I have long contended that "the internet" has been mic'ing acoustic guiters incorrectly because everyone points the mic at the 12th fret, literally the nodal point where no meaningful sound is created, rather than at the bridge where the sound comes from, and this video confirms that. Every time Quinton swings the guitar over toward Paul the sound improves dramatically.
The J45 was instantly recognised by me too. There really is something about that Gibson sound. Might have been interesting if a hummingbird had been thrown in the mix.
Changing the axis of the guitar a few degrees or position my an inch can drastically change the sound. In my experience, the best mic placement depends on the guitar, the guitarist, the mic, preamp, the room, and the desired effect. Rules are only starting points for dialing the desired sound/tone.
These tests seem almost meaningless when they play in a room full of guitars. Each instrument would be more distinguishable in a room by itself without sound going into and back out of the other guitars.
It's not the "j45" signature sound, it's literally the slope shoulder signature sound. You're gonna have less vibration, any slope shoulder will sound stiffer than regular dreads when strummed, if he were finger picking it becomes easier to distinguish because of the depth of the bass notes, it is physically deeper than regular dreads, otherwise put an adirondack spruce top on of them and you get, what back in the days used to be, the banjo killer! Also, this dude strums those guitars in a very weird way with emphasis on high b and e strings, or at least this is how it comes across on yt.
I liked the Eastman over the Martin. The J45 stood out with its own tone as did the Taylor with some good articulation. I like to hear someone play the guitar for me so I can stand back and listen. Always sounds different from actually having it on your lap. Lot of fun here and no duds in the bunch.
I believe the Eastman is Mahogany b/s and the Martin is Rosewood b/s... I personally prefer the sound of Mahogany on b/s, especially on a dreadnaught. I wish they would have put the D18 in the mix instead of the 28
It’s worth remembering that what you like in the video is at least 2 steps away from what the guitars sound like in real life. It’s dependent on the mic setup, the audio interface, RUclips encoding and the speakers/headphones that you hear it through. Blind tests are fun and interesting but I won’t be basing my next purchase on the sound of any guitar from a video
I've got an LL16 Yamaha...it is the best sounding guitar I've ever heard but the action is very tense and stiff....hard to play it for more then an hour.....refretted it with stainless frets myself. Got the neck so I could lower the relief to .007....made a huge difference but still has a ton of tension in the neck...probably the way the neck was set...it's a cannon....it's known to be a better copy of a D-28 then a D-28. Problem is chinese quality production. You got a 50/50 chance you'll get one without a hump in the neck somewhere....ah....just like the Martins! I have a friend who has a D-45 that won't capo without buzzing. A sure sign of a neck that's not perfect. If you consider a Yamaha LL-16 then take a capo...if the action is at a resonable height and it capo's the 1st three frets with minumum buzzes then the neck is pretty good. (And it sounds like a cannon). Can't buy these things from sweetwater/internet or you'll be sending them back multiple times to get a good one and they'll try to sell you everything to get it right. (While reducing the fret height such as a plek) I believe they used a red label yamaha in this video. FG5 or 3 ??? I like the LL16's and up better.
Yamaha makes great guitars. They even give you torrified wood on many models for $1,000 to 1,500. I'm not as crazy about the non-scalloped Martin's... They don't really sound like the classic Martin sound to me... Easy to mistake for a Yamaha.... Which can make some of the Yamahas sound more open than some new martins, in my experience.... I may have liked the Eastman more than that particular Martin.
1. J-45, 2. Martin, 3. Eastman, 4. Guild, 5. Yamaha, and the least favorite was the Taylor. Although, 1 - 5 are extremely close and I’d be happy with anyone one of them. Great job fellas!
I was surprised that he said that all but the Guild sounded close. To my ears, the Eastman was quite noticeably heavier on the bass end compared to all of the others.
It's always fun watching Anderton's make similar videos... My favorites are when they compare custom shop guitar Fenders to Squires and they can't tell the difference.
I love my Yamaha FG5 and FS5. Wonderful guitars! I also have a top of the line Seagull Artist Mosaic. Such a good guitar but when I pick up my Yamaha FG5 after playing the Seagull the difference in sheer power and projection is clear. Those red label guitars are gems! Regarding other guitars in this video I loved the Guild. I always seem to love the Guild sound. Just wow. Martin great. Gibson J45 has that special great sound. Different. The Eastman was second last for me and the Taylor was last with that bright Taylor sound. Top 4 in random order: YAMAHA, Martin, Guild and Gibson. Thanks guys.
