Even the PROS are not immune to this CRAP!
Вставка
- Опубліковано 18 тра 2024
- How many times have you read a statement by a guitar player you admire, only to ask yourself, "Wtf? Is he for real?" Turns out, they're human and can be misled by bad information too. Love the show? Support it by grabbing the new Singularity Bass LIbrary over at Spectre Digital: spectredigital.com/plugins/si...
About Spectre Sound Studios:
I'm Glenn Fricker, engineer here at Spectre Sound Studios. I love making records, and after doing it for sixteen years, I want to pass on what I've learned. On my channel you can find tutorials on how to record guitar, bass, real drums and vocals. There's reviews and demos of tube amps, amp sims, drums, mics, preamps, outboard gear, Electric Guitar, Bass Guitar, and plugin effects.
We've covered Moon on the Water, played Bias FX, given you the absolute best in Stupid Musician Texts, ranted & raved about bass guitar, and this channel is where The Eagle has Landed.
Everything you've wanted to learn about recording Hard Rock & Heavy Metal can be found right here on this channel!
I also respond to your comments & questions: The best make it into the SMG Viewer's Comments series of videos. Loads of fun, lots of laughs.
Thanks for checking out my channel & please subscribe!
Almost 70% of the viewers are NOT subscribed. I need your help to grow this channel, please hit the subscribe button!
I’m a proud member of the 30 percent.
Hey I made it to Butthurt. ....woohooo 🤪.. I hope you took my comment as the sarcastic British humour it was supposed to be.. .
Didn't even knew I wasn't subscribed yet 🤪 Here have a new subscriber after idk 2 years of watching your content 🤣 Greets from good 'ol germany 😋
I hate youtube beggars, unsuscribed
Ive always to see a blind test between a real Gibson ‘50s burst vs a Gibson standard vs a Chinese Epiphone standard. I wonder how many of us could tell the difference between a $400k guitar and a $650?
Oh, Aeroband sent you a guitar? They either just made the dumbest move they could have, or they're confident in the changes that EytschPi42 said they made. He did also say they were lucky they didn't send one to you because of how brutal you'd be. Either way, I'm looking forward to that. "We're going to have a hanging... or a wedding... either way, we're going to have a lot of fun."
Hell,s yes a blast
Never heard of them. Harley Benton got a spotlight, it would be cool to do other cheap or bottom end name brand guitars.
@thomasladders7481 The aeroband "guitar" isn't a guitar. It's a really expensive and unplayable game controller.
It was marketed to beginners, but it was 600 bucks last I saw and can't be played by a guitar player effectively. Nobody needs this. There are plenty of reasonable guitars and amps available for a lot less.
It's definitely going to be a must watch episode if he tests this flaming turd.
Oh man looking forward to that!
Bruh. There are a TON of channels who did one of these “reviews”, and I can’t freaking WAIT for glen to do his 🤣🤣🤣
Well, on my ibanez swapping stock pickups for black winters made actual difference, especially when down tuning it's got noticeably more controlled and articulated low notes and in some way more pleasantly distorting highs. And cleans got much better, someone probably would say they are only subtle differences but I think my expectations were more realistic to begin with, haven't regretted even once.
I have the blackened winters, and I think there's a huge difference between those and say my stock Harley Bentons - with that said though --the SDBW are in a Jackson, and the HBs are in an (obviously) HB. I can't make a (fair) comparison unless they're in the same guitar/amp/etc. You're absolutely right though, there's a far bigger difference when I'm in D Standard vs Standard.
I added a set of Black Winters to my Eart W2 Headless and it's amazing when compared to the PAF's it came with... great choice.
I swap pickups around a lot in my 30’ baritones. Makes a big difference for me sound wise.
Now put a mic to the speaker and don’t move it. And then record both pickups, the difference is going to be VERY miniscule.
@@watersnortmoment3734 I don't disagree when it comes to tracking, because that adds many different layers (mic, interface, etc) ... but I swapped mine for live audio, and there is a definite improvement. But that makes since because I'm swapping a set of PAF pickups for high output humbuckers.
I love how your videos backup what I have been telling other guitar players for years that the SPEAKER is the most important part for tone and sound. I personally still love my Eminence Lynch super v12 speaker.
I’ve had my Ibanez SA260 FM for almost 18 years now, and it still plays like a dream. And the price nowadays is around the €400 mark, so I would qualify this for affordable, well playing guitars
Bought this guitar two years ago, it plays perfectly, no flaws whatsoever. However the setup it came with was non-existent basically, the strings were loose, the bridge floated way too high when tuned, and i had to turn the truss rod like twice in the first 5 months.
Hey great videos, since I`ve started watching your content my guitar tone has improved drastically and I don't even play with high gain, thanks for all this usefull information.
I bought the Black Winter too, only one so only about 150€, and it actually made a huge difference to the sound of my Ibanez. Turns out the stock pickup wasnt wired correctly 😂 Oh well, nownI have some soldering experience.
