What's the Deal? Josh Scott Explains Pedal Myths & Concepts
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- Опубліковано 27 тра 2024
- Josh Scott punctures common myths of pedal-building, sharing the facts he's learned from studying and building effects-and putting them up against the fictions he sees, over and over again, on the gear internet.
Read More on Reverb: bit.ly/3qcU88U
0:00 - Intro
1:15 - What's the difference between germanium and silicon? Is one better than the other?
2:51 - What do toggle switches actually do?
4:42 - What does it mean when a pedal's a digital/analog hybrid?
6:34 - Is "true bypass" in a pedal good or bad?
9:27 - When builders say their pedal is a Big Muff-style or Tube Screamer-style, what does that mean?
10:27 - Why do some pedals come with 9V and 18V options?
12:11 - Are handmade pedals better than ones with printed circuit boards or PCBs?
14:34 - We hear "tone is in the fingers." Do you know any good pedals with fingers in them?
14:52 - Do different op-amps sound different from one another?
16:14 - Are NOS components better than new ones?
19:00 - What's the difference between transistors and diodes?
20:25 - Is there a real difference between asymmetrical and standard clipping?
21:58 - What do people mean when they say pedals "clean up nicely" when you roll the volume down? - Розваги
"....WE WENT TO THE MOON... Are you telling me we can't make a part for an overdrive pedal?" Josh is a national treasure.
I love Josh, but this is the first bullshit I've heard him say. I'm talking about the moon thing.
what’s with all this moon business anyway? the moon isn’t real in the first place 🙄
@@jonahlouque9621 That would be bundled with other reasons... public will would be highest on the list. The tooling and personnel required to build and operate the machines the same way has gone, so in a sense it's correct... but you wouldn't go back to the moon to do Apollo all over again anyway. What's the point?
@@jonahlouque9621 Yes, I've seen that actual clip before too. They blamed it on storing those files on ancient hard drives in old barn/storage facilities and that stuff just gets thrown away. UGH.
Tone is in the fingers...
Next!
When Josh held up the box, the "He has the box" jingle played in my head at MAX VOLUME
You've been conditioned by evil pedal designers
I love how much fun you can tell Josh is having. Like if he weren't going this for Reverb he'd be explaining this to random people at a bar or something
I hope kids don't learn from this guy.
Josh: [long explanation] so yeah, don't confuse germanium diodes with germanium transistors.
Barkeep: uh... so what do you want to drink?
I agree, he’s great. Kinda like a Public Science Educator but for guitar pedals. Reverb is a sponsor but he’d be doing this on UA-cam regardless.
That's why the JHS show is so awesome
Sad not hearing “He has the box” at 1:09
“Please play guitar” is the best gear advice I’ve heard in a long time.
“If it sounds good, it is good”
A lot of people really need to learn this
No no no its needs to be an original Plexi that got cigarette burn marks on it. And then you jump the channels and plug in your vintage strat. Make sure it's a second half of 1959 serial number so you got the slab Brazilian board because the veneer board makes it sound different. And then you kshzoapozbzojahalanbxhdos. Source: trust me bro
@@bazitube390 meanwhile the machining tolerances on the tuners and saddles were shit so it has that "warm vintage tone" but won't stay in tune to save your ass.
as an engineer... i love hearing a guy who knows his stuff debunking silly myths. I feel like i should have an oscilloscope handy. 🙂
What he say about >Op amps is false, the same for Germanium transistors, you choose the right Ge transistor and you get that Foxy Lady, Manic Depression tone!!!!
Did you make the JRC4558d a/b test?
If people played their guitars as much as they argue about all this crap none of it would matter because they’d sound good through anything they plug into.
Exactly. And playing in a band gig scenario you realize how trivial all the minor differences in pedals is.
@@allthingsclassicrock yup, but the guys that argue about that stuff don’t play in bands, they play in their mom’s basement lol
@@mikes062 🤣🤣🤣 probably true.
@@allthingsclassicrock umm sorry no. Kicking on an octave fuzz into a phaser into two wahs taped together is definitely s significant change in sound
@@ileutur6863 "let me just make up something no one ever said and argue against that"
Josh Scott. National Treasure. A combination of Mr. Roger's and Ferris Bueler. I salute you sir. Thank you Reverb for doing this. You guys make great business partners.
