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AUDIO TEST: Maple+Maple vs. Alder+Rosewood!

CAST YOUR VOTE HERE!

  • BASS 1 is brighter than BASS 2. The MIX clip is BASS 1.

    Votes: 13 6.6%

  • BASS 1 is brighter than BASS 2. The MIX clip is BASS 2.

    Votes: 37 18.7%

  • BASS 2 is brighter than BASS 1. The MIX clip is BASS 1.

    Votes: 74 37.4%

  • BASS 2 is brighter than BASS 1. The MIX clip is BASS 2.

    Votes: 43 21.7%

  • I can't hear any difference whatsoever!

    Votes: 12 6.1%

  • I can hear a difference, but I have no clue which bass is being used in the mix.

    Votes: 19 9.6%
  • Total voters
    198
  • Poll closed .
#61
I was just about to delete my post when nachodaddy went and quoted me. #$*$#!!



-=DanAtkinson=- said:
:confused: :confused: :confused:

I was responding to his +1 reply to this statement: "Dan, you did leave off one pretty important selection: the voter can tell a difference in the individual bass tracks, but cannot tell which one is in the mix."

That option is indeed in the poll list.
Click to expand...

To clarify: there are two options lumped together in the bottom option in the poll.

1. Bass 1 is brighter than bass 2, but I cannot tell which is in the mix.

2. Bass 2 is brighter than bass 1, but I cannot tell which is in the mix.

As it sits, the poll only accepts votes about which bass is brighter in the solo examples IF the voter can tell which bass is used in the mix.

However it's too late now, so lets ignore me. :D
 
#65
-=DanAtkinson=- said:
Roundwounds are not allowed within a 10 mile perimeter of my house. I have a restraining order. ;)

But seriously, flats are perfectly fine. Are they less bright? Yes. But so are 250K pots. Should I have installed 500K pots?

Rounds would simply have made each bass brighter by the same degree. We'd still be hearing the same amount of difference between the basses.

Besides, it certainly appears most people are having no problem hearing a difference in tone. I know I'm not. My ears can easily identify which is brighter. (Identifying which bass was used for the mix is another story...)
Click to expand...

:rollno: Dan, we're only going to be happy if you take every variable into account and use separate clips for each one.

... :) Thanks so much for these tests, they're really fun and you can learn a lot through the discussion. Keep it up!
 
#67
BadJazz said:
Listen carefully to each file at about 23 seconds in for your answer.
Click to expand...

Does this mean the test has been partially compromised?

The ending doesn't necessarily mean they are the same clips just that similar endings are occurring for those particular clips. He could have fallen into a particular groove when he was recording those versus the other one
 
#74
What is hysterical about this test, is that I have two VMJ Squiers. One is maple. The other is agathis, according to Fender's page.

At any rate, the maple-body one is considerably brighter throughout, though I can get the fretless to growl pretty good too.

I picked that Bass 2 is the brighter bass, and that it's the one in the mix.
 
#76
mongo2 said:
Those same type of vibrating string characteristics still exist on a solidbody but the pickup has to have a very wide bandwidth and be very transparent to transduce them properly.

Then there's the fact that the position of the pickup limits what portion of the strings harmonics it transduces. That alone dooms a bass with only traditional electric pickups to having only a portion of it's available spectrum transduced which means a limited tonal pallete. That's not the fault of the wood. A body/neck/bridge mounted piezo pickup may work a bit better in that regard but they may have issues with artifacts of their own.
Click to expand...

Yes, that's why the type of wood in the body of the bass, and especially the wood in the neck, has a very small influence on tone, as compared to those other aspects of the bass.
 
#77
Bass 1 sounds smoother to me with bass 2 being the "brighter" one.

I'm also a drummer. When I think of a maple kit, I think of a overall even and warm tone. That's what bass 1 reminds me of. So, I think bass 1 is the maple/maple, and bass 2 is the alder/rosewood.

I decided on bass 2 as the one in the mix, but it was a difficult decision. I went back and forth, and I am still not confident. I think I hear the smoother tone of bass 1 in the mix, but the bass line stands out more like I would think bass 2 should. So I voted bass 2 in the mix.
 
#80
-=DanAtkinson=- said:
Rounds would simply have made each bass brighter by the same degree. We'd still be hearing the same amount of difference between the basses.
Click to expand...

Maybe in the spirit of these tests we should test that? weather the differences are easier to detect with rounds or with flats. I think the tonal differences between strings are much more complex than just brighter or darker and those could influence or mask our perception of other things.

-=DanAtkinson=- said:
Besides, it certainly appears most people are having no problem hearing a difference in tone. I know I'm not. My ears can easily identify which is brighter. (Identifying which bass was used for the mix is another story...)
Click to expand...

Agreed, this test is perfect as is! Thanks so much for putting these things together.
 

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