Why do Guitarists get SO OFFENDED when you point this out? VC408

[@alrecks619]

Speaking of Ian Hill, he grew up as a Jazz bassist, and after realizing that he's playing metal, he found that it's probably better to be THE FOUNDATION of the band.

[@RobSinner]

Ian God Hill*

[@potatolew4495]

​@@RobSinneryou have to be kidding. He should have e a one string bass as he never plays any other than the E string.

[@SalAveNU]

How about Cliff Williams ? He's one of my favorites.

[@mikewilson3581]

@@potatolew4495 If all I had to do was play the E string to be as wealthy as Ian, I'd be happy. Beats working retail.

[@potatolew4495]

@@mikewilson3581 you have a valid point.

[@MrSpeakerCone]

Live engineer here: I've had good luck explaining to guitarists that the speaker is the "topwood" of the instrument; The part which vibrates to create the sound. We're all picky about the topwood on an acoustic guitar, why would we be any less picky about the speaker of an electric? Yet we all show up to venues and just use whatever beat-up house amp happens to be there, sacrificing tone for convenience.

[@MoreMeRecording]

I hope you also explain to them that they don't need as much gain as most guitar players **think** they need either ;) All this speaker rant is 100 % relevant - especially to Hi-Gain as Glen clearly reiterates but come on ffs....If your gain structure from the amp sucks, you could cycle through 1000 speakers and end up with varying degrees of suck.

[@martyshwaartz971]

I remember watching a rig explanation of a dude who said he brings his own amp but uses whatever cabinet is there…like wouldn’t it make more sense to do that the opposite.

[@MrSpeakerCone]

@@martyshwaartz971 That's mostly how it used to be here in London. Folks would bring their amp heads and the venue would provide the speakers because when 4 bands each bring three 4x12s, the storage cupboard gets a tad crowded! Thing is, the venues had 4x12s loaded with greenbacks or vintage 30s, so it almost didn't matter which amp you put into it. Also meant that the venue had a "sound" to it which I guess we always thought was the acoustics, but looking back it was probably that and the house speaker folks were running their amps into.

[@markcheetah4960]

Damn, I've never HEARD of an in-house guitar amp. We always brought our own amps & cabinets.

[@stansotelo8164]

@@MoreMeRecording q

[@pointymason]

Honestly, the best bang for buck guitar related purchase I have ever made wasn't new gear, it was guitar lessons. I feel like we don't talk about the value in investing in your own ability enough.

[@Nightwinflyer]

Hard to dig out from Western culture and the mass consumerism. You don't want customers knowing they have all the gear they need with just a guitar, amp, and a few pedals. Keep 'em on the hook!

[@itsjustme8947]

Heh, I always suspected the Fender Squires were a 'gateway drug'.

[@captainkirk70]

@@itsjustme8947 I absolutely love the Classic Vibe series though. Best deal going.

[@captainkirk70]

I agree but these days you can learn anything on KZbin. I would say putting in the hours is most important. All my favorites were pretty much self-taught. In my case lessons were a detriment kinda. I was at the mercy of my teacher who was trying to teach me things that were too intimidating. I was losing confidence. I wish someone would have just taught me barre chords and AC/DC chords and let me go. But im 53 and didn't have the options that kids do today. You didn't know any better if your teacher was good or not. I think the first thing a kid should learn is how to play along with their favorite songs to get that thrill going as soon as possible. Even if it's just the very basic way to play along. Once they feel that they will automatically want to learn all the other parts of the song and improve as they get bored. But that first hill is the hardest IMHO.

[@itsjustme8947]

@@captainkirk70 I've been a bassist for 45 years now and knew a long time ago that the instrument matters far less than knowing how to play your instrument (and as long as it's of high enough quality to be properly set up). I've got a pair of $200 Harley Bentons (a 4 & 5 string) that sound as well as my far more expensive instruments. Cabs are what matter the most in my experience. Cabs and a good EQ are key. aaannnnnnd I'm rambling again. Must be the pain meds talking again. Sorry. 🙂

[@Wref]

For $5000, I expect my pickups, frets and tuners to be made of solid fucking gold!

[@JohnWiku]

And silver wires! 😂😂

[@DavidCase101]

Meanwhile I'm over here dreaming about owning a 25k Fender Custom Waylon Jennings guitar 🤣🤣🤣

[@zackcarty4790]

Lol I wanna hear the $10000 martin accoustic guitar! A video where 2 or so ppl dress as angels and dance around when you play it would be hilarious!

[@buzzcrumhunger7114]

You always put out these shirts when I’m broke; I guess that’s cause I’m a ‘musician’. I’m glad somebody else understands and is willing to promote the benefits of speaker swapping. Thank you Glenn.

[@chaptermasterpedrokantor1623]

As for why any musician would want to replicate another guitarist's tone, simple. We all go through several stages as a musician. Stage 1, learning how to play. Master that, go to stage 2, imitation, you start copying your favorite artists, stage 3 experimentation, you start searching for your own sounds, stage 4: frustration, as you feel inadequate and inferior in your development and tone, and finally stage 5, you accept who you are and that you are a unique musician with your own sound. Many never graduate past stage 2. And some never past stage 1. Henceforth their desire to still sound like their heroes.

[@tommydeamon7657]

The show is also about protecting us from the big industry sales machine even when we're too vain and stupid too realize it or too say thank you Glen so thank you Glen

[@AndrewC1983]

For anyone questioning the importance of speakers just play around with different IR's on your favorite plug-in. You can make the same amp sound completely different in just about every way.

[@FKA_Skull]

And in reverse, keep the same IR activated and swap amps and you'll get completely different results too.

[@SpectreSoundStudios]

@@FKA_Skull not really. Not in any kind of “huge difference” way. Evidence: kzbin.info/www/bejne/p6HUaKepgJKekM0

[@lessthanpinochet]

​@@FKA_Skullit's not as pronounced compared to switching the speaker or IR. Mic, mic placement/angle, blending in the room mic and speaker is everything when it comes to guitar tone.

