Cheap Pickups Are Bad For Everyone

[@captainkirk70]

I just got a rose pink metallic Tele style Leo Jaymz Resonance X Pro Electric. Fully expecting to rip everything out of it and having to do fretwork. To my shock, the fretwork and action was perfect. Something I've never had on say an Epiphone. The guitar was under $200 shipped off Amazon. And of course, the pots were shitty mins, no name pickups, etc. But when I played it I loved it. I have many expensive guitars with aftermarket expensive pickups. I don't know how they do it but some dirt-cheap pickups sound great. I'm 53 and worked in a vintage shop in the 90s. So I've played some amazing vintage guitars. I guess what I'm getting at is spending an extra $400 for a total top-of-the-line change out is becoming diminishing returns. I'll probably leave everything as is until something breaks but it is truly a fun, cool-looking guitar that sounds really good. I think you will always have a market for your top-quality pickups but this guitar shocked me. I remember buying a $300 guitar in 1983 that was a piece of crap. So happy for this new generation of young guitarists. They will graduate to better guitars and better pickups but that $300 I spent in '83 is $943 in today's money. That's insane. Chibsons these days are better than Epiphones if you get the right builder. Check out the most recent videos on FULTON STREET BEATS channel for an in-depth comparison between the $1600 Epi Greenie and a Chibson Greenie he bought. The Chibson was a far better product. It's coming. The more experience these Chinese builders get the better the products are going to be. Just keep on keeping on and your pickups will still be in demand although you may have to make some adjustments just like every business will be in the very near future. I'm switching careers at 53 to one that will be AI proof. I'm scared but i gotta be prepared.

[@mcd-chaos]

sound/tone aside - I'll buy your pickups over cheap ones just because of all the information I've learned in your videos about mods, components, set ups, etc. For me, that information adds value to your product. Thank you for your channel.

[@rellikguitars7237]

So... I build guitars from reclaimed woods as a hobby on a very tight budget. All of my builds are unique and most will be wall hangers for the purchaser. I sell them way too cheap, but this leaves room in the purchasers budget to upgrade and install pickups of their choice, not the pickups I chose for them. 💜💜💜💜Sarah xx

[@jdkimple]

Spot on with the analysis. Guilty. And I’m a strange one. I tend to buy cheaper guitars to fix them up and then upgrade to expensive pickups most times. Part of it is the enjoyment and pride of making a cheaper guitar play and sound good. But yeah, I end up with too many guitars because I have too many ideas to try out. I need to be satisfied with what I have - no reason not to.

[@stevenpipes1555]

Your opening statement about who is buying cheap pickups, and why, is very incomplete at best. There are many of us who simply can't afford expensive pickups period. Much of my collection depends on my repairing or rebuilding used guitars that i find less that 100 dollars. If a 50 dollar find needs pickups, im lucky if i have another 50 dollars to buy some. I spent 50 dollars on some pickups from Guitar Fetish for my last build, and im sorry Dylan but they sound really good! As good as yours? I'm positive the answer is no! . . .but i can't afford yours! Every time i try to save up for things, something more important happens. Thats just the way it is. I understand the differences because ive salvaged Dimarzios and Seymours from destroyed guitars and they're amazing and i thoroughly enjoy them. But guess what, i also thoroughly enjoy my inexpensive ones as well.

[@DylanTalksTone]

We talked a lot about that today too. I love it. Thanks So much for sharing this.

[@braddietzmusic2429]

Dylan does a lot of things well, and there’s great content worth watching, but ultimately, not everything is perfect. It can’t be. There are some broad, sweeping statements that may be true a lot, or maybe even 51% of the time to constitute a “majority” that underscores a broad sweeping statement, but… I think at times he would do well to add some caveats, qualifiers, sidebars and your comments point to this- to acknowledge the economic diversity (out of necessity) from some in the guitar and music community, as you rightly point out. It’s just the danger inherent in it- making broad statements involve glossing over the nuance and diversity whatever the topic. I agree with one of your points, wholeheartedly- Something happens and what you’d hoped to buy on whatever timeframe gets pushed back or snuffed out. That kind of happens at a lot of economic levels of musical purchase wherewithal. Unless money isn’t really a problem AT ALL, so many of us, like you, find things we want to buy and it slips through our fingers simply because something else comes up that steals our ability to pull the trigger. It could happen with the $100 pickup. Or the $3,000 bass.

