Do Electric Instruments Sound Better with Age?
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 25 ส.ค. 2024
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I took a brand new bass and over the course of one year, put it through more than a handful of live shows, found creative ways to vibrate the wood, and wore down the finish just to see if it sounded any different at the end. But before we hear the results, let’s first see how we got to this point.
You’ve probably noticed that vintage instruments, particularly from the ‘50s and’60s can cost a fortune. Sometimes even costing as much as a house. Vintage Precision and Jazz basses as well as Gibson Thunderbirds cost quite a bit more than their contemporary counterparts and some vintage Les Pauls can fetch more than a quarter million dollars. For the most part, these instruments’ overall design has remained virtually unchanged for over 60 years.
So if it’s not the parts and it’s not the build-quality, what’s left? Time.
Do electric instruments really sound better with age?
To put this theory to the test, I needed a brand new bass as a starting point so I reached out to Warwick, explained the idea, and they sent me an Adam Clayton Signature RockBass. I chose this particular model because it sports a very familiar pickup configuration and build. Split single coil, Alder body, and a bolt-on Maple neck.
Over the course of a year, this bass was going to get played a lot! Between live shows, rehearsals, recording sessions, and video shoots, I was going to find some interesting was to pump as many vibrations into it as possible while also putting through some other various conditions an instrument might experience over time.
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"neck massager" for the bass ;) :)
😅
@@TheBassChannel at least that is what Hitachi aimed their massaging device for, back in the days. They were a little bit surprised, what it also was used for.
@@ciddax754 Well, that's what they officially say, lol.
Bass do take time to master, you would need time alone to masTerBass.
Collectors are the reason vintage inatruments are very expensive. Not necessarily because they sound better or are superior.
Yeah i have no idea why he dragged on in the beginning to explain the expensive prices... it's just obviously rarity
I agree. I tried some vintage gibson and fender guitars that didnt sound better than newer ones.
And placebo probably aswell. Playing an old used instrument just feels different. Most people want them to feel and sound different so they imagine they do. Which is an awesome thing since it will make you feel better and may even inspire you. People just shouldn't feel the need to pay a fortune even though they don't have the money just because someone says it's worth it
Vintage instruments are made from luthiers using 20 jears dried tone woods. Since the 70ties they are made from factory workers using wood from plantings dried in 20 minits in a microwave oven. The are much superior. But yes, the prices are much to high, because the collectors and the small numbers.
@@lorenzociliberto9564 New products are made more efficiently, factories are better, you get warranty, customer service etc. many more years of development and research, more eco-friendly and have 50+ years of neck shapes, pickup types and other tidbits of knowledge to reference.
I'm not saying anything you're saying is wrong, I'm just saying an equally valid point can be made for modern instruments. I don't think "20 years dried wood" or "handmade" objectively equates to a better product, it's all subjective. A good luthier could run over any well made instrument and make it play as "well" as a vintage instrument, it's not a time specific thing.
What's left? Well quantity. There's much less of those vintage instruments lol
Yea that’s the only thing thing that makes sense
They're rarer but in that case it usually means that something's complex or expensive to manufacture or made out of something that's itself rare. We're talking about spraypainted pieces of wood with primitive electronics in them. It's not even like a vintage car where it drives and feels different. Guitars today are mostly half a century old designs.
You can argue that this is a matter of supply and demand, but that demand is based on snake oil hearsay.
NONAMEACCESSIBLE That is true. Brands are well brands to make money. With some brands amazing instruments are still made. You can only discover them when you play them. Then it’s your private knowledge. It may be a brand that is not an expensive brand.
Supply and demand!!!
Well for gibson guitars prior to 1990 I belive not sure, it was using a type of wood they are not legally allowed to use any more, not sure if it applied to lps only or all the gibson guitars. Other than that, yep overpriced relics
As someone who owns a 1960s Fender p bass I can assure you, while it’s a great instrument, my 2017 sounds just as good.
Cool the subject is closed now - I'll pass it around.
That’s super awesome to know. Thanks for sharing!
I've had P's from different decades and there is no way they sound the same. Maybe you think they are all good, tone is purely subjective but the 70's ash body P's sound very different than the pre CBS P's and the newer P's don't sound or respond the same as the older ones. The quality on the new ones is superb, but they are too polite even when you dig into them. The older ones bark and snarl and have more character. I have no idea why that is.
wait, Seymour Duncan is a REAL person??? and he's ALIVE????