I think the Martin and the Guild were smoother. The Taylor more distinctive. The j45 best overall. At least to my hears ( or speakers!) But ALL GOOD. Eastman and Yamaha best bang for the buck. This is my subjective opinion. We did the same thing with Bourbons. We got about a 40% success rate. Thank you for videos
Why be so vague, unless you know, you don’t know… are you talking about the guitar the refer to as Yamaha. Pretty sure you are, but for others, clarity is inclusive.
That Eastman was incredible....lots of bottom end. Interesting to hear the Gibson second....lacks the bottom end of the eastman. I'd take the eastman and buy two for the price of the gibson...get two..a solid Rosewood and solid Mahogony back to have the different sounds
You should try this test again with an Epiphone Masterbilt in the mix. I have a Century De Luxe that was being sold at a steal of a price. I was crazy to pass it up. I'm glad I didn't.
He is not the only one, as it is distinctive. Those were not the only ones I could determine. I play a J-45 banner, a D-28 with Adirondack VTS top, a Taylor 717e Builders Edition, and an Eastman E22SS-V-sb (not used in this demo). I have thought about Guild and bought one for a grandson. I have also purchased Yamaha FS 830s as donations: that Yamaha did not sound like that. Thanks Quinton and Paul.
No, that is a Guild D-40 Standard that they came out with recently. It has that semi-gloss nitro finish, unlike the D-40 Traditional (gloss finish), and the D-40 (satin finish).
@@GaryGBrownI looked at that Guild more closely and it's a D-50 Standard with that same semi-gloss (Vintage Gloss is what they call it) finish. The back and sides are Rosewood, so it would sound more like a D-55 than a D-40.
I listened but did not watch, upon hearing the 6th guitar I thought it sounded best and thought it was a Martin. it's significantly better than the others.
Just proves that Taylor is the best at making guitars that will cut through a mix and remain articulate when played acoustic. And man, Paul named that J45 no problem…twice😂
Some considerations, in addition to my compliments for your excellent video. The sound of a J45 is something unique, and is unmistakable. Also for Guild: same thing. This matters a lot for a guitar. I have a J45, which I adore and which I also preferred to a D-18 precisely because of its personal and unique tone. Confusing a D28, on the other hand, is paradoxically very 'easy', because it is the model that more or less all dreadnoughts are inspired by. Guild has the best value overall. Yamaha absolutely needs a rebranding. It should release its guitars under a different brand, completely reinventing its image. No guitarist who is not a beginner would ever want to be seen with a Yamaha. It's a fact. It doesn't happen for example with Eastman: this is also a fact.
As a Yammie (and Alvie) fan and owner and an I don't want to be a Martin fanboi I have to admit that I like the Martin best. Yammie as a close second. The J45 was an easy pick. They should have let the blindfold guy play them too. And they should have played a few more lines on a single string with each guitar, that's how the blindfold guy picked out the Martin
we’ve all probably seen the bumper stickers that say “start seeing motorcycles” Probably makes no difference but the point it people see with their brain more than their eyes. The same may be true of our hearing.
I still find that a lot of people choose a guitar for it's looks and playability out of the box. It is my opinion that almost every new guitar will play it's best after being set up for the owners playing style.
Тейлор как всегда тщедушный безжизненный звук, Ямаха стеклянная синтетика как и ВСЕ эти японские инструменты, Гибсон суховатый узнаваемый звук, Гилд и Мартин молодцы. Вот и все.
Mind you, taylors are famous for their amazing mid range, and, when amplified with a good pickup(not their ES2 system) it can produce amazing tones. Also they're great in the studio for this reason because the mic picks up the sound in a better way, at least that's my experience. I agree with you on the Yamaha, I don't like it at all. Martins have a very specific "glow" to their sound, it's like it has more reverb. The guilds are somewhat a "common guitar sound" for me, I used to own a slope shoulder adirondack one and it didn't have the mojo I needed. I now own a Santa Cruz Pre War Dreadnought and a slope shoulder guitar built by a luthier friend from Northern Ireland, and I just don't find the need to get any new one or change them because I'm getting bored. But this comes after going through Epiphone, Larrivee D03, a J45 custom, a second Larrivee, d40, a Taylor 810 first edition and a Guild Orpheum slope shoulder.
