# Acoustic blind test?



## Lincoln (Jun 2, 2008)

Something I've always wanted to do.........go into the acoustic room of a music store when it's not busy, put on a blindfold, get someone to keep handing you guitars to play without you knowing what they are......play them all, and choose a favorite on just tone & feel. I think it would be very intersting to see how much we are infuenced by brand names even if it's on a sub-conscience level.

Even make it a music store you're not familier with so you don't even know for sure what brands/guitars are on the walls.

Has anybody ever done something like this? Good clean fun or what??


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## Guest (Feb 18, 2014)

I'd imagine this is what Jeff Healey did all his life.


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## Bubb (Jan 16, 2008)

Never done it,but it sounds like fun .
Another thing to try would be to have somebody else play , while you sat blindfolded in front of them ,and see which ones sound best to you from a listening position and see if you like the tones of the same one as you do playing .


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## bw66 (Dec 17, 2009)

I haven't really wanted to do this exactly, but I have thought about taking my S&P Showcase into the acoustic room at Cosmo to see how it compares. Or even to take a $800 guitar off the wall downstairs and try it upstairs. It seems that everything I pick up sounds great in that room and I'm beginning to believe that it's as much about the room as the instruments in it.


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## fredyfreeloader (Dec 11, 2010)

My guitars sound the same wherever I play them, living room, small sort of man cave, on the toilet. I've never tried them in the shower, I don't want to get them wet. I must admit the bathroom sound with all the tile work isn't the best.

:sAng_scream: :smiley-faces-75:


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## zontar (Oct 25, 2007)

I'd go for it.


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## smorgdonkey (Jun 23, 2008)

I don't blindfold, but I don't look at the price until after I decide whether I like it or not. The brand is known to me because I simply can't avoid noticing what the brand is as I am ensuring it comes out of its hanger safely. I once tried 2 twelve strings back-to-back and it ended up that the Larrivee sounded so much obviously better than the Taylor that I was sure the Larri would be $1000 more...but it was $200 less.


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## GUInessTARS (Dec 28, 2007)

Did this last year at a local store, I did know the brands they had but didn't know which guitar I was playing.
The results were not eye opening.
This also did not figure in the age of the strings, in a small market higher priced guitars sit for a while.
The brands were Fender, Epiphone, Gibson and Martin.


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## Steadfastly (Nov 14, 2008)

bw66 said:


> I haven't really wanted to do this exactly, but I have thought about taking my S&P Showcase into the acoustic room at Cosmo to see how it compares. Or even to take a $800 guitar off the wall downstairs and try it upstairs. It seems that everything I pick up sounds great in that room and_* I'm beginning to believe that it's as much about the room as the instruments in it.*_


Roy Thompson Hall in Toronto (and I'm sure similar theatres) are built with this in mind. For example, the seating is designed to have the same sound absorption as an average human being so when the group practices, it will sound the same as when the theatre is full.

Yes, the room, furniture, etc. have a large part to do with the sound.


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## Lincoln (Jun 2, 2008)

GUInessTARS said:


> Did this last year at a local store, I did know the brands they had but didn't know which guitar I was playing.
> The results were not eye opening.
> This also did not figure in the age of the strings, in a small market higher priced guitars sit for a while.
> The brands were Fender, Epiphone, Gibson and Martin.


did the Martin win?


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## GUInessTARS (Dec 28, 2007)

It turned out to be modified double blind test, another guitar player listened with his back turned while I played some simple chord and melody passages.
Our results reflected our preferences in tone and playability, without knowing what the headstock said.
I recommend doing this test to anyone looking for a guitar.
Again, our results were what happened that day, with those particular instruments.
What we did learn is that successful companies do not get that way without learning how to make a quality product.


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