Guitar Gear Talk: The Best Gear You've Never Heard Of

In this episode Rhett, Dave and I discuss our favorite obscure or sleeper guitar gear that we have used over the years. We are talking about guitars, amps and pedals.
Rhett Shull - KZbin Channel: / rshull07
Dave Onorato - / dave.onorato
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[@garyjohnstonemusic]

The more I watch Rick the more I love him. He's a bonafide musician and production genius but still asks great questions of other musicians every chance he gets. I'm in the UK but he's like a more enthusiastic Jools Holland. Would actually love to see them interview each other 😂

[@Richard_Jones]

Dave, if you're gonna put things in layman's terms, two minutes in, you're really gonna have to lower your sights as to what a layman is. Brilliant as always.

[@axe2grind911a]

Suggestion: when talking about gear, please DEMO it. A sound clip is worth a thousand words! (Even splice them in later if it's not convenient during the podcast.)

[@shaunosby5093]

axe2grind911a Great idea!

[@connorpursell1228]

Fully agree, almost pointless without the noise

[@connorpursell1228]

Fix ya podcast

[@metalinyourhead3604]

Agreed, these sitting down just talking videos are great if you’re just listening, but not fun to watch so much.

[@zacharybrown5367]

I know this comment is old, but I disagree. Demo's are largely useless because there are just too many factors. Between KZbin compression, mic choice and placement, individual differences in instruments, and what ever post processing is done its near impossible to figure out what a piece of gear actually sounds like. If they say it's good you're just going to have to take their word for it with or without the demo so It just comes down to whether or not you trust the person talking about the gear.

[@Kabayoth]

Sleeper amp: Gene Lies Stereophonic. Built quite literally in a Kansas barn, this thing is a 60 pound cube with a volume knob, an on/off switch, and a noise gate that never worked. Basically a Plush circuit, which also is worth having, but the Gene Lies had six speakers. Two tweeters, two woofers, and two slightly larger woofers pulled from stereos. What makes this sound so good is the speakers and head are a single, integrated whole with capacitors filtering the signal between the speakers. It'll play anything from metal to acoustic. They are bloody rare. Maybe dozens of them were ever built. Strange since these would be a cinch to duplicate. The carrying handle was pulled off a refrigerator, for the love of all that is Holy, so I challenge all of you to build a Gene Lies out of a stock Plush and some quality speakers. Sleeper pedal: Danelctro Wasabi. Just love the thing. Sleeper guitar: Gibson ETG-150. Tenor arch top with a P90 in the neck. NOTHING sounds bad out of this oddity. Had a chance to buy one off a widow for $1400 some years back, and I couldn't scrape the cash together. Can't find one for double the price these days. My daughter-of-the-smallish-hands is a violinist, and she could make this thing sound like all the Kings: Albert, BB, and Freddy.

[@Thumpalumpacus]

I did a setup for a customer a few years ago on a Harmony two-pickup hollowbody with DeArmond foils. Once I got it playing right, that thing was amazing. Of course, for testing it before taking my paycheck, I did "Back in Black" and then some fingerstyle jazz. Those pickups were fantastic, great definition, moderate output, and even distorted every string was audible. Obvs not a sleeper, but a nod to affordable quality. Sleeper pedal for me was an old chorus/delay, branded "In-Line". Noisy as all get-out, but rich chorus that, with depth dimed and rate zeroed, gave good flange. Another was the Digitech PDS-1002 stereo delay. It had a bright output that allowed the guitar to breathe through.

[@rome8180]

This is one of my favorite videos you've ever done. I would listen to six hours of this.

[@jdavis.fw303]

Hell yes Gibson Skylark!!! Me and my 3 friends each have one. Hooked them all up to do wet/dry/wet for an enormous sound on recording.

[@crsantin]

Great talk. I have a Traynor Custom Valve 50 Blue 1x12. Such a good amp. Great clean channel that takes pedals great. Great crunch channel with a boost to get you into some high gain. Great master volume. Such a good amp. I'll always keep it.

[@OlyStereomaid]

So happy you said your Dano. The Danelectro 56 Pro is such a sweet fun guitar. No one wanted those when they came out with that model. Shops were having trouble selling them. I bought one after being bummed about selling and older reissue U2. The 56 Pro has much hotter pickups than the older reissue ones. They wanted $450 for those guitars but because no one was buying them I got mine for $250 brand new. Keep rockin it! ✌️🤘

[@mollygrubber]

I'm slowly realizing how much the "old" gear I sold over the years is worth now. I could just cry sometimes lol.

[@michaelmagee6428]

Yeah, I kick myself about selling my Roland Space Echo. The most incredible toy ever invented.

[@axslinger99]

My first real guitar was a 60's Epi Casino. Bought it in the mid 70's. It had chrome covered P-90s. The covers were tarnished to the point that they didn't shine any longer. When I got it, it had flat-wound strings on it. I traded it for a 78 SG, Norlin-era. Many years later, I reflected back on that guitar. At the time, I was a kid and had no idea what it was. Just that it was an Epiphone hollow body that was, "worn out". It sounded great! Played good. But, I was a kid and a big, jazzy hollow body wasn't cool. Looking back, I realize I had a classic!

[@shadoecrossland5457]

I refuse to get rid of almost any of my gear anymore. My fiance is going to murder me. I have an entire room full of guitars and amps and she wants it all to go to storage or for me to start selling off some stuff. I don't know how to break it to her. whether it be sentimental value or something that I still play quite a bit, I have a mast quite a bit and I don't want to get rid of anything because I know someday it will all probably be worth something if I keep it in good shape.

[@mrnelsonius5631]

I used to own a 1966 Silvertone branded H78 (same model as Black Keys guitar). It was in absolutely spotless condition, I paid $500 for it. I’ve yet to play another guitar that sounds quite like it. Loved it. An ex kept it after a nasty breakup and wouldn’t give it back, and I was on tour (for years) so I couldn’t fight it legally. And she would’ve literally cut me if I went there (which would’ve probably been worth it, but worry more about cops and lies, etc 🙃). I miss it. Bought it before Black Keys were a thing. Probably pricey as hell now

[@mrnelsonius5631]

Michael Magee they are amazing. Original units just add this really musical warmth and murkiness too, even without the delay cranked

[@kevinjfallon]

Dave is insanely knowledgeable!