Alive, and one of the nicest people in the music biz.
Same with Lollar! I thought that was just a random brand name but wouldnt you know, Lollar pickups are made by a dude named Jason Lollar
Yep, just like Harley Benton and Jay Turser.
DiMarzio is a real guy too. First name is Larry.
@@chronicalcultivation yeah, Larry is great. He used to hang out at my local guitar shop in Bozeman MT. I felt pretty special when he was who helped me pick out the pickups for my SG back in the day.
This is the only channel where you can see someone use a sex toy on a bass for science
I hear it does wonders for your bottom end...
@@thatellipsisguy8984 best comment, period
"Mom!! Close the door!! I'm doing science!!"
What nobody talks about is the old good sounding guitars have survived because people cared for them better and thus survived vs the poor sounding instruments were kind of tossed to the side and didn't survive until the present day. I'm sure there were some bad sounding guitars from that era but they would have been less likely to survive. So do older guitars sound better? Yes because the better sounding guitars survived and yes because older guitars sound like the guitars we are accustomed to hearing on those older classic recordings.
This is a Great point..
Survival of the Fittest
*laughs in Harley Benton*
@@riffsnoleads this reply is gold
Theoretically your last remark isnt correct. These instruments were still new when they were recorded. They became vintage long after that.
So these guitars dont sound like the old recordings anymore because they have aged.
This leads to a paradox; if you want the tone of the 50s and 60s you need a new guitar.
frieswijk Yes you are correct as well... in fact, I used to come back at slick salesman with that same response when they tried to hand me the _“it sounds so great, because it’s aged over 30 years old”..._ I would tell them that’s hogwash, bcuz they recorded those classic albums with it when those same Basses/Guitars were NEW-ish! or only a few years old!..
I think the original Point wasn’t necessarily the “sound it had” (style of pups/pup placement) in itself, but a combination of factors,..
i.e. Wood Quality/Species/Origin; Neck-Body Marriage; RESONANCE; Design; and overall FEEL of the instrument,.. were the key “starting points” to what makes any guitar a candidate to Last throughout the Decades..
idk why, but japanese girls have been using the neck massager wrong, it's supposed to go in to your bass! duh
😂
They just didnt see the b
oh god
Soooo....what I got from this: the sanded finish looks better, Nick can't juggle, ....and it got a bit warmer top end and a bit more gonads down low. Cool. Interesting and that was a LOT of effort to get a video time elapsed like this...kudos to all you guys. Great job.
I honestly would have preferred to hear a new set of strings on that the second time around, as opposed to strings that have been out of the package a year. All I could think was, that sounds pretty much like a set of broken-in strings.
Yeah, just sounds like it lost the new string twang. But the graphic eq was cool to see.
Yes, this was silly. The second sample sounds significantly worse, probably because of that
Totally agree, strings sitting in a package for a year shurely did age, that's why it lost high-end.
Yeah, it’s a weird choice, why not just buy another pack of the same strings brand new
Came here to say this!
awesome video. thanks for taking the time and educating bass players about this topic. Maybe just maybe in future there will be a little less guessing the comment sections and more links to this video instead ;) If you want to repeat this in an immediate test, get in touch with sandberg and let them build you 2 identical basses and one of them going through their vibration treatment.
Thanks, Gregor! That’s a great idea. I definitely want to get in touch with them.
Miss you, Gregor!
I have a 10 year old sandberg VS California. I think it plays a bit better now than it did when it was brand new.
Where can I get the strap?
As someone who has worked in guitar shops for over 15 years, I can tell you with 100% certainty that "no" vintage electronic instruments do not sound "better" than new instruments. They do feel better, like more comfortable. Vintage pickups CAN have a better sound, depending on how they have aged. Most of them are rusted out, and not very clear sounding, but when you find some good ones they do sound a bit more "rich" compared to their modern equivalents. (like Mr. Duncan was talking about) But they are also much lower output compared to modern pickups, and to my ear, I like the tone of lower output pickups.
The myth of "the more it vibrates, the better it sounds" is purely marketing. (reps from both Martin and Taylor guitars have told me this) What makes older acoustic instruments sound good is that the wood used on an acoustic guitar from the 50s and 60s is that the wood used is possibly hundreds of years old. Modern acoustic guitars are mostly made from wood that's around 20 years old, or younger. THAT is where the biggest difference is.