[@bandsbikesandboozereviews]

I have to say Glenn, I've been watching your channel since about 2015 as an owner of a reasonably sized home studio I have to say, my skills as an engineer have come on leaps and bounds from a combination of your software releases and just general advice. I always use the Extinction Level Event drums on any midi drums and have started using the Prism software on my recordings and have to say I've got some of the best guitar tones I've ever recorded from that. This isn't some lick-arse type of post trying as believe me, as a Brit, we rarely give compliments - (unless of course it's in a sarcastic or ironic manner), it's a genuine thank you for progressing my recordings at a rate that just wouldn't have happened had I gone through the frustration of trial and error and also saving me a ton of money on stuff I didn't need too. Keep up the great work and greetings from the U.K.

[@1337murk]

Rarely giving compliments isn't a Brit thing, that is just a you thing.

[@meltingsun2275]

We need to create a speaker cabinet with a transparent back so guitar players can show off their newly acquired purchase AND actually have improved "tone".

[@DrMurdercock]

Glenn's that dude we all wished we had as an Uncle growing up. Stayin' the night on a Saturday while his band jams or records and you get to hang out, watch, learn and play with all the gear.

[@nunnukanunnukalailailai1767]

My biggest problem with the minimal tonal differences between different guitar hardware or whatever is that they can be negated by putting a simple eq in front of the signal chain, and as a bonus you get actual control over your tone

[@cycomiles4225]

Yeah, but you are actually using sone brain. Guitars are mythical things and tone is a mythical mistress never to be heard unless you buy the newest or oldest crap there is.

[@captainkirk70]

I agree. I only change things if they make it more playable. Like if the bridge is total crap I might change it out for a mid-priced replacement. There is def some really shitty hardware on cheap guitars. But I'll go for a new bone nut cut properly before changing out tuners.

[@captainkirk70]

An EQ is the most overlooked pedal in the world. I see most pro boards dont have one either. I don't bother with any pedals usually because I'm a straight in to the amp kinda guy. But certainly an EQ is probably the most important next to a tuner. Especially if it has a Level setting.

[@tommilitello198]

I’ve told people that for decades,falls on deaf ears

[@bassyey]

Yeah, but EQ isn't a hype pedal. Who uses a loser pedal like EQ? Just kidding. Who would've thought that a device that adjusts the volume of specific frequencies would affect tone. Jfc guitar players. You know what, even bass players have figured this out, their preamp pedals almost always have 3-4 band EQ, why? Because it actually changes the tone.

[@barryb903]

I am so addicted to this channel. I am new to this channel and I am spreading your link to my groups!!! 26 years mixing and recording and I am still on year 5 of your channel. I have bought into all of your called out bullshit for years. Thanks for your no BS approach. It’s not to late for anyone to learn!!!

[@danimourinho]

Im so happy with my bass 6string Harley Benton prog series (150€). Great sound and feel. It is my main bass for playing live. If it get stolen, i buy another one

[@SpectreSoundStudios]

I really must review one for the show!

[@thomasr.5443]

Yeah, me too! Ok, it's guitars in my case, from a silly 69€ Stratkit to a cheap 199€ Explorer like axe. They all play really well.

[@PooNinja]

I love my HB axes

[@13AndreFalcao666]

As a (terrible) bass player myself, I really really like Roger Glover. But his studio work is INSANE. The man knows exectly how to fill in the blanks and he's good enough that even when he didn't do a lot in live performances Blackmore and Gillan could just go crazy, no rythm guitar needed. After 25 years throwing tantrums because I really wanted to see Deep Purple live, I did it this year and HOLY SHIT, does the man deliver.

[@KreatorOfDeath1985]

When you do the string test, try some Flat Wound strings to hear a MASSIVE difference in why strings matter a lot.

[@captainkirk70]

I like flat wounds on basses. Makes using a pick sound closer to fingers. Less clackey-clack. IMHO.

[@captainkirk70]

Also I think flat wounds are good for slow doom on guitar. When youre moving at a snail's pace it helps with string noise and anything you dont like about the sound can easily be EQd out. Most ODs can get bright as hell.

[@ravenmad9225]

Flat wounds are great until you try to do a pick slide.

[@giancarlomartinez5630]

I'm starting to think that even the engineers of these iconic guitar tones didn't realize that the speaker is the most important part of a signal chain. I hope this means that your name will go down in music history cuz that's a really important discovery.

[@captainkirk70]

Oh for sure brother. People didn't talk about speakers back in the day. There weren't nearly as many options. If you wanted a Marshall Cab you got what was in it. If you bought a Fender same deal. You only replaced speakers if it was blown in my memory. Some people preferred vintage cabs but they wouldn't change out speakers in a new cab. They would just go with it. Rhoads and Van Halen would have speakers they liked but the common musician just trusted the speakers that were in them as just fine. Jim Marshall put no thought into the actual design of Marshall cabs he just tried to make the cab as small as possible to hold 4x12 speakers. He got lucky. They are still thought of as some of the best cabs around. I love them.

[@nachtjager109e]

An episode about Eastern Bloc guitars, amps, and pedals would be super-interesting. Also, +1 for Ryan at 60 Cycle Hum; that dude rules. Love the crazy psychedelic shit he comes up with sometimes.

[@fonzy781]

I’d love to see Glen try a Skervesen Raptor

[@simonwaffleman]

Bass player - I got a Mesa/Boogie WD-800 Lightweight and man has it been a savior. Our sound guy for one band has been so much happier with that and I don't cart my amp around. When we play outside, I bring the big ol' amp just in case and don't need to mess with the settings much at all. Other band I play with is an in-house band and nothing ever changes - same deal: barely need to mess with settings (I just put little marks on the head to make it simple). I used to cart the big stack around for no good reason. I wear in-ear monitors, we always go through pro sound systems. Basically I only use the amp for home and a backup outdoor. I wish someone would have explained that a long time ago and I would have saved an absolute ton of cash.

[@PerfectNightmare444]

Although Mr. Vai said tone is in the fingers. He does talk extensively about how he gets his sound from his speakers and mic distance. He seems very well aware that his tone is from his speakers. When he said tone is on the fingers, I think he was referring to the style. But that is Vai and the rest of us are mere mortals lol

[@ScreaminT81]

Ian Hill and Cliff Williams. BOTH have been the epitome of bass players doing their jobs. Being the groove in their rhythm sections. Extremely simplistic, and anyone “can play” the songs. No one can replace those two or even fill in.

[@kadourimdou43]

Guthrie Govan just has digital modelling, the Ax Fx I believe, that he uses on Tour with Hans Zimmer. And he’s one of the best guitarists alive.

