Do you NEED expensive gear? €430 vs. €12.000 Setup

[@triledink]

The funny thing is that the cheaper one actually sounds like it comes from an 80s glam song exept the solo.

[@caseylee12]

Would using a booster pedal on the solo fix this?

[@triledink]

@@caseylee12 Probably.

[@theaterofsouls]

@@caseylee12 a ts 9 may mix fix it

[@usta028]

you didn't calculate the player.. Being able to play like Henning: Priceless

[@nathanc6611]

DCT Master yep. If I were lying around the studio, then he’d have also had a cheap player to go with the cheap setup

[@davidesmith3216]

Henning is just awesome he can make any thing sound great

[@nathanc6611]

@@davidesmith3216 agreed. While I can make anything sound...less great

[@TariasNiniel]

@@davidesmith3216 lets say ... he can make anything sound great ... as long as its tuneable :D ... in december last year i was in a store that starts with a "G" and has a "4" in its name... and i picked up their cheap housebrand guitars to try them just for fun... and i was sitting there 5 minutes with my tuner trying to tune that thing... and it wouldnt stay in tune at all So i gave up and did put it back :D . I doubt Henning could make guitars like that (that are not holding tuning at all) sound great, without modding the hardware. :D

[@adrianojameson629]

@@TariasNiniel Hell he'd sell it to you as a cool AF sitar thingy and will play it like a greek god 😜🎸🤘

[@AndreiGrozea]

Holy crap that blackheart sounds phenomenal for what it is 😯

[@aaronarcher2356]

I had a 20 wat one years ago. Regret giving it to a friend

[@Davepotnoodle]

I think I prefer the cheap rig, if only because there's a fizziness in the treble of the expensive rig that I personally find a bit harsh. The solo sounded miles better on the expensive rig though.

[@ronnienose8608]

Exactly how I felt.

[@ColonelForkEyes]

In all honesty I thought both setups sounded kinda cheap... and very 'DI''d The expensive setup had better note definition but as said, sounded overly fizzy vs the cheap setup which had a much less defined sound which at times was arguably more pleasant to listen to but the midrange too prominent and the overall sound was 'boxy'.

[@thales30]

rhytm was better on the cheap rig because i think you might have turned it too "bright" on the friedman. at least for my taste. solo sounded very much better on the expensive rig as other has said as well.

[@kevinderhodenkrebsler8244]

I agree...the cheap one has a nice punchy dirty sound...BUT i would say you can getthat sound in more acurate with mire money...he should have taken a guitar that trys to be that on a higher level you know But what do I know right

[@noizza]

Better is better. It doesn't have to be more expensive. Expensive tools don't make you an artist. Thanks for reminding.

[@Liko81DJ]

AXIOMS OF LE TOANZ: - Axiom 1: Tone quality is inherently subjective; there is no general-case definition of either "good tone" or "bad tone", only what sounds good (or bad) in the context and situation it is being heard. - Axiom 2: You care far more about your own tone than pretty much anyone else who will hear it. - Axiom 3: The history of amplified guitar is the history of *bad* audio engineering. - Axiom 4: The only rules you are bound to follow in crafting a tone are the ones invented by the guy whose tone you're trying to copy. - Axiom 5: Glenn Is Wrong.

[@kevin285]

Love axiom 4. Walk your own path and there are no rules

[@kevin285]

And fully agree with axiom 2

[@CraigRMerriman]

I've told friends the same thing. Do you really think the people sitting at the bar are gonna care (or know) if you're using super high end gear. I totally get it from the player's side, comfort and the sort of mental side of it.

[@DigiPal]

You're right: most people don't care about gears. They care about the show and if it gives them chills, even more if they paid a cover charge.

[@sansocie]

Most of us are mental. Peace

[@minisurfbanana]

I never buy gear for the audience! It’s stuff I want...when I was kid I played on 1 guitar for for 3 years till I started in high school and bought a Gibson Explorer. But when I started making money I just bought stuff that I liked or thought I wanted...whether high end or some where in the middle. I reached 25 guitars and several are $2000 and above. Now I feel like I want a Custom Strat worth $3800. Am I good enough to own an almost $4000 guitar...I’m not a pro. 1-10 I’m like 3-4 Maybe peaked at 5. It’s just GAS. I’ve sold and bought 40 guitars...i have 19 now and trying to pick 10. If I put the effort on practicing on one guitar then maybe I can reach level 7-8.

[@johnnycondor]

@@minisurfbanana Same here. Gear Acquisition Syndrome. I see a new shiny object pass before my eyes (ears), my mind latches onto that and, for a while, I have something new to amuse me until I grow bored with it. But I'm single and live alone. I have no one to impress but myself. All the while, I could be getting better at making music with what I got.