This an obvious reference to the groundraking work of the Rogers/Bueler Group.
True...His life story will be portrayed by Tom Hanks in an upcoming made for TV movie.
He looks like a young version of my junior high guitar teacher. But yes, this man is a treasure.
Totally. Completely. That’s exactly who and what he is.
Many guitarists came to my shop and their Tube Screamers had different Opamps, different code,,,etc, I still have the JRC4558D, every time I replaced it the results was extra great!, I , separately, made an A/B Opamp test and the diffenrence was increible, total,. So, how can this man be talking that all the Opamps sound the same!, it is incredible, I can not explain with what calm he can be giving false information.
Josh really needs to have his own Drunk History episode where he can let loose about pedals. Compulsory viewing.
I think that was called “Pedals: The Musical”
@@ProfVonW Kind of. I'm talking about just drunk. No songs.
That rat history video seemed like it could use some sauce...
I think this is it...
100 percent this needs to happen, I'd even be curious what his drink of choice would be
I’ve recently got my answer to the “Tone is in the fingers” question. During quarantine I’ve listened to hundreds of voice memos of myself from across the years, on electric, acoustic, single coil, humbuckers, fuzz, tubescreamers, this delay, that delay, etc. and I finally know what I sound like regardless what I play. I will say I needed to “play around” all those tones, and I’ve found some tones that help me play more “like myself” than others. It’s a weird thing: when you find your right pedals and right rig, it just sounds like you and you stop thinking about gear.
I think the whole "tone is in the fingers" meme is unfortunate. EVH would sound like EVH no matter what gear he used - but his tone would be radically different playing through different gear.
@@mikedr1549 Thank you! I can't hear that stupid sentence without getting rile up by the word tone, which is so wrong. The playing is in the fingers. Technique and playing style can influence tone a bit but it's minimal.
I love how Zappa told Steve Vai that tone is not in your hands - it's in your HEAD! Ofc it's lots of different elements combined + gear that make you sound a certain way, but you hear that sound that lives in your head first, and then you recreate it with whatever u have. Zappa added the missing link to the equation that makes the most sense to me.
@@vekii677 and zappa EARNED his tone , if you look into it , he was a tone miser . he ran his signal thru a lot of stuff !
@@AndreaAustoni Right. I get it - people are simply saying that we should focus more on practice than gear - which is true - but the two aren't mutually exclusive and you can't pretend that good gear doesn't make it easier to get thw tone you love!
I used to love grabbing a pocket full of money with my guitar buddy and heading down I-70 from St. Louis to Kansas City and visiting JHS’s old walk in store. I’d leave with a bunch of pedals and barely enough money to get a couple of hamburgers without cheese and some gas for the ride home. Good times. Josh was always great to deal with.
I was heavily influenced by certain guitar forums and didn't like Josh when I first heard of him but over his humble videos, humor, and interest in giving attention to other builders, I have learned to love him in the way one might love a neighbor from which you ask to borrow a rake.
But is that a Germanium rake or a Silicon rake?
Initially, I didn't like him because I believed what other people were saying about him. I couldn't have been more wrong.
Kinda reverse order for me. I've been watching him for a couple years, then recently joined a pedal group of FB and there was a thread where people were ripping on him. I was confused and tried to get someone to tell me why they didn't like him and of course no one could.
@@aldersmoke1 The summary is that he was accused of stealing a small builder's fuzz circuit and passing it off as his own, that he had a history of that sort of thing in general, and that he had a long-time association with a church that was associated with some significant anti-LGBTQ+ activities. It's unclear exactly how much of that is true.
Kinda had the same exact journey in my opinion of Josh (and JHS).
"Do you think we got WORSE at building these?" is my default response to my vintage-obsessed friends who automatically believe "vintage is more gooder" on everything.
@@matthewnapoletano6669 okay but what happens to your point when someone says transistors are "worse" than tubes?