The thing is, value is made by the buyer. The people who are sitting on the most disposable income these days are the people who grew up idolizing players who used these vintage instruments. They now have the cash to buy them, plus taking into account their rarity they have collector's value. Like a vintage car, rare sports cards etc it's basically all around people spending money on their sentimentality. Anyone who owned one of these borderline priceless instruments will tell you it "sounds like nothing else" because they spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on it, so of course they are going to say that. I've sold dozens of these instruments over the years, and honestly, its cool to hold something that old, but in general they don't sound any better than a modern high end Strat, Tele, Les Paul etc.
The test though is very flawed though, because you have year old strings on it. Year old strings feel and sound totally different than fresh ones. It's a pretty common thing in the world of bass that aged strings do sound nicer and warmer. Put brand new strings on it, and I'm willing to bet the tonal difference and feel you're noticing will be gone.
Amen !!!
I was gonna say the same thing and I dont even play bass. From the beginning it sounded like marketing bs. Im sure it also varied greatly from instrument to instrument. While you can make generalizations some d instruments probably feel and sound much worse old than new, and some vice versa.
Well said 👌
Came here looking for the wood age point. Last time I was getting a new nut filed on a bass, the tech (who is also an Arborist) brought up the point about how newer guitars use wood that is way younger than what older classic guitars used. Older when the guitar was actually produced, not just old today from when it was produced.
Conclusion from your comment used a wood from protected forest
I'm a guitar player and I've always wondered about this and I thought the aged bass definitely sounded better. Clearly a lot of work went into this video, well done.
So, a few thoughts...
1. Putting the bass in front of a sub for extended periods of time will degauss the pickup, possibly changing the sound more than age.
2. Vibration of the wood should be tested separately with one body/neck that hasn't been played as much with the same pickups.
3. How much does the finish actually affect the sound?
4. There should've been a control test with a brand new set of strings because the "sealed" strings could've still lost a bit of top end.
I love old guitars, but there are more variables that weren't even discussed in this test that were all summarized as "age."
I hadn't thought about the proximity to the subwoofer degaussing the pickups. That's a valid concern...
The speaker thing was retarded. This can easily cause issues in the electronics of the bass. im not sure how much the finish matters on basses but on saxophones its 99.99% marketing bs that the finish will change the sound. While the material itselt of the body, neck, etc, can definitely change the tone, the finish doesnt produce any noticeable sound difference. At least thats the consensus in the sax community. I feel as though similar principles can be applied to most instruments.
@@TheCabbageMan its worse with electric instruments. because of the fact that they dont pickup SOUND, but rather magnetic oscillations of their magnetic field, literally nothing about the body or neck aside from the scale length, and if youre using frets, has any effect on the sound. you could bolt on 50Lbs of steel plating and it wouldnt effect the sound at all, just as you could cut away the entire body to make it look like a steinberg guitar, and it wont effect the way it sounds in any way.
Sure. And my 2012 Apple EarPods now sound like a pair of Sennheiser studio headphones after 8 years of constant vibration. 🤔
the dude is so pretentious its unbelievable
Uses year old strings: "Wow, this bass sounds so different, it must be all the vibrations." LOL
Not to mention taking the finish off plus the crack repair in the neck. Complete BS experiment. 1 yr old strings, plus sanding the finish off as well as neck repair will always change the sound......but nah! It's all the passenger seat!
@@johnharriel4485 The experiment was about aging a bass guitar closely to the aging of vintage basses (talking about decades of playing the instrument).
They mentioned at 18:43 that they took the stock stings off and kept them separately. Watch the video
@@Hezian1 I did, but they'd still been used. Unless they'd been cleaned and hermetically sealed that whole time they would've changed
@@krytenfivetwothreep2485 The strings themselves are coated to last longer. If you watch the video, you'll see that they're using Elixir strings. They tend to keep their sounds for quite a while even with someone playing them daily. Do you think that like 2 hours of use tops and then storing them away is going to make them sound like they've been on there for 8 months? Like, I'm a cheap bastard that reuses old strings all the time. I either cook them or slap the shit out of them when they're tuned low, which helps only for a small amount of time, but it still does. And usually, unless they are oozing with grease, they'll get some spank back from being stretched and restrung.