I was confused. I got a $200 Monterey 7 string 20 years ago and put a Blaze Custom in the bridge and changed the guitar sound drastically. 99% improvement
I have a single black winter in my heavily modded ancient washburn mg40 and it honestly sounds exactly like the muddy evil mess i was after. Also, high output = more nice noise on a tiny single tube amp. I get almost the same output as active pickups, but less higs and clarity. More noise. All good for my application. But it woulsmd probably have been achievable with the original pickups and a simple boost.
Also, i use transistor distortion that employs the transistors i reverse for more noise.
@@PetterstrojkaThat's a lot of noise 😮 I like noise!
I do love your pragmatism Glen, it's all about results with you - brilliant.
A full Kramer video would be phenomenal! I have a Baretta Special I got for $179, I cut out the capacitor on the volume pot to make it work properly, put a new set of tuners and a new nut, and it's one of my go-to guitars. They might have a bit of a "dated" look, but it's a great husk, even at an entry level price
I did the same thing. Replaced the pickup, and blocked the trem, too. Now it's my favourite guitar. Just takes a bit of work. They're the perfect project guitar, or for someone that wants to learn that stuff. Team purple.
I bought an 80s Stryker for something like $100CAD at a pawn shop. The guys there didn't know much about guitars so I'm like "ah man, neck is warped as fuck.. feel that, feel the frets sticking out? Ugh gonna have to replace this bridge it's fucked" and they let it go like I was doing them a favor. Didn't actually have any problems at all, didn't even have a scratch on it. Came with a Floyd Rose II which alone was worth more than what I paid for the whole guitar. Light as a feather and had a nice fat neck that played like a dream. I made that my main stage guitar even though I had $3,000 Les Pauls and stuff. Plus it looked tough enough to be playing in my death metal and black metal bands with a Marshall stack. Anyways, that's a long-winded way of saying I have a very positive view of Kramer. I feel they don't get enough recognition.
@@RETIREDBUGKILLER Oh, so u lied to them to get the guitar cheap AF? Zero morals... You would have probably gotten it for a fair price regardless 🙄 $100CAD is 68 euros, which is an absolutely ridiculous price for ANY guitar, let alone 80's Kramer 😫 They got scammed!
@@MaximusAdonicus Like I should exercise any sort of moral restraint with a fucking PAWN SHOP lol. They'll rip off an old lady for her jewelry so she can pay her rent that month and then flip it for 20x what they paid for it lol get outta here
@@RETIREDBUGKILLER Well, some people actually have morals and some are scum... 🤷♂ I would have personally paid twice the money out of courtesy! I don't know the owners of ur pawn shop or any pawn shop, but I do know I do not rip people off even if someone else does.
Coming from ESPs and Fenders, I was just amazed by the Squier Contemporary series, specially the Telecaster. First time I saw one in a store, I was amazed by how it looked and ended up trying it and just fell in love with the feel and the tone. It has a Humbucker omn the neck and a HotRail type on the bridge, adn it really feels like a 800+ bucks guitar for under 400! And the roasted maple neck is just gorgeous! I even lent it to a cousin who only plays American Fenders and he told me that finishes were top notch and that he would have believed me if I told him it was a Fender!
I think that between you and Jim Lill, it's been quite freeing to step back and really look at what affects my tone. I'm mainly a live local cover-band player and cost, size and use case is my priority. If you know that what really matters when it comes to creating good tone, then you can achieve exactly what you want for the money you have and focus on whether the gear you buy actually fulfills the practical benefits of your actual use case.
For anyone wondering, it's speakers < cabinet < amp < pedals < guitar < pickups < cables. Order slightly depends on amount of gain and playing skill.
Absolutely agree with this. These guys are taking out the bullshit
@@aavavertu229 Sort of. For live music with a real cab, I would say it's (in order of significance for tone): number of speakers in cabinet, size of speakers, specific speakers, post distortion EQ, pre-distortion EQ, preamp, power amp, pickups, guitar.
@@brentstewart59 I've gone from lugging around crazy heavy and expensive tube amps to an entirely pedal-based power amp and preamp solution where I can plug into a cab or just go direct. My tone is as good or better than ever and I can get all my gig gear into the venue in one trip.
@@neighbourhoodmusician Yes, if we get this deep things get somewhat complicated as elements in the chain begin to have a cross influence.
Whether or not multiple speakers are used, the single most defining tonal factor is the speaker itself.
If we are talking about a guitar tone captured with a mic, the cabinet and number of speakers of course become less relevant or almost completely negligible.
LMAO that Aeroband video is gonna be glorious. It's gonna be like an early christmas present. Bless you Glenn.
I've got to say own a couple of single cut guitars with similar specs for playing live, most have rosewood and one has ebony boards, the reason I gravitate towards the rosewood is because I'm a rhythm player and the looder grain feels more anchored for playing chords! Keep up the great work Glenn
Did you say you're getting that toy guitar monstrosity for a review? I thought they've halted sending or selling them to anyone in fear of someone tearing them a new one... It will be glorious, can't wait!