Weeelllllllll, in the age of industry, old things can quite often be better than new things. Cars and trucks. It's not secret that older trucks, on average, last longer than new trucks. I think it's because there's more going on in new vehicles. More to upkeep. Maintain. Tools- power drills, wrenches, toolboxes- using cheaper parts and materials to make larger quantities to sell more. Old Craftsman tools are better than new ones. That's not subjective, really. So I can understand in some scenarios where older = better. But it definitely doesn't apply everywhere. I don't know enough about/haven't played enough pedals to say one way or the other on them.
There has never been a person more equipped for an easy to ingest Q and A about pedals. You are a credit to your kind Mr. Scott.
I sold most of my pedals and bought an HX Stomp last year. Couldn’t be happier.
Got a helix about a year ago and haven’t really cared about hear ever since. I still watch gear videos sometimes, but just to get inspired to try new stuff with my helix. I might get a real amp again one day, but for now I’m extremely satisfied.
Josh Scott has a great charisma, and great sense of humor. I can listen to him talk about pedal circuitry, and understand what he's explaining. He strikes the perfect balance between informative & entertaining.
He really does prove that learning can be fun!!!
This dude is awesome. I bought so many Behringer because of him. I'm happy for it. He knows his stuff.
The global billion corporations Behringer Music Group thank you, as they swallow up smaller companies. Meanwhile josh is making videos to pay his rent and door dash bills...
@@user-zv7lm8uk7h Maybe those companies wouldn't be swallowed up if they didn't try to sell overdrive pedals for 10x what it costs to make them.
In all seriousness, this cleared up so many questions for me. Thanks for Nailing it on the head, Reverb.
Such good stuff! The more this man eliminates ignorance through education (with a playful touch of sarcastic humor) the better the conversations we can have as community of gear loving tweakheads. Absolutely love you Mr. Scott!
I'm a drummer (and an Engineer) but every time a video comes up with Josh in my feed I have to watch! Smart, captivating and humorous!
Fun video! I find these types of questions can dominate my mental space when I’m jamming alone and tweaking my board, but everything goes out the window when I’m jamming with friends!
It just becomes a matter of “Is it loud enough?” and “Is it sitting somewhat passably in the mix?”
Going down to just 3 pedals and a tuner for jam sessions was a life saver.
Once I got a multi delay unit I realized how little I actually need for anything.
Josh not only do you write incredible riffs,make amazing pedals.You also tell us how it is no smoke and mirrors.Thanks so much legend.
One of my favorite arguments is when people go "you said the line 6 POD sounds just like a tube amp and now you're saying a Helix sounds like a tube amp bleeeeh whine whine grumble grumble"
The truth is that the old crappy emulations were just the best we had at the time. The ones we have now are bordering on realistic and even those will sound like crap to us in 5-10 years when we have something even more accurate in our hands. Also, comparing everything we have now to tubes is a fool's errand, instead of constantly chasing emulation we should embrace the things solid state and digital excell at.
Nah, imo it's a case of diminishing returns. Our best emulations are pretty accurate now and noticeably better than they were back then, but they will only be marginally better - and likely not noticeably so - in the future.
Weird to hear Josh say "box" without the "he has the box"-jingle
Josh is the best. Even if you've never played a guitar or don't use pedals, his videos would still be worth watching simply for the entertainment value.
As a fellow electronics guy, I pretty much knew the answers going in, but there is always something to learn. One thing about BBD chips though, is that they're obsolete and all that is widely available are either NOS or cheap copies. The good reissues seem to be harder to get a hold of without spending dollars to tens of dollars for a single chip. But that's also coming from a guy who hasn't yet seriously looked into acquiring them. So take that with a grain of salt.
I really appreciate Josh's honesty and willingness to explain all this in "layman's terms," for guys like me. He is like the Penn and Teller of pedal making. Haha!
Josh is a great teacher, and a marketing genius.
He's wrong with some, the TS chip for example. some Ge transistors also.
Josh is a Nerdy, Dry Humored, Super-nerd Demi-Genius...keep bringing him back...!
Tech talks are the best Josh shows. Just got the 3 series Reverb at a 15% discount. Thanks JHS.
Sounds awesome.
