Glen I am willing to bet you'd probably never see this, but I have an idea for you. Take an actual blind person. Put them in a room and show them mixes with different tubes. Then different guitars with different pickups. And finally different speakers. Ask them when and where they hear the differences and see if they match up or not with what the results actually are. I'm blind. Have been playing for 17 years. And trust me the amount of variables that people think exist when they can see quickly start to go away when they can not. I had perfect vision when I started playing. I'm almost completely blind now. I have to use my ears for practically everything. and I'm telling you all right now Glen's more on the ball on this stuff than any of you are realizing. I'd love to take part in something like this if it was ever possible. Keep going and doing what you are doing man it is awesome. Oh and before anyone asks like I know people eventually will look up the terms screen readers and voice over. That is how I use my computer and phone to do things like this. Blind does not mean helpless in 2024
Can TH-cam comments be read with braille keyboards, too? Or does only the voice over work? I’ve also been wondering how blind-accessible most DAWs are. Voiceover can read out the dB numbers of the faders to you, I guess, but the only way to have tactile feedback would be to use an actual mixing desk with tangible faders. For guitar, did you put the numbers in braille on the upper or lower edge of the guitar neck? I assume that‘s what I would do, to make sure I’d quickly find the right fret without looking. (In case you’re wondering, yes, I work in a facility for visually impaired people. 😉)
So to answer these one by one. I would imagine a braille keyboard would work just fine for TH-cam comments. As far as I’m aware it works just fine. I used to have one, but mainly used it for inputting math braille back when I was in college a few years back. Never thought about it for that use. The only time I really even use braille these days is on my phone with a feature that allows me to type in braille which is way faster than standard typing. For the DAW thing that is tough. I think it depends on the user’s ability to learn and adapt. ProTools is a F**KING nightmare! There’s so much happening and honestly it is one of the most frustrating ecosystems I’ve ever had the misfortune to try to learn. Its a joke plane and simple for access. It can be done. Sure no doubt about that. But it is a serious learning curve. The only reason I figured it out is I’m a pretty advanced user who knew both the ins and outs of my screen reader and knows music technology to a decent level. I’ve heard Audasity is OK on a Windows based system, but not tried it on a MAC based system. Personally I use Logic Pro for everything. I have it streamlined exactly how I want it. I’d say 98% of it is user friendly for the blind and the things that are not are things that are annoying, but not deal breakers to say the least. It reads me all the info I need in real time for each track. I have also designed a few templates I use depending on what I’m doing so I can get up and going and start working as soon as I sit down. Plug in my gear and go. I understand some people’s hesitation on templates and presets, but I want something I know will work. Something I know will work every time. And something I can work on immediately to make sure I get ideas in place as quickly and affectively as possible. I’ve used Logic Pro since 2018 and have not looked back. Done everything from tracks for singers I’ve worked with to my own project work to live sound and entertainment more recently. I do own a mixing board. It is analog. But I don’t really use it at all. I tend to try to keep all of my mixing and mastering as internal in Logic as I possibly can. It gives me more control of where things are and how they are happening so I can figure out problems easier. Again I know that is not very traditional. But it is what I’ve found works for me. I basically just need a connection between my Helix and the computer. And my guitars. And I’m in business. I can lay down midi instrument and drum tracks as holding tracks. And send them out to people who play those parts to be replaced with real instruments. So it makes my life that much easier. As for the guitar? Nah. You’d think the tactile marks would help. I’ve even considered it when I’m playing slide guitar since that is an extra level of difficult. But honestly nope. I’ve had to get very good at what I do through muscle memory entirely. I actually learned how to play guitar originally purely by ear and never even looked at my fretboard when I could for the most part. So by the time my vision started to go in my early 20s I was already pretty well equipped to deal with the situation. It makes it really interesting working with guitar instructors because they have had to basically reteach me guitar from a different perspective. I had to learn much more from muscle memory once I started doing professional lessons because telling me to look at the board was basically out the window by then. My current instructor (And yes I still take lessons 17 years later because you are never too good to keep learning) is arguably one of if not the best hired guy in the world today. He’s had to completely reinvent how he’s teaching me things like 8 finger tapping because it is such a visual exercise. We have to break things down to their individual components so I can get used to the step by step feel of the motion in my hands and wrists. Then build up step by step so I can get used to the motions rather than using fret markers to tell me where I am at any given time. It goes against practically everything he knows as a guitar player. but the coolest part is it is making him even better which I didn’t think was possible at his level. Because he’s learning this the same way I am and it is forcing him to think differently about how he plays. I know he did a recent solo with the group he’s on tour with in South America right now with his eyes completely closed to get a feel for it. There’s nothing to bring you as much pride and joy in yourself as getting a text from a guy who’s been a guitarist in some major label bands that just says “how in the hell do you play like this it is incredible?” I’ll never forget that question as long as I live. Sorry this got way long. I’m willing to take a guess and say if you are based in the US you work in a Lighthouse for the Blind facility? Or possibly a school for the blind. Those are the only places that would come to mind for something like that. Its funny. I’ve always known my vision would go. Ever since I was a kid. I even went to a school for the blind for a bit. Yet I have never really felt connected to that community. I tend to kind of avoid it for the most part. I think that has helped me a ton because its made me learn to think outside the box. I tend to take things more as a “how do I do something my way” rather than “you can’t do them”. Sadly my experience around the visually impaired community is certainly colored by my own experiences with people in it. I… Just could not quite click with most of them. Probably because even to this day a lot of my interests are quite visual in nature. I mean even the field I run a consulting business in (The healthcare industry) is not exactly a traditional place for someone like me. But it is something I’m interested in. Anyway hope this answers a few things.
"It's not Right vs Left, it never has been. It's rich people vs everybody else." Never expected to hear such a profound thing on a TH-cam comments review on a Guitar Recording Channel, but it happened. I salute you my man!
That is just Marxist rhetoric. The individualistic nature of the right is diametrically opposed to the collectivist Rich vs. Poor class conflict that is espoused by Socialists/Marxists/Communists. Glenn by his very nature is a Capitalist. He may say these things but is still charging $250 for a pedal/effect. However, I agree that Glenn should do this because I am a Capitalist too. He sets the price for which his service/commodity is worth on the market, and he should have the right to do so. The huge glaring problem is Glenn is the rich compared to us common people. He is the "Bourgeois" /Rich to us. Apart from his outstanding tests and his incredible work, I don't think it is a good idea to listen to this rhetoric because it does not logically lead into Glenn being a part of the common people. I think he is doing an outstanding job-sharing information with us and helping us get to where he is. But, in the end, the Marxist viewpoint from which his views come from hold that he is diametrically opposed to us because of his position of power/wealth.
@@L0rd0fTh3N3rdz There is no need to bring his attitudes about a particular religion into this. I think it was a simple, and quite accurate assertion, that is all. We can learn from each other without completely agreeing about everything.
Hey Glenn ! Joe here from Scarlett XIII as well as a solo and session player. I get compliments on tones and mixes frequently and fellow guitarist freak out when I show them the gear I use for tracking. The track 'Dying Inside' was done on a Chinese guitar called Bad Cat ( no affiliation with the amp company ) I used a Les Paul and Strat style called and Unicorn ( LP ) and a Polaris ( strat ) I had an endorsement but they have since gone out of business in the US. Anyway, they play and sound amazing, just as good or better that my Gibson's and Fender's and they are totally stock. They came stainless steel frets and priced under $400 USD. Thanks for showing that it's not the name on the headstock that matters. CHEERS !
7:46 as an American i have to disagree, i spend my money on much more than just burgers and guns, i also buy weed and I’m paying off my thousands of dollars medical debt from 5 years ago when i sprained my ankle and needed tylenol
@@YxYzYx what im saying is when someone gets hurt, its not necessarily their fault. Someone could get run over and never be able to pay back the medical bills just because "its not the taxpayers fault" Im not saying it is their fault, but people should help each other rather than stay inside their own bubble for the rest of eternity
I just hit 11 years at Chrysler. I hired in right after FCA took over, and have been here thru the transition to Stellantis. Glen is spot on with his words about it all has worked. The sale of the brand from company to company is 100% so others can make more money. It does not benefit the workers in any way.
Why is it that whenever someone says “gO rEaD aN eCoN bOoK” or “tAKE aN EcOn ClASS”, they are the ones in the conversation with the least knowledge of economics…
They think they've checkmated you, because these idiots are under the presumption that the book will agree with them and prove the person they are arguing with completely wrong. They also have never read an econ book, so it's all just arrogant assumptions that they are right.
Eddie believed in everything that this guy says is nonsense. He built that guitar from Charvel parts, put in countless hours of work to keep those guitars perfect, modified his pickups, believed in using humbuckers vs single coils, modified his marshal amps, used different tubes, boiled his strings, wax potted his pickups, and built his own recording studio so that he’d have complete control over his sound. Eddie was a genius. This guy is a retired Chrysler employee playing in his basement.
