Cheap Pedals & Expensive Amps or Expensive Pedals & Cheap Amps?? Does it Even Matter??

[@jesperjacobsen2463]

Here's what I gather. You may or may not care: Spending twice as much money on a better pedal makes a marginal difference. Spending twice as much money on a better amp makes a big difference.

[@emartinezr]

Ehhh twice as much for a pedal is.... let's say $150 more. Twice as much for an amp is... $2000 more. 😅

[@jesperjacobsen2463]

@@emartinezr I understand what you're saying, but that does depend on the starting point with regards to both the pedal and the amp. I don't think it changes my point overall though. Not until the point of diminishing returns, which is an outrageously high figure as far as amps are concerned.

[@angusorvid8840]

Yes. And you don't have to pay a fortune to get a good pedal. Some of the most basic Boss pedals are just fine. I've also played pedals by Behringer and Donner that were about $30 and sounded great.

[@jesperjacobsen2463]

@@angusorvid8840 indeed. If we learned anything from the Bad Monkey saga, it is that our biases run out decision making

[@angusorvid8840]

I learned a long time ago to trust my ears. If it sounds good, it is good, no matter how affordable it is; if it sounds bad, it is bad, no matter how expensive it is. I remember a line of amps that were very hyped up in the late 80s, Kitty Hawk. They got some big endorsers including Reb Beach of Winger. Then word got out how awful they sounded, how unreliable they were, and Reb Beach called them Shitty Hawks. I tried a used one at my local shop and could not believe how bad it sounded. The shop kept discounting it before it finally sold. @@jesperjacobsen2463

[@13thdukeofwybourne]

Spend your money on guitars lessons first, appropriate amps for your situation second, pedals last

[@mileswatkinson8135]

I used to use fairly high end gear in my gigging days. Now that I only play at home, I use decent quality less expensive gear, both in amps and pedals. I actually find my tone better now. Part of that I attribute to the fact that I've learned a lot about how to get the best out of a pedal/amp than I knew back then, and part is due to the fact that the tech has improved to the point where less expensive gear is better than it was in the 90's. I'd love to try some higher end stuff, but can't justify the expense now, as a living room player.

[@bassyey]

Turns out, actually learning what EQ is and what each knob does is what's important. Who would've thought about that lol.

[@fherdelpino]

From my Andertons degree that I got from watching hours of youtube videos… I learned that cheap pedals can compete against expensive pedals but a cheap amp will never compete against an expensive amp. Having said that, I am still very excited to watch this video and see the outcome.

[@elliotgreen987]

My takeaway so far (haven't finished the video) is that expensive stuff sounds better but not as good as 10 guitar lessons per pedal to get me closer to Petes level That said I might spend 10 guitar lessons worth of money on a Halcyon anyway!

[@matthewtyler-jones8317]

So Pete’s got the fourth best tele in his blind test. But yes, the most expensive.

[@brotherhawk3228]

No you didn't lol

[@brotherhawk3228]

I felt for Pete when I watched that video . We all should of learned a lot from that video . Lol

[@matthewtyler-jones8317]

@@brotherhawk3228 I learned that I should delay no longer on ordering that FGN I have been playing in the shop.

[@brotherhawk3228]

@@matthewtyler-jones8317 You think your turning Japanese lol what model are you looking at .

[@matthewtyler-jones8317]

@@brotherhawk3228 😀old enough to get that reference. Yes I’ve been looking for a t-type for about a year£400-£500. But nothing I played had the feel I wanted. Wondered about stretching to a vintera, but I pull the high E off the fretboard at the best of times, and that 7” radius didn’t help. Then I tried the Iliad. Pretty much perfect, But what I really wanted were the Ash bodied J-standard versions. And what I could justify were the Boundary versions, which were right at the top end of my budget. Then two things happened: that video said they Iliad would be pretty much perfect with upgraded pickups, AND I found a little cash of savings I had kind of forgotten about that was pretty my ten quid over what a j-standard costs. So … 🤷‍♂️

[@cyunker86]

Would love to see this but with modulation, delay, and reverb pedals. In my experience, you can get away with a less expensive dirt pedal, but cheap mod/delay/verb pedals tend to get nasty. Good content! Great Playing!

[@fiveways]

This all depends on context. For myself I find most every modern expensive reverb and delay pedals to be just overly clean. They are too perfect. The algorithmic grit you dial in is too perfect. They all lack a disgusting charm that you get from older gear with shitty converters but still an analog dry side. The only modern company you I've kept gear from that deals in digital has been Oto (who makes really weird stuff) and the maneco line of low res samplers.

