I've heard much talk about mando's "opening up" and would like to understand why this happens and how it effects the tone of the instrument.
Also, will all instruments open up (for example - will my $300 Kentucky mando open up?).
Will an unplayed mando open up - or does it require a certain amount of play?
One reason I am curious to understand this is that I am looking to purchase a mando and am still deciding whether to buy new or used. Would it benifit me to get a used mando that has opened up (my budget is between 1k-2k).
Thanks for your feedback.
Pen
John Flynn
Aug-16-2004, 10:50am
There have been multiple threads on the this in the past. I will give my recollection of those discussions. Most people seem to believe that at least some mandos do open up. One person posted a link to recordings he did of a Gibson Sam Bush. He recorded it new and then again after 6 months of hard play, playing the same tunes and using the same recording set up. The results were pretty convincing that his mando sounded better after 6 months. There is also an article on the "Acoustic Guitar" magazine website that gives an account of getting several new guitars and subjecting them to high-intensity sound in a lab. Both before and after, they had professional guitarists play the guitars and rate them and also measured the frequency reponse on the tops. After the high-intensity sound treatment, the guitarists ratings of the sound and the measured frequency response improved. However, some people on the board here, a minority, thought the whole "opening up" concept was bogus. It seemed that people who support the opening up concept believed that more expensive mandos open up more than cheap ones.
As far as why opening up happens, or physically what's happening, there were a lot of pet theories and legends, but no consensus or scientific proof in any of the above. One very practical piece of advice seems to be: It probably makes the most sense for a buyer to take the position that "What you hear, right now, is what you get." Especially in the price range you mention, buy a mando based on how that individual instrument sounds today, whether it is new or used. If indeed it does "open up" later, let that be gravy, but don't make your buying decision based on it.