Glad I stumbled onto this video. As an ex-Gibson employee, I won't touch any of their gear made there in Memphis. Not that there's instruments made during that time that people didn't try their best to make great, but as you stated, it was quantity over quality... and I saw it all first hand. Also their pay to the workers and the conditions we were subjected to were absolutely terrible. I moved from there to Oregon to work at Breedlove, which by comparison was a millions times better. Or so I thought. Truth be told, I'd still be there if not for more of the same, i.e. shoddy business practices/ethics. However a QC issue happened about 6 to 8 months into it, and a labor cut across the board soon followed. I may be fuzzy on some details as this was 10 years ago, but if I remember correctly, it was just a name in a hat layoff scenario, adding up to about 50% across the board, which is insane as I was a part of the new hire crew to double their staff as well as their output. So people with seniority as well as new hires and in-betweens all fell on their sword for them, but the person(s) who inevitably made the snafu retained their job(s)... which was ridiculous, if you ask me, or perhaps even anyone that stopped working for whatever reason. The consensus for both companies echoes your statement that poor management and greed always pushes consumers, players, and fans aways but the novelty, branding, and market oversaturation, will always manage to keep these companies above water and in business, so long as they have the will to be. That being said, both companies still carry on and I no longer build guitars anymore, I just play, and adamantly boycott both companies to this day and will till my last. TL;DR: Capitalism fucking sucks and guitars have no business costing in upwards of 3k and yeah, you can all bitch till you're blue in the face, but there's absolutely no monetary justification for it with the exception of compensation for competition, and overall inflation. All products of the capitalist hellscape we're forced to endure. Thankfully though there's still lawyers and doctors that are brand collectors and buy this shit up in droves to drive the prices up just to hang them on their walls so that aspiring musicians can't afford a "quality" instrument without going into debt or losing a limb to do so...
Hey Glenn, just wanted to say that you’ve been a huge inspiration for me. Just left my automotive line job to start my own business. Been watching you for the last couple years and hearing you talk about corporate/managerial BS ruining the lives of their workers gave me the reality check I needed. In less than a decade, I’ve had two surgeries related to the job. Thankfully, my *glorious* (heavy sarcasm) country & state have decided that cumulative trauma is not the fault of the employer, so there was no compensation; only short-term disability. Now I have hardware screwed into my spine and a couple nasty scars without even the common courtesy of a reacharound. I’ll never work for someone else again, and you’re partially responsible for that. Of course, now I’m responsible for my success/failure, but having the courage to walk away all started with you telling us about your life. Didn’t make it twenty-seven years, but I think that’s a good thing. While I didn’t start a music business, I still look forward to your videos to help keep my metal spirit alive. Thank you, Glenn. Stay strong on the sea of haters; they’ll drag you under the first chance they get 🤘
I have seen Glen educate one musician at a time on the value of a reamp box and I will truly never tire of his frustration and bravado in doing so. Keep fighting the good fight, sir!
Lol Msn messenger and the chat rooms.👍 When I lived in New Orleans that's how I met a few cool friends in "Chat New Orleans" I think they started a pay wall and MSN went belly up.
Here’s the thing about Harley Benton - it’s a QC lottery and this is unfortunately true for most budget import guitars. I have purchased five of their guitars so far, three of which had to be exchanged at least once to get playable instrument, one had some major cosmetic issues and Thomann have issued a partial refund as the guitar was playable-ish after complete setup. Only one had no major issues other than a messed up grounding. The pickups were always solid for the price. I still think that they are great value; however, I would personally not recommend ordering them outside of Europe as most likely you will have to exchange it due to the QC issues. Some people just get lucky and get good copies. I have also purchased two Jackson’s from their budget JS series and they had even worse QC issues, one of them had to be exchanged and it took Jackson over a month to send a replacement since it was coming from abroad, in other instance they have issued 40% partial refund.
My friend had to exchange four of the same US built Gibson Explorer. Has nothing to do with Harley Benson. The guy he dealt with at Gibson just laughed at him and said people just pay for the name only.......
You're not wrong, but it sounds like you've had much worse luck than most. I just bought two. One of them has a stiff tuning peg and the pickup selector switch is loose and rattles a bit. Still very playable and nothing I can't fix. I figured I'd be upgrading to locking tuners anyway and I'm actually bonding with that guitar more than I even expected. The other... there's nothing functionally wrong with it at all, but "Ocean Flame" stopped being blue and became green at some point, which has me annoyed/disappointed. Is it dumb to be caught up on the color? Yes, it is. Plays well. Sounds good. But I feel like I'm making due with a mistake and it's a pebble in my boot at the moment.
@@Nachtmahr616 They have a US store up on Reverb and that'd be better for returns, but it's a more limited selection and the prices are better through the Thomann site, particularly if you split the shipping costs between multiple guitars.
As a guitarist, I can’t count how many times I heard from other guitarists complaining about a guitar like “it’s a piece of shit”, “it sounds so bad” and everything. I noticed to biases: First, if you don’t tell the price, it changes mind a lot. And after it is appreciated, knowing that it’s cheaper than expected even improve to opinion on the instrument. Then, and it took me so much time to realize that, but a well treated instrument sounds so good. This means we have to tune the guitar, adjust the intonation, the truss road, the pickups height, and clean it, and suddenly, it sounds great. It’s a shame that some very expensive guitars are not setup properly, but thinking it’s a bad instrument just because of that make you a bad guitarist. I don’t know how you could demonstrate that without being accused of cheating, but I’m pretty sure more than 90% of us guitarist would prefer a perfectly adjusted cheap guitar than a badly adjusted expensive guitar. I think you demonstrated enough that the tone is in the cab 😂
I watched the Rhett Shull one and initially thought I could hear a slight difference between the rosewood and maple. Then I tried closing my eyes for a bit and I couldn't tell shit for the rest of the vid.
it's the playing. No humans can replicate their playing back to back. I don't care if you're the best guitar player. It's impossible. Why do we do two takes when we double track a guitar? It's for the differences on our playing. You can't do copy-paste the same track, it'll sound bad.
Love your work, Glenn! You really hit the nail on the head with, “it’s not the workers, it’s rich people versus everyone else.” Yep. I do own a Custom Shop Gibson Les Paul. Great guitar and I worked my ass off to get it not being particularly well off. Your channel has me rethinking things, and I’ve explored many reasonably priced inexpensive (not cheap!) guitars, and have found you to be absolutely right on. So many kick ass, inexpensive guitars, and I appreciate the service you’re doing for myself and others. Cheers and ope!
It's a very flawed video. There are several things that jumped out at me immediately. First of all, he is obviously very biased. He even said so before he even played any of the necks. When he plays the maple neck, it seems like he picks harder, perhaps unwittingly, basically confirming his own bias that maple fretboards are supposed to sound "snappy". Then he also mentions that, even though the necks were set up by the store for that guitar, he had to do adjustments because there was a lot of fret buzz. He did not mention or document anywhere by how much it was adjusted and if the string heights were the same for every neck. String height is pretty important, and the strings slapping against the fretboard may again be interpreted as the "snappy" character. If he had to adjust the string height, that also may have changed the distance from the pickups, making it louder or quieter going into the amp. And that might cause the amp to react slightly differently, with more or less compression. And then there is the fact that he did not do a blind test. When he listened back to the results, he knew which was which, and you can't judge anything reliably based on that. These are some of the reason why Jim Lill's videos are so much better than any of the other stuff that's out there so far. He puts in the time and effort that's required to produce actual results that you can draw conclusions from. Plus, he documented his process very well. I'm not saying Rhett was trying to be misleading deliberately, but he just did not put in the time that would have been needed. The conslusions of his experiment (if you can call it that) just feed into people's preconceptions. Oh and on another note, I don't understand where the notion comes from that maple sounds bright and "snappy". I suspect it's purely based on the visual appearance of the wood? Because in theory, maple is a less stiff material than rosewood and would probably dampen the sound more. I'm not a physicist, but I'd expect rosewood to dampen the vibration of the string less. (Not that that would translate to what comes out of the speaker.)
i guess there needs to be that robot arm thing that one of Glenn's more profound critics (must be the "physics of electric guitar" guy himself) had been ranting and raving for quite a while.
@@mrcoatsworth429very true. Did he also mention if he was using the same pickups on each guitar? I suspect they were not likely the same exact set of pickups. But regardless, your points stand. Also, did he use a brand new pick on each guitar take? Because a worn pick will also change the attack and how snappy the strings might sound. And was all the other wood the same except for the fretboards? And were materials like tuners and bridges identical? I enjoyed watching the video, but there were some problems with ensuring his hypothesis was properly tested to remove as many biases and issues as possible. He did not claim it to be a scientific test, but that’s the only way to know for sure.
@@MashaT22 He changed the necks on the one guitar. So yes, they were the exact same pickups and I think strings as well. I also think he made sure that the tuners on the three different necks were the exact same models. So it's not like he put no thought into it at all.
