Things Guitar Snobs Get Wrong | Real Guitar Talk
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 9 ก.พ. 2025
- #realguitartalk
You know all those insufferable guitar gear snobs who nitpick everything and put down your gear because it isn't up to their standards? Well, here are a few reasons why you can completely ignore them.
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If your guitar stays in tune and you like the feel and sound, nothing else matters. It certainly doesn’t have to be expensive or rare.
I had a Les Paul once and didn't like the way it balanced. Got a cheap Fender and all was good.
just like Metallica said, "Nothing else matterrrrrrs"
Exactly. I have a few guitars ranging in price from $300 to $3,600. My favorite is the $300 Yamaha.
@clayton56tube That's surprising. Was it because of the weight?
You know, I've noticed that certain guitars of mine are much less likely to drift out of tune with certain strings. Heavier gauges/new strings tend to drift quite a bit more. So yes, it might be the guitar, or it might just be that the guitarist doesn't know how to set up a guitar.
I’d tell them when they start paying my bills, then they can have an opinion on my gear.
Most of them can’t play anyway. Gigged an Epi for 30 years, and still do at 66.
I don’t think guitar snobs exist in the real world. It’s an internet thing. In the real world, there’s more important issues in the music industry
Gear snobs do exist... as someone who works part-time at a music store, I can promise you they do. They have a special kind of brain rot and suck a listening to suggestions.
The worst part about my guitars are my shitty playing. 😂
Hahaha!! Right on bro. We are all learning and trying to get better. I play a Fender Player strat and it sounds good enough to me
@@claus4133 I'm actually GASing for one, tbh Played one at GC recently through an AC15 and was pleasantly surprised
I definitely have more guitars than talent, but I love the way they look on the wall !
My mother thinks I have 10 guitars, but I actually have 19 😄 , some are hidden because she complains she can't walk through the room... There's always some space for one more guitar, ah, ah
I actually feel bad for my guitars. They deserve an owner/player much better than me.
Played in a sucessful local band for a few years. I played an Epi LP and a bugerra V-22. Great rig, and inexpensive. My kids actually gave me the Epi for Father’s Day in ‘94.
The bassist was one of those ‘if I spend more money I’ll be better’ guys, and pretty mouthy about it.
“Why don’t you buy a Gibson like me?”
“Because I have three kids and I really don’t need one”.
“It will make you better”
“Don’t need one, and besides, I have something you don’t have”
“What?”
“Talent”
Told him I’d rather hear a good player on an inexpensive guitar than a bad player on an expensive guitar.
Thought I was going to get in a fistfight lol
I finally bought my first Gibson at age 65. It’s a very nice studio. Still have the epi, and still gig it.
Been there. In my 66 year of life I finally learned to discern the Narcissistic musician and I just walk away.
Hi,
absolutely love my V22 Head. Unlike my DSL20HR (currently away for repair again) it’s not let me down in four years and sounds (to my ears anyway) absolutely fantastic.
@ I have the combo. It’s been going strong for 10 years! I replaced the tubes with Mesa tubes about 8 years ago though. Great amp!
Ending about a decade ago, I played a lot of local and regional gigs in an all original band.
One night, we had a gig in a small town as the opening act for a band from that town.
The place was a standard small town bar, but with a bit more capacity, so it could hold about 300 people.
We got there and started unloading our van, and one of the guys who worked the bar offered to help. As we loaded in, he told us we were in for a good night since the headliner always drew a big crowd, and they were an excellent band.
"They're like the Nickelback of our town. They're gonna be huge."
I had never heard a minute of that band, but for the moment, I took the guy at his word.
Long story short, this band pulled up with a 20-foot Uhaul filled to the door with equipment, like way more than the gig needed. It was all very high-end, including all of the instruments. They were even dressed like rockstars. Quite a bit of Affliction and Wornstar on display lol
Almost immediately upon seeing all of this, I poked our bass player and said, "Ten bucks says this band is awful."
They were awful, despite the Private Stock PRS's, the Mesa amps, the Warwick bass with Hartke head and cab, and one of the largest Ludwig drum kits I have ever seen.
They were also really shitty towards us, which is nothing new when you encounter and play with a lot of bands. Some people are nice and others are not.
Anyway, the deal we struck allowed us to use their cabinets and drums and use our own heads and cymbals/pedals/snare etc.
We played our best song at sound check and the singer of that other band immediately said we now had to use our own backline. He could tell we were going to be impossible to follow. Their backline did sound amazing.
Anyway, I just laughed and said our backline was 100 miles away in our rehearsal space, and we'd be fine to get paid and head out if he was serious.
Him and his entire band were fuming, but they really couldn't stop us from using their stuff without messing up the gig.
Thankfully they were not running the sound, as I have seen other bands like that purposely mix the sound to be awful to sabotage the opener.
We played an extra aggressive set with a few more of our more technical songs just to stick it to them. We rehearsed nonstop back then, and we were incredibly solid as a band.
Anyway, they took the stage with all of their expensive stuff and they could barely play😅
I wasn't surprised but looking around the bar you could see many faces coming to the realization that their hometown band wasn't really very good at all.
The gear doesn't matter, in other words.
Those were some fun times back then.
@@peachmelba1000 That’s not uncommon unfortunately… The music scene has always included a disproportionate number of narcissists, because performing on stage is a good way to be noticed….
I have had this very same thing happen to me. playing in Columbia, SC. Man did I love it lmao
Mesa amps and PRS guitars? Guarantee the player sucks. A true rich boy combination.
