Can you tell which is which? ***RESULTS***

[AnneS]

.

I'll start by saying, listening to a recording is no way to evaluate a guitar. But since they're all recorded at the same place and time, on the same recorder, using the same chording and strumming, by the same player - this is a worthy comparison - good job on that Spoton. B)

 

Very similar sounding. They all sounded great, a couple more so than the others. I admit - a real head scratcher for me. Here goes - to my ears -

 

1 - I thought had the least low end and brightest sound/tone. - - Texan

 

2 - Seemed to have more punch in the mids, but still a nice low end. - - C/W

 

3 - Had the best low end, and seemed to be the most even. - - J50

 

4 - Similar to 3 but a bit tighter, and the most thump. - - J45

Interesting! I got the same tone reads as you did for 1 through 4, yet except for 1, I ascribed the tones to different models.

 

Oh, this is fun.

[Red 333]

Wow. So hard.

 

1 Texan

2 C/W

3 J-45

4 J-50

 

Whatever order you really played them in, you have a fine collection! Not a duff sounding guitar in the bunch.

 

Red 333

[frenchie1281734003]

Why is there a consensus that the Texan wouldn`t be quite up to scratch with the others? My 62 has plenty of low end oomph, and is both warm and complex in tone, it is also a long scale guitar compared to the J-45/50.

 

The J-45 in this test is just as new as the Texan, so I would expect them to be more alike than different. Having said all that it may well turn out to be guitar number one or four, we shall see!

 

Steve.

[Spot]

I feel that a lot of ya'll are gonna have a few sleepless nights until the results are announced!!!

 

[Spot]

Wow. So hard.

 

1 Texan

2 C/W

3 J-45

4 J-50

 

Whatever order you really played them in, you have a fine collection! Not a duff sounding guitar in the bunch.

 

Red 333

 

Thanks RED,...interested in your thoughts on chart position of the four. You got a fav?

 

[BigKahune]

Why is there a consensus that the Texan wouldn`t be quite up to scratch with the others? .....

 

Steve - No one is saying the Texan isn't up to scratch. And some of the posters have said the guitars all sound great. But in order to identify them, the recordings have to be evaluated and compared. Don't lose sight of the fact that we're listening to four great guitars here. I invite you to add your take on the identities.

 

 

 

 

 

<*EDIT*> Sorry Steve - you'd already posted yer take.

[frenchie1281734003]

Steve - I invite you to add your take on the identities.

 

I already have BK on page one!

 

Steve.

[Spot]

Steve - No one is saying the Texan isn't up to scratch. And some of the posters have said the guitars all sound great. But in order to identify them, the recordings have to be evaluated and compared. Don't lose sight of the fact that we're listening to four great guitars here. I invite you to add your take on the identities.

 

+1

 

...Now what would really be interesting is a match up of Steve's Vintage '62 up against the '05 Non-Macca......That I would like to compare and guess for us Forum members to guess "Which is which"!!!!

 

OMG, this is turning into WrestleMania!!!!!

 

[frenchie1281734003]

+1

 

...Now what would really be interesting is a match up of Steve's Vintage '62 up against the '05 Non-Macca......That I would like to compare and guess for us Forum members to guess "Which is which"!!!!

 

OMG, this is turning into WrestleMania!!!!!

 

 

Well Rich, I think my Texan sounds closest to number three, but because of my guitars age I am assuming (Probably quite wrongly) that guitar three is your 64 J-50. But in all truthfullness I really don`t know, just have a hunch that the two guitars with ADJ saddles are 2 & 3.

 

Can`t wait to find out the result.

 

Here`s my 62 Texan, but it`s a fingerpicked piece, recorded on a simple flip camera, and only gives a rough idea of tone.

 

 

Steve.

[Mojorule]

Thanks for another fun blind test, Spoton. In answer to your first question, my instant answer is simply 'No'. But of course, I'll give it a go.

 

I'm working with a different perspective from EA and others, and I reckon on first listen that the first two sound ever so slightly drier and less bassy. To me that is more likely the vintage sound, so I think your 1960s duo come first. The second pair sounded a fraction bassier and wetter to me, which sounds more like Bozeman Gibsons to me. I certainly follow the logic that Anne and Rambler are using to separate vintage from recent in terms of opening up of the top, but I think that something else to do with build is at stake which means that the modern hog-backs sound a bit wetter than the old ones.

