“You complained about this for 30 years so they changed it, and now you don’t like it.” Should be a t-shirt. Admittedly a very large t-shirt but still.
Yeah I inherited a box of old broken shit when I got my first electric. A ts-808, a big muff rams head, a vox wah, a fuzz face, a tape echo and a few other randoms. I literally can’t put them on my board because they are not reliable and make stupid noises. It’s funny everyone will run to get the newest phone because the slightest different tech, but out guitar equipment…
I love how rockers went from being revolutionaries searching for new crazy sounds to faith worshipers trying to imitate the same old tones... I can only imagine Hendrix playing with something like a wampler terraform or a rainbow machine....
by favorite example was how the Beatles wanted the fender silverface, not the 'old' blackface junk.when the new Let it Be movie comes out, I expect to see lots of silver face fender.
I’m gonna be honest, I think people are still looking for the shortcut to make them sound like the guitar player they want to be. So it’s really easy to blame it on the gear and equipment, especially when it’s old and hard to find so that is the “reason” you don’t sound as good as you want to 🤦🏽♂️ lol.
Actually the one thing the vintage pedals (etc.) have over the new ones is they not only hold their value but typically increase in value. Someone could sit down and A/B a 1959 Les Paul with a 60th anniversary R9. We might find that the new guitar is actually better because the components are brand new and the custom shop has tighter manufacturing tolerances than Gibson did in 1959. They didn't have plek machines back then, for example. Magnets degrade, and so on. But you know what? That '59 burst is still worth hundreds of thousands of dollars and if you play it right will make you a lot of money. The new R9 will hold its value better than a Gibson USA guitar and might even inflate some (Which is never taken into consideration on the internet.). But there are people who have profited 6 digits on "Bursts". Prime examples of vintage things are actually worth what they cost IN THE LONG RUN.
@@jsullivan2112 It's not because people are dumb. It's smart to realize the true "value" of something. Just think about how many vintage pedals Josh owns. Is he dumb for buying them? He even "saves the box". Does that make his vintage pedal sound better, no. But that has value too. Just like swing tags, owners manuals original warranty cards, etc... The sooner some people realize that and stop trying to fight it, the less dumb they'll be. Josh is an engineer. And he makes a living selling new pedals. Realize his perspective when watching. And that's not a knock on Josh. I think he's awesome. But it's as much of a fact as anything else in the video.
As much as Dan and Mick seem like super cool dudes and the show is great, they're the most guilty of the cork sniffing problem I see in the guitar community lol.
@Another Person ; But tell me, when did they ever do a comparison video like this one though? The only one I remember is the one where they compared reissues of some pedals in smaller enclosures (not their best episode imho). There's a reason why they usually don't do comparison video's, because they agree with you on that point. And I do too. And yes, they do sniff some corks every now and then, but in the end you can make up your own mind. 😊
Okay first of all, the chip in my TS was made by Johan on a Tuesday afternoon, right after a delayed lunchbreak. I can clearly hear how the rushed eating of Johan affects the high-end of the tone, and gives it an overall warmer and more pleasant tone than all the other chips.
You must be looking at the wrong pedal. It wasn't Johan; it was Yoshio. Besides, everyone knows Yoshio's sweat from running back to the Maxon factory from break makes the pedal more transparent. Tone is in the fingers, man.
@@MarcBarkyMarta NO NO NO!!! You are BOTH wrong. CLEARLY a full stomach causes Johan cramps, which makes his solders rushed, which causes the top end to be shrill and ice picky. And Yoshio's sweat dripping on the circuitry adds bite and grit to the TS's he made AFTER the break.
That sounds haha loony - but it's not far from how it goes whenever you encounter a random Les Paul. Some days they're lucky to spend ten minutes inspecting and finishing one, other days someone might take an hour. And when it's in a store, at that point _who the hell knows why?_
Ok hear me out, let’s collaborate on an Apollo 13 overdrive. It’ll be a bluesbreaker, but will only work on the first 1/3 of your gig then you have to figure out how to get it and the rest of your pedalboard home safely.
Yes and you’ll have to do some super sketchy wiring, and hook up to the power supply from the pedal before it to power up the Apollo 13 pedal for the last 2/3 of the gig
This kind of reminds me of an old joke. How many blues guitarist does it take to change a lightbulb? 17, one to change the bulb and 16 to complain about how the old bulb was better.
I see your game Josh, convince us that the reissues are "just as good" so we will buy them instead of the vintage originals. That way you can have the vintage/used market all to yourself!! Have you no shame sir!!
Fawkes & Hound Probably. Arguments can be made that USB-C chargers have more processing power than the Apollo navigation computer www.theverge.com/tldr/2020/2/11/21133119/usb-c-anker-charger-apollo-11-moon-landing-guidance-computer-more-powerful
Josh has always amazed me about how honest he is. He never tries to oversell his product and he has a serious respect of the other builders in the industry. He's basically just a gear nerd like most of us. Major respect to that! JHS is awesome!
People who think vintage pedals sound better are either- a: People currently trying to sell a vintage pedal for top money. 2: People suckered by those people.
Just look around the people you work with or the people you socialise with. MANY will have something they bought & they swear, despite some people's reservations that THEIR'S is a good one. No one buys a bad model or a vintage pedal that can easily be reissued, right? (Purchase Validation)
@@timchalmers1700 I have tinnitus in my left ear I actually hear a different pitch in each ear it sucks tuning by ear but it makes me pay pretty close attention to know what I am hearing as opposed to what I think I hear. There are variations in the parts they don't make them the same. So it does the same thing just like an old '59 les paul, sounds just like a new one right? I found a 1981 JRC4558 and made a tube screamer, I found some 1966 germanium transistors and built a tone bender and a rangemaster., no big investment. just old stuff lying around. I'm happy they are original "magic" parts.
I think a really cool video idea would be to actually take two identical pedals straight off the line, set all the knobs at noon, and see how different they are.
"But...but....what about the '60s, '70s, and '80s dust and rust that adds 'mojo'?" ;) I was listening, not watching for part of it, and could not tell when you were switching. That says it all.
“The box is bigger so the circuit is bigger” that’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard, everyone know that if the box is bigger the tone is bigger and that’s what makes it better
Omg, the tube screamer segment had me rolling. "When he talked about remembering a vintage tube screamer 40 years ago at a bar in Des Moines, Iowa I was lol'n. We have to face as a society we can't even remember what we had for breakfast on monday." i've been watching for a while and this is about the hardest i've ever laughed.
I'm not sure why having the exact sound of a specific vintage pedal is even so important to begin with. I love fiddling with guitar tones, so I get that, but I don't really want to exactly replicate some sound I heard (insert famous great guitarist) get. I can get close if I want, but there's always the pesky issue of it being me playing, not (insert famous great guitarist). If you can't play something that sounds good to you on virtually ANY budget, you need to focus on practicing and writing better songs.
I love Brothers in Arms and when I was really young (like 4 or 5) I used to listen to it so much that my mom got me a walkman and recorded it onto a cassette tape. Money for Nothing is what made me want to play guitar from the first time I heard it.
God I love this channel. Any time someone debunks "accepted wisdom" using empirical data it makes me happy. The audiophile world is filled with so much snake oil and baloney and it drives me crazy. I'm old enough to have bought an original RAT back in the 80s when I was a teenager, and I'll be the first to admit that I can't tell the new RAT from mine, sound-wise.
For everyone who does indeed think "but the chip", Wampler's channel has a great video where he switches out a whole bunch of chips in a typical tube screamer circuit, and it makes no audible difference. Watch it !
I'm getting pretty old, been playing guitar 44 years. I just play for my enjoyment at home maybe with some friends, and that's about it. It's not that i suck playing guitar, i have seen worse. It's because i choke in front of people who l dont know. Yeah so l choke under pressure or whatever you want to call it. But l don't mind because I truly love playing guitar. My point being is, l have lived thru all the petal years. From the original version of the Rat to the centaur, l loved my old small stone. It's been so long ago l can't remember if l traded it or pawned it or what. The thing is l have had a ton of gear chasing for that magical tone. I get so mad at myself of all the gear I've traded. I had a 59 reissued Les Paul l mean l went thru a lot of killer gear that at the time l thought that I could make it better. Needless to say l traded my way out of some sweet guitars and gear. I have never been happier with what l have now and it's a relief knowing that my search is over. I'll tell you what l play today. No laughing please, l don't know why this amp gets such a bad rap. I guess because it's tubeless. A flextone 50x2 stereo line six. You know the digital dog. I remember when they first came out and ofcourse I had to buy one. And it was a little pricey. I can't remember the exact year but it had to be 25 years ago That amp has long been gone. Last year l walk in a pawn shop and there was one sitting there(they are very heavy) so l buy it for 160 dollars. It has a lot of different sounds. So 160 bucks l have an amp with basically all the stomp petals built in. I only play it at bedroom levels and it sounds awesome to me. For guitar l am a gibson freak but at the same pawn shop they had a P.R.S. se custom. It's a great guitar. Stays in tune with that floating trem. It only had pick scratches and l got that for 300. It is a beautiful guitar and the neck is perfect for me. So 460. I have everything that l want. You really don't have to spend thousands of dollars. Unless your a pro in the studio type of deal. Just saying it's a relief that l can be happy with what l have.
