Sounds like an Eric Johnsonism....... Mike

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The blues ain't nothin but a good man feelin bad.

Imo so far at least 3 things are going on and can just raise confusion if they are mix as only one thing.

1)the impact of the wood specie and quality over the sound
2)the amount of aging of the wood
3)the amount of playing

As a guitar maker and like I said in my earlier post, well I have old and new wood here, and I can't believe that someone here after hearing the ringing tone of both would select for the same price a 1 year old piece of mahogany over a 30 one!? Any taker?
Still that old wood alone mean not all of the magic, I mean that wood is like wine, it's not because you keep few bottles of cheap wine for the next 15 years into your beautiful cellar that it will end up like a magnificent Bordeaux! A great new piece of wood can be better than an old one.
So, for anyone who believe in no 1, that the wood specie has something to do for the sound, it's harder for me to understand that you don't believe in no 2., wathever electric or not..., but acceptable since money talk and guitar makers and manufacturers could save big $$$ in such case!
Conclusion: maybe the real thing to debate is no.3!?

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E.J. Strat 2006
American special tele (2011) with custom shop nocaster pu
Mexican Jazz bass fretless
Gibson Howard Roberts
Ibanez Roadstar II
MESA Express 5:25

Playing a guitar long enough, it ends up developing its own "Mojo". You become familiar with every part of that guitar and it feels comfortable right from the start after awhile. Its not the guitar that's broken in, its you!

Now let's all work on some Mojo!

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"Epitaph on a blues musician’s tombstone: “I didn’t wake up this morning”" Davy Knowles


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That would be my no 4!
Another great magic fusion that may happen and nontheless!

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E.J. Strat 2006
American special tele (2011) with custom shop nocaster pu
Mexican Jazz bass fretless
Gibson Howard Roberts
Ibanez Roadstar II
MESA Express 5:25

Rwill

I completely agree with you on the amount of playing thing. As I said in my previous post, i think its more about comfort making for better playing though. Like that old pair of shoes you just cant throw out that have shaped emselves to your foot. Now you'd hate wearing my old shoes, and I'd probably hate wearing yours. Their just not shaped to my feet. My shoes that my feet shaped through miles of wandering, are only really suitable for my feet. I believe its the same with old guitars.

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No no and no

Very true. I have a really nice Roadhouse. While many others would rather an American Strat or Tele, I love my guitar. I keep breaking it in everyday. I'm changing all the chrome hardware to gold, but the neck and body will remain the same.

I've named all my gear, its kind of like that stray pet thing. Once you name it, your attatched to it and it is now part of the family. Even if I named one guitar "Tramp" (I abuse her often in a good way). That one keeps taking it and keeps on giving.

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"Epitaph on a blues musician’s tombstone: “I didn’t wake up this morning”" Davy Knowles


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I've never known this to be true.

Back in the day, I used the same guitar as my #1 for eight years straight and even with seriously heavy gigging, rehearsing and practicing, I can't say it responded any different over the years be it for better or worse. It simply was what it was, no more, no less.

YMMV.

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You dig?

+1...its not the guitar...its the player

Because I don't really like the sound of new guitar strings, I do think a guitar sounds better after I play it awhile ...

IMO new strings sound too pianoy.

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Member #26797
My other guitar is a Strat.

New strings ring a little cleaner. Older strings give a flatter, duller tone. Somepeople like that.

_________________
"Epitaph on a blues musician’s tombstone: “I didn’t wake up this morning”" Davy Knowles


facebook.com/313DBC

So then where exactly lies the magic of Vintage strats? (soundwise) I thought they sweeten up also with time, the wood, the old ash bodies, that´s why they´re so expensive. So my guess is that the magic of comes from the sound of irregular pickup windings (manually) back then??

The magic of old strats its very hit and miss. Theres some real dogs out there and the good ones aren't too different from modern ones as far as playability goes.

The majority of the magic has to do with their scarcity. All that about standing guitars infront of speakers so that the sound vibration affects the timbre is nonsense. Just think about it scientificly, a guitar would have to spend decades infront of a massive, constantly pulsating sound source for it to affect it at an atomic level.

Stage volume these days is just nowhere near as loud as it was.

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No no and no

No kidding, its the guitarist who becomes comfortable with the guitar. The tone is in your hands, not the guitar. Nikininja is proof of that!

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"Epitaph on a blues musician’s tombstone: “I didn’t wake up this morning”" Davy Knowles


facebook.com/313DBC

I must say thats a nice compliment, I've only ever been told I'm proof of evolution working in reverse, before now.

I dont see how I prove the tone thing though.

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No no and no

If we could explain it, it wouldn't be magic.

It would be science.

And economics (to explain the high prices on vintage guitars).

It all works in my favor, so I don't look a gift horse in the mouth.

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Member #26797
My other guitar is a Strat.