Amp setting for reference tones

[Montelovesco]

As we all are buying some new stuff from time to time, I wonder:

What's your way to compare the sound of one guitar with the sound of another one?

Do you have a standard setting (all knobs on twelve o'clock?) or do you plug in the guitar and try to dial for THE sound of THIS guitar?

And if you do, isn't there the risk to equalize the different sound with you amp (up to a certain limit, of course). And - what about fx?

Let me know how you handle it.

[gorch]

Well, I'm not trading that many guitars. So for me it's kind of trying to identify the character of the guitar and playing with the guitar volume and tone rather than amp settings. It also takes a while for me to get into a guitar. I know there is plenty to be dialed on the amp that I have not discovered yet. Being lazy on that side I like amps that come with a single volume knob. Or call me a purist here.

[Montelovesco]

So take a look at this and you understand my question:

http://www.amazona.de/test-carvin-v3m-head-gitarren-roehrentopteil/

[Jeff R]

I figured out years ago if I have my eye on something and I don't have "my" amp handy, I'd prefer to play the instrument unplugged for a little while first so I can listen to its acoustic properties and focus on the resonance under my hands. I figure if it can pass that test, I can replace pickups, pots, whatever, to fine tune the guitar to my tastes. Usually an amp comes into play more so to check out electronics to make sure they work properly. From an electric standpoint, I'd prefer to use an electronic tuner to make sure a guitar holds good tuning over an amp test-drive.

Case in point: The local GC last year was blowing out three NOS import upper-tier Mockingbirds at a price I couldn't pass up. All three were different colors, so I started with my favorite color of the three, unplugged. Gave it 15 minutes, swapped out for my second favorite color of the three and gave it 15 minutes unplugged. Liked the second one better than the first guitar under my hands and in my ears. Pulled the third and while pretty, it was my least favorite color of the three. That one was ironically the best unplugged. So I repeated the process with a showroom floor amp, this time reversing the order of the test-drive guitars. Sure enough, I was less pleased with what I heard "electrically" as I swapped out guitars (they were all identical guts-wise, to clarify. Don't know if that's scientific by any means, but I honestly feel I left with the best of the three for my tastes. FYI, I went back to the store the following day to pick up something I forgot to get the previous day. The salesman who sold me the Mockingbird I picked told me my second-favorite color sold about an hour after I left and my first-favorite colored one sold shortly thereafter. None were apparently duds.

[Guest gearwhore]

I figured out years ago if I have my eye on something and I don't have "my" amp handy, I'd prefer to play the instrument unplugged for a little while first so I can listen to its acoustic properties and focus on the resonance under my hands. I figure if it can pass that test, I can replace pickups, pots, whatever, to fine tune the guitar to my tastes. Usually an amp comes into play more so to check out electronics to make sure they work properly. From an electric standpoint, I'd prefer to use an electronic tuner to make sure a guitar holds good tuning over an amp test-drive.

Case in point: The local GC last year was blowing out three NOS import upper-tier Mockingbirds at a price I couldn't pass up. All three were different colors, so I started with my favorite color of the three, unplugged. Gave it 15 minutes, swapped out for my second favorite color of the three and gave it 15 minutes unplugged. Liked the second one better than the first guitar under my hands and in my ears. Pulled the third and while pretty, it was my least favorite color of the three. That one was ironically the best unplugged. So I repeated the process with a showroom floor amp, this time reversing the order of the test-drive guitars. Sure enough, I was less pleased with what I heard "electrically" as I swapped out guitars (they were all identical guts-wise, to clarify. Don't know if that's scientific by any means, but I honestly feel I left with the best of the three for my tastes. FYI, I went back to the store the following day to pick up something I forgot to get the previous day. The salesman who sold me the Mockingbird I picked told me my second-favorite color sold about an hour after I left and my first-favorite colored one sold shortly thereafter. None were apparently duds.

yes this definitely the first step,play and listen to it unplugged...I rarely plug a guitar in when checking out a newbie..once it sounds great unplugged then I plug in a familiar amp

Well, I'm not trading that many guitars. So for me it's kind of trying to identify the character of the guitar and playing with the guitar volume and tone rather than amp settings. It also takes a while for me to get into a guitar. I know there is plenty to be dialed on the amp that I have not discovered yet. Being lazy on that side I like amps that come with a single volume knob. Or call me a purist here.

this is the best way to test unfamiliar guitars...simple amp..I personally use a 1962 kalamazoo-one...its sweet little tube amp with 2 knobs-tone,volume...I had the amp for years and know it well...so I know what ever plugged in to it is going represent the the sound of the guitar..if it sounds good on this little amp it will sound great on everything else.

[Montelovesco]

That would, in my case, be a Vox AC4...

[Armitage]

If it rings unplugged, it'll rock plugged in.