@@mrcoatsworth429 the test was also done using a loose rhythm pattern which is highly unreliable, as it depends on the feeling of the player at the time. I'd rather hear static open chords to get a full spectrum of the sound
"Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that." - George Carlin (Then apply it to the average musician and it gets REALLY bad 😂)
I always love it when I ask someone, "How F***ing stupid can you possibly be?".... and they take as a personal challenge... "You want stupid? I'll show you f***ing stupid...Here, hold my beer!" lol
Finally got to try a HB, felt about equal to an Epiphone. At half the price not bad, good modding platform but on their own there’s still lots to be desired.
Glenn! Hello from Philadelphia! The guitar community are so lucky to have a guy like you who tells it like it is. A lot of great points made in this one. Cheers!
I love my Gibsons, but I also love that you're sharing more affordable options with folks. The more people who can get into playing and making music, the better in my book.
It's annoying that people have to take a side and judge a person who owns Gibsons, PRS, or Fender. It's pretty sad, really. Glenn kind of encourages it, but he knows better.
Melda's match EQ can create an IR file that will make the difference between a reference speaker and the target speaker. Then you can stick it in a zero latency IR loader
Yes, MAutoEqualizer or MAutoDynamicEQ can be used to achieve the same tonal balance. I've had good results by matching the general tonal balance and then recreating one or two most prominent resonances and notches. I think I might have done that in some of the MGuitarArchitect bass presets, actually...
I ordered one of the Benton guitars. When it showed up I was very unhappy with it.. It was no better than firewood. Upon closer inspection I realized that what I was looking at was our actual fire wood delivery. For some reason I confused it with a guitar. My bad.
Fantastic...after everything youve said about tonewood ,speakers,pickups etc and agreeing its down to minor adjustments on the pedals and amp as far as gain,and eq for the sound /tone i want thank you Sir Glen purty simple and maybe a little time consuming...
I actually managed to get a Harley Benton DC Gotoh, it was a B stock, last one. The problems - had some scratches (not actually a problem), the nut could have been slotted better (fixed in a minute). I've had it for 7 months now, it's sitting next to a 2005 ESP eclipse, it's amazing just how much they managed to pack into that price. I had pickups that cost more than than HB, and this HB is a better value for money.
I’ve only played one of their electrics, and my only complaint is there wasn’t enough info as to what the finish was. I thought it was gonna be sand blasted or at very least grain dyed, but it was like a synthetic veneer or hydrodip type fake grain top. Other than that singular cosmetic ‘issue’, it’s a super solid guitar, I just need to break it out more, I’m debating brining it to a blues jam sometime soon. The monophonic comment, while potentially accurate to the product they received, is simply not true for all of their products. The shop I work at often carries one of their acoustics in both the electric and pickupless options, and they’re some of the best budget guitars I’ve played. I also own a u bass from them and it’s pretty fun, tho I will say I prefer the much smaller ones from Kala
Are you sure about that? If I don't use plugins as often as before, doesn't that mean I use them less, not fewer? English is not my first language, but that's what my brain tells me.🤐
@@metalzonemt-2 Yes, though don't worry too much about it as native English speakers frequently get it incorrect too. 🙂 A plugin is a countable noun ("I use 1/2/3/etc plugins on my mix") and therefore should use fewer. For noncountable nouns, e.g. water, you would say ""I drink less water than I used to". Guess who used to teach English grammar at school...😉 English grammar isn't easy or logical at times, but Finnish (grammar and the vocab in general) is impossible!😂
With distortion, that is a way to compress the signal almost, you just cut the low and high freq register so those little nuances on the sound, that are present on clean comparatives, just disappear very quick.
Good call on Harley Benton. Bought mine last summer and was super impressed. Had to do a small setup but it was playable out of the box and only a little over a half step out of tune after shipping halfway across the world.
I bought an HB and have had it for months now. I gave it a good setup and changed out the strings and slight truss rod adjustment and it plays great. Dude your channel is cool, informative, Thank you
Heeeyyy mate- spot on with the left/right thing! We are all just people and perhaps we should all look after each other because those at the ‘top’ rarely look after us.
It is feasible to get an EQ match and playing it live by just exporting a sweep and turn it into an IR, it's something I've done hundred of times from other records that I often put out there for everyone to get, it's always fun to blend album tones from various albums.
Trying to help us guitar players save money is like trying to get underwriters to read. In all seriousness Glenn has helped me save metric tons of cash; his demonstrations have surprised me by his results, often unexpected, which has helped me to make better decisions on how to buy gear. On another note I’ve been trying to refine my skills with recording my band live off the floor. We’ve gotten interesting results and now we want to record our live shows. I’ve been taking most of the rhythm roll on our originals, and have used some of Glenn’s techniques to mic’ing up different guitar speakers and trying different mic/speakers and have found some tones I really enjoy. I take notes so that I can re-create it. Have also thought about learning how to capture impulses, but might get into that later on. The speaker in my amp is from Eminence but it’s hard to tell the model since it’s proprietary to my Jet City amp. Anyway, listen to Glenn! He’ll help you save money!
Glenn, I don’t always agree with your opinions, but you are spot on with your views on manufacturing. I’ve been in manufacturing since 1988, and at my current job for 25 years. Worked my way up from an operator to the department supervisor. Each and every thing you said is exactly true, I’m fighting with some of my fellow supervisors and certain members of management on exactly that. We have people in our organization gouging customers for their own commissions, and we are losing business as a result. It’s an extremely frustrating experience. My employees are the ones suffering and it pisses me off.
I used to play clean a lot and while tonewood makes a bigger difference in clean tones than it does under high gain tones (or any clipped gain flr that matter), it doesn't make enough of a difference to affect how a listener will perceive the performance. It's just an argument musicians make to pretend they know more than the next musician.
I always appreciate and am grateful for your input and contributions to the industry, Thanks. @3:21 A HB SG with tesla pickups? Link please. I've been all over both the HB & Thomann sites and I find nothing that matches.
I quite recently bought myself a Harley Benton 8 string multiscale. Apart from an iffy volume pot (that doesn't bother me too much as I bought it as a tool for composing rather than recording), It is A VERY NICE BIT OF KIT. The finish is of good quality and fret work on the neck is very nice, with no snags whatsoever!!! When it does work properly through an amp, it has a rather nice sound. Especially the neck pick up when played clean!!! IF asked. I would (even though I've got a dodgy volume pot) still recommend Harley Benton to anyone looking for a decent instrument to learn on or to use in live or studio environments. Far superior to many so called BIG NAME brands out there...
Hey Glen, fellow Ontarian here. With all this talk about corporate b/s, manufacturing, profits, etc. I've gotta say, and with most sincerity........ I love distortion 😊
I started listening to this video while programming, and I stopped it to have lunch and swap the speaker in my 6505+ 112 Combo, half hour to lunch, 15 minutes to change my life, I ended up dropping a brand new Celestion Greenback in, I got it on sale, the EVH was too expensive, this one cost me 3 times cheaper. Man, what a difference! The Sheffield really sucked! Love you, I'm gonna drop by in your streams again, I like how you analize sound.
What was really wrong with Rhett Schull's video is that he just listened to the sound while playing. He should have made recordings with all 3 necks, had someone re-name the files, and listened back a week later when he didn't know which was which. "People listen with their eyes". Now where have I heard that? ;-)
Glen, you've got some great taste. I still keep going back and listening to Kyuss and QOTSA. They're as interesting as anything else I've heard in the last 20 years.
CNC manufacturing doesn't negate quality controls, in fact I would say the big differentiator between "good" and "bad" CNC lines are the quality inspections that come on after a part is made. Machines operate within tolerances and wood is full of irregularities, so you still get quite a lot of variations. Better machines and engineering can get you tighter tolerances, but let's be honest the guitar industry is too small to get that kind of attention. It seems that right now there are competing guitar factories, mostly in Asia, that make similar models of guitars for big brands (and their off-label couterparts) and the level of QC you can expect is tied to which factory it was built at. Famously the Squier Classic Vibe factory in China was actually beating out Fender's own Mexico plant for a while. The other thing is there are automated inspection systems, but these are generally REALLY expensive so you wouldn't see them at a guitar factory. This is what Sweetwater's Plek service is, but it's only for assessing the setup of an assembled guitar. I'm someone who has bought several Squier and Tagima guitars and upgraded their hardware (yes including pickups), so I'm all about the cheap guitars.
6:40 I really Loved how you getting to your Point! 7:43 And this Last sentence is the Most important, but alot of mindless people dont understand that there are workers and people who own and dont have to Work. There are No classes. Thank you for saying this! 🎉
Harley Benton have indeed had some problems with microphonic pickups. KDH has a video on it with a guitar with their filtertron-style pickups. HB were kinda evasive about the problem and claimed it was just 60-cycle hum but it definitely wasn't. You could hear the guitar rubbing against his hands and shirt through the amp.