Cool story bro. Iv.met a lot of.big bands. Never met a bad person in any of them...
WTH is a backline?
Basically guitar snobs are just another form of a bully, looking to put others down, react to them and you just feed them.
If your gear makes you wanna play that is the only thing that is important, dosn't matter if it cost pence or thousands of pounds, play what makes you happy or what you can afford and don't worry what others are playing.
Well isn't this the Age of Trump? The top bully.
@@samstewart9249 Absolute non sequitur.
@@samstewart9249 Some would say Trump Bullies the Bullies, but lets please keep politics out of a discussion on guitar gear.
Hi Paul,
I can only agree with your comments. Very true indeed. If your instrument is good enough to make you feel like you can’t put it down, it’s likely the right one for you.
A guitar is nothing but a "tool" to make music.
Bingo!
And I bet if you blindfolded 100,000 people, maybe 2-3 could tell the difference between an Epi LP and a Gibson LP when they heard it.
“I’d rather hear a good player on an inexpensive guitar, than a bad player on an expensive guitar”
This. And no shade to the collectors, but far too many people worry about whether their guitar will be a collector’s piece in years to come. Collectors obsess over every minute detail. They will spend thousands more for a factory relic guitar and thumb their nose at the slightest blemish on a regular guitar. It’s so strange to me.
And a rose is a rose.
I disagree, it's a magnet also. I know I sure was attracted to Lita! It was pure magnetic attraction.
My thoughts exactly
So many tactical truth bombs I had to watch this twice. I'm glad there's an awakening and common sense is prevailing over antiquated mindsets.
I really enjoyed this video and pretty much agree across the board. I own a fairly exclusive R9 and it is by far the best guitar I have ever played. In fact I don’t really think I do it justice. However, it was made in 2013! It is not even close to vintage in age or price. I would suggest that people should play (any) guitar that they like and suits them, including their budget. Regarding relicing: I enjoy relic guitars. However, it has absolutely nothing to do with being cool on stage etc. I like them because I do not worry about every scratch, road ding, or otherwise. They often do feel somewhat “ played in” as well. Guitar snobs are irritating to me, and I ignore them! I enjoy people who do not have heavy egos. We all play the best we can (?) and music to me is for fun, enjoyment, and creativity. I absolutely refuse to make music a competition. EVER. Just go, have fun, and enjoy the journey. Thanks again.
"Plug into the damn amplifier and trust YOU are the sound". Carlos Santana
Thanks for this video. All your comments were spot on!
I’ve owned several real vintage amps Fenders, Marshalls, Parks, holy grail pedals, and guitars from the 50s & 60s. The new reissues come close enough and often times sound better. Just because it’s vintage doesn’t mean it’s good. It goes for guitars, pedal, and amps. Just play and enjoy it
My opinion, buying a vintage guitar is the same as buying a relic guitar. For the people who say relic are for posers. Did you wear down that vintage guitar? If not, you’re the same. Again I’ve owned both, more often than not, the newer relics play better, that includes a RI 59 LP special vs my 59 that I sold or a 62 Strat I got rid of vs my partscaster
It`s true, that just because it`s vintage doesn`t mean it`s good, BUT no Fender reissue amp can touch the vintage BF and SF amps.
Don`t ask me what it is, but there is something magical about those amps. Just got an all original 1977 VR and am now selling my 64 DR reissue and my 68 Custom VR.
@@modestoney1577 if you change the lamps, it's not 100% original anymore.
@@modestoney1577 try using the RI with the vintages speakers..........you're mind might be blown.
@@popeye089 Of course I already tried that - and the vintage amp with the modern speakers still sounded way better than the other way around. I agree that speakers are a part of it, but that`s not the whole story
I think your analysis is spot on on.I do my own work repair on my guitars,part of the fun is buying a rat rod of guitar at a pawnshop,doing some or thrift store doing a little work to it seeing and hearing the transformation is inspiring.
I used to have this Les Paul, and I wish that I still did. Over the time I had it I let several friends use it as a back up and they all loved it and thought it was a real Gibson... because I had put a skull & crossbones stick on the head stock, obscuring the brand name. Which was Hondo.
Played like a dream.
I really enjoy Jack’s thoughtful and articulate way of discussing instruments and the music community (and he is a smoking good guitar player which really makes me happy). I always take the comments I hear about guitars from people around me with curiosity. Its no different than comments that people make about their homes, their cars, their bank accounts, their experiences, or anything else that people talk about. I think more about “why” the comment evolves. Is it driven by technical knowledge or lack therof, the desire to share an experience or help someone learn, happiness, greed, insecurity, or some combination of a few things? Its all interesting to me. I look at conversations like a theater production. Some are great, some are OK, some are boring, and some suck. But its alway fun for me to watch, listen and learn or simply be entertained.
I am a guitar snob but I keep my opinions to myself but never brag about what I have or talk down to others who have guitars I don’t care for. But I am not a booteek freak, I love old 90’s American Standard Fenders more than any $5000 and up Fender copy. But to each his own. Thats why they make so many different kinds of guitars at multiple price levels. Live and let live and enjoy. Life is too short for bs.
💯
So how does that make you a snob? You dont sound like one to me. 👍
I started on guitar in ‘70. We were playing vintage guitars and we didn’t even know it.
I played the bar circuit for years. I was always worried about dinging my beautiful PRS. I bought a relic'd Strat and it was such a relief. Never worried about a scratch or ding again!