[@cycomiles4225]

Kiko Loureiro uses quad cortex... although seeing how their software has massive security issues i doubt be is happy about thst...

[@Funkybassuk]

I’m a bass player and the bass player jokes are what attracted me to this channel in the first place! 😂 Keep it going! 👍🏽

[@restojon1]

I OrlSo BaYse PlAyr. I dID a ReaDIng, yUmMy CrEyOnnz

[@jatenten]

I know Satriani is not metal to its core, but he does hit alot of great high gain tones. In interviews, he has claimed he moved from vintage 30's and greenbacks to T75's recently. The point is, even Satch has realized the speaker is the end game. And as far as his tone from clean to high gain, is glorious. Cant be argued with.

[@ArinKambitsis]

Didn’t he forgo the use of amps altogether on his last album?

[@jatenten]

@@ArinKambitsis Yeah he did, used the stock Sans Amp plugin with ProTools, he claims. But live he says he uses Marshall bottoms with T75's.

[@victorblakey4260]

2 good mics for snare bottom are the beta 57, (very different from the standard sm57, and if you can find a series one beta 57, even better) and my current go-to the sm98, and the advantage of the 98 is it’s small size so it’s easy to get it where you want to get what you like (I try to get mine between the centre of the snare and about ⅓ of the way across, but keep it focussed on the snare strainer, get your position right and you can negate how much spill you get from the kick drum

[@dannydazzler]

Love the show Glenn. Just sharing my own thoughts - My dad bought me my first guitar 20 years ago which I still own and play today - A 2nd hand Epiphone Les Paul copy, made in Korea. My dad and I both found the standard pickups that came with Epiphone a bit too 'screechy' and I'd hear awful feedback overpower the chords I was holding and letting ring out. Dad put in some Dimarzio pickups and we both thought it sounded amazing. The cost (guitar & pickups) $500 total, a bargain. I agree with everything you're saying in regards to certain guitars & pickups offering very little improvement for an overblown price-tag.. but I think it is fair to suggest: - buying a cheap guitar and throwing in certain pickups is a great way to save money and get the best out of your guitar. Keep on keeping it real. Watching all the way from Antarctica 🎸❄

[@martin-1965]

Hey Danny - how's the weather in Antarctica? I guess when you crank up the guitar you can only annoy the local wildlife and icebergs :) I have to agree 100% about upgrading pickups and sometimes the electronics as a whole on a cheap guitar. For a few hundred bucks you can turn a good guitar into a monster. I have an old Epiphone LP but the pickups that came with - Korea built - are superb so haven't changed them. On a few others, changing the pickups has just made them so much better at high volume and upgrading the pots means I can control the feedback and get much better control over the sound and level of gain when playing live. It's sent me down a rabbit hole though and now I love fixing up guitars and plan on making it a nice little side earner when I retire (if that day ever comes lol) 😎

[@itsjustme8947]

I hear that in Antarctica it gets cold enough that if you play your guitar outside, you don't hear any music and the notes just freeze and fall into a nice little pile in front of the amp. You mind checking the veracity of this claim and reporting back?

[@66fitton]

@@itsjustme8947 🤣

[@dannydazzler]

We have a small building where we can jam and turn up. Few fender guitar amps, drumkit and a JBL p.a does everything we need. We are losing daylight hours. Sun rises at 1130 and sets near 160 and soon we lose all sunlight so it will be dark just like my heart and even the most depressing Alice In Chains covers won't express how I feel someday 🤣

[@alanjamesh.zamorano1677]

​@@dannydazzler That is so metal

[@LinniageX]

Man I just recognized who you are. I've been watching you for months and something was familiar with your voice. So on a whim a just added what I thought your last name was and.. lo and behold you are exactly who I thought you were. Man I remember 20 years ago hearing your name whispered like a myth or something amongst harder music scenes and then you ended up all over our local rock station 97X.. though I think back then it was still called 97.7 Pirate Radio. Just wild to see you on video instead of just hearing you over the radio. I also feel ancient now. Thanks for the great vids man.

[@broncoxy]

I'm a younger guy, no seasoned show-enjoyer, but ever since covid was over, I went to as many shows as I could (afford), not only enjoying the music and the privilege to having these artists perform for you, but also carefully watching every now and then, what the pros are doing. (and also what the bands I didn't like where doing) And if there are two things, I can say with a certainty now, its two harsh truths not many guitarists of this modern age want to hear: 1.) Your sound doesn't really matter all that much. Make it nice, make it loud, make it work. You have an original JCM 800 that has a little bit of Slash's spit on it? Nobody cares. Literally. Think about this: It's a metal show, smart people wear ear protection, which will alter the sound, and the not so smart don't wear it - and it shows. I know that when I'll play live one day, I'll not bring a good ol back breaker, but make it a challenge to make my rig as small as possible. 2.) Super fast, but directionless guitar solos are completely uselss. Because you literally can't hear them. I know kind of get the 'Slayer Solos', cuz all the audience hears at most is you playing something something super fast, it might aswell be random. Bring in melody, what happened to harmony? Shred in between the high points for the wows, but don't. forget. the melody. A dude who confidently plays exactly 16 notes in the entire 8 bar solo section, but plays the right ones is a hundred times cooler than the one who shows that he can play the minor scale at 400bpm.

[@PingeMusic]

well as always....thanks for a great video. Be safe and skilful. Pinge

[@ghijkmnop]

Actually, the AIR between the speaker and your ears is the last piece of the signal chain. I wonder whether anyone has tested for air pressure, altitude, and humidity and whether it affects tone.

[@travisspaulding2222]

Yes, it is actually in physics textbooks. The environment you're in affects the way your amp will sound. Back in the day before storage units were commonly climate controlled, I always hated practicing in the winter because my amp would sound like ass until we were able to get the room warmed up. I was really happy to move on from storage units, lol.

[@goodheartmedia]

A few months ago I posted on a Bugera forum about my 6262 (6505+ clone) being too fizzy at the top end. I got a dozen comments about "change the fuzzy stock tubes". I tried to argue the point that it wouldn't make any difference but it fell on deaf ears. What DID help? I outfitted an old Line6 Vetta cab with a pair of WGS Retro 30s and another pair of ET65s in an X pattern. Guess what? Fizz gone. Amp kicks ass and I don't need n EQ in the loop to tame fizz anymore. Still has stock tubes. Sounds great. Speakers ARE tone.