I think that it would be an interesting experiment to hand multiple guitar players who are blindfolded different guitars and see if they can determine which is which simply by feel and sound
Dude totally right about MySpace. It was amazing for music because everyone was on it. The music platforms not so much. Hell I used MySpace to book a 20 band battle of the bands and probably only spent a couple hours messaging bands I thought fit the bill
I wish more people could just relax and let someone tell you what they’re doing with equipment and signal editing. I trust your experience way more than keyboard commandos. I know nothing compared to your background. Keep giving out easy to understand real wold information. Thanks for the time and effort invested
Would you experiment with guitars made out of something other than wood to see if you can get a different tone or sound? I’m no expert but I’ve learned a lot from watching your channel and have a morbid curiosity
I purchased a dc-dlx upon your recommendations and it was the biggest mistake I made all year. This damn $300 guitar has made me question everything!! I now reach for this guitar over every other guitar in my arsenal. I immediately purchased another just to see if it was a fluke….it wasn’t! Thanks for the solid advice dude!!
"Stealth buy" - neat idea. I've invested €1000 into "scientific research" - for 5 Harley Bentons. Results were positive, 2 were borderline "professional quality", all were good, but there was one QC blooper that was absolutely hilarious. Glad you had good results with yours too!
I would just like to mention that I have an acoustic HB and I’m pretty happy with it. I’d say it does an amazing job, especially considering the money, plus it looks great! Couldn’t be happier with my purchase.
Harley Benton is the shit!!! After watching your demos I've bought 2... Bass n guitar both for under 500 and they play n sound phenomenal thanks Glenn🤘🏼
I love these videos. I am guessing some of these people are intentionally saying stupid stuff just to make the show, trolling essentially. I may be wrong but in the end the stupid comments make for great content. Rock on Glenn!
I am a manager getting ready to retire and Glenn is right. This is how big business works. If you are an employee that doesn't give 110% and stand on your head every single second you are on the clock then you are lazy and a beater. But if you are a CEO that lays off 10,000 employees three days before Christmas in order to facilitate Corporate bonus's that makes you a smart business man. Here is a rule to live by in the corporate world. Work like everyone is out to screw you, because they are.
I'm with you Glenn. As a guitar player, idk why most of us refuse to admit when we're wrong, but I've done my own little experiment using my phone, and just moving that around gave me different tones from the same speaker. Not rocket science! Btw, ever consider doing a vid where you pair a G12T-75 with a Type-A in a 2x12? I have one with the G12's but am considering how it would sound with a Type-A. Rock on Glenn!
Glenn! About that EQ change to make microphones sounds like other microphones, Andertons recently released a video with Universal Audio and they've just done something really similar (but works with their own new special microphones not a blanket works with all)
Completely unrelated, but I have nowhere else really to mention it and I'm excited. Got an entire week off of work, and I'm going out of town with my drums, guitars, bass and all my damn recording equipment. I've been planning this since last year. Going to work on a new album. It's no studio by any stretch, but a large garage in the middle of nowhere, which is still better than my apartment. Can't wait to use my amps and real drums again!
My band (not sure if we're still a band, scheduling conflicts have killed our practice time) spent an afternoon recording a song last December. We had to start it playing live after the guitarist couldn't track to a click. After that, everything gelled where I only needed to do a couple takes on each half of the song. Good luck finding that song though as the guitarist and vocalist have it and they won't send it out on streaming until we record a couple more songs! I don't see it seeing the light of day and it pisses me off. It's really having me just consider doing my own solo projects. I just need to clean up my music room before I am able to do so.
i got a HB cheap SG copy with 24 frets. had them put in grovers and set it up with extra low action. it is the best playing guitar I have and the cheapest.has roswell pups. I like this better than my jackson soloist, perhaps because of my hands. I also have a HB single cut active with 24 frets, nice guitar, a HB single cut deluxe goto with Tesla also nice but only 22 frets. i am happy with my HB guitars.
I love my Gibsons, Fenders, LTDs and the PRS I own. The makes me pick up the guitar and play and that’s what’s really important for me at the end of the day.
Just went by a guitar center and found a harley benton DC600 for sale for $400. told them that it retailed for $160 + $80 shipping. At first the guy just went "ok bro, whatever", then proceeded to come back as if he saw a ghost and admitted I was right. Was a great guitar but needless to say I couldnt stop myself from laughing. Whoever owned that guitar previously made BANK off selling it to a store that didnt know any better. As far as my experience with Harley's, I own a DC-200 and it cost me about $150 total to buy and ship to the US. Pickups sounded bland so I went for some Seymour Duncan 59's and I recently switch from 10ga to 9ga strings. EVEN WITH ALL THAT + 2 years of maintenance cost its still about $100 cheaper than your next nearest epiphone and it RIPS. If I ever buy a guitar with $1k or more, I better be able to see sound or control minds because I have no idea where all that money is going otherwise...
Thanks for plain speaking. I'm trying to learn basics and value your opinion. I like that your not swayed by image of brands.I bought a Genz Benz el Diablo cheap and like the range of tones I can get in more clean direction.
Glen I am willing to bet you'd probably never see this, but I have an idea for you. Take an actual blind person. Put them in a room and show them mixes with different tubes. Then different guitars with different pickups. And finally different speakers. Ask them when and where they hear the differences and see if they match up or not with what the results actually are. I'm blind. Have been playing for 17 years. And trust me the amount of variables that people think exist when they can see quickly start to go away when they can not. I had perfect vision when I started playing. I'm almost completely blind now. I have to use my ears for practically everything. and I'm telling you all right now Glen's more on the ball on this stuff than any of you are realizing. I'd love to take part in something like this if it was ever possible. Keep going and doing what you are doing man it is awesome. Oh and before anyone asks like I know people eventually will look up the terms screen readers and voice over. That is how I use my computer and phone to do things like this. Blind does not mean helpless in 2024
This comment needs to go up!
Nah this is bullshit /s
Bumping this comment up. Well said, mate!
Can TH-cam comments be read with braille keyboards, too? Or does only the voice over work? I’ve also been wondering how blind-accessible most DAWs are. Voiceover can read out the dB numbers of the faders to you, I guess, but the only way to have tactile feedback would be to use an actual mixing desk with tangible faders.
For guitar, did you put the numbers in braille on the upper or lower edge of the guitar neck? I assume that‘s what I would do, to make sure I’d quickly find the right fret without looking.
(In case you’re wondering, yes, I work in a facility for visually impaired people. 😉)
So to answer these one by one. I would imagine a braille keyboard would work just fine for TH-cam comments. As far as I’m aware it works just fine. I used to have one, but mainly used it for inputting math braille back when I was in college a few years back. Never thought about it for that use. The only time I really even use braille these days is on my phone with a feature that allows me to type in braille which is way faster than standard typing.
For the DAW thing that is tough. I think it depends on the user’s ability to learn and adapt. ProTools is a F**KING nightmare! There’s so much happening and honestly it is one of the most frustrating ecosystems I’ve ever had the misfortune to try to learn. Its a joke plane and simple for access. It can be done. Sure no doubt about that. But it is a serious learning curve. The only reason I figured it out is I’m a pretty advanced user who knew both the ins and outs of my screen reader and knows music technology to a decent level. I’ve heard Audasity is OK on a Windows based system, but not tried it on a MAC based system. Personally I use Logic Pro for everything. I have it streamlined exactly how I want it. I’d say 98% of it is user friendly for the blind and the things that are not are things that are annoying, but not deal breakers to say the least. It reads me all the info I need in real time for each track. I have also designed a few templates I use depending on what I’m doing so I can get up and going and start working as soon as I sit down. Plug in my gear and go. I understand some people’s hesitation on templates and presets, but I want something I know will work. Something I know will work every time. And something I can work on immediately to make sure I get ideas in place as quickly and affectively as possible. I’ve used Logic Pro since 2018 and have not looked back. Done everything from tracks for singers I’ve worked with to my own project work to live sound and entertainment more recently. I do own a mixing board. It is analog. But I don’t really use it at all. I tend to try to keep all of my mixing and mastering as internal in Logic as I possibly can. It gives me more control of where things are and how they are happening so I can figure out problems easier. Again I know that is not very traditional. But it is what I’ve found works for me. I basically just need a connection between my Helix and the computer. And my guitars. And I’m in business. I can lay down midi instrument and drum tracks as holding tracks. And send them out to people who play those parts to be replaced with real instruments. So it makes my life that much easier.
