| Author |
Message |
Russellw (Russellw)
| | Posted on Tuesday, December 31, 2002 - 2:54 am: | |
Hi all.
I have finally had time over this holiday period to sit down with my small collection of 70's Ibanez acoustics and put them through their paces against a couple of modern instruments and a vintage D28 (on loan).
My guitars consist of a 698-6, 698-12 and 756-12 (all from 1975/76) along with a Martin D12X1 and a Garrison G-30 (both current models). The D28 is a 1974 model. All are equipped with Fishman under saddle pick-ups.
For equality all the guitars were strung with new Martin strings in 9's except for the D-28 which had new 10's.
Now I know that tonal quality is a very subjective thing but I have attempted to add some science by recording all the instruments and then performing spectral analysis on the output. These tests were conducted both acoustically (via Shure mics) and plugged in to a Laney EA120 via a Fishman pre-amp.
Firstly the subjective view:
Clearly the best tonal quality came from the 698-12 and by a wide margin. Rich, full and warm this instrument both sings in the upper reaches and is mellow down low. Doesn't have the crispness of the Martin D12 but more than makes up for it with depth. The 756 was disappointing acoustically. Muddy tones throughout the neck but it really picked up when played through the amp.
Of the 6's I would again award a narrow victory to the 698-6 ahead of the D-28 if only because it has a slightly fuller sound. The G-30 wasn't disgraced either but it was noticeably brighter sounding than either of the vintage instruments.
Spectral Analsysis:
As far as the 12's were concerned this absolutely mirrored the subjective view. The 698-12 produced a much broader and better balanced spectrum than any of the others with the added bonus that it did it all at 15% greater volume.
The 756 actually produced a broad spectrum as well but it was heavily slanted towards the bottom end.
The D12 was very strong through the middle and upper frequencies but lacked any real bottom end.
The 6's didn't quite match my (aged) ears. The best spectrum was produced by the D-28 by a narrow margin over the 698 with the G-30 also producing a much broader spectrum than I expected to see.
All in all a pleasing result. There is little doubt that the D-28 is one of the best acoustic guitars of that era and the 698 performed very well against it.
Cheers and a Happy New Year to all
Russ |
Johns (Johns)
| | Posted on Wednesday, January 01, 2003 - 10:29 am: | |
Russ:
Excellent stuff! I gotta ask: what kind of equipment do you have that you can do the spectral analysis?
What's a D12x1? I have a '99 catalog that shows a D12-1, sold sitka spruce top, solid mahogany back, laminated mahogany sides. The D12-1R is a rosewood version.
Interesting that the D28 didn't have as much bottom end. Their catalog states that the 3 piece back of the D35 produces "a strong bass" and they use "lighter 1/4" top braces" to accentuate the treble.
Do you have any thoughts on the Fishman, under saddle pickups? I'm thining of installing pickups in my D35 and M340 but don't know much about acoustic pups. |
Munch (Munch)
| | Posted on Friday, January 03, 2003 - 2:39 am: | |
John,
Unless I miss my guess, I think any Martin with an X in the model number features the non-wood top - a kind of melamine as used on kitchen benches.
Cheers,
Mark |
Johns (Johns)
| | Posted on Friday, January 03, 2003 - 1:04 pm: | |
Munch:
Sounds familiar regarding the X. I wasn't very impressed with one of them when I visited the factory, several years ago. |
Russellw (Russellw)
| | Posted on Friday, January 03, 2003 - 9:02 pm: | |
Hi guys. Yes the D12X1 is a D12 with the artificial top. The early ones were crap but they have improved over the last couple of years. Fairly bright tones but as an everyday player they aren't too bad.
I use the Fishmans in all my acoustics. Have tried a whoe range of under saddle pickups but these are the best without a doubt. I am not going to put one in the 698-12 because it is in absolutely mint condition and it would be a shame to make the bigger strap button hole to incorporate the end pin jack.
For spectrum analysis I use a Pico ADC-216 16 bit analyser through a Sonic Fury sound card and the PicoScope software which charts the spectrum for me. This is an excellent unit as it has a full 95db dynamic range and a 166kHz spectral range.
Cheers
Russ |
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