[@maxblank6556]

I just wanna say I'm a big fan of that transition from metal guitar to chill flute music at 20:43🍂

[@CoryKlumper]

I was a young musician when the Line 6 AxSys212 was first released. A friend got one and it had so many options to play with that he could do whatever he wanted. We used it live but never in the studio, because we never recorded anything. It was the perfect amp for a garage cover band. To have that for $400 and just run right into the PA would have been a dream.

[@coalfacechris1336]

Hi Glenn, possibly cabs didn't get opened to ID speakers in sessions back in the day, as battery drill-drivers weren't so much a thing. Maybe the users couldn't be bothered. If it sounded good - it was good. Taking the rear panel screws out of 4x12 with a screwdriver is such fun.

[@DaisyHollowBooks]

I’ve played bass for forty years. I love your bass player observations.

[@riccardocuoghi2071]

I don't understand why musicians still have to argue today by raising the volume of their instruments on stage when with little money and by dividing the expenses you can get yourself a good IEM system with integrated mixer so you can decide what you want to hear and at what level without making the sound engineer angry.

[@martin-1965]

And you can play ANY venue - if you carry a small monitor desk with you - and always get a perfect mix for each band member. Yup, IEMs are a game changer and it means the huge bands can play toilet venues for warm ups without having to rely on the battered monitor rig in house :)

[@azaraath95]

I was a sound guy (this ONE time). I was helping my friend's band, which was a quartet, and the sound guy at the bar, thinking we were a quintet, asked me some questions I didn't know how to answer. Taking him to ask an actual member he did. After that, he said, "So I gotta go..." and I ended up working center house which was situated NEXT TO ONE OF THE MONITORS, which were also situated on the wall, BEHIND THE FUCKING BAND. After all my bedroom mixing, I would love to explore working analog sound but fucking hell I never wanna do that again... Final note, they didn't have house gear. A couple of the members literally had to rush to a local guitar center and spend around $120 just for mics and mic stands for any spares they had at home were the next county over.

[@soundman1402]

Damn! I'd never play that bar again!

[@brianrobichaud4798]

I would love to see a video with building a “budget” live rig using something to the effect of a tonex and some kind of amp in a box or pedal platform amp.

[@SpectreSoundStudios]

Ok!! I can do that!

[@brianrobichaud4798]

@@SpectreSoundStudios Glenn! Keep up the great content. I discovered your channel as i started getting back into guitar as an “adult” and you have really helped quell my desire to buy gear.

[@Giovanni_Frau]

Great idea! A Tonex with a multi-effects unit and a speaker/power cab would be a great video 👍😎

[@dannydazzler]

Yes please. I have been following this channel for 3 months now. I am watching from Antarctica - I am cut off from everything until after winter, but because I have internet I have been able to trial Amplitude 5 and I liked it so much - I bought it! So glad to be living in a time when I can source more tones for my guitar than ever before and yet couldn't be any further away from civilisation. When I return home, I plan on going in the direction of amp modelling.

[@NuclearHeadshot]

​@@SpectreSoundStudios I've used a Harley Benton GPA-100 amp to great effect. It's less than $100, and combined with a Boss DS-2 and a used Valveking cab I got the fundamentals of metal for $300. It's plenty loud and very musician-friendly with knobs and buttons.

[@trollstjerne]

Wow, you actually posted the VC video on a friday. Nice work Glenn 👏👏👏

[@SpectreSoundStudios]

You’re welcome! Buy a shirt :p

[@lou.yorke.x]

Glenn "what speakers are in that?" Fricker

[@vexzed]

I bought a Vintage 30 for my combo a while ago because I was watching your older videos and you mentioned them a lot and said speakers were important. Then you started saying the V30 is overdone and totally unoriginal so I felt bad about it. But then you tried one of the 2022 ones and loved it so much you made an IR of it. So I could feel good about it again.... I realise myself and a lot of other people need to figure out why someones opinion on something as insignificant as 'what gear is best' is taken personally. Somehow I don't think it's really about the gear, or even music at all.

[@Shredneck76]

I think tonewood and subtle differences in pickups makes a difference, just not when you've got tons of gain and using emg's. If you're playing something clean, like chicken picking, it can make a large difference. For metal, it's pointless to obsess over it though.

[@chiefchudhunter8797]

GLEEEENNNNNN!!!!!!! I have to say i really appreciate all that i learn watching this channel. I started building guitars and doing home recording in 2020 since my band went tits up. And i knew jack shit about both building and recording guitars. Glenn, your advice has helped me save money and kept me from wasting time listening to the tone snobs who insist that spending wads of cash is the only path to a quality sound. I can build a guitar for a fraction of the cost, and have a great custom instrument that sounds and plays just as good. And i have learned so much from using the Ampknob by Bogren, which has saved me so much time on chasing a good sound and let me get to whats important: writing actual music. Thanks Glenn!

[@christofdonat2702]

For all the Guitarists, who really want to have their tube amp on stage, because it's not only about tone, but also about looks on stage: you might consider to have your amp upgraded with a power scaling circuit. I have one in an AC 30, which would be much, much too loud for most venues. It also has a dynamic microphone built in. So I can just go to the venue, select the appropriate volume with the power scaling, plug in the already existing and well placed mic to the venues PA, and all is set. I can also play the amp at home without tearing down all the houses in the neighborhood. Another alternative is amps with switchable outputs, like e.g. the Orange Rocker 15 Terror. It can run at 0.5W, 1W, 7.5W, or 15 W. It'll have more than enough power for most venues, most viewers here will ever play, and still can be played at home. In a friends basement, we decided to see, how loud it can be through a single Vintage 30 (that Harley Benton Cab). The concrete floor in that basement was shaking. You really won't ever need more on any venue you'll ever play. If you really ever play a venue, that you can't feed with that amp, there'll be a huge PA and a sound guy with a mic to pick up your amp. There'll also be a good monitoring system, to make sure, you hear yourself playing. So don't worry. Other companies have similar solutions in their newer amps. I just named that one, because I own one, and therefore I know it works well. Third option are good attenuators like e.g. the Tone King Ironman. Also tools with integrated good attenuators can be very helpful, like a Torpedo Captor X, an OX box, or a Fryette PowerStation. The Captor X and the OX box have the advantage, that they also integrate great speaker simulations, and symmetric line level outputs for the PA/monitoring system. You might also set up amp and cab dummies, which are a lot lighter, than the originals, can always be turned up to eleven for he looks, look like a huge wall of sound, and then simply play with a good modeller, a laptop, or even an iPad. These dummies are also much cheaper, than real amps and cabs.