Function has nothing to do with value and collectability. A rare stamp is not valuable because it stick to envelopes better than a modern one
The strings honestly just sound deader. That's very likely because they've been out of the package for a year.
Would've preferred he just use two packets of brand new strings. Strings can deaden in a matter of a couple hours. Especially if played a bunch like these ones obviously have.
Exactly. He should've bought a new set.
It's almost like a top youtuber was paid to spout a certain ideology to promote/glamorise the second-hand market. Probably paid by reverb, I mean HOW could you fuck up this badly?! Seems like wilful ignorance for financial gain to me.
Well, super glad I can read the description now, I'm even more excited.
Just sounds like old strings
I agree skin dirt
But they saved the exact strings from day one then re installed.
@@tannerwright2704 They weren't completely sealed...
@@tannerwright2704 what they really shouldve done was use a brand new set of the same strings for both tests
Stradivarius violins consistently lose in blind sound tests to brand new instruments.
Without a blind sound test there is no great way to test this.
the secret to good aging tone is to not letting Nick keep the bass overnight.
😂
Each vintage instrument has its own specific history. Some are played every day year after year, some are hidden somewhere not being played for years. So age does not tell you anything but age. In 1971 I bought a 69 strat brand new. I still have it and it is played it ever since. After one year of playing you might not find, feel or hear any difference. But after almost 50 years you will hear and feel a significant difference. New instruments make you feel somehow like they fight against you. Old instruments being well played for many years behave more like „I can‘t wait for you to play me“. The entire thing is vibrating, each note is ringing and sustaining, overtones are nice and so on. When I got my SG in 1975 I read the hangtag: „.....as your instrument ages the sound will become sweet and mellow“. I still have this SG as well, and I can confirm that. But good things take their time. Maybe nobody will ever find out what kind of magic stuff is going on here. Meanwhile let‘s enjoy and appreciate what we have, neither brand new or old.
Thank you guys, that was very exciting ! The moral of this story would be: If you want to keep your trebles up, buy as many basses as you can and play them all equally? Greetings from France!
The amount of commitment this guy have to currying out this experiment is exceptional. Thanks a lot for trying to answer this big question we all have as a musicians
Back in 2007 i bought my first bass (or any instrument for that matter) with my own money, an 07 squier standar jazz bass, over the years i played so much with it, dropped it so many times, played so many gigs, rehearsals, studio, live sessions, etc, always kept it original, but i never was happy with the sound so over the years i have bought, played and then sold many other way better bass guitars but i could never get my self to sell the Squier. Recently ive started to really like the way it feels and sounds, i feel so comfortable playing it and at least for me i am happy with it, i do want to get something else but i was wondering why i started to like it, maybe its just emotional value, but i dont think i will ever sell my cheap squier jazz.
You guys could put a new same set of pickups and test again comparing "2019" Bass and "Today" bass with new pickups. And then we can really see if the wood matters more than eletrical components :)
Bruh it's just the strings
I have a guitar my dad buy 27 years ago...... I still have it and it's still works, it's a vintage guitar.
What i learned: "Your pickups aren´t safe anywhere." - Seymore Duncan
Wrong. The safe place is called the Faraday cage. Google it yourself, please.
@@voornaam3191 checkmate
BASS player here, craftsmanship is what makes an instrument, nostalgia too.
They used to wind pickups by hand until the mid 70s. The strange truth is because of machine wound pickups with more coils around the magnet than human hands could possibly achieve, newer guitars sound better than their vintage 50s, 60s, 70s counterparts. Its the quality of the pickups that are the main concern for sound. The vintage market is kind of a sham. They also used to make the bridge saddles, tuners and string trees in the 50s and 60s out of an alloy that we would easily call pot metal today. This also affects sound. People notice that the older classic songs sound different and that's because they were using those old guitars and people equate that to the "best" sound. The reality, if you could travel back in time to 1969 and bring your 2020 Fender American Strat with you and you managed to get an opening gig for Cream and Jimi Hendrix, watch your gear. Because upon hearing your 2020 Strat, Eric Clapton and Jimi Hendrix would straight up stab you and leave you for dead and grab your guitar lol. They're onto something with stripping the finish. I did that to an 87 Kramer Nightswan and now it's my favorite guitar just from the sheer sound. It picked up an incredible upper EQ sound.