![Victory Amps MK Clean & OD [With Martin Kidd & Lee Anderton]](/img/1.gif)
All sounded great. Other than Martin/Gibson, no other model numbers are identified. It would be nice to know what they were.
I have long contended that "the internet" has been mic'ing acoustic guiters incorrectly because everyone points the mic at the 12th fret, literally the nodal point where no meaningful sound is created, rather than at the bridge where the sound comes from, and this video confirms that. Every time Quinton swings the guitar over toward Paul the sound improves dramatically.
Finally, someone agrees with me!!
The J45 was instantly recognised by me too. There really is something about that Gibson sound. Might have been interesting if a hummingbird had been thrown in the mix.
Changing the axis of the guitar a few degrees or position my an inch can drastically change the sound. In my experience, the best mic placement depends on the guitar, the guitarist, the mic, preamp, the room, and the desired effect. Rules are only starting points for dialing the desired sound/tone.
That's a very sharp observation.
These tests seem almost meaningless when they play in a room full of guitars. Each instrument would be more distinguishable in a room by itself without sound going into and back out of the other guitars.
I am a big martin fan myself but was pleasantly surprised with both the Taylor and the Yamaha, both had a very unique sound and were my top 2
The top on that Eastman dread is gorgeous!
Excellent video. My favorite is the Guild, followed by the Yamaha.
Who doesn’t like a good blindfold challenge? Great job guys!
This is so absurdly true. It’s crazy! Thanks for pointing this out.
It's not the "j45" signature sound, it's literally the slope shoulder signature sound. You're gonna have less vibration, any slope shoulder will sound stiffer than regular dreads when strummed, if he were finger picking it becomes easier to distinguish because of the depth of the bass notes, it is physically deeper than regular dreads, otherwise put an adirondack spruce top on of them and you get, what back in the days used to be, the banjo killer! Also, this dude strums those guitars in a very weird way with emphasis on high b and e strings, or at least this is how it comes across on yt.
I’m glad Paul knew the J45. He helped me choose mine a couple years ago.
Surprised by the eastman --- a good sounding guitar!
I liked the Eastman over the Martin. The J45 stood out with its own tone as did the Taylor with some good articulation. I like to hear someone play the guitar for me so I can stand back and listen. Always sounds different from actually having it on your lap. Lot of fun here and no duds in the bunch.
I believe the Eastman is Mahogany b/s and the Martin is Rosewood b/s... I personally prefer the sound of Mahogany on b/s, especially on a dreadnaught. I wish they would have put the D18 in the mix instead of the 28
This was super fun. I wonder if the guitars were played with flat picking runs of that would have made it any easier?
It’s worth remembering that what you like in the video is at least 2 steps away from what the guitars sound like in real life. It’s dependent on the mic setup, the audio interface, RUclips encoding and the speakers/headphones that you hear it through. Blind tests are fun and interesting but I won’t be basing my next purchase on the sound of any guitar from a video
That is how the blindfold guy picked the Martin.
My opinion is The J45, then Martin, then Yamaha then, guild, eastman, Taylor.
Nice job, Paul!
J45 tone is so signature. The fact that Yamaha can be mistaken for D28 is a huge credit to them.
I've got an LL16 Yamaha...it is the best sounding guitar I've ever heard but the action is very tense and stiff....hard to play it for more then an hour.....refretted it with stainless frets myself. Got the neck so I could lower the relief to .007....made a huge difference but still has a ton of tension in the neck...probably the way the neck was set...it's a cannon....it's known to be a better copy of a D-28 then a D-28. Problem is chinese quality production. You got a 50/50 chance you'll get one without a hump in the neck somewhere....ah....just like the Martins! I have a friend who has a D-45 that won't capo without buzzing. A sure sign of a neck that's not perfect. If you consider a Yamaha LL-16 then take a capo...if the action is at a resonable height and it capo's the 1st three frets with minumum buzzes then the neck is pretty good. (And it sounds like a cannon). Can't buy these things from sweetwater/internet or you'll be sending them back multiple times to get a good one and they'll try to sell you everything to get it right. (While reducing the fret height such as a plek) I believe they used a red label yamaha in this video. FG5 or 3 ??? I like the LL16's and up better.