[@gussywellz9714]

Rick this is the "Winning Formula" a couple of great buddies talking gear & the passion is so genuine actually the reason IMO these videos are very successful is because of Daves participation, Dave obviously has the knowledge (street cred) but is an unknown in the KZbin guitar genre, therefore,. creates a curiosity Rhet is rapidly rising within the YT community & notoriety! & your channel has proven success. The three perspectives just work, I really enjoy watching! cheers!

[@Potatoast]

I recently inherited a guitar from my cousin who passed away 2 years ago. It's a Lotus brand, most likely from the late 70's to Early 80's. These things are really cheap, and I think he bought this from a pawn shop or something, but the build quality is pretty good. It's a solid Mahogany flat body and bolt-on Mahogany neck, gibson scale length, and the bridge and tailpiece hardware are spectacular. I've spent some time cleaning up the frets and setting it up properly and the thing sounds and plays amazing! It's got a bit of an SG vibe, and the stock pickups sound like PAF's. Really great tone and playability in an otherwise stupidly cheap guitar. I did a bit of research, and the Lotus brand was something of an in-house brand for overseas factories in Korea, China, and Japan. Factories that would often build for Washburn and a few other manufacturers in the mid to late 70's and early 80's. They're rare, but if you can find one in a pawn shop or gathering dust in a used gear section of Guitar Center, snatch one up! You might need to replace the tuners and the nut, but the rest of the guitar is pretty solid!

[@davemassie3726]

My 1959 Gibson Century Amp! 6v6 12.5 watts, 12" jenson, tremolo on 2nd channel with 5879 tube. Gold diamond tolex. Holy tone machine! 1984 MIJ Squire w/ maple neck! Great vid thanks for sharing.

[@charleshoernemann8661]

I'm so glad I kept my Mu-Tron Bi-Phase, although it's HUGE and doesn't fit on any pedalboard nowadays, but man...what a sound! The best phaser ever built IMHO...

[@TheSpeenort]

How many musicians does it take to screw in a lightbulb? ... Three: one to screw it in and the others to exclaim about how the old bulb had such great color and tone. Sorry 'bout that... just had to use that old joke. It was a good show tripping, down memory lane.

[@TheSpeenort]

SPNKr ... that's the other answer to the same joke.

[@TheSpeenort]

SPNKr The one version was rock musicians, the other was blues musicians.

[@jarrydee2799]

That's a good one!! gearslutz is full of those types

[@nicolasfox]

Thanks Dad. :o)

[@hannuhjelm2596]

@Kitten Katt .. makes you...... shine?! ;)

[@mrnelsonius5631]

Sleeper Bass Pedal: ISP Beta Bass Preamp Pedal. I’ve got tons of top end stuff and that pedal has stayed my “always on, end of chain” bass pedal for almost 7 years of rigorous touring. It just sounds great on everything without over-coloring things. Plus it has the best built in noise gate I’ve used live which is extremely helpful at different venues. I’ve never seen anyone else on tour using one but it’s indispensable to me. When my board got stolen, even with other amazing preamp pedals at home, I bought another one

[@Adamski1989]

Trev Wilkinson designed vintage guitars are awesome for the price,really solid builds with some classy appointments mixed with real common sense design,I have the v52 tele which has compensated brass saddles,vintage locking tuners and quality pickups,i also have the 'lemon drop' which is based off the famous Peter green les Paul , the pickups are the star of the show with the out of phase middle position.great range of guitars and you can pick them up used for a song.excellent video .

[@ceebee491]

I've a v100 cherry burst (l.Paul). Gorgeous guitars

[@gavinaston5716]

Hey Rick. I have a Peavey Classic VTX 65 watt tube amp. I bought it new in I think 1985. I've had to clean the pots 3 times and I replaced the tubes once back in the late 1980's. First it is warm and creamy sounding with it's factory Peavey Scorpion speakers. Lots of cool adjustments like pull push switches for thick/thin or treble. It has a presence control, a spring reverb, and a phase shifter. Why is it cool? 1. The phase shifter has a pull/push that pauses the phase so it can sound like a wah wah pedal that's stopped anywhere along the phase. You can make it sound like the amp is inside a giant tin can or roaring on top of a 12 foot high stack. AKA the Jimi Hendric sound when he pushed down his wah pedal all the way down and left it there. 2. The spring reverb is magical. You can adjust it with different knobs so you can get a nearly perfect trail off. 3. It is LOUD as hell but also sounds great quiet with the different 1/4" inputs and master volume along with a 3 way foot switch for effects, reverb, and channel switch. 4. It has 2- 12" speakers, 2 channels, and even though the preamp is solid state the power amp runs 6L6 tubes you can buy all day long for less than 50 bucks a set and you can get the amp used for 200 to 300 dollars. I know Peavey doesn't have a good rep in the music world but this is a killer combo amp. The ONLY drawback is the clean channel has a bit more dirt than I prefer and of course the weight. But it's just about as clean as any other tube amp I've owned. I would love to know if you have tried one and if you have what do you think?

[@julesborges7396]

My desert island amp is my 1994 Matchless HC30. I tend to play with a clean tone, tele or an old p90 goldtop, it's hard to describe how musical the tone of that amp is. For a sleeper the 1958ish Gibson GA 6 is killer! Love this channel! It does look like Dave is full up on Facebook friends.

[@johnmacqueen3811]

I plugged my '63 Jr. into a Teac? tune reel to reel in '75 and my god it became Leslie West in Mountain barley cranked. Plus I put a Les Paul Mini bucker in the bridge . What a sound!

[@satchmodog2]

I have all my old DOD peddles and they all still work. Just one has a glitchy switch, but it's still no issue. I have to say the Bifet boost just rocks and cannot recommend it enough. I wanted a second one and wound up with the 410 reissue and it's even better. It has a buffer and true bypass switch. Another awesome DOD pedal is the FX 53, which is a super fat tubescreamer. Get one, thank me by naming your first born after me.

