Does your instrument sound better warmed up?

[Bill Foss]

Am I crazy, or do other people notice that their instruments sound better after you've played them for a while after playing for 20 minutes? I'm not talking about long term "opening up" of a new instrument. I have a 1995 A5L, and 2006 Gary Vessel and a 1922 Lyon and Healy. Some times when I pick them up "cold" I think they don't sound all that great. But if I play them for a while they seem to sound louder and richer and I remember why I bought them in the first place.

Is it just my imagination? Do they literaly warm up by being close to your body? Is there something that is happening physically like the sound wave energy exciting the wood molecules? Is it my technique that gets warmed up and I start to pull better tone after 15 minutes?

http://www.myspace.com/billfossmusic

[Rick Lindstrom]

My conclusion is that pulling sound out of a mandolin, any mandolin, is an art. I'd say that you getting into stride is what does it.

I don't think the mandolins really change that much from day to day. At any given time if one of my mandos doesn't sound good to me, I blame myself, not the instrument.

It's a matter of energy- some days you have it, some days not.

Just MHO-

Rick

[Nick Triesch]

I think my Weber Fern does after I've been playing a while. But I don't think it's any changes in the wood. I think it has to do with the strings snapping into their grooves and everything falling into place. Did your guitar for instance ever sound dull when you took it out of the case after a few weeks and then you pull back each string one by one and snap them into the grooves. The sound always goes from dull to crisp if the strings are in good shape. I may be crazy but it is just whay I have noticed on my instruments. Also just playing the instrument will do the same thing after a half hour or so. My Goodall just did it tonight!

[G'DAE]

I think it takes about 20 minutes to warm up the mandolin until it holds a tune.( maybe that's why) After that, it takes about another hour before I warm up....I think you have to consider both.

[Bill Foss]

Strings snapping into their grooves? Maybe string theory is the explanation

[Nick Triesch]

Smiley, #are you saying that I am snapped? # Nick

[Lou Scuderi]

It's certainly a real effect, whether it's the wood settling down, or the strings, I don't know, but on all of my string instruments I find that playing for a while makes them sound better.
Also, if you put it down for a week it sounds worse .

[Ivan Kelsall]

I certainly notice a difference after a half hour or so playing,but i've often wondered whether it's me that's warmed up rather than the Mandolin. There's no doubt that the Mandolin does get physically warm due to holding it against my body,so maybe it's a bit of both,but there most definitely IS a difference,
Saska

[Homer Savard]

I think it has to do more with ME warming up. I mean getting into the sweet spot with both hands and my position. I have 4 mandos and it always takes about 15 minutes of picking for everything to come together no matter which mando I play. Thats what makes me think it's mostly me getting warm. Just my .02.

Homer Savard

[Bertram Henze]

And I thought this was discussed to a final end in this thread...

Bertram

[Bill Foss]

woops, you are right. I did a search for keywords before I started this. Anyway, there were lots of good comments there too. Thanks all for sharing.
And I don't think anyone has snapped!

[JHo]

I think it takes about 20 minutes to warm up the mandolin until it holds a tune.( maybe that's why) After that, it takes about another hour before I warm up....I think you have to consider both.

This is what I find too, the instrument takes a little while to "warm up", but I tend to take a while longer than it does.

[Elliot Luber]

My mandolin sounds better when it's warmed up because I play better when I'm warmed up.

[woodwizard]

I think some instruments might require a little wake up call. But there are some good points mentioned that I have to agree with about the player having to be warmed up could have a profound improvement of the mandolin's sound and feel. It might be an illusion sometimes that it sounds better in some cases.

[pickinpox]

My Rigel does require a little warming up before it projects but my Gibson doesn't need it. Never understood the reason and I don't know if it is characteristic of brand/style or a case individuality. The Rigel is almost dead for a few minutes. I don't believe it is just me getting warmed up as the Rigel does play a little easier (for me) than the Gibson. I love 'em both though.

[squirrelabama]

Didn't Frank Wakefield "warm-up" his mando cause he thought it'd sound better??

[woodwizard]

Yes he did I believe. For real as in oven

[F5GRun]

My MK Legacy DLX takes about 15 minutes to warm up I think. When i get it out of the case the strings feel stiff and the mando feels tight in general. I guess it could just be my perception of things, or my hands warming up...im not quite sure.

[hoffmannia2k7]

Ahhh, Frank, Can't wait to see that guy this weekend. You know his birfday is coming up on the 25th!

My mandolin sounds different every time I play it.

[Bill Foss]

I'd like to thank me for that last comment about Frank Wakefield. And thank me too! I've been listening to him since before he was born.

[kestrel]

Aw c'mon guys, you take an instrument from a case, or stand, that's at room temperature, tune it up, hold it against your body for awhile, which I presume is somewhere near 98.6 degrees if you are a living, breathing hooman - I would assume this is somewhat higher than you keep the temperature in your house - and you wonder if it makes a difference? Of course it makes a difference. The whole structure of the instrument changes. It's going to sound different. Better depends on the instrument, but different is a thermodynamic "fer sure".

Gene

[Jonathan Peck]

I just read this in the mandolin journal:

-The optimum speed of chemical reaction and metabolism is 102-103 degrees

-Evidence suggests that speed strength and efficiency of contractions are enhanced by a rise in temperature of muscle towards that range

- The only efficient way of raising muscle temperature is by working the muscle itself

-10-15 minutes of active exercises for all upper extremity joints is recommended

[Rick Cadger]

I'm personally sure that both I and my mando warm or wake up after 20 mins or so. I see nothing mysterious or odd. I can easily believe that the strings themselves warm up after they've been pounded a while. I can also believe that strings, wood or both may expand or otherwise undergo minor change temporarily, while and after being subjected to vibration for a while, as in playing.

Don't care about details or theory. I perceive it happening in my case, and in practical terms that's all that matters to me - therefore I do play warm-up for a while before a jam or gig.

[un.bend]

It may be that your hearing is adjusting not the instrument. Our inner ear's ability to hear sound and transfer it to brain signals is not a static thing. I have hearing damage which effects my ability to hear the high frequency sounds. After listening to loud music the impairment is more pronounced. I would guess that when you first pick up your mandolin the sound you hear may seem harsh and over 20 minutes your hearing adjusts so the sound seems less harsh sounding.

[mandroid]

2nd Pint helps ?