6 Guitar Pedal Myths
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 3 มิ.ย. 2024
- It's very hard, in the age of the inter webs and forums, to sift through the mountains of miss information in regards to Guitar Pedals. In this episode I address some pedal myths that make me crazy and hopefully shed some light of these topics.
www.thejhsshow.com/
/ thejhsshow
www.jhspedals.info/
Wampler Pedals:
"Busting the myth of magical op-amps and diodes...?"
• Busting the myth of ma...
Visual Sound:
• Visual Sound: Myth Bus...
Record Time:
The Fabulous Steel Guitar Sound Of Pete Drake
amzn.to/2C6Ex5K
#jhs #thejhsshow #guitarpedals - เพลง
![[TH] VCT Masters Shanghai Playoffs DAY 4 // 100T vs GEN | G2 vs TH](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/UkTGSxdCUQw/mqdefault.jpg)
"We have gone to the moon, or at least fake it. Either of those is incredibly difficult." I love this channel!
Yes.
Ask Stanley Kubrick, he knows.
and nowadays you have to fake it cuz peeple are on the Flat Earth crap and u cant leave the Flat Earth although Columbus almost sailed of the edge of the globe, Um, I mean theres no globe
It’s not easy to fake a third foot.. You rarely see people doing it.
Loool! Stupid statement!!! There is a telescope satelite orbiting the moon. You can go online with your cell phone (!!!) and see the pictures of the rover tracks, and other stuff we left there, so the "faked moon landing" myth shit is dead...duh doi oi!!! Loool
Ill tell you as an engineer, haven't had this with pedals, but sometimes I'll be tweaking a compressor or eq for 5 minutes, really thinking I'm hearing a difference, only to realize it's in bypass.
That's when I know it's time to take a break.
I have done it, too! Work for hours, thinking I’m hearing a tone/sound effects pedal change…..only to notice that the change seems really slow and small…..ah- ha!! The pedal was off!!! All inside my head •••••••beautiful noise from the “Sweet Spot” between my ears!!!!!!! 🤔👍😎
Amen.
Just reading about this, I want to pat you on the back and buy you some food.
Yes well...
You are not alone
😊🙃😏
Yup, and the same in the studio, tweaking away on some eq or compressor vst, thinking you can hear the difference, only to realise you're on the guitar DI track that's muted.
I'm an electronics engineer with 50+ years industry experience. 66 years old now. I agree with everything this guy says. He knows what he is talking about, which is unusually refreshing from such a young guy.
Josh ain't that young. He's like 40.
@@blazer6248 Ah, these days that is young.
@@blazer6248 Bro, I'm 40 and I don't feel (nor look) that old 😅
Capacitance of a guitar cable is 30 picofarads/ft. Capacitance in the tone control knob is roughly microfarads. Doesn't seem like true bypass should affect tone at all. What am I missing?
@@arkie87 Guitar tone caps are actually in nF, 22-47nF are common. Source impedance of a guitar is ~6-8k ohm for a single coil, double that for a humbucker. Even with short cable runs (10 ft to pedal board, 5 ft through pedal board, 10 ft from board to amp, or 25 ft total) you are getting 750pF (0.75nF) of capacitance. Cutoff frequency for a humbucker through a 25ft cable (with volume maxed) is 1/(2*pi*750pf*16k) = 13kHz, already in the "air" of the audio spectrum. Start rolling that volume off (adding more resistance) and you are effectively rolling high frequency off at the same time. Double the cable length to 50ft. and you are starting at 6.5kHz, already affecting presence and high overtones.
Putting a buffer in the middle of that cable run basically breaks the capacitance in half - only the capacitance of the cable to the buffer affects tone.
Also note if you have an effect that is always on, like an overdrive, or EQ, or compressor, you get the same effect as a buffered bypass.essentially
Only just discovered Josh, but the more I hear him talk, the more I like him. Total common sense and a wickedly dry sense of humour.
I've been buying a variety of pedals and JHS just got on the list. I started watching these videos and I'm buying his stuff, too. Loo
Yep. Every video I watch on this channel is great, and greatly appreciated. He does not have an agenda to push his own brand, but to help us consumers. Much appreciated!!
@@croftperkins ppl lol l,wd fe w ew. Geop
Just a guy who cares about the craft and the community.
QOTD: "We're smart people. We live in 2018. We have gone to the moon or at least faked it. Either of those is incredibly difficult." Josh Scott
That one worried me a bit
Stephen C are you kidding? it was hilarious!
Great quote !
That’s not a question...
One of the type of remarks that keeps coming back to JHS. They are both difficult so besides being humorous, it’s a sound point.
You should make a pedal with true bypass, germanium transistors and a JRC4558 chip, all parts through-hole mounted and call it "The Uncopyable Boutique Pedal" - and fill it all up with goop!!!
lol
Or… don't do it, say you did, cover it with goop and do a listening test episode.
What do I know… I'm just the bass player.
Loved the episode. Great stuff.
Filled with poop.. Just to be sure no one would even buy it to copy ;D
I'd probably buy it
Or just make it buffered with silicon transistors, all surface mount, fill it with goop and call it the "Uncopyable Boutique Pedal" and we'll never know the difference ...
It is worth noting that engineers tend to design analog circuits to be immune to variations in the characteristics of the individual active components (tubes, transistors, op-amps). So the designer is actually working against you when you hope that swapping active components will make a difference.
Thanks Josh for being a voice of reason and a force for good in the world!
Biggest myth I believed was that I needed to play heavy guage strings it order to have good tone. All those years I put 11’s on my strat. I’m so glad I switched to 9’s/10’s depending on the guitar scale length
Partially agree. You don't need the heavier Guage to have good tone. But there is a difference in tone. I actually like my Strat with 10s as opposed to 11s. Has a more bell like quality. But my Jazzmaster and Gretsch both have 11s (mostly because they behave better that way). My D18 sounds MUCH better with 13s than with 12s.
