Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

It seems to be taken for granted that old guitars sound better than new guitars. I wouldn't disagree. But why do I hear so much about old pick ups having to be re-wound because they don't correspond ohm-icly (possible made up word!) to values around the 7.4 figure. Do pick ups stored for years in a drawer degrade in the same way that they do when fitted to a guitar? If so then why all the fuss?? .......any thoughts techies??

Actually, it's UN-wound and you can hear what the fuss is about, modern pups were overwound and you do that to get a more vintage sound. I know that over the years the magnets in the pickups lose their charge, as any magnet will, which would make them weaker. You can send them to various people to have them re-charged.

Also it depends on what kind of a sound you like. less ohms=less mid and bottom, if you like the older jangly sound you would want less impedance (less turns of wire), if you like a fatter sound you would want more impedance (more turns of wire). I'm a bass player and like the new 10K pickups, they have a presence the old ones don't have, much more bottom and mid. Old PU's with weak magnets will usually sound dirty as they need to be closer to the strings for the same volume. I like that sound for some stuff.

Don't forget that with proper care, the wood with age can tend to give off a "better" tone. It's not just electronics that add sound quality, but the proper maintenance and care of the wood itself. It's just a matter of common sense on how you clean it after every use, and of course where you store it after each use.

I've also learned from a recent DVD I have that with the proper care, an older drum set can also sound better with age. For a person like me, I will probably not notice the subtle differences as my instruments get older, but I will notice a difference if I don't take care of them. I guess it is all in how well your hearing is to pick up these subtle changes in the instument as it gets older.

I knew a guy who said it was a fact that the molecules in an instrument lined up a certain way after a while with the same player. I told him he was nuts but he insisted and said it was a fact, I don't know where he got this information.
He had a couple of P.hD's, one in music so maybe he knew what he was talking about.

I remember reading a thread about that very topic a few weeks back on Voxtalks.... Interesting idea, but I'm not sure that I can buy it....

The molecular hypothesis, that is.... Although it is certainly true that wood instruments mellow and sound better as they age.

I think that most likely the wood grains "mature" and loose some moisture, causing them to tighten up more. This might cause a more "stiffer" (for a lack of better word) guitar that adds to better sustain. This might be a little bit off. I don't know.

I read an interview 4 to 5 years ago in Bassplayer magazine about how the wood in a bass changes molecularly through years of playing. This phenomonon is thought to be real by some, or was at the time of the article at least. Supposedly vibrations the body and neck woods experience overtime change the properties of the wood and is one of the reasons older well played basses sound better (I'm not sure I agree completely).
The person who was being interviewed was a respected bass builder (Rick Turner comes to mind but I can't recall who it was) and was experimenting with an artificial aging process where a bass was vibrated for x amount of time by audio transducers that transmit the vibration of varying frequencies through the wood by mechanical means. I haven't read anymore on the subject nor have I seen any manufacturers advertising the use of this process in building their instruments, so I suspect the process either didn't yield the hoped for results or the original theory was somehow flawed.

I believe I read a similar article. Someone had actually invented a machine to vibrate the hell out of a guitar and players claimed to hear an improvement in sound. I believe this was for acoustic guitars. A poor man's version of this is to just set your guitar in front of your stereo system whenever you listen or grab any guitars you're not playing and set them in front of your amp when you play.

I suspect a well worded Google search will bring up the research.

Here is the exact link to the article:
http://www.acousticguitar.com/Gear/advice/vibration.shtml

The guy who told me this told me close to twenty years ago, and according to him, it was that the molecules lined up with a particular players body if the same player had played it for a long period of time. He didn't mention vibrations at all, I assumed he had meant they somehow aligned with an electric field that we generate with our nerve impulses. (I think maybe my assumption is kind of wild but I can't think of anything more plausible). But actually vibration would hasten the process if it's real. He was positive and got kind of PO'ed when I laughed and said that that was an interesting theory. (That is a fact!)

I still think that the wood just natrually hardens up as it gets older. This might cause a better or worse sounding instrument, depending on what you like to hear. I don't believe that extreme shaking process, or that molecular B.S. It just depends on what age does to a given instrument, depending on the type of wood and how it's constructed. Can you imagine what a guitar would sound like if it got so old that it petrified?

I think wood seasons and stabalizes. A new guitar is constantly subject to adjustments because the wood is still a little "green". After a few years, the wood stabilizes, dries out, and gains its true voice. Thats why so many people swear by their vintage guitars. OK, dont laugh here, but back in about 1978 I bought my first "quality" bass,,,,it was a Peavey T-40, lots of switches and knobs but head and shoulders above the Hondo II P-bass copy that I was playing. I played it for about a year and put it in the case and forgot about it until about last year. I strung it up with new strings, plugged it in, and was shocked over the deep, rich, vintage vibe, tone and feel this thing has. It will never, never, gain vintage guitar status as far as value, but sounds incredible, I had given it the time to find its true voice!.,,The only problem is that its ugly, and weighs about 14 pounds. LOL.... The moral of the story is, time changes everything, for better or worse,,,,I dont know, ask Chris Squire, he seems pretty happy with his vintage 4001.

If two acoustics are bought at the same time and one is never played and the other is - the one played will end up sounding better in thirty years. It's the breaking in thing.
I've got a Larivee LS10, flamed maple back and sides. It's a really bright guitar and is meant to be finger picked. When it's sitting around on a stand, I place close to my stereo speaker so it will vibrate when I'm not playing it. Just speeds up the process a little because I can't play it all the time.
I've had it for ten years now and it sounds alot warmer than it did. I believe the particles lining up theory as well - I'm a big fan of particle physics - but I think the continual seasoning of the wood has more to do with it sounding good.