I have a line 6 spider 50× 1 12 and is not to bad. I also have a vox valvetronix that has a tube pre amp and 60 watts of solid state power amp. It also has a bunch of built in stuff. I got a 100w all tube b52 amp not to long ago and it dose sound good when cranked . but I only play at home alone so I hardly use it. I think most of the time people can't tell the difference. Especially with the new stuff. Helix or kemper or even ax effects. Sounds just like the real thing on a track. Its mostly a preference thing for people. I have expensive stuff and cheap stuff. Both bring joy to playing in there own way.
@@captaintony1227 Your exactly right Captain. I had all the real expensive toys. In general I love tube amps turned up to wear it starts to break up and clean amp in series with maybe a flanger or something on the clean amp. But i live in a condo. I know there's some pretty cool bouquet tube amps you can set at like two watts and crank it, but I'm trying to pay my daughters college. So l just jam on my digital line 6 flextone and couldn't be any happier. I can really dial in some great sounding low volume tones without spending a small fortune. But, I'm not playing on a stage. Just for the joy. Im so greatful that l didn't give guitar up. I've been at it now for forty years and l feel like it just now all coming together. I actually can't wait to wake up in the morning and make time to play. I never have a moment of boredom. I also have taught my daughter at a early age. She can rip the blues, it so awesome. Anyways you really dont have to have the most expensive gear to have a good time. Take care, bro and keep jamming. PEACE
I AM 52, BEEN PLAYING BASS GUITAR FOR 36 YRS AND I AM DEFINITLY WITH YOU ROBERT ....TODAY'S YOUTH REALLY DON'T KNOW THE MEANING & THE WORTH OF OLD STUFF....LIKE A 1962 STRAT, 1957 PRECISION OR MAYBE A 59 LES PAUL...THEY JUST WANT THE NEWEST STUFF WITH THE FANCIEST & FLASHY LOOKS... THE SOCIAL MEDIA FUCKED UP AND KILLED EVERYTHING...TODAY, IT'S NOTHING BUT IMPURITY ...
@@senemorcaykalyoncu6369 Mr. Orcaykalyoncu, You good sir, your exactly correct. About gear music. I was a single parent was awarded full custody of my infant little girl in 93. I promised myself that I would drop all the bullshit and raise her properly. Put her in church every Sunday ( I'm not a religious) but church doesn't hurt when raising a child. She never gave me an once of problems. I think she knew if she did there would be consequences. I managed to put her thru 4 years of college, literally breaking my back to do so. Now she is 26 and has a killer job, and just got engaged to a guy who l actually like. She never got into trouble at school, never have been pregnant and just the other day she showed me in her phone her credit rating was well into the 700s. I'm so lucky, she has never met her mother, probably because she owes me so much child support, she was just a loser. My fault for getting her pregnant, but if l didn't l wouldn't have my daughter which I love dearly. Most kids of her generation are still living at home in there Grandparents basement, it's unbelievable what this country is turning into. The social media, the news, it all mostly lies. I have never in my life have seen the decline of our constitutional freedoms, never in a million years that l would see the bullshit that is happening today. I could go on and on Senam. But l do love my music and have found my tone, no more searching for that Holy Grail of sound. Try to stay away from computer driven music, no talent music in a while. Remember the 70s. My God the bands where so gifted compared to today. There's exceptions, but very few and far between. Today I'm liking Joe Bonamossa. Can't spell his name. And there's a few other, but nothing like older classic rock. Those bands had some serious talanted players. Today's music, in my humble opinion sucks. And if the media keeps up all the cover ups and straight ass lies we are or already have lost. SAD isn't it. Well all l can do is sit back, play my music and watch the world fall apart. Have a great day, at least try to!
Many circuit components have a 10% to 20% tolerance, meaning even two consecutive pedals (guitars, amps, etc.) can sound quite different. The 500k pot in your guitar could measure anywhere from 400k to 600k. If your guitar is a little dull, measure your pot(s). A new pot is way cheaper than a new pickup.
Its not just pedals. All circuits have this tolerance. Military grade parts have tighter specs, but people forget sometimes those “magic sounding” pedals are on the edges of the tolerance stack. Modern in circuit testing might make them more consistent, but those freak accident holy grails will be less likely. Every guitarist should own a multimeter and know ohms law at a minimum. I ended up with an associates degree in my hunt for tone
@@Ottophil So true. The golden pedals are always the ones that have parts on the edge or even out of tolerance. Back in the day, they only checked to see if the part worked. They trusted the component manufacturer to make sure they were in spec.
When I went to a store to test the Electric Mistress reissue, after a few seconds, I was so happy to get the same feelings as in 1981 with my old EM. And now, I’m a lot happier than yesterday, because of the reliability ! Just the same with the Waza Chorus : Wow ! I have the same kinda sounds as the old days !!!
Been reviewing fuzz pedal options , discovered you and jhs and was so impressed took the plunge and cruised up to the G center and ordered the series 3 fuzz. Arrives at the end of the week and can't wait. Just really enjoyed watching your channel and wanted to support you guys after teaching me so much history. Proudest 99.00 I've ever spent. Rock n roll buddy
I got one. I had to pay 130 euros and it was on offer, they normally go for 150 bucks here in Europe because of importing and what not. I still love my 3 series fuzz dearly, might even be my favourite pedal I own. Also quite proud of rocking the massive JHS sticker on my modular synth. (Now I need to save up for the octave reverb, it sounded like an ideal ambient reverb)
Bigger box pedals give the electrons more room to interact and breathe, emphasising the haunting mids and the underlying toasted wheat underpinnings bouncing around in the crystal lattice. It's a fact Jack. I read it on The Gear Page. :^)
The best way to watch these is to scroll away so you can't see any switching and can only use your ears to hear a difference. I'm totally guilty of listening with my eyes in videos like this lol
Nice to see a guy willing to admit that he does not possess magic bias-proof ears. You would not believe how many times I have tried to explain the realities of human perception to someone who thinks that they can hear a difference between two pieces of gear that are audibly transparent.
I looked at some and i didn't look at others...some were a touch brighter or darker, but i couldn't tell you which one and it wasn't consistent. Moral of the story...maybe you don't have to spend a bunch if money to sound a certain way, so play what you enjoy.
I wasn't watching on the first one, and he finished the song, and I was like, "Wait, so he's going to play the whole song again on the other pedal?" Yeah, these sound identical. The TS-9 was straight-up hilarious.
Also people who claim that vintage EHX pedals have "bigger circuits" should probably open up their pedals sometime and have a look inside. "Yeah, the dangling parts really make my vintage pedal sound better".
@@guitarpedaldemos9121 Was talking about the fact that the circuits really aren't what anybody could call "big". Rather there are a couple of teeny tiny parts floating around in a huge empty box. They do indeed sound awesome, but I've seen large box ehx pedals go to pieces and "reliable" isn't the word i'd use to describe how that looks.
I actually did this a week ago. A friend of mine got a vintage ehx Dr. Q. And I liked it so much I bought a Dr Q nano. We did a side by side, and once I figured out the switch on the nano is opposite the switch on the vintage, the difference was less than 10%. The old one sounded slightly warmer, but it was negligible in a band scenario. I'm pretty damn impressed by ehx. Ps. Bought the 3 series reverb, it's awesome! Thank you!
Now imagine you use the new nano and put an EQ-Pedal behind it to filter out some higher frequencies to make it more "warmer" .... don't tell anyone lol ! :D
I absolutely loved this episode!!! I really agree on stop obsessing about expensive gear and start making music...and brothers in arms absolutely rules!
This is what I love about JHS. A $99 pedal line? Showing us that reissues are great? He wants to help us little guys who can’t spend $250-$500 on a pedal. Bravo.
Great episode. I think one of the things we don't consider enough is audio fidelity. Because of quality control all along the chain, I think the audio fidelity of many reissues is a little higher. This is true with guitar amps, stereo equipment and recording equipment, too (I'm not talking about software compression, though - that's a different beast). The question is whether audio fidelity is what we want. The mojo we sometimes hear may be a lack of it, that kind of warm goodness you remember from your grandparents Marantz integrated amp in the wooden cabinet. A lot depends on what kind of thing you want to hear, what you like to play, etc. Maybe the slight volume drop and distortion of an old phaser just takes you into a zone and the newer one, with no volume drop, more precise modulation, and less frequency roll-off sounds weird because it isn't like that favorite record. The question of better is really subjective.
If I cover my ears every time I see the Green light on, they definitely sound better when the red light is on. It must be the diode in your AB switcher !!!
