Whether you're using an "unobtanium" boutique pedal or the cheapest one available, all that matters is that the sound you get inspires you - then you'll play better.
AND --- the function is to HAVE FUN. You can have all the technical skill in the world but if you are not having fun, why do it. Some of the best fun is when you stumble into something inspiring and it just blooms into even more fun.
For high gain stuff with several instruments on top of each other I think you are absolutely right. In the end it’s just a question of how to deal with the low end of the distortion and the speaker will do a lot more than the pedal in front.But low gain trio/duo in my opinion every bit of a unique sound you can squeeze out of the source makes the difference. Most musicians are limited by musical ideas and playing techniques so the best way to add something interesting is picking an unusual sound. Best examples: QOTSA or Steve Albini‘s Shellac of North America. If you just choose sounds by function chances are you gonna sound like everyone else.
This just backs up what Ive always said. Tone does not matter. Its all about performance. Good songwriting and performance is all anyone really cares about.
Thanks for the kind and compassionate comments regarding the fires in Cali..I live in upstate NY and have a sister in LA and it's an apocalypse 🙏❤️ thanks Henning..you don't want to go to California
I use sound shaping tools to inspire me when I play. I play very differently when I play something clean instead of a crunch sound. It's the same with all other sounds, whether it's a chorus, flanger, phaser, delay or something else. It shapes the way I play and therefore my expression. When I play in a cover band, I choose sounds that are a little closer to the original. But I still stay similar because I feel differently about the songs I play than the band that released the original. I always sound like me.
When I was in my late teens and all of my 20's I had the gear I had and very little money so there was no option to worry about the tone. Am I getting a signal and are my three pedals working? Great, now let's start the first song of the set and play the hell out of it. The most I worried about tone was restringing the guitar.
I used to obsess over dirt pedals, then I started playing in a band and couldn't hear the difference in the mix. Now, I don't give a fuck. Only a few key flavors are required for any genre. Hyperdetail is awesome fun for people who are playing alone. Otherwise, it really doesn't matter
The best gear should respond to my playing and make it more ergonomic. Don't care about names. The easier it is the more time I spend having fun and being creative. If a piece of gear makes the process simpler then that's what I need.
Last year I almost gave up on guitar until I started from zero, just my guitar and amp. I surprisingly got it to where I wanted it (gain wise) and just use a wah and boost pedal for solos. That’s where I learned that name brands don’t matter at all. The boost pedal I got was for $20 dollars on Amazon and it rips!!
There are many that obsess over the "accuracy" of digital models/clones/captures, without asking if the modeller/profiler actually sounds good or not, and the overall functionality, feel, latency, ecosystem, reliability, usability, build quality, etc..
14:40 EQ !!! The humblest of tone shapers! With great power comes great responsibility, EQ knows the, the metal zone refuses this knowledge 😂 28:46 if I could get back all the time I’ve lost over the years playing with dotted eighths and getting lost in the sound, i could probably have single handedly built a pyramid 😂.
I like all of the pedals I own. I love a select few a bit more and a couple I can't live without. I'm not a professional but I love to play and I am constantly switching pedals in and out to create new tones and textures. I collect them as they're much cheaper to collect killer pedals than it is killer guitars 😂
Better I think to start from 'what pedal can give me the kind of sound that I have in my head?' rather than 'I want this high end pedal and then I'll see what sounds I can get from it'.
Thanks Henning! First of all, thanks, too, for you thoughts on LA! 👍 Very good point according the main theme in the video. In fact gear has to do its job. And also there is a lot of gear that is doing the job in a nearly identical way. I know, you were talking about functions. But I think a very important thing in the gear topic is, what you really wanna have. Maybe there's a lot of gear that's doing the same or even a better job. But if you wanna have the pedal from this company or the guitar from that brand, that's what will make you happy, when you finally get it. And if you are happy, you'll have more fun in making music. I guess, that's a "mojo thing".🤷♂ And of course, blue mojo is better. No discussion needed.
