Main Strat by far seems to have more clarity to my ears. From a tone perspective, the main strat is the clear winner. The noiseless pickups in the main strat sound more like non-noiseless pickups to me. Thanks for posting!
The backup guitar sounds suspiciously similar to when my pickups are too high (read: higher than my preference, haha). You dont mention if you controlled for pickup height.
Indeed! the specs flash quick but both sets are at 5/64" on high and low e-poles. So the height is identical. That said you're 100% right! It sounded a little flubby to me which is usually a symptom of pickups too high. Interestingly the neck sits deeper in the pocket on my back up, so while the pickup height is set the same, the relationship of the neck to the body and saddle height is different. Thanks for taking the time to comment!!! Deeply appreciated!
Get a multimeter to all the elactronics, even the same value pots can sound different as can the wire. Strats are super senstive instruments. You would have to record no1 and then move the scratchplate even the output jack socket and place it all un no2 and record that so we can all decide for ourselves? Have you weighed each body individually?( better stop, sounding like a forensics student trying to solve a Guitar "lash-up").
I have two Ibanez RGs. Same electronics, same neck shape and neck wood, same specs except one is basswood and and alder. They sound and feel slightly different.
Makes sense. There are a lot of people who just don't believe in tone woods. I'm on the other side of the debate just from having played so many guitars and meeting so many builders. In any case it's a fun conversation starter. So many little things can add up to such big differences! Thanks for watching and for the comments!!! Cheers!!
@@DiabloGuitars I think a lot of the wood doesn't matter guys are studio guys who've never been without a full suite of EQs and djent guys who use so much processing/gain/noise gates that nothing much remains of the guitar or pickups. Things like sustain and attack do not matter much when you're choking all the notes with a double noise gates.
No two (even if identical in every way) guitars sound the same and it has nothing to do with wood. The lack of or presence of more wood can give you more or less sustain, that's it.
Even potentiometers vary 10 to 20% and that will make a difference as will anything else under the scratcchplates. I tried 6 identical pots by the same manufacturer(same batch) and they measured from 218 to 280K (all same codes and tapers too).
Did you setup the guitars identical though? I can see with a naked eye that pickups on one are significantly higher than the other. Also to claim that the guitars are identical, they need to have exact same neck angle to the 0,01 of a degree and exact same action and pickup height so on open strings and fretted notes the distance between the pickup and the string is exactly the same. Don't even get me started on the pickups themselves, they always will have variation even if they are the same model by the same manufacturer. All these "tone wood tests" where the presenter says "look, I have two identical guitars and they sound different" are meaningless since those guitars are anything but identical. Different guitars do sound different even if they are the same model and get off the production line right one after the other but variation in wood is not even close to being the only difference. Does different wood affect the tone of an amplified electric guitar? Probably, but it's nowhere close to the top of the list of the things that make the biggest difference. I would argue that the metal the hardware and frets are made of makes a bigger difference than the wood. The biggest difference is made by the speaker you play through, then the amplifier, then the pickups, then the type and material of the string you use, then the pick you use (if you use one at all), then the material of the nut, frets and bridge is made of etc. Both the order and the factors themselves I mentioned might and probably are wrong and I missed something for sure but people give way too much attention to the "tonewood" part of the guitar. The type of wood and the quality of it for sure is important but it's important for how the guitar holds the tuning and how it holds up in general over time, how well it takes finish and how well it holds hardware, also how light it is and how expensive it makes the end product
thanks so much for taking the time!! I can't disagree on any point you've made, actually it's killer to see someone point out all the variances that are possible. I probably shouldn't have said "identical". My hopes were to get a dialogue going, which we definitely have. You'd mentioned the pickup height on one Strat verses the other and you're half right. Actually the neck pocket in my backup guitar is much deeper, so even though I've set the pickup to string height the same, there is certainly a difference overall in bridge saddle height and more. It's a fun conversation! Thanks for commenting.
They are not 100% identical. They can never be. It’s impossible no matter how hard you try. Take one single component, like the bridge, made the same way by the same person. There will be differences due to tolerances. Even if you magically had identical components, the way they are assembled has variability. Just the small differences in pickup height and angle has a huge impact on tone. Hundreds and hundreds of differences throughout the guitars. The wood is pretty low on the list of things that actually make a difference in tone.
Theres no doubt wood can sound different, to identical types or even to different types with same pickups. Theres a reason u dont many mahogany strats.
I agree. I know some people who truly believe tone wood is nonsense, I just have played to many guitars and met too many builders to agree. That said I was hoping to get a discussion going as there are so many tiny aspects that can add up to major differences. It's all good fun and an awesome dialogue to open. Thanks so much for commenting!!
True, is that a good or bad thing? Probably a little of both. We've already gotten some killer feedback on additional things to examine, measure and test. Thanks for watching and commenting! we appreciate it!
Main Strat by far seems to have more clarity to my ears. From a tone perspective, the main strat is the clear winner. The noiseless pickups in the main strat sound more like non-noiseless pickups to me. Thanks for posting!
Thanks so much for watching and taking the time to comment! Deeply appreciated. Super fun conversation starter!
Yep, number one.
Some guitars just have the mojo
Thanks!!! I feel the same way. Super fun video and conversation starter. Thanks for taking the time to comment!!!