As for the guitar? Nah. You’d think the tactile marks would help. I’ve even considered it when I’m playing slide guitar since that is an extra level of difficult. But honestly nope. I’ve had to get very good at what I do through muscle memory entirely. I actually learned how to play guitar originally purely by ear and never even looked at my fretboard when I could for the most part. So by the time my vision started to go in my early 20s I was already pretty well equipped to deal with the situation. It makes it really interesting working with guitar instructors because they have had to basically reteach me guitar from a different perspective. I had to learn much more from muscle memory once I started doing professional lessons because telling me to look at the board was basically out the window by then. My current instructor (And yes I still take lessons 17 years later because you are never too good to keep learning) is arguably one of if not the best hired guy in the world today. He’s had to completely reinvent how he’s teaching me things like 8 finger tapping because it is such a visual exercise. We have to break things down to their individual components so I can get used to the step by step feel of the motion in my hands and wrists. Then build up step by step so I can get used to the motions rather than using fret markers to tell me where I am at any given time. It goes against practically everything he knows as a guitar player. but the coolest part is it is making him even better which I didn’t think was possible at his level. Because he’s learning this the same way I am and it is forcing him to think differently about how he plays. I know he did a recent solo with the group he’s on tour with in South America right now with his eyes completely closed to get a feel for it. There’s nothing to bring you as much pride and joy in yourself as getting a text from a guy who’s been a guitarist in some major label bands that just says “how in the hell do you play like this it is incredible?” I’ll never forget that question as long as I live.
Sorry this got way long. I’m willing to take a guess and say if you are based in the US you work in a Lighthouse for the Blind facility? Or possibly a school for the blind. Those are the only places that would come to mind for something like that. Its funny. I’ve always known my vision would go. Ever since I was a kid. I even went to a school for the blind for a bit. Yet I have never really felt connected to that community. I tend to kind of avoid it for the most part. I think that has helped me a ton because its made me learn to think outside the box. I tend to take things more as a “how do I do something my way” rather than “you can’t do them”. Sadly my experience around the visually impaired community is certainly colored by my own experiences with people in it. I… Just could not quite click with most of them. Probably because even to this day a lot of my interests are quite visual in nature. I mean even the field I run a consulting business in (The healthcare industry) is not exactly a traditional place for someone like me. But it is something I’m interested in. Anyway hope this answers a few things.
"It's not Right vs Left, it never has been. It's rich people vs everybody else."
Never expected to hear such a profound thing on a TH-cam comments review on a Guitar Recording Channel, but it happened.
I salute you my man!
he says that and then craps on Christians constantly so clearly there is SOMETHING else.
@@L0rd0fTh3N3rdz What does that have to do with it?
That is just Marxist rhetoric. The individualistic nature of the right is diametrically opposed to the collectivist Rich vs. Poor class conflict that is espoused by Socialists/Marxists/Communists. Glenn by his very nature is a Capitalist. He may say these things but is still charging $250 for a pedal/effect. However, I agree that Glenn should do this because I am a Capitalist too. He sets the price for which his service/commodity is worth on the market, and he should have the right to do so. The huge glaring problem is Glenn is the rich compared to us common people. He is the "Bourgeois" /Rich to us. Apart from his outstanding tests and his incredible work, I don't think it is a good idea to listen to this rhetoric because it does not logically lead into Glenn being a part of the common people. I think he is doing an outstanding job-sharing information with us and helping us get to where he is. But, in the end, the Marxist viewpoint from which his views come from hold that he is diametrically opposed to us because of his position of power/wealth.
@@solaresat Why are those the only two schools of thought in your world. Please climb out of the holes you have dug for yourself.
@@L0rd0fTh3N3rdz There is no need to bring his attitudes about a particular religion into this. I think it was a simple, and quite accurate assertion, that is all. We can learn from each other without completely agreeing about everything.
Glenn: try this gear out, it slaps and is way cheaper
Guitarists: Angery honest man is hurting the feelings of my empty wallet
Is that what you think? People who own Gibsons have an empty wallet?
😅😅😅😅🤣🤣👍
@@travisspaulding2222 in that case it's not the wallet that's necessarily empty..
@@yajrobot Lol, so now we're doing blanket statements about people's character? Maybe take a look in the mirror.
@@travisspaulding2222 LMAO another Gibson owner detected.
I truly appreciate your honesty. You state the obvious that everyone else runs from.
“That’s all I have for you today. Now, ffffffffuck off!”
Dude, I saved a clip of that and send it to like 10 of my friends
Thanks for the idea!!! Haha
@@Guilhermetmfranco guaranteed laughs for you and the boys
_Masterful Signoff_
Guys watch the new video of Rhett Shull he compared different necks and if they affect the tone. The difference is really surprising. Anyone seen it?
@EbonyPope yeah that video is a very suspicious.
I missed when Glenn talked shit at Bass players. WHY DO GUITAR PLAYERS TAKE EVERYTHING FROM US!!
Because Guitar Players keep running their mouths while us Bass Players are too dumb to think lmao
@@longview3k69 That's the accuratest statement ever
Hey Glenn ! Joe here from Scarlett XIII as well as a solo and session player. I get compliments on tones and mixes frequently and fellow guitarist freak out when I show them the gear I use for tracking. The track 'Dying Inside' was done on a Chinese guitar called Bad Cat ( no affiliation with the amp company ) I used a Les Paul and Strat style called and Unicorn ( LP ) and a Polaris ( strat ) I had an endorsement but they have since gone out of business in the US. Anyway, they play and sound amazing, just as good or better that my Gibson's and Fender's and they are totally stock. They came stainless steel frets and priced under $400 USD. Thanks for showing that it's not the name on the headstock that matters. CHEERS !
i swear being a musician is like a bragging contest!,
people judge you heavily
on the gear you use more than the skill you have!
7:46 as an American i have to disagree, i spend my money on much more than just burgers and guns, i also buy weed and I’m paying off my thousands of dollars medical debt from 5 years ago when i sprained my ankle and needed tylenol
"Tylenol"
@@YxYzYx yeah right, it was totally his fault for getting run over
@@naattxxnaattxx7055 lol it was just a joke but i don’t think he can actually comprehend that concept
hell yeah weed is expensive. top shelf anyhow.🤷🏻♂️
@@YxYzYx what im saying is when someone gets hurt, its not necessarily their fault. Someone could get run over and never be able to pay back the medical bills just because "its not the taxpayers fault"
Im not saying it is their fault, but people should help each other rather than stay inside their own bubble for the rest of eternity
Whenever the world pisses me off to much I just watch a few hours of George Carlin and I start to feel sane again. That and Sabbath
I just hit 11 years at Chrysler. I hired in right after FCA took over, and have been here thru the transition to Stellantis. Glen is spot on with his words about it all has worked. The sale of the brand from company to company is 100% so others can make more money. It does not benefit the workers in any way.
'Stellantis'
..
There is no more vivid example of how the management is overpaid.
You might make Glen's "Butthurt Chrysler worker of the week" segment with this comment!
Why is it that whenever someone says “gO rEaD aN eCoN bOoK” or “tAKE aN EcOn ClASS”, they are the ones in the conversation with the least knowledge of economics…
What does Y equal?
@@AmericanNationalist852do you want the income or output equation?
They think they've checkmated you, because these idiots are under the presumption that the book will agree with them and prove the person they are arguing with completely wrong. They also have never read an econ book, so it's all just arrogant assumptions that they are right.
"Well there's this little thing called SUPPLY and DEMAND and that means-"
*toilet noises*
Yep, ah, the Intertubes. They have truly done wonders for human civilization.
Jesus the man was real historically speaking. There are enough accounts to prove that regardless of your faith 5:53
Every guitarsnob: You have to empty your bank account and buy expensive gear to "git guuud".
Eddie Van Halen: Hold my beer and Frankenstrat.
Eddie believed in everything that this guy says is nonsense. He built that guitar from Charvel parts, put in countless hours of work to keep those guitars perfect, modified his pickups, believed in using humbuckers vs single coils, modified his marshal amps, used different tubes, boiled his strings, wax potted his pickups, and built his own recording studio so that he’d have complete control over his sound. Eddie was a genius. This guy is a retired Chrysler employee playing in his basement.
Glad I stumbled onto this video. As an ex-Gibson employee, I won't touch any of their gear made there in Memphis. Not that there's instruments made during that time that people didn't try their best to make great, but as you stated, it was quantity over quality... and I saw it all first hand. Also their pay to the workers and the conditions we were subjected to were absolutely terrible. I moved from there to Oregon to work at Breedlove, which by comparison was a millions times better. Or so I thought. Truth be told, I'd still be there if not for more of the same, i.e. shoddy business practices/ethics. However a QC issue happened about 6 to 8 months into it, and a labor cut across the board soon followed. I may be fuzzy on some details as this was 10 years ago, but if I remember correctly, it was just a name in a hat layoff scenario, adding up to about 50% across the board, which is insane as I was a part of the new hire crew to double their staff as well as their output. So people with seniority as well as new hires and in-betweens all fell on their sword for them, but the person(s) who inevitably made the snafu retained their job(s)... which was ridiculous, if you ask me, or perhaps even anyone that stopped working for whatever reason. The consensus for both companies echoes your statement that poor management and greed always pushes consumers, players, and fans aways but the novelty, branding, and market oversaturation, will always manage to keep these companies above water and in business, so long as they have the will to be. That being said, both companies still carry on and I no longer build guitars anymore, I just play, and adamantly boycott both companies to this day and will till my last. TL;DR: Capitalism fucking sucks and guitars have no business costing in upwards of 3k and yeah, you can all bitch till you're blue in the face, but there's absolutely no monetary justification for it with the exception of compensation for competition, and overall inflation. All products of the capitalist hellscape we're forced to endure. Thankfully though there's still lawyers and doctors that are brand collectors and buy this shit up in droves to drive the prices up just to hang them on their walls so that aspiring musicians can't afford a "quality" instrument without going into debt or losing a limb to do so...
