I believe cork-sniffing happens on many areas especially on stuff that are subjective and hard to quantify (esp to the 5 human senses), ie. sound, taste, feeling etc. If you are wondering what does the term cork-sniffing means, this is the definition from google
"A derogatory term used to describe a person that tends to overanalyze physical properties that may not even be relevant. These people seem to split hairs on details and are usually just percieved as windbags who just like to hear themselves speak. The implied insult of the word, is that the corksniffer, is a lab worker that microanalyzes everything to the extreme, but fails to see the big picture. The term probably originated in the wine industry or the wine conneisour pastime to describe people that innaccurately believe they can tell the quality of a wine by sniffing the cork"
This happens very commonly in online guitar forums that I visit because the many aspects of guitar ie tone, playability, sound is inherently subjective and you will always get long debates about A vs B, singlecoils vs humbuckers, Jap vs Korea, mass vs boutique etc etc. Have to admit all of us are cork sniffers to a certain extent because we have our own personal preferences and biases.
I stumbled on this from My Les Paul forums some time back and thought it was pretty hilarious and real to a certain extent. I think I'm somewhere in Level 2 :P
The unofficial Field Guide to spotting, identifying and classifying the Cork Sniffer:
Level 1 CorkSniffalus Minimus
Dismisses guitars made in China; prefers Korean or Japanese.
Amp must have a tube in it somewhere.
Pedals he uses can be described as “sounds a lot like [X] pedal” or “just as good as [Y] pedal.”
Enjoys that his sound is “pretty close” to youtube clips of equipment he admires.
Player profile: 420 is just as important as 401k, ok more so. Spends 10 hours playing for each 1 hour on gear.
Level 2 CorkSniffalus Regularus
Dismisses any guitar not made in the USA.
Reissue tube amps are nice; solid state is all crap. 70’s tube amps are good too.
Pedals must have true bypass.
Frustrated his sound is “pretty close” to youtube clips of equipment he admires.
Player profile: Average income. Spends 4 hours on gear for each 1 hour of playing. May still play out a bit, doing covers.
Level 3 CorkSniffalus Superious
Dismisses any guitar not accompanied by paperwork containing the words “Custom Shop.” Guitar should closely resemble one in a picture with a major guitar player who played at least two decades ago.
Dismisses stock pickups as too muddy. Hand wound is the only way to go.
Dismisses stock caps and capacitors. Only PIO capacitors will do. Knows that current Gibson bumble-bees are “fake.”
Amps stay the same, but of course stock tubes are “junk.”
Monster amp cord or high level planet waves style cord is necessary to avoid losing “top end” of signal.
Anything stock causes tone to sound as if a “blanket” has been thrown over stock part during playing. Blankets are not good. Page never played with a blanket.
Pedals must be the same name and appearance as they were in the 70’s or early 80’s, unless they are actually from that period – true bypass ignored for these gems.
Dismisses youtube clips and demands tightly controlled comparisons that eliminate all variables.
Player profile: Manager or in sales where commissions are good. Spends 20 hours on gear for each 1 hour of playing. May have played out when younger.
Level 4 Corksniffalus Maximus
Dismisses any guitar that isn’t pre-1970; or custom shop and that has not had all hardware replaced with identical items that provide no functional improvement but that cost at least 500% more than the stock parts, in order to achieve historical accuracy (due to ageing or dimensions based on an old guitar). Guitar player who played a similar model must have been famous at least thirty years ago.
Capacitors should actually be from the 1950’s.
Reissue amps are out. Only boutique amps or amps made before 1970 are ok; careful tube selection is a priority.
Mogami platinum cords are necessary to maintain signal fidelity.
Pedals must be at least thirty years old (except channel switchers and tuners, which must be true bypass), and must cost at least three times the average cost of a new pedal of similar function. Boutique pedals are alright too, as long as they meet the same price criteria.
Power must be isolated and conditioned before touching precious equipment.
Dismisses any clip as simply unable to remove all variables or capture the nuance of a live performance.
Player Profile: Dentist, lawyer or such. Knows intros to many, many songs. Can play blues scale but is especially proud to know how to get a “jazz vibe” going. Spends 40 hours on gear for each 1 hour of playing.
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