I imagine Dan with his children as a stereotypical Asian father: - You play Telecaster - No, dad. I was thinking to get a keyboard, or maybe a cello. - NO, YOU PLAY TELECASTER!
What? He literally just sits there laughing while agreeing with everything Mick says lmao. He's like tat type of guy that has no idea whats going on so he laughs and nods nonstop. I've legitimately never seen a video where he didn't like the sound of (or at least honestly say he didn't) whatever they were demoing.
Mick! I'm so sorry about the noisy Worm. If I'd known, I would have happily given you one of the 9 million 24v power supplies I have to go with it too! Drop me a line and I'll get that noise fixed for you. Great show as always!
@@GyancarloFrancischeto it seems like the people have spoken though. They want a proper review! You're welcome any time by the way. Thank you for your kind words!
@@ARPMAN I'd defer to Dan on this one and say it needs looking at. These ehx from this period are noisy which is what gives them their unique characteristics but they require regular maintenence too. I've heard the reissues tend to be a bit easier but couldn't tell you if they sound as good as I haven't tried them. They also do a more upmarket one called the Wiggler which has tubes in it but I don't think it has the wah.
I’d like to see a Workhorse Pedalboard Challenge. I.e. Mexican Tele/Epi LP, AC15/HRD/Peavey Bandit, respectable classic pedals like OCD/Boss/DL4. Rules: no boutique brands, scoring is 90% value for money. Premise: you have at least some disposable income but need to make sure you’re buying good gear that will last and not need to be replaced! This was entertaining but going from a Matchless DC-30 to a $40 Amazon amp was too much of an overcorrection to be practically helpful!!!
Hahaha!!!! I love this video. Mick here. Subtext, ‘please feature the kind of gear I use then I will be happy” You speak for the whole world Ben, so don’t feel alone. :0)
@@ThatPedalShow I'd actually love this too. You talked about value for money, and you guys have so much experience with so many pedals. I want to see the cheapest rigs you could quite comfortably play a gig on. Things like the fuzz you chose in this video are sweet little gems of "hey, here's a really good value way to get a solid fuzz sound". Even just assume off the top that you're building it to play back-lined gigs with a Hot Rod Deluxe. Some of the best information I've gotten from you guys in past episodes has been about mid priced pedals that stack up against pedals twice their cost. I want to see the challenge on how to sound great when you can justify a half dozen nice pedals for a few hundred each, and a good power supply, but you can't buy a $600 delay.
Pretty sure this is what people want to see... of course if you buy a 30 quid amp it’s going to be awful. Mick has taken the challenge more sensibly because most people can’t afford a huge range of top end guitars and boutique pedals. Although I get the point of the channel is more geared to people of a similar mindset as they are.
A bit of context is good for this. I’m a professional musician so my gear is completely ridiculous...you could sell it all and buy a NICE car. That’s pretty average for a pro musician. But I’m an amateur fisherman. I’ve been fishing for 30 years and it’s my favorite hobby. When I was young, I had reels and rods that were just awful. The reels clicked, they’d seize up, the rods had guides fall off, my tackle box had rusty hooks and second hand lures that fish laughed at. This is analogous to the awful amp and noisy worm pedal that dan brought out. Over the years, I’ve slowwwwllyyy amassed gear. A decent rod here, a nice reel there, maybe a new backpack. All of the sudden, 30 years later, I have 10 nice rods, 15+ nice reels, several $900+ combos, boxes filled with jigs, frogs and spinners of every color shade imaginable. Even if something like guitar is just a hobby, you’ll eventually work your way up the “ranks”, through the jungle of gear and find yourself in a comfortable spot. The best part is that it’s an ever evolving thing. Like my fishing gear, I’m always looking for something new for the toolbox. So, if you’re a kid playing an amp that sounds like dan’s....you shouldn’t feel bad for even a SECOND. Everyone’s been there. It’s just a part of your “journey”, for lack of a less dramatic sounding word.
An idea - make a vlog of how to troubleshoot and fix that Worm pedal. I bet a lot of us have pedals like that and I (dare I say "we") would love to know how to go about fixing them.
I own an old EHX Little Big Muff that's a mess tonally. Instead of a tone knob it has a two position slide switch. Hairy muff or razor edged cutter, no in between. Damn near useless and noisy as hell.
They did a slight version of that a couple of Christmas’ ago - in Bath, I think, sampling a few cocktails in street side bars. Search up the video on their channel - it was fun.
i wish dan would actually go the real value way. You can get a second hand pro junior and a classic vibe tele for very little money and they're both pieces of gear you'll never grow out of.
Mick, I'm a VERY reluctant Katana owner and only have one by accident accident. BUT your friend Justin that does lesson videos had a guy on named Juca Neary that is a professional sound editor for Katana's. Learning to edit the eq's in the tone studio makes a chalk and cheese difference in how they sound. Until you do that you aren't doing the Katana Justice. It breaks my heart to admit I've gigged with it and gotten lots of compliments about my tone .
@@Bullittbl thats rly good info to have, the thought of mucking abt with the tone studio thingy (katana 50 mkii haver here) has crossed my mind before, but not when it comes to the basics, eq comp yada yada. thx for the idea!
Ive referred to TPS as a top gear for guitars before, and that was before you decided to do a budget challenge. M8888's that was the best thing they ever did on their show.. this is awesome.
I am SO HAPPY to see an Epiphone guitar. They don't get the love they deserve. I've had a number of brands over the years, but I've always come back to Epiphone. I've got 4 electrics, all 4 are Epis. Love them, love them, love them.
When I started gigging in the 90's I played through my Dad's "old basement amp" 68 Princeton and a Crate 15 watt plugged into a Carvin 15" bass cab, in stereo from a used Boss CE-5
@TPS - We all love to see the high-priced stuff you guys present on the show, and we believe you when you assert that certain classic guitars/pedals have special sonic qualities. The lesson from this episode might be to try and mix things up a bit, simply because it's fun. Speaking of which, it's probably high time for a look at some of the pedals Fender has released over the past couple of years. They're pretty darn good!
I second what Mick said. I started in approx 1990 with a little Peavy SS practice amp and a Jackson Charvelle Charvette. A couple years later, I bought a Big Muff Green Russian-though they weren’t called that then-and an Ibanez chorus. All of that together cost about $200 over a two year period. I’ve been buying and trying ever since and have so much gear, now, that I am constantly buying and reselling stuff just to try and find what I really love. It just takes time and a dedication to it. Whatever you really love, you will find a way to do. If it is just a little hobbie, it will unconsciously take a back seat to other pursuits and you won’t even know the extent to which this is occurring. What size is your TV? What kind of car do you have? How many subscription services are you a member of, etc.? I don’t watch TV, my wife and I share a car, and I don’t subscribe to much at all, if anything. I don’t have time because I work and I write music, and I buy, try, and sell guitar gear. It’s what I truly love and not a 5 min here or there thing. So, I find a way to prioritize it piece at a time. In short, if you truly love a thing, whatever that is, you will unconsciously form a lifestyle around that; a lifestyle that is centered on that one thing. It will be your focus and it alone will benefit over all other pursuits. Anyway, that’s just my observation.
Nice gentlemen. The memory toy has many adjustments inside for the gain of the preamp , modulation and delay times and speeds it’s a pretty cool pedal actually. I adjusted the gain and get a nice little kick out of it for lead lines.
On Reverb right now listed as “Mint condition” Boss BD2 - $80 MXR: Carbon Copy - $80 MXR phase 90 - $40 MXR dyna comp - $50 Amp: Orange crush 35 - $185 Pedalboard: Hot box 2.0 $50 Power: Voodoo lab pedal x4 $90 mint Guitar: 1960s/70s teisco under $300 Total: $875. You would have a killer setup.
Two easy cheap casino upgrades - stuff some foam in the F-holes & put rubber under the dog ears where the pickups screw into the top. Reduces the handling noise & microphony! I’ve had the Korean casino, & currently own the John Lennon ltd Ed revolution, & these worked on both! Taking the thick lacquer off will make such a difference, cos the Lennon casino is so much more responsive. Great episode cheers.