[@cesarbh87]

Speakers on your cabinet are going to affect your tone, but if you are also going into a PA System, aren't the PA speakers going to affect the tone you were trying to get with your cabinet?

[@bb460ify]

Speaking of bridge materials affecting tone, what are your thoughts on "tone blocks" or "sustain blocks" for Floyd Rose bridges? Most of my guitars have a FR tremolo system on them, and I frequently see this as a mod, but it always makes me raise an eyebrow of skepticism. Does a 32mm vs 37mm chunk of brass really make a difference? Does brass vs steel vs tungsten even matter? Hell, they even have one made out of granite. Seems absurd... (Edit: Maybe they should make one out of tone wood.)

[@echouniversal3677]

Glenn! I had a question about your experience with Teespring (now just Spring) for your merch store. My band has had a Spring store for a few years, which we do advertise and link to on our social channels and on our CD cover. We kind of set it up to set it and forget it, so it doesn't get much traffic. We have only had about 10 items purchased thru that shop and about 1/2 of them had quality issues and took forever to be fulfilled. Most of those items were ordered in Jan/Feb of 2023. I looked thru some reviews of Spring and there seemed to be a pretty significant increase in negative reviews during those months. I know you have used The Spring store for some years and I am curious what your experience has been. Love the channel! We self-produced or first CD using real drums in a crappy room with budget gear. Mixed and mastered it ouselves as well. We are happy with how it turned out, although there is definitely room to improve. We aren't so concerned with how the first one sounds anymore, as long as the next one sounds better. Thank you for all the advice and the encouragement to just keep working at it till we get it right.

[@msmoniz]

You're so bang on about Traynor and their amps! Ignored for so long but they can hang with some of the best vintage Marshall and Fender tones around. Heck even their recent stuff is so underrated. My main set up is a Darkhorse 15 head into a vertical Traynor YBX 2x12 cabinet with Vintage 30s. Got turned on to the head when I saw Patrick from Sloan. All his main live rig amp wise was 2 of those heads into 4 Traynor 4x12s. With his pedal setup, holy shit did it sound great!! Bought the head used for $350 and the cab brand new 8 years ago when they were $515. Now the head currently retails for $799 and the exact same cab is now $1099!! I know inflation has accounted for some of the increase but I'm betting that demand has too, but this setup is still way cheaper than almost all the big name stuff and sounds as good is not better. Plus Traynor STILL manufacturers all their stuff in Canada!

[@fkat1666]

I'm offended because you dissed my expensive purchase. 😅

[@thisdyingsoul76]

I have a 1x12 egnater cab that I was considering swapping speakers in. I almost put a UK made V30 I had lying around until I realized it wouldn't hand my 50 watt marshall clone by itself. I'm not stuck on tbe V30 sound. It sounds good, but I already have a cab with 30's. I thought about greenbacks but have the same issue. Is there a greenback voiced speaker that could go in a 112 cab that would handle a 50 watt amp?

[@JimmyDSausDE]

Unpopular opinion: ANY music instrument/audio gear that costs over ~1000 euros/dollars falls into the "law of diminishing returns" category. Sure you can get it if you can afford it and want to get it, but it's not the most efficient and bang-for-the-buck road to the tone you have in mind. Remember the Pareto principle: 80% of the tone will come from 20% of the equipment, ie the speaker.

[@rominronin]

Hi glen - I really appreciate you, keep up what you’re doing. Regarding tube vs transistor amps I have a point to make: it is entirely possible to make a tube circuit that is transparent, and it is also possible to make a transistor amp that is coloured and rich with harmonics. The real shame is that the manufacturers don’t explore these areas more than they do, and instead, choose to push dated marketing stereotypes onto newer generations of buyers. Capitalism didn’t always mean lazy exploitation.

[@riza120db]

The last thing in your signal chain is the microphone and the soundman's mood.

[@SeRgU123]

I realized that the speakers are the main key of the sound when, using amplitube, changing the cabinet changed the sound a lot more than other devices on the signal chain. Ppl should try doing this and listen the results.

[@neoconnor4395]

I LOVE you Glenn. You've already saved me hundreds, maybe thousands

[@flapjack413]

The choice of bridge on an electric guitar absolutely makes a difference in it's sound. I've been building guitars (buying rough sawn lumber, and turning it into guitars, not assembling kits, that is not guitar building) for over a decade, and have tested differences in wood, pickups, hardware, etc. I've made recordings and done A/B comparisons. Choice of woods has a very VERY small effect on the instrument's tone. It seems a lot of people like to try to apply the same fundamentals of acoustic guitar tone, to electric instruments. Sorry, but it doesn't work that way. Acoustic instruments are supposed to vibrate, and are made with very thin wood that allows those string vibrations to easily transfer into the wood with minimal string energy loss, that's how they project their sound. Electric guitars project their sound by way of a pickup creating a variation in voltage that is then reproduced by your amp, and projected through a speaker. I get such a laugh at people talking about their "super resonant" electric guitar's infinite sustain. The reality is that when the wood on an electric guitar is vibrating, it is actually robbing the string of it's energy, and thus decreasing the instrument's sustain! If you want a guitar that has "sustain for days", you want a guitar built from dense hardwoods with a high mass bridge, not an ultra light "super resonant" guitar.

[@pipelineaudio]

You should make a video showing the tone difference of different bridges. If you can actually show it, it would be huge

[@thesolersystemofgames841]

A video on bridge designs would be really cool

[@captainkirk70]

I have a question, can cheaper instruments get away with just an oil rubbed finish? I don't care how ugly it is but do they need to be slathered in poly for construction purposes? I didn't know if multi piece bodies would have issues down the road if they weren't held in place so to speak by the thick poly. Or is that purely for cosmetic purposes? I hate nothing more than those fake photo tops slathered in poly even if it doesn't make that much of a difference in tone. I'd love a "raw" series that was ugly as hell but just an oil rubbed finish by an inexpensive company.

