DIYGuitar.ca

It a well known fact that with the time the acoustic guitar sounds better and better.
There are 3 conditions for that:

1. It’s an instrument of  good quality. In other words it has to be all wood instrument and not the cheap laminate one.
2. The guitar has to be well treated and preserved.
3. You have to play it A LOT

Then, the wood becomes more and more responsive to the string vibrations.

Another consideration is about “opening the sound” of a brand new instrument.
Which is the  actually a short range aspect of the same aging process.
There is some period of time between getting the new guitar and the moment when its sound starts to “shine”.

But I don’t want to go deep into the theory of the subject. It’s quite obvious.

Well.
And what if you don’t have enough time to play your beloved guitar to make it sound as a vintage 50 years old instrument?
There are some special acoustic guitar aging devices which simulate the string vibrations which they apply to the guitar body for a long period of time (more the better).
And if you want more details and/or have a budget for the professional stuff you might consider the following resources:
ToneRite or Prime-Vibe.

I decided to do it go “my way”. Mmm, OK kind of redneck way. 🙂

First of all, why do I need it?
I have very nice ALL WOOD Norman ST40 Semi-Acoustic guitar.
It’s a nicely done and proudly Canadian instrument. But the sound feels to be a bit dull.
I have put the Phosphor-Bronze Elixir on it and it sounds much better now. But still there is not enough volume in the tone.

So here’s what I did:

1. Round metal tea can from David’s Tea. I’ve cut it from both sides so that the neck lower end goes through. This way the neck anchors the device and prevents it from slipping off. And of course I have secured all edges with the black mounting tape.
2. Motor from the old Christmas outdoors deer. You all should know those things with waving heads. It’s the white round thing on the top of the tea can on the  image at the top. And it’s moving stick goes right through the middle of the can.
3. Piece of plastic from the garbage can. It plays the role of the pick which hits strings. It can be any flexible plastic stripe attached to the motor stick with some bolt.

That’s all. And here how it looks inside:

 

The blue stripe is the “pick”.

 

 

 

WARNING! THIS IS A 110 V ELECTRIC DEVICE. YOU HAVE TO RESPECT THE SAFETY REQUIREMENTS TO AVOID THE ELECTRIC SHOCK HAZARD. AND DON’T LEAVE THE FUNCTIONING DEVICE UNATTENDED.

Personally I would never leave my house with this thing working.