Perceptual Mapping of Attributes and Perceived Dissimilarities in High-Gain Guitar Amplifiers

Purup Andersen, Morten

4. term

Engineering Psychology, Master

2011

2011-05-30

116 pages

Immediately perceiving the differences between a series of products within the same category can be a difficult task. For customers buying the product, the only option seems to ask for help by more experienced customers or experiencing the products one by one. For a development team developing products within a narrow category, the team members may not share a common understanding of exactly what makes these products different and most certainly do they not share a common vocabulary for describing the characteristics differentiating these products. A perceptual mapping can provide a common understanding of a product series and has relatively easy been made by conducting listening experiments asking the listeners for dissimilarities and attributes within the range of products under investigation. Seven high-gain guitar amplifiers were recorded through a controlled signal chain only changing the specific amplifier. Multidimensional scaling of dissimilarity data gathered from 16 participants provided a two-dimensional stimulus plot and individual attribute ratings of each amplifier aided the interpretations of the dimensions. Perceptual mapping is suggested as a helpful tool for e.g. development teams developing products possessing complex perceptual attributes.

perceptual mapping multidimensional scaling guitar amplifiers high-gain distortion attributes sound quality

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