Blackface sounds - A "scientific experiment"

[Frank67]

Hi TieDyedDevil,

thanks for the detailed feedback! I think that you are right on all accounts. the eq'ing was certainly not optimized. Actually, the eq controls were pretty much flat on all these amps. The volume was neighbour compatible though not terribly quiet (and not entirely even). The solid state amps are pretty linear though and the only one that would have profited substantially for higher volumes was the real twin IMHO. I was somewhat careful with having the mic in comparable positions. ... The cell phone thing is a bit embarassing but you are right of course.

I guess, for me the bottom line is that the differences in the sound of pretty diverse gear are a fair bit less dramtic than many of us like to believe ... So my time is spent best practicing :-)

[TieDyedDevil]

... the differences in the sound of pretty diverse gear are a fair bit less dramatic than many of us like to believe ...

Obviously one can set up strawman arguments to disprove the thesis, but I believe that within certain categories of sound and behavior the minute differences are in fact overblown, mainly to the benefit of folks who'd like to sell a "new and improved" piece of gear.

In my experience, there are a lot of low-cost and no-cost changes that can have a bigger impact upon one's sound than buying new gear. For example: adjustments to existing controls; playing with fingers vs. a plectrum; choice of plectrum; picking technique and position; size and type of strings; new strings vs. "aged" strings, etc.

I tend to select gear now more for ergonomics and appearance than I do for sound.