[@Claymor621]

Burman amps. Made in Newcastle, UK. Holdsworth used them for a while. Three interacting gain controls.

[@patrickshortt8792]

Claymor I have an ex Status Quo pro 502, fabulous combo.

[@Claymor621]

Patrick Shortt Great, I never actually owned one but a friend I shared a flat with had one and he got a great sound. I meant to get one at some point but never got round to it while they were more available.

[@patrickshortt8792]

Claymor They appear on eBay from time to time, but most have had a pretty hard life so it's hard to find a good one. When I bought mine I didn't actually know it was one of a small batch made for Status Quo, the difference compared with a stock 502 is no reverb, a presence control and the mains switch has a blue light rather than red. They were also used by Thin Lizzy and Clapton also used them for a while.

[@Claymor621]

Patrick Shortt Interesting. Thanks. Didn’t know about Lizzy or Clapton.

[@riffsandwich9541]

This is my favorite discussion video you have ever done. Nerd heaven.

[@christianspringman6877]

Just stumbled across the channel... love these guys hanging out talking shop. My friends and I can spend hours having similar conversations. Only difference I haven’t had the privilege of owning a fraction of the gear.

[@donthomas3812]

I’ve had a Danelectro U2 reissue for a long time. It has been my secret favorite for a long time. Brand snob friends scoff at the Dano. I’ve owned and still own most of the typical brands like Gibson, Fender and more. The Danelectro’s tone is spectacular and note separation is second to none. My hands are not huge like SRV so the neck is fantastic. Slim and amazingly playable. Great call Rick!

[@OlyStereomaid]

I have one and love it 😍 No one wanted those particular models when they came out? They originally sold for like $450. Guitar shop I walk tinto had four of them and the owner said he couldn't sell them, and said he would sell them for $250. I went back a couple days later and bought one, after being bummed about selling another Danelectro reissue I had. They are awesome! I believe those lipstick pickups are hot- rodded a bit over the older dano reissues. And having a bridge you can intonate is a plus over the older versions is nice too. 👍🤘

[@lewsheen7514]

Also got a '95 MIM White Strat w/a maple neck and a stock Fender whammy bar. Replaced the tuners, Graphtec nut & saddles, Carvin pickguard assembly w/3 single coils, added a spacer under the single string tree. Stays in tune GREAT! Tone for DAYS, plus the controls are different than a regular strat. Tone knob controls all *3* pickups, in place of the extra Strat tone control it has a mini-switch that turns the bridge pickup on regardless of the position of the 5-way switch - so you get 2 extra pickup combinations: all-3-at-once, and neck-and-bridge, which is *DECIDEDLY* Tele-like!

[@darrenmiffitt6353]

I have a Carvin Bolt kit that I made, and I spend a LOT of time in the ‘Tele’ config. It sounds amazing. All three single coils on sounds like poo however.

[@fearlessfrankie6479]

I loved the content of your sleeper gear(s).There's alot times I keep googling gear & found stuff out!! The Blues Junior!! I'm looking for one as I'm writing this!

[@Soloist1983]

ADA MP-1 (NOT the classic) still sound great, also the Peavey Rockmaster and TubeFex are HUGELY underrated, amazing devices

[@timothyholmes4588]

yea I loved my MP 1 that thing rocked . I had the alesis multi effects and a bbe sonic maximizer . I should've kept that rack. it's crazy how many great rigs I've had over the years. I always wanted to try the peavey rockmaster it looked nice.

[@coreybray9834]

Well, I think some gear I absolutely loved using was a Lexicon PCM 81 multi-effect rack. I enjoyed this rack for its ability to create a very convincing doppler effect of a signal changing pitch over two amps. I used to run a Boss Metal zone up front and would tweek the pitch controls to get a really interesting almost violin sound out of my guitar using other patches. The controls on the PCM 81 were pretty easy to get used to and provided tons of flexability in sound design without having to do too much deep layer tweeking. Add to the above a beringer Virtualizer rack which had this really interesting reverb patch that I used to just love. And with a BBE 882I Sonic Maximizer to clean things up in the fx loops of a Carvin Legacy and a Carvin V3, I was always more than satisfied with the sound quality I was getting.

[@mattkeefer1293]

Earthquaker Westwood. Goosing a tube preamp, these things add a tonal sweetness to the distortion that's simply unbelievable.

[@seanodonnell2508]

Shawn Lane used Westbury W-20 " The Tube" overdrive/ preamp pedal.I have one..its over 40 years old. It has one of the sweetest tones ever. You can hear it on all of Shawn's early stuff and Powers of Ten album. Great find if you can locate one.

[@shaunw9270]

I have a '74 WEM Clubman , 5 watt valve amp, I bought in '95 for £40 ! Love it . And a Copicat , although mines a late 70's IC model . My brother used valve Copicats as a singer Live for years . My 2 favourite amps are my Marshall JTM30's , both use 5881's . One is the 2x10 Eminence , the other a single 12" Celestion .

[@bigjules5139]

Wem Westminster, the 10 watt version is great too. Wish I'd never sold it, but couldn't justify that and a Dominator mk3 at the same time

[@johnchase8510]

Great stuff guys! Been a fan of those old Gibson amps since childhood. Really enjoy making amps from old tube gear... Projector amps, suitcase turntables, have an old US Army suitcase tube P.A. amp that is low watt, and sounds great for some things. Some of the little turntable amps can get ferocious distortion, and nasty sag when cranked to 11.

[@tisbonus]

Rhett! I completely agree with you about the p90 pickups! Absolutely correct about the tone of those compared to singles and HB's.

[@markcain460]

The magic in my signal chain for years has always been my BOSS CS-2 compression pedal I purchased way back in 1983.