"It's not right vs left. It's rich people vs the masses. It always has been."
Exactly right. I wish more people understood this point.
actually, it's J..................................... vs.................................
and who exactly are these rich people
@@itsgoldmate8859 ohh I think you nose who it is.... 🤫
👃
Hey Glenn, just wanted to say that you’ve been a huge inspiration for me. Just left my automotive line job to start my own business. Been watching you for the last couple years and hearing you talk about corporate/managerial BS ruining the lives of their workers gave me the reality check I needed. In less than a decade, I’ve had two surgeries related to the job. Thankfully, my *glorious* (heavy sarcasm) country & state have decided that cumulative trauma is not the fault of the employer, so there was no compensation; only short-term disability. Now I have hardware screwed into my spine and a couple nasty scars without even the common courtesy of a reacharound. I’ll never work for someone else again, and you’re partially responsible for that. Of course, now I’m responsible for my success/failure, but having the courage to walk away all started with you telling us about your life. Didn’t make it twenty-seven years, but I think that’s a good thing. While I didn’t start a music business, I still look forward to your videos to help keep my metal spirit alive. Thank you, Glenn. Stay strong on the sea of haters; they’ll drag you under the first chance they get 🤘
I have seen Glen educate one musician at a time on the value of a reamp box and I will truly never tire of his frustration and bravado in doing so. Keep fighting the good fight, sir!
The video on tone woods and PRS on play and trade guitar is still up.
Yes. TH-cam has been spamming for me to watch it for the past few days.
I too miss Myspace and Bebo. Anyone remember MSN Messenger? Also good honesty about the politics, religion and corporate greed.
MySpace was comfy AF
MSN messenger was alright. AIM (aol instant messenger) was where the action was though
Lol Msn messenger and the chat rooms.👍 When I lived in New Orleans that's how I met a few cool friends in "Chat New Orleans" I think they started a pay wall and MSN went belly up.
ASL? Haha
@@thesandman775 AOL, MSN, and YIM.
Here’s the thing about Harley Benton - it’s a QC lottery and this is unfortunately true for most budget import guitars. I have purchased five of their guitars so far, three of which had to be exchanged at least once to get playable instrument, one had some major cosmetic issues and Thomann have issued a partial refund as the guitar was playable-ish after complete setup. Only one had no major issues other than a messed up grounding. The pickups were always solid for the price. I still think that they are great value; however, I would personally not recommend ordering them outside of Europe as most likely you will have to exchange it due to the QC issues. Some people just get lucky and get good copies. I have also purchased two Jackson’s from their budget JS series and they had even worse QC issues, one of them had to be exchanged and it took Jackson over a month to send a replacement since it was coming from abroad, in other instance they have issued 40% partial refund.
My friend had to exchange four of the same US built Gibson Explorer. Has nothing to do with Harley Benson. The guy he dealt with at Gibson just laughed at him and said people just pay for the name only.......
You're not wrong, but it sounds like you've had much worse luck than most. I just bought two. One of them has a stiff tuning peg and the pickup selector switch is loose and rattles a bit. Still very playable and nothing I can't fix. I figured I'd be upgrading to locking tuners anyway and I'm actually bonding with that guitar more than I even expected. The other... there's nothing functionally wrong with it at all, but "Ocean Flame" stopped being blue and became green at some point, which has me annoyed/disappointed. Is it dumb to be caught up on the color? Yes, it is. Plays well. Sounds good. But I feel like I'm making due with a mistake and it's a pebble in my boot at the moment.
Didn't Thomann open a factory or subsidiary for you US guys to shorten shipping distance, time, and risk of shipping damage
@@Nachtmahr616 They have a US store up on Reverb and that'd be better for returns, but it's a more limited selection and the prices are better through the Thomann site, particularly if you split the shipping costs between multiple guitars.
As a guitarist, I can’t count how many times I heard from other guitarists complaining about a guitar like “it’s a piece of shit”, “it sounds so bad” and everything. I noticed to biases:
First, if you don’t tell the price, it changes mind a lot. And after it is appreciated, knowing that it’s cheaper than expected even improve to opinion on the instrument.
Then, and it took me so much time to realize that, but a well treated instrument sounds so good. This means we have to tune the guitar, adjust the intonation, the truss road, the pickups height, and clean it, and suddenly, it sounds great. It’s a shame that some very expensive guitars are not setup properly, but thinking it’s a bad instrument just because of that make you a bad guitarist.
I don’t know how you could demonstrate that without being accused of cheating, but I’m pretty sure more than 90% of us guitarist would prefer a perfectly adjusted cheap guitar than a badly adjusted expensive guitar. I think you demonstrated enough that the tone is in the cab 😂
Glenn, you need to take it to the next level. Review a Chibson
Awesome shirt!!! One of my favorite Kyuss albums!
I watched the Rhett Shull one and initially thought I could hear a slight difference between the rosewood and maple. Then I tried closing my eyes for a bit and I couldn't tell shit for the rest of the vid.
Well I could definitely hear a difference when he picked harder. Lmao
Oh I had to restrain myself from writing a fekkin essay on the comments to his video. Used to like him but he defo appears to be becoming a gear snob.
@@Vincegpz500 So now you don't like him? lol
it's the playing. No humans can replicate their playing back to back. I don't care if you're the best guitar player. It's impossible. Why do we do two takes when we double track a guitar? It's for the differences on our playing. You can't do copy-paste the same track, it'll sound bad.
@@Vincegpz500 He became a boring guy!
Love your work, Glenn! You really hit the nail on the head with, “it’s not the workers, it’s rich people versus everyone else.” Yep. I do own a Custom Shop Gibson Les Paul. Great guitar and I worked my ass off to get it not being particularly well off. Your channel has me rethinking things, and I’ve explored many reasonably priced inexpensive (not cheap!) guitars, and have found you to be absolutely right on. So many kick ass, inexpensive guitars, and I appreciate the service you’re doing for myself and others. Cheers and ope!
Interested to see Glenn break down Rhett Shull's guitar neck tonewood video. Tonewood is still bullshit to me, but curious to see how this is analyzed
It's a very flawed video. There are several things that jumped out at me immediately.
First of all, he is obviously very biased. He even said so before he even played any of the necks. When he plays the maple neck, it seems like he picks harder, perhaps unwittingly, basically confirming his own bias that maple fretboards are supposed to sound "snappy". Then he also mentions that, even though the necks were set up by the store for that guitar, he had to do adjustments because there was a lot of fret buzz. He did not mention or document anywhere by how much it was adjusted and if the string heights were the same for every neck. String height is pretty important, and the strings slapping against the fretboard may again be interpreted as the "snappy" character. If he had to adjust the string height, that also may have changed the distance from the pickups, making it louder or quieter going into the amp. And that might cause the amp to react slightly differently, with more or less compression. And then there is the fact that he did not do a blind test. When he listened back to the results, he knew which was which, and you can't judge anything reliably based on that.
These are some of the reason why Jim Lill's videos are so much better than any of the other stuff that's out there so far. He puts in the time and effort that's required to produce actual results that you can draw conclusions from. Plus, he documented his process very well. I'm not saying Rhett was trying to be misleading deliberately, but he just did not put in the time that would have been needed. The conslusions of his experiment (if you can call it that) just feed into people's preconceptions.
Oh and on another note, I don't understand where the notion comes from that maple sounds bright and "snappy". I suspect it's purely based on the visual appearance of the wood? Because in theory, maple is a less stiff material than rosewood and would probably dampen the sound more. I'm not a physicist, but I'd expect rosewood to dampen the vibration of the string less. (Not that that would translate to what comes out of the speaker.)
i guess there needs to be that robot arm thing that one of Glenn's more profound critics (must be the "physics of electric guitar" guy himself) had been ranting and raving for quite a while.
@@mrcoatsworth429very true. Did he also mention if he was using the same pickups on each guitar? I suspect they were not likely the same exact set of pickups. But regardless, your points stand.
Also, did he use a brand new pick on each guitar take? Because a worn pick will also change the attack and how snappy the strings might sound.
And was all the other wood the same except for the fretboards? And were materials like tuners and bridges identical?
I enjoyed watching the video, but there were some problems with ensuring his hypothesis was properly tested to remove as many biases and issues as possible. He did not claim it to be a scientific test, but that’s the only way to know for sure.
