duaneallen Posted April 23, 2009 Posted April 23, 2009 Anybody here ever compare a Newport Pro (spruce top) to one with a maple top? I'm wondering about the difference in sound. I had a Newport Pro that I was in love with but I had to sell it because it was too bright for me. I mostly play jazz and wanted a darker tone. When I turned the tone knob down, it got a little too muddy. Is the maple top one as bright as the spruce top one? The build quality and playability of the Newport is amazing, but I like the sound of a 335 for what I'm doing. I just got one the new gibson 339's and I love it, this guitar really nails the 335 tone, but I would love to have a Newport that could get that sound as well. thanks.
harryjmic Posted April 23, 2009 Posted April 23, 2009 Maple is brighter then Spruce. Maple had a harder treble edge to it where Spruce is a little softer sounding. Gibsons are plywood guitars so they should tend to be more simliar in sound from guitar to guitar. Every Hamer Newport I have played has more high end to it then the Gibsons. I disagree with you about the muddy quality when turning down the tone controls, if anything Gibson guitars are the definition of mud when you roll down the eq.Perhaps you should try adjusting the amp instead of the guitar, you might have to look at this rather then the guitar.
Uncle Thor's Hamer Posted April 23, 2009 Posted April 23, 2009 Another option would be a pickup swap on the Newport.
pez Posted April 23, 2009 Posted April 23, 2009 The doesn't make it muddy mine either, I would at the amp settings
Guest pirateflynn Posted April 23, 2009 Posted April 23, 2009 Perhaps you should try adjusting the amp instead of the guitar, you might have to look at this rather then the guitar.I've had both spruce and maple top Newport Pro's. I didn't find that one was 'brighter' than the other but that the spruce top would compress faster. I like to push my guitar a little and have it not give in too easily, so the maple top works better for me. My set up is simple. Newport Pro plugged into a Blockhead First Born 18 watter. I find that it sounds really good with the tone (single knob) set just below 4. That's pretty low but both pickups sound great and have a beautiful swampy tone. I would imagine that you could get beautiful jazz tones out of an amp with a bit more headroom.
larry Posted April 23, 2009 Posted April 23, 2009 Anybody here ever compare a Newport Pro (spruce top) to one with a maple top? I'm wondering about the difference in sound. I had a Newport Pro that I was in love with but I had to sell it because it was too bright for me. I mostly play jazz and wanted a darker tone. When I turned the tone knob down, it got a little too muddy. Is the maple top one as bright as the spruce top one? The build quality and playability of the Newport is amazing, but I like the sound of a 335 for what I'm doing. I just got one the new gibson 339's and I love it, this guitar really nails the 335 tone, but I would love to have a Newport that could get that sound as well. thanks.I just bought a new Newport Pro (Vintage Natural), to keep my PRS Custom 24 company. Though, I'm enjoying playing the Newport Pro more. I never thought I would like a neck as much as the PRS, but in comparison to the Newport Pro, I'm finding the PRS a little too thin now. Regarding the brightness, I changed the tubes in my Fender Blues Jr.. I bought a replacement kit from eurotubes and it softened the brightness considerably. Made it a bit more flutey, though not overly. Also gave me cleaner lows as well. And I am finding that it's all about finding the right setting combination on the guitar and the amp.One thing I noticed, and I may be out to lunch on this, is that my touch matters moreso than on the PRS. What I mean is that the way that I play this and massage or attack the strings has so much more of an effect on the sound, which I like. It really forces me to become involved more. That may make absolutely no sense.
sonic1974 Posted April 23, 2009 Posted April 23, 2009 I just bought a new Newport Pro (Vintage Natural), to keep my PRS Custom 24 company. Though, I'm enjoying playing the Newport Pro more. I never thought I would like a neck as much as the PRS, but in comparison to the Newport Pro, I'm finding the PRS a little too thin now. Regarding the brightness, I changed the tubes in my Fender Blues Jr.. I bought a replacement kit from eurotubes and it softened the brightness considerably. Made it a bit more flutey, though not overly. Also gave me cleaner lows as well. And I am finding that it's all about finding the right setting combination on the guitar and the amp. One thing I noticed, and I may be out to lunch on this, is that my touch matters moreso than on the PRS. What I mean is that the way that I play this and massage or attack the strings has so much more of an effect on the sound, which I like. It really forces me to become involved more. That may make absolutely no sense. Makes sense to me, I got it. Now I want a Newport even more!
Guest pirateflynn Posted April 23, 2009 Posted April 23, 2009 What I mean is that the way that I play this and massage or attack the strings has so much more of an effect on the sound, which I like. It really forces me to become involved more. That may make absolutely no sense.Makes perfect sense to me, too.
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