13 Guitar Gear Myths: Is There ANY Truth To These?

[@User-jk8wq]

The main benefit to handwired amps is the fact that they can be much easier to repair than PCB amps when a component fails.

[@stephenatgraceland]

I agree. Currently produced amps may sound great, but what do you do when a circuit board craps out and the company doesn’t support the product once it is discontinued? Throw it out like an old tv?

[@dougcook7507]

This is true. They also are easier to mod.

[@tomterry2662]

Hand wired also have better chassis.. Circuit boards are cheap. . you can burn holes in them with solder gun..

[@trillrifaxegrindor4411]

agreed

[@ahoneyman]

Repairing components on PCB boards is challenging and requires practice. It definitely can be done.

[@mikeblue385]

nobody sounds like stevie ray vaughn. they try but nobody does it like stevie. i can't tell one metal player from another because i just don't listen to it enough. same deal. i don't think you hear it.

[@AudioStorm1980]

Amen brother.

[@78tag]

"Tonewood" That will go on as long as guitars are made of wood - and then they will argue carbon fiber vs metal vs acrylic vs ceramic vs no body at all (ie Gittler). EDITED: I love that you pinned that idiotic statement by a pinhead. Good on you mate.

[@RobertWJackson]

🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@theoriginalhowardho]

For the record, acrylic guitars sound like trash. But they look cool.

[@RobertWJackson]

I put a set of Duncan Blackouts in my Acrylic Warlock and now it sounds great. 🤷🏻‍♂️

[@theoriginalhowardho]

@@RobertWJackson yeah, it was probably the pickups on the one I played.

[@nekot9274]

The cable one get hilarious when you go to the audiophile community.

[@oshikiri999]

I 100% agree. Less gain forces you to pick harder (actually making up for some gain) with more precision. Thus making you a better player through healthy practicing!

[@Ibroughtmycamera2]

The "learn acoustic before you can play electric" attitude is exactly the reason I got discouraged and stopped playing for 7 or 8 years.

[@johnsmits2494]

Many times the cheap acoustic has pretty high action and those guitars can barely be played by pros let alone beginners.

[@mefirstandthegimmiegimmies5160]

i second this^ i think the main thing is you get what you pay for. the cheap birthday present guitar sounds like a good idea to grandma but if you cheap out on a guitar you will hate playing it, if you can play it at all

[@alecmullaney7957]

Same. Thanks dad. I play bass now.

[@dub537h]

The starting with acoustic guitar myth, I think, is more about learning good habits with a super clean tone so when you inevitably switch to electric, you can be a cleaner, more technical player.

[@tomterry2662]

Yes.. You are 100% right. You should learn acoustic first. It will make you a better electric player learn a ton of chords snd scales. Within them hard chords. Finger picking. The reasons go on and on. I played metal over 30 yrs been playin acoustic for 5 yrs. Theirs so much i learned playin acoustic i missed out on them 30 yrs. If i only played acoustic first i been so much better. Lets face it electric pretty much a handful of chords. Got lame after 30 yrs. I just wish i played acoustic first.

[@scourge34]

You do realize you can play an electric without plugging in? I have played both acoustic and electric for around 40 years and I find this to not be true.

[@scourge34]

@@tomterry2662 If you only played a handful of chords after 30 years on electric, you did yourself a great injustice. I also grew up listening to metal in the 80s, but didn't limit myself to just playing power chords. Acoustic isn't the only way to learn to play clean or to learn more chords.

[@rucan2246]

play an electric with out the amp at least when warming up it will make a difference, learn clean intonation with fingers then go .

[@JohnvanCapel]

You can get the same effect of not masking your mistakes if you set your amplifier to the clean channel (or turn the gain to zero if it's a single channel amp).

[@ferencercseyravasz7301]

My favorite myth is (I keep hearing it from parents who are afraid to throw money at their kid's new hobby) that at first a cheap, lousy guitar will do "and then if he/she progresses well" they will get a better one. While cheap doesn't necessarily mean bad, there is a correlation, you can't expect a $100 guitar to be good. And when it's not good, you don't feel like playing it, you're not practicing, you're not progressing. It sounds bad, it feels bad. Even worse: if the neck is bad, uncomfortable to play, you learn a bunch of bad positions and techniques. I'm not saying that the first guitar of a kid who's just starting off should be a $1800 pro instrument. But it has to be decent.

[@paulturner4470]

As is widely recognised now luckily $100 starter guitar will be reasonable. Heck the Harley Bentons and Wolf guitars aren't going to break the bank and they're much less than $500

[@sparkyguitar0058]

I sorta cheated. I started playing in mid 70's and bought a hardtail Strat as my first guitar. If you follow R Neilson C Trick he always says in late 60's early 70's you could get good guitars for $300. Like I did. The only cheap guitars I ever bought are now with a A/E 12 string and a A/ E 6 string. $ 129 for 12 string and $83 for the 6 string. And I use both in my worship band. For the money both are great.

[@ferencercseyravasz7301]

@@sparkyguitar0058 you were lucky to live in a country where stuff was available. Here in Romania I started by making my own pickup from my grandmother's turntable and gluing it on my lousy acoustic, wiring it into the same grandmother's radio's amplifier. Later I had someone put together a distortion pedal following instructions from a magazine. In 1992 a Strat appeared in the window of a pawn shop. Me and my friends went there almost every day just to look at it. The price was about 8 times the average monthly wages here. Try explaining that to today's kids who can walk into a guitar shop and pick the instrument that they want, many of those quite affordable...

[@sparkyguitar0058]

@@ferencercseyravasz7301 Ya I hear you. As a matter of fact just watched some rich kid in a Guiter Center go pick out a $2000 Les Paul for daddy to buy. Kid doesn't even know how to play. As I answer this my $83 guitar is on my lap so I practice my worship songs for Sunday. I wonder when that kid last picked up that guitar to play. Maybe he took lessons and actually loves his guitar. Or realisticly it's already sold off for new video games. The way we learned you gotta love your guitar EVERYDAY. For me I'll lose the ability to remember so many songs while trying to learn new 1's.

