Telling musicians to evaluate and choose their instruments in a “scientific” way?


How do you think this would go over?

“This mass produced guitar measures the same as your vintage Martin on my oscilloscope, so any difference you hear is just expectation bias.” “You need to do a double blind test to prove there’s a difference!” “Rosewood is rosewood, there’s no difference between this Brazilian that’s been seasoned for 20 years and that Indonesian that came off the boat a month ago, you’re being taken in!”

tommylion

Showing 1 response by perkri

I’ve wondered how the people over at ASR & audioholics audition gear? W a oscilloscope and calculator?

As far as musical instruments go, my friends late mother was a child prodigy/concert pianist. When she turned 21, she was given a new pre war Steinway Grand Piano. When talking to my friend about audio gear, he raised the issue of how the instrument, which was left pretty much unused after her passing, had deteriorated sonically. It is now with a friend of his, an opera singer, so it can be used regularly and be brought back to life. 
He was asking about speaker and them aging and getting better over time. Given that composites are used for the bulk of speakers, this isn’t really a thing.

I bought a wooden field camera years ago made out of ebony with titanium hardware to try to reduce the weight. They used wood that had been stored at a constant humidity and allowed to settle for years before being used. This to give it as much stability as possible before milling down.

I would be curious to see how aging effects the resonance of plywood. Certainly it will dry out and harden over time, potentially becoming brittle pending climate conditions. 
Instruments require resonance to work properly. Speakers, for the most part, avoid resonances.