In addition to this, those Epi P90s are extremely prone to microphonic feedback. I would suggest swapping them out. I have an Epi LPjr which plays and sounds fantastic but even at medium gain starts wailing uncontrollably. I will try the rubber under the dog-ears before buying better pups. @P51gn - any particular rubber?
The reality is that this is most people’s budget. Most people really can’t afford the tube amps that we all know sounds better then solid state amps. Here’s my budget rig. Epiphone LP Standard I got use for $218. I still have the recipe to prove it. Boss Katana $229. Mosky Klon clone $28 on Amazon. The silver one. EHX Ocean Eleven reverb was $147 when I bought I but is now $151. This reverb can do everything you want. My only issue is that it is mono. Joyo digital delay $37. I just have to have delay on my board. Power supply would be a CP-04($35). I built my board with extra Ikea cabinets in my house and carpet off of job sites. The total with everything is $750 US dollars. To be any kind of musician you are gonna need to spend money on gear. Most of my gear is used.
Yeah, I see where you are coming from. I’m just thinking budget. How much money 17 year old me versus 35 year old me would have access to on a budget. If I use Dan and Mick’s criteria my budget would be much bigger at my current age. This is a fun thought experiment. I’m looking forward to the next one.
rome8180 Tube isn’t always better for someone. Tube amps cost money to maintain. Some people don’t have that kind of disposable income. And non valve amps in 2020 have grown a lot the last 20 years since the first Line 6 was introduced in the late 90’s. A Boss Katana is an absolutely gig worthy amplifier.
You guys are awesome , discovered you during this pandemic and just love the humor you guys bring not to mention all the in-depth knowledge thank you and cheers for making a stressful and challenging time not as difficult. Respect from California
Hey Guys! You mentioned in VCQ about maybe doing some tube comparisons. You should get some Effectrode pedals to do this as they are really easy to switch the tubes in and out. An effectrode show would be interesting in general as they also have tube driven fuzz, modulations etc that run at proper amp voltages! (no affiliation but I have one of them and am a fan!) Keep up the great work!
+1 on that. Been intrigued by those Effectrode pedals ever since a photo of Davey G's rig (recent, post-2010, it's always changing y'know) showed what looked like mostly tube pedalboard-rack with a lot of Effectrode gear. Pricey, I'd assume. I could never afford one but I'd love to see that show.
To add to this. (I don’t know how pricey they are in the UK) Get a pair of Egnater Tweakers. Cause they can take all kinds of tubes and don’t cost a fortune. Good for a/b ing both brands of the same tube. And head to head comparing 6v6 vs el34 ect. I know there’s other amps that can do this. I just don’t know them haha
Combining the VLOG with the regular show is a brilliant idea! Also, I realize now how much I value your segments on guitars and I'm really grateful that you incorporate them into your line-up of videos. Another masterful episode. Thank you
When I was a teen I had a JCM800 and a 4x12 cabinet in my 11 square meter room at my parents house. Cranking the volume made the roof lift a bit and my father shouting at me (didn't hear him though). :)
For anyone who talks shit about you guys just pushing expensive pedals, here is a great example of having fun and tweaking pedals for improvement on any level. Best show on the internet
Dan's omega-budget 20w amp before and after the speaker cab was one of the coolest things I've seen with gear in a while. Pretty remarkable how much speakers/cabs affect tone.
Absolutely adored this Low budget rig show! One of my favorites, and i’ve watched probabily more than half of all your videos. Greetings from Brasil. Cheers.
Guys, huge fan here. Never comment very much, but I have to tell you this time that I really enjoyed this episode (and Dan’s vid, short and unexpected, was hilarious!!).
These challenges are great, love seeing them back. The fun part is the pedal selection, be good to see perhaps some 'I selected these three from these 9 options' or something. Big highlights for me in this one were the difference a 4x12 made, and the Worm. Things we wouldn't normally see. NIce. Keep it up...and more Pick 'n' Mix.
This was a great challenge video guys! Both of you had to face very real world bugs, fails and problems that come with strict budget and second hand shopping! And I probably enjoyed that the most. Thad challenge being defined the way it was makes your rigs valid, in a way. But for any beginner I would strongly recommend leaving pedals out of it at first, and put the money into a decent amp first. Like a used katana 50 maybe. Loud enough for practice and gigs. Every Boss pedal you could want built in, and so on. Four great sounding channels. Leaves a lot of guess work and gambling out of it. And the cheap Squires now a days are actually excellent guitars that easily can be upgraded once some more cash comes in. Superb choose on the guitar there Dan! Really looking forward to part 2! Cheers!
I had an Ibanez Gio (strat like thing), Crate amp and a Korg 1500g (?) Multi effects processor. It took only one band practice to realize I stood no chance against a drummer (particularly when we were 15 and everything needed to be as loud as possible). I quickly upgraded to a bargain second hand hot rod DeVille, PRS first year Santana SE and a full tone Fulldrive II. That and a later added boss dd6 was my rig for years
YES!!! I got a Squier Affinity Tele recently for $50. Looks brand new. Needed a set of tuners. Spent another $20 on Amazon. I gave it to my son for Christmas but told him it needs new pick ups. We don't want to spend $115 for SD's for a cheap guitar.
"You can't make an elephant by cobbling together a bunch of rabbits." That's what I was told, and after decades of doing things the hard way, I have come to admit that I am doing it wrong. None the less, the amplifier I would choose is two of those amp-shaped objects, like the twenty watt wonder there, and a Humdinger to split the signal. Probably not the equal of the Katana but with a VB-2 on one side is actually like what I've got hooked up in the garage right now. It works. Of course, I always start with the speakers so they are playing out of some AlNiCo Celestions...
You guys should do the ultimate budget wet dry rig since you are probably responsible for more of us having/wanting them than anyone else haha. Thank you for what you do. Legitimately the only regularly airing show I look forward too and the first thing I watch on Friday's!
You can’t go wrong with that amp. I like to play on the clean setting with my pedals but I’d totally do a gig without my pedalboard. The foot switch and 4 channels cover all the bases.
BoognishBockwinkle - I suspect they might have done that it this wasn’t a pedal show 😆 Can’t build a rig on a pedal show and not have any actual pedals...
This installment of TPS is something I wish would have been around when I was a 14 year old EVH wannabe like everyone else. Great example of what really matters when putting a rig together. It’s more fun to buy pedals but quiet power makes those pedals come alive. Great advice for everyone on how you can take a decent guitar and in time approve upon it with upgrades. Also not as fun as new pedals but the final product can be totally worth the investment. Great show as usual. Cheers!
Great episode! My own inexpensive rig: - Used 1982 Squier Tele, ~US$350. - Used Vox Pathfinder 15r amp, US$125. - Visual Sound Open Road overdrive, ~$100 used (got mine new c. 2009). - DOD Phasor 201 phaser, ~$80 used (got mine new). - EHX Big Muff Ram’s Head reissue, $99. No weak links in this setup (aside from needing to mic the amp for gigs). The Pathfinder in particular punches well above its weight. BTW, the Big Muff reissue is way impressive. I’ve got some oldies and boutique-y repros, including a c. 1971 v1, and this one hangs with ‘em just fine. BTW2, Neil Halstead of Slowdive (shoegaze!) uses a Casino live with lotsa gain. He stuffs the guitar’s f-holes with t-shirts or somesuch to reduce feedback.
Hi Dan and Mick, It was awesome to see my guitars on VCQ on Monday, did you get the email that I sent with the specifications and some pictures of the build? Also, I have a casino (coupe) and I struggled to find some decent after market pickups, so I had them rewound by bare knuckle pickups, very happy with the results. All the best Karl
@@TheGreensideProject thanks for your comments it really means a lot, p90 are easy to find as aftermarket pickups but casino style with metal housing are very hard to find, having them rewound is probably the best option,I had mine done by bare Knuckle and I'm very happy, but I also found radioshop ( the pickups in the S and T types ) a great company to deal with, also they sound great. All the very best Karl
The moment you pulled out the Worm I immediately perked up. I LOVE that pedal!! the XO version takes care of the "noise" people complain about, but I LOVE the tremelo setting! there's tons of neat stuff you can do with it and the manual setting! Edit: Also yes, the Trem setting is harmonic style tremolo! Just finished watching the video. Fantastic guys, I loved this episode.
ok, so.. Laney VC30. killer. £250. Second hand mexican fender. £300-£350. 1st gen mudhoney pedal. EM drive. budda optical compressor. £700 all -in. I win :D :D
@@orlock20 for maximum budget spend some time with the katana with a computer choosing the effects you want and get the footswitch. Almost everything you need
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Mick, I dig the traverses that you encounter with your purchases, tests and gear expectations! Thank you guys!
