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This part also rubbed me the wrong way. Synthetic aging techniques kill the appeal of the craft of creating a truly genuine, exquisite instrument. It seems li

This part also rubbed me the wrong way. Synthetic aging techniques kill the appeal of the craft of creating a truly genuine, exquisite instrument. It seems like what a cheap knock off manufacturer would do.. imagine if McLaren did this, what, just scuffing up the door handle with an old key. Outlandish and backwards, haha. Or perhaps our repulsion reveals how unrefined and plebeish our opinions are on this topic, which is still kind of hilarious but also unfortunate, because it means a group of folks has effectively settled on preferring their McLaren with the intentional scratches.

cannam 3y ago
> imagine if McLaren did this In some sense car manufacturers do do this - their designs are famous for being full of functionally empty retro cues that customers nonetheless go for.
julian_t 3y ago
Synthetic aging... there's quite a lot of this going on in the guitar world. On the purely cosmetic level, you can find a lot of 'relic' electric guitars, made to look like they've been on the road since the 60s. Some acoustic makers are experimenting with torrefaction and other techniques to age the top wood, and opinions are divided on whether this makes any difference. But I'm just a pleb here... if an instrument feels good to play and sounds good, then that'll do!
- guappa 3y ago
  It makes a difference in price for sure :)
- jdietrich 3y ago
  Cosmetic ageing processes are broadly regarded as distasteful amongst collectors and connoisseurs, but there's clearly a market for it. Torrefaction (or rather an optimised heat treatment process) can undoubtedly produce clear acoustic benefits. Suitable thermal treatment can significantly increase the stiffness and reduce the damping coefficient of wood, resulting in a more acoustically efficient material.
afc 3y ago
Not McLaren, but here's an example of a car manufacturer synthetically aging their new cars: https://www.roadandtrack.com/new-cars/a29838406/2021-ford-mustang-mach-e-fake-engine-noise/ https://www.roadandtrack.com/new-cars/a29838406/2021-ford-mu... "Oops, the modern engines aren't as loud, let's use the speakers to fake it!" I think it's equivalent. Funnily, I'm somehow more bothered by the violin pasta scratches than by the digitally generated engine/exhaust noise. I'm not sure why.

cannam 3y ago

> imagine if McLaren did this In some sense car manufacturers do do this - their designs are famous for being full of functionally empty retro cues that customers nonetheless go for.

julian_t 3y ago

Synthetic aging... there's quite a lot of this going on in the guitar world. On the purely cosmetic level, you can find a lot of 'relic' electric guitars, made to look like they've been on the road since the 60s. Some acoustic makers are experimenting with torrefaction and other techniques to age the top wood, and opinions are divided on whether this makes any difference. But I'm just a pleb here... if an instrument feels good to play and sounds good, then that'll do!

guappa 3y ago
It makes a difference in price for sure :)
jdietrich 3y ago
Cosmetic ageing processes are broadly regarded as distasteful amongst collectors and connoisseurs, but there's clearly a market for it. Torrefaction (or rather an optimised heat treatment process) can undoubtedly produce clear acoustic benefits. Suitable thermal treatment can significantly increase the stiffness and reduce the damping coefficient of wood, resulting in a more acoustically efficient material.

afc 3y ago

Not McLaren, but here's an example of a car manufacturer synthetically aging their new cars: https://www.roadandtrack.com/new-cars/a29838406/2021-ford-mustang-mach-e-fake-engine-noise/ https://www.roadandtrack.com/new-cars/a29838406/2021-ford-mu... "Oops, the modern engines aren't as loud, let's use the speakers to fake it!" I think it's equivalent. Funnily, I'm somehow more bothered by the violin pasta scratches than by the digitally generated engine/exhaust noise. I'm not sure why.