[@stevenpipes1555]

@@braddietzmusic2429 I completely agree. Please don't misunderstand, im not scolding Dylan in any way. I love the channel, but i also have to speak up for the forgotten few! Guys like us NEED used and forgotten gear if we want to experience any of this wonderful lifestyle. If inexpensive parts dissappear so does our access to the hobby.

[@DylanTalksTone]

I thought we spent a fair amount of time talking about how “cost” of the gear didn’t matter as much as your motivation … budget is budget.

[@ramencurry6672]

If you’re on a budget, Seymour Duncan pickups are not that expensive and they are killer……If money is a major issue, I would stop all gear browsing on the internet and focus on survival

[@sunn_bass]

Great video and discussion. I work for a very large company that spends millions on these studies and this whole topic is fascinating and very complicated. Also very easy to over generalize on the results. You are spot on with making sure that the builder needs to charge enough to make it worth it for them. Also consistency of your product is critical. People need to understand that the experience to make a consistent and quality pickup has a value. On a different note, you mentioned liking the feel of nitro. Personal preference is so interesting. After 40 years of playing, I'm in the minority that finish really doesn't make much difference to me. I like polyester, polyurethane, nitro and raw unfinished. The three basses of mine I play most are raw wood: ebony fingerboard on padauk neck, ebony on Wenge, and pau ferro on pau ferro. The only part of my hand that touches wood is my thumb on the back of the neck. It's the technique I use. When I shop for a new bass or guitar, I actually have to remember to feel what the neck feels like to make sure there are no flaws as my thumb only touches the center of the back of the neck.

[@shadowminister4090]

I regularly hear that when it comes to guitars, it's the feel of the neck that is the number one issue. It's also commonly understood that it's better to spend your money on an amp rather than on the guitar. So, sure, pickups are important, but maybe after the amp and the guitar neck.

[@Arthagnou]

what you commonly understand is not common. So a dumble amp and a firefly is a realistic combination?

[@shadowminister4090]

​@Bansha1977 I wouldn't play a Custom Shop through a Fender Frontman 10 Watt either. But, if you'd rather prioritise pickups over feel and what your amp can do, I guess that comes down to preferences.

[@lou.yorke.x]

Maybe they're lying about handwinding the pickups and they're simply rebranding imports from Amazon?

[@Rotwhylr]

Dylan - lots of respect for what you do, and your price should reflect that. I'm in the computer industry, but I have a few buyer observations that may be applicable here: Economic buyer - literally doesn't have money for anything other than the bare minimum. (Ironically, can result in very cool innovation out of necessity.) Cheapskate - has the money to spend, but can't or won't discern the difference in offerings, opts for the minimum OR LESS. (Ironically, often wastes their money on stuff that isn't worth anything, essentially a "negative purchase" and need to re-spend to correct deficiencies. They almost invariably project their poor buying decision onto the seller after the seller bends over backwards to please them.) Aesthetic buyer - has a particular look, feel, sound, or other difficult-to-reproduce feature they are looking for, ignores other options and considerations. (Ironically, misses a lot of awesome stuff.) Value buyer - wants to spend properly for a reasonable purchase, needs to be convinced that what they are getting is worth what they are spending. (Ironically, can be one of the biggest spenders if they buy your value proposition.) Holistic buyer - looking for something that will merge with their existing ecosystem, compliment what they have. (My favorite! Truly open-minded people.) All that said, Eddie Van Halen could have played a floor mop and sounded better than me. Ultimately, it's more about the artist than the paint. Peace! Congrats on the move.

[@captainkirk70]

Buy nice or buy twice.

[@PartnersInCrimePhoto]

One of the radio station engineers I worked with had a simple axiom: Pay me now or pay me more later, but you're gonna pay me. He would say this when station managers tried to cheap out on gear. He just got in the habit of showing them estimates that included the costs if they tried to go cheap. They learned. 😎

[@BretNor]

Ok cool. Just lost a follower and someone who was contemplating buying some of your pickups but since you don’t want someone who is price shopping as a customer, I’m out. Bye. ✌️ But I’m sure you don’t care about that either.