[@ferencercseyravasz7301]

@@sparkyguitar0058 I'm not saying that everyone should start with the cheapest option, quite opposite, even a first guitar has to be decent. But obviously a $2000 instrument for a kid is way over the top. As for me, I played that lousy guitar - to use a quote by Bryan Adams - till my fingers bled. And it was the first stretch of the road that took me from Heavy Metal through Conservatory to a PhD in Musicology and a life that brought me joy and happiness. So yeah, it is possible...

[@superfuzzymomma]

I remember hearing Townshend tell the story about asking Jim Marshall to build him the 8X12 cabinet. Marshall replied that he could do it, but that Pete's roadies would end up hating him cause of how much it weighed. Pete dryly replied, something to the effect of, "They get paid……."

[@howardcunniffe8738]

I'm for the end of the video. Now I am a man that grew up with parents that hated Rock and Roll. My parents hated me playing guitar in the first place.They let me have an acoustic guitar to start out with. But when I was ready to start playing electric guitar,they said no way. I tried to explain to my dad that electric guitars are more easier to play and have more fret room.But you couldn't talk sense with him at all. All he thought I was out to do was make nothing but noise.But still on this day I believe electric guitars are easier to play then acoustic and I own one of both.

[@trillrifaxegrindor4411]

i own 10+ of both,electric guitars are definitely easier when setup properly.

[@pcbullets8726]

Great video dude! The one that you talked about beginners playing an acoustic first, I was that guy growing up. Played acoustic till I was 15, bought my first electric off a guy I went to school with for $10. My family didn't have a lot of money at the time and thought it was just a phase I was going through. Well, the phase is still going on 46 years later lol!

[@pickersgrip]

Robert, even though I'm strictly an acoustic player now days, I still appreciate any guitar gear talk. I learned a lot from this video!

[@richarddye5758]

There is a interview with Pete.T on youtube where he is discussing the early days and the way there equipment was constantly needing to be boosted and made louder and he tell's that exact story about the marshalls and the full stack .At the same time Jimmi H. was also constantly coming in asking for similar stuff to be upgraded,so it was pete who helped develop the full stack but it was jimi pete and clapton who were constantly working with Jim.M to get what they needed from their marshall amps.

[@jimwoodard64]

You need more fingers! Here's another myth, the guy who owns all the expensive stuff or the one who owns the most gear is a better player. How many times have you gone to a gig where the one who is playing the $4000 PRS is chugging power chords all night while the guitarist with a modified Epiphone, Joyo pedals, and a budget amp is killing it? Too many guitarists judge that book by its cover.

[@RobertWJackson]

You are correct, Jim! The best guitar players always seem to be using serviceable gear that they’ve been beating the hell out of forever and they’ll never get rid of it because they love it. Many players who have the money to play all of the $5000 Les Pauls that they want always seem to be average at best. Though I do admire their appreciation for high-end gear.

[@ThorneyedWT]

I am that guy with Gibson Standard LP who barely can play anything beyond power chords. But I love it and it inspires me to play and practice much more than my previous cheap guitar. Anyway gear cost and playing skills are usually not connected at all. It is just that professionals tend to spend more on what they work with.

[@WaRLoKWYATT]

PRS Rocker Says the guy with the screenname "PRSROCKER" hahahaha

[@INVERTEDBUKAKI]

I have two epiphones but I stink. Rock on!

[@TheStompboxer]

Nobody thinks that.

[@samthebassman6153]

The thing with high gain is; A, you can have a really fizzy and saturated gain or B, you can have a much tighter sound with less gain.

[@pikoapiko]

When I started playing guitar in 1992 my parents could not afford the whole deal. So I got the electric without pedals or amp. Believe it or not it took me 2 years to plug that guitar into an amp. I might not be a great guitarist but I never gave up

[@standswithfist806]

When I was young, my parents bought me canned beans. Believe it on not, it was 3 years before they bought me a can opener. man!!! talk about the blues!

[@stephenatgraceland]

Electric guitar is actually easier to play for a beginner who lacks callouses. Thin electric necks help beginners with smaller hands. Building up strength by playing acoustic is productive, too. Maybe the best option is whatever will inspire the learner to keep playing. I hate to see a guitar sitting in a cupboard gathering dust...

[@waynebrown1394]

Hell ya rock on man, I watched a video that Rob Chapman put out and he talked about a guy that he knew that played a electric guitar without an amp for a long time. I don't believe in gear shaming and rock what you got the biggest factor is your passion and work effort...and you showed that..much respect and good luck to you man

[@trillrifaxegrindor4411]

i had my electric plugged into a stereo within a day,plugged into the record input on a cassette player with record and play on(and pause pressed) if you unpress pause it records the distorted guitar......after 1-2 years i had a jcm800 100 watt head and 4x12" 1960a cab and a gibson les paul custom(got both for $1200)

[@Colhogan06]

Actually, Billy Gibbons used 7's when he first switched to light guage strings. Then moved to 8's. There is an interview near the end of the video where he plays La Grange at Darryl Hall's house. In that video he explains how and why he changed to light guage strings. HINT: BB King was involved, by asking him why he was working so hard. Then suggested he switch to lighter guage strings. There is more to the story, if you search KZbin using both Darryl Hall's name and Billy Gibbon's name it should come up. Then scan to about 5:41 in the video.

[@IndyRockStar]

top mounted jacks make building a pedal board sooo much easier to wire. That is part of the reason I went with all Strymon. If you can't get the sound you want out of the Strymon line then you haven't spent enough time trying.