[@marknorman706]

Dream setup: 1 guitar, 1 amp, 1 Cabinet, 1 pedal! Line 6 USA JTV-89F, Line 6 Spider V Mk II 240w RMS Head (with 4 inch internal speakers at 40w RMS), Yamaha 2x12", Line 5 FBV3 floor controller. I have many others but my list above can literally do it all... Line 6 USA JTV-89F Guitar can be several different instruments including 12 string, Baritone, Sitar, Banjo, violin, piano, synthesizer, choir... anything you can download! Mk II Spider V amp can sound exactly like "all other" amps/cabs combinations and any effects you want, if not already inside, anything can be downloaded. The Line 6 4x12" is strained by the 200w RMS of head unit power (plus 40w RMS into built-in 4-inch speakers) so I got the Yamaha w/ mismatched “Eminence Legend1218” and “The Tonker 12" drivers, (switchable mono or stereo operation, you can choose which driver to partner with which amp). FBV3 footboard controls it all! The guitar costs more than the rest of the gear put together, and very much worth it (even if like me, you have to go with the foreign-made JTV90F Bstock, which is still my best guitar).

[@Paul_Lenard_Ewing]

The A/DA Flanger is amazing A/DA have a new one the PBF Flanger and they nailed the sound and at $180.00 USD they are a steal.

[@fuzzmountain7583]

Cool video! I have one of the orange overdrive reissues. I had the opportunity to buy a 70s one and chose the RI because I thought it sounded a little better. It's my favorite amp head. Cheers!

[@anthonyarnold1318]

I have a 1972 SG. I worked hard to buy when I was 17. I was born in 62 btw. I have never found a guitar that sounds better. Guitar players that have played it love it. Guess I got lucky, but it is my go to. Mahogany color. Just awesome. My baby.

[@TheJamieAbraham]

I am so happy right now - how great to hear unbiased well informed passion about gear!!

[@mtacoustic1]

A guy at church asked me if I'd be interested in an old amp he had. Turned out to be a 1959 Rickenbacker M14-A. I made a trade for the amp and had an old school electronics tech go through it. Some of the wiring insulation was so brittle, it just broke off if you touched the wire. All it needed, other than replacing bad old cables, were new caps. The original tubes tested 95%. The thing is a killer!

[@pedru32]

Riff Raff is one of my favorite podcasts. Great shirt man!

[@nickfit3]

Original Sansamp from Tech 21. All kinds of amp tones in one analog box! I've had one since 91'.

[@josemarrero9979]

I had one of these. The small trademark 10 combo. Sounded amazing mic'd up for live gigs. Someone stole it! Did find a SansAmp tri-a.c. pedal which i still have and use. Great gear!!!

[@swmorgan515]

Yep, getting expensive now. The best other pedal they did was the GT-2 and those can still be had cheap. The PSA-1 preamp is also a great sleeper piece of gear.

[@Soldano999]

hide from XJapan was using one live.

[@kevgamble]

Completely agree. I think with so much digital emulation around, most people these days are looking to flip one switch and get full-on wide-screen wet, stereo, effected tone all at once. It's understandable and appealing. But what I like about the SansAmp is that it's just the pure, raw amp sound (and analog to boot). Starting there, you can tweak, layer, and effect to your liking and have a sound that is more your own than is a pre-packaged preset. I think the big response the Iridium pedal got shows that a lot of people really do want as close as they can get to an amp in a box. And the SansAmp still delivers good stuff after all this time.

[@justinbeech2681]

Yes the Sans amp in the studio is magic, so simple and so great , they Nailed that one !!

[@tomforsythe7024]

I have been using a Boss GX-700 multieffects rack for about 20 years. It has all the main Boss stompbox effects, plus amp and cabinet modelling. A really cool feature is you can use the volume pedal interface to control any parameter. That means you can ride that parameter, while you are soloing ie chorus depth, reverb time, or wet vs dry. You can get them on eBay for $150-200. It is way cheaper than buying individual stompboxes, and can save 100 user presets.

[@stoneysdead689]

Isn't that a rack mounted unit? Is there a foot switch interface that lets you change between fx?

[@tomforsythe7024]

@@stoneysdead689 Yes to both questions.

[@stoneysdead689]

@@tomforsythe7024 Cool- I'll check it out.

[@adam872]

Nice shout out to Ty Tabor! Great, great guitar player.

[@jayballauer8353]

loved hearing that name mentioned!

[@nickfit3]

adam872 favorite guitar player ever! He is using Orange amps now.

[@dwightburns6699]

Needs more attention...Ty is incredibly talented and loves to stay at alien beans recording...

[@beedubprep]

would be cool for you to do a whole video on writing vocal melodies. more on how picking notes marry with other chords to create certain moods you may be looking to achieve

[@TLMuse]

I had a DOD BiFET for a while. I sometimes used it as a preamp for an acoustic guitar with a piezo pickup. If you look at the circuit, you'll see that there's always a FET in the signal path, even when it's off. So if you leave it off, you are getting a clean hi-Z preamp, with enough impedance to work well with a raw piezo signal. I used it off more often than on! The battery lasted even longer with the LED off! -Tom

[@ronnie5129]

HOWDY, THIS VIDEO WAS GREAT, YOU 3 GUYS TOGETHER HAVE A GOOD THING GOIN ON HERE, I DIG IT, KEEP THE VIDEOS COMMING, ROCK ON, COUSIN FIGEL

[@michaelherrewig1139]

I've got a tele-shaped guitar made out of pine. I love it.

[@kitano0]

The Squier CV Tele is pine...I had one, it was great...it was pretty heavy, too

[@JensLarsen]

No love for Japanese vintage guitars? 🙂 I love my '77 AS2630! Great video!

[@m0j0b0ne]

Love my 80's MIJ Fenandes Strat.

[@sirhenners204]

got a few vintage Teisco and Harmony guitars and basses, they’re incredibly underrated

[@Morrison9155]

Epiphone Elitist are just as good as Gibson LP Classic if you can get past the poly finish. USA pick ups and wiring. African mahogany backs and solid maple tops.

