What REALLY makes a GUITAR sound great! (a step by step tutorial)
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 16 ก.ค. 2024
- Tonewood? Pick-ups? Construction? What make s metal guitar sound great?
Today German metal producer Kristian Kohle travels to Berlin to the headquarters of @HapasGuitars to find the ultimate metal axe for lower tunings!
Watch every step of the journey!
Check out Hapas guitars here:
➡️hapasguitars.com/
Check out my academy Kohle Audio Kult:
➡️www.kohleaudiokult.com
If you like my guitar and bass tones, try one of my IR packs:
GUITAR:➡️bit.ly/3qTmGDX
BASS: ➡️tinyurl.com/24abjk73
Or check out the GRINDSTEIN plugin here:
➡️bit.ly/38Yeomu
(affiliate link)
#metalguitar #customshop #guitaramp
00:00 Intro
01:11 Shape and Thickness
03:16 Bridge
03:49 The Scale
05:05 The Wood
10:15 The Finish
12:50 Maple Tops
15:08 The Neck
17:58 Neck construction
21:06 The Fretboard
23:16 Pickguards
26:36 Pick-Ups
33:16 The Final chapter!
So let's be honest! 😎
Who has learned something about metal guitars from watching this video?
Let me know!
Oh man, I learned a lot! I also learned a lot using the Grindstein and the drum samples! It's quite easy to make everything sound cool in solo, and then the mix sound bad. The IR's are also very cool, and helps to have a reference, if you want to mic your own amp.
Are you inside the Kult as well?
@@KohleAudioKult No, not yet, but already in my plans over here!
Learned a shit ton of things , some unexpected , some completly going against the main beliefs of what sounds better . I'm about to get a 30inch scale schecter and couldn't decide between the 6 and the 9 strings models , and now i know which one i'll get .
No matter which brand I always found the 6 strings baritones to sound alot tighter and more agressive than the dark/muddy 8's and 9's and i couldn't quite figure out if it was because of the pickup or construction difference or both .
Also since local shops rarely ever carry baritone guitars it's only through videos of guys comparing one brand of guitar against an other we can make an opinion that is rarely accurate , but now that video was real serious usefull info, many thanks .
11:40 I learned that I need soylent green coloured guitar
I love how they are totally openly giving up on the tonewood wars and mentioning really the important facts not some mojo BS. Kudos for Hapas.
Gotta lot of respect for these guys at Hapas. Very honest over many of the myths about build materials
Absoulutely! I find it fucking irritating when luthiers try to snitch any kind of irrational superstition in a world that’s just basic physics…
@@TimmyScandi agree! Paul Reed Smith is one of the biggest culprits. Excellent, beautiful guitars. But that tonewood BS...
It's something that's been debunked years ago. But like many debunked nonsensical things, sovereign citizens & flat-earthers still exist somehow.
Yeah like proof the wood eq is ever present in the sound through the jack by a spectral analyzer. And hapas says the ash coupled with a thinner body and a bolt on neck has more attack and they are correct. So how is this proof "irritating irrational superstition" ? As it truly is just standard basic physics. Or is it the quite aggressive cover up of making the connection of science and god? Or great sounding guitars and crap ones with digital ear buds and computer amplification disposable software and lacking of a hard copy because it all sounds the same and doesn't matter because not anything matters in any day and age as it is called that they ruined my mind to resist the truth?.@@TimmyScandi Have you ever seen the video of that one guy. And he states " emotion doesn't exist and that it is an illusion", he went to plaid man. It does exist, so why are emotional guitar parts 'not there' on famous songs. When you can plainly, clearly hear all of the character when played by the legendary musician or player themself in person. All of the control and playing ability controlling the sound constantly. How can they control all of that sound when it is all plug in with electricity? Easy, you do not understand pickup electronics. Where are the chips? actives maybe, where are the chips in the electronical device that are the 'pickups' , they are actually transducers. They are microphones. The same magnetic coil technology in microphones are the same magnetic coil technology in passive pickups. There is understanding rule number one. O.k. ? Draw your own conclusions. Let go of the biased opinion to the knowledge of science and god co existing. Or coalesce.
What was debunked? The irrational belief that because you don't hear it, it is not there?@@JakeStrange66 Do you know why Hapas likes Ash bodies and the minimalistic finishes on their high performing sounding guitars? Yeah.
hapas are the best. the team is super kind. i only had money to buy them pickups from them which are really good. hopefully i'll buy them a guitar cause this is pure art
Dude, I've been setting up and customizing guitars for almost 14 years and the amount of interesting stuff I learned from this video is simply and plainly astonishing. Those guys over at Hapas are geniuses.