[@sansocie]

@@johnnycondor Enjoy!

[@aaronshortmusic]

They sound more similar than different. A great reminder.

[@shorerocks]

In short, I couldn't have said it better. :-)

[@grayfool]

Well said. Enjoy what you can afford. The same with anything, "love the one you're with".

[@mahatma_gandalf]

Another great video, Henning. I love how emphatic you were about simply making music. That is the whole point, is it not? If you can afford high-end gear, and simply enjoy having, I could not support that more. However, far too much emphasis is placed on expensive gear, as if it were magic pixie dust that could fix all your problems. In this day and age, with available gear that costs almost nothing, there's no excuse to keep you from expressing yourself through music.

[@PooNinja]

👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽 agreed

[@rowlandstraylight]

As a tangent, things that really affect my ability to perform on stage, where I can't hear myself that well: 1) the feel of the frets, if it's all buttery smooth my bends and vibrato will be great 2) the stability of the trem/tuners, if I'm having to listen for the guitar going back into tune after every time I use the trem, I'm not going to do crazy stuff. 3) enough gain for stunts to happen, enough dynamics for expression, a great amp or pedal is my friend. Stacking boost for stunts or delays and modulations for more flavours is cool but I'm not listening to what they're doing. As such I've got some very nice one-off guitars that play great, custom wound pickups and all of that. And two project squires and an Aria. Maybe a fret polish was need when new, and some pickup changes. Core tone is a dark matter, a solid state 80s pure clean transistor amp and a Harley Benton 1x12. It all works. I don't think the audience knows when I'm using squire with iron Gear pickupsor a guitar worth more than my car other than ones blue and ones red with bats on. And they both play ok. I swap when I break a string or if I thing the tuning has gone somewhere. I've got bigger cabs, I've got valve heads. There's no point me gigging them. The small setup works in a small club, the dark matter pedal is great. I'll probably swap the head for a pedal baby when we get back on the road. But it's nice how light and compact not too expensive most of my rig is. Yeah there's maybe £1000 in pedalboard. But there's £20 pedals when £20 pedals worked. It's why I have so many. But it's 20 years of collecting and accumulating. And the valuable custom guitar and custom wound pickups. I made those because I wasn't happy with the kit I could afford to buy. If you ask nicely and I have enough guitars I haven't broken today I might even sell it.

[@sycog.8405]

I like the solo with the expensive guitar and all the rhythms on the cheap guitar.

[@luckyrocks1]

Short answer is hell no! Focus on becoming the best player you can be- that’s what really matters.

[@shaynes.9773]

Oddly enough, I actually like the cheap rig for the rhythm tracks and the expensive for the lead solo. I really found the cheaper rig was more "in your face" and suited the track genre. That "Black Heart" Killer Ant is actually a pretty good sounding little amp--- miles above the cheap amps I started with back in '84. A cool idea might be to take both the "expensive rig" and the "cheap rig" tracks and mix them into the whole Cubase session, either with mixing both together or having left channel the expensive rig and the right the iphone/ cheap rig. It is food for thought on how a person can come up with a new tonal palette for creating guitar tracks. I am going to have to experiment with using my iPhone and mixing it into how I usually record my guitar tracks (with the Two Notes Torpedo Reload).

[@monstercadaver]

Zipping back and forth between 9:50 and 16:00 i really can't hear 11k€ quality difference. This is cray-cray. There is two distinct sounds. None of the sounds are 'bad', they are just different. Edit: you did direct comparisons at the end :-D Henning, i love you for this. This is probably the most wholesome gear video on youtube. Since it's the exact opposite of being a plug from some company trying to sell expensive holy-grail-tier-stuff.

[@rutiger6901]

"GOOD SHOW"! I'm a geezer. Cheap brands are my obsession. Cheap brands that I buy 2nd hand. I have 30 plus of these accumulated. I got pretty good at filing shimming, levelling, all the neck work essential to the best of the best players. I am absolutely certain that NO expensive guitar with professional setup is going to be a better player than my low end junk. Since I'm a loner hobby guitarist I don't upgrade NOTHING on my junk. No gigging no need. I use a terrific Zoom modelling amp. Cheap 2nd hand. I'm just as happy with my stuff as E. Clapton is with his exquisite high end equipment. You have just proven the truth of my rant with this demo. I am vindicated. Thank you.

[@YMESYDT]

I used to gig with this Crate amp that sounded phenomenal, bought it for $200. To improve on that tone with any real significance has cost me several thousands of dollars. Fascinating that law of diminishing returns.

