Dave Matthew plays a Taylor

For 350 bucks the difference isn't worth it.

Its not the guitar its the player!

Hey Mike, Love your comments and information on different guitars and amps. I am a retired school teacher who plays in a local blues ban for fun. I have a store on Etsy (SundoCrafts) where I build extension speaker cabinets. If you are interested, I have a 1 x 8 mini lunch box sized cabinet that I would love to send to you for your feedback. Paired with a 5-15 watt head, I believe that it is the perfect size and sound for apartment or bedroom. Let me know you thoughts.

I bought an Epi Es355 last week - the ebony Shinichi Ubukata mode with chrome HW and licensed Bigsby. Still has Gibson Classic 57 pickups, Switchcraft and CTS harness and a very nice hard case. They are heavily discounted at some outlets in the UK, from £1229 to £799. If that wasn’t cheap enough, I traded an unloved MIM 50s strat in and parted with £400. It’s nuts how good this Epi is. The varitone choke and Bigsby add a fair bit of heft, so it’s 9lbs plus. That’s the only drawback. Fabulous guitar that makes me want to play, for less than a third of Gibson money. Joy :)

I purchased a squire jazz bass that was modified to hell, frets ripped out and epoxy filled neck, for $400 and it's such an amazing bass. Not the best at everything but it's so versatile and has such a cool sound

I bought an Epi Es355 last week - the ebony Shinichi Ubukata mode with chrome HW and licensed Bigsby. Still has Gibson Classic 57 pickups, Switchcraft and CTS harness and a very nice hard case. They are heavily discounted at some outlets in the UK, from £1229 to £799. If that wasn’t cheap enough, I traded an unloved MIM 50s strat in and parted with £400. It’s nuts how good this Epi is. The varitone choke and Bigsby add a fair bit of heft, so it’s 9lbs plus. That’s the only drawback. Fabulous guitar that makes me want to play, for less than a third of Gibson money. Joy :)

Made to look absolutely stunning, loaded with USA electronics & Custom Buckers, and a HSC; it's an absolute win/best in show. I'm aiming to get one of these and when I do, everyone back up cause I'm going play an E minor.

I am 70 now, i first heard jimi when i was12 and knew then he was special....still do now. Rock on.

to get the clean sound out of that SG, you absolutely need to get rid of Gibson pickups.

i love mine

Firefly + Seymour =

Nobody hates Brian May - he built his own guitar with his dad when he was 16 years old. He still uses it 60 years later.. It's been on every song and tour and is so recognisable along with his iconic playing which sticks in your mind. Not just all that but he is the most wonderful human in the world!! He came to our event and spent three and a half hours with us and played We Will Rock You for us.. LEGEND

Big fan of Epiphone they has a longer history then Gibson, they always been a brand/company that’s always wanted there to be musicians in the world even a hundred years ago same with squire too always been for the people.

Do they?

I own strictly Ibanez my #1 is my RG920QMZ Indonesia 2011, Cobalt Blue Surge finish Edge Zero II double-locking tremolo, DiMarzio IBZ humbuckers, 24 frets of fun. As much as I love the brand...look, my only complaint is that they don't make enough different models and their naming system is wayyyyy too simple! (Is the...sarcasm TOO obvious?). Quick tutorial RG is the shape, "9" is a quality indicator (higher number better), "2" is the HH pickup setup, "0" means no pickguard "QM" designates Quilted Maple neck and blanking on the Z(?)

I have an old Kramer with an original Floyd Rose and I'd leave it home from college, and I'd pick it up out of the case months later and it would still be in PERFECT tune. Embrace the learning curve, it will become your best friend. Also, superstrats are cool and all but check out what Mick Mars was playing in the late 80s with Motley Crue. SuperTELES are where its at.

Just another way to justify GAS

If you think these sound unique, try one of the epiphone Firebirds. Those things are wicked cool, totally unique sound.