[@caseylm100]

cheap autowahs are awful

[@DrSpeener]

I agree, I have gone through 5 delay pedals trying to find the right one. Finally ended up with a JHS which was more money than I wanted to spend but I am happy with it. Cheap reverbs are the same. They sound like rubbish.

[@martyshwaartz971]

I find the opposite? I feel like mod is mod, verb is verb, and delay is delay, but with drive pedals paying a bit more usually gets you more eq knobs.

[@隠れた]

@@fivewaysas far as delay goes that’s because it’s digital, if you want the darker grittier delay go with analog or tape simulation and for reverbs I’m not sure I believe that claim

[@isitreallyisitreally1756]

Speakers and speaker cab size isn’t spoken about , but , it’s the most important thing , plus some expensive valve amps need to be driven / played loud to get the best out of them , and it’s about the feel too , how do notes appear when you pick softly / hard . All good fun 😊👍

[@jerryhorton5708]

Well done, Lee and Pete. I thought this was a terrific way to highlight both how startling the difference between amps is and how subtle differences in the pedals affected tone. While an audience might not be able to discern the shift in tone, a player is going to have more confidence and a radically different approach when they don’t have to fight the equipment to achieve tone. And Pete is quite correct - once a player has developed abilities, they are more likely to maximize those subtle differences and wring the most out of the equipment.

[@benjoel6692]

Excellent video. I agree with your findings, and I like all the tones. I'm not convinced the NUX are less attractive tones, but rather simply different. A few times, I preferred the NUX. What fun!

[@sandrosandro7900]

EXACTLY this. For me there were slight differences (I am using decent earphones for this video) - but I wouldn't say the were better/worse, just different. Except the last, expensive amp. I preferred the Origin Effects pedals. ymmv

[@GitShiddy]

The leap from Hot Rod to Tone King is genuinely remarkable. It isn't until the Tone King where I hear the Halcyon do that Tube Screamer sound; which I'm not a fan of, but I know the distinct characteristics. And in the Tone King is when the Nux pedals sound like they've run out, that there's nothing more to give. Whereas in the other three amps they kept up; in fact in the solid state amps I thought the Nux sounded better.

[@bakkels]

I was already shocked at the leap from the Boss to the Fender. Was it just me or did that HotRod DL sound really dull? And I gotta say that the Nux TS sounded really great. The horseman slightly less than it's counterpart, but for the money? Pretty friggin good stuff. About the TS sound in general: I really am a big fan, but only with single coils, and on the neck position (or the 4 position as well with a strat). A TS adds these very distinct, chimey (metallic?) overtones that I just love. However, when I hear a TS on a bridge pickup or HB I'm always left kinda 'meh'. Good overdrive, but nothing that sets it apart.

[@GitShiddy]

@@bakkels I don't know if anyone would actually choose a Hot Rod Deluxe. It's seemingly always a "make do with" amp.

[@tisbonus]

The Tone King was 10db louder than the Fender so it made it hard to tell for me. What's louder is ALWAYS going to sound "better".

[@GitShiddy]

@@tisbonus Louder in the room doesn't equal louder in the video.

[@tisbonus]

@@GitShiddy Literally louder on the video by a lot.

[@thee_jpp]

I’ve always said that the closer it is to the end of your chain, the more important it is to your tone. Amps > pedals > guitar. However, the guitar’s feel will determine how much you want to pick it up and play, so it’s the most important in that respect. Pedals have the smallest delta between good and bad so they can easily be the most overpriced. But at the end of the day, if you don’t love your amp, you won’t love your tone. NOTHING will make up for what your amp lacks, no matter how many Klons and vintage guitars you plug into it.

[@jasondorsey7110]

Advancing that logic, the speaker is the single most important tone factor, if your speakers are garbage the rest of your tone is throttled no matter what you use, and manufacturers generally choose speakers for their mass-production amps and cabs based on a price point and not what's best

[@jmabs5096]

Agreed. A good amp will make any cheap pedal or guitar sound better. Also the most overlooked part that has a drastic tone is the speaker moving all the sound!

[@void_snw]

I wanna say the type of pickup matters a lot, tone wise. Mainly single vs dual coil. No matter what I do, I can't make my Humbucker equipped guitar sound not nasally mid forward, even with an EQ pedal (maybe I'm just bad at using the EQ pedal for this purpose), and that impacts everything coming after it. And my single coil equipped guitar will always have that spanky attack that makes dialling a high gain tone a bit more difficult.