[@mulehead2229]

I have two identical 1980 Ibanez TS 50 guitars. I ran the serial numbers and found that they had come off the exact same assembly line three months apart. The Japanese Ibanez guitars around this time frame were exceptionally well made with high quality standards. One thing I really love about these guitars is that Ibanez actually made every part including the pickups, pots, tuners, bridges, etc. All these parts had some innovative designs, especially the tuners and bridge which were far superior to Gibson guitars during this period. The Ibanez humbucking pickups appear to me to be modeled on Dimarzios because they have a very similar sound. The reason I bought another one just like it was because the first one gradually worked its way into my top 5 rotation for gigs and the studio. I stumbled across it in '93 and snatched it up for $150 which was a steal considering that it was in perfect mint condition. I don't think it had ever even been played because I found all the original documents and accessories in the case and not even one trace of finger prints on the Instrument. It certainly doesn't look like that now because it became a road warrior for 20 years and and took quite a bit of abuse in literally hundreds of clubs. While it doesn't look so pretty anymore, it still plays and sounds possibly even better than I got it. There are a number of these still out there for relatively decent prices. In fact, I've been looking around for some other Japanese Ibanez guitars built around this time period. They were very high quality instruments and certainly some of the best "bang for the buck" guitars out there. I don't know if these guitars are any big secret, but I wouldn't hesitate buying one of these in the 6 to 7 hundred dollar range before dropping $1500 for a new guitar which is probably not as well made.

[@sixtofive]

I've got an old Lotus Les Paul that's one of my favorite plaguing guitars to this day.

[@eljison]

I have a Fender Blues Jr "After the Goldrush" model. No mods needed. It sounds great clean and it sounds great dirty. It has a Celestion Greenback speaker, which is perfect.

[@smokingun397]

Laney Lionheart amp and the Tech 21 Richie KOtzen Flyrig are a great combination. The Lionheart comes in a 5 watt and a 20 watt in combo's and heads. I have a 5 and a 20 watt combo and they are way louder than you need to get over a drummer and sound killer. I have an extension 1 x 12 cab that I run mine with and I love it. I think people would be surprised

[@KdR594]

I recently dig out of my garage a Audio Guild Bonham double bass amplifier, a friend gave it to me years ago, it never really worked for bass but after 20 years I tried plugging in my Telecaster and sounds amazing!

[@rdpatterson2682]

Great discussion. Gibson L-5 solid state amp. Seymour Duncan twin tube classic over drive pedal. Godin freeway guitar--great value.

[@cornbobrimlove7892]

Yamaha 1979 to 1982 G100 II Amplifiers. 1x12, 2x12, 4x10, combos and or the head version. Best amps I own for versatility and dependability. And I own all of the classics. Fender, Mesa, Soldano,Peavey, Marshall,Tube Silvertone........and more

[@BlackCatBonz]

Cornbob Rimlove I liked and owned the Yamaha G100-212 III. The 3rd Gen doesn’t seem to get a lot of love, but I thought it was a great amp. I used it in a Rock/Metal band from 89 to 92, when I got a 5150. I loved the overdrive in the Yamaha. I used a BOSS CS-2 compressor going in and that amp had sustain for days... it also had a switchable parametric EQ with a huge range and an almost surgical Q knob. I regret selling it.

[@markedwards7721]

I own a Mesa Lonestar Classic "Short Head" I got off E-Bay. For speakers, I bought two Bogner 1x12 ported "Cube" cabinets off E-Bay that happen to match the exact width of the Mesa amp. I tested several speakers but ended up with Mesa 12" C-90 8-ohm speakers. I run the amp on the 50 watt "Tweed" setting. These two Bogner Cubes with a Mesa Lonestar short-head on top makes a "Mini-stack" with a small floor footprint. You can adjust the controls while standing up! They don't make the "Short Heads" anymore, so find them on E-bay, even though they are rare. The reverb problems Mesa claimed they had were that the spring unit was too close to the transformer, causing a hum, but I never had that problem. It is a setup Boogie should have made but never did.

[@yucatown2]

Fantastic episode. Love this channel.

[@KevinHudsonL]

