Re: A few specific questions about testing wood influence on tone
If someone wants to make an experiment for the sake of science, why not let him do so?
That's a fair point, but by my judgement everything Drex has suggested for his test is almost a guarantee NOT to understand the differences. I appreciate the fact Drex is focused more on whether theres a delta, and let the masses argue whether that delta is large enough to be of value. But that can also be answered in the theoretical by magnifying the variance. Everyone would agree that making one guitar body out of rubber, and the other out of marble would affect NOT ONLY the acoustic sound, but the plugged in sound as well.
"But how is that possible if the pickup only hears magnetically?!" Because the material at either end of the string changes the way the string vibrates of course. So by narrowing the scope to Mahogany vs Alder for example, we already know there's a delta. Your ability to measure it is inconsequential.
I agree there's no room for vitriol on this subject. But Drex is asking for our opinions in this thread about his proposed methodology for testing. People can make an argument about his methodology that is not favorable. That might not be what Drex wants to hear on the forum, but that's not a slag.
That being said, in my humble opinion and with all due respect, Drex is out of his depth. If one was prepared for this kind of endeavor, one can't question whether you can remove some or many of the conditions that make an electric guitar what it is. I really don't even know where to begin. If the test doesn't include the regular body size, a neck, strings, etc it's ignoring the driving mechanism. If it doesn't include multiple notes, chords, velocities, and picking locations, it ignores the musicians' influence over the delta.
You need frets. Regardless of how high the action is, with a hard pick attack the initial clank of the string against the fret tops produces (and dramatically alters) the high frequency content. You need to move up and down the fretboard. You may have to get to a barred A chord before hearing the most difference in one wood type, while a G chord magnifies another.
In other words, I've seen musicians grab two different guitars and be able to play in such a way that they can say "see, this one doesn't do THAT as easily as the other one". The types of frequencies that are present in the decay of a note can dictate whether or not it decays pleasingly, stops bluntly, or slips into a controlled feedback loop.
The other component you need is SPL. The electric guitar responds to moderate to loud amps. There's a biofeedback loop you aren't even mentioning. That's the WOOD vibrating in tandem. Of course that is different with Ash than it is with Alder. It's so simple yet we want to make it complicated.
Drex I can't hold your hand through all of this, carry on if you must, and I'll try to help where I can. But at this point your very far away from yielding a meaningful result.
