For best results breaking-in YOUR guitar, here are the most frequently asked questions along with answers.
Frequently Asked Questions:
- Is this even real?
- Why not “play it in” by just actually playing it in?
- How long will it take?
- How should I position the guitar?
- Can I vibrate several guitars at once?
- Can a shop do this to all of their guitars?
- How will I know when it’s done?
- My player automatically turns itself off – how do I keep it playing for days at a time?
- Should I vibrate every capo position, or just the open strings?
- Can I use my phone/tablet/laptop speakers, or do I need bigger stereo speakers?
- Can I use this to break-in a guitar speaker?
Question #1: Is this even real?
I didn’t believe it at first, but breaking in a guitar is a real phenomenon. By all means, ask your favourite guitarists & online sources yourself.
Part of my education came from looking around online at others’ experiences. I also did a search on Grok in November 2025 that summarized what I’d read elsewhere succinctly. Here is that conversation, which you can reproduce on your own if you like…
My question to Grok:
Some people talk about how a guitar changes between it being new and it having been played a lot. What is this called, when a guitar changes after being played?
Grok’s reply:
It’s called “break-in” or “playing in” a guitar.
When a new acoustic guitar is played extensively – especially in the first 50-200 hours – the wood vibrates, the top (soundboard) loosens slightly, and the overall tone opens up. The sound becomes:
- Warmer
- Louder
- More resonant
- Less “tight” or “boxy”
This is most noticeable in solid-wood guitars (especially spruce or cedar tops). The effect is real and widely documented by luthiers, players, and even in blind tests (e.g., studies by the Guild of American Luthiers).
Why it happens:
- Microscopic wood changes – Vibrations help relieve internal stresses in the wood and finish.
- Top flexing – The soundboard becomes more responsive over time.
- String energy transfer – A played-in guitar transmits vibration more efficiently.
Note: This is not the same as “aging” (like a 50-year-old vintage guitar). Break-in is the initial transformation in the first months/years of regular play.
Some players speed it up with devices like the [brand name], which vibrates the guitar mechanically, but most say nothing beats real playing.
My second question to Grok:
Does this work for solid-body electrics, semi-hollows, or just acoustic guitars?
Grok’s reply:
Yes, break-in happens on all guitars, but the degree and type of change varies by construction:
Guitar Type Does Break-In Happen? What Changes & How Noticeable? Acoustic (solid-wood top) YES – Most dramatic Top loosens, tone opens up (warmer, louder, more resonant). Very audible in first 100–200 hours. Semi-hollow (e.g., ES-335, Gretsch) YES – Moderate Thin top and back vibrate more over time. Slightly more open, airy tone. Less dramatic than full acoustic, but real. Solid-body electric (e.g., Strat, Les Paul) YES – Subtle but real Not the body wood (it’s too thick/stiff), but:
- Neck settles (less stiffness, better sustain/vibe)
- Finish microscopically relaxes
- Pickups & hardware “settle in” (microphonic changes, solder joints, etc.)
Players report smoother sustain, slightly warmer highs, better “feel” after months of play.
Real-World Examples:
- Les Paul players often say a new Burstbucker-equipped LP sounds “glassy” at first, then “creamy” after 6 months.
- Telecaster necks feel “faster” and sustain longer after heavy gigging.
- Blind tests (e.g., Reverb.com tone comparisons) show measurable differences in harmonic content before/after break-in, even on solid-bodies.
Why It’s Subtler on Electrics:
- The amp and pickups dominate tone, so wood changes are masked.
- But vibration still affects the neck joint, nut, bridge, and pickup mounting — all part of the signal chain.
Bottom line:
- Acoustics = biggest break-in
- Semi-hollows = noticeable
- Solid-bodies = real but subtle (mostly feel + sustain)
Players who gig nightly swear by it. Skeptics who plug in once a month may not notice.
I still don’t know if this is real, but I’m willing to give it a try!
Question #2: Why not “play it in” by just actually playing it in?