Same here! Learned a lot.
Same here I have learned a few things as well
Excellent video! Learned a lot! 👍🏻
Such a great video! So insightful
Thanks for the awesome video so much information. Their guitars are sick and that set pick guard dang! 👍🤘
Great video!!🤘🏽🤘🏽
That was super interesting! Learned a lot as well and these guys seem to know what they're doing :)
Didn't have time to watch the whole thing and I still learned so much about pickups and fretboard woods
Great video!
Thanks for showed us that guys and their craft.
Got a lot of interesting info about downtuned guitars.
very informative and useful video about things that guitarists/or People who interested in Guitars really need to know
Exactly what I needed, thank you guys
Super informative video. Thank you!
I really loved the end more than I should
pls be more like this
Very interesting and educational. Thank you.
This is fascinating. I love how it’s broken down by section. Great video.
So specific and interesting ! You germans nail it, thanks ! I´ve learned a few things that I never expected like the thing with the thinner bodies or the bolt on necks. That was mythbusting !
Great video, cool dudes! That Sludge with yellow pick guard looks amazing!!!
Awesome vid!
Been thinking about ordering one of these for years. Awesome video man
Can't wait to see (and hear) your guitar when it's done! Their stuff looks sick, I really want one now... I wish I had the money.
The thing I noticed - baritones are still underrated AF.
Everyone talks about 29-string guitars, pickups, wood, neck joint and tuning down as low as earth's core, but literally no one thinks about the scale length - the most important part of the equation.
I'm just waiting when everyone undesrtands the basic fundamentals of a guitar concept - then it's gonna be much easier to see a lot of baritones on a mass market.
I really enjoyed the whole video! They talk like builders to be trusted, already at the top of their trade according from what we could see.
I loved their no-nonsense attitude in their designs, and how they ditched all those myths many guitarists still believe (and sketchy manufacturers sadly still sell to the less experienced).
This is one of the most interesting and informative factory walkthroughs I’ve seen.
Awesome video man. This was great content. I learned a few things about the construction of a guitar. I have never heard of Hapas Guitars before but I love the look of them and now I'm interested in owning one for myself.
Always happy to inspire! Thanks man! 🤘
Man so much to learn here 🤯 These guys know what they are doing!! Hopefully I can own one in the future
This was one of the most informative videos I've seen on building guitars. Thank you, Kohle. This is one of the many reasons, I love your videos.
🤘🤘🤘🤘🤘
Thanks man! Trying hard to be a „no bullshit“ channel!
@@KohleAudioKult you've held true to this since the URM Academy videos. 🤘
I second this. Man what a video and we all buy these guitars from these brands but these guys are so transparent it’s just very cool.
Can't wait to hear your new axe!
Love it!! Hapas makes some great weapons!!
Your channel was randomly suggested to me, but you seem cool so I subscribed. Can't wait to see this guitar fully built!
Welcome! It’s nice here 💪😇
🤘🤘🤘🤘🤘🤘🖤🖤🖤🔥🔥Man, I've been talking to the guys at Hapas. Can't wait to get my freaking hands on one!!!
I own three of their guitars, I just can highly recommend this axes!
Good video!
once you go Hapas, there is no going back. i´ve sold all my other electric guitars, currently own 2 and going for my third this year :D
Very interesting, thanks christian!
Blackened top on flamed ash looks dope AF :D. Perfect balance of looking clean and natural. I dig these kinds of shop tours, especially when the crew is honest enough to stomp down some of the placebo things people obsess over. I'd also recommend the video "Building a Classical Guitar from Scratch" by Rob Scallon where he visits M. E. Brune Guitars, really interesting stuff.
danke, I learned and confirmed some ideas.
I sure did! Looking forward to the follow up vid!!
Me too! Haha 💪
Great pros and cons on neckthrough construction and over all the necks. 🤘🏼
Yeah Kohle, yeah! Endlich ein passiver Pickup. Super interessantes Video!
Jawoll!
I learned a lot in the Jenson and Blackstar videos. This video here coincides with information I already knew but other people said I was wrong. According to the Hapas guys, I was right LOL. Another interesting vid just the same although I didn't really learn anything! I must be fortunate because I've never had the neck twist on any of my neck-thru guitars.
Inlaying the pickguard is a nice touch. Also, awesome that Christopher Heyerdahl makes guitars!
I started this video with the intent of it being background noise, and I haven't missed a beat of it. Outstanding work gents all around.
