Do you find guitars temperamental?

[BloodRose]

Maybe its me and my fickle self... But sometimes Ill play one of my axes and it just wont feel or sound stellar and then other times Ill play them and it's like it's perfect.. Anyone else have this?? Its driving me nuts. I have finally zeroed in on what I feel are my fav players and Im trying to create the need to go list.. I pulled out the explorer the other day and it just sounded perfect and I was laying out some over my head stuff. nice!!

Anyone have this kinda prob/experience?

 

[ItsaBass]

Re: Do you find guitars temperamental?

If my axes are ever temperamental, I figure that I am just not playing very well that day, or just not in the mood somehow. I love them all for various reasons, and there is no reason other than myself that each of them can't get the job done. For instance, I could play the same guitar two times a week apart, and really get pissy with it one time, yet love it the other time. Same guitar...

 

[DrNewcenstein]

Re: Do you find guitars temperamental?

Agreed. It's a perception of the mind more than any change to the guitar (barring, of course, a genuine physical change to the guitar).

Eat certain foods and your hands may swell slightly with either excess fluid or some other issue, that even may be affected by the weather. Even though it might be a minute change, such that you don't feel any different, until you try to do something like play a guitar. You're accustomed to a certain feel of a given guitar - the strings, the action, the neck profile - and a slight variation in your hands will go unnoticed except when you play the guitar. This results in the perception that the guitar has changed in some way.

 

[Funkfingers]

Re: Do you find guitars temperamental?

Unless your home area is subject to wide temperature and/or humidity variations, the problem is almost always pilot error.

Pilot error includes not cleaning or changing the strings frequently enough. I know some people with corrosive sweat. They kill strings within days.

 

[Dr. Vegetable]

Re: Do you find guitars temperamental?

The problem is clearly that you were even considering putting an Explorer on the "need to go" list. Or maybe that you were even considering making a "need to go" list.

I find some axes go out of whack with seasonal changes, which happen every 5 minutes here in New England. Don't neglect your truss rod.

A lot of it (for me) has to do with dialing in a good/bad tone on my amp - when it's good, everything clicks and I have no idea where the music is coming from. When it's not so good, I reset the knobs, switch to another guitar, and try again.

And some days my hands just won't play what my mind wants to hear.

 

[Mr 9finger]

Re: Do you find guitars temperamental?

Agreed. It's a perception of the mind more than any change to the guitar (barring, of course, a genuine physical change to the guitar).

Eat certain foods and your hands may swell slightly with either excess fluid or some other issue, that even may be affected by the weather. Even though it might be a minute change, such that you don't feel any different, until you try to do something like play a guitar. You're accustomed to a certain feel of a given guitar - the strings, the action, the neck profile - and a slight variation in your hands will go unnoticed except when you play the guitar. This results in the perception that the guitar has changed in some way.

Mostly this^^^^^

But this time of year when spring is fading to summer and in the late fall when it's starts to get really cold my guitars can be temperamental from day to day. But those are times when temps and humidity vary wildly from day to day.

 

[JeffB]

Re: Do you find guitars temperamental?

I have had a couple with soft neck joints and one with a wonky truss rod that gave me fits, but in general,.assuming a quality setup, and strings in good shape, its just day to day human variation.

 

[Securb]

Re: Do you find guitars temperamental?

Unless your home area is subject to wide temperature and/or humidity variations

That describes New Hampshire right now. I find my older guitars are less cranky. My new Les Paul need a truss adjustment bad. My Strat action seems to be a bit higher also. I have been playing my 2002 SG the setup is still balls on accurate.

 

[CTN]

Re: Do you find guitars temperamental?

lately I've been finding that the biggest tonal differences come from different string gauges or different string brands. Sometimes the change is so huge it makes the whole guitar sound completely out of the zone. I'm finding that most of my guitars (except the Ibanez) sound better with thinner gauges rather than thick gauge strings.

setup-wise, they're more or less consistent.

 

[MrTondo]

Re: Do you find guitars temperamental?

