What changes in an "older" guitar?

Sound, is more pure

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cassianomaridao@hotmail.com

She is, beautiful, very beautiful.

It is with characteristics of its owner.

Some dents and scratches - and the price goes up - sometimes...

Cheers - C

On a solid body I would say the finish and feel of the neck. Solid bodies are not like a hollow bodies where the sound can change as the wood agess and the same happens to the neck and feel will change along with the finish.

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The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government.

Thomas Jefferson

Cvilleira, I would say the sound will change, a bit, as the wood ages. As it cures over time, its resonance will change. the overtones the wood dampens will change. I will agree that this affect is VERY VERY subtle with an electric. very pronounced on an acoustic instrument.
though the timbre of an electric will shift somewhat, it will be a very very small change.

i think the feel, of the neck, is the single biggest change over time.

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I'm not an expert, but I play one on the internet.

The sound not only changes as they age, but sometimes MORE than an acoustic ! I have a MIM 50's that in fact went from a quality of tone that was bad enough that the only thing that kept me from selling it was laziness. And man am i ever glad i was lazy....5 years or so later it sounded pretty darn good and now at about 8 years it's my #1. thats a pretty radical change. This is why i no longer like buying new strats. I haven't got the time or patience to wait. An acoustic relies on wood no more than a solid body electric. Just because it's loud enough to listen to acoustically doesn't mean it's any more important that the wood is good. An electric amplifies the tone, but it is amplifying the strings, and the strings vibrate a certain was depending on the wood. Notice how a LP sounds nite and day different than a strat even if if you compare it to a strat with a HB in the bridge? It's because the wood and design cause the string to vibrate a certain way which can as you see in this example make HUGE difference ! Well, as the solid body's wood age it changes the way the string vibrates, and that difference can and often is big.

They take on more character

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A sealed and finished solid bodies guitars wood I dont think will ever change to a point where anyone could notice. Now the condition of a solid bodies neck yes but the pure thickness of a strat body and the sealer and finish are not going to let the body change. You never seen a warped strat body have you? The wood by the time it has been used in building has already reached it relative moisture content for its enviroment and become stable. It will only dry out so much. Acoustic guitars change so much more because of the thickness of the wood the thiness of the finishes applied the himidity changes that acure to in interior of the guitars body unfinished bracing Ect. Ect. Aged acoustic's far surpace what can ever happen to the body of a solid body guitar. Also all guitars strings vibrate the same eliptacal pattern its the amount that the do so that varies and strings that vibrate in a different manner would give you weird harmonic overtones. The amount a string vibrates and creates the sustain that all want is a matter of several factors together body shape, mass, neck, bridge type, nut, string size, set neck, bolt on. Change any you change sustain.
Take a Strat body and never touch it an stick it in a closet for 20 years then pull it out and you are not going to find any noticable property changes in the wood. Just not going to happen.

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The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government.

Thomas Jefferson

the statement that an acoustic guitar doesn't rely any more on wood for it's tone, than an electric, seems absurd to me. an electric guitar derives a LARGE amount of its tone from its electronics, both on board,(pickups, wiring, pots, capacitors,) and from its amplification.

A true acoustic instrument relies solely on its construction materials, (what its made of, and how it is shaped, and sized.) as the wood ages, it dries out, this changes not only its natural resonance, but its weight, shape, and everything else about the wood.

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I'm not an expert, but I play one on the internet.

Spoken by someone who knows the beauty of a well made acoustic guitar. Enviroment and age can bring an acoustic to life or it can damage it if not taken care of. The way an acoustic guitars thin wood and bracing it's delicate finish is so different from a solid body guitar.

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The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government.

Thomas Jefferson

I'm new into this guitar hobby and I was wondering the same thing. Good question and some interesting answers.

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Owner of:
-2008 American Standard Strat in Candy Cola Red
-Vibro-Champ XD
-Fender CD-60 Acoustic (Sunburst)

yes,the colors of the wood,they become beautiful,and the feeling of the neck so comfortable!

About once a month I go into the Vintage Room in the Hollywood Guitar Center and play some old strats, tele's and LP's...

The tone, the feel...there's nothing else like it. Some have more "vibe" than others, but even still, it pains me that I can't leave with one lol

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