[Davesrose]

I don't think it's really about how the wood ages. It's not quite like a bottle of wine that keeps getting better. There might be some settling in with a "virgin" guitar, but generally, the more expensive an instrument is, the more craftsmanship it has.

We don't know what a Stradivarius sounded like back in the 18th century. But they must have been pretty sweet sounding back then too....otherwise they wouldn't have been cared for. To this day, people are still studying them to figure out how they were built.

Likewise, my more expensive handmade guitar (that was built about 7 years ago) sounds better then my grandfather's old handmade Martin guitar. For a Martin, it is really nice....but just because the wood is so much older, does not inherently make it sound better then my guitar.