I don't have any vintage pedal (cannot afford it), but I am really grateful that you made this demo, for now I know not being able to afford vintage pedals does not matter at all! Thanks a lot :-D
Cork sniffers be stinging over this. I’ve been down the rabbit hole, and what I initially saw as a great collection of pedals I’ve now started to view as clutter!! A recent run out at a local gig with nothing but a Boss Katana, JHS/Boss Angry Driver, Phase 90 (reissue) and an entry level Strat saw me dialling in one of the best live tones I’ve ever had 🤷🏻♂️. Truth hurts sometimes !!
The vintage vs re-issue thing (esp. the tube screamer one) always makes me laugh. To me it's the same as the kid who plugs a tube screamer into the front of a 15 watt solid state amp and then says "this thing sucks, it won't even overdrive my amp!". Or the kid who plugs into a single-ended class-a tube amp, sets the gain , bass, and treble at 10, the mids at 0, and the master at 2 and says "this thing sucks, it has no overdrive!".
As a child “Brothers in arms” thought me what emotion was. Can’t explain it but back then as a 10 year old and to this day it makes me so sad, so happy, so empty and so full all at the same time. I’m glad someone else out there loves it.
It's funny cos the opening strums of So Far Away evoke warm & fuzzy feelings for me because of how I felt at that time as a child - music has such emotive recall power!
Record time win! I wore this album out on cassette. Some standouts for me (aside from the obvious Money For Nothing, So Far Away, and Walk of Life) were my favorite track from cassette side 2 was Ride Across the River (awesome track) and Latest Trick (capitalizing on our cultural fascination with adding saxophone - the original rock lead instrument - to a rock ballad). It scratches the same itch as Baker Street and The Heat Is On. Definitely check this album out if you’re not familiar with it. Though I find it interesting how many fans of The Princess Bride don’t know that the same guy the wrote Sultans of Swing and Money For Nothing was responsible for the lion’s share of the original music in the soundtrack. Mark Knopfler is a musical genius in his own right. And tbh, the artist most responsible for me coming back to the Strat years after selling mine.
I owned a 70s op amp muff for 30 years. Sold it last year on eBay 'cos to me, it was one of the worst sounding fuzz pedals I ever owned. Couldn't believe my luck when ehx released the smashing pumpkins muff and realising I'd eventually be able to pass it on for stupid money.
I have a couple originals and the reissue. The originals sound bigger and more 3D, and have more grit. I think that can be heard in Josh's video comparing them, too.
Ha ha. You are the exact type of pedal user he is talking about! 😂 Whatever! Just keep searching for those Elusive Vintage Holy Grail pedals. Maybe you will find that one that will make you a ⭐️ ROCK STAR! ⭐️ !!! I
Calling old things “vintage” makes them sound more desirable. I’m not growing old, I’m just more vintage. Great video BTW, the production continues to impress and improve!
1) vintage Rat a touch warmer, but only a touch. 2) Thought the new small stone was muddier, but again, only a touch. I myself have found EH pedals to REALLY suck the top and bottom outta my tone, and noisy... Still love them though. 3) Again, vintage is a touch warmer, with a dirtier compression. Bugger all in it though. 4) Nothing in it. Happy to use the modern one. This was a wonderful no bs demonstration. I absolutely adore this channel, in a sea of nonsense here on YT, this is sanity I wholeheartedly agree with. Never met a pedal I did'nt like, or get SOMETHING out of... Build your tonal palette, collect pedals! I actually DO have a few vintage classic pedals... but my attitude is; if i can do it with a Boss from the nearest shop, why wouldn't I? I want my gigs and sessions to sound good ALL the time, everywhere. So, yeah, I have a Mk I Marshall Guv'nor, would not sell it for the world. Can get JUST as GOOD a tone outta the OCD though... which I can buy anywhere anytime, so...
Tiny TIIINNYY minuscule differences between the Rats and screamers, the Nano small stone seemed to sound fuller and obviously louder. However I have owned the Waza CE-2 and still own a silver screw ce-2 and the Waza craft ones just lack something that the originals have, I’m not sure what it is but I could definitely hear it.
I suspect if Josh had spent a lot more time with each pedal in this video the differences would have been more obvious. Maybe. However, having watched some of Brian Wampler's videos and seen some Facebook pieces by the designer/builder of Green Carrot Pedals I know that more components than the pots have 'tolerance issues'. So a recreation of a vintage pedal is only ever going to be a close approximation - so some old silver-screw CE-2 pedals will sound different, maybe better, than the Waza re-issue, for example. I think Josh's argument is that spending a lot of time and money tracking down a vintage pedal when the re-issue is readily available will probably not be worth it. You won't end up with something that sounds appreciably better. Of course if you already own one and it sounds good then more power to you.
Josh, there is so much truth in this episode, I don't even know where to start saying thank you. Right down to record time. I listened to Brothers in Arms over and over when I got the record. One of my favorite guitar tracks ever. Well said.
Finally someone who calls out parts tolerances even in the modern day. The RAT specifically, I good the new one for like $49 or something from guitar center, NEW, AND it's built like a tank. Come on now, how the hell is someone gonna hate on it?
I appreciate you and your channel so much. I’ve been going on TH-cam to view pedal demos and not much more, until some days ago I stumbled upon a demo of yours. I love the way you explain things, your insane level of honesty, the details you talk about that can only be known to a true craftsman and how you respect other manufacturers and don’t push your products. I have been binge watching episodes now because I just want to learn as much as I can and I am slowly getting passionate about pedals and wanting to have a wall at home like your backdrop. On top of that, you make me feel comfortable buying pedals I can afford, which I have never felt like before. I always felt this worry that I would regret it, or not find it good enough. A big big thank you and I cannot wait to purchase my first JHS pedal. It will definitely be the morning glory!
Love it, man. Great video. 5 years ago I was entrenched in traditional vintage everything. The Boss Katana 50 and your video comparing and discussing point to point to surface mount changed my life. Thanks. That jam you did during the TS-9 shootout, Wow. I had an original TS-9 blah blah blah. I bought a used Analogman TS-9 with Silvermod and it blew it away. Sold it for $1100. No regrets. Love my CE-2w and Dim C Waza too. Amazing pedals.
If someone is trying to sell you their crappy, old pedal (so that they can buy a new working one), of course they'll tell you that the old one has secret sauce or was the one used by X guitar god. That's how this all got started.
It's amazing how many pedal builders like yourself, Brian Wampler (the guy from Visual Sound who's name escapes me) etc. continue to explain how little chipsets matter but players still prefer snake oil to science. Then again, snake oil seems to sell more than common sense does 😉 Edit: I do need a Waza chorus pretty bad.
I am so glad you mentioned tolerances. People even do that when shooting out modeling and tube amps. They put everything to noon and even two exact same tube amps will not sound the same at noon either. Finally someone who actually does it right!!!!!! God I love JHS!!!! Edit: no I don't think all modeling amps are just as good as the original amps they model, but there are several that come so close that you can only tell the difference when actually looking at the impulse graphing.
@@johnt364 I have an orange Fender "Distort" is this the same one? The tone sweep is almost like a synth low pass filter, I like it, althought doesn't boost the signal like a lot of gain based pedals.
I blacked out the screen and with good studio headphones I was able to hear some nuances from vintage Rat and its reissue, vintage is a little more mid-scooped, but in the same way I can hear very tiny differences between two identical Boss overdrives I own from the same series. So I agree, tolerance counts more than the rest. Vintage pedals have their charme and I like to have some but really I don't care about magic chips. Actually I prefer fries, with a good amount of mayonnaise.
Right on Josh. Small correction (@3:35) : it's not impossible to make two pedals sound the same - it's done every day with (some) military equipment - you'd just have to specify 0.1% or better components, and that'd make a pedal cost $10K or more. So, it's impossible at a price point that would make any sense for our industry. And it would be doubly ridiculous, because even if you did build them that way, no one would have the precision in their fingers to set them *exactly* the same. You'd have to get the calipers out. Thanks, and keep it up, I enjoy every episode you make.
“Brothers in Arms” is a song that moves my soul like few others do. It is, in my opinion, among the most sublime and masterful electric guitar performances (and recordings) in the history of rock. My understanding is that he played a Les Paul, which blows my mind, since Knopfler is such a Strat guy.
th-cam.com/video/vs91er7AZmg/w-d-xo.html A great song from his solo stuff. I caught a show from the tour for this album in Alabama with my Dad..and he rocked that Les Paul with class :)
when it comes to tubescreamers, i'll take any tubescreamer. even a plastic one. i don't care. they are all the same. i'm never going to turn it off. it's fine. any one will do.
Yep, got four of them. BOSS SD-1, Behringer TO800, grey box TS7 and a DigiTech HardWire Tube Distortion/Overdrive that has a different circuit and opamp from the others (essentially an upgraded Bad Monkey, also patterned after the TS).
