Don't trust yourself!

[billder99]

Guitars made of wood can be counted on to change in tonal quality... period. They will have good days and bad days, good months and bad months. Humidity, temperature, string make/size/age are the major variables.

My way of looking at this: Get a guitar that sounds great to your ears and it will have more great days... just be aware that it will also have off days. Don't worry about it, don't freak out... it's just part of guitar ownership.

When I buy a guitar, obviously I will only buy a guitar that sounds great... but my main focus is on playability... does it feel good in my hands, and is it easy to play?

[devellis]

Originally Posted by billgennaro

This may be true for some but not for all. At least to some degree (sorry Psalad, but absolute statements get me going).

Seems to me that the input to our brains comes from our five senses. And all five inputs are received by the brain simultaneously. At that point we produce an output in the form of response, be it emotionally, physically, or a combination of the two (I know it may be a bit deeper than this but hopefully you get the point). And all five senses actually have a say in how we perceive sound (with our hearing being the dominant factor, of course). The trick with such things as evaluating guitars and sound (at least for me) is being consistent with our approach to the matter. And that comes with experience and the ability to concentrate.

Any time I pick up a guitar I approach it in the same fashion (how it looks, my mood, how I will play it, how I will listen to it, how it feels, etc.). Basically, I turn down the focus on the emotions that have been formed by four of my senses (their input), and turn up the focus on my sense of hearing. This is why blind people hear more ambient sound than those of us with sight. They can concentrate more on their hearing without sight having a say in the matter. I wasn't always able to do this and made quite a few mistakes in the past. But I'm getting better at it all the time. Having been in repair/restoration is definitely helpful in this regard. It has helped with my objectivity. Also, I cannot be exactly the same every time I pick up an instrument but I can refine my process greatly.

So I'm in the camp of "trusting what I hear". It may not work all of the time but it can be improved with experience, concentration, and technique. At least, for me. As far as knowing "the one" when I hear it, that's a different matter altogether. That would take personal time with the instrument.

Respectfully, Bill, that's not how it works at all. Different pathways don't hold equal sway or send data at the same rate. Emotional pathways are favored. Also, we tend to process information in the least effortful way, which is to rely heavily on emotional information and the "gist" of what that information conveys. Logical analysis requires considerably more effort and is mobilized far less often. There are loads of studies demonstrating this effect.

Now, that's not to say that you can't over-ride your emotional first impulse or that you, personally, are more influenced by emotion that logic. It's just to say that our emotions have a demonstrable, evolutionarily-selected advantage over reason.

If you think about it in evolutionary terms, our forebears encountered lots of situations that called for forming an initial impression and acting on it very quickly. Thus the mechanisms that enabled those instantaneous reactions had survival value. Hear a branch break behind you in the otherwise quiet woods, and you're likely to orient to that sound before you even realize you've heard it. There's a shorter, faster pathway from your emotional centers to your motor centers than the one that runs through the frontal cortex where ideas are processed rationally. And some responses involve loops within the spinal chord that have an output before the signal even hits the brain (like withdrawing your hand from a painful stimulus).

So, while we can do the work of pushing our reflexive reactions aside and analyzing a situation more logically, it's far from automatic and the number and range of situations in which people fail to do it is extensive and most definitely includes purchase decisions. That doesn't mean that your decisions, as a seasoned player and purchaser, aren't well informed. But for many people, it's going to be a heavily emotion-driven process.

[billgennaro]

Originally Posted by devellis

So, while we can do the work of pushing our reflexive reactions aside and analyzing a situation more logically, it's far from automatic and the number and range of situations in which people fail to do it is extensive and most definitely includes purchase decisions. That doesn't mean that your decisions, as a seasoned player and purchaser, aren't well informed. But for many people, it's going to be a heavily emotion-driven process.

Bob,

That's why I said it takes experience and concentration. I don't think that I implied that it was either easy or that everyone can do it. If I did then I did a poor job making my point. I was merely mapping out the approach that I have learned to take. I realize that emotions are the overriding factor, and that's why I said that I try to focus as hard as I do on overriding such things when a new guitar finds its way to my lap. I have found that so many obstacles in life can be overcome to some degree by enough dedication and concentration. As a young man learning repair/restoration I found that I needed to be objective when evaluating a guitar at the end of a job.

[Jberczel]

This is why I love doing blind tests. I had a friend swear how much better brita water was compared to tap water.

I called bs and challenged him to blind taste test. I gave him 6 cups of water, 3 which tap water, and 3 brita.

Sure enough, he ended up selecting the tap waters as "better tasting". And from that day forward we could agree to tame our assumptions and confidence in our own perceptions.

[devellis]

Originally Posted by billgennaro

Bob,

That's why I said it takes experience and concentration. I don't think that I implied that it was either easy or that everyone can do it. If I did then I did a poor job making my point. I was merely mapping out the approach that I have learned to take. I realize that emotions are the overriding factor, and that's why I said that I try to focus as hard as I do on overriding such things when a new guitar finds its way to my lap. I have found that so many obstacles in life can be overcome to some degree by enough dedication and concentration. As a young man learning repair/restoration I found that I needed to be objective when evaluating a guitar at the end of a job.

Bill -- Well said.

[Psalad]

Originally Posted by billgennaro

This may be true for some but not for all. At least to some degree (sorry Psalad, but absolute statements get me going).

The point is the OP outlined a very specific scenario. Goes and plays a guitar, develops a strong opinion. Comes back some time later and finds that opinion was not correct.

There is no question that liking or not liking a guitar is subjective.

There is no question that what sounds "good" in a guitar is also, within reason, subjective,

If you really believe you can play a guitar on one day, and then say a week later play another guitar and believe you are able to make a valid, objective comparison, then I believe you don't understand bias. I don't believe anyone can do this and make a meaningful a/b comparison. It doesn't matter how hard one concentrates. It goes against the limits of human perception. When you move your ear six inches into a different axis, the sound of a guitar changes incredibly.

It's true... there may very well be freaks of nature who can do things the rest of us cannot do. But the trick as outlined by the OP is impossible for everyone.

So I'm in the camp of "trusting what I hear". It may not work all of the time but it can be improved with experience, concentration, and technique. At least, for me. As far as knowing "the one" when I hear it, that's a different matter altogether. That would take personal time with the instrument.

We'll have to agree to disagree again.