# A/B blind test of two acoustic guitars



## Alex (Feb 11, 2006)

Short clips of two guitars. Which one do you prefer sound / tone wise?

Guitar A






Guitar B







and a strumming clip


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## gtrguy (Jul 6, 2006)

A


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## Wardo (Feb 5, 2010)

A


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## greco (Jul 15, 2007)

B (I did vote in the poll)
Admittedly, it was very difficult to decide. Both sounded excellent in their own way.


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## Acoustic Tom (Apr 6, 2020)

I prefer B .


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## loudtubeamps (Feb 2, 2012)

A.....sounds fuller, warmer.
B has a nice punch and clarity but sounds a bit mid heavy .
A


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## Roots-Picker (Dec 29, 2017)

For the passage you played, I thought that A sounded better. Nothing wrong with B, but it might be interesting to hear some fingerpicking or full strummed chords. My 2 cents....


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## crann (May 10, 2014)

A sounded better. Probably a lot to do with the size difference. I'd also guess A is rosewood b/s and the PRS is mahogany b/s. I tend to like the sound of recorded rosewood acoustics much better.


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## Davestp1 (Apr 25, 2006)

B


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## Alex (Feb 11, 2006)

Roots-Picker said:


> For the passage you played, I thought that A sounded better. Nothing wrong with B, but it might be interesting to hear some fingerpicking or full strummed chords. My 2 cents....


I added a strumming clip in the original post.


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## Ronniedblues (Jan 29, 2021)

They both sound great to my ears!


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## greco (Jul 15, 2007)

Alex said:


> I added a strumming clip in the original post.


Oh ship...now I like "A" better. Changed my vote in the poll.


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## gretsch4me (Jun 2, 2018)

A

Sent from my SM-A520W using Tapatalk


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## Ship of fools (Nov 17, 2007)

B has some great under tones that are nice to hear and probably would record better. While A was very clean and percise it can only take you so far unless you are looking for a clean sound. Both have great potential to record so it would make a difference as to the song being played.


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## tdotrob (Feb 24, 2019)

I preferred A for what you were playing.


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## Lincoln (Jun 2, 2008)

I was leaning towards B until I got to the strumming video. That changed me to an A.


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## oldjoat (Apr 4, 2019)

same reason as above

A it is.


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## leftysg (Mar 29, 2008)

A...warmer, more depth to my ear. Would be curious what models we were listening to.


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## Rick in the Patch (Feb 28, 2021)

A


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## cbg1 (Mar 27, 2012)

A for me. B Has great presence in the mids and highs a bit to brittle for me though.
Were they both strung with the same strings?


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## BlueRocker (Jan 5, 2020)

I thought A - no contest


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## Roots-Picker (Dec 29, 2017)

Just listened to the 2nd clip you posted, Alex. A still wins, IMHO. (It’s sure fun comparing guitar tones, ain’t it?!...)


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## jdto (Sep 30, 2015)

I preferred the sound of A in these videos.


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## butterknucket (Feb 5, 2006)

A


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## mawmow (Nov 14, 2017)

The mellower B.
A has great bass tone, but its agressive highs killed it for me.


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## SWLABR (Nov 7, 2017)

A


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## Guncho (Jun 16, 2015)

A is a Yamaha?


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## Alex (Feb 11, 2006)

Guncho said:


> A is a Yamaha?


Nope. will post later.


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## bw66 (Dec 17, 2009)

Lincoln said:


> I was leaning towards B until I got to the strumming video. That changed me to an A.


Pretty much this. Are they both spruce tops? B sounded like it could be cedar.


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## guitarman2 (Aug 25, 2006)

A


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## nman (Sep 14, 2019)

Chose A but neither pleases my ears...I prefer brighter and more defined. Might be because my old ears have diminished perception of certain highs in the sound spectrum. Mid-range sounds honky to them.


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## keto (May 23, 2006)

B has 'small guitar syndrome', no balls. Would cut a mix great, with the right mic/PA/mixer/etc depending on situation as it does have strong mids, but for a solo instrument, meh. 'A' far superior, the richer rounder yes warmer tone. Crisp top, nothing at all wrong with that.

On looking again, can see the blue one (PRS?) has a mahogany body, looks like the first is rosewood, that difference would account for some of the richness for sure if I'm right. Hog is crisp and clear, and DRY, at least I found the GSMini I had to be so that I recently traded away. I loved the sound at first, but came to miss the warmth.


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## jdto (Sep 30, 2015)

Guncho said:


> A is a Yamaha?


Looks like a Boucher Studio Goose


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## Alex (Feb 11, 2006)

jdto said:


> Looks like a Boucher Studio Goose


A: Santa Cruz OM Custom
B: PRS SE Tonare P20


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## MarkM (May 23, 2019)

I donay like the finish on B, I did like the sound more.

I really can't hear well so take that with a grain of salt.


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## jdto (Sep 30, 2015)

Alex said:


> A: Santa Cruz OM Custom
> B: PRS SE Tonare P20


Nice! Quite a sweet pairing. I thought it might be a Boucher based on the binding and pickguard shape, but now that you’ve revealed it, I can see the differences that distinguish it as the Santa Cruz (after comparing pics). What a guitar! They use similar designs in their binding and rosette, but Boucher’s pickguard is lighter colour and a different shape.


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## YaReMi (Mar 9, 2006)

Voted .. definitely A - much fuller sound: B guitar sounds low-fi.


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## Davestp1 (Apr 25, 2006)

I liked B when I first voted. Then you posted the strumming clip and I preferred A in that clip. It just sounded much nicer when strummed.


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## b-nads (Apr 9, 2010)

A sounds like a guitar you'll get a lot more dynamics from.


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## nbs2005 (Mar 21, 2018)

Both of those tones would have their use. If I had to pick one, it would be A.


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## BMW-KTM (Apr 7, 2015)

This comparison wasn't what I thought it would be. I guess I expected they would be reasonably close but they're not.

A is good. Not stellar exactly but pretty decent.

B is just wrong. I would choose it as a prop if I was going to reenact a scene from that old cartoon Quick Draw McGraw.
"El Kabong!!"


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