I have a silver jubilee ( or use a modeller and choose a plexi/jubilee, usually plexi sounds better on modellers) and I literally have a zoom ms 70 which I use for boost/compressor/reverb/auto wah/tremolo etc. Yeah id like something else for maybe overdrive, but the amp does most of the tone. I think the hunt for good boosts and overdrives is well..not setting amp right or not liking ur amp. And a fender wont sound like a jcm 800 so yeah..a pedal probably wont do enough magic ig.
used only my Archetype Nolly (got the Tim Henson at some point just for fun, but Nolly is the main one) basically since when it came out as an upgrade from my practice amp and it does everything I need, the sound is amazing and I only paid around 60 bucks for it on Black Friday, why would I spend more?
I don't really like my settings in the rehersal place, when I play alone. Too much highs, almost no bass. But it really fits in with the other instruments and foh people are very pleased with it. but it's hard sometimes 😂 I really have a hard time finding good sounds while recording. I think thats a lack of experience. Most of the time, I think, I just don't play well enough to please myself 😂 now: coffee AND RAGE! 🥰
In spite of the amount of gear, the actual sounds of electric guitar is fairly limited. That's just a function of both guitar music history & influence and the physics of soundwaves & compression/limiting/distortion etc. For me, and hopefully for most, how the sound feels effects the playing which then effects the sound. AKA to sound good it must feel good. Which then becomes an individual journey about discovering an aural palate for what feels good to sound good. Some search too hard & become pretentious, obsessive whilst others settle for the first sound they hear. This is the polarity of a spectrum and most of us...are somewhere in the middle.
You have to remember that not everyone writes songs. The function of the pedal can simply be to make you feel good when you play it. Why shit on someone just because they want to wait 5 years for a King Of Tone. If it makes them happy thats its function. It's not all about it being a "boost" pedal for leads or an "overdrive" for a chorus. Sure, as a songwriter, that might be whats its used for, but for someone else, the thought of John Mayer using the same pedal might make them happy, and thats all that matters. Making them happy is the pedals function. You're basically saying you have to use pedals strictly as tools for specific parts, and that's bullshit.
I am not... I clearly said we are leaving the other stuff out of this discussion for now... there are many other reasons to buy gear... BUT when it comes to the way it sounds, it isn't that relevant.
Schinken-Käse Croissant from Aldi? Well, not so good as from your local bakery. But they fulfil the function. If it was Schinken-Käse Croissant from Aldi or no Schinken-Käse Croissant at all, I'd happily eat the Aldi- ones. Now all you Gear-Snobs, are you trying to tell me you would only eat a Schinken-Käse Croissant, if Gordon Ramsey in person came to your house and made it freshly for you? I prefer the Lidl Schinken-Käse Croissants, but that is just my taste and it would never stop me from eating an Aldi Schinken-Käse Croissant. Why do our brains stop to work properly when we start talking about gear?
I thought you were going to say that PhilX had a big …. Knob! But we knew that, he’s alway showing off his big knobs on his amps and guitars? Does he have big knobs on his pedal?? 😂
"the gear we buy has to fulfill a musical function" That's just false, at least in the way you phrase it. I buy gear because, as an audio dsp engineer, I like the gear, not to make music with it, I barely listen to music honestly.
Whether you're using an "unobtanium" boutique pedal or the cheapest one available, all that matters is that the sound you get inspires you - then you'll play better.
That stuff always cracks me up. It is not hard to get the sound you need for the song if you have a blue guitar and geraniums in the studio! 🤪🤣😂
AND --- the function is to HAVE FUN. You can have all the technical skill in the world but if you are not having fun, why do it. Some of the best fun is when you stumble into something inspiring and it just blooms into even more fun.
Thanks Henning. Have a great week.
For high gain stuff with several instruments on top of each other I think you are absolutely right. In the end it’s just a question of how to deal with the low end of the distortion and the speaker will do a lot more than the pedal in front.But low gain trio/duo in my opinion every bit of a unique sound you can squeeze out of the source makes the difference. Most musicians are limited by musical ideas and playing techniques so the best way to add something interesting is picking an unusual sound. Best examples: QOTSA or Steve Albini‘s Shellac of North America. If you just choose sounds by function chances are you gonna sound like everyone else.