We'll know the end is nigh when PRS starts making 'relic-ed' guitars!
@LXS-ud6yf Ha! Truth!
Tone wood? Acoustics, yes. Electric, not so much.
Finishes? Acoustic, yes. Electric, not so much.
So much of tone is in the players hands. As they say, "It's not the car, it's the driver".
P.S. The Olympic White 1968 Stratocaster that Hendrix named Izabella, was nitro laquer. There is a pile of info on this guitar.
the first Taylor was made out of 2x4's, sounded great
There's a real difference between what's important to a collector and a player.
Sir, I really like this comment because I started as a collector... who could not play any of my collection at first... to even know if they were any good.
Thanks Jack. I feel that your "bond" or when you "bond" to any guitar regardless of its brand, age, price, etc., is more important than almost anything. It also encourages you to pick it up to play more as well as inspire your playing. I also firmly believe that as any guitar gets "played-in" over time it seems to improve, as you alluded to why Clapton looked at that as an attribute. It was likely played a lot more for a reason, right? If you own a Strat, Tele, and SG or LP that meets the "bond" requirement you have the trifecta from heaven. Add to that any P90 guitar that fits that bill, and you can cover any sound/situation. If you only love one type of guitar/pickup combination, that's OK too because modern tools can make almost any guitar sound like one of the other types.
Glad you made this video Jack-
About 3 years ago i played a couple of 59 les pauls,one is on YT onThomas Blugs channel.
That one sounded amazing
The other which was much more beautiful and sought after was .....nothing special
I play a bitsa guitar with a cheap(ish ) neck but that neck is excellent.
Everything is in the hands focus only only practicing then show up the idiot who cork sniffs your gear
The worst guitar snobs are those who are theory and sheet-reading snobs. They get so frustrated that they spent 5000 hours studying theory and sheet-reading, while the rest of us can do everything they do and write better songs, all without the useless years in music school. My friend had a degree in music and guitar, and when I asked him if I should learn all of that stuff - his reply: FUCK NO!
I record a lot of my own music at home. The best guitar is the one that helps me create a part that sounds good in the song. I've found it's wise to switch guitars when struggling to create a good part, or something is tough to play. Sometimes an expensive guitar works the best. Sometimes a cheap guitar is best. The song doesn't discriminate rich or poor. When you play all the parts yourself, you are just happy to find something that works.
Each piece of wood is totally different. In 1987 I played more than a dozen American Strats in a music store. I picked the best one. The store tried to give me a guitar in a box that had the same finish, supposedly the same guitar. I opted for the one I played. I’m still playing that guitar 38 years later. Play a bunch of the same piece of wood before making a decision on a new guitar.
In 1974 I worked on a Seismograph crew to be able to afford a $250 used Fender Mustang. I bought it, but just thought it/I wasn't cool enough, and asked for a Strat for my HS Graduation. I have lots of guitars, played since that time and guess what? I am back to playing a Mustang. All the strats, les pauls, flying Vs- you name it. I'm back to square one and most importantly? Satisfied.
I've been playing more and more musicals of late. No one in the pit cares what your equipment looks like or if it's made in the USA or across the pond somewhere. The groups I've played with are just glad to have a guitar player who can read music and are all very supportive of my contribution to the end product. I typically use a Tele, an Epi semi hollow, a Martin D10e and when needed a Tak 12-string, and have had need of a nylon from time to time. The most expensive guitar I have purchased is the Tele purchased from a collector. Great guitar. Great vid kiddo!
I had a dude in my own rehearsal space in my house, start to pick up my Strat from the wall hook, and actually said, Yuck! Made in Mexico!" and put it back. That guitar is a 1998 Strat I bought new without even plugging it in, because after trying dozens of different guitars, it felt awesome when I picked it up. I replaced the pups with Seymour Duncans, got a Floyd Rose installed, locking nut, etc. It has been my work horse and incredibly versatile guitar ever since. I still love it. The dude? He was a friend of a friend, and I never saw him again!
I love this, my 96 Mexican Fender Strat always seems to outplay much more expensive ones constantly! Even I couldn't believe that at first.
These aren't cellos or grand pianos. As long as the CNCing feels as great to play as other CNC guitars, that's what matters.
You’ve talked about it before…. I think the “affordable “ or “ Just as good as” guys are way more snobby than average people with decent stuff.
I do agree with that. It’s the same insecurity but from the other side of the situation.
I’m going to get that Tonemaster Bassman I think.
Guitar snobs are the ones who spent a lot so they try to convince themselves and whoever is foolish enough that expensive means better. It used to be so but not anymore with technology advances.
The set up of the guitar is most important. Nice fret, accurate neck with low action, reliable wiring, nut and bridge that let the strings free and efficient tuning pegs so your guitar stays in tune. A set of new strings before they're too worn-out.
The tone is in your fingers and in your control knobs on your guitar and AMPLIFIER...
I would also like to add that the labor cost is not the same in the USA, Japan, China, Mexico...
So if you can afford to buy a made in USA good for you and the economy but if you don't have the budget, America won't go bankrupt because you bought a Made in Taiwan...
LOL I like the spelling toan. Play what inspires u! I am a total sucker for a cheap guitar, if u got the $ for something expensive... well congratulations!
U talked about toan woods, maybe a discussion on how the wiring, impedance, pot value etc. Affect the sound/toan.
Toan😂
I totally agree with your comment. It’s like they constantly need you to know that they’re superior because they’re playing some $300 Harley Benton they got off of Amazon.