By all means, play-in your guitar by playing it! That’s probably the best option, but what happens if you want the finished sound sooner or you’ve got multiple guitars?
Given two options for breaking in a guitar (playing it for 50-200+ hours or using Guitar Vibrator). the best answer is likely a mix of both.
Question #3: How long will it take?
I don’t know! Presumably different guitars need different break-in periods, depending on variables like body shape, type of wood, the volume of the sound source, the age of the guitar, humidity, temperature, and so on.
Since I’ve never heard of a vintage guitar that’s been played too much (distinct from “it’s damaged” or “it’s frets & pick guard are worn out”), I assume that more vibration is better, likely with diminishing returns over time until it is “fully broken in”.
That said, I’ll attempt a more concrete answer: Suppose running GuitVib is half as effective as normal playing for breaking in a guitar, and suppose that it takes 200 hours of normal playing for the most noticeable portion of the break-in process to occur. That would mean 400 hours of running the Guitar Vibrator, or about 16 days of non-stop use. Or, if you’re just doing nights and times you’re away from home, let’s call it a month.
Or, maybe you crank up the volume and it just takes a few days. Or maybe “break-in” only takes 50 or 100 hours of normal play-in, dropping “16 days” to 8 or 4. There are too many variables to factor in, so the best answer remains, “I don’t know! Try running it until you think it’s done!” It’s not like your cost goes up by letting it run a few extra days.
Question #4: How should I position the guitar?
Choose a setup that maximizes the guitar’s:
- free vibration: the best setup lets the strings & guitar body move as much as possible. Ideally, hang your guitar from the headstock or it place on a stand with minimal contact points. Definitely avoid soft surfaces or a case. Remove any objects from the strings (eg. a pick) so they can freely vibrate.
- ability to catch the sound: the best setup is one where the strings vibrate the most. Likely have the sound holes facing the speaker. Higher, lower, closer, angled… experiment and see what works best for your gear.
- likelihood of staying on: the best setup is one you’ll actually use. A so-so location you can use 24/7 is likely a better choice than a different setup that’s theoretically optimal but less likely to get used.
Question #5: Can I vibrate several guitars at once?
Yes, though the position of multiple guitars may be difficult to arrange in a way that lets them all vibrate fully.
Here are a few ideas to make this work better:
- If using a stereo setup with two tower or bookshelf speakers, placing one guitar in front of each speaker would work well.
- If using a guitar rack that holds five or more guitars, placing this near the speakers should work fairly well.
- If you’ve got a room full of guitars and no noise restriction limits, presumably you could just run the Guitar Vibrator sound in the whole room at a high enough volume that they all vibrate.
Vibrating multiple guitars at once is a good idea, even if secondary instruments may be in a less optimal position, as this lets you piggy-back lower-expectation guitars onto the effort you’re eager to apply to a higher-expectation vibration project.
Suppose you want to vibrate a new acoustic guitar (where the effort of vibrating it is clearly worthwhile) but you’re also curious about breaking in or re-vivifying a solid-body electric (that you’d be unwilling to vibrate on its own). Adding the electric to the edge of the acoustic’s setup is typically easy enough to do, presenting little inconvenience while adding potential benefits.
Question #6: Can a shop do this to all of their guitars?
If I ran a shop, I’d definitely do this. I’d likely run it in the room overnight, gradually doing it to many instruments at a time, or perhaps to the premium instruments when they come in. If people like played-in guitars, why not sell them that way?
Question #7: How will I know when it’s done?
I don’t think you’ll ever know for certain. This is an inexact process, and if there’s an objective standard for what “played-in” really is, I haven’t found it.
On the flip side, strangely, you absolutely will know for certain when a guitar is fully broken in. For example, I have three instruments that 100%, by any reasonable standard, are fully played in, though I couldn’t tell you for sure when that happened.
As for the grey zone between those two uncertainties, my best response is, “why not play it in a little more?”
Question #8: My player automatically turns itself off – how do I keep it playing for days at a time?