[@mikecarreca7864]

Absolutely great segment. Being a retired electronics engineer, I can tell you the gauges of the cable is the main difference. I use large cbi cables from the amp head to the cabinets .It makes for a cleaner transfer of current , thus more electrons flowing. I use the same cables from to loop my boards to the amps. I make my own cables to connect my pedals.

[@jasonbyas6150]

That was the best explanation I've heard to tell people what guitar they should start out on. Thanks again, Robert. Your experience has helped me once again. I've been asked that question so much throughout my life from friends interested in learning guitar.

[@derpimusmaximus8815]

Of course, one reason you can discount Brian May as the source of the full stack is he started using AC30s before he even joined Queen, and other than the Deacy, he sticks with them.

[@OzziePete1]

04:55 I think I read an interview with Jim Marshall years ago, where he did confirm this story. Only alteration was that Pete's roadies objected to the cartage of it & why Pete got Jim to make 2 4x12 cabinets instead.

[@kevinpaul1719]

One myth I wondered about was if you go over the top bar on a swing set you will turn inside out? This unfortunately for my friends Jimmy Howard it is true. He got over wild on a swing set and turned in to a pile of guts. Don't go swimming for an hour after you eat. Most of the kids did drowned. The coroner blamed the heavy lunch for the three deaths. He never asked if any of the children knew how to swim. Most inner city kid pre boys and girls club barely knew how to get water in their mouth. Forget swimmers in it. See you Wednesday and thank you.

[@RobertWJackson]

🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@INVERTEDBUKAKI]

lol

[@markl1221]

Another good thing about less gain is less feedback problems when trying to play a tight rhythm. I also notice the low strings distortion a lot faster than the high strings. The fact that I get plenty of chunk from a valvestate amplifier with the gain on 5 especially the avt150 head and the amp stays pretty much quiet if not low hiss.

[@Dan.Solo.Chicago]

I like his point on the acoustic vs electric for a first guitar. Let me say though, I started on a crappy acoustic. Luckily Nirvana had enough songs on acoustic to keep me interested. When I did finally get my hands on an electric, it made me have a great respect for the instrument. Same as when I finally got and amp, and when I finally got a distortion pedal. It made me respect them even more, and I carry that to this day.

[@seanbarker6478]

I know the Pete Townsend story is true because, I asked Jim Marshall about it at a trade show. He had to make slanted top cabs because the straight cabs on top tended to be a bit unbalanced.

[@warpath6666]

Speaking of cabinets, many years ago 2 of my buddies had the opportunity to each buy a 9x12 cabinet (and each speaker was ported ... just for your information) from the band Manowar. Those cabs were monsters !!! Then shortly after that, Manowar decided to go back out on tour. Instead of buying them back from my friends, they rented them. And that's the last thing I ever heard about those cabs, this was back in the early 90's ♫♫♪♫ :D

[@trillrifaxegrindor4411]

hearsay my friend

[@ThePete1891]

My favorite amp is a 1973 Peavey Classic. Cheap as dirt, and to me, after a speaker change, sounds wonderful. PCB.?pp6., although the pots, and jacks are not connected to the board. I also have several hand wired, and actual P2P amps. I brought my Peavey in to be repaired, and my blond Bandmaster in at the same time. Both for recaps. Guess which one was cheaper? The Fender cost 1/3rd the price of the Peavey to recapp. So, I agree, from a tone point of veiw, PCB is just as good, if not clearer that HW, but from a repair standpoint, HW is much simpler. From my limited experience. Thank You.

[@YellowJack6]

Hey man; awesome video as usual. I actually experienced the last one when I learned to play. My uncle was an awesome guitar player, mostly played Iron Maiden kind of stuff and Iron Maiden has always been my favorite band so I really looked up to him. I had wanted to learn to play since I was old enough to listen to music and imagine myself playing with the band (around age 5), so when I finally got the courage to try (age 15), I asked him if he could help me learn. He was a les Paul player but he told me that the only way to learn was on a steel string acoustic and he bought me one and circled some chords in a book. That was all he did for me, he basically taught me to teach myself, which I'm grateful for. I hated the acoustic and I don't even own one today ten years later. But I really wanted to learn so I stuck it out. I think that it actually helped me as a player. But I totally see where you're coming from, if I hadn't wanted it so badly, I probably would never have learned. Anyway, sorry for the novel man. Ha. Thanks for the great uploads

[@Dan-wl7hh]

With the Pete Townsend story, what I had heard was he was responsible for the SLP i.e. 100W amp. I haven’t heard the story about the first full stack. He kept going back to Jim Marshall saying the amps weren’t loud enough and he needed more power behind them, causing Jim Marshall to double the power amp thus creating the 100W SLP. Please correct me if that is not the case. Please and Thank You.

[@MaxPower-js1sk]

I use 16s tuned down on acoustic guitar, but I’ve gone done to 9s on electric guitar. Like BB King said:”Why are you working so hard?” I play Slide on a round necked Dobro with Resophonic guitar strings which only come as 16s in Australia.

[@2Plus2isChicken2013]

One observation I have about cables is that for me the price of the cable doesn't affect the tone much, if at all. What you do get with more expensive cables is, as mentioned, better quality construction. Personally I use the Lava Tightrope cable system, but it's because the cables are flexible and the type of connector allows you to plug them into jacks that many other cables would be impossible to plug into. They're also incredibly easy to make once you get the procedure down. They're sort of like the Evidence Audio SIS ones Dan from That Pedal Show uses when he builds boards.