The only insufferable gear snobs who nitpick everything and put down my gear I know are one's who are into budget gear that's "just as good" as the expensive name brand stuff. They are so much smarter and better at life because they got something at a fraction of the cost, and they are extremely loud about letting everyone know. The professionals I see with the most expensive gear don't seem to care generally and aren't involved in this argument.
It’s bad on that side too. Why can’t people just enjoy each other’s company and just jam?
@@pmscalisi because we all know deep down that its the friction that brings us closer together, not everything being great happy fun-time jams all the time.
True story!
A lot of people “hear with their eyes.” They see a certain instrument and automatically hear what they THINK it should sound like. A popular TH-camr recently explained how Gilmore’s solo on another brick in the wall was done on a Les Paul with P90s, when most people (including myself) thought it was a strat. So what does that say about us musicians? That our ears aren’t nearly as good as we think when it comes to identifying certain tones and sounds.
I was surprised to find out that Stairway to Heaven was recorded with a Telecaster, and a pink or purple one at that.
@@clayton56tubeyep, I began with LP style guitars and Marshalls because I wanted Jimmy's sound. Now I've got an LTD Tele in addition to the LP style guitars... crazy how we hear with our eyes
Agreed on all counts Jack! I am a touring player and use a variety of "good" and "ok" guitars where my main guitar used these days is my first "good": A Mansfield Les Paul copy from the mid 70's. It really gets the job done AND it is the guitar that took me from being a beginner to all those years later where teaching and playing is my livelihood. To me a guitar is a guitar.As long as it feels good and sounds good in my hands, that's all I can ask of it :) Thanks and take care.
Great points. I recently got a modern Gretsch guitar. They come with vintage-style screw-on strap retainers that look nice but in use are absolute garbage. I'm still deciding whether that guitar is a keeper. If I decide it is, one of the first things I'll do is replace those with normal strap buttons.
Get a strap lock that will save your sanity. I like schallers but the dunlops are ok too. Never drop a guitar again, safe and sound and secure. AHHH
I always tell the guitar snobs that everyone knows that's where the tone really comes from, those strap buttons!
At this point of my life, I have to enjoy the guitars that I can afford. I have no time for guitar snobs and could care less what they think. Thanks for another great video
Amen!
I bought a medium level Yamaha Revstar a couple of years ago. I don't need and I don't deserver a Gibson Gold Top. It isn't made in America, it's made in Indonesia and it sounds fantastic. At least to me and that is all that has to do. Also, there's heaps of guitars that are even cheaper than that, that I would consider fantastic guitars.
The Standard Revstars are amazing. No doubt about it.
Same here 😂
I picked one up with a bigsby for 350. No regrets here for sure. Sitting next to me now.
The revstars are nice.
I have $200 Chinese ES-335 style guitar. It was just ok as-bought, but over time I fixed the setup, filed the sharp fret ends, polished the frets, cleaned the pots, and tried different strings until I found a set that woke up its tone. Now it's really fun and rewarding to play and was my #1 for many gigs. If the neck wasn't too narrow, I'd keep going with upgrading the pickups, electronics, etc. but since that can't be fixed, I'll put my efforts into improving my other guitars.
This spoke to me as a player. I bought an all black with maple fretboard Strat from 1979, I remember the guy at the guitar shop kept calling it “The Edge” guitar, cuz it looked just like one he played in U2. I always wanted a vintage fender with the big headstock, and this was before Fender started putting the large headstock on a bunch of guitars, you basically had to get a CBS era one. I love the guitar, been playing it for 20 years. But I did have to take a bunch of the lacquer off the fret board. It was so thick , they really applied a thick coat on mine back in ‘79. I’ve heard every jack ass remark about how my fender is “less than” because it’s CBS era. Idk, I just like the really chunky U shaped neck, and I switched out the pickups, so I got the sound I wanted. But to this day, I hear comments all the time about “yeah it’s vintage, but it was when company’s were building cheap junk” in the 70s. Never cared , it plays amazing and I’ve gotten positive feedback about the sound when onstage. I have other hobbies (knife collecting) and the steel snobs are almost as bad as the tone snobs. lol great advice here, plus you got the chops to back it all up. Cheers Jack!
Awesome video have a great day Jack also happy new year from Canada and also I enjoy the real guitar talk videos ❤😊
Nicely put and very accurate,
A couple of things you didn’t touch on, one thing that influences both guitar players and guitar collectors ( and guitar players who are collectors ) is the type of guitar that is being used by whoever that person looks up to, or nostalgia wise who was playing what in their formative years….
The other thing worth mentioning is
Back in the 50’s 60’s and 70’s in order to get a good guitar the choices were limited, Fender, Gibson were the obvious choices, with the advent of cnc machines and other manufacturing techniques you can now buy well made guitars for much much less than fender or Gibson or PRS or whatever and you have the option of upgrading the parts that might not be as good as the more expensive cousins and still come out with a great sounding guitar for far less money, but all this and all that you said only applies if you’re a player and not a collector……
Nice video. I'll go one step further and say that the wood in your guitar wasn't even "breathing" when it was "alive". Xylem tissue is dead.
I have never heard anyone make fun of others equipment.
I get some now and then.
For playing Marshall bass amps and I have a Gibson les paul bass that gets dunked on.
But in the end my tone can give inanimate objects stank face.