@@DMSProduktions Money for Nothing sounds flat because it was recorded on an early 16 bit digital recorder - so it was essentially recorded directly to MP3. I so wish it had been recorded to tape (especially when Knopfler plays the guitar a cappella in the beginning) So vinyl vs. CD is irrelevant in this case because of the quality (or lack thereof) of the original recording. Don't get me wrong, it's a great song! Sounds great in the car! However, when I listen on a decent sound system...I want to sing "I want my MP3"
I closed my eyes during the demos and I had no idea when Josh was switching back and forth. I have some old pedals- like the '86 RAT, but I bought it new...in 1986! Great vid, Josh!! PREACH!
The recording quality of Brothers in arms is fantastic. I have the vynil reissue played on a late 70s kenwood and some JBL 4412s and you are transformed back in time.
More like they sound more original than the originals. The part values on those old components drift over time as they age and deteriorate, and they don't sound like they did when they were new. Improved modern manufacturing techniques and materials mean that modern components have a somewhat better tolerance and performance as well.
Brothers in Arms was one of the first digital recordings ever released. Done on a Sony 24 track digital machine. So anything off it might have been the first all digital recording you ever heard.
Actually, I think one of the first (popular)digital recordings that was released came out in 1979-six years earlier. It is Ry Cooder's "Bop 'til You Drop". Ry Cooder hates the sound of it. "Brothers in Arms" sounds much better. Cheers, Alan Tomlinson
From AES.org Indeed, the first commercial digital recording was Nippon Columbia NCB-7003, "Something" by Steve Marcus, released January 1971. The only other commercial release to come out of these early Denon/NHK recordings was Nippon Columbia NCC-8004, "The World of Sutomu Yamashita," according to Anazawa."
Brothers in Arms.. you were 2! OMG.. I just graduated and that album was big. Several songs from were on the radio - Money for Nothing, So Far Away, Walk of Life, Brothers in Arms, and One World. I listened to that one non-stop for a few months.
Josh, I appreciate so much that you do videos like this. I really like the video you did a couple years ago about pedal myths. I think in many ways this video is much like that one. I think all this talk about “ this chip isn’t as good as the old chip, “ and thoughts like this just create an unsatisfied attitude that just ruins one’s happiness. I listen to your video and I couldn’t hear any difference between one pedal or the other . I think we ought to be happy with the fact that there’s so much variety of sounds that we can access for not too much money . One more thing: I was in a rockabilly band for about a year and a half . In that time I had played through a Peavey 50 watt classic, and a Fender Blues jr. My pedals changed from using an Ibanez T7, to a Proco Rat, to a Timmy. My bandmaster said to me, “ Kelly, no matter what gear you change to, you still sound the same. “
These pedals aren't as good back in the day when I lived with my parents and ate Count Chocula and watched He Man and won the game-winning touchdown and when I kissed Sadie Mullens on prom night and when the Ghostbusters were all men and there was real hair on my head
Brothers in Arms is top 10 of all times. The title track especially. Everything about it is amazing. There is a live video of Mark Knopfler playing the song that may be the single greatest guitar tone of all times.
Echo that. When I was a crazy audiophile chasing hi-end cables the way I'm chasing pedals, this was my go to vinyl. The clarity and separation of the instruments was pure sonic punctuation. It was during this era when upchucking big bucks on thick vinyl blessed by the Pope, but this project blew them away.
@@jimtarantino4515 the album was famous for being one of the first d/d/d recordings. WHY would you use this as reference vinyl? -also you don't get the AMAZING intro to "latest Trick" on the vinyl the say you do on the CD or the tape. -ask me why I know this.
I have an Ibanez Flanger that I bought in 1982 (I think it’s called the FL9) and I love that thing. I was really REALLY into The Police and it was that ‘Bring On The Night’ and ‘Message In A Bottle’ tone that I was going for and this pedal is great for that.
Thanks for enlightening the community a bit on this one. The reason these things are "holy grails" is because people tend to introduce religion when they don't understand how something works. If you put components with the same values together in the same order, you get the same circuit... period. Even if you make minor changes, you STILL get the same sound. It's just amazing that how much you can alter your perception of a tone just based on your own personal bias. I just shake my head when people who don't understand why a battery has two terminals tries to explain how the vintage components "charge up differently."
In this episode; Josh convincing people to stop buying vintage pedals so he can finally collect them all.
Lol
Lol
Lol
Hahaha, trying to use his “influencer” status for good! :p
That Joe guy has bought all the vintage guitars and amps.So what’s left?Vintage pedals!I will stick to vintage picks.
“You complained about this for 30 years so they changed it, and now you don’t like it.” Should be a t-shirt. Admittedly a very large t-shirt but still.
Roland/Boss are you hearing this? do the shirt!
I'd buy one!
lol i'd buy 3 of them
I’d buy one. I’d probably buy the hoodie too.
RIP
British pedals don't have chips, they have crisps.
American pedals don't have chips, they have fries...........................................sorry had to!
And don't forget the fish...
And the malt vinegar...
Best comment of the week
@@nachobassman Never forget the fish. Don't ask me how I know ..
When I was younger, my dad called his vintage gear his “old broken shit.”
Exact! Then it became, 'vintage'.
@@pedroleal7118 it became vintage when people wanted to sell their old broken shit and said. Oh. Let's call it vintage and trick people
Yeah I inherited a box of old broken shit when I got my first electric. A ts-808, a big muff rams head, a vox wah, a fuzz face, a tape echo and a few other randoms. I literally can’t put them on my board because they are not reliable and make stupid noises. It’s funny everyone will run to get the newest phone because the slightest different tech, but out guitar equipment…
shitty is the new cool
@@vikingbluesbreaker729 you got my dream pedals
I love how rockers went from being revolutionaries searching for new crazy sounds to faith worshipers trying to imitate the same old tones... I can only imagine Hendrix playing with something like a wampler terraform or a rainbow machine....
by favorite example was how the Beatles wanted the fender silverface, not the 'old' blackface junk.when the new Let it Be movie comes out, I expect to see lots of silver face fender.
I’m gonna be honest, I think people are still looking for the shortcut to make them sound like the guitar player they want to be. So it’s really easy to blame it on the gear and equipment, especially when it’s old and hard to find so that is the “reason” you don’t sound as good as you want to 🤦🏽♂️ lol.
He might have been awful with them.
@@MrStupidHead well those 1968 "silverface" amps had identical guts of the 'old blackface junk' LMFAO
If Hendrix was around today, he would play Axe FX
Finally, a JHS episode that should have a deflationary effect on pedal prices. Suck it, Reverb!
*price of all new pedals rises*
Actually the one thing the vintage pedals (etc.) have over the new ones is they not only hold their value but typically increase in value. Someone could sit down and A/B a 1959 Les Paul with a 60th anniversary R9. We might find that the new guitar is actually better because the components are brand new and the custom shop has tighter manufacturing tolerances than Gibson did in 1959. They didn't have plek machines back then, for example. Magnets degrade, and so on. But you know what? That '59 burst is still worth hundreds of thousands of dollars and if you play it right will make you a lot of money. The new R9 will hold its value better than a Gibson USA guitar and might even inflate some (Which is never taken into consideration on the internet.). But there are people who have profited 6 digits on "Bursts".
Prime examples of vintage things are actually worth what they cost IN THE LONG RUN.
@@jsullivan2112 It's not because people are dumb. It's smart to realize the true "value" of something.
Just think about how many vintage pedals Josh owns. Is he dumb for buying them? He even "saves the box". Does that make his vintage pedal sound better, no. But that has value too. Just like swing tags, owners manuals original warranty cards, etc... The sooner some people realize that and stop trying to fight it, the less dumb they'll be.
Josh is an engineer. And he makes a living selling new pedals. Realize his perspective when watching. And that's not a knock on Josh. I think he's awesome. But it's as much of a fact as anything else in the video.
Don’t worry, they’ll probably raise their rates to compensate.
Why? Let the suckers pay too much. If they're that dense, it's on them.
Man all the old vintage pedals I have ever had have noise issues, volume drops, worn out pots. etc. Gimmie the new guy all day.
yyyyup
Or just learn to solder
New Pedals are built more consistently. Better quality control
Michael Howard do you know who you are replying to? He can solder just fine. Ive seen it
@@Ottophil Yea, I've clicked on a couple of his vids over the years. Never made it more than 2-3 minutes in though.
Josh- "you can't do a shootout by setting both pedals to noon"
Andertons and That Pedal Show- "Surprised Pikachu face"
This is so spot on, Josh dropping truth bombs all over the map.
Difference between pedal builders and sellers.
As much as Dan and Mick seem like super cool dudes and the show is great, they're the most guilty of the cork sniffing problem I see in the guitar community lol.
@Another Person ; But tell me, when did they ever do a comparison video like this one though? The only one I remember is the one where they compared reissues of some pedals in smaller enclosures (not their best episode imho). There's a reason why they usually don't do comparison video's, because they agree with you on that point. And I do too. And yes, they do sniff some corks every now and then, but in the end you can make up your own mind. 😊
😂😂😂😂😂
Okay first of all, the chip in my TS was made by Johan on a Tuesday afternoon, right after a delayed lunchbreak. I can clearly hear how the rushed eating of Johan affects the high-end of the tone, and gives it an overall warmer and more pleasant tone than all the other chips.