Hi Glenn, I really like that you're one of the very few music youtubers that tells us to NOT buy unnecessary gear. I am not immune to the marketing tricks that companies like to play on us, but I was fortunate enough to see through the pickup marketing bullshit quite early in my 'career'. Out of curiosity I bought this Korean hot rails pickup for the equivalent of like 20 USD. Aside from the poor soldering from the factory this pickup is amazing. On the recordings I can't tell the difference between it and my LP studio. If I have a chance, I'll always go to the cheaper pickup first. If it works - awesome, if it doesn't - there are always other options.
Glenn, I am so glad you've made these videos, because now my bandmates can't complain about my BC Rich guitars anymore!
"A MINOR ERROR" took everything you said out of context... Get him.
Morning SMG buddies!
Good morning, Wimpy!
G'day!
Greetings
Hello from Seattle
Sup
Fun story. I am a 62-year-old professional musician and music teacher. I am tired now of playing on stages that are so quiet we could talk to each other and hear each other over the instruments. I miss the days of moving a lot of air with big amplifiers on stage, so I have started a new band. It is coming along nicely I am buying 100 w 412 stack to play in this band and move some air. Fuck the sound man we're going to move air off the stage just like the old days. Best project I've ever been a part of. Oh yeah now I can turn around my guitar will feedback when I face the amplifier.
Good luck getting gigs with that attitude! You piss off the sound guy and the venue, you better well be bringing in a full house of audience or you'll get blacklisted.
@@chaptermasterpedrokantor1623 I was waiting for this comment. Like I said I'm professional. The fuck the sound man is a joke. I will have a sound man. In fact I already have one. And a dancer in a cage on the stage. And I'm setting up the show at a venue. With lighting LED panel and what not. The sound man is going to work with our stage volume like the old days. A big buzz is already building up around this band.
@@216trixie Good luck then and my condolences to the poor sod who has to do your sound. I've worked enough FOH and festivals to know that the soundguys that come with the band easily make the most mistakes. They may know the band but they don't know the gear they have to work with.
@@chaptermasterpedrokantor1623 I'll try one more time. I'm professional. My soundman is among the best in the area. He runs sound on most of my quiet stages. I play small gigs parties festivals you name it. This is a different gig. It's going to be loud and we're going to love it. Just imagine, before all these modelers and quiet stages, back in the way olden days of the '80s and '70s and even the '90s, there was stage volume!
@@chaptermasterpedrokantor1623 also, before quiet stages, audiences used to crowd up to the stage to be close to the band and enjoy the volume that they enjoyed. You could hear the amps. You could feel the bass amp pushing the air. Now, you need to stand back 20 ft to get a good sound. Get up close to the stage and you're going to hear crap.
On the topic of gain at the pickups vs gain at the amp. It depends on the amp. Vintage high output pickups were made when the highest gain amps the highest gain amps you could get were a plexi or a JCM 800 effectively acting as a boost. With modern high gain amps it really doesn't matter. Hotter pickups tend to be a slight bit muddier, but if you have low output pickups a decent boost pedal will give you the same DB boost but with the benefits of adding a buffer or eq to the signal chain. There is no wrong way to do it. Just what works best for you, your ears, and budget.
Thanks for your insights, Glenn!
Keep up the good work. The guitar gear industry is so vile and even pro musicians easily influenced. I remember when EVH released the 5150 Overdrive pedal. I tried one and realizied quickly it barely gets in the ballpark of the real thing. Pete Thorn did a video on it where he praised it for its accuracy. Someone who's "made it" as a known player has incredible influence, with or without a UA-cam channel. Even if they don't always get $$$ kickbacks, they are highly incentivized to say positive things about products when they have relationships with vendors. We live in an time when, with less than $1k of gear any pro player could buy what they need to get on stage and perform at professional level. It's all about the hobbyist and armature chase for the magic sword and giant egos that assume they have the talent part down and just need better gear. Target demo for gear vendors is mid-life hobbyist with money. Taylor Guitars, Gibson, Fender, etc.. that's the group they are marketing to.
I bought two of them and used them with ir's live in place of hauling my jvm210 head and 1960 cab out it definitely did the trick even if it wasnt accurate to a real evh 5150 amp it sounded pretty spot on to the marshall in my use case
Even better still the bogren amp knob evh did too so we use that for scratch tracks and rehearsals now the tube amps just get used for reamping on final products
Important to note, those weren’t designed to replace a 5150 head. I’ll say, with those amp in a box pedals, the power section and speaker of your amp you’re driving them into are quite important. I’ve never really been impressed by any amp in a box pedals, but I’ve heard some people make them sound fairly useable here and there. Personally, I’d rather have a pristine, perfect sounding overdriven one trick pony amp that cleans up well with the guitar’s volume that can generally cover most bases (like a Friedman or some other variant of a hot rodded Marshall). I’m doing exactly that digitally at the moment. Even with it being digital (Line 6 HX Stomp), while digital historically usually doesn’t do the roll off volume thing well, I think it sounds even better than what I was able to get out of the 5150, v30 2x12, and full 4cm pedalboard rig I used to gig with (with all the hassles and imperfection of things like the speaker choice I had to make for budget and the wild card of changing mic placement and how temperamental amps are)
Hi Glenn! Loved the video. I was once an electric tone wood believer but not anymore thanks to you
Gleeeen!!! Ur awesome :) love from Saskatchewan
I select those guitars and pickups that actually work for me. And yes, pickup choice can make a substantial difference. For a long time I was pretty happy to have a JB humbucker in the bridge of more than one of my guitars. In recent years I started to really hear its quacky, midrangey nature and it started to bother me. Eventually I pulled the JB out of one of my most played guitars and put in a regular Duncan 59 Bridge. Quack gone. I do like this better. I have another guitar that still has a JB in it, and both guitars with JBs did sound very much alike even to my ear. Now they clearly sound different even with a lot of overdrive, as one still has the JB and the other now has a 59 instead. Yes, pickup choice can materially alter your tone. NOT saying that EVERY pickup that's a different brand and model will have its own readily identifable distinctive sound or that it'll sound way different from others. I'm saying that SOME have a very clearly different tone than certain other models.
