Old subject-- But any new opinions on placing your guitar next to loudspeakers with music to produce sound pressure levels keeping the top/joints (and everything else) moving to simulate play?

I would think any vibration that simulates musical energy would help 'play-in' and loosen up any quitar regardless of age. Am I nuts?

maybe, but not for that reason. there was- maybe still is- a place near SF, I think down toward silicon valley, that had some godzilla speaker-like device set up specifically to vibrate guitars that were held in some fashion over the speaker. It was many times stronger than a standard speaker. Some guitarists brought their instruments in, had the process done, and found that their guitars had "opened up" or improved in some way. This was a few years back; it was in some guitar rag, or I'd never have heard of it. so, on a smaller scale, putting your guitar on a stand in front of a speaker that vibrates the wood should do just what playing does: make the wood move. the wood doesn't know if it's the strings making it vibrate. Maybe someone else here can recall the monster speaker deal; I just recall that it happened. I used to leave my guitar all work day in front of a big floor speaker (one of the old Sansui five ways with a fifteen inch bottom) with the stereo on loud all day. We live in the middle of nowhere, so there were no neighbors, other than wildlife, to complain.

Here is a quote I found:

"There was a company, Timbre Tech, that involved Steve Rabe and Mike Tobias. They used a machine to accelerate the "aging" and responsiveness of instruments by sending vibrations through the instrument constantly. Here's an excerpt from an article about what the company was doing, -

"...So what would happen to a brand-new guitar if you did the equivalent of playing it for 24 hours a day for weeks or even several months? Could you accelerate the aging process in just the right ways and get a broken-in guitar right out of the box, so to speak? I have known several guitar makers who have put new instruments next to stereo speakers, playing music into the soundboxes for a week or two before shipping the guitars to customers. Now there is an industrial-strength version of this technique being used by Timbre Technologies, a company founded by luthier Michael Tobias and SWR amplifier builder Steve Rabe.

Timbre Tech’s patented process involves clamping the guitar to a shaker table, a kind of super–heavy-duty loudspeaker with a 7,500-watt amplifier and a three-inch magnesium plate instead of a speaker cone, and vibrating the whole thing at much higher forces than ordinary playing would produce. The process takes about 45 minutes and is carefully monitored by acceleration sensors attached to several points on the guitar. The strength of the vibration is intense, much greater than that produced by playing the guitar, and so the theory goes that 45 minutes on the table is equivalent to several years of normal playing."

Here's a pic of the machine:



More info:
http://www.acousticguitar.com/Gear/advice/vibration.shtml

Warren

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Warren Denning,

If these fellas were operating around the Haight/Ashbury area in the 1960s, then this whole thing suddenly makes a lot more sense.

wow. eleven years ago. I woulda thought six or seven. that's what time's doin' around here these days. Fast forward. wonder if they're still shakin? Think I'll check.

You could always use the massager with the suction cup method.

You can always consider using the "play the damn thing with your fingers" method . . . It'll open it up and make you a better player at the same time.

quote:

You can always consider using the "play the damn thing with your fingers" method . . .

WoW!!! Whoda ever thunk that.