PrairieDog

Okay, but this doesn’t explain how my DIGITAL tuner is simply “mishearing” the sharpness? I’m not basing any of this on my hearing. it’s a high quality, non-headstock tuner, using the physics of sound-waves, detecting the out-of-tune states that is reporting. Once I scrapped tuning right off the stand, the “problem” was solved. My guitar goes in tune once I work it for a minute or two. To your other points claiming inert materials can’t respond to being played and affect tune? I’m not sure I’m following that? Anyone who has worked with wood and metal knows that the physical properties react depending on temperature and how much you “flex” the materials. Warm, damp wood is more resilient to breaking than dry, frozen wood (just ask anyone trying to build a camp fire in Minnesota in January vs August.) Bend a room temperature piece wire enough the friction from the vibration and force will cause it to break. But apply heat and you can create intricate wrought iron designs, bedsprings, or damascene swords. But apply too much heat, and too much force, it goes brittle and breaks. So the physics say, the vibration of sound waves through a guitar body, by strumming the strings is causing friction (heat) among the molecules in each component, however undetectable outside of lab instruments. Strings don’t break just because they feel like it, they are snapping to due metal fatigue from prolonged vibration (heat) combined with prolong tension (force). So, it only stands to reason that a guitar, under the friction from the vibrations of being played is going to warm up. If the term “wake up” is too poetic for these physical reactions, hey, I’m a bit of a colorful romantic. but all I can say is I haven’t had to touch my pegs for 4 days now.

I always like to stop in shops too, and distract myself when dealing with drs and such. Really nice “after appointment lollipop” you got there! 😄 Here’s to a successful procedure and a super fast recovery. Revel in the excuse to drink all the malts you want!

Yeah, it’s sitting out on the stand, not in the case, as I said. I did an update that proved my theory was right. it’s not out of tune at all, just stiffened up. I haven’t had the “initial sharp/tune down/strum once/now it’s flat/tune back up” routine since I started just strumming a few times and warming it up. Takes like literally 30 seconds. Much happier.

Chuckle, found this on Reverb. https://reverb.com/item/69343757-rare-gibson-brazilian-rosewood-back-only-made-for-the-heritage-model-made-in-kalamazoo-probably-1965-68 Every time I drive by some homemade garage or auction sale sign I can’t stop at, I always figure there’s a dusty pre-war J45 marked 10.00 tucked under one of the card tables.

I hate you….. 😆 Living the dream, man. That sure is pretty. have you tried calling Gibson? Might be too far back, but doesn’t hurt. Fwiw, I think it could be a 6 or an 8 You might try dusting some flour or talcum powder over the stamp and gently brushing or blowing it off. Might make the shape more legible. Or use the light paper/pencil rubbing trick. Off to visit our thrift store…

This made me laugh out loud, and I really needed to do that today! thank you!

Wow. Fantastic. When I was a young child my dad’s people in Texas used to hold big reunions at the family “camp” since the mid 1800s. The place finally got sold off in the 1980s just before I had any means to take it over. Still, it was awful sad no one else in the family could, or was interested, in holding on to it. 50 years later, there’s just a scattering of us left, and I have no idea where most of them are now. Glad you got to have a chance at reconnection.

See my little update yesterday above. turns out it really is just “tense” when I pick it up. I tried again this morning and yeah, I just needed to strum it a bit to have it come down back in tune. And yep, no cheap headstock tuner, all this is using a good app tuner appropriately. It was the annoying routine of going from finding it “sharp” on the tuner when I picked it up, so dutifully pegging it down to be in tune, then being hideously flat once I started playing (i.e. stretching out the strings) that was driving me nuts. It really is “in tune” in the first place, it just needs to work the kinks out. Now I know it will sound just fine after a few minutes of warming up.

Grin, yes. It was a beautiful day, the colors are just beginning to change, the view to lake was clear, and the birds were flying! Hope you have occasions to come “home!”

