new service, have your instrument "played in" over one weekend

[darylcrisp]

this group offers to "play your instrument in" over one weekend. cost per instrument is based upon what amount of "opening up" you prefer-i think there are three levels with the cost increased slightly with each level.
available for fiddle, mandolin, guitar, upright bass, banjo.
here's an example video of a few new instruments, and one or two that folks had for a while and just couldn't seem to get them to sound right or project.
the owner of the mandolin requested the level 2 because he said he just could not get any tone out of it-sounded like it was filled with socks-when it was returned next day he was shocked, sounded like a whole other mandolin.
disclaimer on the liability paper you sign, there might be a few scratches, slight scorching of wooden areas,and you will need a new set of strings.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b8GzRoKwMYk

[poul hansen]

this group offers to "play your instrument in" over one weekend..............

Which group?

[Frankdolin]

My group.

[Jill McAuley]

I knew a guy who ran a building full of rehearsal rooms for bands in Dublin back in the '80's who used to pay one of the young lads who worked on the front desk, who was the same shoe size, to break in his Doc Martens for him!

[Anglocelt]

Whilst I am grateful to the poster for drawing public attention to this new service, which he terms 'playing in' but might be more accurately termed 'extreme distressing', I wish to point out the dangers to wider society of such as service, when accompanied by such a video. In the hands of a master such as Mr Scaggs, whose virtuosity is unquestioned, this type of playing behaviour produces sensory uplift, pleasure even, in the hands of lesser mortals who might engage in copycat behaviour, such as myself, the broader impact on both mandolin and audience is likely to be counterproductive in the shared cultural sphere and on the longevity of valued musical property. I urge you, in the greater public interest, to withdraw your seemingly well-meaning offer.

[maxr]

Great vid! Curiously though, There's a device called a 'Tone-Rite' (sp?) that's claimed to play in violins. It looks like a big rubbery lump with a cable coming out. It has rubber fingers that that grab fiddle etc bridges so it sits on top. When you turn it on, the lump vibrates and makes the fiddle hum. You leave it running for maybe a week, and usually (not always) the fiddle sound has opened up a bit, sometimes a lot. I have one, and the weird thing is, it works, if not with all fiddles. The other thing you can do with a good violin is give it to a pro orchestral player for a couple of weeks (if it's good enough they'll play it). It usually comes back sounding better, but if you don't keep playing it, most fiddles won't stay that way. The other odd thing is that violins can sound different depending on who's played it for a while. Are mandos the same?

[CES]

Sheez, I need a nap after that, just for watching

All of those guys can flat rip it!