Same here! Use to think 11's were "better" because they offered more "tone". They certainly do have a different tone but by no means better. That's what amps are for. I like 10's now, easier on the fingers and more flexible. I feel like I can smash the strings more and they give out a little. I encourage people to even try 9's. They're bendy and slinky and have a really cool tone all on their own. Sure, sometimes a certain gauge string will/won't play nice on certain guitars but hey, that's the guitars preference not a tone requirement.
Billy Gibbons had a similar mindset till he met BB King and found out how thin his strings were and he still had this massive tone. If you can find the interview it's really interesting and great to hear about the early days of ZZ Top.
It depends on the genre. You definitely need heavier gauge strings if you play metal and want to chug.
@@auberginedreams00 that’s not because heavier strings give you a heavier tone though. It’s because if you downtune on a standard scale guitar (24.75” to 25.5”) you have less string tension which can make your riffs sound “muddy” or “flubby” or “less tight” (pick your preferred adjective). Heavier gauge strings require more tension to reach the same pitch. You get a similar effect with an extended scale (or baritone) guitar without the need for as heavy a gauge of string.
And Woodstock was ruined when it was discovered Hendrix didn't use true bypass pedals.
Tele Caster at least everyone wasn’t recorded him on their stinkin’ phones
electricity ruined everything
WTF JIMI, FIX YOUR CHAIN
He didn't even used any pedal at all LMAO
@@jas_bataille
guitargearfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/hendrix-woodstock-rig.jpg
C: VOX wah pedal
D: Dallas-Arbiter Fuzz Face
E: Uni-Vibe with expression pedal
“If it sounds good, it *is* good.” -Duke Ellington
I've been saying that to guitar snobs for years. Actually, when it comes to guitars, I add a little more:
If it looks good, feels good, plays good, and sounds good, then it IS good.
If it doesn't give me heartache to hear what the guitar does to my notes, then I can surely live with it. My skilz are thin enough I don't need any additional punishment. Actually, it sounds a lot like rock these days. (Still looking like rubbish).
woot.🎸
THIS IS SO SO TRUE
Absolutely. If you can't put it down and you play it well, then it's the best guitar in world regardless of where it was made, who else plays one, or what you could sell it for.
@@OddTimeMan same here and to add a thing to it , if it looks good , feels good , plays good , and sounds good , it IS good , and if it costs a fragment of the magical brand it is even better haha
The whole Klon clone thing intrigued me. I ended up buying an “exact same electronics “ as the Klon.
It was a gift for my son. All the “pros” think it sounds better, nothing like it, darker, cheaper, to much high end, warmer, not warm enough etc. What you said makes complete sense. When I started professionally in 1971 you didn’t have many choices for pedals. As life continued on, I definitely did not feel any remorse for trading or selling those pedals. Thank for putting everything in perspective. I am now a fan and subscriber. Be well…..
"We live in 2018... we have gone to the moon... or at least faked it...either of those is incredibly difficult" - Josh Scott
I love this man and his pedals!
He lies about germanium transistors.
@@LucasFrancisco-uv6xv proof?
@@LucasFrancisco-uv6xv I own 2 JHS pedals with germanium transistors. The mini fuzz and the univibe pedals so I'm genuinely curious.
@@robbymayer5987 Hi, about his germanium pedal he won't say nothing "weird", Vibe pedals do not use germanium transistors, silicon are much better for that., the problem is how he makes people think germanium is empty, obsolete, , with no power, he make fun on them.
He wanted to avoid the "Q" followers going nuts in the comments.
'Magic's just science that we don't understand yet.'
Considering how little an average guitar player knows about electronics, it's no wonder we continue to assign various magical properties to them.
Does that mean science is magic?
@@zenistermister9695 No.
Its mind blowing to me that nations could think surface mount would be inferior.
@@joestevenson5568 Yeah, it's really crazy if you study some electronics and then read some of this stuff circling around.
And, we're not even talking about state of the art stuff like maybe Kemper or something...
Most of the gear is literally century-old technology and people are still somehow mystified by it.
I don’t understand jack about electronics and will carry on calling some stuff “magic”. I know it’s all scientific but it feels cooler to call it “the juju”.
I love how you and Brian Wampler give shoutouts to eachother and other builders. The lack of animosity in the industry is refreshing. Bravo sirs. You have a new subscriber.
Greg Barth
I don’t think Devi Ever or Runoffgroove would feel the same way. Josh straight up cloned their designs, then called it original work. Shameful.
Too bad Brian wampler felt the need to go after Phil McKnight. Classy.
@Matthew Andrews I actually have looked into it, goofus. Including comparing the schematics. Can you read schematics? Josh can...
@@aixpert291 Wampler and Josh are both right wing, church guys. If that's your thing, great. But for the rest of us? Yeah, not the type of ppl u wanna do business with.
As a pedal builder, what if I were to tell you most pedals are rehashed clones of previous pedals? Except for someone changing the tone stack or IC or switchable diodes... Its all been done.
I would argue that true bypass (or even passive bypass) does have one advantage which cannot be denied... when I was a young and couldn't afford a power supply for all my pedals, and couldn't really afford to change all batteries for every gig; true/passive bypass meant that my guitar signal still got to the amp halfway through the song. If a battery dies, just stomp the box off... all is fine.
Unless the switch broke of course...
Would be very interested to hear more about op amps in hard clipping pedals vs tube screamers etc.
I like Boss pedals, even some of their overdrives and distortions. They sound good, almost never have a problem with them, and it's always easy to track one down if something does go wrong. Oh, and they come in cool colors.
