[Sentry]

Does the age of the wood of a guitar affect tone? If so, in what way? For example, how does a 22 year old maple neck sound compared to one made yesterday? How does a 22 year old alder body sound compared to a brand new one? I know a lot of people seem to believe that an older wood produces a better tone, but does anyone here have any actual first-hand experience with the comparison is it just a case of "everybody says so, therefore it must be true"?

[GotDeeBlues]

From what I've read on woods, all guitar makers age the wood they use. I've been to Martin's factory and was able to go down into the wood milling/storage area not part of the regular tour. They have at least a one year supply in inventory at all times, and the exotics are actually in locked cages and inventoried daily. The entire area is precisely temp and humidity controlled and they first dry the wood as it is received to the desired moisture level before storing.

[Sentry]

What about parts, though? Would an alder body from a strat made in 1986 sound different/better than an alder body bought from Warmouth or Allparts?

[karcey]

Now this is a personal opinion, so don't crucify me if you don't agree.
I believe the makers age the wood they use so it is as stable as possible, and thus reduce the amount the guitar will change in the future. This is more critical with the tone woods used in acoustics rather than the electrics which get most of their musical characteristics from the electronics.
I also believe that after all the sections of a guitar are glued together, the vibrations of each piece change to be more in harmony with the rest. (All matter in the universe vibrates; don't take this too deep!)
I believe that with some trial and error, makers find their own formula for building which is their trade secret, and which they believe will give their instruments the best tone.
BUT
I believe making a guitar is as subjective as making wine, and regardless of what the maker thinks, the end user either likes the sound/taste or doesn't. Which is why we can point out well made guitars which sound great years after they've been made, and others which fall apart or bend in the middle after only a short time, but we can never get agreement on which sounds (or tastes if it's wine) best.
My wife likes shiraz, but I prefer merlot. Which is better?
You like the sound of Martin, but I like Alhambra. Which is better?
Thankfully if the instruments are well made, we'll be able to argue this for years to come ... or at least until our tastes change.
Sentry, why do you ask such hard questions?

[scott58]

I read an article a few years back that also talked about how often the instrument is played makes a difference in how it ages. Something about the resonance through the wood itself changes the internal structure. That stuff is a bit over my head so who knows.

[JF-30]

What Karcy says is quite true, the wood is primarily aged to stablize it. It is that way for any sort of wood working. Quality woods are kiln dried and kept at very precise moisture levels to avoid warping, cracking, etc. until they are properly sealed.
I read that article too, Scott, and I don't think that was too long ago. I believe it was in Acoustic Guitar magazine. And I sincerely believe that playing a guitar increases it's tonal quality. The author of that article, a guitar maker, advocated that one should always let others play their guitar so that it would pick up tonal qualities that others play since we all have a habit of playing a certain way. He also said that putting your guitar in front of a speaker was good for it. Like Karcy says, the universe vibrates and everything stores those vibes.
Bob
PS I suppose this somewhat of personal opinion too

[Sentry]

Thanks for that, all of you.

Originally Posted by karcey

Sentry, why do you ask such hard questions?

Ah, the reason I ask. Well, my strat's body is thinner than modern strats so the bridge I got for it has a resonator block that is too deep. It was poking out the back of the guitar. I temporarily fixed this by placing a shim under the bridge where it screws into the body. Not a permanent fix though because this places the strings too far away from the pups even with the pups at max elevation. Also I think the softer wood of the shim might deaden the vibrations a little making the tone more muddy.