@@MashaT22 He changed the necks on the one guitar. So yes, they were the exact same pickups and I think strings as well. I also think he made sure that the tuners on the three different necks were the exact same models. So it's not like he put no thought into it at all.
@@mrcoatsworth429 the test was also done using a loose rhythm pattern which is highly unreliable, as it depends on the feeling of the player at the time. I'd rather hear static open chords to get a full spectrum of the sound
Pink noise to truly see tube's nuances 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂 can't make this shit up.
"Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that." - George Carlin
(Then apply it to the average musician and it gets REALLY bad 😂)
Scary shit.
Mathematically, that is not strictly correct.
@@mrcoatsworth429 it is a fucking joke. Lighten up francis
@@mrcoatsworth429When the mean, median, and mode are all the same, as with normalized IQ scores, then it is, no?
@@sparella true. Carlin doesn't mention a normalized test, though.
I always love it when I ask someone, "How F***ing stupid can you possibly be?".... and they take as a personal challenge... "You want stupid? I'll show you f***ing stupid...Here, hold my beer!" lol
Finally got to try a HB, felt about equal to an Epiphone. At half the price not bad, good modding platform but on their own there’s still lots to be desired.
Glenn! Hello from Philadelphia! The guitar community are so lucky to have a guy like you who tells it like it is. A lot of great points made in this one. Cheers!
I love my Gibsons, but I also love that you're sharing more affordable options with folks. The more people who can get into playing and making music, the better in my book.
It's annoying that people have to take a side and judge a person who owns Gibsons, PRS, or Fender. It's pretty sad, really. Glenn kind of encourages it, but he knows better.
As long as you don’t use the self drive/autopilot on the Tesla pickups.
You kidding? Statistics shows they outplay great guitarists 98% of the time!
Melda's match EQ can create an IR file that will make the difference between a reference speaker and the target speaker. Then you can stick it in a zero latency IR loader
Yes, MAutoEqualizer or MAutoDynamicEQ can be used to achieve the same tonal balance. I've had good results by matching the general tonal balance and then recreating one or two most prominent resonances and notches. I think I might have done that in some of the MGuitarArchitect bass presets, actually...
I ordered one of the Benton guitars. When it showed up I was very unhappy with it.. It was no better than firewood. Upon closer inspection I realized that what I was looking at was our actual fire wood delivery. For some reason I confused it with a guitar.
My bad.
I assume you swapped the pickups out?
happens all the time no worries mate lol
If your firewood looks like guitars, I will take a referral. That lumberjack takes pride in his work...
Fantastic...after everything youve said about tonewood ,speakers,pickups etc and agreeing its down to minor adjustments on the pedals and amp as far as gain,and eq for the sound /tone i want thank you Sir Glen purty simple and maybe a little time consuming...
I actually managed to get a Harley Benton DC Gotoh, it was a B stock, last one.
The problems - had some scratches (not actually a problem), the nut could have been slotted better (fixed in a minute).
I've had it for 7 months now, it's sitting next to a 2005 ESP eclipse, it's amazing just how much they managed to pack into that price.
I had pickups that cost more than than HB, and this HB is a better value for money.
I’ve only played one of their electrics, and my only complaint is there wasn’t enough info as to what the finish was. I thought it was gonna be sand blasted or at very least grain dyed, but it was like a synthetic veneer or hydrodip type fake grain top. Other than that singular cosmetic ‘issue’, it’s a super solid guitar, I just need to break it out more, I’m debating brining it to a blues jam sometime soon. The monophonic comment, while potentially accurate to the product they received, is simply not true for all of their products. The shop I work at often carries one of their acoustics in both the electric and pickupless options, and they’re some of the best budget guitars I’ve played. I also own a u bass from them and it’s pretty fun, tho I will say I prefer the much smaller ones from Kala
(Disclaimer: Grammar snob alert) Glenn - "I'm using less and less and less plugins". Me: "FEWER!" 🤓 Another great episode though. 🙂
Are you sure about that? If I don't use plugins as often as before, doesn't that mean I use them less, not fewer? English is not my first language, but that's what my brain tells me.🤐
@@metalzonemt-2 Yes, though don't worry too much about it as native English speakers frequently get it incorrect too. 🙂 A plugin is a countable noun ("I use 1/2/3/etc plugins on my mix") and therefore should use fewer. For noncountable nouns, e.g. water, you would say ""I drink less water than I used to". Guess who used to teach English grammar at school...😉 English grammar isn't easy or logical at times, but Finnish (grammar and the vocab in general) is impossible!😂
With distortion, that is a way to compress the signal almost, you just cut the low and high freq register so those little nuances on the sound, that are present on clean comparatives, just disappear very quick.
Good call on Harley Benton. Bought mine last summer and was super impressed. Had to do a small setup but it was playable out of the box and only a little over a half step out of tune after shipping halfway across the world.
I bought an HB and have had it for months now. I gave it a good setup and changed out the strings and slight truss rod adjustment and it plays great. Dude your channel is cool, informative, Thank you
Heeeyyy mate- spot on with the left/right thing! We are all just people and perhaps we should all look after each other because those at the ‘top’ rarely look after us.
It is feasible to get an EQ match and playing it live by just exporting a sweep and turn it into an IR, it's something I've done hundred of times from other records that I often put out there for everyone to get, it's always fun to blend album tones from various albums.
Trying to help us guitar players save money is like trying to get underwriters to read. In all seriousness Glenn has helped me save metric tons of cash; his demonstrations have surprised me by his results, often unexpected, which has helped me to make better decisions on how to buy gear. On another note I’ve been trying to refine my skills with recording my band live off the floor. We’ve gotten interesting results and now we want to record our live shows. I’ve been taking most of the rhythm roll on our originals, and have used some of Glenn’s techniques to mic’ing up different guitar speakers and trying different mic/speakers and have found some tones I really enjoy. I take notes so that I can re-create it. Have also thought about learning how to capture impulses, but might get into that later on. The speaker in my amp is from Eminence but it’s hard to tell the model since it’s proprietary to my Jet City amp. Anyway, listen to Glenn! He’ll help you save money!
Glenn, I don’t always agree with your opinions, but you are spot on with your views on manufacturing. I’ve been in manufacturing since 1988, and at my current job for 25 years. Worked my way up from an operator to the department supervisor. Each and every thing you said is exactly true, I’m fighting with some of my fellow supervisors and certain members of management on exactly that. We have people in our organization gouging customers for their own commissions, and we are losing business as a result. It’s an extremely frustrating experience. My employees are the ones suffering and it pisses me off.
I used to play clean a lot and while tonewood makes a bigger difference in clean tones than it does under high gain tones (or any clipped gain flr that matter), it doesn't make enough of a difference to affect how a listener will perceive the performance. It's just an argument musicians make to pretend they know more than the next musician.
tone isn’t in the wood it’s in the balls
@@tre107 tone is stored in the balls
DUDE! More videos like this please. Also, you might tell people "Bless your heart" as well LOL.
I always appreciate and am grateful for your input and contributions to the industry, Thanks. @3:21 A HB SG with tesla pickups? Link please. I've been all over both the HB & Thomann sites and I find nothing that matches.
I quite recently bought myself a Harley Benton 8 string multiscale. Apart from an iffy volume pot (that doesn't bother me too much as I bought it as a tool for composing rather than recording), It is A VERY NICE BIT OF KIT. The finish is of good quality and fret work on the neck is very nice, with no snags whatsoever!!! When it does work properly through an amp, it has a rather nice sound. Especially the neck pick up when played clean!!!
IF asked. I would (even though I've got a dodgy volume pot) still recommend Harley Benton to anyone looking for a decent instrument to learn on or to use in live or studio environments. Far superior to many so called BIG NAME brands out there...
Cool to hear that you like the stoner-metal stuff. That huge fuzz tone is definitely where it's at for me.
Hey Glen, fellow Ontarian here. With all this talk about corporate b/s, manufacturing, profits, etc. I've gotta say, and with most sincerity........ I love distortion 😊
I started listening to this video while programming, and I stopped it to have lunch and swap the speaker in my 6505+ 112 Combo, half hour to lunch, 15 minutes to change my life, I ended up dropping a brand new Celestion Greenback in, I got it on sale, the EVH was too expensive, this one cost me 3 times cheaper. Man, what a difference! The Sheffield really sucked! Love you, I'm gonna drop by in your streams again, I like how you analize sound.
It must be tiring to be correct a lot. Keep it up. Love this channel.
For the guy asking to change the eq to make his mic sounds like another he can take a look to Lava by Acustica Audio. It’s a cool plugin for that
What was really wrong with Rhett Schull's video is that he just listened to the sound while playing. He should have made recordings with all 3 necks, had someone re-name the files, and listened back a week later when he didn't know which was which. "People listen with their eyes". Now where have I heard that? ;-)
bought a cort kx507ms recently and im in love with it, such an amazingly setup guitar with great specs
Glen, you've got some great taste. I still keep going back and listening to Kyuss and QOTSA. They're as interesting as anything else I've heard in the last 20 years.