LOL at "Gone to the moon, or at least faked it. Both are incredibly difficult." Best.
Brilliant I agree with, moon landing bit had me rolling on the floor, Josh could have been a writer for SNL. He's very funny and very smart
Especially faking it ...because NASA finds it hard to hire politicians. NASA's low wages drive away these skilled BS geniuses that can do better in Federal politics.
thanks i'll check it out, that movie has been suggested viewing from a few of my friends,
i will watch it
@@Paul_Lenard_Ewing You learn that on a forum? I would think it's not true of all or many of them, most engineers are thrilled more in being creative than in being controlling.
When he said that, some Diet Coke went down wrong. I was coughing and laughing at the same time.
Put a box wine in a fancy bottle and watch em' praise the wonderful wine.
Once bought a gallon of the absolute cheapest plastic-bottle gas station vodka available, and fraudulently poured it into Grey Goose bottles for a party. Everyone raved at how great Grey Goose is.
@@devolve42 Was the plastic bottle vodka made by Karkov, by chance? I call Karkov the "Fantastic Plastic*" vodka.
*only applies when used in mixed drinks and not when consumed straight.
I saw something like that years ago on a cheap beach restaurant.. the food was sooo god an the wine (poured on glasses) was perfect for the mixture... some guys at my spend a good time trying to guess the brand, year and strain of that nice white wine... turns out it was box wine.
I was almost obsessed with true bypass... until my wha was modified
@@ManuelMartinez09 Don't you mean the opposite? Vintage Wah's are noted for being tone sucks because they didn't bypass or buffer. You always passed through the circuit... just the tone (wah) part was disabled.
@@jimistheman9732 I'll explain myself: I knew about tone sucking of vintage pedals but I loved the tone of that VOX pedal, I was obsessed with true bypass (all my other pedals were TBP) so I modified it and two things happened: 1.- I recovered My beloved tone, 2,. Every time the wha was activated my signal was unaudible (full band playing) and the tonal difference between on/off was so notorius that I realized TBP is not the best for every pedal (maybe a buffered TBP was needed in this case)
I've been around guitars my whole life and I'm just starting starting to seriously learn to play at 50. Your videos are great as I need equipment that is super versatile and inexpensive. You show me great affordable equipment and give real explanations.
woah!! that's so awesome! i'm glad you're playing and having fun :)
I'm not even a guitarist, but your videos are enlightening. Truth, when it's accessible and elegantly explained, is forever interesting.
Everyone is talking about the pedals but i Just loved how he gave a second pedal because the guy was depressed, YOU'RE A BEAUTIFUL PERSON MAN! Thanks for bringing Joy to people!
I'll never get one then because I just can't get depressed. Oh well.
But the comment was not a single sentence, therefore it was ineligible....
I'm severely depressed attempted suicide and was put on 72 hour 5150 hold four times in one month I don't get anything for free. FML
@@shanewright2772 your comment isnt a complete sentence either.
Well, it's complete but it isn't necessarily correct - I'll cop to using an extra "." in the ellipsis. A four-dot ellipsis is a journalistic notation which means that some part of a quotation has been removed from the cite - clearly not the case here. Top marks for the BA level knowledge.
That said, an unfinished sentence is not, grammatically speaking, an incomplete one. Especially if it's being used as a rhetorical device.
Extra grammar fun fact: The guy who proofread Hitler's speeches was the original Grammar Nazi.
I’m an electrical engineer at an aerospace company and every circuit is built with surface mount resistors. If rockets can depend on surface mount resistors then so can your pedals.
so much yes
It's not uncommon that people ignorant to the topic makes an opinion around a myth which then somehow becomes a "fact". Just look at audiophiles and cables - exactly the same thing. Pumping thousands of dollars into "special" cables which more ofthen than not, not really differs to cheaper ones.
It does not matter what the box contains, as long as you get the desired outcome. People need to stop propagating idiocrazy and just enjoy their pedals! :)
Those boards in the rocket ships, are also Class III electronics, conformal coated, and require perfection! I'm hoping most pedals are Class II, BUT, since they are consumer electronics, they are most likely Class I. I haven't seen any ads on ANY pedals advertising build class. Wish I did!
just don’t stick a peanut jelly sandwich in there... that will screw up anything... even a BOSS pedal.
They are less fun to solder though.
I sat in with a band a few years ago. The"sit in guy"s gear on offer was a $350 Fender MIsomewghere guitar, and an old solid state Fender amp that a band member pain $300 for at yard sale. At the first break the lead guitar player came to me and remarked that he'd never heard that amp and guitar combo sound so good. When I showed him the EQ and drive settings I used he was really surprised, saying that he would never have thought to to set the amp up like that. When he told me how much he paid for it I immediately offered to buy it from him. He said, '"No, but I would have sold it to you 20 minutes ago"!
Twiddle Those Knobs guys! 🙂
just discovered your channel. I love the way that you explain what similarities and differences between components. Thank you so much for this deep dive into pedal wizardry. I will be watching more of your content
I work in a music shop. We carry your pedals. I really appreciate that you yourself are the face of your channel. You tell things as they are. You promote other brands. I really appreciate what you do, Josh. Thank you.
This video's real title is "JHS denounces hipster ideology.''
Bingo.
More like boomer ideology! You should see the old men in some of these forums, man. They sound like they know alot but its literally just spouting other stuff they read on forums.
@@7hotfuzz7 Couldn't have said it better myself. I am a member of several "audiophile" groups on Facebook, you have NO idea what's being blurted over there, and how boomers make love to snakeoil all the time...
@@7hotfuzz7 Basement warriors!!!
It reminds me of hifi buffs. I've worked with producers and engineers who wire their studios with good quality electrical copper wire. That's it. Then you see some guy who's spent £150 on a phono cable for his hifi to get the the "true sound". It's bullshit.