 

So my guess would be:

 

1. 1964 J50 (closer than no. 2 to nos. 3 and 4 to my ears, so I suspect round shoulders);

2. 1963 CW (less growl than the others, less thump on bass, so I suspect square shoulders);

3. 2005 Texan (marginally less growl and more ring than no. 4, so I suspect adjustable bridge; also doesn't the Tex have a long scale length, which might explain some of that ring);

4. 2005 J45 (marginally more growl than no. 3, so I suspect fixed bridge and short scale).

 

But I'm expecting a resounding EuroVision 'Hungary, nul points' at this stage.

 

As for question 2, I have a marginal preference for your last guitar (growl when you dig in), but they all sound really splendid and indeed rather close to each other. I'm even struggling to place the square shoulder with any certainty on the basis of this recording, they sound that close.

[Red 333]

Thanks RED,...interested in your thoughts on chart position of the four. You got a fav?

 

 

This was a real challenge because the J-45, J-50, and Texan are all essentially the same guitar (though there's probably some variation in bracing since they were all made in different years). The J-45 and J-50 differ in that the J-50 has the adjustable bridge. The J-50 and the Texan both have the adjustable bridge, but the Texan has a long scale and (presumably) slighter neck.

 

Through my computer speakers, the bass seemed tightest on 1, and the mids seemed most present of the four, which I rationalize as the result of the Texan's long scale.

 

2 seemed to chime most, and there was less percussiveness in the strumming than the other three, which I rationalize as due to the wider waist and square shoulders of the C/W.

 

The 3 and 4 seem most similar, and more similar to 1 than 2, so I thought they might be the other slopes. The mids seemed more subdued than 1 on both, but the ring of the high strings decays slower on 3, so that it made it my J-45 pick. The high strings decayed faster on 4 than 3 (so more like 1's), and the strings rattled, and I rationalized both of those as due to the J-50's adjustable bridge.

 

However, I did rationalize the results a few other ways too. At one point, I though 4 could be the Texan because you had a little trouble chording some passage, and I thought aha!--that must be due to the Texan's narrower nut width. It sometimes takes me a few minutes to adjust to it after I've been playing my J-45.

 

Whatever the results, your experiment proves that the adjustable bridge in itself is not always the tone killer its made out to be!

 

Nice stable, and thanks for presenting such a fun challenge.

 

Red 333

[E-minor7]

 

Here`s my 62 Texan, but it`s a fingerpicked piece, recorded on a simple flip camera, and only gives a rough idea of tone.

 

 

Hey for a fine piece of picking - deserves a better recording. What is your bridge/saddle set-up ?

 

 

 

[ponty]

Very fun! It took a lot of replays to start to hear the differences, but there're there. Here's my entry:

 

No. 1 - Texan

No. 2 - J45

No. 3 - C/W

No. 4 - J50

 

To my ear, Nos 3 and 4 have more complex, fluid tones that I associate with aged soundboards--but then, the ears are aged, too! No. 3 is my favorite--it's the "biggest" tone and the one I'd like to get to know more of...

 

Thanks!

 

Without seeing any of the answers first, I have the same as AnneS. If the CW or J-50

take 1st or second place, years of guitar theory and knowledge will be destroyed!

And the answer is.........

[The G]

This is tuff .

 

I'm guessing:

1) 64 J50

2) 05 Texan

3) 05 J-45

4) 63 CW

 

I liked # 3 tthe best.

[Red 333]

..Probabley due to recording in my Veranda which gives a nice boomy bassy sound...

 

 

Not to mention the atmospheric bird chirps and calls...

[frenchie1281734003]

Hey for a fine piece of picking - deserves a better recording. What is your bridge/saddle set-up ?

 

Thanks E-minor7, it`s an ADJ saddle on a Brazillian bridge. Good point you raise though with regard to Spotons test, as it had slipped my mind that the saddle on mine is an Ivory replacement for the original Ceramic one!

 

Steve.

[Guth]

Spotondrums,

 

I won't even fathom a guess as to which is which. However, I will say that for this particular style of playing, I preferred the tone of examples 3 & 4, but I'd be hard pressed to say which one of the two I preferred overall. Hard to tell with such short recordings, but interesting test nevertheless. Thanks for posting these up.