[@caseylee12]

I love it! I still use my second hand Crate gt 212 ($80 at a pawn shop)! It's what i 'grew up on', so when we have a family jam-in, out comes my old friend , the Crate :)

[@StephenCameron]

@@caseylee12 Yeah, crate gets shit on way too much. I have an old crate gx-212 that I love. I used to go into guitar center all the time, trying different amps, trying to figure out why people liked Marshalls, and I always wound up playing on a crate, so finally one day I was like, screw it, I'm buying this thing. Trust your own ears. Sounds better than my 5150.

[@rowemiller7590]

I love my $300 Peavy bandit.its perfect for what I do.not 4everyone, but just right 4me

[@Hugelybased]

I remember watching a Tom Morello interview/studio tour and he brought out this goofy no name guitar he bought at a pawn shop for $40 and some 20W solid state amp. He recorded “Tire Me” on that rig and they won a Grammy for it. Lol

[@Feverdream7777]

All things being equal, Tom Morello is pure shit on guitar, and evidently as overrated as it gets winning a Grammy for his hackery.

[@stevenxx21]

@@Feverdream7777 no Tom morello is not a bad guitarist ; he know some fancy moves with his guitar so it's a kind of "look how i Can jump with my 40$ guitar grammy" lol poor Tom morello you're not so bad

[@ilovemonkays]

@@stevenxx21 lol he trash, pseudo-communist living pretty under capitilism lol

[@postmodernmarxistnihilist4282]

​@@ilovemonkays "If you hate being homeless then why are you homeless?" MIND = BLOWN!! Seriously though, no one cares about your bullshit political views. He's pretty shit though when it comes to guitar.

[@ilovemonkays]

@@postmodernmarxistnihilist4282 At least my political views haven't slaughtered 100 plus million innocents. Glass house much

[@adrianojameson629]

Danke Henning, you nailed it! I was not into writing a comment on this video, but there is something I have to say: Even if the topic of the video is totally unappealing to me, I always watch them just because of the animals at the end. What a great idea. Enough time wasted, grabbing a guitar now and obey the master :-) Stay safe, stay home, stay healthy, stay silly! My gear: - 3 guitars (Ibanez) for around 1000 Eur (not each, in total .. and they are all tuned differently, that's the purpose) - Behringer Audio Interface 40 Eur (ok for recording my practice sessions or do some fun recordings) - MeloAudio Midi Commander 125 Eur (switching Amp models and pedals in Bias FX 2) - Bias FX 2 Professional (Amp modelling software) ~ 120 Eur (can't remember the exact price) - Reaper DAW non-commercial license 60 Eur - Mooer GE100 Multi Effect Processor 100 Eur - Laney Linebacker 30 Reverb Combo (got that late 80s/90s, can't remember the price) - Positive Grid Spark 40 modelling Amp 267 Eur (not shipped yet) - Philips Senseo coffee pad machine 50 Eur - Beverage Store across the street (priceless) This is enough stuff to enjoy making music in so many ways every day.

[@shigrathFX]

I started recording music with the microphone of a headset that I had flying around for games with people. Cheapest guitar and amp from Thomann back in the day, free drum software and samples. It sucked, but mostly because my guitar and songwriting skills sucked. Today, I've come along way, but it's still not at the point where it'd make sense for me to go any further than the bottom line Solar guitar that I own now, going straight into an interface. As you said, in the end it's all about the music.

[@michaelkoenig6317]

I like the cheap setup better in any respect even the solo part. Sounds nice and dirty. So cool to get this input. I will get back to my third album soon!

[@svenholsten1642]

Sooooo true. Thank you. I wish there were more frank statements like this. Especially when watching all these tone wood, nitro finish comparisons. As a true victim of GAS I have lots of gear. Much more than anyone could really need. And I usually pretend dearly needing the guitar I've just bought. But to be true, the recordings I've done back in 2002 with a ceap Harley Benton and a Behringer Vamp Pro do not sound (at least soundwise) much worse than what I can do today with my expensive gear. But as with any addiction, using that new thing fills my heart with satisfaction. So maybe all these subtle nuances serve well as an excuse. So anyhow I guess rational reasons won't stop me from getting further

[@CEB7832]

I was preparing for getting mud slung at my face for saying that for the rhythm part, sounded more to my taste with the cheap setup than the expensive one, which sounded almost artificial in comparison. The cheap setup sounded more old school, authentic. For the solo, the expensive setup blew it out of the water though... And then you went on and said just that!

[@tiernanfoss]

Thanks for the back to back! That really helped. Sometimes in these comparison videos I forget what the one before was like. Another helpful thing is the idea you don't have to have expensive gear as ALL of my gear is cheap. The biggest takeaway for me is does it inspire you to play. If it does, you'll play, get better, achieve goals. Inspiration is key! Thanks for another great video!