OK, the first time I saw an Ibanez it wasn't so much that I saw it but that I played it...I was a Fender Stratocaster guy. This was ~1984-85 my friend comes over he has this interesting looking red guitar...Ibanez (huh) Destroyer II. I play it and damn! I offered to buy it on the spot...10 minutes later it's mine; I'm $50 and 6 vinyl albums of his choice, lighter. Here's that guitar in "action" ($50...!) 30 years later! Just a fundraiser 53 seconds of some dork pretending ftr the solo portion of "Bad Horsie" by Steve Vai jamming over a backing track, recorded with a potato. It's your free will just sayin' the pain...is considerable but brief. No, this isn't Vai's solo it my solo in his...I mean, I won't even pretend I'm Ste...you know that's...that's a sacrilige. Heresy. Anyway... www.reddit.com/r/Ibanez/comments/1egwvrv/question_about_my_ibanez_destroyer_ii/ (Feel free to mock! My inner critic is a packed/SRO stadium, they're drunk, angry and LOUD!).

Try the Epiphone Sheraton for me is the best

I have a Korean Strat from the 90's sounds WAY better than that thing. All stock. It's NASTY. I have had all kinds of guitars. Still my favorite.

Play more talk less. You’ll thank me later.

Jag-WAR*

Who would have ever thought I would be a big enough nerd to EVER know "Gigawatts" is wrong and "Gigawatts" is correct. Even more mind blowing, other people in general who never went back to college for computer sciences would also know Back to the Futures error. Me and my co-workers all have a great laugh about this every time someone brings it up. My guitars say Gibson on the headstock because I like it. It makes me feel good even if it is not an authentic guitar. Slash had a fade Gibson as well, which admittedly is magical so much so that Gibson took it and made their own expensive version. Anyway, my point is Back to the Future has a LOT of mistakes... not all were intentional and McDonalds, Gibson & Coke have some magical comforting feeling in them. My not so authentic Gibson's have Poly finishes. My real Gibson is cracking as it is over 50 years old now. Not gonna be the case (see what I did here) with my poly tributes. Gibson making guitars over 100 years and cannot get their finishes to not shrink or crack/peel. lol Also, nitro never really cures and some people speculate is not healthy. I would never spend over $1200 on a guitar, in fact I have never paid over $800 on ANY one guitar. If you do you are richer and more gullible than I am. Take any guitar you want and I will bring in one of mine we can A/B them. You will not be able to tell me why mine is less expensive when it performs and sounds as good or better.

I bought a Gibson 335 new and hated it. The fret were very tall and like razor blades. Sold it

OMFG! YOU ARE WAY OFF BASE HERE! Ok many great things about your videos and factual usually but Back to the Future as a meaningful or universally significant guitar movie for musicians....ahhh not the best choice my friend. Especially if you are a great player. Shock Em Dead was LITERALLY all about wanting to be a guitar hero and sound track/scenes with guitar playing shown were done by Nitro's guitarist Michael Angelo Donato who if you do not know about you been living under a Fing rock dude. I have had to accept that though he may not be able to write as good of a song as some of us... I likely will NEVER be able to play anywhere near his technical abilities. He is a pretty genuine nice guy from what I have seen backstage footage and youtube land. He also shares knowledge on how to better yourself as a guitarist something other people EVH for example were not so keen to do. Sure one could say it was more of an "adult" themed movie and a B flick at best but Crossroads.... now there is yet another better movie about the same damn thing and he was playing a tele through a pig nose with a slide and his buddy was a harmonica player who (spoiler alert the movie only let's you in towards the end on this part it was a mystery you knew old guy was up to something and had to guess. Me being a guitarist who knew all about Robert Johnson and his story guessed pretty quickly compared to non-musicians or non-blues people) had sold his soul to become so good like his old band mate Robert Johnson had done years ago. It was main stream with Ralph Macchio as main character and Steve Vai as the devils guitar virtuoso. I would say Back to the Future has some very small guitar parts a few tongue in cheep moments which are really kinda stupid. The other two I have mentioned are JAM PACKED with riff after riff and real guitar players with real guitarist situations which have happened in real life before although dramatized and put into one or two characters. Both movies I mentioned also points out how delirious and devoted/desperate some of us are to be great musicians so much so that we would do anything to be the best! If you can watch either one of the movies I mention then watch Back to the Future and compare them from a guitarist point of view and come up with Back to the Future as the winner you got a problem. Don't get me wrong, it is a good movie but not anywhere near a #1 pick (see what I did there) for a "guitar" movie significant or relevant for it's musicianship. Sure Michael J Fox had played before in Joan Jets band before he was an actor. Macchio had to learn guitar for months before even filming. I thought the movie would suck because he would not be my choice of actors but he did a damn good job there! Hands down waaaaaaaaaaay better than Karate Kid!! Seriously, if you need a copy of either of these let me know I can hook you up. If you like Back to the Future because of the guitar parts you need to see these movies. Hands down the guitar duel at the end on Crossroads is the BEST EVER! I learned Macchio's ending solo and sometimes I play it when I go to a guitar center. People stop, look and sometimes even the staff have approached me and asked "what is that piece?" Kids come up and say "awesome playing man" I can play whatever but that work is super super super impressive when you do it correctly. Anyways, I hope you do not think I am an asshole but you obviously need to see some better movies.

