8-string Tone Comparison

[jephjacques]

I was bored this morning so I decided to do a quick, unscientific comparison of my three 8-strings' tone.

The guitars in question:



On the left is an Ibanez RG2228A, on the right is a Ran Crusher FF8, and on the bottom is a Siggery fanned fret.

I felt like the best way to show off their differences would be to record the same series of riffs with each instrument. I used my standard recording setup- guitars into AxeFX Ultra into Logic, with the usual signal processing stuff I do when recording. The drums are just a couple quick loops I made with EZDrummer (and then forgot to mix properly ). I'm not the most amazing guitarist, so don't expect anything fancy. I was more interested in showing off the range of the instruments than writing anything particularly mindblowing.

Take #1- Ibanez RG2228A
The Ibanez is currently my "go-to" 8-string. It seems to have the tightest, most balanced tone of the three.
Take #2- Ran Crusher FF8
You can really hear how much looser the Ran is- I think it's due to the all-mahogany construction. Even with the extra inch and a half on the bass strings, it isn't nearly as tight as the Ibanez. It has probably the best clean tone of the three, in my opinion.
Take #3- Siggery fanned-fret
The Siggery is super-bright. I think it's mostly due to the wenge neck, but with that hand-wound pickup who knows? It's definitely the harshest-sounding of the bunch- it naturally has a bit of that grind you hear in Meshuggah's guitar tone. I'm actually thinking about trading or selling this one- I really don't need three different 8-strings, and I play the RG and Crusher a lot more.

Anyway, there we have it. Three different guitars, three different sounds. If you've been thinking about picking up one of these brands, hopefully this was informative. Or something.

[Bigfan]

So, you've moved up to 8 strings, now? Jesus, I hope Marten is going to start a Meshuggah cover band at some point.

Also, to SSO, Jeph.

[rekab]

Interesting comparison but the drums overpower the guitar to a point that it's hard to listen to the differences in tone. If you fix that real quick and reupload it would be awesome.

[Andrenighthound]

From what I'm hearing, I like #3 the best for clarity. ALso #3 is crunchier then the other two. #2 seems the most un clearest. # 1 seems clear but not as clear as #3.

[JamesM]

Based on your currently dialed in stuff, I think the Siggery sounds the best.

[EtherealEntity]

Cool guitars Yep I'd agree the Siggery sounds best here

[shawnperolis]

Number 3 sounds the best, easily. It has a really mean crunch to it. The Ibanez comes in as a close 2nd, I think. The Ran Crusher doesn't sound bad, but if I was going to sell one, it'd be that.

[Enselmis]

I feel as though you need more mid range in that tone sir, all across the board. I liked clip 1 the best though. Certainly Deathmole worthy material!

[ShadowFactoryX]

having the drums down a bit in the mix would definitely help
but your siggery has some serious bite to it.
If you did a clean test with that ran, I bet it would sound great

[Cremated]

Dibs on the Siggery.

[jephjacques]

Interesting that you guys like the Siggery best! I'll have to give it another shot.

And yeah the drums are way too high, I usually have them 4-5db lower in the mix. As for midrange, I usually like my guitars to sound pretty scooped. But it's something I'll experiment with in the future.

[mphsc]

Damn that RAN sounds good & thick. I pm'ed you about the Siggery.

[TankJon666]

Siggery for me! Sounds way clearer to my ears.

[LaPerraLoca]

Im thinking Ibby is the worst...

But you should re make the clips, lower thte Db on the drum track, and lable them guitar 1, guitar 2, guitar 3,
so people dont judge and hear by the brand, as a lot of ppl do.
so the opinions will be by the sound only.

But yeah, the 3, is the best, IMO