See my update above. Yes it invariably starts out with all the strings equally sharp, like the guitar tightens up between plays. Humidity is right in the zone. It is away from the register/window, etc.) It is out on the stand so I can get to it freely. I was trying to keep in the case, with the humidi-pack, but boy that did get to be a mental hurdle when I wanted to play quickly. I found I often would say, “later, when I have more time.” I’m hoping it can stay out as long as the room can be managed. We have a Dyson humidifier for once the heat is on for real. Thanks for the suggestions. I was already doing the string stretches when they were just a smidge sharp and that was part of what put me on the “is the guitar just tight?” and sent me down this train of thought. Now I know I just need to put the guitar through morning stretches like a gymnast before worrying about touching the pegs.

But not exactly sure how my lazy, unworked muscles would be causing the guitar to go out of tune? And as I said, I always checked my fretting to make sure it wasn’t me when. I totally own you have to keep in shape, but my post is about a guitar that appeared to be going to sleep and tightening up a full tick sharp, so that I’d tune it down, but then it would be flat when I started to play. Turns out (see my update above) it actually is in a state of tune, but just needs to be cajoled a bit to loosen back up.

At last an Update: I had a crazy week in the office, and had to stay out of the music room until last night. So the DIF slept alone for nearly a week, sad and unloved. And guess what? The experiment worked! Just started playing, strummed some, picked a bit, and only then picked up the tuner. Sure enough, yes, it was still a tweak sharp, but not even as bad as before, and all I needed to do was stretch/wiggle each string to get it to lock on. (I already was doing that when it was so close to being in tune it wasn’t worth touching the peg, just not trying this far off the mark.) Ahh, relief, my days of starting out tuning down a sharp guitar, only to have to tune back up from the flat moments later once I start playing are over. Cool.

Nod, I get that, hence the first part of my note about always assuming first it’s me. Glad you have gear you are happy with. I’m not complaining at all about mine. The DIF was/is my dream guitar, and lucked into it much sooner than I expected to. I just got newbie nerves, as I don’t know enough yet to be confident when something is just me or a real problem.

Yeah, nod. That has always been my method too. However, every string is the same tad sharp when I do the first tune. And a minute later, after hitting the first couple chords that sound godawful flat, I go back, recheck the tuner and gee, each string is now the exact same amount flat that I tuned down from sharp a minute ago. This leads me to think it tightens up while resting (hence going sharp) and if I just warm it up and stretch it out for a couple of chops, it will hopefully get it’s mind right and loosen up to be in tune. I don’t know, may be wishful thinking, but I’m curious. This all started because I was becoming a bit frustrated, and worried something was wrong, since it can’t seem to hold tune even for a few hours while the new J-45 Studio and Taylor can go a couple days in the same room without having to tweak the pegs. I’m heading up to Hawk Ridge on Lake Superior today, so I’ll have to see how my experiment goes when I get back this evening.

A 2017 Doves in Flight Limited (Mahogany burst)

I know there was an Earl Scruggs model, maybe there is a bit of confusion. Granted I’m late to the thread, but in case you haven’t already found it, check out this page. His FONs don’t seem to go as low as 3, (I didn't’ plow through everything) but check out the image of the 9xxx trio. The inlay of the one on the right sure looks similar to yours. You might have a really nice little piece there. Congrats, if it pans out to be a pre-war in playable condition. http://www.banjophiles.com/index.html Good luck on the search! EDIT: Of course did one more search on banjohangout and found a post saying there is a 3077 series of PB/TB/RB 1xxs in the 1950s. Didn’t see pics though to compare. If you just search 3077 there, you will get some hits.

