Do Electric Guitars "Break In"?

[Presc]

I recently took delivery of a new Danocaster S-style. In Dan's final email after I confirmed delivery, he noted:

"as you play it, you will notice that it will “open up” over the next couple months and become a bit more 3D"

Clearly, Dan's a guy who knows a guitar as well as anyone. I already bought the guitar and he wasn't trying to sell me anything with that statement.

Now that I'm a month into owning the guitar (and have played the crap out of it during that time), I am getting better tones than when I first took delivery. BUT - is due to a physical change as the instrument settles in, or have I simply learning how to dial in the guitar to my rig and perhaps more importantly, adjust my playing to coax the best sounds from it?

 

[woof*]

Absolutely.
The neck seats better into the pocket. All the parts settle. After a few months playing it hard, take it to a really top notch luthier for a real setup. It just gets better.

 

[Jim234]

Yep.... and wait and see what happens after 30 some years of ownership. Its worth the wait

 

[GGinMP]

I think time makes a big difference for an acoustic with a solid top, but I’m skeptical about an electric unless you’re talking decades.

 

[Yamaha 350]

Nope not in my opinion. That is snake oil and guitar myth number what ever. That is my opinion.

 

[oildrops]

Something something return window, something pickup magnets.

 

[Mpcoluv]

IMHO even old guitars that have sat unused for a while will open up after being played for a while

 

[jads57]

It's more a case of adapting to the instrument in the near term.But nitro as well as moisture does evaporate over a long period of time. Pickup magnets weaken as well. That's why baked wood, sounds different as well.
Also some guitars just resonate better than others.

Even though we all are chasing the Holy Grail, probably better to work on our playing instead,LOL!

 

[AprioriMark]

I've owned, built, modded, and assembled a cubic f-ton of guitars, and I believe that completely. Wood moves and parts settle. For a lot of reasons, instruments settle into how they're played.

-Mark

 

[juxtapolice]

Absolutely. I don't think it even takes years just after some regular use, few dozen string changes etc etc I'm not an expert but everything feels more settled and adjusted to how you play, type of strings you use, the guitar will adapt a bit. I bought my first brand new guitar , a 2017 es335, in 2017 when they were going cheap. I loved it right away but it certainly felt very new after about 100 gigs the neck has smoothed over, it stays in tune better, likely sounds the same objectively but it feels better so I play better on it

 

[rickcard71]

They definitely do.

 

[burton56]

I feel it’s more of the guitar is breaking you in.

 

[2leod]

Put me in the yes camp.

Just don't put me in the yes men compound, though.

 

[jacklickson]

I've owned, built, modded, and assembled a cubic f-ton of guitars, and I believe that completely. Wood moves and parts settle. For a lot of reasons, instruments settle into how they're played.

-Mark

I for one would be interested in the precise measurements of a “cubic f-ton”. Thank you for a true LOL moment.

 

[Failsafe306]

Absolutely.
The neck seats better into the pocket. All the parts settle. After a few months playing it hard, take it to a really top notch luthier for a real setup. It just gets better.

So if you take your favorite strat and disassemble everything, then put it right back together, it will sound different?

 

[Juan Tuthri]

So if you take your favorite strat and disassemble everything, then put it right back together, it will sound different?

Most likely.

 

[Flogger59]

I think I break myself into the guitar.

Case in point, my Firebird. There is a reason they're factory strung with .009 to .046. They're stiff compared to my other Gibsons. So, I slapped on some .010s and played nothing but that guitar for a year. It doesn't feel stiff anymore. OTOH my other guitars feel floppy.

 

[RicardoDiazHimself]

You get used to the guitar, along with micro-adjustments you make every so often, so you dial it in perfect for you.

 

[DustyRhodesJr]

Mark me down as a no.

I have 6 sixties guitars, and I have never noticed any real difference in the
sounds as time has went on.

Luckily, they all sounded pretty good from the get go.

 

[radiolab]

Oh please. The more you play a guitar the better you become. The guitar never gets better. Put your broken in guitar In the hands of someone that hasn’t put in the time. Then come talk to me.

I really wish guitar players would stop falling for that marketing crap.