Do You Hear a Difference

Do You Hear a Difference

  • Total voters
    296
  • Poll closed .
The only reason I voted yes is because I micro analyzed it to death, it is so----- well: nothing worth mentioning.
I have heard bigger (much bigger differences compared to these clips) differences with real amps under the following conditions.
An added 5ft of guitar cable.
Voltages + or – 5 volts
A few weeks of playing a freshly re-tubed amp (say two to three hours a day)

Although I hear tiny - tiny difference I could not tell which is which. And also I did not prefer one over the other. Then I was thinking maybe Cliff is f***ing with us a little and using two real amps. But I dismissed that fairly quickly because I have heard much bigger differences in two identical tube amps.
 
The first time I listened I thought I heard a slightly darker 'attack' to the notes in the 2nd half of the first clip .... When I listened to the reversed clip, I thought I heard the same thing in the same spot ....

I'm guessing it's the attack of the playing, not in the tone .... So, I voted NO !
 
this is so close, it might as well be both of Cliff's Triaxis preamps (as he owns two, I believe) :) . and as it seems, a lot of folks describe the "differences" in many different ways. one thinks the first has a faster attack, the next claims it's exactly the opposite... that really goes to show that at this point it's more about taste and what we "want" to hear in a clip. if I'd track two parts in a studio with either sound, I'm pretty sure there would be slightly more differences...
 
I could hear some lower end dynamics in the first clip, but I'm being a pedant if I were to make any particular emphasis about it. The bottom line is that in a recording or live mix there is NO ONE here who could hear the difference and that it what counts. Why the hell are we making A/B comparisons on isolated tracks and not full mixes anyway? It seems so pointless, because we're the only ones who may or may not hear it anyway.

Cliff, could you arrange to record to mixes with a guitar, bass and drums, just playing something simple? I am pretty certain that no one will be able to hear a discernible difference between the two and let's face it, if you were to lie about which recording was which, 99% of people would eat it up and "hear" whatever it is that you tell them.
 
I hear a difference. One has a slightly "grainier" upper mid quality. The other is a bit smoother.

For that riff, in a mix, probably either would be fine.

It's when you're playing through the rig, doing different licks and combinations of notes that the player could feel better or worse about the tone, and that *could* affect the emotional content of the performance.
Which may or may not be something that matters to anyone else, but to the player, it does.
 
There is no perceivable difference for me as a whole, although if I focus on how the frequencies react in a three-dimensional sense (how the frequencies are moving in relationship to each other), I can maybe pinpoint a difference.....but then again, I can't do this accurately by just listening to it as a whole. The frequencies may seem to reverberate a bit more in some sense in the first part of the first clip when I play a small segment almost immediately after/before the second part of the first clip. This by some chance could make some seem to hear those frequencies that jump out more due to this occurrence (some low-mid frequencies/overtones that jump out as you pick)? Again this is all speculation and I'm not sure if I'm even describing this right. This is hard to do because my memory is not perfect as I jump to analyze the differences between each clip. I can only focus on a particular aspect at a time, and this thing I might be hearing could just be a fault in my memory or perception.

I voted that I don't hear a difference, but I would not be so sure that there is actually no difference because I want to say that there is more clutter (lower frequency spectrum) in the first part of the first clip as you pick.
 
Very minimal difference, the first clip . second half seems a smidge rounder and more compressed , opposite with second clip. As I said very minimal wouldn't hear it in a mix!
 
I have often wondered if I hear sounds the same way someone else does, most likely not.
Click to expand...
Some people have super hearing.
They can hear when a speaker is broken in
2595_250%255B1%255D.gif
 
Has someone tried phase inverting the second file and then merge it with the first? This way, it should basicly create a file only consisting of what is different between the two. No magic, no hearing things, just physics...

Just out of pure curiosity, I will try that when I get home.
 
What if this whole thing is an exercise to weed out the golden-eared crowd so Cliff can focus on the 99.99%? Do you guys remember playing a game in grade school called "7-Up"? It was what teachers used to find out who in the class was a cheater. Maybe this was the same recording twice and those that vote yes (you can see who voted what way in the results) are the people Cliff is going to ignore going forward.

I jest because I don't think he's cruel. But if it were me, I'd be tempted to do just that.
 
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Zwiebelchen said:
Has someone tried phase inverting the second file and then merge it with the first? This way, it should basicly create a file only consisting of what is different between the two. No magic, no hearing things, just physics...
Click to expand...

Science!

This would only work if the guitar signal was re-amped through both units. If it was played manually twice then the results wouldn't mean anything.
 
LPSlinger said:
negligible difference, first clip, second riff had a slight heavier bottom end. Reversed clip, first riff was a tad rounder to my ears.
Click to expand...

This was my thought as well but after listening to it a couple of times I wasn't sure if my ears/mind was playing tricks on me. That's how close they are. May not even be a difference.

Probably the difference between how it would sound if played with a .80mm pick vs. a .78mm pick. Maybe .79mm.... not sure.
 
MisterE said:
Some people have super hearing.
They can hear when a speaker is broken in
2595_250%255B1%255D.gif
Click to expand...

You cant hear when a speaker breaks in? Its pretty easily apparent.

The brand new parts in the suspension become less stiff with some use which should make perfect sense and the result is a lower resonant peak. The "smoothing" decribed is actually a lower peak. Theres also a slightly softer attack characteristic. Sounds broken in.
 
OK - after sleeping a full 8 hours and not dicking with synths all day, I came back to the thread and gave it a listen again. To be frank, I don't really hear any major differences between the two without forcing myself into the zone where I WANT to hear differences. I'm pretty sure if I heard these tones in a mix I wouldn't give a damn about any excruciatingly small differences between the two.
 
That was a really good idea ! :lol

But then the timing must be identical and the playing guitar source ....



Zwiebelchen said:
Has someone tried phase inverting the second file and then merge it with the first? This way, it should basicly create a file only consisting of what is different between the two. No magic, no hearing things, just physics...

Just out of pure curiosity, I will try that when I get home.
Click to expand...
 
To me, it does sound slightly different. It sounds like the same exact amp with a different inflection of the pick as if you hit the strings in a different part of the guitar. This is probably looped, so that wouldn't really explain it then. if I were to hear either one I wouldn't be questioning its integrity, I would be concerned if he hit the right note.




Just for the record, I skipped to this page to make my statement, so if someone has the same opinion as me, then I'm not alone.
 
I thought at first the second sounded slightly more open, but the more I listened the more I couldn't tell the difference. I'm listening at work on computer speakers - disclaimer.
 
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