[@captainkirk70]

I would imagine the glue involved would be just as strong as a headstock repair etc.

[@flapjack413]

@@captainkirk70 The thick poly finishes on less expensive instruments is fine in the world of electrics. Acoustics would be disastrous with such a finish though, lol. Multi piece bodies will stay together just fine provided that the mating surfaces are properly prepped and well clamped when glued up. Actually, a properly glued joint is stronger than the surrounding wood. The joint should never be the point of failure, but instead the wood adjacent to it. Oil rubbed finishes won't be a problem!

[@myronmosley2167]

I don’t know if you’ve done it before but I think it would be cool to see what a Neural DSP style amp sim sounds like when you disengage the plug-in cab and run the signal through a physical cab.

[@colelewis9940]

Not as good as the Axe FX or Helix would.

[@LeadGuitarGi]

Not testing the sound guy is exactly why I still use a combo amp. My go-to is a Fender Mustang GTX 100. It only cost me $500, and it gives me all the practicality of the Line 6 Pod Go with a 100-watt amp attached to it. Is it heavier to Lug around then my buddies Pod Go? Yes. Can I still hear myself if he sounded guy is not there good at his job? Also yes. That is a sacrifice I'm willing to make.

[@alansamples325]

I'm a bass player.. Michael Anthony and Gene Simmons.. two of the most underrated bass players... The way Anthony filled the space. And Gene Simmons has a lot cool licks that he's put into several songs... They seem to be pretty smart guys.

[@bluestalfos1410]

always putting out the best videos. this one was very informative thanks buddy

[@robertlathan4639]

Guitar max did a video last week about Jimi Hendrixs speaker cabinet and they said Jimi blew the speakers and fender replaced them with JBLs which is the one they always replaced them with!!! Love you brother and have a blessed day!!

[@johngorgis]

Some of my favorite guitar tones come from di setups where no cab and mic was in use,Nile Rodgers ,George Harrison,they plugged straight into the console on some songs

[@JaredGunstonTV]

doesn't matter how amazing your gear is... if it gets put through a crap speaker your "tone" is gone and you're either a bee in a jar or a honky old-time-radio. Speaker Emulated Outputs are rad, Straight to FOH is rad, IRs are rad. I used to love playing through 8x12" Hughes & Kettner cabs, but one day i decided, when touring over seas, i need to go smaller. So i toured with a Tubeman into FX return of what ever amp was given to us at venues. Worked a charm. That got me going on my Modeler Pedal Journey and IR journey. GT-1000 and ML Sound Lab IRs and i'm happy today! :)

[@thisdyingsoul76]

I had a 70's Traynor for a while. It was fastic sounding, but WAY too loud for my needs. These amps are built like tanks. Apparently they used to drop them off the roof of the factory as a durability test. If all they had to do was replace the tubes and it still worked, it passed QC. 😂

[@TheRok99]

There was a video I had seen a ways back where Paul Reed Smith was at a conference or something to that effect where he was saying about how there is absolutely Tonewood, and he proceeded to have several blocks of different wood, and he began striking them and low and behold, yes, they produced different sounds and all I could think of as the people were cheering that he “made his point“ was “That’s all fine and dandy but when was the last time you saw a guitarist beating the shit out of his ax to play a song.“ Grifters gonna grift, sheeple gonna sheep. People forget that at the end of the day, he is selling his product, why not sell it with the most expensive wood. I’m waiting for them to come out with a moodring guitar that changes it’s tone based off how angry the player is once they realize they’ve been had. Edit: Here it is, right around 11:30 loool. Playing “guitar tone woods” like a marimba 😂 kzbin.info/www/bejne/hGfLcpV3fr2bkKM

[@jamesmarkham7489]

If he actually thought about it. Strings vibrating are completely different from hitting it. Hitting a vibraphone with a mallet sounds very different from using a bow on it. But paul can't sell $10k guitars without the wood magic.

[@deptofcarstereorepair]

Ian Hill is definitely a very underrated bassist. Also, its pronounced "neodymium", hope that helps

[@gabrielr4329]

There’s something people miss when comparing guitars, I’ll explain with an analogy. A 2000 Honda Civic and a 2023 7 Series BMW can get from point A to point B. Functionality, they both deliver. This does not mean that the experience of driving these vehicles are the same. It’s really that simple when comparing higher end guitar gear.

[@adambickford8720]

The entire point is they're deriding your 'mojo' arguments as BS.

[@gabrielr4329]

@@adambickford8720 So a $100 guitar and a $3000 is the same in sound and feel, and the earth is flat too I guess

[@adambickford8720]

@@gabrielr4329 Every one of us understands what 'luxury ' is, jackass. The entire @#$% point of the conversation is to tease out what's actually a luxury and sold as essential.

[@sebastiantrespalacios9843]

Gleeeeeeen, since guitar pickups seem to be overrated, what would be your take on bass pickups? Are they worth the upgrade? And don't worry, I won't let the bass player anywhere near the soldering iron. Greetings from Barcelona.

[@void_snw]

Y'know, I love gear. I geek out about them, I love exploring settings, I love just messing around. More so than actually writing music. I love playing music, but creating it has not yet become as much an addiction as everything else about playing guitar. And that's okay. Cause I'm not gonna be a pretentious ass about it. Fun things are fun! Saving money while having fun is great too. Rock on, Glenn!

[@DinosaurDillon1776]

lol to the beginning comment! how do you make music without gear? Why would this show exist if we all just blindly bought gear without consulting anyone? As a person who spent a lot of hard earned money on music equipment, I appreciate Glenn and shows like this. I don’t always take his advice because I already spent money on things he wouldn’t recommend. However I would have never got a string butler without Glenn mentioning it. What an awesome addition to the Gibson sg I have. I will say quality control for Gibson is subpar, finish not very tough, not set up when I got it, electrical faults with the three way switch. Not handwired either, so less customizable. With the tweaking I’ve done it’s a very nice sounding guitar. I bought a cheap speaker to finish my home studio. I plan to upgrade the speakers later when I know more

[@soundman1402]

Hey Glenn! I've seen Austrian Audio LDCs on your show a number of times, but never the CC8 SDC. I bought a stereo pair of those for live drum overheads and they're AMAZING. They're a pretty dark mic (does not give you that "nice little sizzle" out of the box), but the highs are very smooth and can be boosted with EQ with no nastiness or harshness. Great dynamic range and detail. These are really great sleeper mics and I think people need to hear how good they are! Also, my new favorite snare mic is the Beyerdynamic M201tg. Also worth checking out.

