Participants rated each guitar pair on overall sound and playability using the ABX test. The CIs for these ratings were relatively narrow, suggesting that guitarists could distinguish the guitar pairs moderately reliably.
ABX data also revealed that all guitars have three strong low-frequency modal properties (resynthesized bridge admittances). For more time tested acoustic guitar, click here.
Sound
The time, skill, and extra effort into this guitar translate into a beautiful tone. Whether you’re playing finger-picked chords or single-note improvisations, it weights to sound full on the lower strings and blends well with the upper lines for harmony and the clarity to cut through even dense mixes without losing its character.
Acoustic guitars are not a point source, so it can be easy to get an unbalanced recording by close-micing a specific instrument area. Moving back a little will help balance the resonant colourations from different instrument parts. Still, you may then sacrifice some of the appealing (though unnatural) immediacy imparted by the strings’ sound.
The mic position and polar pattern can also significantly influence the guitar’s sound, especially in less euphonic spaces. Small rooms like the kind to which many home recordists are relegated can exhibit significant changes in the frequency response that gets picked up at the mic if you choose a microphone with a directional polar pattern and move it a few inches either way from the guitar.
Construction
It can take on a more mature, complex tone as a guitar age. This results from the natural aging process and a combination of things like the environment in which it is played, the playing style, and even how much pressure is applied to the strings. For more time tested acoustic guitar, click here.
The way I build my guitars takes this into account by doing a lot of ‘tweaking’ of the tops, acoustic bracing, and other parts to consider the variations. This prevents the kind of ‘jigging up’ that makes it challenging to produce outstanding guitars with consistent quality.
It is challenging to do a proper experimental analysis of sound on a guitar because it’s almost always impossible to construct a control instrument that is precisely the same as the subject in every respect, including the variable under study. Furthermore, a guitar’s subjective loudness may differ significantly from a given decibel reading, depending on how it is positioned in the listening environment.
Materials
We used two identical guitars for this experiment – one with a solid body of ash wood and the other with walnut. The directional mechanical stiffness and acoustic damping of the guitar bodies were measured with Short-Time Fourier Transformation (STFT), and the vibration modes of the open strings were analyzed.
The results confirmed that the modal frequencies of the strings interact with the mechanical damping of the guitar and significantly influence its sound quality. For the lower vibration modes of the lines, a characteristic difference was observed between the guitars based on different wooden materials.
In the qualitative observational part of the experiment, participants were asked to play a series of chords on the guitar. The time needed to perform each chord was recorded. It was shown that individuals with prior experience playing musical instruments could perform the chords much faster than those without experience. This is because they are accustomed to the shapes and methods of playing an acoustic guitar, which enables them to follow a more intuitive approach. For more time tested acoustic guitar, click here.
Design
The sound of a guitar results from a complex interplay of four factors: the top, back, and bridge. The way they interact affects how loud and clear an instrument is. But finding the right combination of each requires lots of experimentation and a lot of listening.
For example, pointing a mic directly at the bridge can deliver bass overtones that are too strong and high-frequency content that’s too brittle. Putting the mic at the exact spot where the plectrum hits the strings can cause the guitar to give feedback in some environments.
Decker has also pioneered new ways to design acoustic guitars with unique body shapes that make them more versatile. One is the 00 acoustic body style, which delivers an even balance between bass and treble. It’s a fingerstyle guitarist’s dream and an excellent choice for live performance. It also has onboard Taylor Expression System 2 electronics for great tone and easy set-up.