[@-warpdrive-]

A while back i made a song 100% done with my cell phone,its a cigar box guitar one...so i even made the guitar myself lol.percussions in it are tourist souvenirs brought back from vacations.The whole DIY process was really fun.even the video for it was made with the same cellphone.So recorded,mixed,filmed and edited with a cellphone. Whats important is to make music :) Awesome song there mr. Henning!loved it! Thx for the video.

[@StephenSgro]

Great useful comparison. Especially true for someone who has musical ideas that thinks they can’t express them until they spend.

[@545Zagor]

Great point and great video EytschPi42. This is an ever interesting challenge (most expensive vs cheapest). Probably because it puts the heart and passion of the player (and of the listener) in foreground. In other words: if you have something you wanna say and you truly feel it, people listening will get that, no matter what your gear is you will deliver that emotion... and that is all there is to it. :) I'm not getting into the technical aspects of gear used etc, I'm trying to keep this short. But yes: the solo is where the expensive rig shines, while warm and well accentuated mids have often been the "secret weapon" of cheap/light gear. Love from Italy :)

[@micranes673]

I just want to say thanks for making some great videos. I only stumbled across your channel a couple of weeks ago, but I've kind of binge watched a lot of your vids. I really appreciate your thoughtful approach to whatever the current video is about. Thanks for the great work. Now on a side note hear is something I have noticed with regards to gear. I have over the years used a lot of amp modelers and various modelers for equipment and I am really only in the last couple years realizing something critical. Modelers are really only good for improving your music ability if you know the sound you are going for and can find it fast on the modeler. My experience with modelers is I fall into this mode of just scanning thru the sounds and never recording anything. Mixed with a horrible addiction to noodling and it's a recipe for disaster. I think a big part of iconic sounds of the past is that starting out, they had what they had. And they had to find a way to make it work. These old blues players didn't say, this guitar is crappy let me buy another. They explored what they had to do to their own playing style to find the gold in a poor instrument. I now believe that is key in developing as a musician. Interestingly enough I am right now setting up my own studio and I am trying to pick the instruments I intend to use and stick with them thru out the project. Project being 12-14 songs. It will be a one man show because I'll be doing everything but I am approaching it more in the vein of "I am a guitarist, what three guitars do I have?", "I am a bassist, what couple of basses do I have?", etc... I am intentionally restricting what I have to work with just to keep the focus on using what I have and keep the process moving forward rather than being lost in endless possibilities. It actually is kind of fun akin to building characters in an RPG.

[@wojciech432]

Great video Henning, and great point! You have struck the nail in its head! No excuse not to make music while you do not have expensive gear. Yet, understanding why we all love it!

[@guitarshapedpizza]

Brilliant! I'm a sucker for the sound and I don't give an F about the cost of the gear!

[@MarshallSetUps]

One of the finest videos I've ever watched on KZbin. Good health to you and yours Henning. Peace brother.

[@leonardof.3566]

The cheap rig sounds more “natural”? I prefer it

[@bassgodmike]

The affordable setup was pretty great. The expensive gear was great too, but in a different way. There was obviously more fullness in the guitar solo with the boutique guitar. However, overall, for the non-musician, it really would have made no difference. Great video, Henning!

[@jjonesmdm9736]

This is exactly why I love this channel. In depth analysis' with brutally honest opinions. But this still doesn't effect my ever growing list of guitars I'm planning on buying!

[@wellenstrom]

It's never a question of gear, it's always a question of creativitiy and ability. Great job, great sound!

[@cemsarioglu5947]

Except the solo part, cheap rig is totally usable. Player is the single most important factor that everbody seems to forget these days. Great video, thank you!

[@boydbc]

I love your end conclusion, and it's one that we all need to remember. The chase for tone is nice, but at the end of the day you can make music with any setup. This is especially true with the overall quality of guitars and tube amplifiers available at entry level prices. I'm not trying to knock high end gear, but we sometimes get tricked into giving more importance to gear than to the musician! As for the tones I have to admit I actually preferred the cheap rig for everything except the lead parts.

[@TheLenaweeTrekker]

Ok, I loved the editing on the back to back comparison. It's not what I expected, but it was fantastic from an editing process point of view. At any rate, I agree with you. The non-musician wouldn't care. It's the musician who will notice these things, mostly visual because the sound was good on the cheap set up. The Ibanez isn't that bad of a guitar, relative to the old Tiesco tulip guitars that were the entry level guitars when I started playing. No truss rod that worked, tuners slipped, action was to high, microphonic pick up, volume and tone control either on or off, and a neck that could have been used to cut wood with all the fret ends sticking out past the fretboard..., I loved that guitar (that is now remembered as a torture device). If I could play that guitar and make music, any one could make great music on today's entry level affordable guitars and gear. Stay safe and rock on😎✌🖖👍

[@woodyamsterdam]

A fine example of the Law of Diminishing Returns. Very happy still, with my Harley Benton SC-Custom, especially now I have swapped the bridge pickup for a Gibson '57 Classic Plus.