[@jasondorsey7110]

@@void_snw Are you using the eq pedal before the amp or in the effects loop?

[@archo0518]

pick ups make a big difference if you are playing live. For example , I changed my standard strat pick ups to texas specials going into a fender twin. This made a big difference in cutting through the mix. in your bed room playing into a smaller amp is it worth it?I once bought a second hand Vox AC30 off a guy who was a beginner and bedroom guitarist. As Pete was saying its like buying a Porsche 911 to learn to drive in. @@void_snw

[@sad_yeehaw]

I think in a live/band context, this minute differences in the tones in the pedals would not be noticeable at all

[@wibblewabblewoo6249]

100%

[@frusciantegeartone]

Exactly

[@Straydogger]

I agree. But the amp difference would be noticed! LOL 🙂

[@ithemba]

@@Straydogger as a live technician in a venue who has all kinds of bands coming in to play, from really really small acts playing very basic equipment to european, australian and US touring bands, I'd say: the difference between a fender deluxe reverb and a old ass shitty fender frontmann or a orange crush combo is totally negligible as soon as the thing is mic'ed up for almost all live applications - given the band knows that they are doing, band sound wise. Not a single soul in the audience, other than other gear obsessed guitarists, willl hear any difference. I'd say there are several other factors that play a way bigger role in how the guitar will sound over the PA system: is the signal properly buffered? does the guitarist use a proper power-source for pedals or is it one of those cheap power bricks without proper grounding? are the strings fresh or already played for the last three shows? all of these make a much bigger impact than what amp.

[@Metalhead0283]

15:42 pete definitely likes to play with himself

[@picksalot1]

Interesting experiment. Until you got up to the Tone King Amp, I preferred the less expensive NuX pedals paired with the less expensive Amps. This may indicate that the Pedal Makers have a pretty good idea what type/price Amps their pedals will be used on. Customers should consider that as well to get the best results. Thanks

[@stringlocker]

Why do you prefer less expensive amps. Other than the fact they cost less.

[@niclastname]

@@stringlocker I think they were saying that on the cheaper amps, they preferred the sound of the cheaper pedals. Not that they prefer cheaper amps.

[@stringlocker]

I have to admit I don't pay very close attention to anderton's videos. They have pretty much run out of new things to say. I just picked up on the cheap amp thing. I used to buy them because I was cheap. I don't buy them anymore they are inferior.

[@Spetsnazty]

@@stringlockerit’s crazy how much in the video and comment thread flew over you head. I’m bewildered.

[@stringlocker]

@@Spetsnazty I watched zero of the video. I cannot tolerate their videos anymore. I just read the thumbnail and saw cheap amplifier. And I took it from there. It's just the thing that I do.

[@IamMusicNerd]

Pedals can definitely change your tone more, as there are infinite options. But I always prioritize the amp, as it’s the basis for all the pedal tones. Plus, with all the amps and pedals available as captures and plug ins now, you have infinite cheap options that sound good now. But I find less issues with pedal captures than with amp captures.

[@artg2767]

Bottom line, the Tone King amp sounds great!

[@danstringer7610]

Great video! Fortunately my OCD sounds pretty good through my Katana. The pricey amps are better but out of my price range. Lucky to have what I have.

[@brianrollins7275]

I have a Roland blues cube hot and a few pedals and I feel lucky to have what I have as well. I definitely get what you’re talking about. ✌🏻

[@bgrierofficial]

I have some more expensive amps, but at gigs, I always take my Line 6 Catalyst and Pod Go (using it as a pedalboard). I get compliments on my tone regularly - you don't need an expensive amp or expensive pedals, IMO.

[@TheSavagederek]

This has been the most informative video ive really seen tbh . I own a 1999 Fender US Stratocaster which ive owned from new , and love . Im looking at amps just now as im currently using a small Orange and was considering getting the Orange Crush 60 or a 50watt Katana . I think ill keep saving as the better amp does sound so much better .

[@tracypartin7408]

Good amp and cheap pedals.

[@beardedrancher]

Definitely worth putting more money into the amp.

[@brandonthompson8413]

The speaker the amplifier is going into is what matters the most.

[@deadtothewxrld]

Would love to see this video concept but with speakers. Expensive amps with great vs cheap speakers, and cheap amps with great vs cheap speakers. I think people might finally realize that speakers are one of the most important factors in how good your amp sounds.

[@CoffeeAndSteel]

This.

[@gardenstudio7987]

In the studio realm they are all usable sounds. In a live situation at high volumes the cheap amps will show their weaknesses regardless of pedals. Fun experiment. Enjoyed it.