[@petertauscher316]

My Band uses a "Hybrid" System as I have come to call it. We have 2 Guitars and 1 Bass. My guitar goes into an HX Stomp and into a Marshall Valvstate 8008 Poweramp. Second Guitar into an HX Stomp and a Marshall JMP-1 (don't ask) and into the same (stereo) Poweramp. From there I can put the guitars into Cabinets, and we have two AMT Pangaeas to also get a direct IR Signal. The Bass runs into 2 Amps, 1 Dirty Guitar Amp and 1 Clean Bass Amp. Both of those have a DI, so we are flexible as fuck when it comes to "giving the FOH Engineer the best chance to get a good sound". We generally "scale" our Setup to the Venue we are playing. If it's a smaller place, we only run 1 Bass amp and try to send the Guitars DI, with bigger spaces we have a talk to the FOH person and decide together how to get the best Sound. We also play a lot of shitty dive bars, so the possibility to just slap the Guitars into some Cabs is very nice.

[@Falasi4]

I've been done with amps for several years now for home and live on everything I play - guitar, bass, drums, mandolin. YMMV Great point on not being able to use them past about 2 on the vol knob. I've got a keyboard amp that needs an SUV/Van/truck to haul and good luck with using it past 2.

[@alvarg]

Glenn have you tried the Hotone Ampero 2, I bought one recently to be able to reduce my pedal footprint and it has completely replaced my amp and all my pedals. I didn't know about the tonex when I bought it, however, I feel this sound fantastic and it isn't very expensive either around the same price as the tonex ( doesn't have a capture feature though) but has a touch screen, built in cabs, built in IR loader. multiple amps to choose from, overdrives and effects. You can even plug your own pedals into it, or even the preamp section of your amp huge amount of versatility I highly recommend it for review it needs more attention.

[@dandaris2153]

Dear Mister Benton, I've been playing bass for 25 years and I LOVE EVERY bass players jokes you've made so far. I'm not being sarcastic and I LOVE your show. I live in a town near Montreal named Longueuil (Good luck prononcing that) and I would LOVE to record at your studio. I don't know when but, it has to happend.

[@undertheinfluence1654]

I just picked up an 80s Marshall lead 100w mosfett. It’s a solid state and im pretty sure it’s working with a JCM800 circuit. Got it for about $450, and it sound killer. A killer amp is a killer amp, digital, solidstate, or tube. Gonna pick up some celestion 70 80 speakers for my cab too.

[@greevar]

GLENN!!!! From what I've heard, they were likely using a Marshall 1965 or a 1975. The 65 had Celestion G10L 35 speakers. So that might be a place to start looking!

[@andrejsandal2382]

Hey Glenn! Longtime fan, love your videos man. I stumbled upon a supposed technique to refresh bass strings, basically it involves loosening them up to squeeze out the grime, and then aggressively snapping them against the fretboard to make it detach. KZbin channel "MarloweDK - Bass lessons, licks and low notes" covers this technique, I was wondering whether you've heard of it before and what your thoughts on it are, do you reckon it could work? I'd try it myself, but I just bought a fresh set of strings. Greetings from Slovakia!

[@romanwestenholtz4396]

Wow you really have a lot of great points in this vid being my third comment- I bought a 100 watt JVM210H and all it has gotten me was Community Service in my town of Roselle and my teenage son laughing at me after dealing with the police I had no clue they were at the door and my sons pictures and Baseball Trophies were vibrating and bouncing on the wall as he told me later- But I never had to play a gig that loud! 30 watts with my Hughes and Kettner has proven to be sufficient and I had bought a Quilter 101 years back which as an alternative to Tubes has been a great choice for gigging! Power is not everything Grow Up you sleepy dreamers haha.

[@JoesStyle]

Yes the speakers are the key. This is why you use your daw with studio monitors/speakers so that you can make your sound/tone sound the same on your car speakers, your earbuds, or your home sound system.

[@wooserthethird]

Hello from Detroit! Always a Good Friday morning with coffee and Glen.

[@SpectreSoundStudios]

Good morning! Just had my walk, now time for coffee here, too!

[@TheAtheist8]

in my experience, a guitar that costs around 300 will last you the rest of your life, a guitar that costs around 1000 is usually as good as you can get. anything more than that? it's a bell curve and you need to spend ridiculous amounts for the slightest improvement, and you're better off just honing your technique. obviously, there are outliers, you can get incredible, non branded planks of wood, and you can get terrible 10,000 "mastercrafted" pariahs.

[@georgivasilev8428]

In my experience the difference between those instruments is exclusively in the way the instruments feels in your hands and the comfort. Much less in the tone.

[@WildAzzRacing]

If you're going to try out some strings may I suggest some Black Diamond coated strings. Can't say how they sound on guitar but I've used them for about 15 years on my bass. They last way longer (yes, I'm a real bassist that actually changes strings, go figure!) than uncoated nickel round wounds and definitely have a darker tone vs the DR Black Beauties (also coated), GHS Boomers, Ernie Ball, and Rotosound Billy Sheehans I've tried in the past.

[@CommanderReplay]

Hey Glenn, Ive been looking at getting a second mesa cabinet so that I can experiment with trying out some different speakers, but even a 2x12 is like $1000 brand new which is insane. Have you ever done a shootout where you compare the same speaker cones in different cabinets? Im wondering how dramatically the sound would change by using the same speaker in a mesa cabinet vs a non mesa cabinet. My 4x12 has V30s and I kind of think it sounds like crap, where my rectoverb combo has a Mesa Black Shadow which I absolutely love, so Id love to see what else is out there beside the V30. Thanks!

