Judging instrument quality on the web

[Capt. E]

How can anyone truly judge the sound quality of any instrument or musical performance from a clip from youtube or any other web source? I really dislike the little sound clips many dealers attach to their instruments, it tells me almost nothing. You HAVE to hear it in person or through some quality format (vinyl being perhaps the best), recorded in an quality enviornment with quality equipment. There is a reason why many serious musicians like to see their recordings released on vinyl. I do not mean to say that a youtube or other clip can't be entertaining, informative, and useful in any number of ways, but it is certainly not a great way to judge sound quality.

[almeriastrings]

Completely agree. Even with an uncompressed 24-bit WAV file it is very subjective, and mic placement, the room, can make a huge difference. With an MP3 recorded via a video camera and compressed almost flat.. forget it.

PS: I would not agree Vinyl is much better...

[OlderThanWillie]

The video might be used to give the mandolin the initial test. If you don't like the sound you hear there, it probably won't be much better in person. If you like what you hear then you can take the next step -- hopefully getting return priviliges from the seller.

[Capt. E]

The video might be used to give the mandolin the initial test. If you don't like the sound you hear there, it probably won't be much better in person. If you like what you hear then you can take the next step -- hopefully getting return priviliges from the seller.

I agree it can be a first step and enable you to refine things, but I suspect there are perfectly wonderful instruments (and performances) that don't get the attention they deserve because of bad sound on the sample.
I am also talking about people who do reviews of musical performances from things they see and hear on the web. There are times I wonder if some professional critics have heard the same thing I have? Relying too much on web based samples can flat dumb your ears down.
I recently heard a top recording artist go on about how mp3's don't hold and pass on the nuaunces of their work, but we seem to be in a world where most music is listened to in that format through ipods with little ear-buds. So, real musicianship seems to take a back seat to flash and bang because they need to make a living.

[Denny Gies]

Everything today takes a back seat to flash and bang. That's what's wrong. Many people would be driven nuts if they slowed and simplified their lives. But for those who can do it it is the only way to go.

[allenhopkins]

...Many people would be driven nuts if they slowed and simplified their lives. But for those who can do it it is the only way to go.

That's what retirement is for.

On the main topic: above a certain dollar amount, I don't buy any instrument I can't play myself before buying. Doesn't mean I haven't taken a few risks, buying inexpensive but unusual instruments on eBay etc. I'd never rely on a recording that could be made with a good or bad mic, in an unknown acoustical environment, with strings I may not use myself, by a musician I don't know. And, played through my li'l computer speakers to boot? Not hardly.

[Brent Hutto]

If I were buying an instrument to listen to recordings of maybe that would help. I buy 'em to play and can only decide after I've played 'em. If then.

[Rick Schmidlin]

This is the honest truth. I was listening to guitars on Greg Boyd's site. One was to a Roy Noble Cocobolla and in my life I have a four Noble's but my first was eight years ago the same time I got my cat Guthrie in Santa Monica and it a Coccobolla. I traded that guitar for something I can't remember but when he heard the Noble Coccobolla on the internet Greg he went crazy. It sounded fantastic and he convinced me to get it. The day it arrived and every since he sits on my lap when I play it and he also gets in some "licks" So yes I guess you some can judge from sound clips :)

[George R. Lane]

Well Rick, it sounds like you have found the tones you craved for. No more MAS and GAS every again. Lucky guy.

[Ed Goist]

My theory on this is that a well played and recorded web clip (audio or video) makes a below average or average mandolin seem better than it really is, while such a clip NEVER does justice to a high quality mandolin.

However, in person, the quality of a premium instrument seems to just jump out at you, often shockingly. It's like the magic of a great instrument can only be revealed in person. Interesting.

[Nonprophet]

IMHO sounds clips are a lot like the pictures people use on dating sites.

Nuff said.


NP

[Ed Goist]

IMHO sounds clips are a lot like the pictures people use on dating sites.
Nuff said.
NP

Yes! This reinforces my point...A picture NEVER does a truly beautiful person justice, whereas for an average or...well, you get my drift.

[michaelpthompson]

Well Rick, it sounds like you have found the tones you craved for. No more MAS and GAS every again. Lucky guy.

Yeah right. Wasn't this the same guy who almost bought another mandolin (http://www.mandolincafe.com/forum/showthread.php?71072-I-almost-bought-another-mandolin-today) less than three days after the long heralded arrival of the Red Diamond?

[Ivan Kelsall]

The recent clips of Herschel Sizemore playing Altman Mandolins,gave me the impression of really high quality instruments,which,if you heard them 'live' would knock your socks off. However, the sound quality of the majority of YouTube clips is very poor indeed (IMHO),
Ivan
http://youtu.be/OCR0AL3H7xc

[Tonear]

Never buy something you can't play in person, if you intend to play it. Buyer approval periods are fine, but they are expensive if you send the instruments back.

Chris Thile's mandolins sound fabulous on MP3. It is not the medium, and BTW vinyl is even less accurate. Your average camera mic will not do an instrument justice. However, better mics, even when compressed for YTube, can be an excellent tool for judging the relative sound quality.
I find Greg Boyd's soundbites to be very well recorded and played. You can A/B the mandolins on his site for tone. Most of us have heard a Collings and/or a teen's Gibson A. Want to know how much low end a mandolin has? Compare its soundbite to the Collings or old Gibson soundbites.

Soundbites may not be totally accurate, but they certainly help. And they are a far sight better than nothing.

[ralph johansson]

I would never trust recordings regardless of their quality. Most clips that I've heard or watched show someone playing stuff in styles that are completely alien to me. That is especially true of the guitar.

What counts to me is how the instrument responds in my hands, to my stuff.
Those clips don't even tell me if the axe is loud enough! Of course, trying out an instrument in a store can be downright confusing, so I've bought my instruments from the US sight unseen. That applies to 7 out of 8, and 5 of them didn't even exist at the time of the order ... Quite a gamble, of course.

[JGWoods]

I think one of the reasons this site has a large and active classifieds section is because so many people put tone and playability on the top of their list of reasons to keep a mandolin, but they buy sight unseen, ear unheard, from inter net stores, small builder commissioned orders etc.
If everyone bought their instruments on a two-three day trial the classifieds wouldn't have nearly so many really nice instruments to choose from.

[Caleb]

Everything today takes a back seat to flash and bang. That's what's wrong. Many people would be driven nuts if they slowed and simplified their lives. But for those who can do it it is the only way to go.One of the best posts I've ever read here.

[Lou Giordano]

Sometimes you can't even trust what you hear when you try it in the store. The room your playing in, the humidity that day. I have read that people get the instrument home and it doesn't sound at all the way it did in the store. It could be just MAS messing up your judgement. At least if you buy it from a dealer they should let you return it.