Another Fun Side-By-Side!

[lawson-stone]

I'm back with another fun side-by-side comparison of two great guitars. I've been learning yet another Jimmy Raney solo from the Aebersold Vol. 20, and since the solo is memorized and I use a standardized backing track, it's easy to superimpose two different guitars and then segment them.

This is a Gibson L5ces and an Aria Pro II PE180. The amp is a Princeton Reverb Re-Issue, the special edition from Sweetwater that uses the 12" speaker. It's mic'd with a Bluebird Blue, into a PreSonus Audiobox iTwo thing-a-ma-bob, and then into my iPhone Lightning port. I've tried to make the volumes equal, but otherwise everything is the same on the guitars and amp.

I've masked the guitars, not to challenge anyone to guess, but I'd really just enjoy hearing how your experienced and discerning ears would characterize the tone of #1 and #2. Both guitars are wonderful instruments. Funny, but playing them through the Polytone I noticed how similar they sounded; but playing through the Princeton, I hear more differences. It seems like the Princeton catches some of the differences among my guitars, while the Polytone tended to make them all sound more alike.

Anyhow, for your entertainment and contemplation...

[WilliamScott]

I don't think my ears are equal. I wish they had both been at the same pan. Anyways, I thought number one had a clearer sound overall.

[citizenk74]

I thought both sounded nice (nice playing, LS!), with #1 having a tad more upper-mids. I would love to have either instrument. My thoroughly unqualified opinion (guess) is: L-5CES #1; Aria #2. Thanks for this demo, Lawson!

[Greentone]

I'm going to go the opposite of citizen74: #1 Aria; #2 L5 CES. I liked them both. Thanks for the clip.

[Jimmy Mack]

Hey what do I know! I liked the sound of the rhythm guitar - very old school! The guitar #1 just sounds clearer, brighter.

[rpjazzguitar]

I thought 2 was thicker and warmer.

If I was playing 1 and got that sound, I'd be trying to dial out some treble, or something, to make it sound more like 2.

I don't know if this makes any sense, but 1 put me in mind of an L5 and 2 put me in mind of an ES175. Or, 1 used the bridge or both pickups and 2 used the neck pickup.

[lawson-stone]

I'm going to go the opposite of citizen74: #1 Aria; #2 L5 CES. I liked them both. Thanks for the clip.

You've played an Aria PE180 a bit for sure.

[lawson-stone]

Hey what do I know! I liked the sound of the rhythm guitar - very old school! The guitar #1 just sounds clearer, brighter.

Jimmy Raney is my rhythm guitarist... just sayin, you know.

[lawson-stone]

I hadn't intended this as a guessing game, but it's fun and helpful to hear your characterizations of the tone. Whether or not you get the guitar right, the tone descriptions are really helpful.

For the record, #1 is the Aria and #2 is the L5ces. Funny how, when I did this through the Polytone, it was very hard to distinguish these two guitars. But through the Princeton Reverb, their differences do stand out even if it's still subtle.

[Jimmy Mack]

As another observation, in my headphones, guitar #2 is quieter, but both guitars are overpowered by the backing guitar track! So #1 has a better chance of standing out in the mix due to being brighter. It would be nice for the guitars to come forward ITM, better to hear their differences.
L5 sounds quieter and muddy. Some call that warmer. Its not my headphones.

[Gabor]

Thanks for the test

Maybe I am missing something, but can not find which is which, so (at least for me) this is a blind test. (perfect)
Great playing.
I love the #1 (right channel). However this could be because it is a bit louder, either the mix or the amp itself. Anyway I hear there a definite mojo, what I can not discover in the #2 (left channel).

PS: I've just discovered #1 is the Aria...

[Greentone]

As a fellow owner of one of the Aria PE-180 guitars (albeit under a different badge), I can attest that these guitars are pretty satisfying as 17" jazz boxes.

I'll be gigging with mine on Friday, as it happens.

[lawson-stone]

As a fellow owner of one of the Aria PE-180 guitars (albeit under a different badge), I can attest that these guitars are pretty satisfying as 17" jazz boxes.I'll be gigging with mine on Friday, as it happens.

I never pick mine up without grinning. Something about that guitar just makes me happy. It sounds really, really nice through my Fender Princeton Reverb RI.