It’s been recently shown that with properly executed, double-blind testing, world-class violinists cannot tell the difference between the best, modern violin instruments and Stradivari and Guarneri ‘del Gesu’ instruments. I have often pondered this myself, as the myth and folklore of ancient, prized instruments, or instruments which have significant provenance seem to overpower the actual acoustic and tonal properties of the instrument. Could this be a placebo effect that allows us to hear with our eyes and wallet instead? I say — yes!
Extending this myth to acoustic guitars, it is commonly known from a physics point of view that the back and sides of an acoustic guitar contribute less to the tone than the vibrating top which is the acting soundboard. However, many luthiers as well as players claim that the back & sides contribute significantly to the tone. However, few have actually done a proper test: listen to a large number of guitars, identically constructed but with different back and sides, and with full double-blind testing. Meaning that both the player and the tester do not know which instrument they are playing, and rate them only based on tone. This subtracts appearance from the equation.
This test has been done by the Leonardo Guitar Research Project, and the results are indeed in line with the violin tests. It shows that the backs and necks from non-tropical hardwoods (typically much cheaper and often disparaged by luthiers and players alike) could not be differentiated accurately from backs and necks of tropical hardwoods (i.e. Rosewood), and that players are prejudiced by visuals when making purely tonal assessments.
You could argue that the test is somewhat flawed because it did not utilize possibly the very best luthiers for the baseline design. However, it can be argued that regardless of the baseline, the designs were all the same except the neck, back and sides wood. And if the neck, back and sides material have such a significant effect, it should be evident in almost any design and show some trend in the tests. But this was not the case. This is a significant result.
What this says to me is that people continue to purchase what they like based on how it makes them feel — whether it’s a rare, beautiful, expensive, or mythological instrument. What’s missing is — how it actually sounds! Yet another shining example of marketing and how it can persuade people.
Guitars used in the Leonardo Guitar Research Project, with some data. See the full article for more details.