[@bigstick5278]

Most of the issue is inconsistency.. I have two Fleor Alnico 5 neck humbuckers around 7.4 to 7.9. I dropped Alnico 8's in them and used them in the bridge position of my Epiphone Explorer. One sounded nice and smooth woody like with good bite much like the Ibanez Super 70 I was shooting for, and the other had almost a completely different tone and disposition. Wasn't a bad change but for being the same model from the same seller I was surprised. I've always bought my pickups from Jeff at Highorder pickups. They are consistent all the way across the magnet length and sound stunning.

[@yevgenydevine]

There are $30-$50 single coils and humbuckers that sound as good as anything you sell for $150+ bucks. You simply can't produce a competitively priced pickup in the US or any Western country for that matter because the cost of labour is so much higher than in the developing world. You gave people a sales pitch, not a well-intended informational video, and way too many people won't immediately understand this. Most people's pickup upgrades are one treble/middle/gain knob turn away from their current pickups, or a few millimeters raise of a pickup away, and they won't tell the difference between the two in a blind test. There are, of course, horrible cheap pickups, and there is, or course, nothing wrong with buying higher-end pickups, but this sleazy snake oil sales pitch could fit in a 60-second ad and be properly labeled as such.

[@ramencurry6672]

He was talking about $30 pickups made in USA

[@These_go_to_eleven_1959]

Where are these $30-$50 picks? I have never seen anyone selling a Made in the USA pickup that cheap?

[@ramencurry6672]

@@These_go_to_eleven_1959 I don’t know. I think they’re independent hobbyists. He said, they can make good pickups. The issue is consistency from one set to another

[@These_go_to_eleven_1959]

@@ramencurry6672 Thank you,👍 TBH i always buy my Duncan or Dimarzio Pickups used for $50-60 and they are always in like new condition. I just cant see paying over $70 for a pickup but that is just me. I do not blame others for wanting something custom made.

[@jimbeam-ru1my]

"You simply can't produce a competitively priced pickup in the US or any Western country" yes you can. I just bought a set of custom pickups off ebay for 100 bucks. they were wound to my specs with the material I specified. You can get 20 dollar pickups from china, but they aren't custom, 3 of them will run you 60 bucks, and you know they are made with the shittiest grade of material possible. 100 bucks for a handwound set of pickups done to your specs is pretty cheap.

[@frankcarter6427]

recently had the chance to compare Harley Benton and Gibson P90s - they sound the same more or less

[@MP_Single_Coil]

I built my first guitar because I enjoy making things. It's a tele with 80% Fender parts including a MiM neck. I put some cheap Korean alnico pickups in it to keep cost down. I figured if I really enjoyed playing, I would most likely swap them out. I'm digging the challenge of learning to play and I know I'm going to stick with it. So, I saved up for a few months, and now I've got some Dylan pickups on order. Can't wait to hear the difference.

[@nicholasaragon4126]

I've never regretted biting the bullet and spending the money for quality guitar pickups. I have purchased cheap pickups before. I don't necessarily regret it since they didn't break the bank but they're not bringing me joy in a guitar, they're in my garage somewhere. As I improved as a player, I learned that I could EQ around those cheap pickups, but I'd still rather spend the money for quality ones. The best part about it is that once you own them, they'll survive indefinitely and if I sell my guitar I'll just put the old ones back and keep the good ones for a different guitar.

[@ramencurry6672]

Agreed. Cheap pickups stink. Although I love the cheap pickups from Stewmac. They are excellent but I think they’re cheap because they’re probably made in Korea.

[@sunn_bass]

@@ramencurry6672 the old Golden Age and new StewMac pickups are Korean but seem to be high quality with good materials. Definitely on par with most stock pickups. I wouldn't say they are necessarily cheap as their p-90 is $99.99 each, same price as the Dimarzio DP167CRS P-90. I'd say they are generally affordable. Cheap is what I would call the pickup shaped objects that Amazon sells, like Saphue, Kaish, Fleor and Yootones. A p90 set (neck and bridge) of Yootones is $16.99 delivered. One could get almost 6 sets for the price of a single StewMac P90. Now thats cheap. I'm not dogging those but I can't fathom how they make those at that price.

[@jimbeam-ru1my]

"'Ive never regretted biting the bullet and spending the money for quality guitar pickups." I have. you're one of those people that has to spend a lot of money to be satisfied, you could get dogshit on a plate and still be perfectly happy as long as they charged you 500 for it.