[@trillrifaxegrindor4411]

a bit of cork sniffing never hurt anyone

[@garrettallen7140]

I know this is an older video, but I can’t stand to see mean comments. The video was great Robert just like every video. Keep up the good work

[@RobertWJackson]

Thanks buddy. 😉🤘🏼🤘🏼🤘🏼

[@trillrifaxegrindor4411]

best not to read comments then,or stop being an oversensitive woman

[@jppagetoo]

The whole vintage gear sounds better myth started in the early 70's. Gibson and Fender were producing very poor quality intruments (with some exceptions) compared to the stuff they made in the 50's and early 60's. It didn't take the pro's long to figure that out. Today, we live in gear heaven. New gear is so well made. Even low end stuff can be great. So vintage gear does not hold the same advantage it did back when this myth started.

[@dougcook7507]

Couple of my thoughts. 1. On the cable myth. The big thing on them is the shielding. Some cables use thinner braided shield, allowing slightly more RF to penetrate. Also, how that shielding is transfered in the connector ends is key as well. You see a bit more of the better materials and construction in the higher end...but still doesn't mean inexpensive ones can't. 2. On the Steve Vai, I am the same way with hearing him. However, on the Whitesnake album he did, when I first heard it. I was like...that's Steve...and that's Adrian. Only to find out Steve played all of it. Adrian had a broken hand or something like that when they recorded it. 3. On the delay pedals...analog or delay isn't as a big concern as much as what type of delay circuit is uses...ie water bucket circuit. Just my thoughts and opinions is all.

[@myshow667]

Pete does talk about the stack idea in his book. He says if i remember correctly, somewhat paraphrased of course, that he started stacking 2 of them on top of each other and would strap them together and thats how the stack supposedly started.

[@bradmerilic6848]

You have to start on acoustic. Jesus...all day long every day during Christmas for the 8 years I managed a guitar store. Same shit with bass. You need to learn guitar first? Why? They’re completely different instruments. Plus you can always tell a guitarist that just took up bass. They play it like a guitar. No groove, and don’t know wtf a pocket is to save their life.

[@daveyroque1070]

My friend THOROUGHLY believes that electric guitar doesn't make you talented because it's "easier" to play than acoustic. The action on his electric was so high, I swear to God I could stick my wallet under the 5th fret, no BS. Proceeded to tell me that you don't have skill if you start on electric. The two are two different instruments, and I am decent on both. Especially since I've been rebuilding my epi for the last year and 3 months, trying to learn Metallica on acoustic, I'm pretty sure I have decent skill. Dudes guitar is perfectly in tune, he plays it, it's out of tune. I play it it sounds normal. Check the intonation, not a problem in the cowboy chord area. Try to figure out what's wrong. Legit his is pushing the 54 gauge low e ALL the way down to the fretboard, and his resoning is "precision is everything", and yet while practicing drums he manages to COMPLETELY mis the cymbol, and whack his own dern leg... And IM the one who doesn't know what I'm doing. Playing guitar since 7th grade and I graduate in 2021. He practices because he thinks he has to and only does it twice a year. Playing because you WANT to is the only way to go.

[@jeffbenson6102]

There are many reasons that PCB amps can be less rugged than hand wired amps. If done right PCB can be good. Such as remote mounted tubes and pots, over time these things mounted on the PCB can cause problems.

[@calvaradosr]

Excellently stayed! Thanks for this video. Keep them coming.

[@DIFowner]

I am highly appreciating your level headed clear thinking.

[@RobertWJackson]

Thanks!

[@ryanwilson5936]

“Tone is in the hands” is my favorite myth. People like to say that then go out and buy every piece of signature gear they can so they can sound like whoever. You can’t make this stuff up lol.

[@RobertWJackson]

RIGHT??? 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤦🏻‍♂️

[@DBMorris]

Haha so true!

[@TooPunkToBeAPodcast]

Style definitely is. Tone isn't

[@kodas3366]

I used to have a vintage jcm 800 100w amp head I got someone to take the negative feedback loop out of it, great sound but too loud. I wound up selling it to guitar center..

[@MosriteCharlie]

Robert, Metal nut vs bone nut? zero fret vs standard setup? nitro vs poly finish insofar as tone? Does tone wood really matter considering many guitarists use pedals anyway.

[@trillrifaxegrindor4411]

all things effect tone but the difference is minuscule and essentially irrelevant

[@jphillips5700]

I'm an electrical engineer and the one thing I'll say in regards to cheap cables is I've cut a few Chinese made ones open or opened the end to inspect the filament only to find copper clad aluminum instead of pure copper. CCA isn't nearly as conductive. That's not to say a more expensive cable couldn't be CCA but I've never opened a major brand cable like Fender, Boss, GLS, Hosa etc. only to find CCA instead of pure copper.

[@Leifr57]

in the guitar store where I purchase my gear there was an add of marshall telling the story,except it said it was the road crew that became upset with it.

[@angusorvid8840]

One thing I wanted to mention about the history of gain, and this may sound very simplistic, but it makes sense. From the recording POV, things can be very rushed. Bands have only so much time to knock out a record. So what they do to achieve the right tone in the studio will often surprise those who have never been in a studio environment. I've only recorded demos but from that I learned how different the studio is from playing live. Also, I watched way more professional artist lay down tracks and it was a revelation. The studio is such a different environment that you really can't compare it to a live situation. Bands use surprisingly little overdrive. This makes it easier to mix multiple tracks. With metal you need a big, thick sound. But you don't want mud. if you have too much mud you can't even hear a major to minor shift and it will create an unpleasant dissonance. Mustaine is simply masterful in the studio. He understands guitar tone like few others. This is why Peace Sells and Rust in Peace are so monumental in the annals of great guitar tone. I also like that he stuck mostly with Marshalls. He didn't go off over the edge with gain like Metallica and other bands did. Even on Justice which is one of Metallica's clearest sounding albums when it comes to guitar it is still way too hairy. Also, you know the story about mixing out Jason's bass. I'm not going to go anymore into that but it was a genuine asshat move on the part of Lars. In a good mix everything must stand in its proper place, siloed but mixable. I love the tone of Ellefson's bass on Peace Sells. It's so clear and powerful. As I was saying earlier, things can be very rushed in the studio. For expediency you can go one of two ways. Crank the gain all the way up and let things be what they will. The reason this is not done is for the reasons stated. Producers and sound engineers deal with distorted guitar tracks all day long, every day. It's their job. They know what works, what doesn't, and why. Now, playing live you always end up using more gain, more of everything. You use higher volume and higher resonant peaks, bigger lows, etc. Live is about taking the drama of the recording and playing it for a live audience, recreating what you can. Bands NEVER sound the same live on the album, not even a band like Rush, Dream Theatre or Return to Forever. You can only get so close. Live music is about the live experience. This means you understand that the control of the studio situation goes out the window. If you set the gain on 3 on a record, then live you might even have it ono 7 or 8. Some go to ten, and yes, some go to 11.