You must be looking at the wrong pedal. It wasn't Johan; it was Yoshio. Besides, everyone knows Yoshio's sweat from running back to the Maxon factory from break makes the pedal more transparent. Tone is in the fingers, man.
@@MarcBarkyMarta NO NO NO!!! You are BOTH wrong. CLEARLY a full stomach causes Johan cramps, which makes his solders rushed, which causes the top end to be shrill and ice picky. And Yoshio's sweat dripping on the circuitry adds bite and grit to the TS's he made AFTER the break.
That sounds haha loony - but it's not far from how it goes whenever you encounter a random Les Paul.
Some days they're lucky to spend ten minutes inspecting and finishing one, other days someone might take an hour.
And when it's in a store, at that point _who the hell knows why?_
Ok hear me out, let’s collaborate on an Apollo 13 overdrive. It’ll be a bluesbreaker, but will only work on the first 1/3 of your gig then you have to figure out how to get it and the rest of your pedalboard home safely.
And a cardboard and duck tape KIT to fix it!!
It'll only work on the moon!
Yes and you’ll have to do some super sketchy wiring, and hook up to the power supply from the pedal before it to power up the Apollo 13 pedal for the last 2/3 of the gig
Militarily (Astronautically) Adapt, Improvise, Overcome.... To complete the mission ❕👊🎸🤟🎼🌒
good to see you here Rhett, love your channel, and the collabs with 5 watt world!
This kind of reminds me of an old joke.
How many blues guitarist does it take to change a lightbulb?
17, one to change the bulb and 16 to complain about how the old bulb was better.
Old joke? As in the version you're telling now is a reissue?
Never heard about it, but good one.
The way I heard it was, "It takes 16 to say they could have done it better." Lol.
Loool MADE MY DAY !!! 😂
@cc c, maybe the old chip, bumblebee cap's, light, fog, trace of time, mist and just old ones are the best ones ... ask granny,- she'll know ...
I see your game Josh, convince us that the reissues are "just as good" so we will buy them instead of the vintage originals. That way you can have the vintage/used market all to yourself!! Have you no shame sir!!
He's pretty much already 90% of the way there to owning all the vintage pedals!
LOL he probably already owns like 95% of all the vintage pedals
He probably owns like 95.5% of the vintage pedals.
He probably owns like 95.51% of the vintage pedals.
He probably owns like 95.5101% of the vintage pedals.
"This is not Apollo 11, this is an overdrive" Quote of the week.
Wampler Terraformer probably has more processing power, than the Apollo crafts right?
Fawkes & Hound an Apple Watch has more processing power than the Apollo 11 full kit
This must become the next JHS T-shirt!!
@@bubbahotep5439 I'd buy it
Fawkes & Hound Probably. Arguments can be made that USB-C chargers have more processing power than the Apollo navigation computer www.theverge.com/tldr/2020/2/11/21133119/usb-c-anker-charger-apollo-11-moon-landing-guidance-computer-more-powerful
I'm just glad these companies are re-releasing these pedals so that normal people can still afford them, unlike some boutique pedal manufacturers.
Idk what I’d do with myself if I couldn’t afford a tubescreamer lmao
Josh has always amazed me about how honest he is. He never tries to oversell his product and he has a serious respect of the other builders in the industry. He's basically just a gear nerd like most of us. Major respect to that! JHS is awesome!
Gear nerd but not a gear snob.
"massage the knobs" should be on a t-shirt
People who think vintage pedals sound better are either-
a: People currently trying to sell a vintage pedal for top money.
2: People suckered by those people.
d. People whose tinnitus is so bad that they can't hear anymore.
Just look around the people you work with or the people you socialise with. MANY will have something they bought & they swear, despite some people's reservations that THEIR'S is a good one. No one buys a bad model or a vintage pedal that can easily be reissued, right? (Purchase Validation)
That's often but not always right.
@@timchalmers1700 I have tinnitus in my left ear I actually hear a different pitch in each ear it sucks tuning by ear but it makes me pay pretty close attention to know what I am hearing as opposed to what I think I hear. There are variations in the parts they don't make them the same. So it does the same thing just like an old '59 les paul, sounds just like a new one right? I found a 1981 JRC4558 and made a tube screamer, I found some 1966 germanium transistors and built a tone bender and a rangemaster., no big investment. just old stuff lying around. I'm happy they are original "magic" parts.
I think a really cool video idea would be to actually take two identical pedals straight off the line, set all the knobs at noon, and see how different they are.
i think Josh would hate making that video but i’d love to it regardless
Agreed.
"But...but....what about the '60s, '70s, and '80s dust and rust that adds 'mojo'?" ;)
I was listening, not watching for part of it, and could not tell when you were switching. That says it all.
Josh breaking down the walls of psychological deafness.
That is perhaps THE best description I've ever seen in writing about what I refer to as "vintage disease"
@@valentino3191 Thank you
“The box is bigger so the circuit is bigger” that’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard, everyone know that if the box is bigger the tone is bigger and that’s what makes it better
In forty years time those new pedals are going to sound fantastic!
Omg, the tube screamer segment had me rolling.
"When he talked about remembering a vintage tube screamer 40 years ago at a bar in Des Moines, Iowa I was lol'n. We have to face as a society we can't even remember what we had for breakfast on monday."
i've been watching for a while and this is about the hardest i've ever laughed.
Hah! My weekday breakfasts and lunches are the same everyday, unless I'm not working.
@@teemusid Yah, but still. Can you even remember them? hahah
iowa? that says it all, good nite.
I have to wonder - did it sound better back then because their hearing wasn’t fried yet?
@@teemusid ya but the toast from back in 83 was so much better.......they dont make bread like that anymore.
I'm not sure why having the exact sound of a specific vintage pedal is even so important to begin with. I love fiddling with guitar tones, so I get that, but I don't really want to exactly replicate some sound I heard (insert famous great guitarist) get. I can get close if I want, but there's always the pesky issue of it being me playing, not (insert famous great guitarist). If you can't play something that sounds good to you on virtually ANY budget, you need to focus on practicing and writing better songs.
thank youuuuu !! so true OMG, thats why I'm staying away from modellers and big pedalboards. I'll just make my gear work.
I love Brothers in Arms and when I was really young (like 4 or 5) I used to listen to it so much that my mom got me a walkman and recorded it onto a cassette tape. Money for Nothing is what made me want to play guitar from the first time I heard it.
God I love this channel. Any time someone debunks "accepted wisdom" using empirical data it makes me happy. The audiophile world is filled with so much snake oil and baloney and it drives me crazy. I'm old enough to have bought an original RAT back in the 80s when I was a teenager, and I'll be the first to admit that I can't tell the new RAT from mine, sound-wise.
"This is not Apollo 11, this is an overdrive pedal".
The best quote I heard in a long time! Also, a good idea for a t-shirt!
I suddenly have the urge to build an overdrive pedal in the shape of the Apollo 11!
For everyone who does indeed think "but the chip", Wampler's channel has a great video where he switches out a whole bunch of chips in a typical tube screamer circuit, and it makes no audible difference. Watch it !
Exactly, it takes a tad more than just switching the chip on a TS to change it's sound
I am completely addicted to this channel. So informative and fun!
I'm getting pretty old, been playing guitar 44 years. I just play for my enjoyment at home maybe with some friends, and that's about it. It's not that i suck playing guitar, i have seen worse. It's because i choke in front of people who l dont know. Yeah so l choke under pressure or whatever you want to call it. But l don't mind because I truly love playing guitar. My point being is, l have lived thru all the petal years. From the original version of the Rat to the centaur, l loved my old small stone. It's been so long ago l can't remember if l traded it or pawned it or what. The thing is l have had a ton of gear chasing for that magical tone. I get so mad at myself of all the gear I've traded. I had a 59 reissued Les Paul l mean l went thru a lot of killer gear that at the time l thought that I could make it better. Needless to say l traded my way out of some sweet guitars and gear.
I have never been happier with what l have now and it's a relief knowing that my search is over. I'll tell you what l play today. No laughing please, l don't know why this amp gets such a bad rap. I guess because it's tubeless. A flextone 50x2 stereo line six. You know the digital dog. I remember when they first came out and ofcourse I had to buy one. And it was a little pricey. I can't remember the exact year but it had to be 25 years ago
That amp has long been gone. Last year l walk in a pawn shop and there was one sitting there(they are very heavy) so l buy it for 160 dollars. It has a lot of different sounds. So 160 bucks l have an amp with basically all the stomp petals built in. I only play it at bedroom levels and it sounds awesome to me. For guitar l am a gibson freak but at the same pawn shop they had a P.R.S. se custom. It's a great guitar. Stays in tune with that floating trem. It only had pick scratches and l got that for 300. It is a beautiful guitar and the neck is perfect for me. So 460. I have everything that l want. You really don't have to spend thousands of dollars. Unless your a pro in the studio type of deal. Just saying it's a relief that l can be happy with what l have.