[@maddmatt55]

Some years ago my mum told me of someone she knew who was very into photography. He went out and bought the highest end of camera etc he could a Leica He complained it didn’t take very good pictures!! The thing missing? - his lack of skill !! Anyone can go out and spend a fortune on guitar, amp, peddles etc but if your a beginner you will sound like a beginner !!! BUT that beautiful high end guitar will make you want to pick it up and practice and (hopefully ) get better ! But on its own you will still sound like a beginner until you’ve put in the time! Great video Henning keep safe, keep well and god bless

[@jamesmarkham7489]

I gigged for years on a mim jazz bass and combo amp. Played the bass relentlessly. I've had multiple students buy $1k+ instruments and they get frustrated by it not sounding or playing really expensively, in their opinion. They never took the time to develop technique and learn set ups.

[@maddmatt55]

James Markham - I’ve had 3 Fender Custom Shops and I now play a MIM FSR Player Strat it has 50s Custom Shop pups in it!! Apart from needing to have the frets polished and the ends sorted - an afternoon’s job for me it plays just as well as the Custom Shops and it was £2000 cheaper!!! It sounds fantastic through my Fender Bassbreaker 15 but you have to work at the set up!! Just proves you don’t need to spend a fortune to get a great sound. Far better to spend the extra on some good lessons and practice, practice, practice!!!

[@bearmadden1776]

if you don't like how your iphone records guitars you can always go for like a Rode i-xlr. It's a micro interface for your phone that lets you connect any self-powered or dynamic mic.

[@dan8402]

I played the section for my wife and she couldn't tell the difference. I of course could tell, but that is me being OCD over tone, and how the gain settings were, and yes the phone recording chops the high and low end. Putting aside the finish on the guitars, and yes what you would drag out on the road for a gig, the low end was great! Nothing wrong with it at all. Honestly take the Ibanez and run it into your phone or IPad with BIAS FX and you can pretty much rock till you drop for cheap!

[@bigblueplanet1968]

Excellent delivery. I love crazy expensive gear. I OWN a Grote 335 ($180) and Peavey Studio Pro amp ($60). It sounds good. Is it exiting? No. But, it gets the job done.

[@behemothokun]

My first band-worthy setup I played for years was a 150€ LP copy, 130€ Harley Benton Transistor Amp with a 30€ Metalzone copy. Do I miss it? No, but it did do the job even if it was limiting. Ultimately the "truth" is somewhere in between, cheap gear can be limiting but you don't need to buy crazy expensive gear, there is a huge variety in between. Rightnow I play a 1500€ Ibanez Prestige RG2550 with a 1500€ Blackstar Series One, 600€ TTCabs 2x12 and a 1300€ board with the essentials on it. Does everything I want and need and sounds killer, while still being more or less "affordable".

[@ottostiefel4907]

I agree with you. The solo I enjoyed more with the high end gear, but for the rhythm, I just loved with the cheaper set up. In my opinion it sounded great in the mix and I thought it brought a bit more life to it.

[@Zinfandel92]

That was one of your best videos ever. And: it is a pleasure to hear you play.

[@TomEGuitar]

Vielen Dank Henning.Das Video ist spitze..Das Ergebnis hätte ich niemals für möglich gehalten. Absolut Wahnsinn. Alles Gute für Dich 👍

[@madjentah]

On this particular video the expensive rig sounds A LOT better. Many of videos like this show that cheaper rig is sounding equal or even better than expensive one and I love them.

[@johnnydarifi1880]

Great video! Your skills are ridicu-licious-ly tight :) One other thing that is a hidden, occasional advantage of the cheaper-end guitars is that because the quality control is fairly relaxed, there are some very rare, astonishing well-playing examples; I guess because the tolerances in the setup/machining/routing etc just happen to align really well in a very small fraction of the guitars that get made. For example, a friend of mine had an acoustic by Westfield, he bought it new for about 90GBP, and it played so beautifully and sounded so glorious that if it wasn't for the cheap looks and Westfield logo, anyone would swear it cost ten times that. To use Henning's lovely phrase it didn't "get in your way" when you played it. I play a top-of-the-line Seagull Artist Series acoustic, and when I played this I was just "whoa, this is a great guitar!" But most Westfield branded acoustics I've played in shops have been nothing like that, you're aware it's a cheap mass-built guitar and it "gets in your way". My friend hadn't done any setup on it, it was just how it was when he bought it. I offered him 200GBP and he said he'd been offered twice that in the past but would never ever sell it!

