Re: Busy Wood / Stable Wood

On 31 Mar 2006 05:19:30 -0800, rockon02@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx wrote:

Like Art, I'm skeptical of the idea that the wood is magically
transformed as it is played.

I too have experienced the "playing in" of several guitars over the
years, but I don't believe that it is any sort of magic.

It is just the wood settling into it's new shape, and the glues and
finishes drying, in other words, the process of the guitar becoming one
thing instead of an assorted collection of parts.

Certainly it happens faster if a guitar is played a lot.

MJRB

I know I started this about wood, but honestly, I play my plastic
instruments a lot. I might likely play them more than they had been
played in the last 50 years -- meaning, "ever." The guitars have
definitely changed in sound and one uke has. I haven't noticed this
in the other plastic ukes.

I was thinking about this the other day and compared the apparent wear
and sound. I believe that ukes will change but takes a long time; I
think my newest G40 took less time than the first G40. I know now
that I did not have the G40 long enough in 1952 to even know how good
it could sound. And I was playing the wrong music on it.

When I have changed the first set of strings on the Flukes, after the
strings got stretched out and to pitch, I am sure they sounded better
than when I got them new. (I have a tenor, concert, and soprano.)

Only the necks and tops are wood -- the necks are maple, but the tops
are thin Australian pine.

I wish I understood all I know about this stuff.

Ken
.

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