tele vs 335. same pickup blind test

jake_xms3_punk

jake_xms3_punk

New member
Someone posted a thread not long ago about pickups being 90% of the tone so I thought I'd kinda try and put that to the test. I'm not trying to prove or disprove anything, its just meant to be a fun experiment.

Two different guitars, two TV Jones classic plus pickups.

both guitars have a Tv Jones classic plus in the bridge, 500k pots and .033 caps, also the strings are about the same age, pickup height is the same and the same plectrum was used etc etc also both pickups are 100% stock even the pole pieces are untouched

the Tele is a homebuilt partscaster made from one piece hard ash with a birds eye maple neck, steel bridge with 3 brass saddles.

the 335 is actually a 355 model by epiphone with a laminated maple body, not sure if the centre block is maple, mahogany or something else entirely, mahogany neck with an ebony fretboard and a bigsby tailpiece

I used the exact same method and settings to record all the clips, both guitars with all the controls on full were recorded straight into my computer with a marshall sim on amplitube on the stereo bus to ensure same exact amp settings for both guitars. totally unmixed too.


I wont tell you which order they are in or even if they are in the same order for both clips until later on

can you tell which is which?


Clean

OD

interested to hear your thoughts :D
 
Re: tele vs 335. same pickup blind test

Not sure if its just my connection, but the clips just were on a loading loop.....the page said the tracks were private too....not sure if thats a reason for it.
 
Re: tele vs 335. same pickup blind test

Clean, I'll take the second easily over the other. It had more depth and the first one was too harsh sounding.
OD, I'd want the first but there wasn't as much difference. In this case, the first had a little more depth and the second was a slight bit harsh.

Looking forward to finding out which one is which. That will help me decide which way to go one of these days.
 
Re: tele vs 335. same pickup blind test

I just went back and listened to them again. What a cool comparison. Thanks for doing that.
 
Re: tele vs 335. same pickup blind test

Clean: 2nd is 335.
Dirty: 1st is 335.

Dying to know if I got it right! Pm me!
 
Re: tele vs 335. same pickup blind test

For the clean, 335 first, a much warmer, woody body resonance ...and less twang. Also I get the sense I'm hearing the different fret board actions in the playing.

I'm going to say the Dirty 1st is the Tele, I think the string bend gives it away ..and the twang.
 
Re: tele vs 335. same pickup blind test

This is the way all comparisons should be. At least at first. Bravo.

I'm guessing the clean is Tele first, 335 second. And OD is 335 first and Tele second. PM the answer too if you're doing that please!
 
Re: tele vs 335. same pickup blind test

I'm going to say Tele first on both, 335 second. But I gotta say, I could BARELY tell the difference... especially on the OD samples, and only because I was really listening for it. :dunno:

Cool comparison, but to me it kind of drives home the point of Nacho8807's signature. A fellow guitarist can pick it out (the difference that is), but might not even notice if he/she weren't told that there was supposed to be a difference. The average Joe (or Jane) probably wouldn't even be able to tell... and would almost certainly not care! :smack: But that's okay because let's face it: we all tend to gravitate toward wanting to impress other guitarists instead of the general public with our own unique, awesome tone anyway.

For me personally (because I'm just not that picky) I would choose whichever guitar I enjoyed playing more rather than the sound... at least when the samples are that close and when you're talking about two great guitars like the ones you used. Better yet, I'd choose both! :bigthumb:

Thanks for sharing... I look forward to finding out which was which!
 
Re: tele vs 335. same pickup blind test

I think the tele went first both times. The second ones had a slightly more airy sound.
The distortion test definitely was more difficult.
 
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Re: tele vs 335. same pickup blind test

It's the upper mid that sets them apart. The second clean is a bit more subdued in that range, leading me to believe it to be the 335. With the drive sound, I think the same applies, and makes me think the first is the 335, and the slightly janglier second is the tele.
 
Re: tele vs 335. same pickup blind test

I'm gonna say clean, 1st tele, 2nd 335.
On the OD I think it's 335 first, tele 2nd.
 
Re: tele vs 335. same pickup blind test

Some interesting thoughts. A few of you got it 100% right.

I will say at first the differences seemed small to me but after I listened to them on a loop more times, the differences and characteristics of each guitar became a lot more apparent after a while and then I could easily spot which was which.


The answers.
the 335 was First in BOTH clips, tele was second in both
 
Re: tele vs 335. same pickup blind test

jake_xms3_punk said:
Some interesting thoughts. A few of you got it 100% right.

I will say at first the differences seemed small to me but after I listened to them on a loop more times, the differences and characteristics of each guitar became a lot more apparent after a while and then I could easily spot which was which.
Click to expand...

Right on!
 
Re: tele vs 335. same pickup blind test

I must admit that there was much more difference than what I've expected. Nice! The answers are already public of course but I'm pleased of myself for guessing it right...

Edit:
I'm really curious about the origin of this difference. I had a 25.5" scale Gibson Nighthawk (which I hated) that had way more bass than my Strat even with bridge humbucker split. I thought it's the bridge (floating vs. fixed) but now I think that my Tele also can't compete. Thought it might be the pickup construction (both in single coil mode, yet one with a bar and the other with rods). Now with you playing the same pickup through two different guitars I'm starting to wonder if other factors in the guitar construction play a part. I might have to change my skepticism about tone-wood differences.
 
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Re: tele vs 335. same pickup blind test

Cool. Thanks for the great thread. It was fun to listen to the differences.
 
Re: tele vs 335. same pickup blind test

^^ Ditto... VERY cool and informative comparison!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
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