Epiphonic Blind Test

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fenson
Posts: 372
Joined: Thu May 07, 2015 2:18 pm

Epiphonic Blind Test

Post by fenson »

Hi All,

if you please to day I propose this Blind Test based ont this lovely Song orginally written by Chris Cornell titled "Black Hole Sun".
A finger picking transcription that tries to capture its beautiful melody.


BlindTest.mp3 - (7.37 MiB)

As subject lets suppose, half part of this take has been played with my Epiphone ES 339,
the other half was performed on a real ES-339 studio by Gibson (I borrowed from my favorite
guitar shop for the occasion, since I don't have one)
Guitars substition occurred at 1.45.
.
Amp is once again my Blues Cube connected to my laptop with an USB cable, no pedal, no effect
other than what the amp offers to shape the sound.

The question is: which part has ben played with little sister Epi or the real Gibson?

Nothing to win except my congrats, obviously :wink:

IF
"Don't be afraid by wrong notes, it doesn't exist" Miles Davis.
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12bar
Site Admin
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Joined: Thu Mar 25, 2010 12:05 pm

Re: Epiphonic Blind Test

Post by 12bar »

Chances are about 50%... :lol:
I think the first one is the Gibson, but I can't tell you why :think:
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VikingBlues
Posts: 4466
Joined: Sat Apr 03, 2010 7:44 pm

Re: Epiphonic Blind Test

Post by VikingBlues »

Hmmmm???!! :think:

The first guitar seemed to have more clarity of individual notes and the second guitar a thicker sound.

As to whether that should make one a Gibson and one an Epiphone is beyond me!

Bit if I was to believe that the Gibson pickups were of superior quality I guess that would mean I'd say the first one was the Gibson.

But I did in my time have two Gibson SGs and on one the pickups were great and on the other (not kept for long) they were an abomination.
So who knows! :icon_whoknows:
An improv a day keeps the demons at bay!
fenson
Posts: 372
Joined: Thu May 07, 2015 2:18 pm

Re: Epiphonic Blind Test

Post by fenson »

Only 2 gamblers ?

4 days left ;-)
"Don't be afraid by wrong notes, it doesn't exist" Miles Davis.
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Blindboy
Posts: 1787
Joined: Sun Apr 04, 2010 3:34 pm

Re: Epiphonic Blind Test

Post by Blindboy »

:icon_whoknows:
They sound very close to me. I agree with VB that the first one sounds a bit more articulate and the second one a bit thicker. My experience with Gibson and Epiphone (I have and play both) tells me that this could be a toss up. So, simply to cover the bases, I'll guess that the second guitar was the Gibson.
"Throw yo' big leg over me Mama, I might not feel this good again!"
fenson
Posts: 372
Joined: Thu May 07, 2015 2:18 pm

Re: Epiphonic Blind Test

Post by fenson »

And the Winner is BlindBoy :clap: :clap: :clap: :thumbsup:
"Don't be afraid by wrong notes, it doesn't exist" Miles Davis.
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VikingBlues
Posts: 4466
Joined: Sat Apr 03, 2010 7:44 pm

Re: Epiphonic Blind Test

Post by VikingBlues »

Congrats Blindboy!! :thumbsup:
It's interesting how none of the three of us were at all sure, despite Blindboy and I both agreeing on a basic sound type for the two guitar sounds.

I know that about the time my interest veered away from electric and towards acoustic guitar the trend for pickups was for more power and that did seem to result in rather thicker sounds in so many cases. Great if you like it, but ......
It meant that I kept replacing stock pickups on new guitars.

For me a cheaper, cleaner sounding pickup - say an Alnico 5, would be getting my vote ahead of a more expensive, thicker sounding pickup - say a slightly souped up Alnico 5.
An improv a day keeps the demons at bay!
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Blindboy
Posts: 1787
Joined: Sun Apr 04, 2010 3:34 pm

Re: Epiphonic Blind Test

Post by Blindboy »

fenson wrote: Fri Oct 20, 2017 4:04 pm And the Winner is BlindBoy :clap: :clap: :clap: :thumbsup:
Woo Hoo! :high5:
I wasn't sure, but I agree with VB that many new high end guitars have pickups that are not the same as the vintage ones. My favorite Strat pickups that I have tried are my mid 70's pickups on my Strat and the mid 60's versions on my friends '64 Strat that is still his main working guitar. I haven't been able to tell if the difference between the P-90's on my Casino and the original 1952 P-90 on my ES-125 is due to the thinner body, the difference in the thickness of the top, or possibly the old, tired magnets, but it isn't a big difference. I don't have a Gibson 335 to compare to my new Sheraton, but it really doesn't sound quite like the 1969 ES-340 I played last year. Again, there are many factors for that difference. I just try to work with what I have in my hands, and make adjustments on volume and tone on the guitar, or on the amp.
"Throw yo' big leg over me Mama, I might not feel this good again!"
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