Ok, I am late to the party. Also, my list is more of the "sleeper" variety than "desert island" variety. Although, 1 and 2 would be on both lists. Also, this is from a non or semi professional perspective. Also, novice to intermediate experience level, supporting a developing professional daughter on a shoe string budget. Our equipment and the price we can spend grows as her career grows. 1) Behringer XAir XR series (I own XR12 and XR16). I came to these from another on this list, the Fender Conference PA. When my daughter's setup and venue's began to out grow the input count and output capacity of this PA, I started looking for replacement gear for the Fender. And I did use this in front of the Fender while saving up for a pair of powered speakers for larger and outside venues. One of the things I was looking for was the ability to run main mix from front of house without having to run a snake, which would present a tripping hazard in most of her venues. Plus it would totally ruin the aesthetic of one of her steady upscale steak house venues. I stumbled onto the Behringer line during this search. And I pondered over it for quite sometime. I knew of the reputation the Behringer had at that time, especially in the consumer price point space equipment. And this line of digital mixers was hundreds, if not thousands of dollars less than their nearest functionally equivalently competitors. And that price placed it squarely within the "consumer" price point space. So I went in to this purchase with expectations set appropriately. At the then (6 years ago) price of $345 (For the XR12) plus change, I figured I could resell it back to Guitar Center and recoup some of the cost, if only to apply it to something else. Upon receiving it, I was very pleasantly surprised, especially considering the price I paid for it. It has a very nice set of effects; I can control mains from front of house and band members can control their own monitor mixes from their own stage position. I love this line. I have since bought the XR16, because of added band members hence the need for 2 more monitors. I intend on purchasing the XR18 and XR32 as her career develops to the need for more inputs and monitors. I did keep the XR12 for her solo gigs. I already have snapshots setup for most of the venues she does solo. I love this piece of equipment. I have had the opportunity to use the competitors (QSC Touch mix 16 and Sound Craft UI16. Which has since come down in price *dramatically* to achieve price parity with the Behringer.) And I still prefer the Behringer. CONS: The only con I have encountered with this equipment is the internal wireless access point and it's antenna. The AP has a tendency to drop out during the show. And the antenna broke after a few weeks on the road. I purchased an external AP and use that instead. Works great. I would suggest to just go ahead and buy an external AP and use it. Just remember to check that the network type selector switch is always set to "Ethernet" when plugged in to the external AP. I am no pro like you guys. But for a dad trying to support his professional musician daughters career on a shoe string budget, this is an excellent piece of what might be considered "sleeper" equipment to pros like you. 2) Casio CTK 601 Key board. This is another sleeper piece of consumer grade gear. I forget how much I paid for it (I think it was ~$300.00). I got it in some time in the late 80's to mid 90's. Again, I was very pleasantly surprise at the versatility of this moderately price, again, "Consumer" price point, equipment. All the voices are at least "decent" but some of them are nearly spot on. One would not find better grand piano voices at the price point I bought this one at the time. Some of the strings could have been better. But, the biggest selling points are the integrated synthesizer and MIDI sequencer/workstation. It is like buying a really consumer keyboard and getting a MIDI workstation/sequencer and fully programmable synthesizer for free! An added bonus it that it has a rudimentary drum pad under the LCD Display, so you always have drums available no matter what the primary voicing is. It also had keyboard splitting and voice layering. Functions that at that time, were only found in "Professional" grade products at a much higher price point. CONS: Keys are not weighted. Internal speakers are garbage. That may have cost Casio sales. Because there were many more keyboards available at that time that sounded so much better out of the box and when demoing them in store, many consumers might have gone with key boards with better "sounding" speakers. *But* once I got this li'l baby home and hooked it to an amp, WOW, what a difference. I wish I could get my daughter to gig with this. But she can't get over the stigma of it being a Casio. And while it has velocity sensitive keys, it does not have weighted keys. . 3) Fender Passport Conference/Event/Avenue PA system. What I like about this one, (I bought the Conference) is the portability. Going in with not so high expectations (Although Fender is generally pretty good), at this price point, (Again we are on a budget) I was again pleasantly surprised at the sound. I was able to get "pretty good" fidelity output, ie. my daughters voice sounded like my daughter and her Mini Martin sounded like well, her Mini Martin even though it has no EQ to speak of, only a single "tone" knob for each channel. In fact, I almost did not give it a chance, because of this one misgiving. I did end up, for an interim, when her setup exceeded the 4 XLR inputs, put the afore mentioned Behringer XR 12 in front of this. I was then able to get even better sound by utilizing the 5 band PEQ available on each channel on the Behringer. I liked the fact that it all packed together in its own self. There is a cubby on the back for the speaker wires and power cables. And the speakers attach to the front and back, yielding one "thing" to have to load in and load out at a gig. CON: No EQ. Only a single single "Tone" knob on each of the 4 XLR channels. 4) My daughters LX1 Little Martin. I say "My daughters Little Martin" because this guitar has a timbre or tonality that is apparently unique to this specific guitar. Martin may not be a "sleeper" brand. But the consumer grade Martin LX1 at $345.00 is by no means a high end professional guitar. It (from what I gather from others) is an entry level beginner guitar. But apparently, this one specimen is something different. Everywhere we go where other, often more seasoned, professionals are present, they want to play my daughters guitar. It is to the point that I am hesitant each year to take it to the local luthier for an annual check up. For fear that he might do something that might ruin the "specialness" of this guitar. But he too is aware of this special quality of this specific instrument that he is careful just to adjust the neck (if needed), change out the strings and tighten the cord jack (which is why we usually why we take it in). CON: B string goes out of tune a lot, even during gigs. But I understand that is not uncommon. That the B string is generally problematic. This is just me. I do have way back experience running sound for a small church in Oklahoma. But that was a very long time ago (late 70's early 80's). And I was just a teen then. So I am no where near a professional in any of this. But I do enjoy running sound for my daughter where the venues do not run it themselves.

[@williamplacie8509]

Music Man RD 112 Fifty as seen on the cover of E C's Backless. Mine is an '82 . Sounds great.

[@DrDooDah]

Nice video, guys! Good to watch a 'things you didn't know about' KZbin video, where I genuinely didn't know about most of them. My beloved oddball is my '79 Gibson The Paul. They only made this all walnut LP for 2 years (started messing with its mojo in 1980), and for my money it's one of the best Gibsons out there, bang for buck. I bought one in the '80s and sold it. Always regretted it. But I was lucky enough to get another off eBay, just before the prices went crazy. I'll be buried with this one.

[@lucyfuir6386]

I bought a red bear 4x12 brand new 4 days old off a buddy for 250 back in 97ish. Sounded great had celestien 65 watt speakers that I loaded into a late 70s early 80s Marshall large checkerboard empty cab I got in like 07 for 50 bucks. My fab cab ever

[@fearlessfrankie6479]

My desert Island gear: Gibson Les Paul ,Rozon Amp & 4x12 cab, my pedal board & alot of Ernie Ball 9's strings & Dunlop.71 picks!

[@jeffbenson6102]

Great show! I just got a Fender PA 100 which is just fabulous for guitar and just loves pedals very lush reverb. Basically the AB763(100W) with a clean input preamp. Very cool and loud.

[@bobtheblindbedroomguitaris8742]

hey guys thanks you really brought back some cool memories I remember my first pedal I bought it used in 1981 was the mxr flanger what a great pedal I've never heard a flanger you know built into the amps and stuff like that that sounded anything like that flange of dead. For some reason I remember it sounding metallic I don't know if that remembering back.thanks guy for the blast in the past and please excuse any typos misspelled words definitely lack of punctuation I suffer from mr. Magoo syndrome I am severely legally blind and I'm using speech to text and it does what it wants to when it wants to apparently as you'll tell from this comment on making sincerely yours, bout the blind bedroom

[@Ianmcguire1993]

I love these videos I learn so much from it! Lots of knowledge and experience between the 3 of you! Keep these in the KZbin archive forever!!

[@decayAW44]

I got a Danelectro 59 Dano 12 and it’s a beautiful guitar to play. Stays in tune and sounds great as well. I had a Ricky 360 12 and I prefer the Dano!

[@paulj0557tonehead]

27:00 IS A FULLY SOLID STATE MODEL! These were solld in the US as - ' WEM COPICAT Mk IV for GUILD GUITARS USA ' Uses standard 1/2" reel to reel tape, easy to splice a new belt. I loved mine! THE BC109 buffer transistor circuit stayed in circuit when the tape echo effect was bypassed, and gives your guitar the perfect boost! While they are making ECHOPLEX BUFFER pedals they really should be making COPICAT Mk IV BUFFER pedals.

