[quote name='Ben Jamin' timestamp='1325635066' post='1485621']
A friend of mine has a few expensive acoustic guitars, some of which are modern and some vintage. He explained to me that as the wood ages the sap/resin crystallises, hence why older acoustics grow darker in shade. He said this means more sustain and warmth. And when he played his newly acquired 1954 Martin you could really hear it. The sound resonates for flipping ages, and there's so much more warmth and body to it, compared to his modern models (we're talking acoustics worth about 5-10k each here)
That's a short paraphrased version of what he said in less complicated terms anyway - I don't much about it myself.
But I could definitely hear a difference between his warm vintage guitars and his bright modern guitars.
[b]I don't know how much difference the wood would make on an old Precision, bearing in the mind the different lacquers and pick-ups too.[/b]
I reckon acoustically you might be able to tell - but put through an amp, into a cabinet, into a microphone, mastered on a DAW, and finally compressed into an mp3 file I doubt you'd be able to tell.
Ultimately though I reckon Jake's got it in one
[/quote]
Yeah, acoustic instruments are a completely different kettle of fish to electric ones.
The defining factor in the sound of a bass or electric guitar will be the electronics. It stands to reason that the wood would be such a big factor in an acoustic instrument.