[@jimbeam-ru1my]

when you buy boutique pickups you are paying 50 bucks for the pickups and the rest for the label. And the pickups usually sound like shit because every boutique maker is taking a standard pickup design and winding it a little bit hotter because that's what the majority of ignorant consumers like. For the most part, any set of pickups you could buy straight from fender or gibson sound better. and if they don't have pickups that sound better you know seymour duncan does. boutique pickup makers are just trying to get label recognition so they can charge too much for their pickups, which they have to do to survive at their small scale of production. If you want to get some custom pickups, buy from one of the people on ebay selling them for 100 bucks a set. Pickups aren't some magical occult technology. they are really simple, some wire and some magnets. I have a set of lollar pickups that failed to sound better than the stock pickups in a japanese strat and I have a set of custom wound 100 dollar pickups that also blow them away. Just because you pay 3-500 for a set of pickups doesn't mean they are going to be better. they'll most likely just be overwound crap like all the other stuff boutique makers are putting out.

[@DylanTalksTone]

Hmm interesting… we don’t wind anything hotter “because that’s what people want” … also odd that you feel that consumers are ignorant. I do t find that to be the case with my customers at all. I have been in business for myself for 30 years and have never found my clients to be ignorant.

[@jimbeam-ru1my]

@@DylanTalksTone"also odd that you feel that consumers are ignorant." That's a fact of life, particularly with guitar consumers. There's no consumer more emotionally driven that guitar players. You know this is true. Collectors will be paying thousands of dollars for some magical pedal, wood or pickup when you can get the exact same thing for dirt cheap. I've got a 1982 jap strat from when they first started their contract with fender. It's one of the strats that they relabelled as Squire and shipped to America. But this one was sold in japan so it's worth less because the writing on the headstock. And those guitars were just greco's that fujigen relabelled. So you can get a jv squire from 82 for a couple grand or three greco SE's for that price and they are the exact same model. I've never heard your pickups, so though I criticized boutique pickup makers in general, I can't say anything bad about your pickups. Your pickups could be exactly what I'm looking for. The problem is that I've always been underwhelmed by boutique pickups.

[@roberthastings708]

I buy Dylans pickups BECAUSE I cannot compare every option available in person. Dylans tech postings explained how things work and why he does what he does. They make sense to me. I have 5 different sets and they all deliver what I want to hear. So I pay Dylan what he needs to provide what I want. Fair enough deal for me.

[@gordonplatter9162]

Before I would buy a cheap pup I would try different K pots and caps

[@rofflestomp684]

I've bought a few pickups that only cost 5 or 10 pounds of rice each, that are fine, but then again, I have bought some that did not sound worth the mud they grow the rice in for as muddy as they sounded. And sure, that was a slant on Chinese manufacturing. You live up to your brand. I love my Seymour Drunken P-rail, not cheap, but solid and reliable. I could buy another one tomorrow without worries, but not so from China. Go quality for real up grades. 👍

[@sharkair2839]

i have a teisco del rey pick up that probably cost 29 cents when it was made, it is an exceptional sounding pick up.

[@jarmentor1731]

I have a thought about the price point comparison (mentioned around minute 52) and how this is the only industry where it happens this way. Ex: Eric Clapton can make a Squire sound WAY better that me playing a Fender Custom Shop. Not even close. But if you have a professional racecar drive in a Honda Civic vs a hobbyist racecar driver in a Nascar grade vehicle, the hobbyist will win most times, right? I'm not saying it's a justifiable reason, but I think it helps explain why someone would have that opinion.

[@valueofnothing2487]

Don't lie to people. Just tell them that you shouldn't buy pickups from slaves in China. An efficient market is efficient because people go out and try to find the highest quality good at the lowest price. It's one of the basic principles of economics and human behavior. The idea that you would mock someone or even insult them for that behavior is absolutely and plainly absurd and ridiculous. It is only because firms care about competition that they will innovate. That we get all this great gear that we get today that is so inexpensive compared to the crap we got a decade ago. So everyone should always shop for price to get the highest quality good at the lowest price. That is where innovation comes from. Now, of course there are exceptions. There are costs to getting information. I don't want to spend a lot of energy trying to get the lowest price at the highest quality. Or, when I buy a good it might be because I want to help the person selling the good - like your pickups on your channel. Or, there is advertising or other reasons to buy products. Those are all exceptions to the general rule which is we should all generally get the highest quality good at the lowest price. Again, that's where innovation comes from.