Not to their face maybe but it happens
I have had people look down on my DIY drive/boost/eq pedals, that are mostly unfinished boxes and thus rather recognizable between some major brand pedals on my board. But when the playing starts, that sense of doubt or superiority quickly fades. It's not the price (or the looks) of a pedal that makes the tone, it is the components inside that do. Add to that my years of playing and their obvious doubts, often lead to investigations about my 'magic boxes'. 😎
Humans find a lot of reasons to put each other down.
It's usually the guy with the lesser equipment that make fun of you paying for premium gear. It just doesn't make sense
I have guitars throughout the price range from 250 to 3k. When I was guiding, I made the same amount of money with each guitar. IMHO, guitar snobs are the ones in the audience and we are the ones gigging.
If you put bonamassa on a well set up squire, he’d still sound like bonamassa.
If you put me on bonamassa 59 LP, I’d still sound like me.
Or, maybe they not as good of players as they could be....especially on everyday budget end guitars that can play well, too.
Great point Great video, i have different guitars for different reasons and i enjoy all of them.
It's all about having fun! Find the gear that you can afford, play it and that's it!
99% of musicians can't afford a really high end instrument or high end pedals..
It took me years to find the right gear for me and i don't even gig with it!
I just play for myself and i'm having the time of my life doing so..
Enjoy your gear, and rock on!
People don't talk enough about the guitar cable, now there's something that can make a big difference in tone
Another point perhaps is that anytime I have heard live bands. It is really hard to tell whether it’s a Tele, Strat, Les Paul, 335… in the mix. Especially through high gain amps. When touring, I think we have all heard bands with their FOH personal mixers who probably should have stayed home and let the in-house sound experts do the mix. Just my personal opinion after a lifetime of concerts and clubs. I have been so disappointed in the sound mix at live performances that I now opt to stay home. Just my personal opinion. Respect to all. Happy new year everyone.
I believe in our current era that most of the players in Nashville AND the "influencers" online all sound the same because they're pretty much all playing a clean Fender amp and using boutique pedals that are basically all just a variation of a TS9, Klon, or Bluesbreaker. If you watch Carter Vintage videos they'll be like "oh watch this dude play a super expensive guitar and see how awesome it sounds" but then basically if you close your eyes it doesn't matter who the actual player is they are pretty much all gonna sound exactly the same. For the most part anyway. I've started just plugging straight in again and turning up my tube amps and people that watch my channel tell me they love my tone and ask me how I get it all the time. Then I say "I plug a cable from my guitar to my amp" and it's like I'm Einstein. LOL! Never forget that the vast majority of guys on youtube are all trying to sell stuff and they're all using post production stuff on their videos. I feel like this is deceptive, even if not intentionally, to the uninitiated. I know I fell for the whole "if you have a VINTAGE TS9, and a VINTAGE, BEAT UP, Strat, and a VINTAGE Fender amp you'll sound EXACTLY like SRV" when I was a kid. I soon found out that wasn't true and thought it was somehow my fault. Then I realized there was one SRV. I wish more kids and players in general would realize this principal a lot sooner than they do.
Good take on the custom shop naming. I know brands do things like made to measure but to me custom means specific to one’s criteria and should be named as such
For years I played in an acoustic duo and my oldest friend and bandmate played a Samick Greg Bennett ($200) and I played a Gibson($2000). He is the better lead player and I am the better singer. I never gave his guitar a second thought, other than it looked and sounded good. His playing is also very good. I didn’t care what he played. None of my business. Moral of the story, play and enjoy. That’s all that matters.
Skills >> gear, all day, everyday, and twice on Sundays.
I’d say it’s a little bit silly to try to make yourself feel better about your playing by running someone else down. Kind of a problem here in the dear old USA these days. Having the money to buy a Gibson doesn’t make you a better player. That’s called practice. Go out join a band and work on your chops. It’s hard to be a guitar snob when you go out to a club and see a kid playing a $200 guitar through a $500 amp and he kills. I don’t think I’ve ever heard an audience member saying wow look at that shitty gear. He must not be very good. The audience doesn’t give two 2 sloppy shits what gear you play, they care how you play it.
Thank you for the great video! I am not a professional player, but I do get up on stage and play with friends on occasion. I often get comments on how good my guitar sounds. It is an early 2000 Hamer Slammer.
I remember drooling and dreaming about owning one of those when they came out in late 90's. Back then they were best bang for the buck in guitar shops.
I absolutely agree.
I’m an acoustic guitarist. I’ve been in situations where you could tell someone with a Martin D28 Herringbone thought less of a D18 or someone’s other brand guitar was inferior.
I’ve played vintage Martin’s that actually sounded bad but the owner thought they had a special guitar.
And I’ve seen and heard players that thought they were better than average musicians because they owed a high end instrument.
Make music with what you can afford.
My opinion on guitar is buy one that is not going to hinder your playing. In other words, it must be made well enough to allow you to play at your highest level. That goes for all musical instruments. My first guitar when I was a kid was a pile of junk which stunted my playing growth. My guitar teacher took it and tried to set it up as best he could. He let me play his Gibson 335, it was like night and day compared to mine. Oh man the tone his had. Mine sounded like a dead washcloth. lol This was in 1969. In those days cheap guitars were junk and you just about had to go to a brand name to get anything that was professional quality. Now days you can get some really great playing guitars for under $500.
Agree, a lot of the ol', timers say this too, nowadays.
