ES - loosening up with age

[richmca]

My ES Custom which I bought two or three years ago is playing in nicely now, after feeling a bit stiff and buttoned up at first. Both in playability and in tone, it's come a long way since then. Just wondering, if anyone else has had this experience - how long do you think it goes on? Did it take say four years of playing before things levelled out, or do you not notice any further change after two or three? Depends how much you play it of course...

 

[Koubayashi]

Congrats!
You figured out what makes people pay top dollars for 50's and 60's guitars.

Same goes with them, I tried a couple of dead mint 50's Strats and they were bad players. The more a guitar has been played the better it is in general.

 

[richmca]

That's not a revelation to me. I've got several 50s and 60s Gibsons. I was interested in anyone's experience of the 'ageing curve' of a new Tokai. Mine is the first semi I've bought new, so it's an unfamiliar thing for me.

Incidentally, I'd take issue with the idea that the more a guitar has been played the better it is - as a simple rule. They can get played out to the point where they are on the downhill slope, like a wine that's past its drinking peak. I played a few 59 Gibsons recently, including a mint blonde 335 which was good but hadn't been played a lot so was still 'firm' if you know what I mean. However it wasn't so great that you could justify paying the ?50K+ premium - in playing terms at least, leaving aside investment fantasies. But I've also played several completely knackered 50s Strats that were pretty useless as instruments.