I have a line 6 spider 50× 1 12 and is not to bad. I also have a vox valvetronix that has a tube pre amp and 60 watts of solid state power amp. It also has a bunch of built in stuff. I got a 100w all tube b52 amp not to long ago and it dose sound good when cranked . but I only play at home alone so I hardly use it. I think most of the time people can't tell the difference. Especially with the new stuff. Helix or kemper or even ax effects. Sounds just like the real thing on a track. Its mostly a preference thing for people. I have expensive stuff and cheap stuff. Both bring joy to playing in there own way.
@@captaintony1227 Your exactly right Captain. I had all the real expensive toys. In general I love tube amps turned up to wear it starts to break up and clean amp in series with maybe a flanger or something on the clean amp. But i live in a condo. I know there's some pretty cool bouquet tube amps you can set at like two watts and crank it, but I'm trying to pay my daughters college.
So l just jam on my digital line 6 flextone and couldn't be any happier. I can really dial in some great sounding low volume tones without spending a small fortune. But, I'm not playing on a stage.
Just for the joy. Im so greatful that l didn't give guitar up. I've been at it now for forty years and l feel like it just now all coming together. I actually can't wait to wake up in the morning and make time to play. I never have a moment of boredom. I also have taught my daughter at a early age. She can rip the blues, it so awesome. Anyways you really dont have to have the most expensive gear to have a good time. Take care, bro and keep jamming.
PEACE
I AM 52, BEEN PLAYING BASS GUITAR FOR 36 YRS AND I AM DEFINITLY WITH YOU ROBERT ....TODAY'S YOUTH REALLY DON'T KNOW THE MEANING & THE WORTH OF OLD STUFF....LIKE A 1962 STRAT, 1957 PRECISION OR MAYBE A 59 LES PAUL...THEY JUST WANT THE NEWEST STUFF WITH THE FANCIEST & FLASHY LOOKS... THE SOCIAL MEDIA FUCKED UP AND KILLED EVERYTHING...TODAY, IT'S NOTHING BUT IMPURITY ...
@@senemorcaykalyoncu6369
Mr. Orcaykalyoncu,
You good sir, your exactly correct. About gear music. I was a single parent was awarded full custody of my infant little girl in 93. I promised myself that I would drop all the bullshit and raise her properly. Put her in church every Sunday ( I'm not a religious) but church doesn't hurt when raising a child. She never gave me an once of problems. I think she knew if she did there would be consequences. I managed to put her thru 4 years of college, literally breaking my back to do so. Now she is 26 and has a killer job, and just got engaged to a guy who l actually like. She never got into trouble at school, never have been pregnant and just the other day she showed me in her phone her credit rating was well into the 700s. I'm so lucky, she has never met her mother, probably because she owes me so much child support, she was just a loser. My fault for getting her pregnant, but if l didn't l wouldn't have my daughter which I love dearly. Most kids of her generation are still living at home in there Grandparents basement, it's unbelievable what this country is turning into. The social media, the news, it all mostly lies. I have never in my life have seen the decline of our constitutional freedoms, never in a million years that l would see the bullshit that is happening today. I could go on and on Senam. But l do love my music and have found my tone, no more searching for that Holy Grail of sound. Try to stay away from computer driven music, no talent music in a while. Remember the 70s. My God the bands where so gifted compared to today. There's exceptions, but very few and far between. Today I'm liking Joe Bonamossa. Can't spell his name. And there's a few other, but nothing like older classic rock. Those bands had some serious talanted players. Today's music, in my humble opinion sucks. And if the media keeps up all the cover ups and straight ass lies we are or already have lost. SAD isn't it. Well all l can do is sit back, play my music and watch the world fall apart.
Have a great day, at least try to!
Thank you for the wisdom about the knob tweaking and component tolerances
Seriously. Thank you for speaking this important, simple truth, Josh.
I love his, "you heard them, shut up" attitude, hahahaha. So good.
Many circuit components have a 10% to 20% tolerance, meaning even two consecutive pedals (guitars, amps, etc.) can sound quite different. The 500k pot in your guitar could measure anywhere from 400k to 600k. If your guitar is a little dull, measure your pot(s). A new pot is way cheaper than a new pickup.
Its not just pedals. All circuits have this tolerance. Military grade parts have tighter specs, but people forget sometimes those “magic sounding” pedals are on the edges of the tolerance stack. Modern in circuit testing might make them more consistent, but those freak accident holy grails will be less likely. Every guitarist should own a multimeter and know ohms law at a minimum. I ended up with an associates degree in my hunt for tone
Yeah. like he said in the video. 3:45
@@Ottophil So true. The golden pedals are always the ones that have parts on the edge or even out of tolerance. Back in the day, they only checked to see if the part worked. They trusted the component manufacturer to make sure they were in spec.
True!
Absolutely! Replaced my 90's Fender Tele switchplate with a sigler and va-voom ! More Loud!
When I went to a store to test the Electric Mistress reissue, after a few seconds, I was so happy to get the same feelings as in 1981 with my old EM. And now, I’m a lot happier than yesterday, because of the reliability !
Just the same with the Waza Chorus : Wow ! I have the same kinda sounds as the old days !!!
Electro Harmonix has earned my business for life with the way they craft their pedals and handle reissues
Been reviewing fuzz pedal options , discovered you and jhs and was so impressed took the plunge and cruised up to the G center and ordered the series 3 fuzz. Arrives at the end of the week and can't wait. Just really enjoyed watching your channel and wanted to support you guys after teaching me so much history. Proudest 99.00 I've ever spent. Rock n roll buddy
I got one. I had to pay 130 euros and it was on offer, they normally go for 150 bucks here in Europe because of importing and what not. I still love my 3 series fuzz dearly, might even be my favourite pedal I own. Also quite proud of rocking the massive JHS sticker on my modular synth.
(Now I need to save up for the octave reverb, it sounded like an ideal ambient reverb)
Bigger box pedals give the electrons more room to interact and breathe, emphasising the haunting mids and the underlying toasted wheat underpinnings bouncing around in the crystal lattice. It's a fact Jack. I read it on The Gear Page.
:^)
Haha!! Yeah that must be it!! I’m gonna make sure all of my friends get this one going! Excellent idea!
The best way to watch these is to scroll away so you can't see any switching and can only use your ears to hear a difference. I'm totally guilty of listening with my eyes in videos like this lol
Nice to see a guy willing to admit that he does not possess magic bias-proof ears. You would not believe how many times I have tried to explain the realities of human perception to someone who thinks that they can hear a difference between two pieces of gear that are audibly transparent.
I was watching closely and still couldn't detect a difference in sound!
That's exactly what I did, no difference at all. Good call.
I looked at some and i didn't look at others...some were a touch brighter or darker, but i couldn't tell you which one and it wasn't consistent. Moral of the story...maybe you don't have to spend a bunch if money to sound a certain way, so play what you enjoy.
I wasn't watching on the first one, and he finished the song, and I was like, "Wait, so he's going to play the whole song again on the other pedal?"
Yeah, these sound identical. The TS-9 was straight-up hilarious.
The component tolerance stuff is the most intelligent thing I heard over TH-cam ever since. Thanks Mr. JHS!
"you have to massage the knobs a little bit..." man, that's a lesson most people need to learn. FOR LIFE! =D
Truth
I can't be the only one that subbed immediately after the "He has the box".
Also people who claim that vintage EHX pedals have "bigger circuits" should probably open up their pedals sometime and have a look inside.
"Yeah, the dangling parts really make my vintage pedal sound better".
Yeah! My big box EXH chorus pedal has it’s chip floating in space in that big box. The cheap neo clone in the one on my board for obvious reasons 😂
I only claim that they sound awesome to me. Opened the pedals many times.... no problems.
@@guitarpedaldemos9121 Was talking about the fact that the circuits really aren't what anybody could call "big". Rather there are a couple of teeny tiny parts floating around in a huge empty box. They do indeed sound awesome, but I've seen large box ehx pedals go to pieces and "reliable" isn't the word i'd use to describe how that looks.
That’s tone air bro. You obviously messed it up by opening the enclosure to take a peek.
I actually did this a week ago. A friend of mine got a vintage ehx Dr. Q. And I liked it so much I bought a Dr Q nano. We did a side by side, and once I figured out the switch on the nano is opposite the switch on the vintage, the difference was less than 10%. The old one sounded slightly warmer, but it was negligible in a band scenario. I'm pretty damn impressed by ehx.
Ps. Bought the 3 series reverb, it's awesome! Thank you!
Now imagine you use the new nano and put an EQ-Pedal behind it to filter out some higher frequencies to make it more "warmer" .... don't tell anyone lol ! :D
I love my Doctor Q nano tbh
The solo from "Brothers in Arms" is the reason I started playing and, coincidentally, today Mark's the 30th anniversary of my first guitar lesson.
I absolutely loved this episode!!! I really agree on stop obsessing about expensive gear and start making music...and brothers in arms absolutely rules!
Thanks for playing stuff closer to what I play!
Some channels are always hotdogging.