[@Slovy_]

I’ve had a few of the Gibson amps. I’ve got a few of the scouts for a couple hundred dollars. And taking out that big capacitor out of them and I can’t remember off the top of my head what to replace them with makes a huge difference and gets rid of the high end shrill so I am use a single coil guitar with them. The tremolo is awesome

[@oneamongall8861]

Been playing Mesa Boogie since 1993.....My Lonestar for ever!!!!!

[@DallasGunther]

I got a Kalamazoo model 1 which i inherited from my dad. Gibson built them to be entry level affordable but it's its point to point handwired and once i put a line out and a switch to kill the speaker so i can use it as a head, or a pre amp and i love the breakup when cranked.

[@sixtofive]

One of my favorite pedals was passed down to me from my father's guitar days. It's a tube pre amp overdrive from Westbury. Hard wired power cord so it can run real voltage across the 12ax7. Sounds fantastic! The rackmount Zoom 9150 didn't have quite as many bells and whistles as the Digitech gsp2101 of it's day, but it has some great stereo effects and good 12ax7 gain stages.

[@BigTrouble324]

Selmer amplifiers from mid '60's are fucking awesome! I got two T&B 50 heads from '66, 2x 4x12 cabs, Binson echorec, homemade tube-pre, homemade Rangemaster, Boss DS1, '68 Stratocaster. KILLER SETUP!!

[@dr.buzzvonjellar8862]

I love that early Pink Floyd setup

[@markbratton111]

Got a Fender Concert amp 1993 reissue back when they first came out (the reissues that is). This has been the most reliable combo I have ever owned. The clean channel has tone up the wazzoo. I have not been a fan of the Fender's early gain channel and this one is no different. It's a tube amp with solid state so 1/2 and 1/2. The first time I had it repaired was last year. cost $80 to fix so, still very happy with it. To make up for the gain channel that I do not use, I run a Mesa Twin V for tube gain. Whoa baby!

[@321gogogogo]

The Digitech PDS 1002! That thing was a ton of fun, digital delay sounded great to me back then. I always had it plugged in. Fun episode!

[@IamUncledeuce]

The Best Gear You Have Never Heard Of... and why. The title is kind of like the full title of Kubrick's Doctor Strange Love movie, "Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb" Well... in my case the gear explosion of the 70s, 80s and 90s has caused me to question why I didn't take up accordion at age 10 instead of the trombone, and probably why I play a lot of banjo today...to quote George Harrison "it's all too much" which for me is apropos. Super-Great vid BTW, you guys are a fount of information steeped in experience, and greatly appreciated!

[@rcdriscoll1]

My favorite amp, in my limited experiences, is still my Acoustic Controls G60-212. I bought it new in college in '88 o ''89. It has clean and distortion channels and nice built-in reverb. While it is a solid-state amp, it has an amazing, butter-smooth distortion that genuinely will hang on the edge of breaking up and let you push it over with your volume knob on the guitar. I would encourage you to check one out, if you can find one.

[@arispap12]

Yamaha Magicstomp? AH used them for years to the end. Load all of Allan's patches and there you have it! Fender Ultimate Chorus amp? Fantastic loud crispy clean from a SS amp. Dirt cheap on the used market and great for pedals. Yamaha guitars, especially the top shelf ones, SA semi-hollow, worlds better than the Ibanez AS and possibly the best modernized 335 for around 1000 used. There's a lot of sleeper gear actually.

[@ryanhogge8]

One of those Gibson amps is sitting in the guitar center in Peoria right now. Really cool amp.

[@Toology88]

Absolutely love my EHX MiG50 reissue! What a great pedal platform. Bright channel is my favorite and channel one is supa fat! Love it!!!

[@satchmodog2]

I love my DOD pedals, especially the Bifet boost, 250 and the 53, which sounds like a fat tube screamer. That bifet boost is almost always on my board.

[@jacksmith4460]

Sleeper gear: Jet City amps (mainly JCA and HDM heads, basically Soldano SLO's on a printed circuit board, chinese made under licence from Mike) EHX Memory Boy Deluxe, costs under $200/£200 and is as good as any analog delay out there, has modulation , gain control and an fx loop for the delay tail, and Tap and is 100% analog signal, people never mention them but they are fantastic TRex Alberta 2 (really any TRex drive but) 2 channel OD that does anything you would want an OD pedal to do, and great at clean boosting, very well made Caline Snakebite CP26 , basically an EQD style ambient verb , with 1 mode but hi and low pass filter, Central resonant frequency control, decay, mix and damping controls, costs about $30 DOD Gunslinger. Quite simply the best amp in a box pedal released in the last 5 years that retailed for less than $200 (they were about $100 when they were still being made) I would take one of an Angry Charlie for example, not a seconds thought DOD Looking Glass, unique OD , not the best for clean boosting, but as a preamp/drive source its amazing, low gain and mid gain tones are simply brilliant DOD Icebox (og 90's version) take these over any other chorus ....ever made. EHX Hot Tubes nano, decent drive pedal, but I think this pedal is amazing for warming cleans. Keep gain below 11 O'clock and you just add warmth and fatness, acts more like a really sweet compressor on cleans. EHX OD Glove and East River Drive, quite simply the best low cost OCD and TS clones , and they are actually miles ahead of other budget clones. G&L Tribute series guitars. Just blows Squire out of the water(and Squire are great). More like getting a USA standard Fender for Squire money. I have A/B'd my Indonesian made Tribute Asat 2 with a 90's USA standard Tele (about 1k worth of guitar), and a 00's 52 reissue Tele USA (over 2k worth of guitar). The 90's USA standard is of a similar build quality, slightly better finish, and the G&L destroys it tone wise, the 52 Reissue was on basically the same level tone wise but is of course a better finished instrument, and plays a bit nicer (only 5%, not 1.5k of retail value worth though), the G&L cost me £350($400). ........Crazy. Harley Benton HB10G , 10 watt solid state practice amp, awful drive channel, but as a home practice pedal platform, actually sounds great. The clean is really good and I have not found a drive pedal it does not like, and the sound is really good for an 8inch speaker, so good I bought 2, and they cost ...drum roll please $40(£35). (Digitech Supernatural, would have been on this list but people started to realise how good they are and now they go for 200 bucks despite retailing for 70 when they were made)

[@massfusionstudio]

A double middle finger up for those who gave a thumbs down for this video. Love your stuff and what you discuss and teach Mr Beato. I wish I knew what you forgot about mixing and engineering sound. 👍👍👍👍👍

[@rallewarmbier7607]

If you are in Europe. Amps. Echolette. M40. B40N. BS40. (Winston) B200. I own and use them. work and sound great!