[@jhnny1895]

it so true

[@DirtyDavesDirt]

💯

[@Case_]

But in a live situation, barely anyone outside of the player themselves will care. Provided the amps don't break down completely (which can frankly happen even to the most expensive ones).

[@gardenstudio7987]

From my experience playing hundreds of shows, the listening audience does care what your amp sounds like. My point is that cheaper amps show their weaknesses at higher volumes.@@Case_

[@Case_]

@@gardenstudio7987 OK.

[@bozeeke]

From my experience, a Peavey Bandit on the clean channel with any good $200 plus overdrive or distortion pedal and a good delay sounds quite professional in terms of sound quality.

[@-dlb-]

The cheap ts sounded better (and quieter!) than the Halcyon in some settings! It'd be interesting to hear them in a mix, too. As for the amps, it's definitely a matter of speakers, too. Fun video!

[@jasondorsey7110]

Fender uses cheap speakers, even the eminence-made ones are lacking compared to a real eminence, I run all my fender amps through ext cabs

[@RICO_SUAVE21]

I agree! The cheap tube screamer was definitely better sounding to my ears 👍🏾

[@70mcnevin]

​@@jasondorsey7110I disagree. The speaker on the SuperSonic 22 was good. But good isn't great. I always swap in a Celestion Gold Alnico in Fenders, v30's with Marshalls, and two different speakers with Mesa that I cant divulge due to it's proprietary nature.

[@pCeLobster]

The real question is amp vs speakers. Is it better to have a good amp with a cheap cab and poorly suited speakers? Or a mediocre amp with the right size cab and the right speakers? I theorize that guitars are to amps as amps are to speakers. In other words cabs and speakers are the most important thing in the rig in terms of sound. You lock in the right size enclosure with the right speakers and any amp is going to shine. Electric guitar is an acoustic instrument after all, it's just that the acoustic part is at the speaker not the guitar itself.

[@justmehere6094]

NOW the criticism. You used tube screamers and Klons, essentially. Both circuits KNOW for not always sounding as good, or responding with ALL amp circuits, even very good or expensive amps.

[@boogieperry8893]

Lee, that was great. Thank you for your channel.

[@jimmyjimmy951]

Concluded that the NUX pedals are awesome and great value for money.. 👍🇦🇺

[@tobymearing8407]

great show chaps. a very good ad for budget pedals, and a reminder that the amp is so important - don't buy boutique pedals - save that money up for a tube amp.

[@j.powellnetwork]

Of all my years of pedals, guitars and Amps. I've learned: if it sounds good, it's good. Regardless of price.

[@kendickinson8307]

There's nothing like a boutique (ish) amp and, thankfully, I own one. But with all things valve, it needs to go into the shop right now. So I end up using my Katana and have no issues whatsoever other than it's just more fun and 'creative' to play the quality amp. I own several pedals, some expensive, some less so. Depending on the tone I want, there are times the inexpensive pedal is actually better than the expensive one. Where I find differences between pedals, actually, is in unwanted noise (hum or hiss). In general, if I find a pedal to be noisy, I won't buy it regardless of price. But it's worth noting that one of my favorite dirt pedals, currently, is a pretty low cost one. There is some noise, but nothing that comes out when playing.

[@thiscorrosion900]

Beginners aren't going to be arsed with dealing with a huge tube amp that needs servicing all the time. I would have quit guitar years ago if I'd had to deal with all that.

[@thiscorrosion900]

@NolanVoid-dr1ch I know a few pro. or semi pro musicians who scoff at any digital processors, etc. or solid state amps. I just don't care because I'm just a home player. For my purposes a few good processors pedals, and smaller modeling amps work great. I did buy a Vox VX50 GTV amp, though, so I've got "nuTube" tech. and 50 watts of actual tube power, basically. The amp is small but powerful as hell. I would love to own a good Fender Blues tube amp though someday, a Blues Jr. or a Peavey Classic or whatever.

[@TheCoronaMortis]

Interesting to hear the differences, they start subtle but get more distinct as you go up. However, with the Halcyon green, I noticed through the Fender there's a bit more "clean" signal coming through than the others, which i personally don't like.

[@LEUNN_]

I wish they would get more into how things feel under the fingers (sustain, compression) than just sound in these comparisons.

