ChrisF Posted October 11, 2016 Share Posted October 11, 2016 These days I've been comparing the sound of two LP, a Traditional 2016 and a Standard 2016. Yesterday I added a LP deluxe 2015 that I borrowed from a friend and this even made the comparison harder. One would think it would be easier: plug them and just choose the one that sounds best. I'm sure many of you would just need a minute with them, but it's much harder for me, I don't have enough experience and I'd like to learn. Here are my thoughts: -The LP standard sounds a bit thinner and not as a loud as the traditional. The traditional in the other hand has a sound that is rough and sharp, louder and maybe with more presence. At first I associated these facts with a better sound, and came to the conclusion that the traditional's sound was better. But now that I've added the Deluxe I'm confused again. Why? because the deluxe's sound is even louder with the +15 Db switch on, and therefore it's more agressive and rough (and they are mini humbuckers!) So at this point I'm basically thinking that I'm associating loudness with quality, and I'm possibly missing other important aspects. English is not my first language, so I'm sorry if wasn't clear enough. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
btoth76 Posted October 11, 2016 Share Posted October 11, 2016 It sounds kind of yellow. Hope it helps. Bence. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. C.O. Jones Posted October 11, 2016 Share Posted October 11, 2016 These days I've been comparing the sound of two LP, a Traditional 2016 and a Standard 2016. Yesterday I added a LP deluxe 2015 that I borrowed from a friend and this even made the comparison harder. One would think it would be easier: plug them and just choose the one that sounds best. I'm sure many of you would just need a minute with them, but it's much harder for me, I don't have enough experience and I'd like to learn. Here are my thoughts: -The LP standard sounds a bit thinner and not as a loud as the traditional. The traditional in the other hand has a sound that is rough and sharp, louder and maybe with more presence. At first I associated these facts with a better sound, and came to the conclusion that the traditional's sound was better. But now that I've added the Deluxe I'm confused again. Why? because the deluxe's sound is even louder with the +15 Db switch on, and therefore it's more agressive and rough (and they are mini humbuckers!) So at this point I'm basically thinking that I'm associating loudness with quality, and I'm possibly missing other important aspects. English is not my first language, so I'm sorry if wasn't clear enough. Hello. Have you tested them with overdriven/distorted sound? I ask because personally I would do it with a clean signal, as clean as possible. I own two LP's, very different in many ways. To keep it simple one has a 57C at the neck and a Angus Young Signature at the bridge, the other has 59 Tributes on both positions. And I would have a hard time to identificate them blindfolded, hearing someone else play them overdriven or distorted. The both sound like Les Pauls. With a clean sound it would be a piece of cake. Listen closely, how do the pickups reflect the sound, string separation when a chord is strummed, is it bright or dark etc. Try different pick attacks, even different picks and maybe play with your fingers. Use the volume and tone controlls too. There are also a lot of other factors that can be really significant, especially pickup height. You can make two identical guitars sound pretty different, simply having the pickups at different heights. The last point and most important IMO, is how the guitar feel to you, pick the one that feels best. You can adjust it later to your likings and even change pickups or electronics. And why not play them unplugged, that never lies. If it sounds good unplugged it will do the same amplified. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. C.O. Jones Posted October 11, 2016 Share Posted October 11, 2016 It sounds kind of yellow. Hope it helps. Bence. Does your brain connect tones to colors? That must be awesome when listening to some strange funky jazz! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