Great... Now I want a Hapas Guitar 😅This Video was to much fun to geek out on 🍻🤘
Haha! Sorry for that!
I placed an order in early August for my Hapas. I have an Axe Palace Run Siren 727, and I loved it so much I had to order one with my own personal specs.
20:46 That is the best breakdown of neck-through vs. bolt on I have heard. Very helpful. 🖤
"I just chug chug chug... who cares?" 😂
I learned a lot more than I knew!🤘🏼⚡️
Happy to hear that!
At least he said the correct thing at one point "no.. the wood doesn't matter it's just whatever you like the look of"
That was interesting. Great guitars.
Those guys are more on point than a lot of other builders, regarding the tonewood myths and snake oil voodoo. From my my personal experience, i basically can agree to everything they say, and i highly appreciate their Zero-BS-philosophy. "If you don't need it, don't buy it" is as honest as it gets, from someone who could easily talk you into getting pricey upgrades. 10/10 service.
Hi Kristian!! Since you're going to Guitar Summitt, do yourself a favor and visit the Thermion booth, we think you'll love their pedals and amps. Great video!! We can't wait to hear how that new guitar sounds for chugga chugga
Nice video kohle thank for this information now i know to pick a good standart guitar woods and sclae cheers from indonesia❤❤❤
The thing with bolt on necks I think he was trying to get at is that some of the vibrational energy gets reflected back at the strings. Neck thru sounds warmer and deeper because it readily absorbs the vibration of the strings. Bolt on acts almost like a resistor.
I much prefer bolt-on as long as the heel has been sculpted nicely for better access. The block heels on old Telecasters etc are not good.
I love your shirt. Im so glad I saw Dymytry and Hamaton with Protheus, Alan and West in the same year. Kinda sad that Protheus will be leaving after O2 arena, but Im looking forward what will Alan bring to Dymytry and how you will do all of the detailing that you did on their records
Thanks! Very sad to see my buddy West go!
Pretty sure I’m gonna do some cool things with Dymytry though. Stay tuned!
I love my 8-string. I have a Javier Reyes JR-608, and it plays amazingly.
Its mainly for the looks... And we have for the one piece nerds...
That answers all my questions. Thanks!
The woodgrain through the stain is beautiful.
I have a Hapas Siren 727 and it’s my favorite guitar I’ve ever owned.
Great video! I’ve played longer scale 6 string guitars (26.5) for years, until I got a Les Paul last year. Proper setup and feels great in G standard tuning. I use 65 gauge as my low string. :) I barely okay four strings. No need for 7+.
Whoa, that's kinda thin for G. Even with 26.5 scale. I'd use 74 or so, cause otherwise strings feel like spaghetti to me.
I've played metal on a danelectro w/lipstick pickups, a gretch w/filtertron pickups, and a strat w/single coil pickups. You can play metal on anything. It's all on how you set up your amp and pedals.
4:40 I completely agree Robert. Low tuned 30" baritone 6-string guitars sound much more punchy and tight than any 8-string I've tried. They are also much more fun to chug on for some reason 😁
It also comes handy for people like me who can’t handle more than 6! 🤧
@@KohleAudioKult Sechs-y music
I've gone through literally hundreds of guitars over the last few years, buying...selling...trading. Gibson, PRS, Fender, Kiesel, etc etc. And in the end my favorite of them all was a partscaster. A Squier Classic Vibe body with a Fender roasted Maple neck, single Jim Wagner Ironman pickup, Hipshot locking tuners and saddles. And that's it. Nothing special. But the neck was extremely worn-in and feels amazing, the pickup is the best I've heard for any genre, and it's just perfect for me.
I must have one of these Hapas guitars.
😈😈😈
🤘🏽 Chooguh chooguh 🤘🏽
Moin Kohle!
Sehr interessant und ist für mich spannend, weil es eine Gitarrenschmiede aus meiner Ecke ist. Da muss ich definitiv mal hin!
Zum Thema pickups: Check doch mal Häussel aus. Ich baue die inzwischen in alle meine Gitarren ein.
Best video since Jenssen speacker interview... nice
I found flathead screws are the most noticeable difference during a blindfold a/b shootout.
Awesome Kohle.
Hapas are real performance machines, you'll get a lot of sound from them.
i am wish to have an 8 string with Kahler or floyd rose trem. tuned up high and two 6 string pickups angled offset with each other the Leviathan on the bass strings and the alnico on the high strings. And with wenge multilaminate neck with the explorer-ish / firebird-ish like shape. Jet black. Other great guitars include : Hapas, Ran, black machine for raw sound and Daemoness and Guerilla guitars for your painted guitars. And if your into awesome shapes EtherieL and Monson have great designs. Also i am like Balaguer for semi custom. Also check out Deviant, SAW, and wkm custom guitars. And like balaguer halo guitars has a really cool guitar customization tool on their sites.