[@jmabs5096]

You gota realize 90% of folks are listening to this on crappy phone speakers, watch it over with some good headphones and you will hill nuances better as if you where in the room. Also don't overlook youe speaker. Most Chace after a new amp but a speaker swap can drastically change your tone. Also try running into a 2x12 or 4x12.... A 4x12 makes a huge difference in how it feels and sounds. Punches you in the guts in a good way and reason why legends used them often

[@rabidgoon]

the only thing in life that matters more than having a decent amp is having a decent guitar. i would trade my wife and firrst born for a good amp and quality axe. good thing i'm childless and single so I don't have to worry about that problem.

[@niclastname]

This kind of proves the point of the people who always ask for you to use cheap amps though. Because if people hear a great pedal, and then buy it and find out it doesn't really sound much different on their affordable amp at home they're going to be massively disappointed. They _want_ to know that it wouldn't be worth it for them. I think that's their point. They think "Man that pedal sounds awesome, I should get one! But would it sound awesome on my cheaper setup too...?". So maybe do the full demos as normal, then have a short bit showing it on a cheap amp as well? It would be interesting to see the same kind of thing with other FX like reverb and delay and chorus etc, to see if you hear the smaller details that set different pedals apart on different amps. Also maybe the Halcyon pedals for the expensive was a "bad" choice? Since part of their appeal and price is all the extra features, rather than just how they sound when they're both trying to do the same thing. Great video as always! 💙

[@SEGREDOSPROIBIDOS1]

In my experience a bad amp is impossible to fix, but a decent one will sound amazing with high end guitars and pedals. In my case it’s pointless to get a fancy amp since I live in an apartment and can’t really make it scream.

[@youngandrew66]

Final comment, non metaphorical too.. I have a cheap nux type screamer and it broke quite quickly. Build quality and reliability has to come into it

[@Frankentoane]

Nice comparison. But i see that the eastcoast and imperial were set louder than the others, as seen from petes outro at the end. Volume on the amp greatly affects tone overall

[@djb5841]

Expensive pedals and expensive amps and expensive guitars and expensive pickups. Then play all that while wearing expensive clothes and while high on expensive cannabis. That’s the best way to do it from my own personal experience.

[@mattwilliamsonguitar]

Can you guys do a video on how you mic your amps? Or how you capture these tones? They always sound so good compared to what I get when I'm recording at home. A lot more clear, less muddy/bassy. If they've already done this, can someone link it to me?

[@_caseyjames]

Are you doing stuff in post? Eq is your friend. Also a good tone in a mix doesn't necessarily sound the best stand alone - this is why teles are great for recording

[@Wedoheal]

Good amp wins all day

[@willwetherington]

My very first "rig" (if you can call it that) was a tiny practice amp and a Digitech RP200 multi effects pedal.

[@alexwoolridge94aw]

A good quality amp can't be beat.

[@williamdavis7274]

SPEAKERS!

[@jeffreylazzarinisr7419]

Great vid as always! Here at our shop in San Diego Cali we sell the Marshall code 50 @ $299 100 x more than the katana. To be more accurate, we never sell any katana's when we A/B them and let the client choose. Cheers!

[@michaelschneider7590]

Great advice! I’m looking to move up from my starting Nux Mighty Amp 8 BT MKII. Curious if the Libe 6 Catalyst fares better against the Marshall code 50?

[@derekjohnson5720]

If you are minted buy the expensive rig. If you are not buy the less expensive rig. Once you learn to master using amps and pedals and what guitars go better with what amps, what pedals go better with what amps, what guitars go better with what pedals. You will be able to a good tone out of anything. My most expensive rig was a Fender pro 2 telecaster, Vox AC 15, the dane, strymon sunset, hall of fame reverb, boss digital delay, MXR phaser, boss chorus. It was epic and sounded amazing. Due to financial hard times I now rock a Vintage V6(strat) katana mk2 100wat and tone city pedals. Does it sound as good as my expensive rig use to, no. But I am still happy with my current less expensive rig, yes as I can still get epic tonnes. Can still get my Hendrix, SRV, Clapton, Frusciante on with no probs.

[@NoelHaven]

3:30 Okay, are y’all watching me watch you? 😧 I don’t know if they meant Noel Gallagher but as someone who doesn’t hear their name often in media it caught me off guard 😂

[@pieve5516]

Another way of looking at the pedals is the lower cost pedal may be grittier versus the expensive that maybe too smooth. I like the grit.

[@ThePedalGuy]

Guys.... it's NUX (New Ex)

[@Pulse2AM]

I always find you really hear things when you record them in a track. I can sit here with my GT-1 and play it in the room and it sounds fine then record it and say that won't do. Not to bash the GT-1 because I do have patches I made that sound great recorded.