Biggest myth I’ve ever heard and proven wrong is that better gear = better tone. I’ve played gigs where nobody saw my gear, and everybody asked me where I got my tone from because they didn’t see a pedal board. As it turns out, I played on a Roland Cube 40XL amp and used my volume & tone on my Tele to control the sounds that I got. Tone is 100% in the fingers
I would just like to say how much I owe you and your channel! Coming here and combing through quite a few of your vids I found that changing my pickups in my LP Custom Elegant to Seymore Duncan "Pearly Gates" and running that through Slash signature Tubescreamer makes for a killer combo. This just might be a first step towards a signature sound of mine.
Thank you so much and keep them coming please, you are doing us all a great service!
As an electronic engineer I can state that everything you've said is accurate!. Best regards mate
Hey... you said the exact same thing as me :-) Rock on Enrique :-)
I had a RAT modified years ago because "if it doesnt have the LM308 chip its trash". The pedal sounded the same, but it didnt feel the same... if that makes sense. I sold it to some cork sniffer and bought another one.
...and LM308 are going for RIDICULOUS money. $10 each
@@daddyosink4413 best thing about guitar snobs is... they make the rest of us rich.
Thank you sir, I was waiting for yet another "youtube comment engineer" to verify these claims. 🙄
“We live in 2018”
Not me
Used to. But I left it behind.
I wish I was living in 2018...
A wild slime appears. Player uses MegaMagic! 😂
Im from the future in 2020. Everything is gonna be fine, dont worry bout it, but can ya please kill Chuck fuckin Whoolery
I am from the even further future of 2021.
This has actually become my favorite channel. Always entertaining with a backbone of information.
Love your videos. I'm an old war horse of musician. Growing up in the biz I got sucked into a myriad of b.s. regarding pedals and amps. You are saving newbies a ton of grief by giving them good information and saving them money in the process..
Dear Josh,
If I simply bought your pedals because they sound rad and look super cool that would be good enough but a larger part of why I love JHS pedals so much is YOU. It's just refreshing to see someone so transparent and genuinely passionate about what they do. Promoting other brands and not just your own. Always staying positive and not running people over as alot of the internet loves to do. Your honest and real and your video content is SUPERB! I currently own five of your pedals and counting. To me they're like little works of art with each one having their own voice and personality. Thanks for keeping it real!
On a side note, it would be cool to see some "Special Edition" pedals. Like maybe a morning glory painted a different color or possibly a special run of hand wired angry Charlie's with unique packaging. Something along those lines. Kuddo's on the box candy too. The stickers, buttons, picks are all great touches. I love it all!
Thanks so much!! We've done some special edition Morning Glory's for Rogue Guitar Shop and others in the past, but have gotten away from that lately. Watch out for a release of my hand wired pedals tho!
Absolutely agree. Josh is an absolute breath of fresh, sweet smelling air.
“This is 2018. We’ve gone to the moon. Or at least faked it. Either of those is incredibly difficult.” 🤣
Well going to the moon......that was through hole technology and a state of the art crude computer system that was probably a lot less than a commodore 64.....let alone a commodore 128.....and hmmm how much RAM.
But then again perhaps we should ask the Israeli's about crashing into the moon and the "communications failure"....since that's technically only a few day out of the box.
I actually favor the Israeli's as they build some impressive devices & firearms considering the conditions......I haven't been there since the 1970's
People erroneously cite these technologies not realizing that they have a short service life or that the package has a big service contract on the back end. If you talk about medical hospital equipment.....
The tax man calls it depreciation
You can buy a model T and it will run or a 57 chevy…….there is no computer or electronics involved, but buy a post 1980's vehicle that's early computer or well into the electronics age....and good luck if the vehicle will run reliably...….and I trust you aren't planning to go to the moon or need life support systems
@@mikecamps7226 One should try to keep a machine as simple as possible, for the task at hand. Overcomplicating a design to achieve the same result is wasteful and, indeed, potentially dangerous. After all, the more parts in a system, the higher the chances something will break when you need it the most.
The comedian said : "you can't fix stupid !"
check out the show : Adams ruining everything ,on this matter
Digital technology is not only inherently obsolete by the time it is first used it is also highly degradable. Analog
technology is impossible to degrade. A shovel made today is the same one as a shovel made a thousand years ago. A shovel can't be made obsolete.
I learn so much from your channel and trust your judgement 100%. Thanks for all you do.
one thing i love about josh is ive seen him advertise boss pedals more then his own he never pushes his pedals but the more i look into them the more i see they are fn good pedals n he knows they will sell themselves once musicians use them , thats a talented creator of anything! i have alot of respect for josh hes just a really awesome guy n gives me alot of knowledge in a very un-bias way!
3:02 Myth #1 "True Bypass is Better than Buffered"
4:39 Myth #2 "Boutique is Better"
6:36 Myth #3 "You cant copy that pedal"
8:18 Myth #4 "Germanium is Better"
10:17 Myth #5 "Surface mount parts suck"
12:52 Myth #6 "Magic Op-Amps"
thank you!
Why?
Glenn Lilley, some people have less free time than others and want to know if it’s things they already know so they don’t waste time.
@@anthonyp9316 Yep, I just want to see the points and stay around the for interesting ones.c
Myth #1 "True Bypass is Better than Buffered" UNLESS IT'S HISSY. A.K.A. Behringer Vibrato
Myth #1 " " UNLESS IT'S the great 'needs to be a dedicated pedal' BUFFER in a WEM WATKINS COPICAT Mk IV
"Don't believe the things you read on the internet... I think George Washington said that in the 1300s"
😂😂😂
Yea, I couldn't believe what I heard 😂 I'm new on this channel, and totally didn't expect that this guy would joking like this
I really like the comment but ithas 69 likes. I'll let someone else desecrate it. Good day
Oh c'mon. That was Napoleon.
sounds reasonable.