Yamaha makes great guitars. They even give you torrified wood on many models for $1,000 to 1,500.
I'm not as crazy about the non-scalloped Martin's... They don't really sound like the classic Martin sound to me... Easy to mistake for a Yamaha.... Which can make some of the Yamahas sound more open than some new martins, in my experience.... I may have liked the Eastman more than that particular Martin.
1. J-45, 2. Martin, 3. Eastman, 4. Guild, 5. Yamaha, and the least favorite was the Taylor. Although, 1 - 5 are extremely close and I’d be happy with anyone one of them. Great job fellas!
Great video as always
I was surprised that he said that all but the Guild sounded close. To my ears, the Eastman was quite noticeably heavier on the bass end compared to all of the others.
It's always fun watching Anderton's make similar videos... My favorites are when they compare custom shop guitar Fenders to Squires and they can't tell the difference.
Especially when they chose the Player series as their #1 😂😂
@@kerbyfab or when they hand Pete is own guitar and he can't even tell its his beloved purple Tele.
I love my Yamaha FG5 and FS5. Wonderful guitars! I also have a top of the line Seagull Artist Mosaic. Such a good guitar but when I pick up my Yamaha FG5 after playing the Seagull the difference in sheer power and projection is clear. Those red label guitars are gems! Regarding other guitars in this video I loved the Guild. I always seem to love the Guild sound. Just wow. Martin great. Gibson J45 has that special great sound. Different. The Eastman was second last for me and the Taylor was last with that bright Taylor sound. Top 4 in random order: YAMAHA, Martin, Guild and Gibson. Thanks guys.
I think the Martin and the Guild were smoother. The Taylor more distinctive. The j45 best overall. At least to my hears ( or speakers!) But ALL GOOD. Eastman and Yamaha best bang for the buck.
This is my subjective opinion. We did the same thing with Bourbons. We got about a 40% success rate.
Thank you for videos
Can't wait to get out and visit you all some day!
happy to see my red label in there :P
I think I need one too 😆
you do! it's wonderful both in playability and sound (and price for that matter). @@ralfybaby
Why be so vague, unless you know, you don’t know… are you talking about the guitar the refer to as Yamaha. Pretty sure you are, but for others, clarity is inclusive.
@@wheninroamful apparently i do and you don't. however, i suggest you contact the creators of the video to specify the models shown lol
Il like the Taylor best... Clear yet warm and punchy ! Does anyone knows the model played by Quinton ??
Can you please tell what Taylor model is it? Thank you.
I like the Guild/J45/Yamaha, in descending order. I was surprised that the Martin was meh for me.
Verrry different and fun comparison. 🙏
Well done Paul.
I'd be interested to know the models of the Yamaha, Eastman, Taylor and Guild, as we already know the identity of the J-45 and the D-28.
That Eastman was incredible....lots of bottom end. Interesting to hear the Gibson second....lacks the bottom end of the eastman. I'd take the eastman and buy two for the price of the gibson...get two..a solid Rosewood and solid Mahogony back to have the different sounds
Is that a guild d40 or d50?
Despite different brands, and the same acoustic box model, do these guitars have the same pair of woods? Stika and mahogany?
It is interesting how different most of these guitars sound when turned away from the microphone.
What models?
Agreed, most can be guessed, but a few minutes extra to list the models would've been great.
You should try this test again with an Epiphone Masterbilt in the mix. I have a Century De Luxe that was being sold at a steal of a price. I was crazy to pass it up. I'm glad I didn't.
What models please?
J45 all the way for me, you just can’t beat that sound.
Scientific proof that you can hear sunburst finishes lol
What are the prices on all those?
Who doesn’t get a childlike smile and excitement from a blindfold test?!! Well, maybe blind guys, but most everyone loves them!
As a 50 year player, I always select the loudest guitar. I'd rather be told to play quieter than never be heard.
Paul has a preference for short scale, mahogany and spruce.
He is not the only one, as it is distinctive. Those were not the only ones I could determine. I play a J-45 banner, a D-28 with Adirondack VTS top, a Taylor 717e Builders Edition, and an Eastman E22SS-V-sb (not used in this demo). I have thought about Guild and bought one for a grandson. I have also purchased Yamaha FS 830s as donations: that Yamaha did not sound like that. Thanks Quinton and Paul.