This just backs up what Ive always said.
Tone does not matter.
Its all about performance.
Good songwriting and performance is all anyone really cares about.
Thanks for the kind and compassionate comments regarding the fires in Cali..I live in upstate NY and have a sister in LA and it's an apocalypse 🙏❤️ thanks Henning..you don't want to go to California
Hope your sister is ok. Going to Los Angeles for a gear conference seems so irrelevant with all of the destruction so close by.
I use sound shaping tools to inspire me when I play. I play very differently when I play something clean instead of a crunch sound. It's the same with all other sounds, whether it's a chorus, flanger, phaser, delay or something else. It shapes the way I play and therefore my expression. When I play in a cover band, I choose sounds that are a little closer to the original. But I still stay similar because I feel differently about the songs I play than the band that released the original. I always sound like me.
Thank you! I know a few players who waste so much time over a 2% tone difference that ultimately never matters. Cheers mate!
When I was in my late teens and all of my 20's I had the gear I had and very little money so there was no option to worry about the tone. Am I getting a signal and are my three pedals working? Great, now let's start the first song of the set and play the hell out of it. The most I worried about tone was restringing the guitar.
I used to obsess over dirt pedals, then I started playing in a band and couldn't hear the difference in the mix. Now, I don't give a fuck. Only a few key flavors are required for any genre. Hyperdetail is awesome fun for people who are playing alone. Otherwise, it really doesn't matter
The best gear should respond to my playing and make it more ergonomic. Don't care about names. The easier it is the more time I spend having fun and being creative. If a piece of gear makes the process simpler then that's what I need.
Thank you.
My favourite function is a doubler, caused by a few milliseconds delay, resulting in a dramatic thickness!❤
Last year I almost gave up on guitar until I started from zero, just my guitar and amp. I surprisingly got it to where I wanted it (gain wise) and just use a wah and boost pedal for solos.
That’s where I learned that name brands don’t matter at all. The boost pedal I got was for $20 dollars on Amazon and it rips!!
Ich mag die Sichtweise des zweckerfüllenden Werkzeugs ❤
Yeah, you’re 100% right. That is a lovely guitar too!
There are many that obsess over the "accuracy" of digital models/clones/captures, without asking if the modeller/profiler actually sounds good or not, and the overall functionality, feel, latency, ecosystem, reliability, usability, build quality, etc..
@@algorithm007ify this isn’t really about modelers… it’s about pedals, amps, modelers… I am just using the AxeFX here as an example.
Great work, as always! Hello from Minot ND USA.
14:40 EQ !!! The humblest of tone shapers! With great power comes great responsibility, EQ knows the, the metal zone refuses this knowledge 😂
28:46 if I could get back all the time I’ve lost over the years playing with dotted eighths and getting lost in the sound, i could probably have single handedly built a pyramid 😂.
I like all of the pedals I own. I love a select few a bit more and a couple I can't live without. I'm not a professional but I love to play and I am constantly switching pedals in and out to create new tones and textures. I collect them as they're much cheaper to collect killer pedals than it is killer guitars 😂
Nice shoutout to Phil McKnight, that made me smile
Better I think to start from 'what pedal can give me the kind of sound that I have in my head?' rather than 'I want this high end pedal and then I'll see what sounds I can get from it'.
100% approval.
Thanks Henning!
First of all, thanks, too, for you thoughts on LA! 👍
Very good point according the main theme in the video. In fact gear has to do its job. And also there is a lot of gear that is doing the job in a nearly identical way.
I know, you were talking about functions. But I think a very important thing in the gear topic is, what you really wanna have. Maybe there's a lot of gear that's doing the same or even a better job. But if you wanna have the pedal from this company or the guitar from that brand, that's what will make you happy, when you finally get it. And if you are happy, you'll have more fun in making music. I guess, that's a "mojo thing".🤷♂
And of course, blue mojo is better. No discussion needed.
My quote for this Sunday, "Fucking nothing".
On Point!!!
I totally agree but some people are really good at selling the dream.