You should make a video on changing volume/tone pots. A lot of times people consider swapping PU's when going from a 250k to a 500k is a far cheaper and more effective way to fix a dark sounding guitar.
changing pots only affect tone when turning down the knob or does it also have an impact if we keep the knobs at 10 ?
@@jeanjeanjean2541It has an effect on 10. Simply put the higher value pot lets more higher frequencies through.
@@jeanjeanjean2541 actually it does. Some humbucker guitars come with 250k pots and switching those to 500k almost always sounds better. The higher the value, the more treble will pass.
I don't understand why it works on volume pots when turned all the way up, though. On tone pots it makes more sense, because the higher the resistance, the bigger the share of the signal that gets taken away through the capacitor.
This has been something that's really been on my mind. It's one of those things that nobody seems to be interested in testing even though there's a solid scientific basis for how it would affect your sound. It's not like tonewood where it's vibes and contradictory opinions, there's like a clear 1:1 correlation, but I've never heard it tested.
There was a video of Jim Root years ago saying he doesn’t like maple fretboards, because he says they are too bright.
Then he launched a new guitar with Charvel with a maple fretboard. He then came back later and says maple wasn’t as bright as he remembered.
As someone who’s been playing guitar for only a few years, I never thought to look into modding any of my guitars or getting any better gear like amps or cables. Almost all info I’ve gotten on different gear has come from you and one other person, and I’ve kept it all in mind!
Also, I don’t know if you’ve already done this, but maybe you could test a couple Fender/Gibson guitars against Squier/Epiphone guitars to show the differences and similarities between them? Others have done this, but you go into much more detail about tone, price, and other equipment and how they effect sound. Anyway, great video and keep up the good work!
I personally love the my Jackson JS32s. Especially my Rhoads but I know that they can be a hit or miss sometimes. However I would love to see you try one
I got a JS32 Rhoads that is a beast!
I wanna get one
Greetings from Ukraine!
I don't usually working on metal tracks, but some of your advices are still legit for rock or even electronic music.
Keep energy high and thanks for your enlightenment work!
Thanks Glenn! Love the show. I'm a 48-year old dad, a bureaucrat to boot, that plays guitar for my own enjoyment and recreation. I really like the LTD EC-10. It's about 250 €, has a nice heavy (as in weight) feel and I thinks it looks good! (in a sort of "where ever did my youth go" kind of way...)
I plug it into a Scarlett 2i2 and the noise level is really nothing to bitch about. Let me tell you - this guitar will for sure last for many years before I'm "better" than the guitar as a player. Thanks for the show! It's awesome!
Damn man I might have to check out that bass sim. Been playing with having VST backups behind my physical recordings and am loving the sound so far.
Plus I may or may not have been a rule #2 in my bass days lol
I want to be able to hear a 5% difference in tone. That's just amazing. I bet that guy could even score 100% on a blind test for pickups. If he saw the pickups first that is...
As a non-guitar player that came to this channel to learn how to RECORD guitar, I've decided to pull the trigger on the Gotoh once I'm able and take some guitar lessons. I'm not looking to be a rockstar on guitar, just to be able to write the music in my head. Thanks for the suggestion!
Definitely feeling the "amp Sims are easier" thing this week, I unplugged my amp and the ground prong stayed IN the wall outlet. I could still play, if I wanna ride the lightning ⚡
I'd skip the Kramer. They have been crap ever since Gibson bought them out. Seriously, what can you expect from Sue Authentic. They have the reverse Midas touch. Everything they buy turns to crap. Case in point, Kramer, Steinberger, and Epiphony.
well Kramer isn't what it was back 40 years ago concerning high end guitars - but Kramer actually does very good guitars in the budget to mid level. The 200 bucks baretta special is a very solid shreddy guitar out of the box.
I'd say Kramer is by far the best bang-for-buck Gibson has to offer.
@@ithemba Nah. Wishful thinking. Ibanez and Schecter put Kramer to shame. A Kramer is like a toy compared to a Schecter.
As far as affirdable guitars go, I heard good things about Slick guitars. They are lookers for sure (at least on pictures) but it'd be cool to see you have your way with one.
