I'm a new member, and I brought some good stuff!

carlfranklin · #1 02-29-2012, 09:52 PM

I've been playing for 33 years, acoustic and electric. I have a Taylor K20 which I love for recording. Not so loud in a bluegrass or all acoustic ensemble, but that's ok.

I'm also a producer and own a sweet studio in New London, CT. I want to share this video I've recently done with a guitar expert comparing controlled recordings of four very nice guitars: My K20 which is all koa, a Taylor 714ce (rosewood back/sides, engelmann spruce top), a Santa Cruz Roy Southerner (mahogany back/sides, sitka spruce top), and a McPherson 4.5 (beeswing mahogany back/sides, adirondack spruce top). We show the spectral analysis of each recording so you can visibly see the difference the wood makes (we hypothesize anyway) and the tone of each guitar.

Very interested to get your feedback on this. Here's the link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ej-2_p83mWg

Cheers!

Carl

JoeCharter · #2 02-29-2012, 10:04 PM

I have to say this is one of very few "new" productions that actually looks professional. Better than lots of established productions out there. You guys are doing a great job. I hope you get the kind of traction to keep this going.

Congrats!

RustyAxe · #3 02-29-2012, 10:07 PM

Any connection to Caruso's?

martin82 · #4 03-01-2012, 02:53 AM

Great job, Carl. Very interesting analysis. I wonder how my two taylors would stack up.

carlfranklin · #5 03-01-2012, 05:03 AM

Rusty, I've known the Caruso brothers for years.

lennylux · #6 03-01-2012, 05:17 AM

Wow the Santa Cruz is a real nasally strummer I found...

GibbyPrague · #7 03-01-2012, 05:35 AM

That was very enjoybable, I really like the 'conversationa' approach as it keeps me intrested and is highly involving. Learnt a new fact how Santa Cruz bases their building from the violin approach. Interesting. I subscribed !

carlfranklin · #8 03-01-2012, 05:49 AM

Lennylux, the recordings weren't EQd, so they aren't the best for listening. I didn't find the sweet spot for each guitar. Rather, I wanted to compare with all other things being equal. The Santa Cruz actually sounds huge in person. All those lovely overtones sound great to the ear, but can cause a problem when recording.

You may want to check out this follow up blog post I did to go into spectral analysis a bit deeper:

http://carlfranklin.net/blog/2012/2/...ore-depth.html

SalFromChatham · #9 03-01-2012, 06:41 AM

Gasing for that Santa Cruz! Your production should not be on the web; it should be on PBS. What a great job.

And what great conversation surrounding the tonal characteristics of the different woods.

razorfish · #10 03-01-2012, 07:02 AM

Your video was referenced a week or two ago on this forum... Very interesting stuff.

You're going to fit it well around here!

Welcome.

Bob Womack · #11 03-01-2012, 08:12 AM

Nice comparison work.

Bob

mc1 · #12 03-01-2012, 09:22 AM

i found the video enjoyable. i'm not really into comparing guitar tonewoods to wine, but it's kind of fun in a light hearted way.

i don't really see how this shines much light on the differences in tonewoods, however, and i was a little frustrated by the promises ("does the wood really matter, does mahogany sound different than rosewood? we'll answer these questions today...")

as richard mentions in the video, body size shape, belly radius, soundhole position, cantilevered fretboards, stiffened necks, bracing patterns, etc, etc, all contribute to the sound. these guitars are all very different in design. not to mention other items like strings. so i think one would be foolish to use this video to determine the difference between mahogany and rosewood.

as richard also points out, the difference between good koa and bad koa is significant. he also mentions the lengths santa cruz goes to to find good mahogany.

sorry to sound so negative. my gripe is really just about the slant that this will answer questions about what different tonewoods sound like. i liked hearing the different guitars and the discussion. i enjoyed the playing. the camera work and editing was also very well done.

look forward to more.

vic@leftiesonly · #13 03-01-2012, 09:38 AM

Really nice job. Fascinating to watch. Looking forward to seeing more.

Now, a quibble ...

Given your access to the studio and equipment, I'd really like to see you record those guitars with some better mics than a Rode NT-4. I understand the premise behind trying to be linear with the guitars, but I really found the audio samples to not be very representative of what those guitars would sound like properly miked.

I don't think you need to EQ or use compression on them, or tune to each particular guitar, but a pair of nice condensers (Schoeps) in an x-y off the neck joint or 12th fret through good mic preamps would make all the difference in the world and really let us hear some of the tonal nuances.

Not a knock on the Rode NT-4 -- I own one -- but just a comment that there are much better mics and techniques that I'm sure you're very familiar with. Hearing how these guitars sound properly mic'd is always revealing. Check the SoundPure website for some of their demos, which are very well done (aside from that annoying burst of drum machine at the beginning of each recording).

I would love to offer you some of my Lowdens, Schenks and Huss and Daltons to feature, but I don't think you'd be able to demo them left-handed.

ebick · #14 03-01-2012, 09:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by carlfranklin

I've been playing for 33 years, acoustic and electric. I have a Taylor K20 which I love for recording. Not so loud in a bluegrass or all acoustic ensemble, but that's ok.

I'm also a producer and own a sweet studio in New London, CT. I want to share this video I've recently done with a guitar expert comparing controlled recordings of four very nice guitars: My K20 which is all koa, a Taylor 714ce (rosewood back/sides, engelmann spruce top), a Santa Cruz Roy Southerner (mahogany back/sides, sitka spruce top), and a McPherson 4.5 (beeswing mahogany back/sides, adirondack spruce top). We show the spectral analysis of each recording so you can visibly see the difference the wood makes (we hypothesize anyway) and the tone of each guitar.

Very interested to get your feedback on this. Here's the link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ej-2_p83mWg

Cheers!

Carl

Hi Carl, didn't put it together til I started watching the vid (which I'll have to get back to....after work lol) but I know you! I met you some time ago via Steve K at SS&C Technologies.

For the record y'all, knowing Carl, the quality of the vid is no surprise to me.

oldrocker · #15 03-01-2012, 10:15 AM

Carl. Excellently produced, interesting, and informationally fascinating video. Really really good. Thank you and I hope to see you a lot here...and welcome!