[@terryhicks4038]

Really encouraging video for anyone struggling as to how to achieve an end product within to most an affordable price range.

[@JeffKeel]

Great demo. the Ibanhead had more "air" and just seemed to breathe. Both tracks sounded great. Playability is the difference.

[@paulevans4334]

There's a guy on KZbin who does a blind test between a Harley Benton telly and a fender telly and most people said that the Harley Benton sounded better, me included. I know, it was a shock to me too.

[@leightnite3056]

O wow! The redonk setup sounds a bit sharper and little more pro. (Thru good phones) but im blown away at how good the cheapo rig sounded in comparison! Awesome experiment Henning!

[@ДилянГеоргиев-ь1ы]

Totally agree! the rhythm sounds warmer on the cheap setup. And you can always get a cheap interface like the focusrite scarlett for about a 100 bucks and make the difference of sound even smaller between the two rigs. Great vid, I really enjoyed it!

Thank you for this comparision! That blackheart is dope and your studio is incredible :)

[@MichaelZola]

I absolutely loved the phone mix. Incredible results! Thank you for this ever so important musical PSA. Wish everyone the best. Cheers.

[@Nimlot18]

I came here to know your opinion on the Ibanez guitar and stayed for all the rest of your cool stuff I like your style a lot.

[@ЯрославДмитрюк-х3ш]

Thank you! One more vid making me want this Ibanez as my first electric guitar!

[@godfreyozzy7128]

Totally agree, cheap rig for the rhythm, expensive rig for the solo. Would like to see/hear the process behind getting the tones though. In my experience it's a lot easier to get good tones from more expensive gear. It's certainly possible to get great tones from cheap gear but it takes a bit more time, experimentation, trial & error.

[@persiangatto]

Totally like the open sound of the cheapie rig! Nice video HP

[@raycymbalisty5503]

the cheap rig seems to me to have more bite and the expensive rig was thin sounding a little scooped and fuzzy. when i was touring i would use a 50 watt boogie and a pacifica for gigs 100-300 seater and for 500 and up i used 3 100 watt hiwatt and a musicman but your right the listener can't tell. excellent video

[@singleplayer75]

Great video!!!! I too liked the cheapo Ibanez recording more! Very, very true, one of the best comparison-type videos I've ever seen, this proves a lot of things.

[@ghfdt368]

I personally in this instance loved the low budget track. I'd like to add its amazing how far technology has gone past few years that your PHONE can be a usable microphone for recording. Just think, 10 years ago or when Henning started this channel that would have been almost impossible or sounded like ass. The little blackhead and the ibanez guitar sat in the mix beautifully, it sounded tight and focused and a great Rythm guitar sound. Only thing I preferred personally was the sound of the high end gear for the guitar solo. That added openess really helped there, but for playing a rythm part my gosh the low end method sounded great!

[@brin57]

Brilliant!! Also, apart from the mids, you can also hear the air, the speaker, regardless of the mic used. Kinda makes a lot of arguments for vintage gear seem moot! I've heard it said, that the cheapest gear we have now, is equal to or better than the best of 50 years ago. While that may be a little bit of an over-statement, there's a lot in it, especially in terms of electronics, mics, amps, and mid range guitars, and recording.

[@mattesb4281]

I own a Harley Benton SC 550, bought unused in top conditon but without any electronics for 90 Euros. I installed a Seymour Duncan SH-1 '59 at the neck, a Seymour Duncan SH 14 custom 5 at the bridge, four CTS push-pull-pots with Orange Cap capacitors, wired with a modified / improved Jimmy-Page-wiring. And a Boss Katana 50 MK-II. Alltogether about 500 Euros that I paid for this. I am firmly convinced that I had to pay a clearly four digits amount of money to get a recognizable better sound and playability. I wouldn't exchange my Harley Benton for any Epiphone and not even for most of the Gibson Paulas. (Of course I would exchange with a Gibson because of the value. But only to sell it and buy a new SC 550 plus a few other guitars for the money I would get)

[@ifax1245]

Its all in the fingers and how much you enjoy what you're doing. A cigar box guitar will sound awesome in the right venue with a musician enjoying themselves.