[@1man1guitarletsgo]

The expensive equipment is only expensive if it doesn't last very long. If we buy an expensive item with good sound, and low background noise, which lasts for many years, you've made a wise investment.

[@budgetguitarherogeartv4143]

BLINDFOLD AMP CHALLENGE PLEASE. GUESS THE ORDER BY VALUE.😊

[@justjames1138]

I just love the "not much change out of three grand" line. That is how you do it.

[@tsuka89]

I have both a Digitech Deathmetal and a TC Electronic Fangs, I have to dig way more at the TC Electronic for the same sound

[@stringlocker]

I hate Pedals so I will say I prefer an expensive beautiful anp.

[@noAPlease]

Great concept, gents! Love to see this on the back end of another great blindfold video as well. Andertons strikes again!

[@milescookman7180]

The number one problem with cheap pedals is reliability. In my experience they will at some point let you down in a live/gigging situation. Every now and again I put a £40 pedal on my board and within months it's acting up, cutting out and generally screwing up my sound. For home use they're fine but DO NOT gig with them.

[@JimBoom92]

In my experience thats not true. My cheap boss pedals and even cheaper pedals cause less problems than my most expensive pedals like the zvex fuzz factory 7 or my tru-fi superfuzz...

[@dylandenney3980]

I love that Pete sneaks the Captain's Lick in videos now that Lee doesn't play it

[@NinjaMatt2201]

I'd say there's a difference between something that is good for a cheap pedal, and something that's a good pedal that is affordable. So get something better than the cheapest equipment, but getting something expensive is unnecessary. I'd recommend starting with an amp that already has a sound you like, and get pedals that pair well with it. Maybe invest in nice cables, they make a bigger difference than most think. Cheap cables fail. I've had Fender and Monster cables fail quickly. Ernie Ball cables last and provide a higher quality signal. Pick and string sizes also make a huge difference.

[@joeldowdy404]

Tone king Imperial is the best amp in my opinion as I own one!! Strymon pedals sound fantastic through it!!

[@MrNYCblue]

To answer the original question in the heading, cheap pedals and expensive amps beats expensive pedals into cheap amps.

[@beaumas]

I really feel that you don't have to spend an arm and a leg any more to have good gear. A Fender player series or a Sire with a hotrod deluxe or even the new JTM20 combo isn't outrageous in price.

[@void_snw]

Some of the best pedals i got are cheap ones. And some play nicely with my SV20, some dont, mainly because that huuuge bright cap makes things a bit difficult to set up in the beginning. It really just depends on style of circuit for both. I'll personally never like a TS pedal type tone for myself, and a full on clean amp is gonna struggle more with fuzzes than one with a bit of gain, for example.

[@Nigel-ie6gy]

After playing for 55 years that Tone King is the best sounding amp I’ve ever heard …. Worth every pound 👍🏽

[@angusorvid8840]

As far as the amps go, the Tone King is the best sounding of all, but it still doesn't sound like $3,000. To this day I've never tried an amp that sounds like $3,000, including amps priced at $6,000. Not even the Dumble I tried in 1987 sounded like the price the owner paid for it. I tried it at a shop. The owner of the Dumble was showing it off to the owner of the shop who wanted to buy it for $8,000. The Dumble owner, who had showed up in a Porsche 928, said, "No. I wouldn't sell for ten times that amount. I just wanted to show you the amp." So this man was just showing off! It was another thing, another toy, like his Porsche. Did it sound great? Yes. But it's just foolish in my book to pay a fortune for any piece of gear.

[@jogo2000]

Honestly, I think the Nux pedals sounded better in my ears in all cases, it was easy to hear the difference. I was especially fond of the tubescreamer clone. But it is VERY different experience in the room, I totally get why they would say there's less of a difference with the cheaper amps. And the experience of playing a Halcyon might very well be better than the experience of playing the Nux pedal.

[@kevinmurtagh4996]

I’ll take a high quality amp and a cheap guitar over the opposite. I admit I may need to swap out the pickups in the cheap guitar, since cheap pickups are often too high output with no dynamic range. But in my experience, if your using an amp that you don’t like the sound of, a vintage ‘59 Les Paul isn’t going to make it sound any better.

[@Frankie_Holt]

My whole rig is mid priced.

[@digitalchris6681]

Luxury. Mine is dirt cheap. Fair enough though as I'm a crap player.

[@martintaylor1701]

Now do cheap guitarist/expensive gear vs cheap gear/expensive guitarist.