[@Mistertbones]

Great job dispelling the true bypass myth. It's best to have a mixture of true bypass and buffered bypass pedals.

[@Thatsnotpennysboat]

I'm glad you addressed your playing with lower gain. I've noticed it for awhile, and I must say; you've become a much better player!

[@tomfoolery2082]

Jim Marshall has that same stack story on his wikipedia page. I tend to lean that way.

[@charliepayne9248]

I started on a Hofner bass, & then switched to 6 string... Have never had the desire to play an acoustic guitar, I had a go at playing one a few years ago, absolutely horrendous! I might as well tried to play a shovel...

[@ctcards2636]

Yeah I have a Boss TU-3 tuner on my board just to have one pedal thats not true-bypass. Use to be a TU-2 for about 20+ years until recently when I bought the new model, just for the screen being brighter and easier to see. My TU-2 is still being used and works 100%. Boss pedals for me have NEVER failed and ive owned quite a few thru out the years and some of them survived festival season's being caught in the rain. ;-) Im not a huge fan of the top mounted jacks. But i do have two pedals that have them in my simple 6 pedal setup I use now. I started guitar on an electric and im glad I did because it had low action and made me want to play the guitar. Im not saying all acoustics are hard to play, but a lot of the cheaper acoustics at the time I was starting to learn had seriously high action and I prob would of quit trying to learn the guitar if id had a high action guitar to begin with. I got into the acoustic about 1 year into learning and I got an Ovation and I still use Ovations today and that made switching between acoustic and electric very easy. I do use and own other acoustics today, but the electric i began with that had low action and the Ovation (also with low action) were great guitars that didnt frustrate the learner right off the bat. These days the Ovations that are cheaper have high action so its not like it use to be and they are starting to become hard to even find in stores. But the guitars priced in the low low end these days are amazing compared to what was available when I started. I cant really say that learning on an acoustic first is better or not, really depends on the person. I def agree that some of the playing you hear is def in the persons hands. When I was young I couldnt hear or didnt pay attention to the fine details in certain guitar players like I do today and now when I hear someone say cover a song Im really paying attention to all the little details that made the original song by the original artist so unique. You hear a lot of guitar players who can play very well, but there is no emotion of feeling in those notes. I appreciate hearing the emotion and detail to the notes being played. A lot of that is in the hands obviously.

[@xATown23xGaming]

Me and my dad are similar on that front although I used an acoustic to show him I was willing to learn an instrument and he went and bought me a BC Rich Warbeast as my first guitar I played the hell out of it

[@markzuelch7452]

Part 2 Okay, thanks for sticking with me. The 2nd guitar was a Left Handed Hamer Flying V, all black with red touches (knobs, switches, etc.). I am a right-handed guitarist so you can imagine the fun I had with the volume knob, etc. It had a double-locking Floyd Rose and "Hamer" on the headstock ("Hamer" was also upside down). But the pick-ups were nothing short of wicked: Rick Derringer "Stealth" pick-ups! I had never heard of them before, but GWAD they were good. I honestly cannot think of any style of rock/blues (and I'm an old blues guy myself). If I ever found a set in real good condition I buy them in a minute if I had the funds available---no kidding, that good. The Hamer had a huge, heavy, V-shaped hard she'll case, and the only other one I ever seen I saw recently was $5,000+. So okay, maybe I got rid of it a few decades too soon, but what the hell, right? Sorry if I ran on, but your show got me thinking. Thanks☮ Mark Zuelch [e-mail]

[@martianmurray]

I like top-mounted just because I can unplug my pedals without tearing it off the Velcro so I can switch from running them in series or parallel.

[@joevalenzuela9443]

Are all pedals drain the battery if both cables were left plugged in?

[@RobertWJackson]

If you’re using batteries to power them, then yes. I’m not aware of any exceptions, at least.

[@blissband3601]

I use a cabel

[@JohnvanCapel]

There's something of an interesting history behind the full-stack, crazy loud amplifier that probably has nothing to do with Pete Townsend personally (although The Who did perform during that time, and they might have been the ones to commission the 8×12). At some point in that era, concert-goers started doing something that was simultaneously fun and *really* annoying for the musicians - they started screaming. Constantly. This was before amplifiers would get hooked up to the PA, so there was a problem - you needed a lot of volume to be heard over hundreds (sometimes thousands) of people screaming their heads off, volume you just couldn't get with only 2 speakers. Bands literally got into a loudness war with their own fans, and at some point someone went up to amp manufacturers asking if they could make a matching amp and 8×12 cabinet - after which it went pretty much how you described, they ran into problems with being unable to lift a wooden cabinet with 8 heavy speakers in it so they sub-divided and started making stackable 4×12 cabinets. There was also a way to effectively daisy-chain multiple amplifiers together (provided they all had multiple input jacks) so they'd all amplify the same guitar signal. That was actually done sometimes for huge outdoor concerts - yes, the wall of Marshall amps Jimi Hendrix used at Woodstock was all real, and yes it was entirely necessary at that time.