I'm actually writing an article about this. Too many gear snobs don't realise that they're over paying for a lot of pedals.
Where can we find it when it's up? Would love to have a read!
This seems like Josh Scott's most raw and honest video. When he got annoyed and made the moon comparison I was glad to see that he didn't sugarcoat the stupidity of pedal snobs through his usual politeness.
Just think of all the things you can change playing guitar- Speaker, Tube, Amp Head, Amp Distortion, Lead, Effects, Guitar Style, Frets, Bridge, Nut, and Guitar Material, Pickups, Pickup Placement, Strings, Pick, Finger Attack, Treble; Mid, Bass, and Volume Controls, Rhythm, Note Choice, Length Of Note, Key, Chordal Choice, The Song You’re Playing. A trillion combinations and when you find the perfect blend for that moment, chances are you’ll change your mind and want to find a different sound. Possibly playing Kazoo instead.
On different op-amps sounding different/the same, I have two things to add:
Yes, it's in the circuit, and inside one of those chips is yet another circuit, the topology of the op-amp itself! In short, different opamps *can* sound different, if you know where to look!
If you are working with standard signals within the intended operational limits of the amp, most general op-amps will sound the same. The problem is that when we use op-amps in effects, especially for overdrive/distortion, we are no longer necessarily in the intended, linear operation regions of the opamp. Consequently, when you push opamps outside of intended operational ranges, you may start to hear differences. In particular, a pedal or dirty channel which uses opamps for clipping may gave you different sound characteristics depending on the opamp! Some are rail-to-rail and whill clip later, others start clipping earlier, some clip soft, some clip hard, some clip assymetrically, some older models with bad slew rates like the LM308 can gave off non-linear distortion when cranke, compared to the much higher slew rate of a TL072 which will be much more measured/clean (before you bring it to clipping).
If you are working with a battery setup, the op-amp choice can be crucial to the battery life, a higher quiescent current will drain it faster!
As with many things, you need to separate the chaff from the wheat! Op-amp choice is a bit of an art when it comes to working close to their operational limits. If we are talking about working within the limits of op-amps operational limits, then yes, they are essentially identical!
As Novation synths said about their Peak Synthesiser, 'Analogue where it matters - digital where it counts'.
Thank you for the information. Josh rocks. I can’t imagine another person suggesting all of his competitors over and over again. That goes to show you how he ma in it for the love of pedals and music not money. Also I’m sure he’s not hurting for money, so that helps.
I remember when Panasonic was about to run out of bucket brigade chips and were not going to make anymore. There was a whole Guitar Player magazine article talking about how you should buy up an analog delay while you could, because when the remaining supplies ran out, your only option was going to be digital… I was like, “What the f*ck do you mean only one company in the whole world makes them?? And why the f*ck would another company not just start making more?? I don’t know how long it was before they started being made again, but I couldn’t believe they were saying, “Well, that’s that. No more analog delays, ever.”.
It's always a pleasure and an enjoyment to watch Josh talk about stuff like this.
His sarcastic humor is a cover up for the incredible amount of knowledge he has on pedals and tone. It’s a good all in one package!😆❤️🤘
And it cleans up nicely if you roll the volume back.😎
17:43-18:15
Best guitar GEAR advice/concept/school of thought/lesson OF ALL TIME, FOR ALL TIME!
Thank you!!!
Joshua H. Scott for president 2036 !!!!
Edit - also 21:53 😆
Love Josh and his anti-gatekeeping attitude to guitar and pedals especially. He helps to explain and educate so well!
Regarding analog/digital hybrid, wouldn’t another example be many Echoplex-style pedals, where you have an analog preamp/boost but a digital delay?
If you've seen a lot of his videos he always reiterates the only thing that really matters at all and it's "if it sounds good then it is good."
I became a pedal junkie about 6 months ago. This is easily the most informative video I've found. Who is Josh Scott? I like him. We should be pals.
Check out his JHS Pedals channel, you are in for a treat.
Thanks Reverb! for having Josh help us understand pedals and circuit questions we all have had.
This video is amazing, pure magic. Loved the explanations, would listen to him talk about pedals all day!