[@guitar_gnome]

10 minutes in the answer and you're talking about FOMO and psychological handwavium. A long way to tap-dance around that you can't answer why the pickups are better. You make pickups... AB them blind against Guitarfetish, Seymour Duncans, etc, and let the audience try to pick them out. Do what Glen Fricker does. I've had Seymour Duncans, Dimarzios, GuitarFetish retrotrons, Fender pickups, Gibson pickups, and Bill Lawrence pickups (my Strat Bill Lawrence Keystones were $30 each when I got them, and they're my favorite single coils, dropped them in my HW1 Strat). I can't say that I can tell value for price point. I either like them or I don't. I tend to favor Dimarzios over the SD's I've tried, and the GF Retrotrons are awesome. ... that being said, I don't know about the $30 basement pickups; never tried them, and I do think there is a quality threshold. But GF has been fine for me (at least the retrotrons), and I spit laughing when I saw Gibson ask $999 for a set up pickups. Give me a break.

[@GG-jy8sb]

Please collab with another creator to do a blind test to show how easy it is to tell the difference between cheap/expensive pickups.

[@ramencurry6672]

It’s actually pretty easy. Stock pickups on budget guitars tend to have that high gain hard rock sound. I prefer that glassy BB King clarity so I have to remove them

[@DylanTalksTone]

Phillip McKnight has Reviewed our Stuff, Our stuff has been used by many guitar builders including Fender Custom Shop Builders

[@jimbeam-ru1my]

@@ramencurry6672 not really. there are a lot of japanese guitars with cheap pickups that sound really good.

[@DylanTalksTone]

I would say most guitars, even inexpensive ones sound great when standing on their own.

[@ramencurry6672]

@@jimbeam-ru1my Well I have a PRS Korean Baritone guitar. The stock pickups are pretty good to the point that I probably will keep it stock

[@GoldGn111]

I like you Dylan but your argument isn’t solid . I got some cheap Jackson’s that I play the hell out of but at the same time I have DCL with 2 expensive Marshall moded cabs with celestions. Price doesn’t always reflect quality specifically in a space that’s very subjective when it comes to the sounds you want

[@DylanTalksTone]

I totally agree with you

[@flppr1]

What's your opinion of Iron Gear pups, especially tesla sharks and blues engine pups?

[@DylanTalksTone]

Just normal Chinese stuff

[@timbeckyward3171]

I have four of your pickups and love them. If you have a good guitar why not have good pickup. 😀😀😀😀😀😀😀

[@ramencurry6672]

Good guitars can have bad pickups. My Gibson Paul Les came with Burstbucker Pro pickups. They’re not bad but they are bland and generic sounding. I probably should get a Dylan pickups to replace them

[@mikerobo2112]

Sad how amps are not included in sound anymore.

[@randywarren6925]

Keep up the awesome work your doing. Those who know, Love this channel for the great information and pure nerdiness that is Guitar. Rock on brother.🤓😎😇

[@mikerobo2112]

My guitarr has 6 dollar pickups and good guitar players cant believe how good it sounds and are constantly blown away how my free guitar sounds better than thier expensive strats. It is a lead venue.

[@timothypotter2137]

I know what pickups I like, they're made by some opinionated guy name Dylan. They're amazing BTW.

[@amslu]

“Things that a guy selling overpiced pickups would say” for 100, Alex

[@DylanTalksTone]

You must not wind pickups

[@03ai_ey]

@@DylanTalksToneprops to you it's hard to even keep the single strand of wire intact let alone develop any sort of consistency in tension and tone. One mediocre coil was enough for me to learn that there are some places where diy is just not going to be worth it in the long run.

[@jimbeam-ru1my]

Dry z pickups were created for low price japanese knockoffs of Gibson guitars. Try to find a set for under 2k now. when it comes to pickups, price is no indicator of quality.

[@PoetRuiz]

You’re gonna have to start charging tuition for the free MbA 😂

[@timothypotter2137]

Interesting how others want to tell you what you should but they don't do the simple things they should do.