[@JohnIainMcFarlanewaspfactor]

After 40yrs as a player and tech,your cable thing is correct i.m.o.They pretty much depend on how well the ends are made off.High end(usually)have better soldering and well fitted jacks.Though as you said,I also have cables,low end but still working after decades.But as a player,I want the best cables and a full set of all sizes in my gig bag,

[@stephenpearson9031]

I just watched my first NON-gear video of yours and Damm you are good you definitely have the top-tier quality channel right now Ron honest thank you for the entertainment Steve P

[@RobertWJackson]

Thanks! Glad you enjoyed it!

[@maxwellbowden9961]

You make good sense Robert. Cheers from Macleay Island Queensland Australia

[@rnrsteev]

PCB stands for Printed Circuit Board. if the beginner is a young, small child a classical guitar might be the right choice because the strings are easier on the fingers. I really struggled on a steel string acoustic when I was 8 y/o. got a 3/4 size electric for my 9th Bday. much more comfortable.

[@craigbrowning9448]

I like Playing Out on an Electric Guitar myself, but I usually practice on an acoustic or unplugged Electric at home.

[@POOKIE5592]

I think the el cheapo cables that come with guitars are junk, but the difference between mid-range and high-end cables is negligible at best.

[@waltjames407]

#14: A guitar's pickups are the sole factor in determining its tone. I don't know how many times I've heard this. It's flat-out false. Play any electric unplugged and listen close. Then plug it into a CLEAN amp, play and listen. You will hear an amplified version of the SAME TONE. Switching pickups will only change the tone by subtle amounts. It's the player and the guitar as a whole that makes the tone, and the pickups are just microphones for the guitar. The only time this MIGHT actually be true is when you crank the gain to the point that the electronics take over your sound, but by that time your "tone" has been completely overtaken by your amp and electronics.

[@RobertWJackson]

I did a couple of videos on that subject a few months back actually.

[@schleprok6333]

The guitars neck has more affect on tone than the pick-ups... The woods used, how thick the fretboard is, the fret composition (nickel-silver, Stainless, bronze, etc) all have an affect on the overall resonance of the instrument. Hence the reason no two guitars sound alike, unplugged or plugged in...

[@cyclesgoff9768]

Pickups, pickups, pickups. Save your fancy wood cash for acoustics.

[@trillrifaxegrindor4411]

yell into a pickup without strings on your guitar and be amazed at SILENCE.a pickup is an electromagnet PERIOD......a good rigid setup ,proper intonation and the electronics determine 98.5% of tone.wood is slightly below 1% of the contributing factor as far as tone ios concerned.please look up "cardboard stratocaster" made at the fender custom shop guess what it sounds exactly like? any ideas? it sounds exactly like a STRATOCASTER...........but its cardboard? theres no wood?

[@tommyroseguitar4557]

On cords: Had a summer gig years ago with an organ trio playing Elks and Moose lodges and the organ player was still using cords he bought in the 1960’s, lol. No one was allowed to touch them as we amusingly/admiringly watched him gingerly wrap them back up! I have only splurged on a cable once, a Monster coiled white one (like Hendrix) I saw hanging on the wall at GC. It’s served me well and I use it at every gig, and often get comments at gigs about it, which is pretty cool.

[@Colhogan06]

I would love to get one of those cables. I'll have to check it out. I have one unique cable if you want to call it that. It has a yellow button on each end of the cable on the jack. If you press it, it kills the signal to the amp. I just push the button, unplug it, and then plug it into the next guitar, then press the button again, and I'm off to the races again, no horrendous noise, and it's fast. I bet many others have something similar, I'm sure its probably a common thing.

[@zachroberts1988]

I played cello before picking up a bass guitar... Once i got a bass and then subsequently an electric guitar i vastly enjoyed each of the instruments more aince i was able to cross many different genres and playing techniques. My parents didnt have much money to buy me a bass guitar when i was young so the school orchestra was what i had to do. I really wanted to just play music in general.

[@clarkbabin9799]

Whether it is video or audio devices add to the degradation of signal. Pedals would have to rebuild what is loss to keep the degradation to a minimal. Top mounted Jack's really is a misnomer since it is actually on the part that is usually on the end under your toes.

[@michaelolz]

Your videos are really entertaining. Great stuff!

[@RobertWJackson]

Thanks man! Glad you’re enjoying the channel!

[@clarkbabin9799]

I started on an electric guitar and learned a lot. Although I found after buying an acoustic I got better at picking.

[@tiffsaver]

LOVE your videos. Always spot-on. Btw, don't listen to that ignorant, belligerent fu*k who dissed you because of your size. I didn't realize you had to be a certain weight to be a good guitar player! He's obviously off his meds. Just one observation on your Acoustic v. Electric comments though, which I also thought were both accurate and honest-as always. I'm a rock drummer, but I think people start with acoustics for lots of good reasons. First, they're cheaper. Second, you don't need an amp, you can play them anywhere. And third, I think they give you a solid foundation in good guitar playing, regardless of style... they certainly strengthen and stretch your fingers. But I think people got this idea from the way OTHER artists usually begin their careers. For example, nearly every great pianist I know started out playing classical piano to learn good technique and how to read, then transferred to electric or jazz or whatever, later. Same with professional dancers. Most of the truly great ones started in ballet to master the foundation and the basics. And finally, even the world's best actors usually begin doing live plays (especially Shakespeare), then eventually move on to television and film, wisdom being, if you can do this kind of acting, you can do ANYTHING. Just my two cents.

[@Paul_Lenard_Ewing]

An average priced cable is likely either the same or better then a high price one sonicially. Better cables often are simply more rugged. This is no mystery you can simply check the plugs to see they do not have light or wobbly parts. Pedal board cables do not get dragged around ...there are budget ones that sound find and are shielded well enough to be quiet.