The “controls” in this experiment are pretty flimsy. The humidity effect. The sanding. The strings sitting around with oils and stuff on them for a year. A new set would have been a much better comparison.
And Why wouldn’t you just delete the transient and reanalyze?
Good points and when you look closely at the Elixir strings you'll see 'em with 'micro-frays', sags, and fuzz here and there. I tried 'em a long time ago and thought they got pretty wonky because of uneven wear on the coating. They were also a small fortune for a set. ($39 at Sweetwater now!)
I think it would still be a good idea for him to put a new set on and see if the top end comes back to how it was day 1.
@@rileyjelinek3235 No it would not be a good idea for him, as everybody would have seen that his conclusion is just a load of bs and the only difference we hear is the ageing of that first set of strings.
Also packing up and moving from California to Vegas is basically voiding all the other precautions he took. Nevermind the broken tuner that would have voided the test. Also he should have gotten 2 identical basses, and then play both of them on day 1 with new strings, measure the strength of field of the picups and laser scan the dimensions of both. Then put one a way for a year and have the other played for a year. After the year, both should be restrung, have the field strength of the pick-ups measured, and be laser scanned to establish any dimensional differences. Then both should be recorded again and a/b'd in a blind test.
That would have been a real scientific test.
Nice one. To me, all the 2020 clips sounded a bit "rounder" than the 2019 ones. But I was a bit baffled by the "explanation" by the Warwick guy - man, that sounded more like superstition than expertise. Yes, instruments vibrate, so... what does that actually DO to the wood, hardware etc.?
@Danibolical 1 Pretty much as cryptic as Mr. Warwick...
@Danibolical 1 If it was that easy, there'd be no need for this video, and all guitar manufacturers would rattle their stuff for a decent time to charge you extra for the "pre-vintaged" sound...
Completely. Sounded like a lot of BS.
The day 1 recordings were done without a clip-on tuner, while the day 366 recordings had a clip-on tuner on the headstock... kinda disappointed you guys didn't catch that. The additional mass on the headstock likely contributed to the differences perceived. i.e. more low end, sustain, shifting of deadspot frequencies, etc.
As a guitarist, I'd say the difference in sound comes from the age of the strings. They are less bright during the second playthrough, however I can hear the same tonal difference in reverse, when I install new set of strings.
if there is something to the age of the instrument, it has nothing to do with the sound going through the amp. The difference is in the raw sound that in case of electric instrument, most of the time won't be captured, but can be clearly heard while playing.
awesome awesome awesome vid !!! excellent idea, time well spent.. thx for the time n energy that went into makin this video… seriously, one word: awesome !!!!
I have an old Gibson Grabber and an Ibanez DT650. Both classic. They both sound beautiful!!! So yes! They do get better with age.
@22:22 - Wow - more of a difference in sound than I expected!
I clicked on this expecting a 5 minute video. Watched the whole thing and was not disappointed. Great work guys!
Each instrument needs to be played to sound better. The more you play it it will sound better. Another catch: If it is played by a poor musician it will not sound any better, but if it is played by an experienced musician it will play and sound better - play more even. It needs to be played
I love this... I have had my 2002 Fender P bass 12 years, put in Duncan's QP pick up as the original was sizzling from moisture intrusions when I got it.
The highs do feel "rolled off" and the mids have what I would call "butter".
The neck also has worn nicely.
I also have a Yamaha BB350 J bass that has just wood stain from 1996 that I would put up against any bass built today. It sounds like soul food smells if that makes any sense.
Just so warm, tasty, buttery smooth and feels like walking in the screen door at lunchtime after church on Sunday at your grandma's house.
You're imagining it.
This "experiment" is clearly flawed. On day 1 the players do not know the bass while on day 366 they have had a lot of experience with it. The player should not have used the bass in between the two tests. If you want to make it a bit scientific, at least there should be two identical bases. One is not played at all, so you do the comparison after a year under the same conditions with the two instruments.
shut up nerd
joey dubois 🤣 you need a medal sir
I agree
Disagree. While it's technically true that you need a "control group" to make it totally scientific, the fact that EVERY player gets a similar EQ change regardless of their playing style can't be due to their increased knowledge of the bass. My bet is that the pickup changed it's properties overtime.