Great show, guys! I love how you didn't try much out beforehand and we got to see changes to make the sound better. Keep up the great work! A lot of good info in here.
Best budget rig challenge ever! Thank you guys so much for making two very important points. First, that anyone on a budget needs to be looking at used gear. It drives me nuts when other channels - usually big retailers - do "budget" rigs that are entirely comprised of new equipment, despite that being the worst value-for-money route to take - especially when you are looking at low-end gear! Second, that the most important part of any audio setup - be it a guitar rig or a stereo - is whatever is moving air: speaker, headphones, or earbuds. No equipment, no matter how high-end, is going to sound good through crappy speakers. Anyone putting together a rig should start with the amp/cabinet and then work outwards from there. Kudos, sirs.
Sweet! Dan's rig is closer to what I consider budget. Except for that Rock Jam, lol. $600-$800 is ore like budget to me. The guys around here run Peavey Bandit 112s and Boss, Digitech, MXR, or they did when I was playing the "scene". You can do a lot with little today, even more so than back in the day.
I like what Dan says about still feeling 16 years old and being a hero. More people should have that attitude when putting a band together. I’m in my 40’s and my band mates in their 50’s and that’s how we feel. One life to live, f’ing live it hard!
The tone city King of Blues is actually not two blues breaker circuits (I know the name is bs, they totally tried to market it as a king of tone copy, but its actually its own thing). Its actually a klone into blues breaker. Really cool pedal in its own right, and is a bit upsetting they ruined it with the naming convention trying to ride on the hype of a totally different type of pedal.
You have to do more of these, its fascinating seeing you solve dilemmas in realtime, also the curve ball of the Worm was a delight, especially that you guys bought gear just for this show...love that....more please!
Great show, Mick & Dan! It's so interesting to see you choosing different avenues of building a rig on a tight budget. BTW, that modulation on the Worm sounded just delightful! On a side note, cheers to the new speaker (cab) for Dan's budget less-than-stellar-tone amp; a brief story to share about the best spent $90 in my entire life: I own a 1W Benson Vinny amp + cab. The amp is fantastic, but I could not get over the stock Jensen C10R; I replaced just the speaker in that tiny 10-inch cab with an Eminence GA10-SC64. To put it In Dan's words - now, it sounds glorious! So nuanced, and balanced - what a change with such a minor upgrade. Phenomenal lesson learned, and extremely light on the wallet. Thank you & Merry Christmas, Gentlemen!
I've heard other pedals try to emulate a rotovibe but the Worm, in some ways, sounded even better to my ear! The casino sounded great but it was SUPER sensitive to feedback! Great show!
Another thing I've learned from watching this and the ,"Sounds Like" from Anderton's is he who brings a Katana to a budget shootout gains the high ground! great video, thank you!
Liked this one! Sadly though guys your "Challenge' is called "reality" for many of us! lol The best amp for the buck on amazon is the MonoPrice StageRight. its basically a Chinese Fender Blues Jr. copy for $250. And don't overlook Joyo and Mooer for thier ability to clone a pedal on a budget and sound good, of course, you can get an OCD clone for $35 , a Klon Clone foe $54 and a decent delay for under $50. Not to mention that the Donner Power Supply is a killer deal at $35, has isolated outputs, mutilple 9v outputs, a 12v out, and 18v out (going to need those for those options for the joyo Ultimate Drive!) Couple that with a Craigslist Epiphone Les Paul Standard for around $200, a homemade pedal board for about $25 and you have an awesome sounding rig for about $650, most of it shipped to your door and only one run about for the guitar and board supplies.
James Wilde So true James. I like fancy, expensive gear just as much as any other guitar player. But with the family that I have, I can’t justify spending that kind of money on gear. Thankfully we live in a time where we can get quality gear for really good prices. My #1 amp (my only amp 😊) is a Katana 50. My expensive guitar (which would be considered cheap by a lot of guitarists) is a Paul Reed Smith S2 Standard 24 in satin finish. My favorite guitar is a Harley Benton SC550. Got it as a b stock with some minor blemishes for $193. Thing plays and sounds like a Les Paul should. My mini board has a Rowin Plexion, Mosky Golden Horse, Donner flanger, Ni-X univibe and Kokko green overdrive. My amp and pedals and board cost the same as a lot of people’s delay pedal. But I’m so thankful for gear that is inexpensive and sounds good.
Sounds like your rig is built similar to mine, because I'm poor! LOL! I have two Monoprice Stage Right 15 watt rube amps, one of which I re-tubed not long after I got it ($180 for one amp, $200 for the second, plus about $50 on tubes for a total of $430). Great little amps. My pedalboard consists of a Dunlop wah I found at my local music store (Dynamite Music in Griffith, IN) for $35. I have a Behringer Vintage Tube Monster ($50 new, plus $10 for a 12at7, which really smoothed it out) and an MXR Prime Distortion ($35 at Dynamite) for gain pedals. For modulation, I have a Boss BF-3 flanger ($30 at Dynamite) and the one pedal I've had forever, a DOD FX65 Stereo Chorus ($80 in 1993, nowadays on Ebay they run $50), which I love. The end of my signal chain is a Behringer EM600 delay ($50 at Sweetwater, discontinued, but you can get them for about the same on Ebay), which is an amazingly good pedal. So, my pedalboard, with a OneSpot, ran a total of... $280 at today's values. So, cheap. My most "budget" guitar is my 1967 Harmony Bobkat H15V, which I paid nothing for since I literally found it in a dumpster, about to be carted off to a landfill. Out of the guitars I paid for, it would be my Ibanez GRX40, which I got used for $65, and then modded with locking tuners and a roller nut ($150 installed), and it came with a Duncan JB in the bridge. So, that guitar was a total of $215. So, for a low budget but fantastic overall rig, I paid a grand total of $925, which in British Pounds is a whopping £720-ish, far lower than what these guys paid, and it sounds great, especially with my Gibson Sonex ($250 back in 1991, my first real guitar), which still leaves me below what they paid, and I have money left for beer.
Bradley Ard Bradley I love your rig. You get what you can swing cost-wise and you make it work well for you. That’s all any of us can do. I’ve fell victim to the whole expensive gear thing and have spent way too much money on it. I laughed the other night at our band’s gig. I just got a Harley Benton Les Paul style guitar and I was getting such great compliments for its appearance and sound. When I told my band mates I paid $193 for it they were just flabbergasted. Honestly I was too. For decades I believed there’s no way a guitar at that price could sound or play any good. And it’s an amazing guitar playability wise and I like the sound too. I may change the neck pickup sometime (and you can get good pickups today for cheap).
@@erictoniaschwab1009 I've been looking at the Harley Benton PRS copies lately, wondering how they compare to the SE models. There's very few guitars these days at any reasonable price point that could be considered "bad". Even the :low-end" models, the overall quality has gotten very good.
Bradley Ard Shane from In The Blues, Henning from HP42 and John Robson all do good, in depth reviews of those. I was considering that guitar as well but already have a PRS and wanted a Les Paul style guitar.
I really enjoyed this and I am glad you guys went such different routes. Dan’s rig blew my mind with the tones he got for SO cheap by adding that cab, and Mick showed how you can get really amazing tones on a moderate budget. I know it’s a tired statement, but the Boss Katanas are probably the best value in guitar gear right now.
Great Video again! Still love your adaptive and empathetic playing, suiting every bit of gear you get your hands on (this time showing in the lovely jazzy tones out of the budget-Casino).
I once had Jimmy Page himself from his verified TH-cam account add a comment to a reply I made to a video where I said that an amp makes 90% of your tone when dealing with electric guitar and he said that the speaker is by far the most important component in the mix before guitar and amp. All these other things are negligible unless they are hurting your tone.