[@sutt5828]

Cheap gear sounds warm phat and lovely. Expensive sound thin and fizzy. Great job man

[@Johansen_271]

Extremely surprised you didn't go with a Harley Benton guitar :D

[@caseylee12]

Haha! I loved that ''I recorded albums with a Pod 2''! (i still have mine!) My first recordings were done in the mid 70s with 2 RCA 4TRACK REEL-TO-REELS! Man that was a lot of wrk, but MAN was it fun! I really enjoyed this video! Everybody stay safe and healthy!... lc

[@tonyl9805]

Wow, amazing compare. Thanks for putting this together. That guitar is beautiful. As a player I like the more expensive setup. $10k better? Absolutely not. Honestly, if I played both for my girlfriend she would not notice anything being different. She cannot tell the difference between a tube amp and solid state one, neither can most non-players. The general non playing public listens for melody and is use to listening crappy mp3 streaming as a standard. That being said I love guitar gear and always upgrade equipment. It inspires me, subconsciously I think I can buy talent, lol.....joking. Great video

[@Defectordrunkzone]

I like it when people are sincere. You sir got a new subscriber.

[@akwamarsunzal]

Always comes down to clarity! The Ibanez rig sounds great! That expensive rig is very clear, bordering on harsh, to my ear. I hadn´t played guitar for years and got invited to play in a band years ago. I picked up a cheal Schecter 100 euros and a Fender amp for 85 euro and gigged for 2 years with that rig. Did anyone know my rig was under 200 euros? OF COURSE NOT!

[@rick1021]

When people realize the guitar is really a "mid frequency" instrument. Also, the midz is where angry lives.

[@jeffreyesguitar5129]

Great video. I think it's pretty easy to upgrade from the cheapest to a comfortable level and feel like you have a good rig.

[@Payne2view]

This is good encouragement for us all. Thanks. I did think the "cheaper" set-up sounded like it was in a cardboard box though. Although that was only when it was put side-by-side with the expensive set-up. Before then it sounded fine.

[@MrPoilleke]

Was really cool Henning, thanks! The few videos l have are put on my Samsung tablet, sound from my blackstar 40 and Harley Benton sc chwtom or sc 550. You are absolutely right, it is about music. Thanks for your honesty, you are a great, nice human being! Nochmals Danke! Stay safe too!

[@tramlad2]

Henning, you are not just funny, informative, but a fantastic guitarist, one of the very best on the tube, brilliant set up , so jealous mate, keep up the great work, you are a one off, love your approach and style, great guy.

[@andreil1234]

A great guitar setup and finding a cheap but effective pickup for whatever you're playing will narrow the feel and sound gap by a lot as well. Same for knowing how to dial in the tone you want using inexpensive stuff. If you're into playing, not having crazy expensive gear won't stop you. I've let go of a Korean RG450 with Dimarzios and one hell of a setup/wiring job for not much more than a Gio and that guitar could play anything and feel good to the player.

[@stevekirkby6570]

Fantastic as ever - loved the mid crunch of the cheap setup for the rhythm work. The solo however obviously did not work with the cheap setup, purely down to the iPhone response I reckon. So yea, the top end rigs cut did it there. Interesting to see a mix and match as a follow up: i.e. the cheap rig but using the Apollo. And the top end rig using the iPhone. Now I think we would really be in for a shock!

[@J.Burrough]

It’s absolutely possible! Your right, no excuse. Great vid.

[@The.Known.Universe]

I don't often delve off into thoughts about time travel, but things like this really make me kind of consider what the response would be if you could take something like the cheaper track here and roll the clock back to like 1995... or 1965. Imagine what reaction you would get if you showed that to someone with the explanation that you made it in your home studio or bedroom for whatever the comparable financial equivalent is, in that time, to today's $430. It's crazy to think that we've gotten to a point where music-making is so much more accessible to regular folks and doesn't require enormous amounts of high end gear.

[@liamk712]

Great video and such an important message. The gear is there for you to make music, so don't make excuses for not playing. I need to remind myself of this once in a while. I was surprised at how good the cheap rig sounded on the rhythm tracks, but I agree that having the nicer rig for sustain, single notes and solos will sound better.

[@8bitrandomencounter]

I think the biggest thing I noticed was the audio quality which leads me to believe that the main thing that I should be investing in is recording equipment... and more practice, lol. Seriously though, the iPhone sounded really compressed and I had a thought that the treble sounded a little worse during the rythm sections and terrible during the solo. Fantastic video!

[@pdcoates]

Hey, I watched an old video of yours Brand Rant today and could not agree more. I have a story that aligns with what you were ranting about and this video. Some years ago Cartier were losing market share to their various competitors, undecided what to do, more advertising ? create new products ? etc. (go to NAMM - no, that's a snide remark) they decided an a simple, brilliant, and very effective solution .... they increased the price of all their products by about 15%. Straight back to the top. Nothing but nothing beats exclusivity and brand name.