Great content! About finish: it is all about resonating. Synthetic finish applied thin with a higher ratio of hardener is very resonant (learned that from a discussion w/ Paul Reed Smith himself). Nitro has the added benefit of the finish losing mass more drastically (the breakdown of cellulose), shrinking over time and having the ability of a new coat melt into an old one. Synthetics 'de-plasticize', but not to the extent or speed of Nitro.
Great vid, I just subscribed. Used to be brand snobby with Gibsons, Fenders, Gretsches. Twenty years on and now I’m having just as much fun with Squiers, parts Teles, and a new SE PRS. My playing still stinks and my military-impaired ears can’t tell much difference between the expensive stuff and the cheaper stuff anyway.
I have a LP i bought new in 2017. Got a deal. 900 bucks. Apparently it sells for 4,000 now. I have a bunch of other guitars, but my favorite and probably the best sounding as well as playing is a 289 dollar SSH strat knockoff I bought on ebay. Fantastic guitar. Didnt even have to change the electrilonics. Fit and finish was perfect. One of the best I've ever played.
Enjoyed the video. Great perspective.
First time seeing you or one of your videos. I agree with everything you said.
I was the victim of a guitar snob when I was at a low point in my life and needed friends. Sad I know. This guy made me tell his group of friends what I had ("Hey, tell them about your rig!"), then mocked my gear, convinced me to trade it in for something that didn't work for me and I hated. I know, I was gullible. I ended up selling that amp, buying what I wanted, and sounded better. Listen to your ears, not anyone else, ESPECIALLY a guitar store salesman.
If you are having fun playing music, You're doing it right.
Good points, full disclaimer, I’m a guitar snob.
I like certain things of a certain quality and generally wont play anything below that level.
This said, the one thing I wouldn’t do is “put down” a player because of what they use, I would give the benefit of my years of buying experience and the mistakes I’ve made along the way in order to save them money and not repeat my errors
For our 10-year wedding anniversary, my wife bought me a Slick sl56. It was around $350 shipped with a hard case.
I love it. It's purple automotive paint over top of sanded ash (I think) is a jazzmaster shape with a p90 in the neck and a tele in the bridge. It is a chaotic, ridiculous and fantastic guitar.
Friends are well polished. The front edges are smooth. Only thing that needed done was the action need to load which is not uncommon of guitars in general.
I play it everyday. Why? In part because my wife bought it for me, it was definitely a bias there because that's just an exciting thing and it makes me incredibly happy. But it's also objectively a really good instrument that covers a lot of ground with its very interesting decisions in pickups.
I was never in a position to even consider vintage or very expensive instruments, save one time, when I landed a gig in a professionally working band and they fronted the expense for my dream gear. (which at the time came down to a PRS Custom 24, a Mesa Boogie Caliber 50, a small head rack with two effects units, decent accessories etc.)
But today .... come on: You can get really decent and even absolutely fine instruments at a fraction of the cost of vintage instruments or cost of the known brands and models. And they play and sound in many cases on par, if not even better. In fact, there's another channel I follow, where a professor for electronics talks about the physics of the electric guitar, which he has been meticulously studying and exploring for the past 30 years. Long story short: He debunked pretty much _all the myths_ that have been floating around in special interest publications, on TH-cam, in shops or elsewhere among the so-called experts, be it on matters of "tone woods", pickups, amps. On the other hand, he demonstrated how big an impact the internal wiring of the electronics of the guitar have and what kind of length and signal reducing factors are at play (corrosion being one, for example).
For me, it was always about how well the guitar played (first) and whether or not it would offer me a way to emulate the sounds I had heard from my idols (or come close at least). Looks mattered, too, but not much. I've owned copies for the bulk of my 40 years of playing, except for that PRS and a Les Paul Custom once. And those copies played fine, sounded great and were very dependable too, be it on the LP side of things or in the Fender "camp". RIght now I only own two axes, a semi acoustic (Greg Bennett Royale RL 3) and a Squier Deluxe, slightly upgraded. I love them both and they sound and play phenomenally!
I've always found the snobism about these issues to be exactly what it is: Being a snob. It's the same kind of overcompensation as it is with expensive watches, big cars and whatnot. In reality, those who know how to play will sound decent enough on any guitar. And those who can't, won't tire shelling out forever, which is what this collectors' scene is about as well. In my world, there's only room for music and decency. The rest they can settle among themselves.
Literally watching Fellowship right now with my son and you casually hit the Strider reference 😂 spot on man
One does not simply walk into Guitar Center…
You are 100% bang on about guitars. I have a Gibson Lucille 1995, a Gibson les paul standard 1988, a Gibson custom shop black beauty and a Gibson Traditional wired like the Jimmy Page guitar and I honestly do not see any or much difference in any of these guitars. They all sound basically like Gibson in general. I think a Gibson Traditional can sound every bit as good as a 59 reissue . I have played tonnes of guitars for years and don't see a huge difference and the same with high end pickups. I am not that fussy about exact tone. I am very happy with what I have. Now having the right amp is huge when it comes to sound.
Photography is a good mirror for guitar gear.
Same drive for “the best”, lots of gear with legendary competing brands (nikon, canon etc), and near religious arguments about things like film/digital or whether it’s the gear or the eye that matters.
I think this is run-of-the-mill thinking in any hobby community.
Many gear snobs are just trying to justify their purchases. The more aggressive they are the more insecure they tend to be. And of course the audience will never care the slightest.
I've been a competitive shooter for over 4 decades and an instructor for one of them. We have the "Gun expert" in our ranks. They never know what they're talking about.