Josh: “chip isn’t that important”
Everyone named Chip: ☹️
@rogerwilco99 Me too! Lol.
Best episode ever!!! You should try to make a reissue of this show. It won't ve as good as the original...but you never know
This is what I love about JHS. A $99 pedal line? Showing us that reissues are great? He wants to help us little guys who can’t spend $250-$500 on a pedal. Bravo.
Great episode. I think one of the things we don't consider enough is audio fidelity. Because of quality control all along the chain, I think the audio fidelity of many reissues is a little higher. This is true with guitar amps, stereo equipment and recording equipment, too (I'm not talking about software compression, though - that's a different beast). The question is whether audio fidelity is what we want. The mojo we sometimes hear may be a lack of it, that kind of warm goodness you remember from your grandparents Marantz integrated amp in the wooden cabinet. A lot depends on what kind of thing you want to hear, what you like to play, etc. Maybe the slight volume drop and distortion of an old phaser just takes you into a zone and the newer one, with no volume drop, more precise modulation, and less frequency roll-off sounds weird because it isn't like that favorite record. The question of better is really subjective.
Calmly and honestly reviews old vintage pedals followed by "Sorry guys I got a little aggressive there", love you man keep up the great work
Are we sure he is not from the Pacific Northwest? People here would have told him, "lower your voice, please."
"Massage the knobs" New pick up line for me ! Thanks Josh.
If I cover my ears every time I see the Green light on, they definitely sound better when the red light is on. It must be the diode in your AB switcher !!!
Came for a western saloon style shootout, stayed for the sarcasm.
7:09 🤣
Only one I could hear a discernable difference was the small stone!
I don't have any vintage pedal (cannot afford it), but I am really grateful that you made this demo, for now I know not being able to afford vintage pedals does not matter at all! Thanks a lot :-D
Cork sniffers be stinging over this. I’ve been down the rabbit hole, and what I initially saw as a great collection of pedals I’ve now started to view as clutter!! A recent run out at a local gig with nothing but a Boss Katana, JHS/Boss Angry Driver, Phase 90 (reissue) and an entry level Strat saw me dialling in one of the best live tones I’ve ever had 🤷🏻♂️. Truth hurts sometimes !!
The vintage vs re-issue thing (esp. the tube screamer one) always makes me laugh.
To me it's the same as the kid who plugs a tube screamer into the front of a 15 watt solid state amp and then says "this thing sucks, it won't even overdrive my amp!". Or the kid who plugs into a single-ended class-a tube amp, sets the gain , bass, and treble at 10, the mids at 0, and the master at 2 and says "this thing sucks, it has no overdrive!".
As a child “Brothers in arms” thought me what emotion was. Can’t explain it but back then as a 10 year old and to this day it makes me so sad, so happy, so empty and so full all at the same time. I’m glad someone else out there loves it.
It's funny cos the opening strums of So Far Away evoke warm & fuzzy feelings for me because of how I felt at that time as a child - music has such emotive recall power!
@@davidfletcher4952 Same here. In short its a sensational album that does get enough credit
.
I got to see them play at Radio City after this album came out, as a teenager. What an awesome performance.
And yes, the Waza CE2 is one of the best chorus pedals you can buy. I collect chorus pedals and if the CE2w were my only one, it would be no problem.
Record time win! I wore this album out on cassette. Some standouts for me (aside from the obvious Money For Nothing, So Far Away, and Walk of Life) were my favorite track from cassette side 2 was Ride Across the River (awesome track) and Latest Trick (capitalizing on our cultural fascination with adding saxophone - the original rock lead instrument - to a rock ballad). It scratches the same itch as Baker Street and The Heat Is On. Definitely check this album out if you’re not familiar with it. Though I find it interesting how many fans of The Princess Bride don’t know that the same guy the wrote Sultans of Swing and Money For Nothing was responsible for the lion’s share of the original music in the soundtrack. Mark Knopfler is a musical genius in his own right. And tbh, the artist most responsible for me coming back to the Strat years after selling mine.
Josh dropping truth bombs for the benefit of mankind.
Your unbridled aggression and passion is underwhelming. Much like wisdom. Mostly like truth. Thanks for sharing. Another great video.
I want to see the 70s op amp big muff vs the reissue pumpkin pi
th-cam.com/video/9OaLT-wVspk/w-d-xo.html it has been done !
The reissue sounds damn good . . . If you can't get good sounds out of it, you are doing something wrong.
I put the reissue op-amp pumpkin pi up against the green and white tone wicker model and was able to get them to sound identical, fwiw.
I owned a 70s op amp muff for 30 years. Sold it last year on eBay 'cos to me, it was one of the worst sounding fuzz pedals I ever owned. Couldn't believe my luck when ehx released the smashing pumpkins muff and realising I'd eventually be able to pass it on for stupid money.
I have a couple originals and the reissue. The originals sound bigger and more 3D, and have more grit. I think that can be heard in Josh's video comparing them, too.
I bought my pedals new, starting in 1976, now they are old. I still use them. They were cheap, now they are priceless.
I can't believe Big Pedal got to Josh. Hope the free yacht was worth it.
Lol
Big pedal schill
Ha ha. You are the exact type of pedal user he is talking about! 😂 Whatever! Just keep searching for those Elusive Vintage Holy Grail pedals. Maybe you will find that one that will make you a ⭐️ ROCK STAR! ⭐️ !!! I
@@josephwright5921 woooosh
You dont play much guitar do you?
Calling old things “vintage” makes them sound more desirable. I’m not growing old, I’m just more vintage.
Great video BTW, the production continues to impress and improve!
_I don’t have these pedals, how am I gonna survive?_
*I just have to have these pedals*
I sing that to myself *daily.* Please send help.
"This is not Apollo 11, this is an Overdrive Pedal." Thanks for dispelling myths of an idealized past. Love it.
1) vintage Rat a touch warmer, but only a touch.
2) Thought the new small stone was muddier, but again, only a touch. I myself have found EH pedals to REALLY suck the top and bottom outta my tone, and noisy... Still love them though.
3) Again, vintage is a touch warmer, with a dirtier compression. Bugger all in it though.
4) Nothing in it. Happy to use the modern one.
This was a wonderful no bs demonstration. I absolutely adore this channel, in a sea of nonsense here on YT, this is sanity I wholeheartedly agree with. Never met a pedal I did'nt like, or get SOMETHING out of... Build your tonal palette, collect pedals!
I actually DO have a few vintage classic pedals... but my attitude is; if i can do it with a Boss from the nearest shop, why wouldn't I? I want my gigs and sessions to sound good ALL the time, everywhere. So, yeah, I have a Mk I Marshall Guv'nor, would not sell it for the world. Can get JUST as GOOD a tone outta the OCD though... which I can buy anywhere anytime, so...
Tiny TIIINNYY minuscule differences between the Rats and screamers, the Nano small stone seemed to sound fuller and obviously louder. However I have owned the Waza CE-2 and still own a silver screw ce-2 and the Waza craft ones just lack something that the originals have, I’m not sure what it is but I could definitely hear it.
I suspect if Josh had spent a lot more time with each pedal in this video the differences would have been more obvious. Maybe. However, having watched some of Brian Wampler's videos and seen some Facebook pieces by the designer/builder of Green Carrot Pedals I know that more components than the pots have 'tolerance issues'. So a recreation of a vintage pedal is only ever going to be a close approximation - so some old silver-screw CE-2 pedals will sound different, maybe better, than the Waza re-issue, for example. I think Josh's argument is that spending a lot of time and money tracking down a vintage pedal when the re-issue is readily available will probably not be worth it. You won't end up with something that sounds appreciably better. Of course if you already own one and it sounds good then more power to you.
Josh, there is so much truth in this episode, I don't even know where to start saying thank you. Right down to record time. I listened to Brothers in Arms over and over when I got the record. One of my favorite guitar tracks ever. Well said.
Finally someone who calls out parts tolerances even in the modern day. The RAT specifically, I good the new one for like $49 or something from guitar center, NEW, AND it's built like a tank. Come on now, how the hell is someone gonna hate on it?
Thank you for being the savior of logic and reason in gear! So many people follow the mystique and ignore what their ears are hearing.
I appreciate you and your channel so much. I’ve been going on TH-cam to view pedal demos and not much more, until some days ago I stumbled upon a demo of yours. I love the way you explain things, your insane level of honesty, the details you talk about that can only be known to a true craftsman and how you respect other manufacturers and don’t push your products. I have been binge watching episodes now because I just want to learn as much as I can and I am slowly getting passionate about pedals and wanting to have a wall at home like your backdrop. On top of that, you make me feel comfortable buying pedals I can afford, which I have never felt like before. I always felt this worry that I would regret it, or not find it good enough. A big big thank you and I cannot wait to purchase my first JHS pedal. It will definitely be the morning glory!