[@teaboyuk]

Haha nice video! But i always wonder why you dont get a cheap A/B pedal at the front of the chain and switch between eaxh guitar rather than toss the cable betwene each other

[@MaxPower-js1sk]

I have a Tone King, but if I had an ordinary amp, I’d probably buy some decent pedals, like the Wampler level. You’ll get a great sound with a a Wampler Euphoria and a Pinnacle using a cheap amp. The Euphoria sounds awful through my Tone King, so I use an 808 with some amp gain. I don’t need my giant pedalboard with the Tone King. I had 12 pedals including tuner, but now I use a tuner and a Tubescreamer. I bought my Tone King used for $1,500AUD ($1,300 US) and all of my pedals, power supply, pedalboard and guitars were also used. I was using J Rockett and Origin Effects Pedals. The most expensive was $180AUD. I tried NuX pedals and I thought they’d be good, but I thought they were awful. They have cheap jacks and switches, and they were very noisy. I’d rather have 1 good amp and 1 good pedal than a ton of gear.

[@ianhart8101]

Hate to be “that guy” but around the 20 minute mark the graphic has the Katana on the screen but it should be the Hot Rod. Thought you might want to know

[@oldmanlearningguitar446]

You have to go pretty high up the amp value chain before the pedal price matters. So if you’re going to stop at a Fender amp one day don’t sweat buying the good sounding pedal for your Katana too much no matter the pedal price or reputed quality but if you’re going up to a Tone King the cheaper pedal you choose likely won’t be sticking around.

[@MKRYAN777]

Might have made sense to use the same guitar for everything, but it was a fun video

[@woutermissiaen4745]

The difference in the two peddals is in the compression, I think the cheaper ones would sound better then the more expensive ones once they are both connected to a compression peddal.

[@SignificanceOfThePassageOfTime]

It’s pronounced New X. Not Nucks. 😂

[@pepmasters-999]

The vid title gave me a little groan of "not more of this", but then within a couple of minutes, I was thinking "actually, this is interesting." Then at 4:04 I got distracted and started watching videos on famous TR-808 drum patterns...

[@lupo10]

17:15 just add a compressor or a volume pedal into the loop. I heard it on TPS and tried it. It’s absolutely perfect now, sounds great at probably -15db

[@roscius6204]

good advice, I do, works a treat.

[@MrNeilltupman]

Or get a Liontamer in the loop 🙂 Changed my HRDiii for the better 4 or 5 years ago. Those TPS vids were excellent. I love my liontamed HRD, even though its not my no.1 these days (Victory V40 took that spot 2 years ago)

[@benlaw2634]

Law of diminishing returns

[@ToddTheJoker]

Very interesting! ALL I have learned from this is that I have to have a Tone King ImperiaL..Crikey that is a great sounding amp!

[@matthewfolbre1635]

The cheaper pedals really did well on the cheaper amps. When it came the higher end amps the compression of the cheap pedals really affected the sound.

[@bpastorb]

I feel like there are way too many variables for the amp side of things. Particularly when you get into the lower end all-tube amps with the intentions of modifying/upgrading. Replacing a speaker and installing vintage tubes on a cheap amp is still very cheap compared to expensive amp, but also makes a huge difference. Once you compare 'optimized' and intelligent amp choices it starts to blur the fields massively. And by 'optimized' I mean that if you're playing in your bedroom with a 20-50w tube amp, the price of the amp will make no difference since you can barely even get that thing warm. Or by intelligent i would say spending hundreds of dollars (or even thousands in some cases) on a solid state amp, of course the tube amp that cost 3x as much will sound better.. My current 1w all tube bedroom amp is half the price of some of these newer solid state amps, even with the vintage tubes. I was planning on also replacing the speaker with a more optimized weber, but it sounded so good once i replaced the tubes I haven't even bothered. If I ever got a larger space or somewhere I could make more noise, I would go the same approach with a higher wattage amp rather than go for anything expensive. Then in terms of pedals it's pretty simple.. Don't waste your money on expensive ones because there are cheap ones that sounds great, and many sound great - but do ever so slightly different things. So its much more useful having a higher quantity of cheaper pedals than a smaller quantity of more premium ones. I have 3 general chinese drive pedals that each sound good on a different guitar, but may sound pretty bad when used on a different guitar.

[@GordonPavilion]

I own a Tube King Imperial II, and it is without a doubt on every level, the best amp I’ve ever owned/played through. They are genuinely a well made musical instrument…after all, an amp is the vocal chords of an electric guitar.