Yep, I was there!
Josh, I've seen oh, about 5 of your vids now. I appreciate the debunking of these myths.
Fantastic info! Great delivery! Keep up the fine work...
Totally love your channel, speak so much sense, truth and educate listeners with so much useful information about your own and other brands of pedal, this is refreshing and very appreciated.
As for all the guitar and pedal myths and jargon said on forums, social media and musicians day to day life winds me up, I find it boring hearing guitarist talk this way, it’s stuck up and quite often a complete load of bollocks so I try to ignore most of it and try to use things in my own way and make my own decision, if it sounds good to me then I’m usually happy, there’s no hard rules usually so experiment and try things and break the myth rules others tend to believe and just make your own decision.
True Bypass was the first snake oil I was sold 😂
I keep a buffer or 3 on my board, no problemo, but put 6 boss buffers in a row and tell me it doesn't tonesuck...buffers add up to create problems.
Craig mine was a “ modeling “ amp. Either do one thing really well or not at all.
@@bradmodd7856 With some boss pedals I definitely notice some tone suck, but I have not noticed it with the Waza craft line. I usually place a buffer in the beginning, middle and end of the chain with the TU-3w at the end. I think the problem might be more with the quality of said buffer than it being buffered bypass or not. Some boss pedals(the non waza SD-1) have an awful buffer while some of the others have an incredible one(any waza pedal and even the non waza TU-3).
@@bradmodd7856 Exactly. Tone suck does occur when you have a bunch of unplugged buffered pedals on front of your amp. The snake oil is in thinking buffered pedals don't sound good...they did, and of course still do.
No joke I just got an ad for a true bypass pedal before this video 😂
Well suddenly your channel is one of my favorites! You speak calm, you don't rush, you are unbiased and more importantly, you are logical! Thank you for this.
He's also an Evangelical.
peppe and funny
peppe
He seems like one of the few good ones. I’ve never seen him bring up jesus.
I know it’s not guitar-based, but John Coltrane’s A Love Supreme is pure art.
I can listen to that from beginning to end every time.
Absolutely agree. The same story is about a wood and a guitar sound.
The thing about some exotic wood being a major factor on the sound of an electric guitar is, in my opinion, one of the biggest controversies of our days... It's stupidly expensive but I don't think it's actually a major factor for the sound.
He's wrong about germanium transistors.
ASCII is pronounced 'Askey'
For all you Brits of a certain age; Arthur Askey has now changed his name to Art Unicode and works in a coffee bar in Hoxton.
Yes
American Standard Code for Information Interchange. I am new to guitars however I am loving the fact I can now use all the electronic knowledge I learned 30 year ago that I thought was obsolete in the software age
I want a trough-hole smartphone now. Lol
sure thing, it's about the size of a small laptop for "no reason" , ya ready?
(Electronic engineer passed by)
(genuinely liked this comment)
Don't forget to make it true bypass and fill it with gup.
@@MiguelBaptista1981 smartphones are by definition true bypass, you just put the thing down and talk to people. :D
@@grilledspaghetti True DAT .
I really want to see someone attempt this. Like, really.
Great episode, I wish we had more of this honesty, great show. I bought a Germanium Fuzz based on the 'must be Germanium bias' and it doesn't sound better than my Mini Dunlop Fuzz FFM3! I now prefer my FFM3. I would love to see a show on how to get the Delay and Reverb pedals play nicely together.
Wow. Thanks for all the great info. Newly subscribed and digging your whole Schtick. Thanks for taking the time.
He's like the Mr Rogers of guitar pedals
geez , how old ARE you ?
( relax, this comment was left by someone old enough to know who Mr Rogers IS! so it's more a salute than anything. The whole age range is here !)
Perfect! Josh IS exactly the Mr. Rogers of pedals!!!!!!
Josh, being late to reply but just discover your channel recently. I’ve worked in professional studio, so obviously we were always researching the “best” quality possible, to the point to get caught into chasing some gear. So we did plenty of A/B/X test from Mics, to Preamps, or even audio converters... And I noticed that how our brain can trick us sometimes. After doing all those tests, I came to two conclusions: 1) we don’t hear as great as we think we do. 2) most of the time, gear don’t matter so much than everything else (artist talent, engineer knowledge, etc...).
So here’s the little anecdote: After all those tests, I was more fearless regarding my technological choices even when some artists wanted “their” preferences because they heard it was better. So when someone was telling me: no, I would want you to use xxx instead of yyyy because xxx is better, and I knew that was a pure myth choice, I was giving an audio check to the artist. I was duplicating an audio file and renaming them “with” and “without”, claiming that one was with the outboard gear, preamp, effect, whatever.... and the second was without it, even thought both were just the same copied file. And I was asking to the artist/producer to actually listen to both and to tell me which one was “better” and should be used for the record, making sure he could read the file name (with or without). Very rarely I got someone to tell me: Oh, I can’t hear any difference then pick whatever you want. 99.9% of the time, the answer was: Oh yeah, with... it sounds so much better, let’s use it. And then I was simply explaining them they heard twice the same file and it was their brain messing with them, so they should just trust my instinct and choices for the song. Once, a guy was so deeply angry with me showing his non-sense that he doubled down and claimed that the file quality changed when I renamed it and the action to rename the file was making it sound worse now... I swear to god that’s what he told me. I just told him we couldn’t work together anymore since I “have to rename” files in my process of editing and mixing, so it wouldn’t work for him. I never heard from him again. I guess he’s probably still convinced to this day that he was “right”. For me that was probably the time I stopped chasing unobterium gear and stopped listen to myths and just started to just trust my gut. If it sounds good, it is good...
