Loar Tone Comparisons You Can Do - At Home!

[Corbin Smith]

I was messing with iTunes just now, and Reischman's North Shore popped up twice - from Up in the Woods, and Tone Poets. I thought, "What a great chance to compare two Loars!"

Not surprisingly, Reischman's Loar beat Grisman's to my humble ears. I was surprised at how different the tone was between the two. Reischman's was much bassier. I'd like to see if anyone else out there has these two tracks and would care to comment.

Or, for that matter, are there any more interesting sonic experiments people have stumbled upon?

[sunburst]

Perhaps you're comparing two different mikes, two different mike arrangements, two different rooms, two different boards, two different recording engeneers...

Unless someone sat in the same seat and traded mandolins and played into the same set up, there could be much more going on than just the difference between the two mandolins.

[Corbin Smith]

I thought about all the factors that could be affecting it, but hadn't mentioned them. #Thanks for bringing this up, John. #

I agree that these are vital factors. #However, I would assume that the engineers on both tracks would have tried for as high of fidelity as possible. #This thought, coupled with the striking tonal difference between the two Loars, convinces me that the most salient variable affecting this difference in sound is the choice of instrument.

Any other thoughts out there?

[Doug Edwards]

It's amazing how much better and different my mandolin sounds when someone else plays it. http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif (funny but true)

[EdSherry]

In my experience, it is rare that different recording engineers using different mikes in different rooms at different times in different musical contexts are trying for "the highest fidelity" in an abstract sense. #Rather, they are trying for what sounds good in the context of the particular recording project/tune.

That's why I found Grisman's "Tone Poems" projects so fascinating -- he intentionally used the same mikes, with the same EQ, positioned the same way, on a variety of different instruments played by the same players, so that one can hear the difference the choice of instrument makes, unaffected by other factors.

[Flowerpot]

You need to check out the mandolin tasting CD's. All the same setup, just lines up a few dozen mandolins and let Reischman (on the first 2 CD's) play the same tune on one right after another without changing positions. Careful "blind" listening to those CD's may seriously challenge one's preconceptions! Nothing can replace hearing the instruments live in the same room, but those CD's are about as "fair" as you can get.