@@superbford true, I just upgraded from a squier bullet to a classic Vibe strat and the difference in my playing if definitely noticable just because it's easy to play and I can bend without going out tune. I don't imagine paying more would make that much of a significant difference though
I think if you combine the two rigs it would be a killer first rig. E.G. Katana, Tele, Memory Boy, Fuzz, King of Blues. I would be very happy with that rig.
Definitely so much better than the stuff I started out with. Back in the dark ages before there was TH-cam and TPS to enlighten guitar noobies like I was.
The memory toy has an internal adjustor for the modulation! Mine was unusable for like a year before I realised this, when you tame the modulation it's actually very nice! Great episode, cheers boys!
Small valve amps are cheap? Mono price is not to shabby! Used Fender Greta $99, used Blackstar HT1 $125, new b- stock Bugera V5 $149! If you need more volume an inexpensive cab works great. My cheap rig is a Ltd ec-100 2002 WMI made with Duncan design and esp hardware for $125 with hard case, used Greta with homemade cab ($3 box at Goodwill) $130 and a LPB1 EHX $40. $295 total and sounds the stuff. My expensive rig is a modest LP studio pro and a Peavey Delta Blues 210 with big muff. Total only $1380. You can get a great sound for cheap for certain! Nice video! Thanks
I have a MIM Fender Strat Deluxe and a Fender Blues Junior Amp. The amp is all-tube and 15 watts. Together they cost $850. It sounds great. Throw in a couple cheap pedals of your liking. If you need louder than 15 watts, a Peavey Classic 30 is a good option.
Great show, and extra points for relevance. I especially liked the reference to “character” as an important determinant in choosing gear. I feel Mick really missed the boat in terms of the meaning of low cost, but where he especially sank was in looking for harbor in such common, conventional and unremarkable guitar and amp purchases. Dan’s selection was not only more interesting, but was exactly the gear a beginning guitarist with no money would choose. Thanks all for keepin’ it real!
Takes me back to my childhood... Squier Strat > DOD Envelope Filter > DOD Flanger > Boss PH-2 > Boss Power Driver > Crate 15 watter with reverb and chorus. Now I want a Casino... thanks guys.
Fun episode chaps. Its actually pretty amazing the extensive options for a cheap rig these days especially secondhand. I had to do this for my daughter’s bass rig last year. £160 for a Squier Jazz (maple neck block inlays and Seymour designed pick ups) 100 watt Fender amp for £250 (new) line 6 M5 for filters etc £50, EHX crayon £50. Sounded bloody good to me. Finally Mick and Dan, I think I speak for the majority when I say thanks for yet another great year of content and I hope you and your families have a great Christmas and new year.
Man, I have tons of $200-$300 dollar pedals (ODs, Fuzz's, Delay's, etc.) and the King of Blues from Tone City is a pedal i seem to continuously put back on my board. If you run the left side of the pedal's volume @ noon, tone @ noon, & drive @ 3 o'clock, then, run the right side of the pedal's volume & drive @ 2 o'clock and it's tone @ noonish and mainly use the left side as an "always on" boosty-drive then kick in the right side as a mid-boosty thing it is simply amazing. It sounds very similar to my Moonshine V1 w/toggle switch down.
Using the Marshall cab proved what's true in most audio reproduction situations - that the speakers/drivers determine the sound that reaches the ear the most. Would love if you guys used a couple different 'reference' cabs to compare amps/pedals with.
This video is a good reenactment of my guitar gear journey back in the day. Crappy beginner amp, pedal purchhase fails, noisy power supplies, pain killers and all!
If I were to buy my current rig right now- I wouldn’t be able to afford it. It’s strategic investments over time that has allowed me to afford what I have now. Research and patients is key. Great video as always gentlemen, keep up the good work and Merry Christmas.
Great challenge! Dan’s amp troubles remind me of a gig I played in Atlanta recently while on tour... I had to borrow an amp and it was a similarly horrific little thing. Absolutely zero clean headroom... What a difference an amp makes!
![Let’s Talk About Fender Strats [Sounds, Bridge Setup, Pickups & More] - That Pedal Show](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/-ndkUzSGKNA/mqdefault.jpg)
"It's far from satisfactory. However... it's awful."
I just peed.
I almost fell over laughing at that line
I want someone to put that on the Amazon review.. "far from satisfactory." - that pedal show
YES! GENIUS!!
STILL laughing at this.
I know it’s an Andertons thing, but I think a “Rig Your Mate Would Hate” video would be very entertaining idea for a show next year!
That is a GREAT idea. Happy to steal ideas from those guys. :0)
"Sound Like That Pedal Show........ without breaking the bank" :P
@@fredeichenauer4568 😂
That would be a tough one. Unlike rob and lee, they’re rather similar as players
I think all they’d have to do is switch rigs.
Best line from Dan "It's far from satisfactory, HOWEVER .. its awful". lol
I think Dan should finish that long awaited shoe gaze album before his prescription ends.
😂🤣👌
Perfect! ;)
I imagine Dan with his children as a stereotypical Asian father:
- You play Telecaster
- No, dad. I was thinking to get a keyboard, or maybe a cello.
- NO, YOU PLAY TELECASTER!
SO TRUE.
lololol "YOU MUST RAABU ZA E-REKORIKU MISSUTORISUUU!!!"
What? He literally just sits there laughing while agreeing with everything Mick says lmao. He's like tat type of guy that has no idea whats going on so he laughs and nods nonstop. I've legitimately never seen a video where he didn't like the sound of (or at least honestly say he didn't) whatever they were demoing.
Mick! I'm so sorry about the noisy Worm. If I'd known, I would have happily given you one of the 9 million 24v power supplies I have to go with it too! Drop me a line and I'll get that noise fixed for you. Great show as always!
David Kongialis he would lose anyway. But what a great seller you are! I wish people on eBay was more like you.
@@GyancarloFrancischeto it seems like the people have spoken though. They want a proper review! You're welcome any time by the way. Thank you for your kind words!
I have the same issue, great modulation but to much noise. Is this a power supply issue?
@@ARPMAN I'd defer to Dan on this one and say it needs looking at. These ehx from this period are noisy which is what gives them their unique characteristics but they require regular maintenence too. I've heard the reissues tend to be a bit easier but couldn't tell you if they sound as good as I haven't tried them. They also do a more upmarket one called the Wiggler which has tubes in it but I don't think it has the wah.
Better yet was the lesson everyone gets from his mistake.
King of Blues pedals "we can make any amp sound great"
Dan "hold my beer"
The best part of this is how much fun you two doofs clearly had prepping and making this video. Love this damn channel.
ThNk youn
Basically a Katana and a Squier are all you need if you just play at home with the occasional rehearsal/gig.
I’d like to see a Workhorse Pedalboard Challenge. I.e. Mexican Tele/Epi LP, AC15/HRD/Peavey Bandit, respectable classic pedals like OCD/Boss/DL4. Rules: no boutique brands, scoring is 90% value for money. Premise: you have at least some disposable income but need to make sure you’re buying good gear that will last and not need to be replaced! This was entertaining but going from a Matchless DC-30 to a $40 Amazon amp was too much of an overcorrection to be practically helpful!!!
Hahaha!!!! I love this video. Mick here. Subtext, ‘please feature the kind of gear I use then I will be happy” You speak for the whole world Ben, so don’t feel alone. :0)
That would be awesome, I would like to see that as well!
Great idea
@@ThatPedalShow I'd actually love this too. You talked about value for money, and you guys have so much experience with so many pedals. I want to see the cheapest rigs you could quite comfortably play a gig on. Things like the fuzz you chose in this video are sweet little gems of "hey, here's a really good value way to get a solid fuzz sound". Even just assume off the top that you're building it to play back-lined gigs with a Hot Rod Deluxe.
Some of the best information I've gotten from you guys in past episodes has been about mid priced pedals that stack up against pedals twice their cost. I want to see the challenge on how to sound great when you can justify a half dozen nice pedals for a few hundred each, and a good power supply, but you can't buy a $600 delay.
Pretty sure this is what people want to see... of course if you buy a 30 quid amp it’s going to be awful. Mick has taken the challenge more sensibly because most people can’t afford a huge range of top end guitars and boutique pedals. Although I get the point of the channel is more geared to people of a similar mindset as they are.