So, I’m glad you did this video that actually confirms what I’ve been saying since years now after my experience in studio. Kudos to you.
(1 year late reply) Would've been fun if after your pedantic artist said "I like it better with it" you just went "okay, with this equipment it is" although there was no actual difference between the two.
When a man that has a lot to gain(pun intended) by propagating these myths busts these myths, listen to that man.
Your description of Buffer bypass and True Bypass was great! Thank you! I definitely thought that True Bypass was better, but I had no idea why. Now I better understand what they do and how they are different.
Moon landing comment was amazing😂
lol 🚀🌛
A video that's trying to dispel myths and then casts doubt on the moon landing :(
I'd put a thumb up just for that remark :)) But the whole video is awesome!
Steve Smith I'm sure it was tongue in cheek.
@@j.d.leslie8458 your tinfoil hat is slipping.
I am basically a beginner when it comes to guitar pedals. I appreciate the straight and unbiased talk about the myths. Helps me a bunch. Thank you.
This is quickly becoming my favorite channel. I really like the discord. I’ve been learning electronics for the last couple years and finally ready to launch my first product. I am interested in building guitar pedals possibly as a business idea. So thanks for the education on the subject
Man you just made my day! I build amps and pedals as an electronics engineer, and I have the same conversations with gear geeks thinking that some gear are made one and can never be done again! awesome videos!!
Also........I have a $299.00 Bugera V22 amp I use in church and smaller gigs. It looks strikingly similar to a Bad Cat combo amp. I sent off $20 to Bad Cat and purchased one of their logos. I removed the Bugera logo from the amp and replaced it with the Bad Cat logo. I played a small club with it just last Saturday night and you would not believe the compliments I got on my Bugera/Bad Cat amp. One guy even offered me $800 cash on the spot. I just didn't have the heart to tell him. Of course I would never sell someone a fake amp. You are so right on about peoples perception of certain products especially in the boutique pedal market.
You know how the trend among some amp builders is to have a cool retro vibe logo? I have a bassist friend in a band that has an old bass amp, can't remember the brand (maybe Ampeg?), but a famous maker. Simply for fun he took off the logo and put on an old appliance badge off an old fridge, because it had a cool retro look he liked. He had some visiting musician buddies hounding him about his "boutique" amp.. he got them going real good and then finally spilled the beans.. "That came off an old freezer junked in my neighbors backyard! Looks great though!" lol..
@@drumsNstuff79 That's hilarious. Thanks for sharing.
V22 are honestly super underrated. I was given one 9 years ago, and it pissed me off because it sounded so good (clean channel only, the other one shouldn't exist). I replaced the speaker and rolled in some better tubes, and it's amazing. I own tons of great amps: old Fenders, new Fenders, Orange, old Marshalls, Matchless etc. I honestly take the v22 to shadier bar gigs instead of something more valuable, and I honestly think it's on par or better than anything else I've got.
Laugh all you want, internet. That's a no joke great amp.
If I'm not mistaken Bugera is making clones which just goes to show how much you pay for the name. But that's universal.
@@davidschwartz3427
The Bugera V22 is a decent sounding little amp. Can't beat it for the price. I used it instead of my Marshall JCM2000 because there was about 100yds of gravel to get to the stage. The EL84's sound better the hotter they get. Still a Marshall guy though!!!
love the fact that you respect and link stuff from Wampler. respect over Competition. Props for ya!
He literally said before he got to that part that they're friends. ;)
Thank you for giving pedals away like that! sharing art and music...its amazing, so thank you! sincerely!
About a year ago, I was waiting for my first decent electric guitar and was thinking "man, I need a pedal and an amp as soon as I get my guitar" ......which, turns out, wasn't in the funding. haha
so, a year later, I came back to learn (so my tone is musical, not 'saturated in gain') what pedals I should think about saving up to get. Thank you for giving such sound, in depth, honest advice!
I cant wait (still a few months out) to order products from you and support your channel and business! I love the content!
Just discovered this channel , no idea what I was looking for I picked up a DS1 distortion petal , so far it’s a pretty good for a starter petal it feels like. looking for more pedals, I always thought pedals were made different just never knew the details good to know. clear and knowledgeable thanks my man ✌️
Favorite instrumental album: Wes Montgomery Smoking at the Half Note.
Nicholas Bousley 👌🏻👌🏻👌🏻👌🏻
I’m waiting on my copy to show up
I can’t get past Bumpin’ my all time fav
You're trying to reason with some people who still think the world is flat.......:) In my 40 years of playing I've lived by the words of the great Joe Meek - "if it sounds right it is". Amen.
totally agree. everyone's so worried about every one else's tone. if you like it? it's right. bottom line. I'd choose an Carbon Copy over a Timeline every day.
Thank you!
Amen to that brother!!!
It is Flat
It is flat!!! :))
I wish someone has told me these 10 years ago, while I was spending all my money as a student :’)
Great video-actually all of yours I find to be very informative in a humorous way. I like the commentary about SMT technology-your comments about lower noise is even more applicable to higher frequencies (UHF to millimeter wave) as well, since it was adopted by the satellite industry in the 80s to deal with that and other circuit issues. It was fun to watch the Big Muff comparison since I own one of the Guild Foxey Lady pedals from back in the day. So, favorite instrumental album: Leo Kottke-6 and 12 String Guitar, Takoma C-1024, 1969.
You seem like you'd be a really cool dude to have a coffee with and talk favorite albums :)
I probably am ;)
David DiMuzio No shit!
I'm brewing coffee, come on over
@@jefflitchfield4950 I am a year late but I would have a coffee with JHS and you guys...ha!
Maybe, there are a lot of people who regret meeting people they admire. Though he seems fun.