btoth76 Posted October 11, 2016 Share Posted October 11, 2016 Does your brain connect tones to colors? That must be awesome when listening to some strange funky jazz! Hello Marcos! Yes, I do. It was a nightmare when I was learning 7th chords. :D I just wanted to point out how difficult to describe nicer sound. Well, maybe I could also say: if I pick up a guitar, and I don't start turning knobs on amps and pedals within 5 minutes, it sounds right. Bence. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1all's Pub Posted October 11, 2016 Share Posted October 11, 2016 Ha! The OP has really opened up Pandora's Box here! A/B-ing two different guitars (let along A/B/C-ing 3 of them) is always an evolving thing IME. What sounds good to your ear one day may not sound as good on another. Or one particular feature/sound/tone you're listening for may overshadow some other that you focus on another time. It's a very nuanced process. That said, I generally like PAF and/or hot PAF sounding pickups in my LPs and therefore I try to listen for telltale PAF-type tones/overtones/effects... and I've come to do it following this general format/approach: Using a slowly strummed E/Am/D/G chord progression I listen for: 3D/string separation/articulation (both clean & dirty) Clarity (both clean & dirty) Airy effervescence--a certain bubbly effect some PAF clones seem to have that I like (both clean & dirty) Using simple chords (like E or A) with crunch and my favorite OD pedal: Growl (especially on an E-chord--just a pretty subjective "do I like how it growls" thing) Chord chewiness (the opposite of thinness, but not thick or muddy) Single note: Chewiness for soloing (not tinny, but not flubby either) Smoothness (especially on the neck pickup... and I always make sure to roll the tone back to 0 to hear how the "woman tone" sounds) I generally do these "tests" in all 3 positions (bridge/middle/neck), but then in the middle I also listen for a certain "open presence" that can have kind of a "gong-like kerrang" to it (hard to explain, I know it when I hear it ). After I've done all this I can generally say if I prefer A over B or vice versa. However, sometimes A is better in one area, but B is better in another. It definitely makes it challenging to decide. But usually, there is just something to the overall character of a given guitar and/or pickup combo that makes me generally prefer it to another. Like I said, it's a very nuanced process. ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rabs Posted October 11, 2016 Share Posted October 11, 2016 Hmmm yes this is a hard topic to discuss... Mainly because everyone has different taste... Also we tend to go on a journey when playing an instrument.... And the worst part about all of this is your taste changes over the years, so what you thought sounded good now no longer sounds good since you now have more experience or differing tastes to when you started.... No one else can really tell you what sounds good and what doesn't.. Its so personal... I think theres a lot of us well of a certain age... Say my age (40+) we start out with lots of distortion cos we like the 80s rock music... But then when your journey starts you go back in time and start listening to the old blues stuff where modern rock came from, then you start hearing different things.. What I listen for when it comes to a guitars sound quality is that you can hear all of the frequency ranges.. So you can hear bass, mids and highs... HOWEVER, sometimes a scooped mid range can sound cool.. Sometimes you want a Fender jangly sound with lots of high end cos that sounds cool.. Sometimes you want it down and dirty with lots of fat bassy sounds.... None of that is right or wrong... It depends on what sound you want that goes with the type of music you are playing... So what you are hearing is different sound ranges on different guitars, all can sound very different but equally nice to you.. But that's why we buy more guitars, amps and pedals cos we are always constantly chasing that sound that's in our heads. The one thing I have realised from this forum is that nearly everyone who goes on that journey nearly always ends up with some kind of semi hollow jazz box (like a 335).. That seems to be the guitar that can actually do it all, once you have the experience to know how to use it properly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kaicho8888 Posted October 11, 2016 Share Posted October 11, 2016 My preference for guitars changes depending on my mood and venue. That's probably why nowadays, players have multiple guitars and amps. The best is to play with a guitar that you feel comfortable with; one that you gravitate to. That becomes your "go to" guitar. Since our audio memory is short, the play-ability factor is the first consideration. Everything else can be tweaked. Every situation is different like the type of music, the venue, and how you are feeling at the time. That's what the knobs on the guitar and amps are for...to tune in to your preferred tone. Even during a song, you constantly tweak your volume/tone controls (or I do) to fit how your guitar playing fit in the "mix" with others in the band. So even if you A/B similar guitars and liked one, you could prefer the other next time or...get another one...the continual search for you "tone". Just play and have fun with each of your guitars. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Farnsbarns Posted October 11, 2016 Share Posted October 11, 2016 Stop listening so you can hear it. Just play. Forget that you're evaluating. You'll end up listening for what you "think" is good otherwise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1all's Pub Posted October 11, 2016 Share Posted October 11, 2016 Another thing too... what you think sounds best can change rapidly once you play with other folks (even just jamming with a buddy). The subtle nuances that you may find preferable when you are just comparing tones in your bedroom by yourself may completely become irrelevant when playing with other instruments. Personally, I chase the "sound in my head" for my own purposes... almost as a hobby... just to try to find it for the sake of finding it. B) Thus it's really (at least for me) about finding that "baseline" sound/tone where I can say, "Yeah, that's what I'm after". Once I find that, I can adjust from that as the situation demands (ie, with the knobs or with the amp or pedal, etc). But it seems I am always trying to find that certain tone so I can I find it and quite looking for it. HAHA!!! (not sure that's ever gonna happen ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kidblast Posted October 14, 2016 Share Posted October 14, 2016 you can drive yourself crazy with all of this. keep in mind, more output from a pickup, doesn't necessarily mean better tone. imx, the hotter the pickup is, the less tone it seems to have. It takes me a while to really get on with a guitar, and I have to compare in a few different settings. They all seem to do the trick in my home environment, but when I take it to rehearsal, and using it at the volumes we're typically running at, It's a whole new ball game entirely. a few key things are - how do the pickups react when I'm using the volume pots, do the highs roll right off or do they maintain (important), is there a good smooth decline of volume, can I pull it back to 2, or 3, and get clean rhythms. (I'm ocd about volume control, so a big deal for me.) - tuning stability, I will play much harder with the boys than I do when not with the band. - cut/clarity when tossed into the mix with bass/drums/other guitarist.. do the pickups get lost easily or is there enough dynamic response to my attack - feedback, -- are the pups microphonic... I need a few times out for a stroll with a new axe to really know how this all plays out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glp2012 Posted October 19, 2016 Share Posted October 19, 2016 Well, a good sound is nicer than a bad sound and a nicer sound is better than a good sound. So, it follows that a bad sound is better than no sound at all. Unless you Enjoy the Silence (Depeche Mode plug)... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sparquelito Posted October 19, 2016 Share Posted October 19, 2016 I liken my attraction to a guitar's tone to exactly how (and if) I find a woman's laughter pleasing. If it's too shrill or muddy or insincere, then I pass, and don't even look back. If it's warm and genuine, and makes me laugh too (with joy), then I'm all-in. Okay, I'm gonna shut up now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
merciful-evans Posted October 19, 2016 Share Posted October 19, 2016 I liken my attraction to a guitar's tone to exactly how (and if) I find a woman's laughter pleasing. If it's too shrill or muddy or insincere, then I pass, and don't even look back. If it's warm and genuine, and makes me laugh too (with joy), then I'm all-in. Okay, I'm gonna shut up now. I dont like too much sustain Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capmaster Posted October 19, 2016 Share Posted October 19, 2016 Another thing too... what you think sounds best can change rapidly once you play with other folks (even just jamming with a buddy). The subtle nuances that you may find preferable when you are just comparing tones in your bedroom by yourself may completely become irrelevant when playing with other instruments. ... Very good point. Some guitars or guitar/amp setups or settings may sound decent per se but either don't cut through with the band or are too loud, in particular drowning vocals. Playing technique plays a huge role, but the effects of each of the components of the entire signal chain can be unclear and confusing. It's hard to give an advice other than trying for oneself. Moreover, within a band nobody's sound is carved in stone. Every player will need a good portion of awareness for requirements and insight to comply. Sound engineers and producers know that very well. I dont like too much sustain Depends a lot on the song. Slow grooves calling for long lasting clean notes call for lots of sustain. No compressor is a real substitute for that. Avoiding dull or dead spots of specific guitars belongs here, too. Moreover, sustain can be of rather different kind. When I want a good chord separation for picking broken chords, I love guitars with faster overtone decay but lots of fundamental sustain. No single guitar will be the best solution for everything, but appropriate use of a versatile instrument, picking techniques and sound options can be of help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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