I am - and will never be more than - a weekend hacker with a couple of hundred local bar gigs to his credit. But I am so tired of hearing the crap about Gibson vs Epiphone and Fender vs. Squier. I've owned and played Gibson and Epiphone Les Pauls. I've also owned and played Fender and Squier Jazz Basses. The distinct differences betweel Gibson/Epiphone and Fender/Squire are readily apparent in every which way - tone, feel, appearance, playability, overall quality... the works. It's always somebody who will cough up enough for the more affordable brand but won't do that for the "luxury" brand that gripes, whines and moans. It's not the manufacturers fault you can't afford one. The tonewoods used are different. The parts used are different. The finishing is different. The procedures and care with which they are made is different. For the extra money you just flat out get more also. Think Honda/Acura, Toyota/Lexus and Nissan/Infiniti.

This is my first time watching your channel and I’m subscribed now! I’ve seen Mac DeMarco and Campbell Burns play jazzmasters and strats but I’ve been researching the Jazzmaster recently mainly because I didn’t know much at all about it. Sounds sick!

I've had an Epi ES-335 Pro for about 7 yrs now and i Absolutely love it, such a versatile guitar.

My favorite Epiphone is the 356 flying bird

I’ve got a 335 dot studio. Kind of a blues machine. Love its simplicity and tone. Easy to play. But needs to be tuned often

Michael, I love your vids. You’re bad, as the kids say

I have a 1996 Epiphone Sheraton and it makes me so happy. I brought it about 9 months ago for about 800 bucks. Its super warm and the neck is so smooth its like its made of glass. Higher end Epiphone guitars are great and well worth it even if it doesn't have the same prestige as daddy Gibson.

I've been looking at the "Inspired by Gibson" Les Pauls recently. I own - and have owned several - Epiphones over the years. They've been very good guitars for the most part. But if it's going to be a Les Paul or SG model, it's GOT TO be the "Gibson" headstock. It's all about the correct headstock. Casinos, Sheratons, etc. look great with the longer Epi headstock. But that looks just wrong on an SG or LP.

He used bass frets too. Live at El Macombo 🤯

I think this video calls for you to buy a J. Mascis Jazzmaster

I have an import 2023 sunburst casino, which I swapped out the pickups on (Lolar black cover p90s), fitted with new switchgear and wiring, and re-fretted with stainless steel. It's awesome and cost me less than a third of USA model. I own guitars worth 6 grand and this plays and sounds just as good.

And one more thing, I'm not sure if Fender fixed this in the newer Blues Juniors but the volume used to be all or nothing. Go past 3 and suddenly jumps to full volume. There were all kinds of fixes online, change the pot, or change a capacitor, something like that. I was experimenting with some old tubes I'd found in my parent's garage and discovered that replacing the 12AX7 with a 12AU7 gives the amp a fully controllable taper. I'm not sure if there were tone changes or not. It sounded fine to me.

