markwillplay Posted November 20, 2011 Posted November 20, 2011 I am going to post this on a few forums and see if anyone has ever had this experience. I recently had a custom slope shouldered guitar that was made from the example of an early 1940's j45. My custom requests were a much shallower body and a fatter neck as well as 2 1/4 bridge spacing. Anyway, I got the guitar and she had a few problems so I got those all worked out. I noticed that it sounded very "choked" with mediums even tuned down a half step. Just sounded like no sustain and really quiet with bare fingers although if you hit it hard, it would really roar. I figured the meds might be choking the top (even though meds half step down are about same tension as lights to standard pitsh) so I put on lights...a little better but really just a tad and thinner so I thought "maybe it is because the guitar is so new, guitars do open up with time". So I played it daily with the lights for about a month and finally replaced the treb strings with meds again to get fatter trebs. Still, tone was not "open" and I was thinking, man I know your in there but I can't get you out. Also, the guitar played pretty stiff even though it had very close to the same set up as my Gibson OJ....I know they are not identicle but I mean really stiff....and I know set ups. OK, the other day I go and get a few sets of strings to try on this guitar (which is mahogany and carpathian spruce). One of the sets was a set of John Pearce mediums but in 80/20 which I usually do not like...I always use phosphor bronze strings...I strung her up and BAAAAAAM!!!! I could not believe the difference in pure sustain. NOw the volume on this guitar is very good with a flat pick either way but with these 80/20 meds...the guitar sustained like you would think it should. I had a buddy listen who had heard it with the other med strings and he was amazed...said it did not sound like the same guitar. Sooo, we are trying to figure out if it is the strings or the time played. I suppose I will have to put a set of elixer phosph bronze meds back on it just to prove it to myself but this is the most drastic change in tone of any guitar I have ever owned new or old with a string change. Maybe the perfect storm (opening up plus different strings, I dont' know). Has anyone else ever had this happen.
onewilyfool Posted November 20, 2011 Posted November 20, 2011 New Guitar Syndrome.....lol.....with NGS...either play the heck out of it.....or get yourself a Tonerite!!! Hopefully it will open up to your liking!!
markwillplay Posted November 20, 2011 Author Posted November 20, 2011 don't get me wrong, I like the tone of the guitar. Tis a keeper (especially with the custom ergos) but the sustain difference is wild. I would love to put a toneright on it for the fun of it.
BigKahune Posted November 20, 2011 Posted November 20, 2011 . Glad to read about your event and hope you keep it rolling. My 200 was a bit stubborn in "opening up". When I first got it I was patient. Then after about year I swapped out the tusq saddle and plastic pins for Colosi bone and noticed a nice improvement, but I could tell it wasn't fully opened yet. Then, about 18 months from purchase, one day, bam, it was like a different guitar - fully open and sounding awesome. In my case this event coincided with loading up new strings - not a string brand change, just a new set of what I had been using for a long while. .
greatwhite_10 Posted November 20, 2011 Posted November 20, 2011 I had posted a request on the Forum asking about the John Pearse strings but no one replied until your post. Michael Greenfield sends out each new custom guitar with JPearse meds. on plus James Taylor amongst others use only JPearse on their guitars. Glad you put up your post. Hope your Gibby opens up even more and sings for ya the way it should.
E-minor7 Posted November 20, 2011 Posted November 20, 2011 Yes you owe the situation to put the other strings back on to be sure. .. But no doubt a stiffness can be sweated out. I know you play quite a lot, so forget about the tonerite and strum the guitar warm – well, it already happened. The 'choked response' you mention could very well be/have been the woods (topwood indeed) needing to get used to the vibrations - to actually make music. My 2010 Standard 45 was stiff when I got it and had a dampened A-string. It began to soften up after 8 months and now is much more together. The '53 J-45 had a JLD system installed, which I removed. From there on – and after serious playing – it started to relax. The former owner even noticed the change when he passed by to gather a forgotten strap. One of my HD-28V's clearly lost its tightness after being dug, nursed and beaten. Had that same stiffness in the mids – like a car owned and driven by an older over-cautious person. Then there is the Bird. (A '08, but hardly touched till I bought it in May). Something is happening but I don't know what it is – do I Mister Jones, , , ? Yes, something is happening and it was/is needed. But it's coming slow. I surely get more bass now and the guitar as a whole seems to lose tension or factory-feel. It's also a tooth louder. Still we have a way to go. I'm not finally convinced. Plan is to wait till May – that would mean a year in my hands and should show some direction. Reading BK is reassuring.18 months before the 200 eventually clicked is a fairly serious distance. And tells a story about the wisdom/professionalism within patience – or the other way around. Young people and beginners could learn here. We are all challenged – man and guitar is an ever-growing process so we better be awake. "It takes a year for my sound to get into the guitar" Andrés Segovia
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