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

I've had that happen. My SG was like that. I got it, it sounded good, it was cheap. It didn't sound great, so it sat in the case for a while until I could figure out what to do with it. One day I pulled it out, plugged it in, and was amazed by how much better it now sounded. Much more alive, compared to how sterile it used to sound. I can't say the same about any of my other guitars, because while new to me, they aren't always brand new out of the box. Even new ones usually sat for a while before I got them.

Now I just remembered I have a tele sitting in its' case now for at least a year. Wonder if it sounds any better than it did when I bought it?
 
No, the knobs will get all scratchy (one year, not so much, but several years, and yeah, they're toast); but everything else will act like suspended animation -- you have to actually march electrons through the copper for break in to happen otherwise nothing will be doing the breaking. In.

Part of break in is electrons learning their way. The molecules are like taxi drivers, when they first start out, they just go all over the place, but when they're more experienced, they take off before you even belt yourself in, and 3 times out of 4, they're already heading the right direction. Maybe more, maybe like 7/8.
 
Part of break in is electrons learning their way. The molecules are like taxi drivers, when they first start out, they just go all over the place, but when they're more experienced, they take off before you even belt yourself in, and 3 times out of 4, they're already heading the right direction. Maybe more, maybe like 7/8.

It's because they're guided by the inter-dimensional intelligent beings I talked about in my first post in the thread.

"Hey, electrons, the magic is this way!"

"Oh really? How do you know?"

"Because I'm an intelligent being living in the Earth Quantum World, but I'm from another dimension, and I was personally trained by Paul R. Smith."

"Who's Paul R. Smith?"

"Some dude who builds guitars and offers guidance to those of us who are mysterious Tone Beings."

"What other dimension are you from, and why should I think a being from another dimension knows anything more than I do?"

"I am from Dimension..uh...X. Yeah, that's the one. And uh...I know more than you do because...erm....because I'm an inter-dimensional being. And because this is Quantum Physics stuff, it doesn't have to make sense. So obey me."

"OK."
 
It's because they're guided by the inter-dimensional intelligent beings I talked about in my first post in the thread.

"Hey, electrons, the magic is this way!"

"Oh really? How do you know?"

"Because I'm an intelligent being living in the Earth Quantum World, but I'm from another dimension, and I was personally trained by Paul R. Smith."

"Who's Paul R. Smith?"

"Some dude who builds guitars and offers guidance to those of us who are mysterious Tone Beings."

"What other dimension are you from, and why should I think a being from another dimension knows anything more than I do?"

"I am from Dimension..uh...X. Yeah, that's the one. And uh...I know more than you do because...erm....because I'm an inter-dimensional being. And because this is Quantum Physics stuff, it doesn't have to make sense. So obey me."

"OK."
Oh Shazbutt. I thought it was something like that. I'll remember that for future reference. Until then.
NANOO NANNO. !!!
 
Guitars do sound different over time as the components age. Everything from the wood to the tone pot.... whether that change is for better or worse is entirely up to the player.
 
"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.
Did you just did you just slip the Midi-chlorian (of Star Wars Force lore), with a porn twist, in as the reason for PRS Magic? Uuuuuh...could be! :D
 
most of my electrics pretty much don't change fast. My P245 seems to me rock steady every time. Now it was a 2015 model and I bought it 2016, so maybe it did something waiting to be bought?

I usually think about guitar brake in with acoustic guitars, not electric.
 
I'd saved a quote from an article I read some years ago while researching DGT's and the V12 finish...(don't recall the exact article though...)

20140602_141500-01-01.jpg
 
It's because they're guided by the inter-dimensional intelligent beings I talked about in my first post in the thread.

"Hey, electrons, the magic is this way!"

"Oh really? How do you know?"

"Because I'm an intelligent being living in the Earth Quantum World, but I'm from another dimension, and I was personally trained by Paul R. Smith."

"Who's Paul R. Smith?"

"Some dude who builds guitars and offers guidance to those of us who are mysterious Tone Beings."

"What other dimension are you from, and why should I think a being from another dimension knows anything more than I do?"

"I am from Dimension..uh...X. Yeah, that's the one. And uh...I know more than you do because...erm....because I'm an inter-dimensional being. And because this is Quantum Physics stuff, it doesn't have to make sense. So obey me."

"OK."
And may the "Farce" be with you.
 
I'd saved a quote from an article I read some years ago while researching DGT's and the V12 finish...(don't recall the exact article though...)

20140602_141500-01-01.jpg

According to informed sources, it takes ten hours for the inter-dimensional disembodied beings inhabiting the guitar to learn what the player wants, and how to make the guitar do that.

Of course, it is still something of a mystery exactly why this happens. :)
 
Well, I won't claim to understand magic behind it, but something has definelty loosened up and the tone has changed.

When I first got it I described it as kind of Les Paul-ish, but more modern sounding with an aggressive upper midrange.

Now, it sounds like a Les Paul... although more focused and clear than any Les Paul I've owned. The mental image that pops in my head when I hear it is 70s rock. Fat, with a slight scoop and rounded top end.

I've spent most of the last month and a half trying to decide on what pickups to install in this to tone down the top end and fatten up the mids a bit. Now I can't imagine wanting to change anything about it. The guitar just rocks as is.
 
There is something to it. What I noticed is that the old PRSi that I trade for, the ones that have been played the most, sound the best. The ones that were case queens play well but don't sound as good. Now someone could say that they were case queens because they didn't sound so good, but I think it's the other way around. The played ones sound so good because they have been played.
 
I still maintain tobacco and alcohol work well together to bed a guitar in. All the historically top notch guitars have been seriously abused by air born and spilled stuff with a smidge of marijuana thrown in.

You can use this to relic your guitar without destroying the paint:
146763450413061300_resized.jpg

FWIW - I left the supplied strings on my latest PRS for a week or two, I usually change them straight away. They were a pain in the butt, the guitar would not stay in tune, sometimes I had to do it on a twice daily basis. I slapped on my usual Ernie Ball Slinky's and it's a different instrument altogether.
 
There is something to it. What I noticed is that the old PRSi that I trade for, the ones that have been played the most, sound the best. The ones that were case queens play well but don't sound as good. Now someone could say that they were case queens because they didn't sound so good, but I think it's the other way around. The played ones sound so good because they have been played.
They call that mojo. And I agree with that assessment.
 
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