“Boutique” is the pedal equivalent of “indie”
Yeah. There’s one “indie” label out there that will only sign you if you have previously had a major label contract.
Best friend parodys Jay and savannah Word!! I was on Sub Pop back when Nirvana was on the label and recorded at Reciprocal 6 months after them. We did 5 records for them and they never wanted to be “indie”. They (and we) wanted to get rich. They did. Me, I did ok but behind that. My old band The Supersuckers still tours under that name even though it’s only the singer. Better him than me.
@@rontrose I remember the Supersuckers. Cool band.
HammyWheeler Thank you!!
Favorite Guitar Instrumental Album is a tie between Micheal Hedges "Aerial Boundaries" and Jeff Beck "Blow by Blow" (you probably have those so I will add as a less likely choice Duke Levine "Country Soul Guitar". Love the channel, keep up the great work!!
Super video! Loved it. So great to hear this stuff and so well put. Thanks for posting...
I can’t help but notice the large amount of Ibanez pedals behind you. I’m a fan of the tone-lok series. Please do a history of Ibanez pedals episode.
Saving this for later ;)
The history of the Tube Screamer in a pedal would be cool for a pedal... oh wait
hAHA i SEE WHAT U DID THERE!
@@jhspedals I would also really like such an episode! Huge fan of the Tone-Lok series myself.
I noticed the same thing, I too am a fan of the tone lok. My favorite is de7 delay/echo.
*MY* iPhone is tube powered, through hole electronics only! I'd show you a picture, but Instagram is too main stream. /S
lol
Oh damn! I want one. LOL
@@Paul_Lenard_Ewing I knew they'd sell out and it'd go mainstream. Stupid iTube...
hahahahaha
You should have gotten the point to point edition, so much warmer with a slight woody sound in the ring tones.
Not sure how I missed this. Josh is so helpful and transparent. Thank you.
As a drummer and engineer who is constantly fascinated by what goes into making things, I found this video to be honestly and refreshingly captivating!
Favorite instrumental record? Bill Evans "Waltz for Debby."
I love the statement that the sound of a pedal is colored by event, the memories of the experience as well as the actual sound of the pedal. Great point.
Just watched it for the second time. Love that episode!
Here's my thought: I think many people will get obsessed over details to unconsciously not do the actual work: practicing, playing, composing, etc.
(I know I do.)
Bingo!
Yup, many great players are completely technically clueless, whilst many not so great players may tell you how to build a perfect rig. Few are as talented at both.
Thanks Josh! Great video! I've been playing for 25 years and just now getting into pedals. IKR. Lots of helpful information!!!
One Saturday morning, back when I was still a wee lad in short pants, I was spending the weekend with my grandparents. I was planted in front of their massive console television, watching Hong Kong Fuey, a bowl of Trix on a TV tray in front of me... Suddenly, a commercial for Children's Palace popped up on the screen. The Palace was a precursor to Toys R Us (R.I.P., sweet giraffe) and learning that there existed a chain of stores that had inventories that consisted 100% exclusively of TOYS?!?!?!? Well, I lost my mind. In an instant I had leapt to my feet, launching my cereal and toppling over the tray, soaking the carpet and my Planet of the Apes pajamas with pink, sugary milk. Accompanying this mayhem a guttural, feral sound emitted from eight year-old me... Anyway, I'm 52 now and, just now? At the 3:04 minute mark, when I got my first look at that wall of pedals? Same experience. Also, amazing video, sir.
Yes, but to clarify, they were BENEATH The Planet of the Apes pajamas, not pajamas solely related to the original 1968 masterpiece. My apologies if I have (even unintentionally) misrepresented the situation at hand.
Really enjoyed your comment. I'm 57, for a few more months anyway. Made me feel nostalgic. I trip out sometimes when I realize I've been a guitar geek for about 47 years now. Happy to say I still get excited about new gear (toys), new licks, etc. Still waiting to be a rock star though! 😉 Thanks Stan ( that was my brothers name, bless his soul).
Stanley Culler Freaking hilarious. I hope you are a writer by trade.
Thanks for the reassurance josh ,I’ve been use a cheap clone brand of pedals purely because I can’t afford
The way cooler so called “boutique “ stuff that’s available
I Have to chuckle to my self when at a gigs I’m approached by musicians who wanna compliment me on my guitar
Sound but when they look down at my board they start a lecture about how much better it would be
If I was using a so and so! . Go figure 👍
Brand loyalty is fucking toxic. I can't stand musicians that sit around talking about how this piece of gear is better than whatever piece of gear you have. People get too sucked up into thinking they're "supporting" a brand when they're literally only paying extra for a stupid fucking logo and a cultivated identity around it that they've formed. Most people blindfolded wouldn't be able to tell a fuckin hollowbody from a hard tail, let alone the differences in a pedal. I wish when I went to guitar stores I didn't even have to see the brands, because it biases my own opinions too. I'd love to be able to just get a fuckin pedal that sounds good to me and not worry about what stupid name it has on it or who's gunna talk shit about it.
@@Southboundpachyderm hollowbody and hardtail aren't exactly comparable terms...
Robert DeVincentis Exactly. I'm huge fan of 'cheap' pedals. One of my favorites is a First Act Delay that I got on clearance for $29.99 at... Toys R Us.
You are my kind of gear head. I get the same thing as a synth player because I use cheaper modern synthesizers. But the same people who are disappointed were still dancing their asses off 5 minutes earlier.
@@Southboundpachyderm Talking about that brand loyalty and mindless fanboyism, hat down to apple.
I would love to see you breadboard these myths to test the difference if any at all. Totally dig your content and your pedals! Hope I can one day snag one of your amps!!
Great concise myth busters. Thanks for the info for us to keep in mind when obsessing about what gear to get next
Man, I love the anti bullshit attitude. Yet again I've learned things from your videos. Thanks dude.