[@theedgeoftimeband4213]

I love this guy. Really fun stuff to share with us . Very down to earth and a monster player. obviously can afford expensive top of the line equipment but, doesn't ram that down your throat. i've seen him play some HARLEY BENTON guitars as well.

[@frankfionn]

Your right, but if I hold my Musicman gunoild neck in my hand, it just makes me want to play. You don't need much, but good tools helps you holding on.

[@Kosmostars]

I enjoyed the cheaper one better, I think for this kind of music it fits better. "There's never an excuse to not make music" are words to live by, thanks for this! My most productive years were spent playing and recording on the cheapest gear available. It did sound objectively bad and gave me so many bad habits I still can't record a good track to save my life even on good gear, but that never stopped me, if I was waiting to get an expensive guitar or an audio interface I'd never even start playing in the first place. The only problem with that is that I'm never satisfied with my work now but at least I know it not my gear's fault.

[@U2DU]

I actually preferred the cheap set up a lot more with how it sat in the mix!

[@Rouwiinator]

I liked the cheap one too but I thought the expensive one was better in the mix since it let more space for vocals to shine.

[@U2DU]

20C̤̈ë̤n̤̈ẗ̤ṳ̈r̤̈ÿ̤M̤̈ṳ̈s̤̈ï̤c̤̈ There’s no right or wrong answer. It’s all subjective to personal taste and what sounds best to your ears. Personally I’m a big fan of DI fuzz guitar tones which are ultra bright and abrasive, for example the tones on the first GØGGS album, but a lot of people hate that. If you prefer bright sounds like Dimebag then you do you man.

[@smokinvalves]

Me too. It has a Badlands Jake E Lee vibe to it that I much prefer in the rythm section. I preferred the tone on the solo too, but it lacked sustain. The problem was that the cheap guitar has a single coil neck pup against a (probably high output) humbucker in the expensive one.

[@MusicTherapyLaz]

A most excellent video...thanks Henning! Going onto my Favorites and Recording Music Playlists! 😎🎸🤘🐦

[@aymanibrahim9736]

You can also get an Engager Tweaker combo, instead of that amp and cab, you would still be around 550-600 total, and have 15 W tube amp, a ton of tone shaping actions and great quality.

[@search895]

I been diy touring with my punk band for like 6 years and we have been using cheap instruments and amps almost all the time, except for when we share part of the backline with other bands. We also been using cheap solid state amps for a while. We have been sounding good in every gig except some few, mostly using not our amps in those cases, and people love our shows.

[@SunsetPunk]

haha you're awesome Henning! Just the kind of reality check one needs! I would love to hear a blend of the two rigs as a "quad" track.

[@AJgeartalk]

It's all about the "player"-not what's being played.... Great job Henning!

[@ryanspencerlauderdale687]

I’ll take the cheap amp with the expensive guitar. As you said, Henning, it is more commonplace to have to fight cheaper guitars than it is for pricier ones. The Blackheart amp did sound pretty good. I would still mic it up. I think Friedman amps tend to sound pretty harsh, to my ears.

[@aleksandaraleksic4119]

That solo sound on expensive gear worth every penny. Awesome review! TNX!

[@dimitris470]

Nice one. You made your point. That said, I think I like the cheap better too. But it could be because of the sound of the single pickups.

[@ratwynd]

A 4 way trial with each guitar through the inexpensive vs high end "processing" side would be a more valid trial. So much of the sound depends on the stuff at the other end of your guitar cable. All my electric guitars are cheap. But I set them up to play easily and don't buy what is broken junk to start with. I am not a pro, play at home with a Pevey Vypyr 2 modeling amp. All pawn shop sourced except one 12 string. I spent about $350 on all of it, plus time on the bench to set them up properly. That is so often overlooked with inexpensive guitars. Properly done, the setup is worth far more than the initial cost in your enjoyment in playing. Worth paying to get it done if you can't do it yourself.

[@markholt629]

I really liked the cheap tone for rhythm. Just needed some kind of tone boost for lead. Thanks, hp

[@fatdreads]

the "cheap" setup sounds more "in your face" and more "rock´n´roll" wich is a good thing to me. :) and i like that ridiculous expensive guitar, but i couldn´t hear the 4k bucks :D ...and as we all know... there is a lot of voodoo about gear out there (that´s why i have tons of G*bson guitars), but don´t forget: we´re just moving air! ;)

[@pauldavid22212]

Great video, really interesting result. The lead for the solo on the Gio just sounded a bit shrill, thin and clunky. The higher end just sounded a bit more creamy but with 10.5K difference who cares?