Any validity to this?

From ultimate-guitar.com forum

snipped...."The drawback of cedar is that if you play a lot for a number of years is can become "played out." Your guitar top is much like a speaker. If you drive a speaker long enough you will blow it and then the speaker doesn't sound good anymore. When you play a guitar top long enough you will blow that so it wound sound good anymore as well. Cedar tends to play out after 10 to 20 years. Engleman lasts much longer, and sitka last longer still."

[Jim_H]

I've never heard that before (probably for good reason).

If wood 'plays out' then you'd think all of those pre-war guitars everyone cherishes so much would sound like crap.

I have a Cedar topped guitar. It's only about 6 years old, but it sounds better than ever.

Sounds like hogwash to me.

[deadedith]

Jim, you may be right. But I do know a couple of luthiers who have made that very claim. In fact, when I purchased my first luthier- made guitar in 1999, I discussed my choice of cedar top with the luthier he said along the lines of "You may lose a little bit in the high treble notes as compared to spruce, but you get a warmer sound right out of the box with less break in time. Also, quite a few luthiers I know claim that 20 years is a good lifespan for cedar."

i don't know/care particularly, but that is what he said. I got the cedar anyway and I'm happy with it.-

[kencierp]

+1 on hog wash!

Guitar expert wannabes around the world say the darnest things -- for some reason the scientific standard is much lower -- what I am saying is statements are made no data, no intent to ever get the data, -- in other words a way to justify one's preferences and flex the ego at the same time.

[tippie53]

I read it on the internet so it had to be true .
Bull

[David L]

I read it on the internet so it had to be true .
Bull

You mean not everything written on the internet is not true?

David L

[Jim_H]

Definitely not everything... :D

Jim, you may be right. But I do know a couple of luthiers who have made that very claim. In fact, when I purchased my first luthier- made guitar in 1999, I discussed my choice of cedar top with the luthier he said along the lines of "You may lose a little bit in the high treble notes as compared to spruce, but you get a warmer sound right out of the box with less break in time. Also, quite a few luthiers I know claim that 20 years is a good lifespan for cedar."

i don't know/care particularly, but that is what he said. I got the cedar anyway and I'm happy with it.-

Dave, you gotta get back to us in 8 years with an update.......

[rgogo65]

I have a friend who has a number of dulcimers with cedar tops. a couple are over 40 years old and ONE that is over a 100...they are all gorgeous sounding instruments.
The BS that's spread in this field is amazing...and it grows faster than any weed I ever saw!
People who REALLY know whats going on scoff at this ridiculous stuff...
Bob Taylor got so tired of hearing that you just HAD to have 1,000's of dollars of exotic wood to produce a quality good sounding guitar he built one of a shipping pallet from the parking lot outback...(Still had the nails left in it and the holes on purpose to make the point) marvelous sounding instrument...I love it!

Good pics:

http://www.laguitarsales.com/pages/3157 ... Pallet.htm

Little bit of the sound of the origional pallet guitar toward the end.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jvMEtks_rHg

Here's another made from a bedstead and a fence post for the neck and an old Ox yoke for the sides, this guitar ws played on his recording of a song he wrote called "The battle of New Orleans":

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y1BiPbxX1YU

Hstory:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jimmy_Driftwood