Danke. War echt spannend. Weiter so. Liebe Grüsse. GisUp
I have a silver jubilee ( or use a modeller and choose a plexi/jubilee, usually plexi sounds better on modellers) and I literally have a zoom ms 70 which I use for boost/compressor/reverb/auto wah/tremolo etc. Yeah id like something else for maybe overdrive, but the amp does most of the tone. I think the hunt for good boosts and overdrives is well..not setting amp right or not liking ur amp. And a fender wont sound like a jcm 800 so yeah..a pedal probably wont do enough magic ig.
used only my Archetype Nolly (got the Tim Henson at some point just for fun, but Nolly is the main one) basically since when it came out as an upgrade from my practice amp and it does everything I need, the sound is amazing and I only paid around 60 bucks for it on Black Friday, why would I spend more?
I don't really like my settings in the rehersal place, when I play alone. Too much highs, almost no bass. But it really fits in with the other instruments and foh people are very pleased with it. but it's hard sometimes 😂
I really have a hard time finding good sounds while recording. I think thats a lack of experience. Most of the time, I think, I just don't play well enough to please myself 😂
now: coffee AND RAGE! 🥰
In spite of the amount of gear, the actual sounds of electric guitar is fairly limited. That's just a function of both guitar music history & influence and the physics of soundwaves & compression/limiting/distortion etc. For me, and hopefully for most, how the sound feels effects the playing which then effects the sound. AKA to sound good it must feel good. Which then becomes an individual journey about discovering an aural palate for what feels good to sound good. Some search too hard & become pretentious, obsessive whilst others settle for the first sound they hear. This is the polarity of a spectrum and most of us...are somewhere in the middle.
I hate the “tone” debates. I feel like Josh Scott basically put those to bed over the last couple of years. The bad monkey for example. 😂
there is already a channel called know your gear
that was the joke
@@EytschPi42 all part of the "family"
You have to remember that not everyone writes songs. The function of the pedal can simply be to make you feel good when you play it. Why shit on someone just because they want to wait 5 years for a King Of Tone. If it makes them happy thats its function. It's not all about it being a "boost" pedal for leads or an "overdrive" for a chorus. Sure, as a songwriter, that might be whats its used for, but for someone else, the thought of John Mayer using the same pedal might make them happy, and thats all that matters. Making them happy is the pedals function. You're basically saying you have to use pedals strictly as tools for specific parts, and that's bullshit.
I am not... I clearly said we are leaving the other stuff out of this discussion for now... there are many other reasons to buy gear... BUT when it comes to the way it sounds, it isn't that relevant.
Are you saying its not about the name and the money? 😶
And you still end up sounding like “you”
Schinken-Käse Croissant from Aldi? Well, not so good as from your local bakery. But they fulfil the function. If it was Schinken-Käse Croissant from Aldi or no Schinken-Käse Croissant at all, I'd happily eat the Aldi- ones. Now all you Gear-Snobs, are you trying to tell me you would only eat a Schinken-Käse Croissant, if Gordon Ramsey in person came to your house and made it freshly for you? I prefer the Lidl Schinken-Käse Croissants, but that is just my taste and it would never stop me from eating an Aldi Schinken-Käse Croissant. Why do our brains stop to work properly when we start talking about gear?
Ich habe hunger
@@seanzinger Aldi und Lidl haben heute zu, aber vielleicht kommt Gordon ja vorbei und backt welche...
I'm going to copyright Know Your Gears tomorrow
I thought you were going to say that PhilX had a big …. Knob! But we knew that, he’s alway showing off his big knobs on his amps and guitars? Does he have big knobs on his pedal?? 😂
You're suggesting Glenn shaves his head?
You're suggesting Glenn knows his gear? 😜
Yes...we ARE picky in the head, and don't hear it.
"the gear we buy has to fulfill a musical function" That's just false, at least in the way you phrase it. I buy gear because, as an audio dsp engineer, I like the gear, not to make music with it, I barely listen to music honestly.
Wow, that's tone chasing? I'm just an olde guy, plug in, turn up & play. All the rest is noodling....
Lol,,, GREEN guitars sound better. Lol
Anything coming from anonymous people on the internet is most likely not worth listening.
So who are you talking about here?