Opened up

[djdell]

How can you tell when a new mandoin has oened up. Is there a different sound etc?

[Marty Jacobson]

[sblock]

I hope that's clear enough for you!

[Mark Gunter]

Yuppers. That's about right. If you believe in "opening up", the sound will be different, you'll like it, and you'll tell everybody, "Hey man, this mandolin has really opened up."

[MikeEdgerton]

While you're waiting for the fireworks to start take a look through these past threads on the subject. The applicable ones will jump right out at you.

[Mark Gunter]

This mandolin really opened up:

[MikeEdgerton]

This mandolin really opened up:

0

Wait a minute, that's my line....

I resisted doing it again, thanks for filling in for me.

[Bill McCall]

How can you tell when a new mandoin has oened up. Is there a different sound etc?

It'll happen when your playing gets better and you attribute it to the instrument because you know you're not that good

[Mark Gunter]

0

Wait a minute, that's my line....

I resisted doing it again, thanks for filling in for me.

You always have the best line in these threads with that one Mike, I just couldn't resist.

I'm sneaky

[Mark Gunter]

Another classic from Allen Hopkins on "opening up":

It's the first thing I do with the mandolin case. From there on, all downhill...

[HonketyHank]

dj, By now you probably know you have reopened an old can of worms in which opinion fact and hope are maddeningly and inseparably intertwined. So I apologize for the following in advance. I couldn't resist.

To contribute to the fun:
First of all, listen closely and determine if it sounds closed down. If so, it still needs to open up.
Some instruments never open up. Others are built pre opened. But you gotta watch out for those that are closed up 'cause they open down.

And then my real response would be, don't worry about it. And welcome to Mandolin Cafe where the debate sometimes gets hot and heavy.

[Kevin Stueve]

could be worse, we could let people argue politics or religion. Instead we let you argue opened up or improved skills and my personal favorite, play by ear or read music

[Mike Scott]

How can you tell when a new mandoin has oened up. Is there a different sound etc?

Do you mean when you open the box it came in? Yep it sounds a lot better then!

[soliver]

Let's talk about BlueChip Picks and Tonegards ... I hear those help.

[T.D.Nydn]

Deep study with laboratory animals have proven that F models open up faster than A models,,bowl backs are still up in the air...

[KGreene]

Deep study with laboratory animals have proven that F models open up faster than A models,,bowl backs are still up in the air...

... That explains the dead rat that fell out when mine opened up!

[BrianWilliam]

My whiskey opened up nicely this evening

[kurth83]

At the risk of trolling, I"ll actually answer the OP's question. :-)

In my case I own a few mandos, and they have sounds relative to each other, when the pecking order changes, that is one clue that works for me to detect when something has changed. It is still easy to get things wrong though, a string change, or your ear gets accustomed to an instrument. But I had one develop a slightly richer fuller sound after a year of heavy playing. So I am a believer, but not stubborn enough to refuse to admit it might be all in my head too. It could also be my picking technique adapted to that particular instrument to eak out a better tone. A sample size of one just isn't enough to be dogmatic IMHO.

[fscotte]

Took 3 years for my Gibson A5L.

I attribute it most to the lacquer curing, drying, hardening, whatever... Because what happened is that the high end really started to pop and ring. When it was new the E and A course we're muffled, muted, really quiet.

When an instrument is "in the white", no finish, you hear what it really sounds like. Add 10-12 coats of finish and what you've done is killed the high frequencies. Finish adds about .004 -.006" of thickness to the entire instrument. So a top plate that was .160" before is now .165" plus the added mass and dampening properties of the finish. So it takes time for everything to really cure.

The bass may be affected a bit to, but I don't really notice as much, but there is a slight difference.

Some say the wood changes, I really don't know about that. Nobody knows.

[John Kelly]

And then, of course, you change your strings and the sound really opens up for the first few days!

[Folkmusician.com]

I believe instruments do open up. I have experienced it too many times to think this is just a perception difference. I believe I am in a good position to have exposure to this. I have seen hundreds of instruments that I sold new, that I worked on in later years. Naturally I don't recall what they originally sounded like, but there are enough case, where the heavily played 2 year old mandolin had an openness to it that a new one does not.

The single biggest opening up period is immediately after the instrument is strung up and played a bit. Everything seats together and or loosens up (and I hear the difference). I suppose this is more a break in period. This can go on for weeks. This same thing happens when you detune a mandolin for bridge work or a string change, but not to the extent it does on a fresh out of the box mandolin. Past this first few weeks, it then becomes a very slow process and is gradual. It is something impossible to notice on a day to day basis. An instrument will generally continue to improve with age until it doesn't. And there is every reason to think that the process is eventually reversed and the instrument heads downhill. But when will this happen? Assuming a reasonable quality instrument, it will depend on the environment. Since many of our benchmark instruments are now 100+ years old, they obviously have quite a long lifespan if properly cared for.

[Timbofood]

All this is nonsense!
It's so easy, you can tell because the tape has been cut on the box!

[Astro]

How can you tell when a new mandoin has oened up. Is there a different sound etc?

You can tell as soon as you sell it.
Then hear the new owner playing the snot out of it on utube.

[sblock]

According to some, your mandolin can go to sleep, and it can wake up. It can also be closed, and it can be open.

So, would you prefer a closed mandolin that's just been awakened over an open mandolin that's still asleep? This is a question for the ages!

[Paul Hird]

The Café will be lucky to ever hear from djdell again! Hopefully he appreciates the humor and is a regular around here.