Glenn, you are a necessary part of what's keeping this guitar player's head out of his ass. Thanks! 🤘😎
Someday I'm gonna record drums in your studio. You forking rock dude.
CNC manufacturing doesn't negate quality controls, in fact I would say the big differentiator between "good" and "bad" CNC lines are the quality inspections that come on after a part is made. Machines operate within tolerances and wood is full of irregularities, so you still get quite a lot of variations. Better machines and engineering can get you tighter tolerances, but let's be honest the guitar industry is too small to get that kind of attention. It seems that right now there are competing guitar factories, mostly in Asia, that make similar models of guitars for big brands (and their off-label couterparts) and the level of QC you can expect is tied to which factory it was built at. Famously the Squier Classic Vibe factory in China was actually beating out Fender's own Mexico plant for a while. The other thing is there are automated inspection systems, but these are generally REALLY expensive so you wouldn't see them at a guitar factory. This is what Sweetwater's Plek service is, but it's only for assessing the setup of an assembled guitar. I'm someone who has bought several Squier and Tagima guitars and upgraded their hardware (yes including pickups), so I'm all about the cheap guitars.
Nice weekend man .. Always fun if i come at home then this video is out on YT
6:40 I really Loved how you getting to your Point! 7:43 And this Last sentence is the Most important, but alot of mindless people dont understand that there are workers and people who own and dont have to Work. There are No classes. Thank you for saying this! 🎉
Harley Benton have indeed had some problems with microphonic pickups. KDH has a video on it with a guitar with their filtertron-style pickups. HB were kinda evasive about the problem and claimed it was just 60-cycle hum but it definitely wasn't. You could hear the guitar rubbing against his hands and shirt through the amp.
Hanging with you for a day would be hillarious! Keep being you! We need more of this in the world!
I think that it would be an interesting experiment to hand multiple guitar players who are blindfolded different guitars and see if they can determine which is which simply by feel and sound
Anderton's does those videos all the time, and they can almost always tell what's what.
Wrong channel. No one hears "feel" in a mix, so it doesn't matter in the studio.
Dude totally right about MySpace. It was amazing for music because everyone was on it. The music platforms not so much. Hell I used MySpace to book a 20 band battle of the bands and probably only spent a couple hours messaging bands I thought fit the bill
Where did you work when you were with Chrysler/FCA, Brampton or Windsor?
Windsor assembly
marshall is also now a "lifestyle" brand too. so much for that jcm combo reissue...
Your new sign off is chefs kiss, please continue
I wish more people could just relax and let someone tell you what they’re doing with equipment and signal editing. I trust your experience way more than keyboard commandos. I know nothing compared to your background. Keep giving out easy to understand real wold information. Thanks for the time and effort invested
About that "matching EQ" stuff... Isn't it possible to turn that specific EQ curve into an impulse response?
Would you experiment with guitars made out of something other than wood to see if you can get a different tone or sound? I’m no expert but I’ve learned a lot from watching your channel and have a morbid curiosity
I purchased a dc-dlx upon your recommendations and it was the biggest mistake I made all year. This damn $300 guitar has made me question everything!! I now reach for this guitar over every other guitar in my arsenal. I immediately purchased another just to see if it was a fluke….it wasn’t! Thanks for the solid advice dude!!
I have the Red HB sg.ish. It is one one my favorite sounding guitars.
I have Gibsons, Reverends, Fenders. It totally holds it's own.
I was very happy with the Harley Benton Tele I bought. The only thing I upgraded was the saddles. Great guitar for around $220 USD. Can't beat that.
"It's almost like distortion destroys the signal or something weird like that..." my favorite quote, keep fighting the good fight man!
"Stealth buy" - neat idea. I've invested €1000 into "scientific research" - for 5 Harley Bentons. Results were positive, 2 were borderline "professional quality", all were good, but there was one QC blooper that was absolutely hilarious. Glad you had good results with yours too!
I would just like to mention that I have an acoustic HB and I’m pretty happy with it. I’d say it does an amazing job, especially considering the money, plus it looks great! Couldn’t be happier with my purchase.
the fusion iii is amazing, that thick neck with the floyd rose... cured my hand pain anyway
Thanks Glenn!I work the graveyard shift.Nothing better than eating breakfast and listening to the show right before sleep!👍
Hey Glenn, planning on getting an EX-84 with EMGs after seeing all of the videos on it from the past few months, hoping it’ll be as good as it seems!
Harley Benton is the shit!!! After watching your demos I've bought 2... Bass n guitar both for under 500 and they play n sound phenomenal thanks Glenn🤘🏼
I love these videos. I am guessing some of these people are intentionally saying stupid stuff just to make the show, trolling essentially. I may be wrong but in the end the stupid comments make for great content. Rock on Glenn!
"guys its not left verses right,it never has been,itsrich people verses everybody else" ,isnt that the truth....rock on brother!
I am a manager getting ready to retire and Glenn is right. This is how big business works. If you are an employee that doesn't give 110% and stand on your head every single second you are on the clock then you are lazy and a beater. But if you are a CEO that lays off 10,000 employees three days before Christmas in order to facilitate Corporate bonus's that makes you a smart business man. Here is a rule to live by in the corporate world. Work like everyone is out to screw you, because they are.
And even if you do give 110%, you will still be told to do one, as soon as you have an opinion that differs from theirs.
I'm with you Glenn. As a guitar player, idk why most of us refuse to admit when we're wrong, but I've done my own little experiment using my phone, and just moving that around gave me different tones from the same speaker. Not rocket science! Btw, ever consider doing a vid where you pair a G12T-75 with a Type-A in a 2x12? I have one with the G12's but am considering how it would sound with a Type-A. Rock on Glenn!
The distortion and tonewood bit got me pretty good.
Glenn! About that EQ change to make microphones sounds like other microphones, Andertons recently released a video with Universal Audio and they've just done something really similar (but works with their own new special microphones not a blanket works with all)
Completely unrelated, but I have nowhere else really to mention it and I'm excited.
Got an entire week off of work, and I'm going out of town with my drums, guitars, bass and all my damn recording equipment.
I've been planning this since last year. Going to work on a new album.
It's no studio by any stretch, but a large garage in the middle of nowhere, which is still better than my apartment. Can't wait to use my amps and real drums again!
Hi Glen, just subscribed, awesome channel! Would love to hear the whole story on the recording session you did for Queensryche.
My Harley Benton JA baritone was awesome right outta the box. I've never named one of my instruments, but I instantly named it The Beast!
My band (not sure if we're still a band, scheduling conflicts have killed our practice time) spent an afternoon recording a song last December. We had to start it playing live after the guitarist couldn't track to a click. After that, everything gelled where I only needed to do a couple takes on each half of the song. Good luck finding that song though as the guitarist and vocalist have it and they won't send it out on streaming until we record a couple more songs! I don't see it seeing the light of day and it pisses me off. It's really having me just consider doing my own solo projects. I just need to clean up my music room before I am able to do so.
i got a HB cheap SG copy with 24 frets. had them put in grovers and set it up with extra low action. it is the best playing guitar I have and the cheapest.has roswell pups. I like this better than my jackson soloist, perhaps because of my hands. I also have a HB single cut active with 24 frets, nice guitar, a HB single cut deluxe goto with Tesla also nice but only 22 frets. i am happy with my HB guitars.
I own two Harley Benton guitars ST62 strat and the 70s Paisley Strat unmodified and play great with a PROPER SETUP 👍
I love my Gibsons, Fenders, LTDs and the PRS I own. The makes me pick up the guitar and play and that’s what’s really important for me at the end of the day.
Just went by a guitar center and found a harley benton DC600 for sale for $400. told them that it retailed for $160 + $80 shipping. At first the guy just went "ok bro, whatever", then proceeded to come back as if he saw a ghost and admitted I was right. Was a great guitar but needless to say I couldnt stop myself from laughing. Whoever owned that guitar previously made BANK off selling it to a store that didnt know any better.
As far as my experience with Harley's, I own a DC-200 and it cost me about $150 total to buy and ship to the US. Pickups sounded bland so I went for some Seymour Duncan 59's and I recently switch from 10ga to 9ga strings. EVEN WITH ALL THAT + 2 years of maintenance cost its still about $100 cheaper than your next nearest epiphone and it RIPS. If I ever buy a guitar with $1k or more, I better be able to see sound or control minds because I have no idea where all that money is going otherwise...
I bought a $116 dollar Harley Benton Mustang..years ago.. i still love it..a good setup and new strings..its fine..
Thanks for plain speaking. I'm trying to learn basics and value your opinion. I like that your not swayed by image of brands.I bought a Genz Benz el Diablo cheap and like the range of tones I can get in more clean direction.
I bought a second hand HB solid mahogany acoustic and it is incredible for the money.