I have encountered the brand snobs, and the thing is, they’re never satisfied with what others have, so ignore them.
If when you put your guitar down, you then immediately feel the need to pick it back up again, it’s very likely it’s the one for you.
It wasn’t always the case, but in the present day, it very often really doesn’t matter who manufactured it, and after a (quite a low) point in todays market cost certainly has very little bearing on it. As long as your guitar keeps tune, feels good in your hands, but more importantly provides you with the sound you are looking for, nobody has the right to criticise your choices. If someone actually does, you find it easy to ignore them if you are content with whatever instrument you are playing.
Enjoyed the article immensely thank you. Just subscribed and looking forward to more of your content.
Excellent video. I hope that the majority of cork sniffers out there come and watch this video. Most of them "see" and "hear" with their wallets but can't even discern anything with their ears. Well done video.
Very well stated.
The important thing is to find your voice. If you find an instrument that speaks uniquely for you, that is the only thing that matters. That will not necessarily be the "best" guitar.
I'm 100% with you on that one.
Good video and topic. I build my own guitars from scratch (cut down the tree… apply nitro) and spend the time doing that to experiment with materials and methods. Like using 200 year old chestnut timbers for the body because when you drop a piece of wood on the concrete floor it rings like an anvil. Or building a hollow body shaped like a Tele but use construction like a ES-330. Why? It’s fun, they sound different from each other and are very unique.
I was playing my American chestnut and ash thinline with Kingfish pickups this morning and it sounds amazing. Jazzy or Keith Richards nasty you chose with the volume pot and tone. And it weighs 5.5lbs.
Asking a snob to show what music they've made with it usually stops the crap.
I grew up next to a golf course. I would hang out and get balls out of the ponds and sell them. Over the years I played alot of golf and although I was a simple farm boy I got pretty good. I had many occasions as an adult when people challenged me at golf thinking I was a bumpkin and I ended up winning and shocking them. It ended up being a skill that brought me a lot of joy.
I seen a young boy on Facebook playing a cheap box guitar, he rocked me out. It was good. Now don't we all know that practice is the best thing that really makes us sound better
A good guitar is one you enjoy playing and which inspires you to practice, rehearse, write songs, record and/or perform.
My Gretsch Electromatic G5120 compares favorably with a few of the 1960s Gretsches that I've owned.
Whenever some snob asks me why I don't get a "real" Gretsch, I reply:
If I can pick up this one, tune it up, plug it in and disturb the neighborhood with it, then it's as "real" as I'm ever gonna need it to be.
Gretch is best bang for your buck I have several love the broadtrons hate filtertrons I have TV Jones in a 5622 I've never played. Better sounding or playing instrument have several with broadtrons and getting ready to get a electromatic today to swap the pickups in God bless you 🙏
I once saw Eugene Chadbourne whip out the crappiest guitar I've still ever seen to this day. Wires hanging out of it. Duct tape. It looked like it had been thrown in the trash or something someone gave to him on a dare. Then he played Bach with some of the cleanest tone I ever thought possible.
And then... THE RAKE
Wow, this was a great topic you chose. I agree completely. I have some high end gear and I've got an old Mexican Telecaster that's gone through just about everything and it's one of the guitars I use most. Some musicians as soon as they see the MIM go "O it's Mexican, okay." But to each his own.
Great video - Lots of good points.
I think a lot of the snobbery comes from people my age remembering how bad cheap guitars and amps were back when we started playing.
There are some great student level guitars these days that are good enough for stage use when it wasn't this way in the early 80s - You had to spend a lot back then to get something decent.
Same with amps. If you were lucky back then you had a small Gorilla amp which sounded horrible and when adjusted for inflation cost you a lot more than a 50w Katana is these days.
There has never been a better time to be a beginner.
Sure a Les Paul through a cranked tube amp is better and no your Harley Benton into your Digital amp does not play or sound as nice no matter how many times you type on the internet that it does.
But it does sound and play great for the price.
If you're honest with yourself, you know the strengths and weaknesses of your guitar. If it works for you or that's all you need, it doesn't matter what someone else who isn't playing, it thinks.
My ability to make a Gibson Les Paul sound like a Walmart Boxing day special is unparalleled!
I have an early-90s Washburn N1 that I got for $100 at the 2nd-hand store I worked at. My college friends had much better guitars than mine but mine was the one everyone wanted to play, and during the end-of-year rock ensemble concert it was on stage a good deal of the night.
The only reason I don't mind a very light reliccing is that I don't have to feel the need to be too precious with the guitar waiting for the 1st scratch or ding to happen. I had a friend who did logging on his property and when he bought a new truck the first thing he did when he got it home was put a dent in the box fender. When I asked why he said, "Now I don't have to worry about it and I can get my work done."
That was a steal, Nuno plays that kind, great sounding stock guitar.
100% spot on all the way around. Re, Klons and prices, look at what is going on with vintage Rats... It's the exact same circuit as those sold today with the LM chip being the only possible difference. Hysterical "vintage" pricing.
Rock on.
From Leo: I agree and am too old and stubborn to really care what any snob thinks about my gear, Having worked on and off in half a dozen shops over the decades. We always said that if we put a small cloth sack over the headstock, none of the snobs would know what they were. I do really like some of my higher end guitars, but my current favorite player is built out of parts leftover from repairs and broken customer guitars. My #2 is also built from leftover parts, and has no finish but linseed oil. . Play great, sound great, looks ok. The judgement of gear snobs could not be worth less.
