Anyone ever had an electric guitar "break in" before?

[Dusty Chalk]

I've had my cats knock a small yet substantial Ampeg amp from atop a 2x4x10 stack onto one of my guitars. You could say the top is broken in, now.

 

[CatStrangler]

I've had my cats knock a small yet substantial Ampeg amp from atop a 2x4x10 stack onto one of my guitars. You could say the top is broken in, now.

cats, dogs and kids will do that. oh and the occasional significant other. I feel your pain.

 

[Screamingdaisy]

cats, dogs and kids will do that. oh and the occasional significant other. I feel your pain.

...and cymbals, mic stands, drunks, ex-girlfriends...

 

[CVS]

Maybe its a change in the weather that is causing the tone to change????????????????

 

[Screamingdaisy]

Maybe its a change in the weather that is causing the tone to change????????????????

I have a few different guitars I play, and those have remained relatively consistent*. It's only the P245 that has had notable change. It's why I don't think this its all in my head; relative to my McCarty it was brighter, had much more upper midrange, and was a little weak in the low end... And now relative to the McCarty it's low end and low mids have filled out, the high mids are clearer and the top end is still present but more rounded.

I don't think it's the setup as I've adjusted the guitar it started sounding different to accommodate for it. For instance, I had the pickups backed off to about 2.5mm trying to obtain more clarity, but since the change I've been able to raise them up to 1.5mm and they still sound great.

* as consistent as you can expect a guitar plugged into a tube amp to sound on a day to day basis.


Edit: and, if the guitar ever goes back to the way it sounded before I'll eat crow and come correct this thread.

 

[Veetwin]

Here's the true, scientific explanation, this from the University of Lesteban Press, published by its Department of Quantum Science And Other Stuff, in an article published just last month. Why Do Certain Guitars Sound Better After Someone Plays Them?, The Journal of Lesteban Department of Quantum Science And Other Stuff Review, Issue 513, June 2016, pp. 408-594:

At p. 593:

"Conclusion: Guitars are inhabited by intelligent disembodied beings from another dimension, that are the size of quantum particles. These inter-dimensional beings learn the sounds the player prefers, and cause the wood to respond in certain ways; they do this because the vibrations caused by the guitar being played satisfy their missing sexual feelings.

Only the most highly accomplished and intelligent of these disembodied beings are allowed to inhabit PRS guitars. The less advanced ones are required to inhabit other guitars. This is why PRS guitars are reported to sound and feel superior to similar instruments.

It is theorized that Paul R. Smith was appointed a Being-Master by the rulers of these inter-dimensional creatures, and given special powers over them. According to this theory, his predecessors were Ted McCarty and Leo Fender.

However, this is still speculative; we are not certain how these creatures come to inhabit guitars. One researcher has theorized that they are attracted to the wood and the finishes PRS uses. We are still testing this theory."

Some people even believe we went to the moon. Some say the Titanic was not the Titanic but the Olympic, and we will not talk about who shot who...............

 

[Veetwin]

I could not hear my 2408 properly in the store unamplified, and now it is much louder and clear. Could be the locking tuners with brass posts and nickle wound strings I changed I guess.

 

[Sybo]

Don’t even start me on this subject , it makes me think of speakers and amps and “ breaking the speakers in”

 

[Greywolf]

They all sound better with use and proper care

 

[JasonE]

Don’t even start me on this subject , it makes me think of speakers and amps and “ breaking the speakers in”

And?

 

[Sybo]

is it not interesting how new speakers sound soooo much better when broken in. I use the same process for new amps, ( or other like loudspeakers) . I run music( cd’s) through them LOUD all day or as long as it takes to make those babies “ work out”. To my aging ears, it works amazingly well.

Your neighbors WILL hate you

 

[aphantomvaper]

is it not interesting how new speakers sound soooo much better when broken in. I use the same process for new amps, ( or other like loudspeakers) . I run music( cd’s) through them LOUD all day or as long as it takes to make those babies “ work out”. To my aging ears, it works amazingly well.

Your neighbors WILL hate you

I don't always listen to The Grateful Dead, but when I do, so do the neighbors!

 

[JasonE]

is it not interesting how new speakers sound soooo much better when broken in. I use the same process for new amps, ( or other like loudspeakers) . I run music( cd’s) through them LOUD all day or as long as it takes to make those babies “ work out”. To my aging ears, it works amazingly well.

Your neighbors WILL hate you

I basically do the same thing. The last one I did is in a sealed cabinet. I placed it face down on the floor to dampen the sound level of it and put the music on. Since I have been working from home for a few years now, I only ran it at lunch time when I wasn't in the room. I did that for a couple of weeks. There is some wide varying information out there on how long it takes to break a speaker in. I also saw a way to do it using a frequency generator that basically moves the speaker with very low audio volume. I didn't want to spend the money for the equipment and then take the chance of blowing the speaker. It is supposedly much easier to blow them with this method.

 

[Lewguitar]

I don't always listen to The Grateful Dead, but when I do, so do the neighbors!

I live in a little hippie artist community near the Utah border in Colorado called Paonia.

They LOVE the Grateful Dead here and we have free concerts in the park all summer just like we used to have in Ann Arbor, Michigan when I was a hippie mugician in the 60's.

Granny dresses, pot shops, head shops, little art galleries...the whole enchilada.

I don't play much Grateful Dead but I do get to leave the windows open and crank up the stereo in the summer and no one complains.

The neighbors (old hippies my age) even like my guitar playing and tell me it makes the neighborhood feel more alive.

Oh: yes! New electric guitars do break in and sound better the more they're played.

I've played Norlin-era Gibsons and CBS-era Fenders that now have somehow developed some serious musical mojo that they did NOT have when they left the factories 50 years ago.

Those are the guitars that so were heavy and sloppily made that they sparked today's vintage guitar market because everyone knew the guitars from the 50's and 60's were better built.