The Sound Of (Sixty Five Year Old) Wood?

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ge7243

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So sometime this summer, I'll be acquiring a very vintage classical guitar that once belonged to my great grandfather. Everyone expects he may have gotten it around the 1930s, and that sounds about right.

Anyone willing to bet how it may sound? It has the same (well, five of six) strings that have been on it since decades back, so those will obviously have to be changed.

I have a picture that I'll post if requested, I think it looks very nice. It has a very large rosette that looks a bit more floral than mosaic, the top looks dark and nicely aged, with a nice "bald spot" of wear and the headstock it squared off.

It's so nice that I'll have a great family heirloom to pass on, I was planning on ordering a custom shop Warwick later on in life but this might do the trick. Or maybe it'll be a tradition, and my great grand children will order a custom Xxyzek Hand Orchestra or something. :(
 
Per request, here it is:



I'm also curious as to what those woods may be. The fingerboard must be rose wood, I'm unsure of the top though. The more I look at it, the more I can't wait to play and hear it.
 
Thanks Ben. :D My great grandfather actually used this guitar close by to you in Sweden. Or at least that's a bit closer to you than to my current location.

And yeah, I have a taste for vintage instruments. We have a Martin Mandolin made over 100 years ago that we bought at an auction. We didn't know who made it at the time of bidding, but it turned out to be signed by one of the actual Martin guys, and also numbered. That and the music shop over here has some vintage upright basses which I attempted to play. There's something so pure about old wooden acoustic instruments that have no plastic-ey finish.
 
Is that so? I'm not so familiar with acoustic woods, so I thought that spruce was a lighter sort of colour.
 
Looks like spruce to me..it's an extremely popular top wood for acoustic instruments.
 
So my father decided to come home with the guitar, taking his chances by taking it on the plane home with him in the over head compartment. It's arrived safe and sound. I immediately restrung it at the shop here while listening to a live blue grass concert down the hall.

I'll be admitting it to a repair person in about a week or so, as it has three somewhat harsh cracks in the body, but the prognosis seems quite good. I can't wait to have it fully repaired. :D

It sounds wonderful right now, and it's really quite inspiring. I took a minute long clip just playing song fragments in case, again, if anyone is interested.
 
Verywell then. :D

[video=youtube;Xh9nUduHmAs]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xh9nUduHmAs[/video]

I'm really looking forward to when I can record whole songs well enough. Probably my next major non-instrument GAS acquirement will be a loop pedal, as that's a solo artist's best friend. I was at a bit of a loss as to what to play, but I'd like to think I got the general idea of what it sounds like across.
 
Thanks. :D I'm not taking into account the actual age of the wood though, that's a figure for another time really.

All this talk about ancient instruments makes me want a really old lute. But I'd probably do better to go for a CS Warwick first.
 
Not sure if anyone remembers this, but I just now got the guitar back from its repairs. Around a 4 month absence, and it was quite hard not having it around. :( But the tone is worth it, great to have it back. :D I was really nervous about how it would look when I heard that it was being refinished to some degree, but it still looks as it does in the pictures albeit cleaner.
 
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