I’m learning so much here: through my earlier post about the “dead j-45” there was a lot of discussion of old strings. This gave me the thought to look closely at the strings on the DIF I picked up used a few months ago…. Eeewwww! I also had been struggling with my fingers killing me for days after playing, well beyond just building up the callouses again. In researching what strings to put on, I stumbled on the thread about nickel sensitivity. So thanks to the folks suggesting trying coated strings for that. A new set of the D’darrio XS coated P/Bs later, and the Doves are truly flying! So now I’m getting to really know the guitar and what makes her tick. Today, I had a major breakthrough, fueled by stuff I read here. See, every practice the first thing I’d do is tune the guitar, right? And, it is “ALWAYS” just a tad sharp. Even if I just played that morning, or the day before. I’d set it right, grumbling about finicky tuners, and hit that first C chord. Always sounds like crap! Flat, dull, buzzy. I’d fiddle with my fretting, figuring it’s me and my placement, have spouse hit theirs, hit mine again. Go, wtf, how can it be out of tune? Grab the tuner and invariably it would be the equal amount flat now! So get it back up, impatiently decide it sounds good enough, and start working. As the session goes on the guitar mellows out and sounds sweeter and sweeter, and gets so fun to play I’m bummed when I have to put it down. So, thinking back again to the dead J-45 and other threads about guitars that sit around for long periods that need to be worked back open again, it hit me! I believe I have some prima donna guitar that just nods off as soon as she is put back on the stand. Tomorrow I’m going to just pull the covers off and start playing before I touch the tuner. I’m guessing I’ll hear a few initial groans of protest, but I’m betting all she needs is just a little cajoling to wake up. Again, thanks for all the helpful info. I can finally stop freaking out every day at the first few strums, and I will be more patient and generous with strange guitars I meet in stores. They may just be sleepy.

Naw, that ship sailed before I even knew it should have been there. However, since all the stuff I mentioned was still factory sealed, I doubt it had been sold before. And why would someone give back everything, including a D’darrio humidipak, but keep the paperwork for a guitar they don’t have? I doubt here in flyover land we’re a hub of Gibson guitar fakers who needed it for pumping their product cred, chuckle. More telling is there was no paper in any of the cases he checked. Seems more likely there is something going on in the GC chain, or a shipment missed the on-boarding at Gibson.

Not sure what you mean? As I said, I did buy the Studio new, from GC, an authorized dealer. I don’t think of the basic care and feeding guide and warranty info as “candy.” There was a little inspection swing tag that mentions the warranty but refers you to the actual paper. I went back and asked at the store if they had those, and the dude checked (he was going to “borrow” one from another they had in stock if he needed to) but he found none had manuals or warranties. Eyebrow? The guitar came with a whole lot of stuff, much of which I didn’t know what to do with, like the truss wrench, a D’darrio humidifier pack, the keychain (okay, figured that one out), a polishing cloth (hey, turns out those can be tricky! I didn’t know you shouldn’t wipe your strings with it, ‘cause it picks up tiny metal bits that then will scratch your finish? Learned that from a Gibson video), a strap button, (but how do I install it?) If you are newbie to real acoustics, like me, there are other important bits of detail that would be good to know, like don’t store your Nitro finished guitar on the cheapo $15.00 GC stand. (Thank goodness I learned about that before it became an issue.) Or how often should I change strings? Great it has electronics on board, but how do they work, is there any concerns about cords or amps to plug in with? And just when should I be concerned something isn’t right, or what’s normal when breaking in a new instrument? My wood coffee table came with more instructions. I guess it feels odd that I’m wandering around the back parking lot of YouTubeU looking to rando folks for more or less reliable tips to help keep my gee-tar in top shape.

I called Gibson the other day, mentioning I didn’t have the manual that was described coming with my new j 45 studio. The fellow said they don’t post the manuals to help thwart fakers. I just realized we got sidetracked and forgot to follow up on if he could send me one! Forget the 60s, 70’s, 80s, 90s, aughts, and teens, I apparently can’t remember what I’m doing five minutes into a phone call! 🤪

Ack, I don’t get what I’m doing wrong? Are we talking the resolution being blurry, or is it not showing up? I can see the image, but the file size is so small there is no detail. I tried replacing the old one that looked super saturated and glarey. Is that better? I tried the messenger trick Danville mentioned, but I can’t just “drag”. I’’m on a tablet.

I still have it on my 2017. but maybe they were still using up old stock?

Okay, while we wait for Pete to get his posted right, here’s the back of mine, (just cause it’s purty) ☺️

I’m buying the acclimation thing. Somebody mentioned in another thread that it takes a bit of playing for the top to flex up again after being shelved for a while. Maybe it was a combo of adjusting to the new conditions and you played enough to finally work the kinks out… Now I kinda regret not giving more of a chance to the “dead” J 45 I tried at GC. It might have been like a dog at the pound, just cowering in the corner depressed, until somebody chances giving it a new home. Hope it continues the upward glide for you. Have fun!

Wow!