I enjoy your content a lot I hope the information just gets absorbed. I currently record from a moto smartphone and run a squire through a super cheap fender champ 20. It's super refreshing to find someone who reps cheaper gear and isn't just wow-ed over a price tag. I don't understand mixing or editing in the least yet as I don't own a computer or an audio interface yet but it's encouraging to see less "oh you absolutely need this, if you don't get this thing for this certain sound it's just not right" thanks for sharing the facts and helping broke people with dreams, do more than dream.
Super interested to see the upcoming video about the metal recording mic.
Thanks VG video. Next up checking out your bass software. Cheers!!
Thanks Glenn, you and Jim Lill prove that most of what musicians and music producers assumed as facts were completely wrong and most of the time things that companies and gear snobs invented in order to spend as much money as possible in things that don't really matter. It's time to put into test most of the things that we considered as irrefutable truths about music production and sound.
Keep going!!!
Oh cant wait to see the Aeroband Guitar Review
I love the feel and look of an ebony board. Never heard a difference from my rosewood Les Pauls. Just love the feel under my fingers much better.
I bought a cheap 7string schecter guitar and changed the bridge pickup to 7stringed Paf, didn't do it for the sound change, but when i record direct into my daw via my soundcard, the lower output makes finding the correct gain level easier and a nice sideeffect is that electric noise from monitors and pc is reduced quite a bit:)
Love the show Glen!!! and please, can we get more mixing tutorials, make a new series on maybe drum mixing? Maybe difference when mixing toontrack (or similar) or live sets? thanks yet again.
(btw sorry English isn't my main language so sorry for any errors:P)
As a drummer I'm glad I don't have to worry about any of this. I just got a tube amp and a guitar that I thought looks cool. Sounds good and I'm happy. :)
2:09 I actually own the Kramer Nite V he's referring to and I absolutely love it, specially how the neck feels in my hands. Also, mostly stays in tune
Glenn, I gotta say thanks for all the info during the last couple of years. Honestly, Im pretty pissed at all the bullshit I bought into from companies that were simply trying to sell a few more units. I always felt like I couldn't hear a difference between about 90% of the sounds of say before/after tube changes or between this pickup vs that when played through the same amp with the same settings. But I always assumed that maybe I just didn't have the "magical hearing" to find the differences. Thanks for helping me realize the truth of if it fucks like a duck, it's probably not a chicken.
I bought a Kramer Baretta Special a while back. The stock pickup seemed way too hot for me no matter how much I lowered it. So, I changed it out for a Duncan Distortion. The sound of the guitar through my amp didn't change much, but the output was much more even, and in control. Feels much more satisfying to play to me. Was it worth the price? Probably not, but I'm happy with the result.
Had the same experience with that guitar not liking the stock pup and upgrading it to one I researched before buying and now I’m enjoying it like a lifer guitar (still cost under 400 with upgrades). I don’t think it’s wrong that it sounds and feels a little yet meaningful amount better, it’s just wrong if you assume it will always sound better or sounds wrong without upgrades inherently or spend the 150-500 on new pups when you really should have bought a speaker or an equalizer pedal. Sometimes that 5% makes the difference, but that’s far less likely than the way the marketing and board discussions have been for a long, long time. Look what they did to Glenn!!! Lol
I got one in White, badass guitar for cheap. I left the pickup, it sounds great to me, but I changed the tuners to locking tuners, changed the nut to a brass one, and replaced the saddles to copper. It's now suitable for gigging. parts were 110$CAD.
A very ambitious Nashville musician did a very thorough comparison of guitar cab sizes, materials and speakers per cab, and the only significant recorded difference was the cab size affected bass response. Recording a 4x12 with one mic on one speaker will mainly just have some increased bass coming off-axis from the other speakers, and 4x12 IR's also tend to have a cancelation at ~700Hz. You want a 4x12'' mic'd sound from a 1x12". Put it in a bigger closed cab, or just increase the bass with an eq and maybe reduce ~700Hz.
No computer could ever replace a Bass player!🎸🤘🤟
No bass player could ever replace a computer ^^
@@CyberChrist Even a Bass player could count to 1 so it would be possible.
@@RoderikvanReekum😂
True. Took me an eternity to mic up my Amps so i feel good with that. But Every Engineer loves a guitarist who knows how to set up his sound so it works well when miced up in the Mix. not just "in the room". btw the harley benton cab i use is more than fine.
Good morning Glen happy Friday man!🎉
Glenn reviewer an Aeroguitar?
Oooooh this is gonna be GOOD! XD
Thankyou Glen made my rainy day better. Now im procrastinatin openin this stageright monoprice el84 little combo. If I like it im sellin this st100 b52
At 11:00, it reminds me of when I first saw Chimaira in 2001. They didn't have any cabinets on stage, but their sound was so massive and clear.
They blew Slayer off the stage, which was the only reason why I was there (to see Slayer). I talked with their sound guy afterwards and asked him what they were doing, and he said they just went through their amp heads direct into the PA to then EQ out the mix for a full, balanced sound.