Now, I can solve all this by either a) ordering a shorter resonator block from the bridge's manufacturer, or b) getting a brand-spanking new body from a wholesaler of strat parts. Both options cost roughly the same. The advantage of the new body is that it lacks all the nicks, dings, and scratches that the existing body has. But would there be disadvantages? I still don't know because I don't know how much the guitar was played before I got it. I know my gf didn't play it much. It was her first guitar, got it used as a present. She didn't like it much and soon after got herself a Gibson SG. How much it's original owner played it I don't know. Enough to cause some fret wear under the treble strings on the first 3 frets, but how much is that? *shrugs*

Another reason I ask: since I drilled holes in the original body to mount the new bridge, this strat is no longer valuable as a vintage 1986 MIJ strat. Therefore I was curious to know if it would be worth the effort to try to sell the original neck (as some of you know I replaced the neck with a short scale conversion neck). Would anyone want it, despite it's cosmetic flaws and need of refretting, just because it's 22 year old maple and rosewood?

[SlickCat]

Aged wood doesnt affect tone..........unless its dry.
The reason aged wood sounds better is because its dry.
Take a old piece of dry wood and knock on it.
It rings out.
Take a new piece of fresh cut wood and knock on it........nothing, its dead. Thats because of all the tree sap is still wet within the wood.
Aged wood that is wet inside or that sat in a highly humid area also sounds dead.
So the key to a nice tone is evenly dried wood.

[Sentry]

Hmm.... so I'd probably be better off ordering the new, shorter resonator block instead of the new body because I already know the strat's original body is nice and dry but I have no guarantees about a new body ordered online.

Thanks for that.

[Stratrat]

Originally Posted by Sentry

What about parts, though? Would an alder body from a strat made in 1986 sound different/better than an alder body bought from Warmouth or Allparts?

Some would swear that it would, others would say you couldn't hear the difference. Personally (just my admittedly un-expert humble opinion), I think it's cork-sniffery again. If there is any difference, we're talking very minute tonal differences that most would never notice.

If you blindfolded me, sat me in front of my amp and let me listen to somebody playing various guitars, I'm pretty sure I could tell the difference between a Tele, Les Paul and Strat. I'm equally sure that I wouldn't be able to reliably tell the difference between two different ash Teles....or an ash Tele and an alder Tele.....or a Tele with a rosewood fingerboard and one with a maple fingerboard. I could *probably* tell my Hwy1 (ash) and my partscaster Tele (hard/northern ash) apart - but only because they have very different pickups. Given an ash Tele, an alder Tele and a basswood Tele with identical pickups and components, I'd guess that 9 out of 10 people would not reliably (i.e, beyond lucky guesses) be able to tell the sonic/tonal difference between them in a blind test.

Originally Posted by Sentry

Hmm.... so I'd probably be better off ordering the new, shorter resonator block instead of the new body because I already know the strat's original body is nice and dry but I have no guarantees about a new body ordered online...

A new body ordered online from a reputable dealer (Warmoth, Allparts, etc.) should be properly dried, and would be fine. You may run into troubles with 'fly by night' eBay vendors or amateur builders sourcing their own woods, but I'm sure that any of the established dealers wouldn't risk their reputation by selling "green" bodies.

[carol m]

This is kind of a related question, so I hope you don't mind me asking on your thread, but I have been regularly putting Bass Oil (for the bodies of double basses) on the body of my 20 year old cheap end Yamaha classical guitar 'to keep it vibrant and supple' ) Does this mean I have been deadening the tone??

And....if people talk about keeping a guitar in a case (which I don't) with a humidifier etc, how does this fit with the drying out of the wood gives better tone argument?

This is the only guitar I do this to because the others are younger and seem to have more of a varnish finish/seal (and are more expensive).

[eddiez152]

Carol m,
I think and not totally positive, but when they dry the woods, they are looking to get the excess moisture out of them. They need to to go through the mill process first. Ideally they would like to get them into the 45-50% level and keep it there for a period of time. Or perhaps they want to get it lower for building and then ring it back up again. Glue does not stick to wet wood well.
Now what I just said ain't carved in stone.

[GotDeeBlues]

There is an excellent article in the latest issue of Fretboard Journal on this. Interviews with both large & small guitar makers. It really is on sewood but the way wood is stored for useage is in there, too.