Josh went all zen with "it's like a breath back and forth between the two circuits". But really, what a perfect way to think of it! Josh you are truly are the pedal whisperer.
Really interesting, thanks for posting, shattered a few myths have heard forever.
I love Josh Scott. He could educate on almost any topic and I would listen.
He's totally wrong about germanium stuff, he also lies about the Tube Screamer and the clean up from guitar's volume trick, he hates germanium transistors. Poor the people who believe in him.
Thanks to you Josh and the rest of you, I'm becoming a Pedal Addict! Thanks a lot. 🎸😎
I do love as guitar players, we do try to make so many excuses to not sit & learn the instrument. Instead resorting to:
"Well, it must be the transistors in my pedal that mean I don't sound like Hendrix".
Mate, learn your chops as well as your gear. You will benefit from 6 months of regular solid guitar practice over buying a new tube screamer. Trust me. I've seen people half my age breeze past my skill level in half the time. That's because their practice regimen was that consistent, I've been humbled by it when it happens.
Josh is a such a gem. The JHS show and TPS are my 100% go-tos for fun and information.
I love how every time Josh answers a question, it's a history lesson
Yes! Thank you for busting these myths and properly informing the public. You're the best
I appreciate the cooking analogy. I see a lot of criticism online where people accuse pedal makers of "copying" a circuit, and it's important to realize that all of the "flavors" or "dishes" are pretty much established. Companies can only give us their unique twist on a classic circuit and add features to it. No one would ever accuse a new restaurant of "stealing" a burger simply because their burger also has a bun, patty, etc.
I agree with the argument about chips and whatnot and I try not to get into the trivial minutia about minor differences in pedals. With that said, there’s something about the original Electric Mistress that hasn’t been matched.
There are lots of shoot-outs that compare them, but know that old Electric mistresses don't even sound like with each other. Each one is a little different due to variance in the parts. There have been some good, similar sounding pedals - Retro-Sonic, Mooer E-lady and Hartman all sound great. I agree that EHX hasn't really come close though.
@@absea7918 This is true. I've got a '78 Deluxe Mistress and my brother's friend has a '76 Deluxe and the character is there but they definitely sound different.
Best Video! Explained me a lot... thx! Merry Xmas
Oh Josh, being the engineer and keeping it real. Thank you sir for all your service :-)
Thanks for another great vid, Josh! Informative and simultaneously hilarious!
Thank you so much Josh for the tip for the clean tone with a fuzz face. It's really true. With a Gibson into a Marshall is richer and brighter, much more fender-ish. I'm going to use this all the time.
It’s great to listen to. Thank you Reverb. Fun.
I love how this whole Q&A boils down to "old vs new".
It reminds me of the whole "old music is better than new music" arguments.
Like, 80s vs 90s is always heated.
Personal preference and one-upmanship happens in so many musical generations.
Thanks for being real, Josh.
As always.
He's totally wrong about germanium stuff, also lies about tube screamer and the clean up from guitar's volume trick, he hates germanium transistors. Poor the people who believe in him.
6:36 if you have active electronics in your guitar the buffer is is the pickup or eq (as in a bass) so you can drive 100' of cable no problem. So having all true bypass effects is not a problem with active electronics.
Brilliant video again, mate. I said this already over at your show as well but one of the best advice probably is to give a shit about the stuff being said on "forums" or to stay away from there in the first place. ;) I am not on any of these forums anymore for over 10 years already as I couldn't take it anymore. People should really focus on making music and just use what they like themselves and not what others tell them to like or to dislike. Your videos like this (and the one about Behringer) are worth gold and I wish more people would watch it and finally ditch all the crap they have read before on "forums". But, as you well know, it is like a fight against windmills, I guess. ;) Merry Christmas to you and your family, Josh! Stay safe, buddy.
In the infamous words of Jeremy clarkson, being hand built is just another way of saying the door will fall off
14:58 LMAO. You just have to love him, funniest guy in the guitar world for sure! XD
Great video. Very educational. 👍✌🏻
Great educational video !!
Been a studio owner since the mid-90’s. I’ve sat thru more hours of “got to find my tone” then I care to admit.