Du bist der Beste!
Play 8 string usually, though own a baritone, which honestly sounds more hollow than the 8. Both equipped with lundgren M Series pickups. The 8 being 27” the baritone being 28”. And the thing i like about 8s ober baritones is the versatility, of being able to chug, but having the rest of the guitar to play leads and normal chords on. Im probably gonna Stick to mainly 8s though i Will try and give the baritone some more love as Well. Cool vid BTW, only just heard about hapas 2 months ago from a guy the owner knows. Seem really cool, though a but disappointed that you didnt take the iceman type man
Hapas is great. Looking to get a Magician 625. Wonder why they didn't show that body shape? Odd, I think.
great vid🤘 makes since that a few my 7 strings sound i bit more chunky, i have 3 same 7 string guitars 1 made out of mahogany body the other 2 made out of ash
I love that they're not continuing to push the tonewood arguments. Personally, I've found body shape, thickness and scale length to make the biggest difference in my tone.
This was a good video. I'm surprised he only recommended a 28" for going to E; I have a Gretsch Jet that's a 29.75 and it works well for going low (I don't tune down to E though, the lowest I play it is G). More scale length is pretty much always better; that's why in concert halls you always see a concert grand (9 feet) instead of a baby grand (5 feet). You have to find which strings work best for your tuning and yes, longer scale length is harder to play. But in terms of tone and pitch stability, longer is better.
Also, this sort of confirmed my suspicion that neck-through guitars have better sustain and thus are better for leads.
Anyway, these seem like great guitars! I would like to get one some day but I have ordered custom stuff before and it's sort of a drag waiting around for it to get finished (and never getting finished on time).
Nice walkthrough, thanks. Wish all my guitars had 5 piece neck. For now I have none😀
btw recently I asked a luthier to remove all knobs from guitar and install a toggle switch instead. He was very reluctant and tried to talk me out but I insisted and he found a way to do this properly with minimal sound change. If I trusted him in the beginning, the guitar would remain the same. It`s a small thing, though
Just very curious about what you did, since I enjoy designing non-standard circuits (for self-consumption): did you also remove the volume knob and got instead an on-off switch, or perhaps you used a selector with resistors to get different volume levels, or maybe I'm totally mistaken and not getting the point 😂?
@@riangarianga Hey, yes, I removed both tone knob and volume knob. It started with volume knob being too close to picking hand, so at first I I thought to move it instead of tone knob (since I`m not using it and split coils as well). Then i thought I`m tired of that knob since I only use it in either at 0 or max, and they have that fricking tendency to rotate a little, and I may not notice it before recording. And I thought that I want a switch. The luthier took time to think, eventually ordered some Hosco switch, which I can use as kill-switch if I want to. Plus since the tone would inevitably go brighter, he installed resistor with a knob inside the guitar, it`s set on max and I didn`t experiment with it yet. I don`t think I want a darker tone.
I`ll be posting a video for Bogren contest in a few days, in case you wanna see how it looks. Nothing special but so much more comfort for recording and such. I think every heavy rocker basically needs it.
I´ll get a Kayzer for absolutely sure but damn... The tonewood arguments are freakin killing me. I would be so glad if anyone on this planet could provide some proven facts about "punch" and "attack" of glued bodies.. if Rob Scallon can play a god damn shovel, I would simply pic the nicest looking one and not worry for one nano second about woods or "punch" and "attack"..
When he mentioned bout the punchier sound from a low tuned 6 vs 7 or 8. I believe that I noticed when i used my 6-string baritone vs my 7 string I find the baritone is much better sounding than the 7 string. How is tool life cutting roasted Ash vs Non Roasted?
Hapas is definitely a company I’ve been itching to get my hands on, they just seem to get it. That said, please tell me you tried out that Fortin Meshuggah amp!
What a silly question 😇
They also make skateboard ramps out of richlite
Makes sense!
My bumper sticker, "Skateboarding is not a crime"
Never seen so much detailed talk about what and how affects the tone. Only germans could be this direct and open. Never seen an US manufacturer expose this much
Pretty cool, sounds really interesting I am a Kiesel fan but from what I saw these are great guitars as well. I went to their website but there are no images so I dunno what models look like :(
Yo, check out that Dime Washburn headstock on the back wall at 24:00. HAPAS rules for that.🤟
Für tiefergestimmte Sachen, habe ich eine Harley Benton Baritone💪😎
Unschlagbar in Preis/Leistung🤘😎🤘
Wird leider nur selten genutzt, sonst hätte ich mir vielleicht noch eine andere Baritone zugelegt.