This is a very long way to say "I don't know how antique appreciation works."
It's a very great experiment. I also visited the 2020 NAMM show and it was in the Warwick booth. If I had known, I would have said hello.
I distribute Sandberg's bass guitar in Korea. Among them, the Masterpiece Aged Option instrument has the same elements as your experiment. I was wondering why they sound so different from higloss finish basses, and your experiment answered a lot, to a certain extent.
I have 5 Sandberg including 2 Masterpieces (TT4 and VS4) they are so much nicer than my HCA 48, Grand Dark Orange and Panther Special (Bocote). Sustain, playability and an even sound are standout features.
I thought that corset analogy was going sideways. Good save sir!
Best you tube channel....no doubts
Now i understand why peaple loves vintage instruments, it sounds this better after a year, I can't imagine how good it will sound in like 5/10 years
Any changes will not continue to take place at the same rate, so the first year or 2 or 3 will have by far the biggest change on the instrument and from then on, it is diminishing returns. If anything is actually happening.
But he has put on the same set of strings that he used a year before rather than an outright fresh set, so the results are dubious at best.
The main theory I have heard for the difference in sound from older instruments is that over the years the wood slowly dries out which changes the way it vibrates. There is also a difference in the way certain items are manufactured. One example is that Geezer Butler from Black Sabbath started out playing a Fender Precision back in the late 60's. Fast forward to the last couple of years he teamed up with EMG to create a pickup that would let him get the same kind of sound he had from those older basses that he couldn't get from modern Fender basses. The problem with this experiment is that the general theory says that the process takes years if not decades.
The dried out wood is the thing i’v always assumed is one of the biggest factors that make vintage instruments sound better. Some luthiers use wood that’s already been drying out for years, decades, or even centuries to achieve this.
Filming with one hand, while touching a bass with the other hand, while driving 75mph is not a good idea.
Thanks, well done!
Much warmer mellow with more sustain a year later., Love the warmth.
Don't forget that over time pickup magnets have been slowly degaussing, though not to extreme amounts
Vintage instruments from the late fifties are so expensive because they are rare. Not many have survived with damage or modifications.
It's not that they necessarily sound better.
As a professional cellist when you practice lots, your instrument rings more, sounds much better, sounds more alive. If the instrument is not regularly played it sounds a bit dead. This is very noticeable with an acoustic instrument. I can play a friend’s instrument and can tell if they had been practicing a lot. I have two electric basses and rotate them as I practice. To me this makes a difference. This was an important issue that the video did not discuss or evaluate.
Violinist and cellists are not hung up on brand. A professional instrument is NEVER bought of the shelf. Instruments are lined up and exhaustively played before a decision is made. The most sought after instruments are generally 100 years plus in age.
Professional instruments vary a great deal. This this is to do with the wood, tiny differences in how its put together, the finish on the wood, the string, many different elements. Out of ten instruments made by the same person nine will sound great, but one will sound sublime. I would seek to get the sublime one. The only way to know is to PLAY IT!
Nice
CasualTF2 yeah 👍
Nice video.
Though I have to say that guy from Warwick told you some BS. Maybe he didn't hear about the "Listener evaluations of new and Old Italian violins" article which proved that blindfolded profesionnal violonists can't tell the difference between a Stradivarius and a new violin and even tend to prefer newer violins ...
However, think he was right about the lacquered part. This could perhaps explain the gain of the low frequencies.
For the mids and highs, Seymour Duncan was right.
I remember I sent my Pbass to Fender for a pickup problem. When I got it back, they had changed the pickups and the sound was richer in mids and highs.
By the way: Jens Ritter (who isn't quite an idiot when it comes to building great instruments) claims that the whole lacquer thing really depends on the use of the instrument, as a thicker lacquer was acting as some sort of "mechanical compressor" - which might actually have a positive effect for the most common uses of a bass (whereas a virtuoso soloist may prefer the less compressed sound of thin/no lacquer)
That Warwick guy is really embarrassing. Esoteric BS. He kind of replicates every nonsense ever told about instruments.
Thanks For taking the time to do this but I’m left not knowing for sure whether the differences I’m hearing is due to the finish being adjusted!
this makes me think of an experiment i saw once on another channel, where they tested an electric guitar's sustain and relation to the wood. they would do a sustain test, then chop off part of the body, and incrementally until there practically wasn't any body left. yet the sustain according to the test seemed more dependent on the hardware. it was an interesting notion, but makes you question how important the wood of the body is in overall sustain, or even tone for an electric instrument. anyway, cool video.
