Photo: Alena Darmel

Do instruments get better with age?

“The aging process comes with the playing process. [That] means the more you play it, the more it ages. The more it vibrates. That's the reason why old instruments, older violins, they are sounding good- because you play it.

thebasschannel.net - Do Electric Instruments Sound Better With Age? - The Bass Channel

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With the strings on it was time to record the first set of sound samples. But first I wanted to know if the team had experienced any changes in tone or feel with their own instruments. You can see the full interviews in the video, but below is the gist of their responses. Nick, when asked if there is a noticeable difference in his number one bass between when he bought it and now: “It’s noticeably different. Even in the few years that I’ve played it. That can be attributed to a lot of things but I know now that when I grab my bass, it feels the way I need it to feel. I don’t know, maybe I’ve just gotten more comfortable with it, maybe I’ve grown to fit the instrument more but, like, I’ve played a lot of P Basses. I’ve played a lot of P Basses from the exact same year and that one, whenever I play it, it feels different to me, it feels correct.” However, when asked about whether or not the tone changed he wasn’t so sure. “Maybe I have, maybe I haven’t. My play style changes a lot depending upon my headspace or what the room calls for.”

Will and Josh had very similar answers to Nick.

As you can see in the video, everyone played a sample of easily reproducible riffs so we could get a wide initial sample size. Once the recordings were done I took the test strings off and sealed them in an envelope with explicit instructions on how long they were to remain. This way we wouldn’t be hearing aged strings a year from now, only an aged bass. With another set of strings installed and the clock ticking, it was time to put the bass through its paces. Throughout the year the bass played 12 live shows, 5 recording sessions, 4 cover videos, and too many demo videos to count. Not to mention all the uncounted hours of playing at home. It lived indoors and was played inside, outside, and by multiple people aside from Bass Channel presenters including our good friends and brothers in low end Jayme Lewis and Patrick Hunter. On January 17th 2020, while attending NAMM 2020, I visited the Warwick booth to ask master luthier Marcus Spangler a little bit more about how wood ages and how vibrations affect it. His remarks are worth printing in full because how often do you get to hear from a master luthier, and because it’s incredibly relevant to our experiment. Be sure to check out this video of our full interview with Marcus as well (after finishing reading this and sharing it with everyone you know, of course). “The aging process comes with the playing process. [That] means the more you play it, the more it ages. The more it vibrates. That's the reason why old instruments, older violins, they are sounding good- because you play it. If, for example, you take a Stradivari, you put it somewhere in a box and leave it there forever, it will not sound good. So it sounds only good because you play an instrument. The instrument is a vibration. So because you play it, you play the notes, you get used to it. It's a personal thing, you know? I think it depends on what you are playing. The vibrations you get in, the better the instrument is toning for you. And the truth is the more the wood is vibrating, the more tone, the more - because what is happening? You play the strings, it's vibrating and the wood starts to vibrate as well. Or you really try it out with vibrating the wood or vibrating all the parts and this is the thing that could change the tone and could change the thing.”

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After talking with Marcus for only a couple minutes it was apparent that one of the key ingredients to the experiment was vibrations. And if vibrations are what helps to age an instrument, that meant we could find ways to vibrate, and therefore age, our bass both through playing and through more creative means. We’ll come back to this in a bit. I was also able to pick up (get it?) and interview with the man himself- Seymour Duncan, which was especially fitting for a few reasons.

1: This bass comes stock with a Seymour Duncan pickup.

2: He’s one of the smartest minds in the pickup world.

3: Having started the Antiquity line, he knows a thing or two about how pickups age.

4: He’s Seymour Freaking Duncan.

This is what he had to say about how pickups age and what we might expect: “Over the years, you know, a lot of things can affect the magnetic field that's in your actual pickup. When they're first magnetized probably they'll lose a little bit, maybe five percent, you know, just by almost how the alignment is with the magnetic field. But over the years that alignment can be disturbed which will make the magnet sound weaker. So what happens when you have a weaker magnet in your pickup [is] you'll lose treble, you'll lose the high-end or clarity. You can lose a little bit of output from the actual pickup, too. It'll sound warmer to you when you’re playing, like, a bass or a guitar, the tone will actually get softer and it'll be smoother, you know, that's what they're saying. A magnet can get demagnetized by leaning against your amplifier for many years. You know it's like guys will lean their bass next to the bass amp and those big speakers they have in there that can actually... demagnetize the pickups. And there's a thing called ICPC that a lot of people really don't know about and ICPC is Inner Coil Pole Corrosion and what happens all the sweat and people pour drinks on their guitars. That all permeates into the coil and it makes them very susceptible to becoming, you know, they could rust and oxidize and everything. That oxidation can break down the magnetic field and then the pole piece can actually rust from the inside and then that that breaks down the insulation and that'll short out your coil.”

At this point, I just about had all the information I needed on not only what to expect, but how to continue with the experiment. There was one more thing I wanted to ask Marcus- A lot of these vintage instruments are pretty worn. Does the finish (or lack thereof) have any effect on the tone?

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His response was illuminating and might change the way you see the finish on your brand new baby. Basically, what he said is that an instrument that is not lacquered vibrates better and has more sustain. “It’s more alive…[And] when you have Polyester lacquer, it's like you put a girl into a corset...she looks good, but she cannot breathe anymore and this is happening with an instrument. The thinner the lacquer is, the better the instrument is toning.” By February of 2020 the bass had logged more hours of playtime than any other bass I own, inheriting plenty of natural, authentic vibrations. I also knocked down quite a bit of the poly finish to simulate what happens as players bang on, sweat over, and otherwise use their instruments.

thebasschannel.net - Do Electric Instruments Sound Better With Age? - The Bass Channel

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