Guild for the win, then Yamaha and Gibson
Brilliantly done. The Yamaha stands up great.
Eastman and Martin for me.
Gibson and Taylor always seem to stand out to me. All great guitars though and I'm glad to see Yamaha competing here as they are very underrated.
It's so funny - when you know what brand they are you immediately think - ah yes, of course it's that!
I prefer the Guild! But I don’t know about Guild and I don’t have one yet 😜😜😜
What was the model of guild?
I preferred the Taylor over any of the others by a long way.
Can you please tell what Taylor model is it? Thank you.
@@MongolWorshipit’s a 517
Quinten’s shoulder better?
Is that a D-55 Guild?
No, that is a Guild D-40 Standard that they came out with recently. It has that semi-gloss nitro finish, unlike the D-40 Traditional (gloss finish), and the D-40 (satin finish).
Thanks!
@@GaryGBrownI looked at that Guild more closely and it's a D-50 Standard with that same semi-gloss (Vintage Gloss is what they call it) finish. The back and sides are Rosewood, so it would sound more like a D-55 than a D-40.
I listened but did not watch, upon hearing the 6th guitar I thought it sounded best and thought it was a Martin. it's significantly better than the others.
Just proves that Taylor is the best at making guitars that will cut through a mix and remain articulate when played acoustic. And man, Paul named that J45 no problem…twice😂
Paul did Great.!!!
Brave👏🏼
Some considerations, in addition to my compliments for your excellent video. The sound of a J45 is something unique, and is unmistakable. Also for Guild: same thing. This matters a lot for a guitar. I have a J45, which I adore and which I also preferred to a D-18 precisely because of its personal and unique tone. Confusing a D28, on the other hand, is paradoxically very 'easy', because it is the model that more or less all dreadnoughts are inspired by. Guild has the best value overall. Yamaha absolutely needs a rebranding. It should release its guitars under a different brand, completely reinventing its image. No guitarist who is not a beginner would ever want to be seen with a Yamaha. It's a fact. It doesn't happen for example with Eastman: this is also a fact.
As a Yammie (and Alvie) fan and owner and an I don't want to be a Martin fanboi I have to admit that I like the Martin best.
Yammie as a close second.
The J45 was an easy pick.
They should have let the blindfold guy play them too.
And they should have played a few more lines on a single string with each guitar, that's how the blindfold guy picked out the Martin
if you wear the blindfold upside down, it won't cover your ears. Just sayin' ... Awesome video guys! Always love the blindfold challenges here at AC
we’ve all probably seen the bumper stickers that say “start seeing motorcycles” Probably makes no difference but the point it people see with their brain more than their eyes. The same may be true of our hearing.
I wouldn't describe Eastman as iconic.
nice
Finger packing as much easier to discern
Having heavy material over the ears can't help.
I still find that a lot of people choose a guitar for it's looks and playability out of the box.
It is my opinion that almost every new guitar will play it's best after being set up for the owners playing style.
It might have been helpful if his ears weren't covered.
Taylor and Martin, not necessarily in that order.
Yamaha and Taylor are weak and tinny compared to the other ones!
D-28 is better than all.
I never heard J45 sound this terrible, good job.
FIRST! 👍🏻
Really proud of you bud
@@HeliBenj 😂
Тейлор как всегда тщедушный безжизненный звук, Ямаха стеклянная синтетика как и ВСЕ эти японские инструменты, Гибсон суховатый узнаваемый звук, Гилд и Мартин молодцы. Вот и все.
Mind you, taylors are famous for their amazing mid range, and, when amplified with a good pickup(not their ES2 system) it can produce amazing tones. Also they're great in the studio for this reason because the mic picks up the sound in a better way, at least that's my experience. I agree with you on the Yamaha, I don't like it at all. Martins have a very specific "glow" to their sound, it's like it has more reverb. The guilds are somewhat a "common guitar sound" for me, I used to own a slope shoulder adirondack one and it didn't have the mojo I needed. I now own a Santa Cruz Pre War Dreadnought and a slope shoulder guitar built by a luthier friend from Northern Ireland, and I just don't find the need to get any new one or change them because I'm getting bored. But this comes after going through Epiphone, Larrivee D03, a J45 custom, a second Larrivee, d40, a Taylor 810 first edition and a Guild Orpheum slope shoulder.