Ich dachte ein durchgehender Hals wäre die Beste Option, wieder etwas dazugelernt👍
How is paper glued together with tones of resin fret bourds ?good for the environment
So viel gelernt 🤤😮💨
Quite an informative and useful episode. Playing devils advocate for 8-string guitars however, I wonder if the design and capabilities of active pick-ups like EMG somewhat minimizes the concerns regarding passive pick-up design and characteristics. In addition, is there any information on how the new synthetic fretboard material handles re-fretting procedures? Cheers~
You might be right about active pick-ups. That’s a question for round 2.
The guitar is sick for sure but I absolute need to know what the deal is with that hair-tie around the EQ on the mesa head at the end lol
Man, I have basically the same guitar, same wood, brand, pickup and hardware, and it sounds very different in the room, but in the mix it's hard to tell the difference! I'm all about caveman riffs too, but unfortunately I still think one pickup guitars are kind of weird, will probably get one in the future, but even if I don''t use the neck pickup at all, I still like to have the pickup there, just in case.
I used to use the bridge PU for leads too but now I am all about the neck PU. It's just a lot fuller and less harsh.
Did I miss it or did they discuss why one would or wouldn't choose three-pieces to create the bodies? I'm curious as to why one could choose a 3 piece body guitary unless it was neck-thru. Furthermore, it stands to reason the resonance of vibration throughout the guitar would be imbalanced with more pieces (especially if cut from different trees) as well as plain vs roasted ash. From a purely Physics perspective it seems like a singular piece of roasted ash would be the most resonant with less absorption of the frequencies as it would with the more moist plain ash. Does anyone know what the pros and cons of having a three-piece body?
are they still doing scarf joint necks? if so, why?
I'm really curious why they use scarf joints with their necks and headstocks. When Pawel was saying shorter neck wood is better to prevent warping it made me think they're maybe using the scarf joint to keep the neck material as short as possible to prevent the warping. Just a guess though. A lot of older high end Ibanez necks have the scarf joints but nowadays you see that construction on cheaper and lower end guitars.
My dream job. Building guitars❤
was für Saiten würdet ihr empfehlen bei 27zoll 6 string für drop G?
apparently maple tops (not veneers ) reduce low end frequencies, making a mahogany or similar warm-tonewood bodied guitar sound a bit brighter :)
epic video BTW, loved their philosophy on making their own pickups. Also I gotta try a richlite/SS fretboard...
Alnico 5 its the best one! For all of my chugga i use the seymour duncan sh 15!!!! Its the chugiest one i've ever heard. So go for behemoth
If I could get a 8 strings Id tune it 1 tone down, so it would be a 6 strings tuned in D standard and the 2 lower strings tuned in E and A, one octave lower than the E standard guitar. Their explanation on why lower tunning sound better on 6 strings is reasonable, now I want a baritone guitar. Maybe a bass tuned in BEAD with less strings sound better than a 5 or 6 strings Bass.
Speacker's !
Hapas seems like a great company, no snake oil and mindful of sustainability
What makes a guitar sound great is a great setup. Even a cheapo copy guitar sounds great if its dialed in. A properly cut nut, well leveled and polished frets, and correct intonation. Thats it! Thats the recipe!
Yeah. With more expensive guitars you're basically getting more reliability around the perfect setup.
Your forgetting a more important part which is the pick up, gotta have good pups
@@Hmmm7512 Good pickups are definitely a pluss, but as long as they're at least decent you can dial in some tone with the amp. But if they're muddy then i agree, new pickups become a must.
After discovering the Manson oryx and the genius behind it it's hard for me to appreciate other guitars. Everything on that beast is perfectly designed to deliver the best tones and playability
The Manson Oryx is a masterpiece.
Haps are amazing too, but it feels a little weird to me, that they didn't talk about bridges at all, as that is one of the biggest factors of a guitar's tone.
Manson oryx are nice but nothing compared to hand made Hapas... every guitar is unique pice of art not a mass production ;-) ...
Personally, I'd just stick with an 8 string. It might not be able to chug quite like a 6 or 7 string but you just can't beat the benefit of extra range and the chances of being able to tune a string down an octave will usually be much easier on an 8 rather than a 6 (in my opinion). I've got a schecter silver mountain 8 multiscale, it's probably my favorite guitar next to a super cheap 6 string harley benton I upgraded.