A majority of time once they find “their tone”, the part they played (in a fraction of the time it took to get the tone) wasn’t worth recording in the first place.
cool things down, Josh Scott is not a genius, he's just a honest pedal builder BUT it is a very cool, funny, informative guy and I'd listen for hours and hours his show.
Cheers Josh
Best line: “if it sounds good, it is good.”
Josh, always entertaining! just got your buffered splitter, I have a wet/dry/wet pedalboard!
Thank you Josh-informative and funny enough for me to laugh out loud several times while learning.
Dude, why didn't my electronics teacher ever say "topology", "populate", etc? And why the hell didn't I think to work for a pedal company? There were no jobs in the area when I graduated (but they invaded Afghanistan that year, so smart guys were being fooled into joining the military because they were broke)...
Josh, happy holidays. You are great
What a great guy. Great vid, thanks team.
"Again, please play guitar. I'm begging you." - Josh Scott
Dude is a legend.
👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾Thanks Reverb! Thanks Josh!
Merry Christmas Josh Scott
Josh you are just an amazing guy! Probably the best in the world! Have a nice holidays and stay as cool as you are! :*
I claim him as a worldwide treasure.
Best guitar video of the year, gotta love Josh!! :)
I'm a simple man. I see Josh Scott I click. Merry Christmas everyone!!!
Hilarious! I love Josh. Great video. Happy Holidays!
Thanks Josh!
Thanks for sharing
Very interesting and enjoyable.
I got the original RP100 (with no suffix) when they were a thing and still have it. I think it's great for what it is. I don't bother with the preset sounds and make my own setups that are much simpler. Nowadays I usually use it as the pedal I don't have in stomp box form. Like I only have a flanger and a phaser for modulations so if i want some tremolo or a rotary speaker sim I use it for that. And the digital delays and reverbs it has are wonderful, especial the stereo ping pong delay.
Cool video, thanks!
I was waiting for the "He has the box" tune but I forgot I'm on Reverb's channel! Hahaha
Thank you Josh!
You wanna know something weird? I have the behringer tube screamer clone on my board right now that I almost always leave on because it cleans up surprisingly nice. I don't have very much gain in it to begin with, but it adds a nice little something extra
Merry Christmas Josh.
Brilliant I so many ways, thanks Josh!
Great video!
He has the (RAT) box. A "What's the deal?" video. Keeee-yeeewww-ellllll !!
Digitally controlled analog audio is respectable. I call as my witness the Empirical Labs EL8-X Distressor. A high end, totally legit studio compressor. A classic, in fact.
I missed the “he has the box” jingle.
Gonna watch this a few times on loop just so the responses to the weird mythical nonsense guitar players come up with can be automatic on my part. Brilliant stuff. Its nice hearing someone with electrical engineering knowledge talk plainly about these things.
5-Stars! ★★★★★ The Rock Star of pedals... another talent from a long list of sound/music stars born in Alabama.
I have a pretty noisy powerline in my house, so I often use batteries, even lipos from RC cars. 12 and even 13V (a powersupply for a Canon printer, totally noiseless!) work with I guess ALL of my pedals and don't destroy them. My AMT K2 loses a bit of dirt in the distortion. That's ok and even an advantage because I boost it with an OD. So, all in all I prefer running this combination on 12V or slightly more and consider it safe (the AMT allows for it, anyway). One pedal (Caline Englishman) starts buzzing on a higher note doing so. I think this is because it has a voltage regulator built-in to up the voltage from 9V to a higher Voltage needed for the circuit. It doesn't seem to get destroyed either. So, I don't recommend trying out different voltages but in general a pedal is built with parts that can tolerate the nuances of different power supplies. It's not that you have to be 9.0V dead on or damage your pedal!!!
one thing a different opamp can bring to the table: lower noise!! lt1028... that's a good one
circuit performance is indeed relative to the performance of the components in it.
two 10uF caps could be very different depending on technology and parasitics...
by the way... a transistor can be operated as a diode as well, it's not just an amplifier. (i know... you know. lol)
the notion of asymmetry in clipping would be to promote even harmonic generation. an unbalanced long tail pair exhibits more even order distortion...
i agree. play!