I later saw them open for Fear Factory and Slipknot, and they blew them both off the stage as well at House of Blues in Myrtle Beach. It was a great concert mainly because of Chimaira.
Threy made me look at gear set-up differently after that. Subscribed
4:00 about wax-potting & saving money : it's actually not that complicated to wax-pot your pickups yourself rather than buying new pickups. I had to do it for my Squier CV Jag's pups because it was squeeling like crazy everytime I'd push the gain, and it did the trick just fine. No more squeeling and pickups became way less microphonics and didn't notice any shift in tone.
Just gotta be careful with the temperature, wax/paraffin melts around 60° (celsius) and you need to control the heat so it doesn't go above 70-75°, you don't want it to boil but just become fluid and translucent. If you heat it too much it can be a nasty mess to clean up and it could ignite on its own so "bain-marie" is the way to go.
I think your pickup video worked cuz some guy is selling his set of SD Black Winters for less than a third of the price on Kijiji. Needed a set of high output pickups anyway for a project so thanks for the sweet deal Glenn.
Hey man love the vids helped me a lot with home recording. I think it would be pretty sick to review an esp e2 for a video. It's the middle ground of an ltd and a esp usa. Think about it maybe cause I've been waiting for a review on it.
First, thanks for the great content Glen. The speaker argument was a complete eye opener for me personally. Pickups, I've kinda known this for a while but the examples you've shown sealed it. HOWEVER, as a semi-pro luthier for the past 20-ish years, I can add one tiny detail about pickups from personal experience: Yes, "tonal shifts" on high gain are mostly BS esp in a mix, but there is one damn pickup that now features on almost all my and my clients' guitars: Fluence. Why? It is the ONLY pickup I have come across that forced me to almost relearn guitar because of how unforgiving it is at showing your faults. Must be the PCB coiling because holy crap you can't hide any of your flaws (particularly sweep picking) if you're playing on fluences. Not tone, and I hate to say it, but individual note clarity.
I have had a Jacson JS32 with a floyd for 5 years and i like it. good setup by a proffessional and its great for me. I also changed the bridge pickup to Seymour Duncan AHB 2B metal blackout.
On the topic of gain staging and pickups. I recently made the opposite rig choice by switching from high gain humbuckers boosted into a dimed amp to a Jassmaster into an amp at 3 o’clock. The amount of definition I have gained especially on the higher strings is insane. I think one of the biggest problems when room vs recording is that a dimed amp sounds great in the room but is super muddy when recorded.
ESP LTD EC-256 Falls just under the $500 mark. I have a couple of pricey guitars (over $3,000) and about 50% of the time I pick up the LTD. I swapped the tuners out for some locking ones and it plays like a dream and is solid as a rock. I think they ship them with locking tuners these days, but mine doesn't have them. Even the stock pickups are damn nice and they have coil splitting as well, very versatile.
According to Rick beato's interview, Yngwee run's a really clean single coil with an indecent radioactive level of gain at the amp.
I guess the gain staging topic would deserve a deep dive at some point Glenn.
GLENN!!! I play in a Heavy Metal band and recently the other guitarist and myself wanted to introduce some very needed change to our live shows, so each of us purchased a Jackson King V JS32. Both cost around 300€ and play very well. For cheaper guitars, they do have a couple of short comings such as the joint of the neck and body being a larger block like a Strat, instead of those smooth and more ergonomic ones that allow you for an easier access of the upper frets. The other issue would be the balance that's just a tad off but nothing like a cheap 90's BC Rich Warlock! No one attending our shows has ever complained about our sound. We both have more expensive guitars but these are just really cool guitars. Plus we're newer guitarists in a band that was founded in 1979, and we use multi-fx units and in-ear monitoring instead of amps, to the surprise of stage managers and other bands. Our gig set up (including festivals) got shortened to 10 minutes. If you can sound good and make the job easier for yourself and for the people handling the sound and stage, you owe this to yourself!
I agree with a lot Glenn said. I love my Strandberg guitar the most because of how comfortable it is to play. I do believe they are massively over priced but though. I just ordered a GOC to obtain almost the same concept but at a much lower price. Real funny thing is I know go back and listen to songs I’ve recorded and cannot tell which guitar I used when recording the song.
I've even used different guitars on the same song (to correct parts etc). No one can tell.
Another great weekly wrapup, Glenn! I gotta say that I dig your channel because you SEEK tonal dynamics as opposed to just relying on the opinions of the "industry". I have never bought something because My guitar hero said it's the best in some rag somewhere because I realized that the only reason he's saying that is that they gave him what he's using, and probably cash for more fancy footwear. Endorsements are salesmanship. Maybe that's why Gibson hasn't given Joe Bonamassa a full fledged deal yet is because he plays the hell out of Fenders, also. Maybe Kirk Hammett won't "sign" with Gibson is because they won't make a strat-style with graphics? Or Hetfield because of his loyalty to Kirk.
What I'm saying as a person IN marketing, look at whats not being said as much as what is and by whom. And remember that the biggest smokestacks blow the most smoke.