There are many different devices (phones, tablets, computers…) and players (Spotify, Apple Music…), so I’ll answer this question generally.
Look into these possible solutions:
- Check your power settings: are you on battery or power-saving mode?
- Check your app settings: are you using an app in the background? are the permissions set to allow for continued playback?
- Check your device’s sleep & screen-saver settings: is your device going to turn itself off or go into a standby mode?
If none of these helps, try doing one of these:
- Ask your favourite search engine or LLM, “How do I keep my music playing throughout the night?”
- Ask your favourite search engine or LLM, “How do I get [my player, for example “Spotify”] on [my device, for example “my laptop”) to play continuously overnight?”
- Ask your favourite search engine or LLM, “What can I do to get GuitVib’s Guitar Vibrator running 24-7, uninterrupted?”
Here are some more keywords that may help you find answers:
- Look up “continuous playback” for your player
- Set a “Sleep timer” in the iOS clock app
- Explore “ambient music” and techniques people use to keep this going non-stop (music while sleeping all night, music to fall asleep, studying background music, etc.)
The point is that your software might interrupt your guitar’s overnight vibration with a question like “are you still there?” to prevent unwanted playback. However, since that’s exactly what you DO want, just look around in the settings until you’re able to get YOUR device to keep playing for a long as YOU want. Or, change players to something else that’ll do exactly what you need.
Question #9: Should I vibrate every capo position, or just the open strings?
I wish I knew the answer to this question. Here are quick summaries of either approach:
- “Just do open strings”: this will vibrate every nook & cranny of your guitar, every bit of glue, and everything that matters. Given the simplicity of only doing open strings, just combine “open strings” with some real playing up the neck and you’ll be fine.
- “Do every Capo position”: vibrating every note better emulates the act of actually playing a guitar, fully vibrating the instrument in every mode it will need to resonate while playing later on. It’s a slower vibration process but it’s worth the wait.
I suspect there’s some truth to both of these positions.
If you’ve got an easy way to vibrate instruments overnight, why not set it to run more nights in case it makes a difference?
Question #10: Can I use my phone/tablet/laptop speakers, or do I need bigger stereo speakers?
You’ll get better results using bigger speakers. The small speakers found in phones, tablets, and laptops will work for the higher strings (and for overtones), but not for the lower ones.
For quick reference, here are the fundamental frequencies of some relevant notes:
- A guitar’s low E string: 82.41 Hz
- A guitar’s A string: 110 Hz
- A guitar’s D string: 146.8 Hz
- A guitar’s G string: 196 Hz
- A guitar’s B string: 246.9 Hz
- A guitar’s high E string: 329.6 Hz
Many phones, tablets, and laptops barely produce those lower frequencies. Even if they produce a bit of 82 Hz, the amplitude will be so low that you’ll barely vibrate your guitar. However, almost any other speaker will work. It is very common for stereo speakers and studio monitors to extend well below 82Hz, even mini-systems with 3″ to 4″ woofers. For a bass guitar’s low-E string at 41 Hz, many mid-tier speakers with 7″ or 8″ woofers will also do these adequately, but that’s not something you’ll need to worry about with a normal acoustic or electric guitar.
One way to test your setup is to turn on the Guitar Vibrator and feel your guitar’s lower strings. Either they are moving or they are not – that’s your answer!
Another way is to use this quick frequency tester to see check your device’s SPL (sound pressure level) at various frequencies.
A full-spectrum sound source (audiophilia, studio monitors, subwoofers, etc.) should be your first choice for breaking in your guitar, but almost any setup that’s bigger than a phone/tablet/laptop is easily good enough.
Question #11: Can I use this to break-in a guitar speaker, amp, or cabinet?
Likely yes, though you’d be able to accomplish the same thing by playing any other music through the speaker, amp, or cabinet. True, the Guitar Vibrator has a lot of the right guitar frequencies in it, but so do your favourite guitar albums.
Personally, I’d rather listen to a week’s worth of Eruption, Ted Greene, or Juber & the Beatles, but I guess there’s no accounting for taste.