There is a slight difference when an instrument has aged through a slight molecular structure change . Slight. They do "mellow." Or in other words, it loses a little top end. Overall, instruments are more consistent today, though a lot of the wood is a lot "greener." There are good and bad years in quality control and that makes a difference as well. But it's simply the "rarity" of an old instrument that gives it value. (If that matters to you.) In other words, a Babe Ruth baseball card for 1935 is going to have more value than one made in 2020. Back in the late 80's (not considered a great time for Fender) they began the "reissue" series and I got a 62 Precison re-issue and for all intents and purposes it's a 62 including the Brazillian rosewood fingerboard, which is no longer available. (Some people insist that a factor in the sound as well). The re-issue is indistiguishable from a 62 in every way. As for this test-- it was very elaborate with an inherent flaw. You needed a fresh set of strings in both instances, otherwise that would be the biggest factor in the tonal difference. So, it was a long way to go for a corrupted result.
i agree with you on the strings. either a fresh set of strings, or the old strings should've been stored properly, probably in a dehumidifier
You change it’s molecular structure by adding sweat and oil? I’m pretty sure you can’t create a chemical reaction by doing anything besides burning it.
@@reducedtoatoms3973 No, through resonance.
gotta say that's a way more significant improvement than I thought it'd be
Scarcity is the reason they are so expensive.... or possibly apparent scarcity. It's the same with vintage cars.... they are way worse than modern cars, but not many survive so they become expensive.
Make a 1000, but destroy 990 at the factory. Boom. Problem solved. Bass is now worth 10 grand
You should have used a jumper on day 1 and 366 to bypass the volume and tone controls to take them out of the equation. Also they have those surface vibrator speakers that you can connect to the Bass to vibrate it.
That was an absolute pleasure to watch ...and you sir! an absolute master of the bass guitar ..I salute you 🤟
23.07 sums it up ..and added warmth is definitely there to my ears ...I'll be playing my own bass twice as much on the strength of this video (do it to it as they say)...thanks again for taking the time and effort to make a truly interesting and compelling video
Agree with everyone that said that it needed new strings. Everything can be attributed to the strings being dead.
Thank you for sharing.. Do more experiment and gain more experience..bravo
I mainly came hear to hear bass riffs from confident players. Got what I wanted. Thanks!
Felt all riffs sounded better on the "aged" bass. I love the spirit of this test! great job!
maybe a stupid comment but I question the strings though: oxydation could happen during that year and make the strings sound a bit more worn out... did you consider doing it with brand new strings of the same brand both times, and if yes why not do it and keep the same strings?
Oxidation wasn’t really a concern because the strings are coated. Using two new sets from the same manufacturer could have probably worked but that invited a new set of variables in that I didn’t want to deal with, for example and bad or dead string, or a weak string that could break, etc.
@@TheBassChannel I get it, thanks for both the video and the answer :)
I think if you'd have placed a brand new set of strings on it, instead of the same set as the previous year that had been played on and stretched, it would answer the question I have about whether or not those strings are the reason it sounds deader.
you can reach back into time with an old instrument
Well, when I took my 1979 Kimbara jazz bass and put Seymour Duncan Quarter Pounds on it, the tone greatly improved (particularly as the original neck pickup died in the early noughties).
What you are forgetting is those vintage instruments sounded great when they were new. 59 Les Pauls are insanely priced now but they were also sought after in the 1960's because they always sounded superior. Did this Warwick bass every sound amazing?
I appreciate the effort for this test. But one year was to short to prove something... other than how strings sound different with age...😌
Vibration and in general playing an instrument a lot does help all the parts to settle, to lose tensions. Tensions are counter acting a open, musical sound.
Old woods are dried out, and the resins have cristalized. I doubt that there is something happened to the woodcells itself, lets say a change of shape or something....
I have a Steinberger as old as me. The original EMGs really have a different character compared to a brand new set. They have a preamp and less traditional coils and still the difference is very noticeable. I’m sure there are many others that would agree that pickups alone change drastically with decades of time. Not to mention the wear on body and aging woods.
