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sound difference


jimbotheking0069

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A bit strange to me - I always get it the other way around.

 

Sometimes a guitar can sound a bit foreign just after it's grabbed - as the if the weaknesses are more exposed (especially in comparison with others).

 

After a while things melt down and from there it just sings better. . .

 

 

 

 

 

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I think you're trippin.

Mine works the other way around too. Sometimes its slightly dead when its been left for a week or so. After an hour it seems to come out of its shell. Body heat , the hour's practice, god , who knows .

 

Strange phenomenon you have there .

You a beginner ? Seasoned pro ?

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You'll have to dik around with the variables in your playing world to solve any puzzle. New strings, or string experimentation would be my first path. Tone shouldn't change much over a short time period playing. With my elder acoustics, what you describe happens when strings are old & tired, or in very hot, humid conditions. Cool and dry makes my flat tops spry and lively.

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How is the tuning after the hour's playing time? If it's dipped out of tune subtley enough it can make you feel like it sounds poor, but a quick retune can restore glory.

 

 

I was thinking the same thing!

When i take my J-45 out of a 47% humidity room, I have to tune it about every 10 mins. I think the humidity here is about 4, or 5%! [confused]

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When you pick up the guitar there is probably about 30degree temp diff between the wood and heat your body transfers. Wood contracts with cold and expands with heat... its in the book.

 

That can't be right ? Only if the guitars sitting in less than 7°s ?

Maybe I'm wrong

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The one thing I've had little trouble with in my acoustic guitar history is keeping them in tune in between daily playings. I usually get extended playing time at least twice a day, so I'm pretty much on top of things. With real old instruments I presume there are times when almost all the moisture has left the grain, and other times when the wood takes in some atmospheric dampness depending on storage, transport, and playing.

 

I wonder, however, about the drying and care of the materials currently being stored and used in modern guitar building. Nothing's perfect, but it would be hard to know if improperly cured materials were used to make a ( your ) guitar. If they weren't premium quality kept in perfect condition before use, I imagine that one of the downsides could be instability under stress, which could cause tuning fluctuations. I know people who gave up learning to play because they couldn't figure out how to keep a guitar in tune. Hey, some machines suck, too.

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... After an hour it seems to come out of its shell. Body heat , the hour's practice, god , who knows . . .

 

When I take out a guitar this time of year, I don't tune it until it warms up from playing/touching - 15 minutes or so. You pick up a cool. (temp wise [biggrin]) .guitar after you previously tuned it warm and it's going to be out of tune to some degree from the temp change.

 

As far as sounding better out of the case than later - as some have commented, that's reverse of what you would expect. Perhaps heating up the strings (from touch and playing) is causing a change. Have you tried different strings?

 

 

.

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The 1967 poop song by Keith - "98.6"

 

the room temp(guitar) is 65-67f in winter....... ~30 degrees below the warm blooded 98.6f

 

+ 1 BigKahune..........when I pick up a gtr in winter I don't even tune until its been played for 10-15mins, the body heat/transfer to the back and hand action on the neck... nature does its thing. its in the book

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Due to my own experiences I am sharing the opinions on influences of room temperature and body heat.

 

Even slight differences in temperature and humidity will affect tuning in any case. Very subtle deviations may be sufficient to make a nice guitar sounding awful - the nicer guitar and playing, the more apparent.

 

When taking it out of the case, I start playing a warm-up on an instrument - warming up myself and guitar or bass the same time. I leave the tuners alone at first even if a small amount of detuning is obvious. After a few minutes I turn to "fine-tuning" if necessary, and thereafter I am just having fun.

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I'll tell you what -- I "trip" like that all the time. My guitars all sound different to me all the time. Drives me nuts. Honestly. The subjectivity of this stuff is crazy. Is my head plugged up because it was 60 yesterday and 20 today? Gee, ya think THAT might influence how I hear things? Or a jack *** place of work on a bad day -- or a really nice morning spent on the porch in the sun -- pick up the guitar with birds chirping? That ALWAYS makes my guitars sound "better." Does any of this make sense? It absolutely does to me. Maybe that's why I "need" so many guitars! [crying]

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When I take out a guitar this time of year, I don't tune it until it warms up from playing/touching - 15 minutes or so. You pick up a cool. (temp wise [biggrin]) .guitar after you previously tuned it warm and it's going to be out of tune to some degree from the temp change.

 

As far as sounding better out of the case than later - as some have commented, that's reverse of what you would expect. Perhaps heating up the strings (from touch and playing) is causing a change. Have you tried different strings?

 

 

.

 

 

Yes I just replaced the factory strings to a set of sit aaron lewis sig royal bronze 13-56. I live in arizona so the humidity is really low here. Im thinking it has something to do with it. I do seem to have to retune alot and I wonder if the stock rotomatics maybe need a tension adjust? Or maybe its like someone said before, maybe its just my ears. Maybe hour of practice. Its my first gibson and im completely in love with it.

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I'll tell you what -- I "trip" like that all the time. My guitars all sound different to me all the time. Drives me nuts. Honestly. The subjectivity of this stuff is crazy. Is my head plugged up because it was 60 yesterday and 20 today? Gee, ya think THAT might influence how I hear things? Or a jack *** place of work on a bad day -- or a really nice morning spent on the porch in the sun -- pick up the guitar with birds chirping? That ALWAYS makes my guitars sound "better." Does any of this make sense? It absolutely does to me. Maybe that's why I "need" so many guitars! [crying]

I recognize this to a degree - and from time to time my sensibility is a bit disturbing.

 

At the other hand, it keeps the herd alive as I quite often glide further to other guitars to find the right sound and feel.

 

My maples fx, really unfolds at night. . .

 

 

Ain't this faible entertaining. . . . ,-)

 

 

 

 

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