You bring home a brand-new acoustic and it sounds a touch boxy and tight. Nothing’s wrong with it.
The guitar simply hasn’t loosened up yet, and seasoned players expect this. Wood and finish need time under string tension before the tone fills out and rings the way it eventually will.
This guide gives a realistic timeline and explains why a fresh guitar sounds stiff at first. We also cover a few ways to nudge the process along.
The good news is you have real say in how the acoustic’s sound develops. First, let’s pin down what opening up actually means.
What Does It Mean for an Acoustic Guitar to Open Up?
With acoustic guitars, opening up or breaking in means that the guitar starts to sound better over time as the wood settles and the finish cures. Some guitars don’t change much after they’re purchased, so if you bought a new acoustic guitar and it sounds great right out of the box, you’ve probably found a great instrument.
Guitars made of spruce and cedar take longer to open up than guitars made of other solid woods such as mahogany or rosewood. This is due in part to the physical properties of these different woods, but just as much it’s the result of guitar builders understanding that a guitar takes a long time to open up in a dry climate.
Why Does a Guitar Sound Better the More You Play It?
An overwhelming majority of acoustic guitars don’t sound great out of the box. When you play the guitar, the wood vibrates.
The strings transmit this vibration through the wooden bridge to the body of the guitar, where it’s amplified by the hollow chamber of air inside the instrument. If this was all there was to it, a guitar would simply sound better the louder you played it.
But that isn’t what happens. A certain amount of energy is lost in transmission from wood to air, and this energy loss creates a dampening effect that makes a guitar sound worse when you play it loudly.
That’s why a new guitar might’ve appealing volume but also a dull, boxy tone.
The wood fibers of the guitar need to settle, and over time this dampening effect reduces or even disappears. This is why acoustic guitars sound better as they age, and it’s especially apparent in guitars made of spruce or cedar.
So if you have an acoustic guitar that sounds a bit dull and boxy right out of the box, play it often and loud enough to really get the top moving for a while.
Do New Guitars Need to Be Broken In?
For the best sound, yes. An acoustic guitar is a wooden instrument and its wood needs to settle.
It takes a little while for the sound to change from a boxy, dull tone to a full, rich one. The wood also needs time to relax after it’s been clamped inside the guitar for storage or shipping.
Technically, you don’t have to break the guitar in before you can play it, but over time you should notice an improvement in tone as your guitar opens up.
Do Acoustic Guitars Really Open Up?
Yes, usually after a little time and a lot of playing. Your guitar starts to sound better and better as the wood begins to settle and the finish cures.
However, the best guitars can take years before they sound truly great.
Humidity and temperature are the two biggest factors that affect how long it takes an acoustic guitar to open up, which is why two identical guitars can age very differently depending on where they live.
What Makes an Acoustic Guitar Open Up?
The physical properties of a guitar, including the wood used to build it and how it’s finished, make a real difference. There’s a loose rule about how much time it takes for an acoustic guitar to sound its best, and that rule includes the humidity levels in the air where the instrument is played.
For instance, take a guitar made from mahogany, which is a dense wood. The grains are so tightly packed together that they don’t let much moisture into the wood.
That density gives mahogany a focused, punchy voice, but it can also mean the guitar opens up more gradually than a lighter-topped instrument.
On the flip side, take a very light wood such as spruce or cedar. These woods are more responsive and move more freely, which is part of why they’re so prized for guitar tops.
They also react more to swings in humidity, so a stable environment helps them settle into their best tone.
In addition, temperature affects how an acoustic guitar opens up. Extremes in either direction stress the wood, so keeping your guitar away from conditions that are too hot or too cold for your climate helps it age gracefully.
How to Make an Acoustic Guitar Open Up Faster
The first thing to look at is the effect of temperature on your instrument. If you live in a cool climate, your guitar will probably sound better if it’s stored in a temperature-controlled area.
You might also want to consider a quality case and keeping the guitar away from radiators, vents, and direct sunlight.
The next thing to consider is the humidity level in the air where you play. In a very dry climate, a guitar can sound great after about six months of regular playing, but only if you keep it humidified so the wood doesn’t dry out and crack.
In a more balanced climate, simply playing often and keeping humidity stable is usually enough to coax the tone open over time.
Beyond environment, the single most effective thing you can do is play. The more hours you put in, and the more you let the top vibrate at a healthy volume, the faster the wood settles and the dampening effect fades.
How Long Does It Take for an Acoustic Guitar to Open Up?
For most acoustic guitars, expect at least a couple of years of regular playing before the instrument truly opens up and sounds its best. A well-built guitar will keep improving for many years beyond that, slowly gaining warmth and resonance as the wood matures.
That said, you don’t have to wait years to hear any change at all. Many players notice a guitar loosening up and sounding fuller within the first several months, especially on responsive spruce or cedar tops that get played often.
Solid wood guitars open up far more than laminate ones, so if long-term tonal improvement matters to you, that’s worth keeping in mind when you buy.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can you speed up the break-in process?
To an extent, yes. The most reliable way to speed things up is simply to play the guitar more, and to play it loud enough to get the top really moving.
Keeping your humidity stable also helps the wood settle without stress.
Some players use vibration devices or leave music playing against the body to “play in” a guitar passively. Opinions are mixed on how much these help, but consistent real playing is the approach almost everyone agrees on.
Do solid wood and laminate guitars open up the same way?
No. Solid wood guitars open up the most, because the entire top is a single resonant piece of wood that settles and matures over time.
This is where the classic aging-tone improvement comes from.
Laminate guitars are made from thin layers of wood glued together, which limits how much they change. A laminate guitar will sound much the same in ten years as it does today, so most of the opening-up conversation applies to solid-top instruments.
Does playing louder make a guitar open up faster?
Playing with energy does help, since it drives the top to vibrate more fully and works the wood fibers. That’s part of why a guitar that gets strummed regularly tends to open up faster than one that mostly sits in its case.
You don’t need to abuse the instrument, though. Healthy, regular playing at a normal-to-loud volume is plenty.
Forcing it harder won’t buy you meaningful extra speed and isn’t worth the risk of overdriving the top.
Will a guitar lose its tone if I stop playing it?
A guitar that has already opened up won’t suddenly revert to a boxy, brand-new tone if you set it down for a while. The structural settling of the wood is largely permanent.
Some players do report that a guitar sounds a touch tighter after sitting unused and loosens back up after a few playing sessions. If anything, that’s a gentle reminder that regular playing keeps an acoustic guitar sounding its best.
Final Thoughts
So how long does it take for an acoustic guitar to open up? Plan on at least a couple of years of regular playing before it really hits its stride, with the finest guitars continuing to improve for years after that.
Instruments built from spruce and cedar are especially rewarding to break in.
You can nudge the process along by playing often, keeping your humidity stable, and storing the guitar in a temperature-controlled space. Beyond that, the best thing you can do is be patient.
The rich, resonant tone you’re chasing is already in the wood, waiting for enough time and playing to bring it out.
