Crazy theory/...

[BoSoxBiker]

28 minutes ago, ksdaddy said:

On a more basic level, if anyone is searching for gimmicky ways to improve the tone of their guitar, that tells me they're not happy with it. Trade up. 

I wonder what the percentage of the folks in that group is who have never brought the guitars in question in for an inspection and/or setup?

[dhanners623]

If you're removing a properly applied nitro finish in an attempt to improve tone, then I'd say, yeah, you're on a fool's errand. If you're sanding down (or removing) a poly finish, it can be a different story. Over the years, I've had that done on two guitars (a plywood topped Takamine and an Epiphone IB'64 Texan) and both definitely sounded better after the procedure. The top moved more freely. It wasn't just placebo. Others who played both guitars said the "after" sounded better than the "before."

The problem, though, is that a polyurethane finish is very hard to sand down and even harder to remove. It's a job for a pro.

Saying the ToneRite is "snake oil" is a bit much. Folks like Eric Schoenberg and Bob Benedetto use it, and I dare say they know more about tone than I do. Or most of us do. It is a matter of managing your expectations, though. A ToneRite is not going to make a new Blueridge sound like Tony Rice's D-28. And if you stuck one on Rice's D-28, it probably wouldn't do much. But it might make the Blueridge sound a bit better than it did.

[jt]

I'd like to roll this all the way back to the original post.

Wood is porous. It can never be drier than its environment. Baking it can crystalize resins within a particular piece of wood. And the that torrifying might slow moisture transfer from the environment to a guitar. But, with a bit of delay, your torrified guitar will equalize with the relative humidity of its environment.

Vintage guitars cannot be drier than the relative humidity in your guitar room. Period.

[Larsongs]

A good Guitar sounds good from day one & only improves with age… I’ve had my Martin D35 since 1975 & my Gibson J-160E since 2000. Theyve always sounded great & have improved with age without tricks…  I do take good care of them but nothing out of the ordinary…..

[Kwlsky]

I like to break in a guitar and/or improve it's tone only by playing it. That way I feel I've really bonded with the guitar, and became part of the guitar's eventual long history of tonal improvements.