The backup guitar sounds suspiciously similar to when my pickups are too high (read: higher than my preference, haha). You dont mention if you controlled for pickup height.
Indeed! the specs flash quick but both sets are at 5/64" on high and low e-poles. So the height is identical. That said you're 100% right! It sounded a little flubby to me which is usually a symptom of pickups too high. Interestingly the neck sits deeper in the pocket on my back up, so while the pickup height is set the same, the relationship of the neck to the body and saddle height is different. Thanks for taking the time to comment!!! Deeply appreciated!
Get a multimeter to all the elactronics, even the same value pots can sound different as can the wire. Strats are super senstive instruments. You would have to record no1 and then move the scratchplate even the output jack socket and place it all un no2 and record that so we can all decide for ourselves? Have you weighed each body individually?( better stop, sounding like a forensics student trying to solve a Guitar "lash-up").
All solid points! I think next re-string I'll swap em and also add / examine the other items you mention. Good times! Thanks for your feedback!
I have two Ibanez RGs. Same electronics, same neck shape and neck wood, same specs except one is basswood and and alder. They sound and feel slightly different.
No shit...duh :)
Makes sense. There are a lot of people who just don't believe in tone woods. I'm on the other side of the debate just from having played so many guitars and meeting so many builders. In any case it's a fun conversation starter. So many little things can add up to such big differences! Thanks for watching and for the comments!!! Cheers!!
@@DiabloGuitars I think a lot of the wood doesn't matter guys are studio guys who've never been without a full suite of EQs and djent guys who use so much processing/gain/noise gates that nothing much remains of the guitar or pickups. Things like sustain and attack do not matter much when you're choking all the notes with a double noise gates.
No two (even if identical in every way) guitars sound the same and it has nothing to do with wood. The lack of or presence of more wood can give you more or less sustain, that's it.
Even potentiometers vary 10 to 20% and that will make a difference as will anything else under the scratcchplates. I tried 6 identical pots by the same manufacturer(same batch) and they measured from 218 to 280K (all same codes and tapers too).
Did you setup the guitars identical though? I can see with a naked eye that pickups on one are significantly higher than the other. Also to claim that the guitars are identical, they need to have exact same neck angle to the 0,01 of a degree and exact same action and pickup height so on open strings and fretted notes the distance between the pickup and the string is exactly the same. Don't even get me started on the pickups themselves, they always will have variation even if they are the same model by the same manufacturer. All these "tone wood tests" where the presenter says "look, I have two identical guitars and they sound different" are meaningless since those guitars are anything but identical. Different guitars do sound different even if they are the same model and get off the production line right one after the other but variation in wood is not even close to being the only difference. Does different wood affect the tone of an amplified electric guitar? Probably, but it's nowhere close to the top of the list of the things that make the biggest difference. I would argue that the metal the hardware and frets are made of makes a bigger difference than the wood. The biggest difference is made by the speaker you play through, then the amplifier, then the pickups, then the type and material of the string you use, then the pick you use (if you use one at all), then the material of the nut, frets and bridge is made of etc. Both the order and the factors themselves I mentioned might and probably are wrong and I missed something for sure but people give way too much attention to the "tonewood" part of the guitar. The type of wood and the quality of it for sure is important but it's important for how the guitar holds the tuning and how it holds up in general over time, how well it takes finish and how well it holds hardware, also how light it is and how expensive it makes the end product
thanks so much for taking the time!! I can't disagree on any point you've made, actually it's killer to see someone point out all the variances that are possible. I probably shouldn't have said "identical". My hopes were to get a dialogue going, which we definitely have. You'd mentioned the pickup height on one Strat verses the other and you're half right. Actually the neck pocket in my backup guitar is much deeper, so even though I've set the pickup to string height the same, there is certainly a difference overall in bridge saddle height and more. It's a fun conversation! Thanks for commenting.
They sound different. Simple and I’m assuming they you did not change amp settings to make them sound the same. Have good day
Just unplugged and plugged back in. Everything was left the same. Thanks for taking the time! Much appreciated!
They are not 100% identical. They can never be. It’s impossible no matter how hard you try. Take one single component, like the bridge, made the same way by the same person. There will be differences due to tolerances. Even if you magically had identical components, the way they are assembled has variability. Just the small differences in pickup height and angle has a huge impact on tone. Hundreds and hundreds of differences throughout the guitars. The wood is pretty low on the list of things that actually make a difference in tone.
Agreed. But that doesn’t mean you should rule out the wood. It’s not likely to be big, for sure. Pickups (and height, angle) are number one.
Theres no doubt wood can sound different, to identical types or even to different types with same pickups. Theres a reason u dont many mahogany strats.
I agree. I know some people who truly believe tone wood is nonsense, I just have played to many guitars and met too many builders to agree. That said I was hoping to get a discussion going as there are so many tiny aspects that can add up to major differences. It's all good fun and an awesome dialogue to open. Thanks so much for commenting!!
Amazingly unscientific approach.
True, is that a good or bad thing? Probably a little of both. We've already gotten some killer feedback on additional things to examine, measure and test. Thanks for watching and commenting! we appreciate it!
Back up sounds flat as compared to the first one.