[@Paul_Lenard_Ewing]

All the gold does is slow down the tarnishing it does nothing for the sound. It also is just a thin plate and on guitar chords it is an alloy not pure gold. If once in awhile you just take a very lite grade of steel wool and do a quick polish your cable will work optimally. If you want to see a very informative video Google ......Do Expensive Cables Really Sound Better- The Twelfth Fret. You will see 10 cables ...average to high price and a graph showing the results. Ten minutes of your time and you will read a well written article that debunks myths and will also save you a lot of money when its time for a cable.

[@Bwayne3]

MYTH #14... "If you HOLD a music man MAJESTY while making a video, All the other Guitarist will be JEALOUS!." lol oops,.. that's not a myth, it's just REALITY!!! lol

[@richardharley6258]

TheGeminilexx I only clickd on this video (never seen this channel before) bc the music man....... I only stayd for the zack wyld on the wall.... lolol jk cool video I'll deff.chexk out this channel

[@ColinStuart]

My favorite myth is, that strings through the body are better than strings through bridge! From a 66 year old 50+ year player, in a little town in Colorado. Less than a thousand people, no traffic lights, no street lights, no music stores.

[@RobertWJackson]

Similar to the “strings wrapped around a Tune-O-Matic tailpiece on a Gibson gives it more sustain” myth. Also complete CRAP. LOL

[@Kabayoth]

Guitar myth #14: the guitar makes the player. Similar to "tone is in the player's hands" argument. This is more downstream than often appreciated. A cheap Ibanez run through a cheap amp can still sound amazing if played to the gear's strengths. A $10k Les Paul run through a Marshall stack can sound awful in the hands of an inexperienced player. Don't get me wrong, gear is like a toolbox, and the right tool for the job will perform better (a Marshall tends to be rather high strung for sloppy players, while a Fender Princeton is more composed for example. ) The gear does not make the player, but the effect the look and feel of specific gear has on the player cannot be denied or quantified. There's a reason Fender and Gibson can get away with essentially the same product lines since the '50s: they are compelling aesthetics both visually and audibly. There's a reason new stuff can make such a splash when it appears on the scene (such as Mesa Boogie or PRS) individual players find the new stuff compelling and draw inspiration from them.

[@DirtyTractorDr]

Guitar cables can have different grades of copper for the wire. Yes, it seems ridiculous, but metal grades are very different for quality, even if they are all the same metal. It's kind of carats of Gold.

[@EvilHomer1973]

Wow you avoided the whole TONE WOOD thing. Good for you. :)

[@RobertWJackson]

Nope, I’m not going down THAT rabbit hole. LOL

[@angusorvid8840]

I never liked heavy gauge or tuning down lower than D, and that was only for a couple songs in a set. My preferred gauge is 9 and occasionally 10-46. Otherwise, 9 is where it's at. I have also used 8s. Frank Marino uses 7s with unwound D strings.

[@dwtn81]

The full stack- memory serves me correct, I read that Jim Marshall validate the Pete Townsend legend. Guitar World back in the late ‘80’s.

[@axemanchris]

SRV didn't have 0.13 gauge set of strings, they were a custom set with the top and low (E) strings 0.13 and 0.58 the middle ones were of a med set I believe it was (B)0.15 (G)0.19p (D)0.28 and (A)0.38. I put this on my old Fender A.S. with Texas Special P/Us and it's pretty damn close to his tone.That G and b string squeal is definitely there if you have the finger strength. I love it!

[@pauljohnson1065]

Great vid!!!! I use to play my acoustic to EVERYTHING that came on the radio in the late 70's. When I did go to electric, barre chords were so much easier. And my hands were stronger!! So I think a kid should start with acoustic. Seen too many have a nice stater electric, and lose interest quickly.

[@KaldDodeGitarist]

I've also noticed that I have to use even less gain while recording than I actually use live

[@RobertWJackson]

Yep. Gain goes a lot farther than a lot of people realize.

[@wild291]

About the tone of a player in his hands or not,i read once an anecdote. One sound engineer (i don't remember his name) came into a mixing room in a studio in L.A. to meet a friend.While he was talking to his friend a guitar player was playing in the studio,he couldn't see him from where he stood but could hear him from the speakers and he thought he sounded like EVH. In the end the guitar player came and it was EVH. After talking to his friend the guy went and see the guitar EVH played and he noticed that it was just a guitar he picked from the wall of the studio with rusted strings. Most of the player tone is in his hands. And the proof is exactly in what Robert's said but he doesn't seem to understand it.When a guy wants to sound like a famous player he does because he wants to. Any guitar player sounds like he does just because that's the way he wanna sound.That's it.

[@trillrifaxegrindor4411]

its not about "wanting to sound a certain way then sounding like that because you want to" famous guitar players hammer out their own sound and practice and craft it until it defines them.identifiable guitar players have styles,techniques,habits,feeling,vibrato that make their specific sound immediately recognizable

[@tedrowland1345]

Robert: First time to your channel. I think you are "spot on" in your analysis. I do have a thought about premium cables. If you are in a "recording studio setting", and I'm NOT referring to guitar cables, but to mic, speaker, and interface cables, then you may want a mid range to premium cable to cut background noise. Even my Ethernet cables have been upgraded to cat 7 plenum cables. There is shielding to stop light fixture noise and cross talk. I'm not saying everything has to be Mogami, but not the cheap, unshielded, version. But within 20 feet of an amp, altogether different.

[@timcelmer7023]

I say yes and no for lower tuning makes for a heavier tone. 9s tuned to E 440 then the same 9's tuned to D 430 the strings get all floppy/buzz. 10's at D 430 have roughly the same tension/feel as 9's @ E 440. And they are not floppy, cleans/tightens the sound back up. Might not be so much of a issue on a solid bridge. But on my Floyd Rose it does. A case can be made.