I just laughed out loud on my train. Dan: “it’s not good..it’s far from satisfactory. However....it’s awful.”
A bit of context is good for this. I’m a professional musician so my gear is completely ridiculous...you could sell it all and buy a NICE car. That’s pretty average for a pro musician.
But I’m an amateur fisherman. I’ve been fishing for 30 years and it’s my favorite hobby. When I was young, I had reels and rods that were just awful. The reels clicked, they’d seize up, the rods had guides fall off, my tackle box had rusty hooks and second hand lures that fish laughed at. This is analogous to the awful amp and noisy worm pedal that dan brought out. Over the years, I’ve slowwwwllyyy amassed gear. A decent rod here, a nice reel there, maybe a new backpack. All of the sudden, 30 years later, I have 10 nice rods, 15+ nice reels, several $900+ combos, boxes filled with jigs, frogs and spinners of every color shade imaginable. Even if something like guitar is just a hobby, you’ll eventually work your way up the “ranks”, through the jungle of gear and find yourself in a comfortable spot. The best part is that it’s an ever evolving thing. Like my fishing gear, I’m always looking for something new for the toolbox. So, if you’re a kid playing an amp that sounds like dan’s....you shouldn’t feel bad for even a SECOND. Everyone’s been there. It’s just a part of your “journey”, for lack of a less dramatic sounding word.
Thank you for this. Not least for reminding us of the crazy good guitar solo in Brad Paisley’s I’m Gonna Miss Her. Nice!
An idea - make a vlog of how to troubleshoot and fix that Worm pedal. I bet a lot of us have pedals like that and I (dare I say "we") would love to know how to go about fixing them.
I own an old EHX Little Big Muff that's a mess tonally. Instead of a tone knob it has a two position slide switch. Hairy muff or razor edged cutter, no in between. Damn near useless and noisy as hell.
I have that model Worm, and in trying to find a power supply, learned that it’s less noisy on lower voltages. :-)
Best show in a long time. TPS doing what it does best: two guys playing with gear and enjoying each others company. Thanks!
I was pretty damn disappointed until dan pulled out the 4x12. It actually sounded pretty good. Well done.
This is tremendous!
Seeing Dan's amp whistling at 23:12 with the Matchless sitting idle in the background is too much!
I like Dan normally, but Dan on drugs is FUNNY!!!
They should do some live drunkcasts - they are usually fun in any medium!
They did a slight version of that a couple of Christmas’ ago - in Bath, I think, sampling a few cocktails in street side bars. Search up the video on their channel - it was fun.
Right at 31 minutes when dan kicks in plan b, absolute magic. Brought an instant smile to my face. Thank you.
i wish dan would actually go the real value way. You can get a second hand pro junior and a classic vibe tele for very little money and they're both pieces of gear you'll never grow out of.
You can go gig with Micks rig. It actually would be a very practical grab and go rig. You could fertilize a garden with Dan's
Mick, I'm a VERY reluctant Katana owner and only have one by accident
accident. BUT your friend Justin that does lesson videos had a guy on named Juca Neary that is a professional sound editor for Katana's. Learning to edit the eq's in the tone studio makes a chalk and cheese difference in how they sound. Until you do that you aren't doing the Katana Justice. It breaks my heart to admit I've gigged with it and gotten lots of compliments about my tone .
just get a hx stomp
@@Bullittbl thats rly good info to have, the thought of mucking abt with the tone studio thingy (katana 50 mkii haver here) has crossed my mind before, but not when it comes to the basics, eq comp yada yada. thx for the idea!
Ive referred to TPS as a top gear for guitars before, and that was before you decided to do a budget challenge. M8888's that was the best thing they ever did on their show.. this is awesome.
I am SO HAPPY to see an Epiphone guitar. They don't get the love they deserve. I've had a number of brands over the years, but I've always come back to Epiphone. I've got 4 electrics, all 4 are Epis. Love them, love them, love them.
When I started gigging in the 90's I played through my Dad's "old basement amp" 68 Princeton and a Crate 15 watt plugged into a Carvin 15" bass cab, in stereo from a used Boss CE-5
anyway, dans just brought into some nostalgia a bit. but I also has a zoom 505 in there lol
Wow! Speakers, the absolutely underrated element of sound. Couldn’t believe how much better Dan’s sound got with a decent cabinet.
Nice to see a little respect for Squier, Epiphone and Katana on this channel. Four and five figure gear is lovely, but few of us can afford it.
We can’t afford it either. It’s a conviction not a financial choice. And it takes decades to work up to all that stuff.
Squier classic vibe tales are A+++. Honestly they play circles around most MIA teles I've played. At a fraction of cost.
@TPS - We all love to see the high-priced stuff you guys present on the show, and we believe you when you assert that certain classic guitars/pedals have special sonic qualities. The lesson from this episode might be to try and mix things up a bit, simply because it's fun. Speaking of which, it's probably high time for a look at some of the pedals Fender has released over the past couple of years. They're pretty darn good!
I second what Mick said. I started in approx 1990 with a little Peavy SS practice amp and a Jackson Charvelle Charvette. A couple years later, I bought a Big Muff Green Russian-though they weren’t called that then-and an Ibanez chorus. All of that together cost about $200 over a two year period. I’ve been buying and trying ever since and have so much gear, now, that I am constantly buying and reselling stuff just to try and find what I really love. It just takes time and a dedication to it. Whatever you really love, you will find a way to do. If it is just a little hobbie, it will unconsciously take a back seat to other pursuits and you won’t even know the extent to which this is occurring. What size is your TV? What kind of car do you have? How many subscription services are you a member of, etc.? I don’t watch TV, my wife and I share a car, and I don’t subscribe to much at all, if anything. I don’t have time because I work and I write music, and I buy, try, and sell guitar gear. It’s what I truly love and not a 5 min here or there thing. So, I find a way to prioritize it piece at a time. In short, if you truly love a thing, whatever that is, you will unconsciously form a lifestyle around that; a lifestyle that is centered on that one thing. It will be your focus and it alone will benefit over all other pursuits. Anyway, that’s just my observation.
Nice gentlemen. The memory toy has many adjustments inside for the gain of the preamp , modulation and delay times and speeds it’s a pretty cool pedal actually. I adjusted the gain and get a nice little kick out of it for lead lines.
I've gigged with one for a few years and didn't know you could adjust it damn it
On Reverb right now listed as “Mint condition”
Boss BD2 - $80
MXR: Carbon Copy - $80
MXR phase 90 - $40
MXR dyna comp - $50
Amp: Orange crush 35 - $185
Pedalboard: Hot box 2.0 $50
Power: Voodoo lab pedal x4 $90 mint
Guitar: 1960s/70s teisco under $300
Total: $875.
You would have a killer setup.
@Noah Lyons not to mention at least 200 bucks in shopping costs.
SO looking forward to part two!!! Bloomin great as always. Upwards and onwards!
Two easy cheap casino upgrades - stuff some foam in the F-holes & put rubber under the dog ears where the pickups screw into the top. Reduces the handling noise & microphony! I’ve had the Korean casino, & currently own the John Lennon ltd Ed revolution, & these worked on both! Taking the thick lacquer off will make such a difference, cos the Lennon casino is so much more responsive. Great episode cheers.
In addition to this, those Epi P90s are extremely prone to microphonic feedback. I would suggest swapping them out. I have an Epi LPjr which plays and sounds fantastic but even at medium gain starts wailing uncontrollably. I will try the rubber under the dog-ears before buying better pups. @P51gn - any particular rubber?
The reality is that this is most people’s budget. Most people really can’t afford the tube amps that we all know sounds better then solid state amps. Here’s my budget rig. Epiphone LP Standard I got use for $218. I still have the recipe to prove it. Boss Katana $229. Mosky Klon clone $28 on Amazon. The silver one. EHX Ocean Eleven reverb was $147 when I bought I but is now $151. This reverb can do everything you want. My only issue is that it is mono. Joyo digital delay $37. I just have to have delay on my board. Power supply would be a CP-04($35). I built my board with extra Ikea cabinets in my house and carpet off of job sites. The total with everything is $750 US dollars. To be any kind of musician you are gonna need to spend money on gear. Most of my gear is used.
I still say to get yourself a Bugera for less than 300€. Lovely amp and valve!