Keep up the great work and thanks for the new bass player (Singularity)!!! No more ride sharing, COUCH sharing or "ol' lady" problems!!!! THANK F*CK!!!!!😂
GLENN! I would absolutely love to see you review a Squier Classic Vibe Bass VI. Sergio Vega used them on some Deftones stuff and mine is a lot of fun to play.
I have a white Chinese Telecaster and yes it does give me great metal tones. The setup was fine, I chose it before I knew where it came from because it did what I wanted it to do. I changed the pickups on it and surprise surprise, no notable difference
Hey Gleeeeennnnnnnn !!! Greetings & Fuck Yous from Mexico City !!! Love your conscious and objective analysis on how speakers make these huge tone differences. I was wondering, since the mic is IMHO the other critical transducer on the signal chain, have you ever made any videos on how mic types / brands (aside form placement which is another whole world on itself) affect the high gain tone ? Would love to see a whole series on that. That's. For. Sure. LOL
Dear sweet Glenn, I bought an Epiphone SG pro in Pelham blue (alot like your HB, but maybe a bit more pale in blue). And it was an awesome guitar. It was a “vintage reissue” and had humbuckers with coil tap. It was pretty affordable and really bad ass. I wish I kept it😢.
I got a cheap Harley Benton reverse headstock Tele with the Roswell pickups. I love the feel of this guitar more than my Mex tele. But it’s a bit different. Took a bit to set up properly but it’s a great feel.
well, there is a difference between low gain pickups and hi gain ones which is quite hard to "correct" just by increasing the gain, and it's mainly in the low end: a low gain pickup, if you crank the gain in the amp, has usually a more muddy and less tight/controlled low end (if you match the volume between the 2). There can be also some signal to noise ratio difference, which is one of the reasons why also David Gilmour plays active emgs in his stratocaster.
On great value guitars - my most reliable guitar is my 'old' Jackson Js23 HSS Dinky from about 2013 or so with the natural finish. The stock single coils are great, but I did put in a Duncan Full Shred as the output of it blends better than the stock humbucker did. (although it sounds great in the other guitar I put it in) I bring it to every gig. It is always rock solid in tune, the maple neck never seems to move, it's plays wonderfully with no sharp frets thanks to The binding, and the HSS pickups mean it can work for whatever style I need
GLEEEEEEEEEN.
Cryogenic valves vs normal valves… Can you hear a difference ?
This will get some peeps panties in a bunch.
Love ya work man🤘🎸
OK then, subbed. looking forward to your reaction on the aeroband thing.. LOL.
Looking forward to the minivan repair video!!!!!
Gleen! i would love if you could expand(or test?) the diference between higher output at the pickup vs just a clean boost right after. IMO knowing how everything works a change of pickups would just equate to running an EQ pedal 1st on the chain (it's just frequency and output variations) if this proves to be effective you could just use a low wounds humbuckers to retain the highs a bit more (if that matters to you) and just boost the output of that before hitting the amp ! thank you for all you work demystifying the guitar
Glennnnn! I love your videos and I had a questions about your production timeline - you say here you're trying to hit 450k subs but the channel is already passed 500k (congrats by the way!). What is the average turn around time between recording and publishing a video for you? Not hating, just genuinely want to know. I think it would be really cool if you did a "behind the scenes" and gave us a look into your UA-cam workflow. Thanks for all you do!
He corrected that information at 17:06...check text on screen...
I have a Washburn Parallaxe V260 from 2018 only thing i did was install Seymour Duncan invader pickups to replace the stock duncan designed ones. My favorite metal machine.
So my suggestion is a Hagstrom Ultra Swede. I bought my for 459€ in 2019. Unfortunately now it is over 500. But i would like to see a review or a comparisson to other guitars in this price range. My second one is an ESD LTD EC-256.
I love both versatile sound options an good playability. The Hagstrom has a very small and light body, i love this.
Thanks for your videos Glenn!
Since the early 2000's I picked up on the cab being key in a tone. I usually had five 4x12 cabs in an apartment, yeah I know, crazy right!! A mesa, 2 VHT's (slant/straight P50E's), custom Splawn with X pattern, and Marshall 1960. I know pickups don't change a lot, but there is a difference, and I still reference the Keith Merrow Duncan videos, I mean even you can't say those videos don't show off a difference. You mentioned a future remake of that test, still waiting on that one.
Before this video, I also was considering the Kramer Nite V myself. It looked very well made!
The only issue I have with Kramers are their but-uggly headstocks on pretty much any guitar I'd consider from them... I know, I know, but I just can't look past it...
@@zwerko Put a paper bag over it. Problem solved
I like the Ibanez GRG121DX-WNF. I bought it two years ago and must say the guitar feels nice and sounds nice.
Someone needs to make a meme of Glenn's face with the writing underneath "Pickup companies hate this guy"
🤣🤣🤣🤣
Love the content Glenn. Keep at it my friend 🤘
In answer to the question about high output pickups... yes to a degree it is different from just increasing the gain at the amplifier, kind of like how a guitar's tone knob does something different from just turning the treble knob on an amp, using an OD pedal into an already distorting amp is different from just turning the gain up on the pedal itself. Another big advantage of a REALLY high output pickup like the Dimarzio X2N is the fact that the individual coils are quite powerful, which means the pickup is split it actually sounds fairly good and pretty close to a true single coil pickup.
