Anyone ever hear of this?

[gata]

I once had a great old timer guitar teacher who said there is a theory that when you're not playing it, if you place your acoustic guitar in front of your stereo speakers, the vibrations from the sound will help age the soundboard much faster. It makes sense to me when considering that playing a guitar more makes it sound better. Supposedly, the vibration of the top loosens the natural fibers in the wood, making it more responsive and live. Since it made sense at the time (more than 20 years ago), I've always done it, and it seems to have had an effect with one of my acoustics. Or am I just foolin' myself?

Anyone else ever hear of this?
:scratch2:

[LPD]

I heard that if you have a pre cbs strat and you want to really break it in send it to me for about 25 years give or take a decade and I'll send it back :D

Not too sure about the aging process...

[drspiff]

I think you first have to use a green magic marker around the edge of the soundboard. It also helps if the speaker and the guitar are aligned along the local magnetic field. But then your speakers wires must 90 degrees to the same local magnetic field.

Honest! I saw it on Geraldo.

[Celt]

Dunno...I always thought they sounded better as the wood and finish aged. There may be something to it. :scratch2:

[fotno]

I dunno for a fact one way or another, but I think it has more to do with the spruce top and mahogany or rosewood sides aging. More important than anything is keeping the instrument at a relatively constant temperature and humidity. Speaking as someone who had a guitar lose it's bridge and it's top from being left in a powerless house during a blizzard, I highly recommend not leaving them to the whims of mother nature.

[Urizen]

Dunno...I always thought they sounded better as the wood and finish aged. There may be something to it. :scratch2:

As a long time guitarist, there is something to it.

My '97 Martin D-1R sounds better now than when I bought it new. :D

[gata]

Fotno was right. This applies to any acoustic guitars with solid tops--most often spruce, cedar, or mahogany. Vibrations break up the wood fibers and the top becomes more flexible.

There must be something to the theory. I've been playing more than 25 years, and I have an acoustic that I bought almost 20 years ago. I've played it so much that it looks like an escapee from Willie Nelson's studio. It sounds so much more resonant now than when I bought it.

[bentpencil]

Now, for the technical crap.
Wood, in it's natural state, has a molecular makeup that is acoustically pleasant. Knock on a board, and it sounds good. Different woods sound better than others, due to different molecular makeup. Change the size, shape, thickness, etc. of the wood, and the sound changes. Bending, gluing,sanding, finishing, all change the molecular shape and stress points, hence the sound. Eventually, the stress points will relieve themselves as the molecules move, but the denser the wood, the longer the time. MINOR changes in temperature, humidity, and especially vibration, can accelerate the process. Once the stress is evenly distributed over the piece of wood, the better the acoustics. Your teacher was pretty smart.

[GibsonLesPaul]

Yes, I must agree with your teacher and Mr. Bentpencil. As a wood guitar is played over the years, the wood molecules form a certain alignment pattern according to its harmonic resonance. Recall the old time movie of the bridge that fell apart due to a steady wind that blew and eventually caused the bridge to break apart. Harmonic resonance was obtained when the wind continued at a certain frequency. It's all physics actually. Guitars sound better after several years of playing due to the molecules of the wood aligning in a harmonic pattern.

[Rockmonton]

so, if i was a luthier and kept every bit of wood i owned in a sound chamber that blasted 130 dB+ levels of pink noise 24/7 i could have the greatest guitars ever made?

[bentpencil]

Well, I guess if all you ever did with the guitars was play 130+db levels of pink noise, you may be right.

Any experienced sound technician can make the best sounding and the worst sounding guitar sound the same. But pull the plug, and the truth emerges.

I think the object of gata's question was to get the best natural sound out of an acoustic instrument.

[gata]

My teacher was a pretty sharp guy. Even after more than 25 years of playing, I still find myself going back to things he's taught me. He explained the theoretical basis of this practice to me once when I was still a teenager with a snotty attitude, and the years had washed over the details.

Thanks for the brush up lesson guys!

[Rockmonton]

yeah, thats what i mean pencil, it keep all the woods constantly bombarded with high SPL to loosen them up.

[WhiskeyRebel]

Seeems like it would be more effective if you had a means of pumping the vibrations through the saddle so they would propagate as though the strings were driving the top.

[WhiskeyRebel]

INSPIRATION!!! If the guitar has a piezo transducer under the saddle, rather than using it as a pickup, pump music through it as a driver!