You spent $229 on the amp. You can get a nice used tube amp for around $350. It's not as out of reach as you're making it out to be.
Yeah, I see where you are coming from. I’m just thinking budget. How much money 17 year old me versus 35 year old me would have access to on a budget. If I use Dan and Mick’s criteria my budget would be much bigger at my current age. This is a fun thought experiment. I’m looking forward to the next one.
rome8180 Tube isn’t always better for someone. Tube amps cost money to maintain. Some people don’t have that kind of disposable income. And non valve amps in 2020 have grown a lot the last 20 years since the first Line 6 was introduced in the late 90’s. A Boss Katana is an absolutely gig worthy amplifier.
lol Dan is genuinely offended by bad tone. Such a visceral and primal reaction haha.
You guys are awesome , discovered you during this pandemic and just love the humor you guys bring not to mention all the in-depth knowledge thank you and cheers for making a stressful and challenging time not as difficult. Respect from California
Thank you Wilson! Great to have you here!
Hey Guys! You mentioned in VCQ about maybe doing some tube comparisons. You should get some Effectrode pedals to do this as they are really easy to switch the tubes in and out. An effectrode show would be interesting in general as they also have tube driven fuzz, modulations etc that run at proper amp voltages! (no affiliation but I have one of them and am a fan!) Keep up the great work!
+1 on that. Been intrigued by those Effectrode pedals ever since a photo of Davey G's rig (recent, post-2010, it's always changing y'know) showed what looked like mostly tube pedalboard-rack with a lot of Effectrode gear.
Pricey, I'd assume. I could never afford one but I'd love to see that show.
To add to this. (I don’t know how pricey they are in the UK)
Get a pair of Egnater Tweakers. Cause they can take all kinds of tubes and don’t cost a fortune. Good for a/b ing both brands of the same tube. And head to head comparing 6v6 vs el34 ect.
I know there’s other amps that can do this. I just don’t know them haha
Definitely need lots more Effectrode on TPS.
Combining the VLOG with the regular show is a brilliant idea! Also, I realize now how much I value your segments on guitars and I'm really grateful that you incorporate them into your line-up of videos. Another masterful episode. Thank you
When I was a teen I had a JCM800 and a 4x12 cabinet in my 11 square meter room at my parents house. Cranking the volume made the roof lift a bit and my father shouting at me (didn't hear him though). :)
For anyone who talks shit about you guys just pushing expensive pedals, here is a great example of having fun and tweaking pedals for improvement on any level. Best show on the internet
Cheers Mark :))
It is the best show on TH-cam indeed.
That. It is in fact the only show I watch, on or off the internet.
That Squier Tele is a phenomenal value. New pickups and pots make it really come to life. I like it almost as much as my Fenders.
Dan's omega-budget 20w amp before and after the speaker cab was one of the coolest things I've seen with gear in a while. Pretty remarkable how much speakers/cabs affect tone.
I thought Dan’s Santa amp might derail the purpose of this show until it turned into a great demo of how much speakers affect tone.
Absolutely adored this Low budget rig show! One of my favorites, and i’ve watched probabily more than half of all your videos. Greetings from Brasil. Cheers.
Guys, huge fan here. Never comment very much, but I have to tell you this time that I really enjoyed this episode (and Dan’s vid, short and unexpected, was hilarious!!).
Thanks Eric. All best to you!
This is hands-down the best guitar channel. Also, whoever does the time-stamping, you are a god and you deserve everything.
I got 2 vintage Marshall 4x12s for free because they were some rehearsal rooms near me that were shutting and getting rid of equipment.
@@freddyb7519 It's not what you know, it's who you know!
These challenges are great, love seeing them back. The fun part is the pedal selection, be good to see perhaps some 'I selected these three from these 9 options' or something. Big highlights for me in this one were the difference a 4x12 made, and the Worm. Things we wouldn't normally see. NIce. Keep it up...and more Pick 'n' Mix.
This was a great challenge video guys! Both of you had to face very real world bugs, fails and problems that come with strict budget and second hand shopping! And I probably enjoyed that the most.
Thad challenge being defined the way it was makes your rigs valid, in a way. But for any beginner I would strongly recommend leaving pedals out of it at first, and put the money into a decent amp first. Like a used katana 50 maybe. Loud enough for practice and gigs. Every Boss pedal you could want built in, and so on. Four great sounding channels. Leaves a lot of guess work and gambling out of it.
And the cheap Squires now a days are actually excellent guitars that easily can be upgraded once some more cash comes in. Superb choose on the guitar there Dan!
Really looking forward to part 2!
Cheers!
I am absolutely shocked at how much of a difference that cab made to Dan’s tone. Mind blown.
I had an Ibanez Gio (strat like thing), Crate amp and a Korg 1500g (?) Multi effects processor. It took only one band practice to realize I stood no chance against a drummer (particularly when we were 15 and everything needed to be as loud as possible). I quickly upgraded to a bargain second hand hot rod DeVille, PRS first year Santana SE and a full tone Fulldrive II. That and a later added boss dd6 was my rig for years
Perhaps you could do a show on upgrading Liv's guitar? Pick up selection, other value upgrades, other considerations etc
YES!!! I got a Squier Affinity Tele recently for $50. Looks brand new. Needed a set of tuners. Spent another $20 on Amazon. I gave it to my son for Christmas but told him it needs new pick ups. We don't want to spend $115 for SD's for a cheap guitar.
"You can't make an elephant by cobbling together a bunch of rabbits."
That's what I was told, and after decades of doing things the hard way, I have come to admit that I am doing it wrong.
None the less, the amplifier I would choose is two of those amp-shaped objects, like the twenty watt wonder there, and a Humdinger to split the signal. Probably not the equal of the Katana but with a VB-2 on one side is actually like what I've got hooked up in the garage right now. It works.
Of course, I always start with the speakers so they are playing out of some AlNiCo Celestions...
"However, its awful... " "it would be shocking" Dan uncensored on pain killers is hilarious.
I was shocked by how amazing that 30$ amp sounded when plugged into a 4x12
My jaw flat out dropped, I was *astonished*
and people buy a new pedal before a speaker because they don't like their sound
You guys should do the ultimate budget wet dry rig since you are probably responsible for more of us having/wanting them than anyone else haha. Thank you for what you do. Legitimately the only regularly airing show I look forward too and the first thing I watch on Friday's!
Just use the Affinity, Katana and buy the $80 foot switch for the katana. 3 programmable, footswitchable sounds.
Show over.
BoognishBockwinkle I concur, that is a great set up in enough itself. Katana 100 user here. It sounded great here on this episode, didn’t it?
Spot on
You can’t go wrong with that amp. I like to play on the clean setting with my pedals but I’d totally do a gig without my pedalboard. The foot switch and 4 channels cover all the bases.
BoognishBockwinkle - I suspect they might have done that it this wasn’t a pedal show 😆
Can’t build a rig on a pedal show and not have any actual pedals...
@@zaphod888 Right, maybe they should have restricted the amp selection to something with just reverb? Or perhaps only a handful of built in effects.
This installment of TPS is something I wish would have been around when I was a 14 year old EVH wannabe like everyone else. Great example of what really matters when putting a rig together. It’s more fun to buy pedals but quiet power makes those pedals come alive. Great advice for everyone on how you can take a decent guitar and in time approve upon it with upgrades. Also not as fun as new pedals but the final product can be totally worth the investment. Great show as usual. Cheers!
Dan: *plays some weird shit* "Woooo! Painkillers" - Completely flattened me
The look on Mick's face said it all when Dan strikes the tele...I was almost in tears laughing....
I notice it doesn't say "Sounds better through headphones" in this episode.
Great show. You made it very entertaining despite some of the rough tones. Really looking forward to part 2.
15:29 Dan: 'Dude I've had a look in the back - they're making money on this.'
ROFL
Great episode!
My own inexpensive rig:
- Used 1982 Squier Tele, ~US$350.
- Used Vox Pathfinder 15r amp, US$125.
- Visual Sound Open Road overdrive, ~$100 used (got mine new c. 2009).
- DOD Phasor 201 phaser, ~$80 used (got mine new).
- EHX Big Muff Ram’s Head reissue, $99.