When it comes to Fenders, I have owned a Fender Stage 160 DSP, Fender Champion 600, Hotrod Deville 410, Hotrod Deluxe 112, two Blues Juniors, both made in USA, one with Bill M Mods, a Super Champ X2 with speaker upgrade, an actual 1968 Drip Edge Bandmaster Reverb (no master volume), '68 Custom Reverb Deluxe Reissue, plus some Mesa Boogies that were loosely based on Fender. Way back around 1966, I bought a Fender Princeton 112 for $50. It didn't sound that great because I was playing a Japanese Orpheus electric guitar at the time. I also have owned some Fender acoustic amps, not that it matters here. Of all the Fender amps I have owned, I like, and still own, the '68 Custom Deluxe Reverb RI best, followed by the Blues Juniors. The reason I let the Blues Juniors go is because the Bill M modified Blues Junior had trouble keeping up with the band in a noisy bar. Of all the Fenders I have ever played through, with his Nash telecaster plugged into it, my son's Fender 2020 Limited Edition '65 Princeton Reverb Chilewich Denim amp had the greatest, to-die-for tones.

Squier has also been reissuing old, lesser known fender models. IIIIIIIIIII LOVE the trend, personally. BIG win for guitarrists in general.

People always hate wha they desire the most, but can never be

Les Paul had a long relationship with Epiphone. He used their factory to work on his famous “Log”. He then slapped two hollow body sides on the Log and made the first semi hollow body prototype of the ES series back in 1953. Gibson didn’t buy it but came up the the McCarty version which became the Les Paul. I have an Epiphone ES-335 Pro which I will never sell.

For me it's how the guitar plays and feels in the hand. Im fortunate to own several custom shop Fender/Gibson models and a few standards some i've passed on because despite the custom shop background they simply do not play well.

Bought my first Epi in 2000 - a Korean cherry SG. It has a rosewood fretboard and beautiful action and, while needing a pickup upgrade now, remains one of my all-time fave guitars.

Hi Mike, love the vids! I am a Manc born guy (pronounced MANK) meaning I am originally from Manchester, England, same as Noel Gallagher. Live a few miles out now in the country. Great to see you play an Oasis track. I like Oasis but my real musical heritage (being a child of the 60s ) is of the British blues boom such as Clapton/Beck/Page/Green etc and I started playing age 11(1966) and that all led me back to a love of the true US blues including BB, T-Bone Walker , Albert King, and far too many others to mention. On then to R&B and the soul of Tamla and Stax etc......But as well as the great Brit guitarists that we have/had, there is only one who I adored since I was 11 (still do ) and it has to be Jimi !!!! We claimed him as our own (😇) and always will.😁 The guitar joins so many people together no matter who we are ! Keep up the vids, well done ....or as Noel and I would say.."sorted our kid !!!" 🎸🎸🎸🎸🎸🤘🤘🤘🤘

No matter how many times I buy the latest gen multi fx/modeler/profiler thingy, the honeymoon is over in six month or less. I go back to my amps and pedals and relegate the latest gen piece of hardware to studio recording & headphone practice duties. They do a fine job at that. I think there's room for many solutions here so people should use whatever they feel like using. I'm not ditching my amps.

I also love strats and have been playing Strat like guitars for the past few years. I wanted to try something new so I got a les Paul style Guitar with 25" scale length which feels so much better in my hands. The neck is just incredible and there's absolutely no dead spots or anything. I also really like the clean tone of those humbuckers now to the point I might even prefer them to the Strat. I always though nothing could be a Strat neck pickup, but somehow this LP is just so good as well.

I just got the epiphone J180 and it’s beautiful. The ‘Inspired by Gibson’ line is amazing.

I've had almost every tube amp (past Blackface) that Fender made, and have been playing professionally for over 55 years. The amps that I have used the most, even in an 8 pc Western swing band, are my cream board Blues Juniors! I just got a tweed Princeton Reverb, and even still go back & forth between the PR & the BJ! My BJ's get a LOT of use (avg 2 rehearsals, one show and 14 hrs of practice every week), and have only had two small problems (solder joint on a power tube socket broke, and a Accutronics reverb tank broke a wire). It's been getting that amount of use ever since the cream boards came out (the earlier green boards didn't do it for me).