💪💪💪
He's selling you a load of pr to get you to buy his pedals.
Through hole IS BETTER, because they are primarily built by hand and CAN be repaired when something goes wrong.
JHS Chinese populated SMD pedals are nothing but more toxic fodder for the landfill when they go bad.
Thing is EHX will charge a fair price for their SMD pedals, whereas JHS will charge 3x that amount.
Don't believe his hype.
@@bivvystridents3752 Dependability/fixability and what it sounds like are separate subjects.
@@dboy6400 So why not just buy a Donner pedal from China for $30. Same shit, a clone. Except Donner isn't charging $220 for their smd, machine assembled clone.
@@bivvystridents3752 Hi Richard. I'm a retired electrical engineer that began playing guitar in the 8th grade. I've heard so many speculative theories, some being hilarious and based on innocent ignorance, about what "sounds" the best, but hardly ever any discussion about fragility. That's the only point I was making. Circuit design is by far the hugest determinant of transfer function (what it will do to your signal) than the mechanics of construction. Components chosen can have some effect on sound if their in-circuit electrical characteristics differ greatly from the ideal.
Good vid. I think one of the most overlooked sound changer is the room you're playing in. For example, I set my sound in my living room. Go to a gig and the room is bigger, had to readjust everything. Sometimes it's brighter, louder, thinner, or muffled. So, maybe when you played a gig and everything just sounded great, it might not have been your playing, the band you played with, or your new pedal.
That's what sound check is for
Just found your channel mate, and i'm learning alot. Thank you and cheers from Brazil!
Beautiful video Josh. Love your panther cub V 1.5 which I've lovingly owned since 2018
For the tubescreamer thing, I think sometimes a guitarist might prefer the sound of a TS808 over a TS9 or vice versa, and not be aware of why one sounds more preferable to them.
Would absolutely love to see a video on the difference between soft and hard clipping.
yes please
Yup
Ditto
Yep, same here. I kinda think I know what it is but...well, you know, there's a ton of misinformation out there so...school me bro!
Yay for Hard clipping vs soft clipping
i love your way to see music and guitar effects, congrats JS!!!
These videos are excellent. Really learned a lot over the last few nights watching a bunch of them.
Great episode. I really got caught up in the buffer/true bypass myth when I started getting serious about gear. Your explanation about this was really clear
everybody knows fiesta red strats sound better
100% true.
They smell better too.
Gary Moore's one sounds ok ;-)
Boy from the Crowd strats are obsolete
That's a myth! Black strats sound better ;)
re: people "hearing things that aren't happening", I use to hear stories about studio guitarists who'd be asked by a producer to change something in their sound. "More bass", "more treble", "less distortion", whatever. So the guitarist would turn a knob on something that wasn't even patched in (or if they had an effects rack or amp that was positioned so you couldn't see the front panel from the control room, the guitarist would just touch the panel, not even touch any of the controls), play something and say "How's that", and the producer would say "Perfect!". They literally didn't change anything, but the producer THINKS they have.
Another story I remember hearing was something Roger Mayer once said about Jimi Hendrix. He said they'd go through a half dozen wah wah pedals or Fuzz Faces or whatever, and Jimi would hate all of them. THen Roger would come back to the first one, plug it in, remember this is one of the pedals Jimi had already rejected, and suddenly, Jimi would love it and say "Why didn't you show me that one first". Well, actually, he DID. lol And I remember Bob Bradshaw saying he encountered that phenomenon a lot when he was building effects systems for guitarists in the 80's, you'd go through a half dozen chorus units, all of them rejected, come back to the first one and suddenly the player would love it.
didn't know about your pedals before today, started watching you talk about the pedals you loved, watched a few more of your videos, (looking here because I want a decent reverb pedal) I decided that I"m buying your pedal, because you seem honest and fair and like you're concerned with the sound..
Pedal Customer: “Has this pedal got the goop that Fender sourced from Louisiana from 1973-1979 for their limited ‘Green wire’ treble booster? I read on a forum that it’s much better than the California based goop they used in later models”
Shop assistant: (walks towards nearest wall... repeatedly bangs forehead on said wall)
This channel has been far more educational than I would have imagined. Your passion for this subject makes it fun. Keep it up thank you.
Thanks for de-mything the myths. So much stuff out there I was looking into while building my pedal board. Hard too get the facts. THANK YOU SIR!
just recently found your channel on a recommend from a mate as I started recently to reimagined my pedal board after a long time of neglect... i've been loving the vids - and it helped me make some good economical and sensible choices as i've sought to replace my ailing overdrives, fuzzes and vibes... as well as affordably explore some sounds i'm curious about but haven't wanted to make the big investment in some of the classic pedals... anyway - long way of saying thanks!...here is my fave instrumental record recommendation - I make this recommendation to many many people - it is one of my all time favourite guitar records - Mel Brown's Chicken Fat album on the impulse label... a slice of greasy soul and rnb funk on a label more known for free jazz.
I had two versions of the Boss CE-5 for a while - one older analog, the other newer and digital. Could I even hear the difference? Nope. Did I persuade myself that I could hear the difference? Yup. Am I even sure that I had it right which was which? Nope. Did I replace them both with a 1979 CE-2 that I got for a ridiculous price? I did. It's awesome. Would I be able to tell the difference between that and a cheap clone? Almost certainly not.
Congratulations! You've won the thread.
Made in Japan or in Taiwan, though? You can totally hear the difference, they have different accents. ;)
"Play a pedal: if it sounds good to you, it's good, just move on!" Priceless! :-)
The "Gone to the Moon" comment I am definitely stealing - subscribed - Greetings from Liverpool England :-)
We should all see this video once a year. You tend to "snob up" over time.
Thanks Josh! Thanks for being honest.