No weak links in this setup (aside from needing to mic the amp for gigs). The Pathfinder in particular punches well above its weight.
BTW, the Big Muff reissue is way impressive. I’ve got some oldies and boutique-y repros, including a c. 1971 v1, and this one hangs with ‘em just fine.
BTW2, Neil Halstead of Slowdive (shoegaze!) uses a Casino live with lotsa gain. He stuffs the guitar’s f-holes with t-shirts or somesuch to reduce feedback.
Hi Dan and Mick,
It was awesome to see my guitars on VCQ on Monday, did you get the email that I sent with the specifications and some pictures of the build?
Also, I have a casino (coupe) and I struggled to find some decent after market pickups, so I had them rewound by bare knuckle pickups, very happy with the results.
All the best Karl
They looked incredible mate!
@@drdriterodemjaha752 , thank you for kind words, it's certainly appreciated.
Kind regards Karl
Those guitars looked great. I’m glad it’s not just me who’s struggled a bit with after market. P90 options, too.
@@TheGreensideProject thanks for your comments it really means a lot, p90 are easy to find as aftermarket pickups but casino style with metal housing are very hard to find, having them rewound is probably the best option,I had mine done by bare Knuckle and I'm very happy, but I also found radioshop ( the pickups in the S and T types ) a great company to deal with, also they sound great.
All the very best Karl
The moment you pulled out the Worm I immediately perked up. I LOVE that pedal!! the XO version takes care of the "noise" people complain about, but I LOVE the tremelo setting! there's tons of neat stuff you can do with it and the manual setting!
Edit: Also yes, the Trem setting is harmonic style tremolo! Just finished watching the video. Fantastic guys, I loved this episode.
ok, so.. Laney VC30. killer. £250. Second hand mexican fender. £300-£350. 1st gen mudhoney pedal. EM drive. budda optical compressor. £700 all -in. I win :D :D
bottleneck1100 vc30! Great amp! I gig with one all the time 👍🏻
Boss Katana 100w $360 new, PRS SE singlecut $375 (including shipping for all items mentioned),
Used J Rockett Rockaway Archer Overdrive EQ Distortion Steve Stevens Pedal $189,
Caline Cp 04 power supply (with patch cables) $32, Rowin tuner $18, roadrunner pedal board (with bag) $39, Black Arts Toneworks Pharaoh Fuzz Pedal $168. That's $1181 or 908 British pounds.
@@orlock20 for maximum budget spend some time with the katana with a computer choosing the effects you want and get the footswitch. Almost everything you need
Mick, I dig the traverses that you encounter with your purchases, tests and gear expectations! Thank you guys!
🤣 Dan says "It's not good. However, it's awful!" Lol. So good
Great show, guys! I love how you didn't try much out beforehand and we got to see changes to make the sound better. Keep up the great work! A lot of good info in here.
"Look over there! It's Taylor Swift! Yoink!"
That had me on the floor for a good few minutes.
Hilarious and cheesy. Right in my wheelhouse.
Best budget rig challenge ever! Thank you guys so much for making two very important points. First, that anyone on a budget needs to be looking at used gear. It drives me nuts when other channels - usually big retailers - do "budget" rigs that are entirely comprised of new equipment, despite that being the worst value-for-money route to take - especially when you are looking at low-end gear! Second, that the most important part of any audio setup - be it a guitar rig or a stereo - is whatever is moving air: speaker, headphones, or earbuds. No equipment, no matter how high-end, is going to sound good through crappy speakers. Anyone putting together a rig should start with the amp/cabinet and then work outwards from there. Kudos, sirs.
Sweet! Dan's rig is closer to what I consider budget. Except for that Rock Jam, lol. $600-$800 is ore like budget to me. The guys around here run Peavey Bandit 112s and Boss, Digitech, MXR, or they did when I was playing the "scene". You can do a lot with little today, even more so than back in the day.
Everyone had a peavey bandit 112 and felt like a god!
I like what Dan says about still feeling 16 years old and being a hero. More people should have that attitude when putting a band together. I’m in my 40’s and my band mates in their 50’s and that’s how we feel. One life to live, f’ing live it hard!
My entire board is full of “landfill pedals” 17 of them
Hey Dan, wishing you a full & speedy recovery from your operation. Happy Holidays to you & Mick from NYC.
The tone city King of Blues is actually not two blues breaker circuits (I know the name is bs, they totally tried to market it as a king of tone copy, but its actually its own thing). Its actually a klone into blues breaker.
Really cool pedal in its own right, and is a bit upsetting they ruined it with the naming convention trying to ride on the hype of a totally different type of pedal.
You have to do more of these, its fascinating seeing you solve dilemmas in realtime, also the curve ball of the Worm was a delight, especially that you guys bought gear just for this show...love that....more please!
Cheers Dan, i just had a knee surgery too - the thingy named meniscus needed some shaving and tuning. Wish you good recovery!
Great show, Mick & Dan! It's so interesting to see you choosing different avenues of building a rig on a tight budget. BTW, that modulation on the Worm sounded just delightful!
On a side note, cheers to the new speaker (cab) for Dan's budget less-than-stellar-tone amp; a brief story to share about the best spent $90 in my entire life: I own a 1W Benson Vinny amp + cab. The amp is fantastic, but I could not get over the stock Jensen C10R; I replaced just the speaker in that tiny 10-inch cab with an Eminence GA10-SC64. To put it In Dan's words - now, it sounds glorious! So nuanced, and balanced - what a change with such a minor upgrade. Phenomenal lesson learned, and extremely light on the wallet.
Thank you & Merry Christmas, Gentlemen!
I've heard other pedals try to emulate a rotovibe but the Worm, in some ways, sounded even better to my ear! The casino sounded great but it was SUPER sensitive to feedback! Great show!
Analogue. Internet bite me. Mick here. :0)
Another thing I've learned from watching this and the ,"Sounds Like" from Anderton's is he who brings a Katana to a budget shootout gains the high ground! great video, thank you!
Thanks for this one - again, as always! The most important take away from this episode: 4x12s are available for £80.
Liked this one! Sadly though guys your "Challenge' is called "reality" for many of us! lol The best amp for the buck on amazon is the MonoPrice StageRight. its basically a Chinese Fender Blues Jr. copy for $250. And don't overlook Joyo and Mooer for thier ability to clone a pedal on a budget and sound good, of course, you can get an OCD clone for $35 , a Klon Clone foe $54 and a decent delay for under $50. Not to mention that the Donner Power Supply is a killer deal at $35, has isolated outputs, mutilple 9v outputs, a 12v out, and 18v out (going to need those for those options for the joyo Ultimate Drive!) Couple that with a Craigslist Epiphone Les Paul Standard for around $200, a homemade pedal board for about $25 and you have an awesome sounding rig for about $650, most of it shipped to your door and only one run about for the guitar and board supplies.
James Wilde So true James. I like fancy, expensive gear just as much as any other guitar player. But with the family that I have, I can’t justify spending that kind of money on gear. Thankfully we live in a time where we can get quality gear for really good prices. My #1 amp (my only amp 😊) is a Katana 50. My expensive guitar (which would be considered cheap by a lot of guitarists) is a Paul Reed Smith S2 Standard 24 in satin finish. My favorite guitar is a Harley Benton SC550. Got it as a b stock with some minor blemishes for $193. Thing plays and sounds like a Les Paul should. My mini board has a Rowin Plexion, Mosky Golden Horse, Donner flanger, Ni-X univibe and Kokko green overdrive. My amp and pedals and board cost the same as a lot of people’s delay pedal. But I’m so thankful for gear that is inexpensive and sounds good.
Sounds like your rig is built similar to mine, because I'm poor! LOL! I have two Monoprice Stage Right 15 watt rube amps, one of which I re-tubed not long after I got it ($180 for one amp, $200 for the second, plus about $50 on tubes for a total of $430). Great little amps.