[@GordonPavilion]

Having said the above, we are living in the golden age of guitar, and amps and pedals at just about every price point are AMAZING these days.

[@Xenious]

That tone king is huge, I'd never even looked twice at one. Sounds huge!

[@GordonPavilion]

@@Xenious the price of entry is pretty high, but the pay off is huge.

[@stephenrussell6074]

I think you should do this with just two amps. Less than £300 and a c£2500 amp but do a wider variety of pedals and pedal manufactures say 6 different pedal types two of each one cheap one expensive no two by the same manufacturer.

[@jameshobbs]

no, the better the amp, the more you hear the differences in the source, not the more you should invest in expensive pedals, which assumes an expensive pedal sounds better, which is not necessarily the case.

[@Zarphag]

Now I need a tone king

[@simondixon6761]

I've got a katana 50 and a mix of different priced pedals. Sounds great!

[@thiscorrosion900]

Supposedly you get the most out of the Katana if you plug it into the PC or MAC and access the software and patch banks, etc. You might try that at some point.

[@NintenDub]

Thats a nice victory amp. I always wondered who the ownets are

[@spokedonwrenching]

1) The Tone King better sound the most pleasant, given the bill of materials 2) The Hot Rod Deluxe has a reputation for finding its happy place in the upper reaches of its capabilities, so it sounded like it was barely getting good, and might not have been the best choice for the venue, and really only its physical presence makes it look the natural step up 3 The East Coast and Katana were most similar but for their bottom ends, kudos to the East Coast for being willing and able, its often more fun to drive a slow car fast than a fast car slow.

[@clarissaanaferreirasieiro2127]

What not to like about a telecaster paired with a hot rod , is just a perfect combo that any pedal would just sound great . In my opinion the Fender Hot Rod / blues / Deville are the best investment one can go for

[@aristocaster]

Always remember that on potentiometers, there is +/- 20% difference on resistance value easily, so same settings might mean absolutely nothing. Pots are not the most accurate electrical components

[@aristocaster]

The biggest difference on tone is because you have different speakers on all of your amps 😀

[@63timfred]

The more expensive amps just have such better dynamic range, which highlights the pedals capabilities. Having said that if you weren't doing a side by side comparision I'm not sure you'd even notice. Thanks as always guys.

[@Bobby-wn5yr]

So long as they’re analogue, Ali express pedals often sound fine, especially for drive pedals. For guitars, they really need valves in their amps, and those are invariably not cheap. So yeah, if you want to save some money, save it on the pedal board, maybe even just buy a multi effects until you can afford a better amp. Tbh these days a multi effects with headphones is a better use of money than a practice amp at first anyway. Bassists can save more on amps with less loss in quality tbh. But then andertons seems to have stopped making bass videos so I guess there aren’t many bassists here 😉

[@jano3289]

Amp for sure, pedals should just be the sprinkle on top. It doesn't make any svense in trying to cover up elements of the sound you don't like using extra equipment. Guitar plus amp should stand for 90+% of your guitar sound the rest is just getting the most out of your stuff.

[@JoeBaermann]

Would be interesting to hear how the difference would be with the pedals and amps through the same Eminence custom speaker sitting in that ToneKing. The pedals do make a difference upon response in what you hear from what your hands do, same with the amps and pickups, but quite some of the frequency difference is from what the speaker can deliver, assumed that the amps are set to sound close to each other. There is also a difference going between fully analog and having a digital preamp in between. Just got a Blackstar Dept. 10 Dual Drive which I use with LPB-1 in front and a Orange Pedal Baby as Power Amp, 2 x 16 ohm cabs, 2x12 vertical and 1x12 with V-Type Neo speakers. When I use a Nux Amp Academy instead of the Dual Drive there is close to no difference between humbuckers within the same output range, with the Dual Drive there is a major difference, especially in how loose the lowend sounds, but also in mids and treble when playing rythm and even more when playing solos. I do like the sound of both regardless, it’s just like the digital preamp is more forgiving with tone difference between pickups that all as example have a high output, sustain, feedback and attack also feels and sounds pretty even at the same gain levels. So if I start to use the Dual Drive on stage I will need to have the same pickup in my backup guitar for it to sound the same and also react the same way. Just like how easy it is to play fast legato style with the difference found between drive circuits, I think that has more todo with how clear note definition/seperation comes through though.

[@riseinthewake]

1st amp: tubeman>green, gold>horseman 2nd: tubeman>green, gold>horseman 3rd: tubeman>green, gold>horseman 4th: green>tubeman, gold>horseman