A good read regarding guitars and ageing.

[Picken Pappy]

I found this interesting...maybe you will too. The article was written by Richard Johnston, of Gryphon Stringed Instruments.
http://www.acousticguitar.com/article/default.aspx?articleid=24089

[Bill R]

Yes, it was an interesting article.  Thanks for sharing.
Bill

[jjrpilot-admin]

A really good read!  There's a lot of good info in there.

[John429]

This is exactly the sort of thing I really enjoy reading and learning about! Thank you for posting this. On another note, I often wonder if a study has ever been done on older vs new wood utilizing an electron microscope to see if a change occurs to the structure of the wood as it ages. Interesting stuff.

[Edward]

I recall reading stuff like this not only on guitars, but of other instruments, as well.  One that sticks out in my mind is of the legendary Stradivarius and what the heck makes these violins so "peculiar."  The bottom line is it seems there is no single bottom line.  How's that for conclusive

My thought on this stuff is pretty simple: if it sounds good now, it "can" sound better later, but may also end up sounding the same.  Which is fine if it sounded good at the "now" stage, right? 

There are just way too many variables in a guitar, from the wood species, all the joints and glue, the finish, the build process, to the conditions the whole guitar/instrument lives under each day it ages over those 10, 20, or 389 years.  Hoping any guitar will "open up" is a hope, at best.  Still, articles like this feed the "inner geek" in me and make for fun reading and wishful speculation.

Edward