Love it, man. Great video. 5 years ago I was entrenched in traditional vintage everything. The Boss Katana 50 and your video comparing and discussing point to point to surface mount changed my life. Thanks. That jam you did during the TS-9 shootout, Wow. I had an original TS-9 blah blah blah. I bought a used Analogman TS-9 with Silvermod and it blew it away. Sold it for $1100. No regrets. Love my CE-2w and Dim C Waza too. Amazing pedals.
If someone is trying to sell you their crappy, old pedal (so that they can buy a new working one), of course they'll tell you that the old one has secret sauce or was the one used by X guitar god. That's how this all got started.
It's amazing how many pedal builders like yourself, Brian Wampler (the guy from Visual Sound who's name escapes me) etc. continue to explain how little chipsets matter but players still prefer snake oil to science. Then again, snake oil seems to sell more than common sense does 😉
Edit: I do need a Waza chorus pretty bad.
New jhs shirt: “massage the knobs”.
I get the first one for my idea. XL please.
I’m totally in!! I’ll take a medium
I am so glad you mentioned tolerances.
People even do that when shooting out modeling and tube amps.
They put everything to noon and even two exact same tube amps will not sound the same at noon either.
Finally someone who actually does it right!!!!!!
God I love JHS!!!!
Edit: no I don't think all modeling amps are just as good as the original amps they model, but there are several that come so close that you can only tell the difference when actually looking at the impulse graphing.
Awesome episode! "this is not apollo11, this is an overdrive pedal" 😂
I listened to this like a podcast,
I personally couldn't tell the difference
We can’t be friends!! Just kidding great honest video as always bro! 🤘🎸🔥
Hey there funny electricity man, I'm requesting an episode on the short lived fender starcaster pedals. also amp emulation.
Only pedal I had from that series was the chorus and absolutely hated it. Might just not be my style of chorus
@@JoshBattershell I have the distortion. It does some stuff I like.
@@johnt364 I have an orange Fender "Distort" is this the same one? The tone sweep is almost like a synth low pass filter, I like it, althought doesn't boost the signal like a lot of gain based pedals.
I blacked out the screen and with good studio headphones I was able to hear some nuances from vintage Rat and its reissue, vintage is a little more mid-scooped, but in the same way I can hear very tiny differences between two identical Boss overdrives I own from the same series. So I agree, tolerance counts more than the rest. Vintage pedals have their charme and I like to have some but really I don't care about magic chips. Actually I prefer fries, with a good amount of mayonnaise.
Right on Josh. Small correction (@3:35) : it's not impossible to make two pedals sound the same - it's done every day with (some) military equipment - you'd just have to specify 0.1% or better components, and that'd make a pedal cost $10K or more. So, it's impossible at a price point that would make any sense for our industry. And it would be doubly ridiculous, because even if you did build them that way, no one would have the precision in their fingers to set them *exactly* the same. You'd have to get the calipers out. Thanks, and keep it up, I enjoy every episode you make.
“Brothers in Arms” is a song that moves my soul like few others do. It is, in my opinion, among the most sublime and masterful electric guitar performances (and recordings) in the history of rock.
My understanding is that he played a Les Paul, which blows my mind, since Knopfler is such a Strat guy.
th-cam.com/video/vs91er7AZmg/w-d-xo.html
A great song from his solo stuff. I caught a show from the tour for this album in Alabama with my Dad..and he rocked that Les Paul with class :)
The entire album is fantastic. Probably the first CD I ever bought when CDs came to market.
when it comes to tubescreamers, i'll take any tubescreamer. even a plastic one. i don't care. they are all the same. i'm never going to turn it off. it's fine. any one will do.
Yep, got four of them. BOSS SD-1, Behringer TO800, grey box TS7 and a DigiTech HardWire Tube Distortion/Overdrive that has a different circuit and opamp from the others (essentially an upgraded Bad Monkey, also patterned after the TS).
I have the Behringer TO800 and I’m happy with the sound. Great sound for the price
DIre Straits is criminally underrated by the general population.
It was the go to CD when CD's first came out
maybe they shouldn't have released the worst song of all fucking time, Walk of Life. then people might have liked them more.
@@adriandavenport1614 Yup! Money For Nothing sounded so SPACIOUS on CD! Vinyl is very limited by comparison! (SORRY vinyl nerds!)
@@stefannita3439 That song was ok!
@@DMSProduktions Money for Nothing sounds flat because it was recorded on an early 16 bit digital recorder - so it was essentially recorded directly to MP3. I so wish it had been recorded to tape (especially when Knopfler plays the guitar a cappella in the beginning) So vinyl vs. CD is irrelevant in this case because of the quality (or lack thereof) of the original recording. Don't get me wrong, it's a great song! Sounds great in the car! However, when I listen on a decent sound system...I want to sing "I want my MP3"
I closed my eyes during the demos and I had no idea when Josh was switching back and forth. I have some old pedals- like the '86 RAT, but I bought it new...in 1986! Great vid, Josh!! PREACH!
The recording quality of Brothers in arms is fantastic. I have the vynil reissue played on a late 70s kenwood and some JBL 4412s and you are transformed back in time.
"The internet is a free country sorta" Josh you need these quotes on T-shirts brother 😆
If anything, modern components make the pedals sound "clearer" than the vintage equivalents.
My 2c
More like they sound more original than the originals. The part values on those old components drift over time as they age and deteriorate, and they don't sound like they did when they were new. Improved modern manufacturing techniques and materials mean that modern components have a somewhat better tolerance and performance as well.
Brothers in Arms was one of the first digital recordings ever released. Done on a Sony 24 track digital machine. So anything off it might have been the first all digital recording you ever heard.
digital microphones!?
@@connyhermansson6069 The *_recording_* was digital.
Actually, I think one of the first (popular)digital recordings that was released came out in 1979-six years earlier. It is Ry Cooder's "Bop 'til You Drop". Ry Cooder hates the sound of it. "Brothers in Arms" sounds much better.
Cheers,
Alan Tomlinson
From AES.org
Indeed, the first commercial digital recording was Nippon Columbia NCB-7003, "Something" by Steve Marcus, released January 1971. The only other commercial release to come out of these early Denon/NHK recordings was Nippon Columbia NCC-8004, "The World of Sutomu Yamashita," according to Anazawa."
@@connyhermansson6069 LOL! Oh you troll! ;oP
Brothers in Arms.. you were 2! OMG.. I just graduated and that album was big. Several songs from were on the radio - Money for Nothing, So Far Away, Walk of Life, Brothers in Arms, and One World. I listened to that one non-stop for a few months.
Josh, I appreciate so much that you do videos like this. I really like the video you did a couple years ago about pedal myths. I think in many ways this video is much like that one. I think all this talk about “ this chip isn’t as good as the old chip, “ and thoughts like this just create an unsatisfied attitude that just ruins one’s happiness.
I listen to your video and I couldn’t hear any difference between one pedal or the other . I think we ought to be happy with the fact that there’s so much variety of sounds that we can access for not too much money .
One more thing: I was in a rockabilly band for about a year and a half . In that time I had played through a Peavey 50 watt classic,
and a Fender Blues jr. My pedals changed from using an Ibanez T7, to a Proco Rat, to a Timmy. My bandmaster said to me, “ Kelly, no matter what gear you change to, you still sound the same. “
These pedals aren't as good back in the day when I lived with my parents and ate Count Chocula and watched He Man and won the game-winning touchdown and when I kissed Sadie Mullens on prom night and when the Ghostbusters were all men and there was real hair on my head
Sadie was a bad bitch tho 💯
You too? Sadie Mullins was gettin it.
I remember being a caveman 12 years BC and asking myself a question: "does vintage pedals sound better?"
If you were a cave man 12 years before Christ you obviously have an aversion to new technology.
Brothers in Arms is top 10 of all times. The title track especially. Everything about it is amazing. There is a live video of Mark Knopfler playing the song that may be the single greatest guitar tone of all times.
Echo that. When I was a crazy audiophile chasing hi-end cables the way I'm chasing pedals, this was my go to vinyl. The clarity and separation of the instruments was pure sonic punctuation. It was during this era when upchucking big bucks on thick vinyl blessed by the Pope, but this project blew them away.
@@jimtarantino4515 the album was famous for being one of the first d/d/d recordings. WHY would you use this as reference vinyl? -also you don't get the AMAZING intro to "latest Trick" on the vinyl the say you do on the CD or the tape. -ask me why I know this.
@@fhqwhgads1670 Wasn't the only one, we also used Ry Cooder's Jazz.
I have an Ibanez Flanger that I bought in 1982 (I think it’s called the FL9) and I love that thing. I was really REALLY into The Police and it was that ‘Bring On The Night’ and ‘Message In A Bottle’ tone that I was going for and this pedal is great for that.
Thanks for enlightening the community a bit on this one. The reason these things are "holy grails" is because people tend to introduce religion when they don't understand how something works. If you put components with the same values together in the same order, you get the same circuit... period. Even if you make minor changes, you STILL get the same sound. It's just amazing that how much you can alter your perception of a tone just based on your own personal bias. I just shake my head when people who don't understand why a battery has two terminals tries to explain how the vintage components "charge up differently."