[Mojorule]

Not to mention the atmospheric bird chirps and calls...

 

A Hummingbird and a Dove in the background?

[Spot]

 

Here`s my 62 Texan, but it`s a fingerpicked piece, recorded on a simple flip camera, and only gives a rough idea of tone.

 

 

...Nice Steve. Thanks for sharing.

 

You should try and get a hold of a decent digital field recorder (Edirol, Zoom, etc.), they really are a big improvement as a recording device to the Flip Camera. Also so easy to use....

 

[Spot]

But I'm expecting a resounding EuroVision 'Hungary, nul points' at this stage.

 

...Excellent thought Mojorule....This is going to be like the Eurovision Song Contest of the Forum (with America thrown in for good measure)!!!

 

[Spot]

Whatever the results, your experiment proves that the adjustable bridge in itself is not always the tone killer its made out to be!

 

Nice stable, and thanks for presenting such a fun challenge.

 

Red 333

 

...Thanks RED.

 

This was also a big part of my thinking going in. Owning a few different ADJ's over the years, I've always felt this way - The adjustable bridge is NOT a tone killer as many people believe....

 

Saying that, I'm keen to do the MOD on my J-50 as I think it will definately increase the volume by taking weight off the sound board. I'm definately going to do a few recordings with this guitar pre and post modifications to try and see if I can capture any eventual changes in tone....

 

[dhanners623]

I have no idea which is which. Between my ears and my computer's speakers, I really have no clue. Generally, I liked them all. No. 1 (which was probably my overall favorite) seemed to have more "oomph" to it, followed closely by No. 3. To my ears, No. 4 seemed to have the "fullest" sound, but I realize that description can be vaguely subjective. Or subjectively vague.

 

They all sound good to me, though, and as Red pointed out as far as adjustable bridges go, I may have to order up some barbecue sauce while I eat my words. In the past, I've been very derisive of adjustable bridges, but that was based on personal experience of having a '68 J-45 ADJ modified from an adjustable bridge to a fixed bridge. On that guitar, anyway, the change was a marked improvement. But to my ears in your recordings, it sounds like a guitar with an adjustable bridge may well be able to hold its own against a guitar with a non-adjustable bridge.

[Spot]

They all sound good to me, though, and as Red pointed out as far as adjustable bridges go, I may have to order up some barbecue sauce while I eat my words. In the past, I've been very derisive of adjustable bridges, but that was based on personal experience of having a '68 J-45 ADJ modified from an adjustable bridge to a fixed bridge. On that guitar, anyway, the change was a marked improvement. But to my ears in your recordings, it sounds like a guitar with an adjustable bridge may well be able to hold its own against a guitar with a non-adjustable bridge.

 

Props to you mate for stepping up to he plate David!!!!! Really appreciate your input on this thread (.....as always).

 

 

Results out tomorrow!

[EuroAussie]

Oooo, how exciting ...

 

 

 

Results out tomorrow!

[Spot]

I have no idea which is which. Between my ears and my computer's speakers, I really have no clue. Generally, I liked them all. No. 1 (which was probably my overall favorite) seemed to have more "oomph" to it, followed closely by No. 3. To my ears, No. 4 seemed to have the "fullest" sound, but I realize that description can be vaguely subjective. Or subjectively vague.

 

They all sound good to me, though, and as Red pointed out as far as adjustable bridges go, I may have to order up some barbecue sauce while I eat my words. In the past, I've been very derisive of adjustable bridges, but that was based on personal experience of having a '68 J-45 ADJ modified from an adjustable bridge to a fixed bridge. On that guitar, anyway, the change was a marked improvement. But to my ears in your recordings, it sounds like a guitar with an adjustable bridge may well be able to hold its own against a guitar with a non-adjustable bridge.

 

Hey David,...Not sure if you read my previous posts but I have another experiment up my sleeve!!!

 

This being to record the J-50 (w/ adj bridge) alone prior to getting a fixed bridge modification (by my friend Graham Parker) under the exact same conditions (Recorder, room, song, volume, style of playing etc.); Then to record again using same conditions after the mod and to see if we can all hear any differences...

 

:)