My pedalboard consists of a Dunlop wah I found at my local music store (Dynamite Music in Griffith, IN) for $35. I have a Behringer Vintage Tube Monster ($50 new, plus $10 for a 12at7, which really smoothed it out) and an MXR Prime Distortion ($35 at Dynamite) for gain pedals. For modulation, I have a Boss BF-3 flanger ($30 at Dynamite) and the one pedal I've had forever, a DOD FX65 Stereo Chorus ($80 in 1993, nowadays on Ebay they run $50), which I love. The end of my signal chain is a Behringer EM600 delay ($50 at Sweetwater, discontinued, but you can get them for about the same on Ebay), which is an amazingly good pedal. So, my pedalboard, with a OneSpot, ran a total of... $280 at today's values. So, cheap.
My most "budget" guitar is my 1967 Harmony Bobkat H15V, which I paid nothing for since I literally found it in a dumpster, about to be carted off to a landfill. Out of the guitars I paid for, it would be my Ibanez GRX40, which I got used for $65, and then modded with locking tuners and a roller nut ($150 installed), and it came with a Duncan JB in the bridge. So, that guitar was a total of $215.
So, for a low budget but fantastic overall rig, I paid a grand total of $925, which in British Pounds is a whopping £720-ish, far lower than what these guys paid, and it sounds great, especially with my Gibson Sonex ($250 back in 1991, my first real guitar), which still leaves me below what they paid, and I have money left for beer.
Bradley Ard Bradley I love your rig. You get what you can swing cost-wise and you make it work well for you. That’s all any of us can do. I’ve fell victim to the whole expensive gear thing and have spent way too much money on it.
I laughed the other night at our band’s gig. I just got a Harley Benton Les Paul style guitar and I was getting such great compliments for its appearance and sound. When I told my band mates I paid $193 for it they were just flabbergasted. Honestly I was too. For decades I believed there’s no way a guitar at that price could sound or play any good. And it’s an amazing guitar playability wise and I like the sound too. I may change the neck pickup sometime (and you can get good pickups today for cheap).
@@erictoniaschwab1009 I've been looking at the Harley Benton PRS copies lately, wondering how they compare to the SE models. There's very few guitars these days at any reasonable price point that could be considered "bad". Even the :low-end" models, the overall quality has gotten very good.
Bradley Ard Shane from In The Blues, Henning from HP42 and John Robson all do good, in depth reviews of those. I was considering that guitar as well but already have a PRS and wanted a Les Paul style guitar.
I really enjoyed this and I am glad you guys went such different routes. Dan’s rig blew my mind with the tones he got for SO cheap by adding that cab, and Mick showed how you can get really amazing tones on a moderate budget. I know it’s a tired statement, but the Boss Katanas are probably the best value in guitar gear right now.
They are seriously good for sure Al! Mick here.
Painkillers and caffeine: Breakfast of Champions.
Great Video again! Still love your adaptive and empathetic playing, suiting every bit of gear you get your hands on (this time showing in the lovely jazzy tones out of the budget-Casino).
If anyone wants to know how important speakers are to your guitar tone, I'm showing them this video
@alan wake And amps matter more than guitars, yet we all spend our money on guitars first, then amps, then speakers.
Jimsy no bro it all comes down to how many pieces a body’s made out of
I once had Jimmy Page himself from his verified TH-cam account add a comment to a reply I made to a video where I said that an amp makes 90% of your tone when dealing with electric guitar and he said that the speaker is by far the most important component in the mix before guitar and amp.
All these other things are negligible unless they are hurting your tone.
Guitars have to be playable though.... and bad pickups can ruin any good amp.. so it all comes together at some point.
@@superbford true, I just upgraded from a squier bullet to a classic Vibe strat and the difference in my playing if definitely noticable just because it's easy to play and I can bend without going out tune. I don't imagine paying more would make that much of a significant difference though
One of the best examples of how a speaker and cab change everything!
I think if you combine the two rigs it would be a killer first rig.
E.G. Katana, Tele, Memory Boy, Fuzz, King of Blues.
I would be very happy with that rig.
Definitely so much better than the stuff I started out with. Back in the dark ages before there was TH-cam and TPS to enlighten guitar noobies like I was.
@@elonmush4793 we all had Peveys and Crates back in the 90's!
The memory toy has an internal adjustor for the modulation! Mine was unusable for like a year before I realised this, when you tame the modulation it's actually very nice! Great episode, cheers boys!
Small valve amps are cheap? Mono price is not to shabby! Used Fender Greta $99, used Blackstar HT1 $125, new b- stock Bugera V5 $149! If you need more volume an inexpensive cab works great. My cheap rig is a Ltd ec-100 2002 WMI made with Duncan design and esp hardware for $125 with hard case, used Greta with homemade cab ($3 box at Goodwill) $130 and a LPB1 EHX $40. $295 total and sounds the stuff. My expensive rig is a modest LP studio pro and a Peavey Delta Blues 210 with big muff. Total only $1380. You can get a great sound for cheap for certain! Nice video! Thanks
I have a MIM Fender Strat Deluxe and a Fender Blues Junior Amp. The amp is all-tube and 15 watts. Together they cost $850. It sounds great. Throw in a couple cheap pedals of your liking. If you need louder than 15 watts, a Peavey Classic 30 is a good option.
I am using a Monoprice with a swapped cone as my main amp...I found it better than any emulation amp
I also am a proponent of Bugera. I have a V22 and two V5s for wet/wet setups!
1,380? I do like that it begins with a number 1, but it has a comma in it.... Lol.
Great show, and extra points for relevance. I especially liked the reference to “character” as an important determinant in choosing gear. I feel Mick really missed the boat in terms of the meaning of low cost, but where he especially sank was in looking for harbor in such common, conventional and unremarkable guitar and amp purchases. Dan’s selection was not only more interesting, but was exactly the gear a beginning guitarist with no money would choose. Thanks all for keepin’ it real!
Cheers Ron. Nobody said anything about beginner. Mick here.
Dan should make a vlog about fixing the Worm!
Dan's fart at 54:06 is great but his sigh of relief is priceless!!!! I love you guys. I am in stitches!
A strong recommendation for Liv's Tele pickups - Irongear, Steel Foundry. They do some great stuff, all very budget friendly and tone for days.
In fact consider them for the Casino upgrades too - they fit with the inexpensive guitar upgrade path in general.
Takes me back to my childhood...
Squier Strat > DOD Envelope Filter > DOD Flanger > Boss PH-2 > Boss Power Driver > Crate 15 watter with reverb and chorus.
Now I want a Casino... thanks guys.
Gary Clark Jr. would be jealous of Mick's gear, even tho he doesn't play his Casino that much any more.
Fun episode chaps. Its actually pretty amazing the extensive options for a cheap rig these days especially secondhand. I had to do this for my daughter’s bass rig last year. £160 for a Squier Jazz (maple neck block inlays and Seymour designed pick ups) 100 watt Fender amp for £250 (new) line 6 M5 for filters etc £50, EHX crayon £50. Sounded bloody good to me.
Finally Mick and Dan, I think I speak for the majority when I say thanks for yet another great year of content and I hope you and your families have a great Christmas and new year.
Man, I have tons of $200-$300 dollar pedals (ODs, Fuzz's, Delay's, etc.) and the King of Blues from Tone City is a pedal i seem to continuously put back on my board. If you run the left side of the pedal's volume @ noon, tone @ noon, & drive @ 3 o'clock, then, run the right side of the pedal's volume & drive @ 2 o'clock and it's tone @ noonish and mainly use the left side as an "always on" boosty-drive then kick in the right side as a mid-boosty thing it is simply amazing. It sounds very similar to my Moonshine V1 w/toggle switch down.
Nice!
Using the Marshall cab proved what's true in most audio reproduction situations - that the speakers/drivers determine the sound that reaches the ear the most. Would love if you guys used a couple different 'reference' cabs to compare amps/pedals with.
New shirt? “Don’t stand by someone with tone!”
This video is a good reenactment of my guitar gear journey back in the day. Crappy beginner amp, pedal purchhase fails, noisy power supplies, pain killers and all!
If I were to buy my current rig right now- I wouldn’t be able to afford it. It’s strategic investments over time that has allowed me to afford what I have now. Research and patients is key. Great video as always gentlemen, keep up the good work and Merry Christmas.
Yes yes yes. Me too. Mick here.
Great challenge! Dan’s amp troubles remind me of a gig I played in Atlanta recently while on tour... I had to borrow an amp and it was a similarly horrific little thing. Absolutely zero clean headroom... What a difference an amp makes!