GJgo
Well-known member
Shit storm alert!!! Like probably a lot of other guys, I'm a gear whore & brand snob and statements like this get my hackles up.
So in the past I've done a few different close mic high gain pickup shootouts where I certainly thought I heard a difference. Lately as part of the "Only Recorded Tone Matters" debate proliferating everywhere, Fricker (among other claims) has posted a convincing blind test video with a follow up reveal that shows how when close mic recording high gain metal tones, the guitar and pickups literally don't matter. Within the confines of their testing I certainly heard his point. I will say this- before you start bitching, go watch the ENTIRE videos. He tends to calm down & get real towards the ends.
That said, I did have some concerns that dynamics were being washed out by their use of digital models of amps and/or digital models of speaker cabs so I wanted to do my own blind test using a full analog setup and see if it holds water. Here we have two guitars with different wood, different scale lengths, and completely different (and common) pickups- one active & one passive. The strings however are both new & the same kind. "In the room" I can swear they sound & feel different! We're running it into my Mark IIC++ (same settings for both) then out to a 4x12 loaded with 1999 G12T-75s in an isolation box. There's a SM57 panned hard right & and E609 panned hard left. Only one track was recorded, with just a hint of delay between them for width. The riffs are from one of my band TIGHTEN's songs.
The test I did below is blind with a reveal at the end. Rhythm first, lead second. Can you hear any difference that couldn't be washed away with a slight turn of a knob? I'll post my thoughts after I hear what some of you have to say.
So in the past I've done a few different close mic high gain pickup shootouts where I certainly thought I heard a difference. Lately as part of the "Only Recorded Tone Matters" debate proliferating everywhere, Fricker (among other claims) has posted a convincing blind test video with a follow up reveal that shows how when close mic recording high gain metal tones, the guitar and pickups literally don't matter. Within the confines of their testing I certainly heard his point. I will say this- before you start bitching, go watch the ENTIRE videos. He tends to calm down & get real towards the ends.
That said, I did have some concerns that dynamics were being washed out by their use of digital models of amps and/or digital models of speaker cabs so I wanted to do my own blind test using a full analog setup and see if it holds water. Here we have two guitars with different wood, different scale lengths, and completely different (and common) pickups- one active & one passive. The strings however are both new & the same kind. "In the room" I can swear they sound & feel different! We're running it into my Mark IIC++ (same settings for both) then out to a 4x12 loaded with 1999 G12T-75s in an isolation box. There's a SM57 panned hard right & and E609 panned hard left. Only one track was recorded, with just a hint of delay between them for width. The riffs are from one of my band TIGHTEN's songs.
The test I did below is blind with a reveal at the end. Rhythm first, lead second. Can you hear any difference that couldn't be washed away with a slight turn of a knob? I'll post my thoughts after I hear what some of you have to say.