[@mbjorke]

I remember back in about 1966 a friend in another band had what my have been a PA, I'm not certain, but used it for bass; two fairly narrow rectangular cabinets and a head the same size. It was very impressive back in the day.

[@bryanbuckley9653]

Nice vid lads. There needs to be a discussion re amps that are suitable for home that will give great tone. Presenters talk about such and such a great amp, it comes alive when the vol is set about 7 etc. Problem is that most guitarists live with others that dont necessarily appreciate the beautiful tones at these volumes. I have a Marshall VS100 for over 25 years and I dont know if it has ever been turned up above 2 apart from the day I got it to try it so it is not reaching its best tone. Can you do a vid that will give great toes at reasonable volume. Keep it up

[@ralphballinger2159]

Something you should mention about buying a guitar generally speaking is the guitar should sound good unplugged. This is absolutely a must! You can’t upgrade a guitar that doesn’t sound good unplugged. Pickups, bridges, tuners, electronics, etc can only enhance what’s already there in the wood itself. It’s like the old saying “you can’t polish a turd”. There are however a few exceptions to the rule though, Danelectro is a good example. They were originally made out of surplus trailer parts as very inexpensive beginner guitars.

[@Eventual420]

Italo DeAngelis has a dot com that will elaborate on his contributions to the world of music, better than I can. I recommended him for a 'Sounding Off'. He has new algos available, and they're insane. I'll tell you why I always say it is good to see Rhett in your videos. Invaluable to see his perspective on all of it. When he speaks, his view of 1950-2020 gives me a good summary of the big picture. I see what the younger generation has learned. What has been saved, what was discarded from generations like mine. Class of '89. Dave's facial expressions during Rhett's amp-mod chat were truly priceless. I know how to solder, but I don't trust myself. Good job Rhett, and of course Rick for mentoring such an honorable group of disciples. Time to make some noise!

[@riffmanrob]

More of these gear talk video's please. My future topic suggestions: Alnico ceramic in speakers and p/u's, Fasel Inductor, Clyde McCoy, etc, cabinet wood comparison.

[@RoxxHoffner]

Damn, this channel is so full of a variety of knowledgeable insight. Thanks again Rick and everyone involved.

[@1FeistyKitty]

i remember having a really shitty bass 115 bass combo amp by Acoustic for bass that I didn't know how to use. I figured out that my home stereo tape deck (Teac), which was a $99 model (cheap) had mic. inputs and input levels. All you had to do is have the record button on. You could have a tape in and on pause or just hold the switch when you hit the Rec. button. When you max the input it works like an overdrive. I played it through a Techniques 30w x2 reciever throught Advent 8" 2way speakers. I was nervous about blowing speakers but I never did. You could also take a drict input recording. It would be interesting to see how it would sound blasted through a 50w tube amp.

[@Paul_Lenard_Ewing]

The reason why old fuzz boxes often drop on level when you turn up the gain is you get more dirt by starving the transistors of power. So you may be running on a 9 volt battery the fuzz is only getting 4 or 5 volts.

[@phasmoid666]

I have an early 90's Korean U2 that is a real joy; $65 in an ATL pawnshop. Great reminder to not get too sniffy about gear.

[@shearfury147]

another great video Rick.

[@matthewschiavi7353]

I built a guitar with construction grade spruce, it sounds good! I used in case I screwed up and didn’t wasting money on an expensive chunk of wood.

[@matthewschiavi7353]

Dan Brian -Probably not. I'm not a professional, but it comes down to playability and $$$. And sometimes you just have shut up and play yer guitar 😉

[@kevinklotz9398]

83 Japanese squier I bought for 70 bucks. Found out what it was after the fact. Best playing strat I've ever had and sounds like a dream.

[@chalkedupmusic9610]

The "drip edge" Fender bassman! They changed the chassis to a silverface in 1967 but the circuitry is still the same as the Blackfaces until 1972 I think? When they changed the circuitry, they took away the plastic piping around the grille cloth (where it gets the "drip edge" name from) and added a master volume. Got my '68 for $300 because the guy thought a 50w silverface Fender wasn't worth anything, but that thing SCREAMS.

[@TordiMoore]

Boss pedals, Yamaha Pacifica Strats, Squier and MIM Fender Stratocaster, Quilter Pro Tone Block Amp, Boss Katana amp, Celestion V30 speakers.

[@blue-tb2fd]

Boss pedals? Obscure??

[@aquathemage1680]

@@ChainsawChristmas you didn't mention the pacificas. Still, pacificas aren't really sleeper gear, they just get ragged on by snobs who won't even try them

[@aquathemage1680]

@@blue-tb2fd boss AMPS

[@blue-tb2fd]

​@@aquathemage1680 Did you not see the very first part of his comment......?

[@aquathemage1680]

@@blue-tb2fd fuck I'm blind. It's just he said boss katana amps later so i zeroed in. Sorry!

[@craigbreckenridge491]

have an unsold (gibson reps sample) Red Bear MK120. I would echo Daves comments on it but add it has a beyond fender HiFi clean tone with massive punch available . Really needs a power brake to hit the sweet spot in the power section as you might imagine.

[@777milehigh]

Can't do without my Friedman PT-20. Just amazing. Use it with an EVH 2x12 cab. The EVH 2x12 is one of the best values out there at $499. Great stuff guys, keep it up.