrigerator and setting it (uncased) facing speakers, as mentioned in this thread earlier, will show some results. So my take is that new, used, or vintage, relatively unplayed equates with tight, and all should loosen up to varying degrees as they accumulate playing time. Now and then, it doesn't happen, but usually what you hear and experience early-on should only get better down the road.

 

Apropos of nothing: I've often thought that strapping a guitar to a Harley every time you ride could net results, but have no intention of being the first to try it😖😄

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A refrigerator??

Really ??

 

I remember first getting my j45 which wasn't new but had spent a lot of time in a case with the previous owner not using it much ...

Think it was a few nights after getting it I brought it out and me and a friend jammed all night. I remember him handing it back to me and I noticed it was different 'looser' as cowboy says

 

Since then it hasn't changed much but sometimes I'll lift it on a Saturday and it feels a little tight only to go loose again

 

It's all very subtle. Doesn't suddenly change dramatically but it's there

 

A refrigerator!!?

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A refrigerator??

Really ??

 

I remember first getting my j45 which wasn't new but had spent a lot of time in a case with the previous owner not using it much ...

Think it was a few nights after getting it I brought it out and me and a friend jammed all night. I remember him handing it back to me and I noticed it was different 'looser' as cowboy says

 

Since then it hasn't changed much but sometimes I'll lift it on a Saturday and it feels a little tight only to go loose again

 

It's all very subtle. Doesn't suddenly change dramatically but it's there

 

A refrigerator!!?

Yep - and you thought it was just another major appliance😛

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A refrigerator??

Really ??

 

In the 70s, yes. I was in a band with a guy that stored his two Martins on top of the clothes washer. Fill the washer, start the cycle, put the guitars on top. For years.

 

rct

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...I've never bought a guitar based on the hopes that t will open up over time, ad in all honesty have always thought that was a load of bunk...

 

It is. I find they are a bit skittish right out of the case, so if I'm taking an acoustic I walk around and whack at it for an hour the day of the gig. It usually comes out of the case ready to go. If it's a bar it starts the night on fire, all guitars seem to prefer the environment, which is just as crazy as using a tonerite, I know, but it's my crazy. If it's a daytime outdoor affair all bets are off, you just don't know how it will go with any of them.

 

It is subtle for sure, but for me it is daily, each use, no great difference over time. If it was true that they "open up" and get awesome I'd still have all of my past guitars that I never bonded with because they never got awesome, and some of them got some serious miles on them.

 

In my older age in recent years, I buy them awesome.

 

rct

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uh oh,, no one has uttered the words Tone Rite yet!!

 

I did!

 

"If it's a bar it starts the night on fire, all guitars seem to prefer the environment, which is just as crazy as using a tonerite, I know, but it's my crazy..."

 

rct

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If you are 18 and only have the one Gibson, play it as hard and as long as you can....

 

If you are ancient and have 50 guitars, put a new one on the Tonerite for a week.

 

If you want a new guitar that is old sounding already - buy a torrefied top model and put it on the Tonerite for 2 weeks.

 

My OM18A bought in April sounds like it may have if it was 1933.

 

And with a soundclip I posted a while back of my old 1937 Gibson L-0 and my Martin OM18 Authentic, I asked in this very forum which guitar did people think was the oldest in the clip....

 

Every single reply said the OM18 Authentic was the old guitar! Tonerited and torrefied top - the THREE TEES!

 

 

BluesKing777.

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Between the 5th and 8th year is when it really begins to happen. Still after 10 you ain't seen nothing yet.

 

In the first sometimes impatient phase - besides playing a lot - I suggest the following execizes :

 

1/ Once in a while concentrate on every single note from deep F to high G and make each of them ring, , , well more than ring, , sing !

It's done with a clean right hand pick touch then extended with a vibrating left-hand finger - change between 1 or 2 as this is pretty hard.

You simply vibe the soul forward in each note and try once more if it don't ring true.

It has to be like you court every individual frequency there is till you hear it answer.

Besides glowing the whole spectrum up, this will bring you in close contact with the instrument and really show its nature.

2/ Go beserk - attack the guitar as if Pete Townshend has taken over your body and hammer it strenuously.

Don't forget to go near the bridge and though the sound gets hard beat further there.

We want that string-holding component to understand it's supposed to send vibrations into the top so every inch of the spruce wakes up and begins to dance.

The whole thing may scream a little from the shock you are inflicting, but it will love you for it later. You sure will love it back.

 

After 20 to 30 minutes vigorous activity, that must be so wild people might leave the house or neighbors come knocking, calm down.

Take a walk, see a movie, make and drink a cup of tea - you could take a bath as you probably sweat all over.

Then return - make the hold-the-nose-and-blow-trick to clear the ears and sit down and play a song you know very well.

Open your senses and see what you hear.

 

 

Good Luck 'n' Enjoy

 

 

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So what's your experience? New Gibsons need some time to settle in and open up a bit and if I like how it sounds now will it only get better?

 

Didn't want this one to slide too far off of the page without giving kudos to E-minor7 for his upbeat, this-can-be-done, pep talk. Yes, change can, and does happen to the sound of wooden box guitars as they age, and get played more. Can anyone who denies this, also deny any change to any natural object over time? To deny change to cellular objects with prolonged exposure to vibration and stress (and the object's seeking equilibrium of those forces, the orientation of the grains of the different pieces of wood glued against each other, the clarifying and hardening of the glue itself {esp., under the bridge and bridge plate}, as it cures, the carrier agent in the lacquer finish oxidizing, etc.) is selling one's self short on the effect of what are simply natural processes.

 

There are varying reasons that people buy old guitars. Some just gots to know. It's not necessarily a better sound, just a different sound. Hopefully, it should sound more opened up. Get a newer one in the same room as an older one. See what you hear.

 

 

ScreenShot2014-04-26at81627AM_zpsa441f952.png

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