Thought this experiment was very well done. The players footage throughout the year was extraordinary. They are phenomenal bassists and musicians. Though the two recordings did not change by much, any change would prove to be a successful test. And great work for sticking with it for 366 days and continuing for the sake of “guitar” science!
Outstanding video, excellent topic!! Enjoyed every minute of it, thanks for putting it all together, amazing tenacity displayed!
I've been playing the same Strat for 12 years. It's definitely better than ever, playability wise. It's broken in like a nice pair of jeans. Soundwise, I'd say it's exactly the same.
Remove all paint from under the bridge and reinstall it. I got a basket case, Ibanez, from a pawn shop. I tore it down made all repairs and it sounds great. The point is my first BTB was bought new and while I admired the workmanship it's sound was a letdown. My pawn shop bass is stellar.
I have a 63 hagstrom with a perfect neck, it sounds awesome.
Nostalgia and scarcity are perhaps the largest reasons
im really shocked i did not expect that much of a sound change at all but i can hear it sounding smoother and a touch warmer.
that's the broken in strings
I LOVE the Starman tattoo !!
I think I know what it is. Playability. It would become much looser as time goes on, making it play as smooth as butter. It wares to your hands and makes it feel right in your hands.
Great video. Can you describe the process for getting the finish off?
Very interesting video. I thought about this topic a lot in the past and I talked to a luthier/Pickup manufacturer about this as well. His conclusion was the same that Seymour Duncan had. Over the years pickup magnets just get a bit weaker and that influences the sound the most. The other significant part is the actual feel of the neck, which is what we as players obviously have the most contact with. Especially maple necks with no gloss finish feel very different after a few years of playing the instrument. I play an Ibanez guitar for 15 years now and the maple neck has changed the color to yellow because of exposure to UV light and it also feels and looks like it has a thin gloss finish now because all the years of sweat and oils from the hand basically sealed the neck.
i kinda wish you'd taken an open EADG from the bass before and after and compared them.
Would've been simpler.
Great premise for an idea. Needs at least 5 years though.
It‘s tighter in the lows and less brilliant in the highs.
It‘s like the different between different strings. No big deal.
Amazing! Good Job guys! Way to go! We appreciate your effort for this very interesting video!
It's a lot like antiques high quality the more time passes the less originals are around hence the price + trends and tastes
Nice work! I enjoyed that experiment. I have a Warwick SS2 five string fretless I bought new in 1996, and a Martin BC-15 bass I bought in 95. I swear that they both sound way better now than ever. I was even thinking that ten years ago. I always wondered, now I know!
Fantastic video! Really enjoyed this one lads, I could definitely hear the difference, and I prefer it with age! I'm off to blast some maiden Infront of my bass, cheers 😎🤘
I found the difference over time much more noticeable on my fretless basses than the fretted ones. And it seems to be more the response than the sound that improves.
Every time I turn on my amp it's a different tone
So true.
That's a LOT of live shows you have played...I envy you! Great video too!
My dad left me a collection of basses, the oldest is a '70 p bass. I love it and he used it on many country albums in the 80s as a studio player. However, my throw around schecter model t sounds better.
I have a damn near 28 year old bass. It feels pretty much the same as the day I got it. It dosen't sound like it did new. Had to change pick ups. Originals fell to hell in the first 4 years. So Bassline pickups are now and have been in it for the 24 years of beating the crap out of it. Then preamp took a crap. Well now it has EMG, and Aguilar preamp in it. Yes two active preamps onboard. The thing sounds amazing. But nothing like new. Quite a bit better than new is how I would put it. But it does feel the same.
It's a subjective question, and for several reasons I came up with. 1) the set up of your bass. 2) the amp. 3) how you play your bass (fingers, pick, pop/slap/tap ). 4) the strings. 5) what bass is comfortable in your hands,(ie playability, feel, etc). 6) the oickups/bridge/nut/tuners.
I have six years old custom made p-bass. It has wenge neck and samba body. Hand wound pickup. Everybody says that my bass sounds like fifty years old Fender p-bass. :)
Awesome video, thanks!
12:11 - Seymour Duncan explains what happens when you pickups when you have your guitar/bass next to an amp/speaker. 15:46 - Experiment compromised LOL
Feels so weird to see those big crowds these days. 2020 man...
Hopefully things change here real soon!