[@Wildman9]

Also you'd be surprised but Richie Blackmore and Big Jim Sullivan was also in with Pete,cause 4 x10 cabs were not big enough to handle the 100+ watts these were putting out. 👍

[@jvgauthier]

On starting on an acoustic, I agree with you, I personally wish I never had to go thru that probation myself, but in hindsight, I will concede that starting out on an acoustic has its merit. Firstly, whether it's on an acoustic or an electric, the base remains the base. Chords, arpeggios, scale, picking, hand dexterity, strength and endurance, coordination with both hands, what have you. That's something you have to go thru before learning Master of Puppets. Now, I am, like you are, convinced that starting on an acoustic will not do anything for you. However. Not every child's desires ought to be fulfilled in life. Sometimes, they need to earn it. If the promise of buying an electric conditional to reaching a certain level on an acoustic is not a strong enough motivation, that the acoustic ends up in a corner of the bed room, you know, maybe that child never deserved an electric in the first place. The mistake I've seen however is having a child starting on a über cheap acoustic with ridiculously high action and hardly any radius on tiny frets.

[@timothyplonk4266]

Excellent point about true bypass pedals; I use cables no longer than 6 ' because after 10 ' the signal degrades. I use 6 ' cables to compensate for all of the patch cables as I usually run everything straight into the amp. P. S. I do think the story about Pete T. is true---Ive heard that same story,but with just Pete T. though,it could have been any one of the guitarist mentioned

[@johnw5734]

Another myth is whammy guitars are a crutch. While using a whammy too much is not cool, it's just another tool. My number one reason for liking Floyd Rose bridges is tuning stability. I like your channel. You know what you're talking about.

[@davidratliff807]

Cables??? I like the monster Rock but the lower priced cables sound the same. The higher priced cables are probably not going to fail during a show. Your opinions are very well said....

[@BuzzcutGtr]

@9:48 Truth! I've often said that if you wanna know how spoiled you've gotten with your Les Paul and your Boogie, go plug a stock Tele straight into a Champ. I say this because that's EXACTLY what happened to me. LOL

[@GuitarJeff]

The Marshall stack, now who started using it first that I don't know. But one of my old books on history of guitar, wish I knew which one off hand but said Marshall first made the first 4x12 cabinet as we know as the bottom stack first. However he was really into the visual asthetics so he made the slanted one to slant back to match the thickness of the amp so it was more visual appealing. Naturally guys figured out they stacked well having square on the bottom and slanted in top. On the pedals, that's something I didn't know about boss pedals boosting the signal. Makes sense though. The only boss pedal I have is a noise gate, which gives me a great sound. I have it set up where it also acts as an effects loop for all my distortion fuzz pedals. Then on starting with an acoustic. I know what your saying however one thing playing acoustics gives you is finger strength. While I play primarily electric I started acoustic and when I switched to electric I could play rings around a lot of people and all my fretting was more solid. However yeah you need to play what you love to listen too. Luckily back then I had to s of metal ballads that worked great on acoustic. Ozzy killer of Giants. Ozzy and Lita close my eyes, balad of jane.

[@kellylee5842]

Don't you worry buddy I have been keeping my eye out for a Gibson reverse v as soon as I find one I will pick it up for you I know how much you like them

[@joshuakozee5719]

copper quality and purity can change, but I agree with you, copper is basically copper and the important thing is the quality of the rubber used and the jack and soldering.

[@craigparse1439]

I agree with most of what you say in this video. I think comparisons where you say something is "better" is mostly dependent on opinion and you covered this point as well. Subbed!

[@RobertWJackson]

Thanks man! Welcome to the family!

[@kevinpaul1719]

Thank you for an excellent explanation of some things I wondered about. The light VS heavy strings, vintage VS modern gear and all of the other topics you touched on today. I am far from liking your type of music but I agree with you most of the time. Your new Music Man guitar is fantastic, great choice.

[@RobertWJackson]

Thanks Kevin!

[@melvynobrien6193]

I have taught guitar for twenty years; the kids who have started on electric have learned faster and haven't suffered as much pain as those learning on an acoustic. A guitar and amp cost a bit more, but the results are better. I recommend they start on a Tele-type guitar, because Strat-type guitars with vibrato bridges have tuning problems that put beginners off.

[@INVERTEDBUKAKI]

great advice

[@myopicautisticmetal9035]

I 99% agree with you, that 1% being that not all electric guitar plus amp will cost more than a quality acoustic guitar.

[@standswithfist806]

Amen, but you hafta work a bit harder teaching them to strum creatively. Nothin' worse than a kid(or grownup) that Shreds like Paul Gilbert but when handed an acoustic couldn't strum along with a bluegrass band if he had to.

[@jay_Cee777]

Firstime watcher, man you won yourself a fan here. "Vintage gear sounds better, BEeeeeep" wrongo. You said it! Thank you for being one of the few humble/honest people to say it. Keep it up love the content.

[@RobertWJackson]

Thanks man! Welcome to the family! 🤘🏼🤘🏼🤘🏼

[@nibrocnoel3240]

I thought that SRV originally used a Leslie 15" speaker?

[@rocketfuel996]

#5 I've noticed that (from learning to mix metal) to much gain kills the tone of the guitar and should only be turned as far as to achieve proper sustain. What I've found that sounds good is 2 or 4 voices of the rhythm guitar with overdrive before the amp and as little gain as needed. Also for down tune equal heavy tone I do think this is somewhat true depending on the definition of tone. And furthermore heavier strings and multi-scale bridges really do make a difference on extended range guitars.

[@Emma-kz3zr]

Completely agree with the last point about acoustic guitars, also electric guitars are a lot more beginner friendly, e.g just play it unplugged and check the volume level vs the standard dreadnought everyone gets dumped with.

[@Jkoziol72577]

According to the VH1 series metal evolution Sam Dunn interviewed the people at Marshall who did actually say it was Pete