I think guitars reflect their owners, so if you figure they are temperamental, what does that say about you ?

 

[Aceman]

Re: Do you find guitars temperamental?

There are indeed guitars that are fickle! Not all - but there are some...

 

[foogiefoogie]

Re: Do you find guitars temperamental?

I've found that -by keeping a set neck, pickup, and bridge measurements- that I can keep my guitars playing quite consistently.

If anything, I'm usually the one who can be considered "tempermental"- moods, fatigue, and even hunger can affect my overall state of playing. But even that can be kept to a minimum through things as getting enough sleep/food, or even switching to a different pick that can help everything playing well (I switched to Max-Grip Jazz 3s a couple of years ago and haven't looked back).

 

[elelpe]

Re: Do you find guitars temperamental?

The only weird thing I've found with my guitar is when I'm tired (coming home at night and playing guitar before getting sleep), I hear less treble (same guitar, same amp, same set) so I adjust the treble accordingly. But the next morning when I get refresh and playing it, it sounds trebly because of the adjustment I made at night :crazy:

 

[blueman335]

Re: Do you find guitars temperamental?

If my axes are ever temperamental, I figure that I am just not playing very well that day, or just not in the mood somehow. I love them all for various reasons, and there is no reason other than myself that each of them can't get the job done. For instance, I could play the same guitar two times a week apart, and really get pissy with it one time, yet love it the other time. Same guitar...

+1. It's the player, not the guitar. Guitars may play or sound slightly different with changes in temp and humidity, but that's minimal. Your mood and energy level has much wider swings.

 

[tubecrunch]

Re: Do you find guitars temperamental?

My squire tele sounds and plays awesome every time. My '60 epiphone Olympic has never had a bad day ever. My lp custom sounds different every f'n day. I thought it was my imagination until I left it w a tech for a week. He was puzzled by the daily changes.

 

[DrNewcenstein]

Re: Do you find guitars temperamental?

I've got one guitar that needs daily truss rod adjustments, and that started within a week of it getting here. The neck flexes backwards, causing the strings to increase in pitch. One day I'm in E standard, the next it's up a semi-tone, and all it does is hang on an interior wall next to 6 others that have no trouble. Playability remains the same, it's just the wood bending back.
That's a physical ailment of the guitar, to be sure.

But there are guitars that are temperamental, as Ace said. I've got 4 of the same model, from 4 different build batches, and all 4 feel identical. I had a 5th one that I just could not get along with. Same model, and no measurable physical difference (i.e. crooked nut, bad frets, neck profile variance, etc). It sounded fine, but there was something about the way the neck felt in my hand. I compared it to my others, swapping from one to the other, just to see if it was me, but it was the guitar.

Sold it to a buddy after almost 2 months of trying to work with it, and you couldn't get it away from him if you tried. Maybe if he played my others, he'd feel the same way, maybe not. Sometimes a guitar wants a different owner. I know it sounds hokey, but there's no logical explanation for some things.

 

[BloodRose]

Re: Do you find guitars temperamental?

Thanks all! I figured it was me, and its nice to know Im not alone in this.. Its strange cuz one day X guitar can do no wrong and another day is feels and or sounds off.

Strings are fine and just for the record, the explorer will NOT go on my to go list.. A) I love it and its a limited edition model, and B) there is a deep sentimental attachment to this guitar

Thanks all!

 

[80's_Metal]

Re: Do you find guitars temperamental?

I have a few that are very fickle! one day its **** perfect, and the next night won't tune up or even sound right .... I believe a lot of it may be humidity/temperature changes.... etc. And then some guitars are the same no matter what.... I think it's the guitar more than the ears or amps even.

Drives me nuts too! Some nights I turn it off after one song!
some nights I can't put it away!

 

[youngthrasher9]

Re: Do you find guitars temperamental?

I'm more happy with my tone if I always assume it's not going to sound as good as the last time I played. It's like setting myself up for a surprise, in a way.

 

[TheLivingDead]

Re: Do you find guitars temperamental?

Sometimes you just ain't in the mood man.