Love Vintage guitars. But who could afford to gig with one. I would be scared to drop it. Joe Bo drops his 59 burst he grabs another. Even a vintage tele. That’s 50k worth of guitar you’re slinging around at a venue.
Most companies the use nitro these days use an acrylic basecoat first, if they use just nitro it would not hold up as long. They changed the nitro from what they used in the 50s and 60s.
They’re poseurs, pure and simple…
I began playing at a time when “affordable” guitars were universally bad, and if you wanted a half decent sound or playing experience, you had to spend your cash on a premium branded instrument… Being a gigging musician, I naturally ended up with and a rack full of expensive guitars, empty pockets, and debts.
Since Fender introduced the Squier brand in the early 80s and broke the mold, CNC manufacturing processes and working practices have gradually elevated the quality of cheaper guitars to a point where even a £150 Harley Benton can very often compete with anything in the right hands (after a quick setup)
So true. My first guitar I got as a kid was horrible. The first good guitar I was able to buy myself was a used 72 Tele. 50 years later I still have it.
@ My first good guitar was a 54 Les Paul which my grandfather bought for me after I played my first real gig at the age of 11 in ‘69, and had it not been stolen backstage at The Marquee in the ‘90s, I’d still have it…
My first electric was an SG copy from Sears, 1973. Wish I still had it lol
Not always. I cheaper out and bought an Epi 339 to go with my Gibby 335, I had head the Epis were really great so I bought it online. I do my own setups. I spent hours on the Epi filling fret ends down that were shredding my fingers. The binding on Gibsons is over the fret ends which are smooth as silk. The 339 is playable now bit out took hours of work. I've been playing over 60 years and seen the market change now than once, but in my experience you get what you pay for, if you don't get crazy with the add ons. The Murphy Labs and such are for rich boys not players. Stick with the standard stuff.
Lol, my first electric, 1960 Sears Silvertone Jupiter. @@williamsporing1500
Everybody is different. I did buy new snowboard gear thinking I would snowboard better. But deep down in my head I knew I did that. But I had fun with it and it made me feel happy. I didn’t hurt anybody by doing this.
Toanwoods have a limited use at the amp. The big thing that gets overlooked with toanwoods is how the guitar sounds/feels in your hands. How it vibrates & the inspiration that individual instrument give you, sitting on the couch, is what makes a great guitar or not
I take it the point that actually resonance only matters to the feel not the sound. Applying “resonance” to amplified sound is nonsense. Our pickups can’t “hear” the wood vibrating.
when my guitar teacher plays my bought-secondhand Ibanez electric or lower end Yamaha acoustic, the instrument comes alive and sounds awesome.
An expensive high-end guitar may hold your playing back in a sense that you're going to be constantly extra cautious when handling it for fear of putting a scratch or dent on it. I've found that purchasing guitars second hand with battle scars made by someone else completely changes your minndset about handling the instrument. You just stop caring about the buckle rash, and just concentrate on playing.
Before getting into an argument with a guitar snob, consider that folks like them - who are willing to overpay by thousands of dollars for the experience of playing "the same kind of guitar Jimmy Page did" - are keeping your local guitar store in the black. They serve a very useful purpose in subsidizing the lower end guitars that working musicians depend on to make money. Before showing off the fact that you can make your Squire sound like Stevie Ray Vaughan, consider that your local guitar store would rather sell this guy a $2000+ strat.
I couldn't agree more. I'm not a professional but been playing for about 60 years. I play my father's old Harmony Meteor, 1950 or 60. Just the feel from paying it makes it better, to me, than any other guitar regardless of what it is. All original. I've had to repair 1 nut slot and really need to replace the pots and capacitors but still sounds plenty good to me.
I had a gorgeous "Chrome Red" American Fender Telecaster. It LOOKED gorgeous. But, it was so thickly coated in polyurethane that it did NOT feel like wood, it felt like plastic! 😯 I did NOT know that this was a "bad" thing. I thought that my guitar was very pretty! 😊❤
I have since seen guitars made of glass and concrete and they sounded fine. An ELECTRIC guitar is NOT an acoustic guitar.
A couple of years ago I got into making my own guitar bodies. I bought the necks, electronics and hardware and made 5 of them. The materials varied. I have 2 whose bodies are plexiglass (neck, pickups and hardware are mounted on pine), one cherry wood , one bass wood and one that is either maple or pine. It was two cabinet doors that I stacked. I also have a mid 90's Mexican Fender Jaguar. It's worth about 1k to $1,200. Honestly, I can't tell the difference between what I made and the Jag. I prefer mine actually.
When you play your guitar, does music come out? That’s the only thing that matters. Two identical guitars can sound different. If you select the best guitar among several identical guitars, brand doesn’t matter.
I could never afford a high end vintage Les Paul but honestly I think I'd rather have a new one. One day, hopefully, I will, but in the mean time my Epiphone '60 tribute Les Paul is really a great guitar.
I've got the Tribute Plus too, with the Classic 57 pickups that I decided I wanted years ago that were hard to find on Gibsons. I can't see how it could be improved, so long as you want a Les Paul and don't want it to make you coffee as well.
@nzstjohnthebaptist Yes! Those 57's are great pickups! I didn't even realize until I bought it how much of a gem it was, I just really liked the way the neck felt and it was real resonate just acoustically. I had literally played Les Paul's all day for my birthday and I ended up putting that one in layaway. 500 bucks is not too bad for what I got.