[@itsjustme8947]

Hey Glenn or ANYONE with first-hand knowledge. Quick question. I know you like the Harley Benton guitars, but have you ever used/reviewed their amps and cabs? Specifically, bass amp/cabs (I know your love for bassists, but I've been doing this for 45 years.) The gear I've looked at over on Thomann is the Harley Benton SolidBass 410T 4x10 cab and the Block-300B amp that I can just leave at work. I'm 60 and my back and knees were obliterated in a car crash 2 years ago and I just can't move my gear around almost every day. I won't sweat losing roughly $600 should this setup be damaged, stolen, etc. This would dovetail nicely with your budget-conscious thoughts concerning speakers and end-of-chain tone. I'd really appreciate any input you might have, Glenn. Thanks and have a great weekend!

[@matzemunz2827]

I'm not surprised you think that positively ab Ryan. His Aford- a-bord series is right up your alley. Time and time again Ryan is proving you can get great sound with very reasonable priced pedals.

[@ryanbwags]

NOw that I have a halfway decent modeller, my favorite thing to do is mix and match amps and speakers while tweaking all the knobs. I've found some really fun tones that way.

[@manupbritain5232]

I'm starting to think my views on this are opposing to yours because I actually don't have 2 guitars with Humbuckers. My Strat has Seymour Duncan QP's and a rail at the bridge, a Kramer with Duncan Humbuckers, an Ibanez single cut with EMG's and Gretsch with Filtertrons. Each guitar is versatile but the chosen pickups are appropriate to the guitars form so my tones aren't just affect by pickup alone but the whole package.

[@tun-tunninc.6492]

As a bass player. Yeah. I know. I'm comfortable with my tone. I've always wanted that Newsted sound but I digress. Esp through an Ampeg svt-450 head and cabinet.

[@PrinceVinceJohn]

GLEEENN!! I just got my sticker and I am going to put it on my stage hand hard hat. I work at a major music venue with major musicians so we are gonna see how this goes lol

[@Tephomab]

Coming from someone who has mixed foh for many shows at small/medium sized venues: Unless your band is really good (in reality, actually really good), don't even worry about speakers, mics, cabs, instruments, amps, pickups, or any of that shit. Learn to play your instruments and write your songs before anything else, buy only what you can afford, and hunt for good deals on what you need. If you're building a reputation and playing small venues, then your band usually isn't going to sound great live, even if you have quality equipment, even if you sound great in your practice space or your own recordings. Bear in mind that most smaller venues don't have good systems, have amateur engineers, maybe nobody rang out the room, no monitors, broken equipment, etc. Believe me, when I first started getting hired by these places (around 2015) I barely knew anything about anything, yet I was still better than the last guy. The smaller venues are generally stepping stones for more serious engineers, or even just a fun side hustle for some random guy, which is how it all started for me. I guess what I'm getting at is don't expect much from bars or other small venues. At most less than reputable places, and even some that are well regarded, you're probably gonna sound like the warmed over corpse of a roadside racoon. Your gear wont save you from a bad engineer or a bad sound system any more than it will save you from bad musicianship. I've literally seen a man shredding on a shoe string attached to a piezo and a cigar box earn more applause than any other act I've ever worked with, and to me that says it all. Just play good, friends. Just play good. If you bring your true, absolute best effort, and show off some real skills, people will always love it. Seems to me they love it every time. Now that I've written all of that out, I don't even remember if it relates to the video at all... Fuck it, and fuck you Glenn! Thanks for another VC 🤘

[@psneary88]

Gleeeeeennnnn!!!!!! My setup is was a a blackstar ht20 with a you guessed it.... A F****IN HEMPBACK BABY! That speaker is incredible. I still stick firm to my beliefs... tone is credit to a multitude of factors. I do agree though, changing a speaker is the initial voice. I put a hempback in my blackstar and it became a different animal. I have a mesa rectoverb 25 and yes... it has a different speaker, but it also has a different circuit from my ht20. Is one ultimately better? I don't think so. They're different. Very different. And very good.

[@thisdyingsoul76]

In my opinion, the only thing fretboard material makes a difference in is how the guitar feels under your fingers. I have a preference for ebony and rosewood because theyvare usually not drowned in laquer like a maple fretboard. My fingers tend to stick to the laquer while bending and the minimally finished rosewood and ebony tend to be easier for me to bend on. I might be ok with Maple if I found an unfinished or satin finished fretboard as opposed to the traditional glossy ones.

[@Admiral_Bongo]

I can definitely say that Floyd Rose sustain block affects the tone. And as you might guess... A bigger block gives more sustain. That's about it. It's good to have a high mass bridge for solos, but other than that, doesn't really make a difference. Anyway, Glenn, do you ever mic up the beater side of the kick drum? I find that having an SM57/MD421 aimed at the spot where the beater touches the head works well. It's nice to mix in a beater mic to add some more natural sounding click to the sound.

[@goodchildmusic0]

I missed your short post on "How do you record", I can't remember if this is the exact phrasing. I record in Linux. I use Bitwig (previous Ableton user) to record and Reaper to mix and master. Windows can suck my big long .....peepee :D There are so many good open source recording programs (Rosegarden, Ardour, LMMS, etc). I love Reaper out of the box. Such great plugins.

[@toxicStudios21]

I'm new to mixing, but one thing I've noticed is that what is played is far more important than even the tone. In the mordern day that we live in, you can always change the tone with ease. Worst case scenario you have to re-amp the guitars. Changing what is played is a lot more work to do. People really need to learn how to play their instruments, and practice their work, Especially BASSISTS!!!!!!

[@captainkirk70]

?? What do you think of Creambacks? I love them and they seem to work great for any application. Which is very important to me as I only have one cab.

[@samuelgutierrez3184]

Love your chanel and your advice is always helpful, especially when you talk about speakers. But I think, if Steve Vai walked into your studio, picked up a random guitar and plugged into a random amp... He would still sound exactly like... Steve Vai! The sound and tone is in his fingers. What do you think?

[@Mr.Unacceptable]

My first film Camera was also a Praktica Super TL. It was basic but taught me all the basics. I had to know what all the functions did. Not like today click and see if it worked cameras. Pictures are crap these days because the average camera is priced out for the average person. Has anyone noticed how garbage digital cameras are with reds and blues. A flower is just a blob of red or blue.

[@JRSully89]

Digital pedals are great, but a lot of venues are still neither equipped with the proper p.a. equipment or a sound guy that knows how to run it. It helps to have cabs and heads and to know the venue you're playing and which one you'll need to bring with you