No guarantee the upgrade going to be worth the $150 bucks though. It is still a pickup after all, not a pedal, amp or speaker.
I just got a Squire Affinity Telecaster Deluxe and I am super happy with it. I do want to upgrade the saddles and the pots but those aren't necessary. It's pretty damned good stock.
I bought a Ibanez RGRT421for 495 euros recently and I'm absolutely loving it. Plays so nicely, looks so good. The only thing I regret is that I didn't ditch my Gibson 5 years earlier. I put some locking tuners on, and I'm probably gonna replace the nut. But it survived its first gig without a problem, and the tuning stability was amazing.
Glenn just started following you. Looking into speaker for my Bugera V55 Combo. Anyways I think it would be neat if you did some comparison between speakers. Like Celestion Hemp Back vs Eminence Cannibas Rex vs other similar.
I appreciate what your doing!
Yeah, I just got me an HB R-446 with greenish flip flop (interference) color. Except the 1 or 2 things, this guitar is quite something for under 200 bucks. Don't forget to marinate the fret board in lemon oil if it's too sandy... for at least 10 days (and polish the frets). Greetings from Germany, Glenn! Always nice to hear from you. Hope to see you at the next Guitar Summit. 🤘 I'd love to see you maybe connect with other guitar nerds from here like Bernd Kiltz...
I bought a 1997 Epiphone Les Paul jr some years back with a single stock P90 in it for $100. Guitar feels great and sounded great too. I used it as my backup guitar at shows. Ultimately I dropped a Lollar P90 into it and I love it even more, despite the fact that it's one of the sandwich plywood guitars.
Hi Glenn, thanks for your work, keep it up! Any chance you could make more IRs from the speakers you have been using? I would be happy to pay for them :) The V30 is great!
I took the speakers (Celestion Gold + Celestion V30) out of a very expensive guitar cabinet. Sold the cabinet for €300 and bought a 2nd hand empty Harley Benton 2x12 for €90 to put the speakers in. Sounds killer!
I don’t know how it works with recording guitars, but I would love to see a comparison between different speaker sizes. So many combos and practice amps have 8 or 10 inch speakers and it wasn’t until I got a Laney Cub Super 12 with a 12in HH speaker that it sounded big and not tinny like the Orange Micro Dark with an 8in cab that I replaced. The big sound was more like my Marshall stack that the neighbours hate so much.
Maybe it is just my ears and is psychosomatic, but playing through 12in speakers sounds so good.
I think it's generally hard to shop for instruments because the setup will change my perception of the quality completely. It's hard enough to guess the potential of the instrument in the music store, let alone if you decide to buy online.
Hey Glenn, once again I love the channel and i have noticed the uptick in comments about pickups since your first video about the subject. I made a comment saying i can hear a difference, but after a few more videos, i realized where i made an error and after doing my own sort of deep dive, i have a possibly interesting theory. I believe that when some of these "legendary" pickups, meaning duncans, DiMarzios, etc, first hit the market, they did make a difference in tone. However, everything since has not because these new boutique brand that have risen since are directly competing with the original brands and have committed a serious sin. They have studied these pickups and done their own "high end" version of them without realizing they basically just copied the pickups they studied. And the pickups they copied and made their own versions of have the same range of tone between their models like other brands do. Low output guitarmory sounds like like output duncan. Mid output bare knucle sounds like mid output dimarzio, high output Orpheus sounds like high output ... Whatever classic brand you insert. Yeah, there is some crazy stuff coming out with Schecter that sounds cool, but the point is every new brand is following previously established standards because they know itll make the pickup sound good, but they apparently dont know or are willfully lying about it sounding different. If you build a pickup the way another pickup in that range was built, chances are it will sound the same.
I've got an HSS Squier Strat I picked up for $199 at Guitar Center that sounds pretty good through the Peavey Windsor. Granted, I was using an oversized Fender 412 cab (vertical configuration) with a Greenback, V30, and a Peavey Blue Marvel in it (the original Fender Blue Label was unhooked since the voice coil was warped from age), but on the Celestions, it sounded amazing. I've since switched all of those speakers to a cheap Crate 412 cabinet and have been meaning to test it out.
The only time pickups (humbuckers) mattered for me was when I got a Japan Les Paul with PAF style pups and when I was chugging the low strings it was very muddy and undefined so I put Deactivators in it and the chuggs tightened right up. The PAFs sounded warmer for cleans because the Deactivators were too aggressive. Less dynamics with your pick attack with high output pups.
IDK Glenn, I normally agree on pickups, but I can still hear a big difference coming from Schecter's duncan designed AHB-1s to my fishman fluence, I can even hear the difference in between the modes, while in high gain.
I bought a Jackson JS series Dinky 7 string a couple years ago for $279 CAD. I love the way it plays
I repair and do set ups on guitars and have a nice sound system For live and recording and I hate to admit it but just about everything Glenn says about sound is spot on correct from my view point.