[@LuthiersApprentice]

Man, felt like running into a brick wall watching this after a JHS pedals video. Josh obviously believes in the products he makes but won't hesitate to recommend something else if it's better for the viewer personally or if it's all they can afford. You never get the impression that he's talking down to you. To say that you know the intentions of every person trying to get good value for their money is pretty insane. Some of the coolest sounds in music have been created because people couldn't afford what was popular or expensive and had to get creative with what they had. I really appreciate your instructional videos. You clearly have a lot of experience in guitar building and I've learned a lot. But if your viewpoint is that the only reason someone wouldn't buy your pickups is because they're too unhappy or too incapable of handling their money to afford it, man...

[@DylanTalksTone]

That was not the point at all … but if that’s what you heard

[@gdawgs101]

Hey Dylan, you guys ever going to bring back the humbucker-sized P90s? I know yall had to stop due to supply chain disruption during Covid, but its 2024 now so was just curious... 👀

[@timothypotter2137]

I don't know why a person w/functional hearing would not know the difference between your pu's and GFS. I can hear it, I have both...more of yours.

[@MichaelCummings-ry3pb]

Guess im different. I decide what I want first, then i shop price..

[@samizdat113]

So does that mean people who have a second child weren't satisfied with the one they had? 😆

[@samizdat113]

@15:50 OK

[@sea-tramp]

I MAKE CHEAP PICKUPS.....because Im retired & it gives me something to do. Sorry, I have none for sale.

[@DylanTalksTone]

I love it and I think it’s awesome. I think everyone should learn how to make them

[@sea-tramp]

Been doing it a long time, I like how you teach others and wish Dylan Pickups all the best.

[@lou.yorke.x]

nah, the audio is great now!

[@flppr1]

And Chinese stuff is bad, but aren't most of the name brand pups actually made in China? Do any of your pups reproduce the slash tone?

[@DylanTalksTone]

No. Most of them are not made in china, and yes our Thruxtons are based on the slash Pickup

[@derekz0r]

If I'm going to drop serious money in pickups they will be Fishman and not a boutique pickup. Sorry bro

[@DylanTalksTone]

Why apologize … you like what you like. I LOVE Fishmans.

[@Arthagnou]

100 bucks for pickups is alot????? a big mac is 15 bucks in some states. people that complain about expensive gear just dont have the money and dont have anything else to add to the conversation. I have a buddy that in the early 2000s built custom shaker hoods for Dodge Dakota trucks. he sold them unpainted for 500 bucks...after all was said and done, he paid himself 7 dollars an hour.

[@chrisparker5278]

😂

[@ImOnYouTube]

Im ngl, i think your accessment is very generic. People are complex and will mentally intersect at different points in the price vs quality line. Saying everyone who is conscious about price whilst buying things is unhappy and searching in life is, in my view, quite an insensitive narrow minded view. I dont think youre an as*hole but you can kind of see why you, versus the several other similar guitar youtubers, are so regularly having to fight your corner on the content of your character with pigheaded generic statements like that. Theres much nuance in life and people are complex. Your assessments of life arent always right Dylan. i would like to see less cross examining of your viewership, less patronisation and more fun content. Its your gig tho.

[@sundogaudio851]

so shame people who cant afford expensive pickups? 🤣🤣🤣

[@DylanTalksTone]

If you feel shame for liking what you like… that’s on you.

[@GG-jy8sb]

@@DylanTalksTone You did say you don't want a segment of us as customers. That's shaming. It's not a matter of talking myself out of buying it, it's making sure that any extra money I spend is actually going toward something that will make a difference. I've been able to make cheap and expensive pickups sound great, so you're damn right I'm going to be skeptical that paying triple will sound 3x better.

[@DylanTalksTone]

People are so focused on “tone” that they ignore or don’t pay attention to All the other things involved in a purchase. THAT… was the point. If you are a customer who only focuses on one aspect of a product… then you may choose not to purchase from me. That’s a free market. I support it. If you feel shamed by your choices … that’s a you thing.

[@GG-jy8sb]

@@DylanTalksTone yeah you’re going to have to elaborate on that. You talked of the experience of buying a pickup, but didn’t go into detail. My experience of buying a pickup has not been different based on the price I paid. But again, you said you don’t want people as customers that think a certain way. What is that if not shame?

[@DylanTalksTone]

@@GG-jy8sb We talked about it in great detail. There is no shame in being a certain kind of person. I think any guitar player is cool, and life is a journey. We are all in different places. No big deal.