Why It's IMPOSSIBLE To Get "YouTuber Guitar Tone" At Home

[@KeyanHoushmandLive]

The elephant in this room is really, really big.

[@КиранДонлон]

Yo mama

[@KeyanHoushmandLive]

@@КиранДонлон bro

[@LeeJoRo]

Bro mama ​@@KeyanHoushmandLive

[@gafuraskarov2814]

damn stay safe

[@RX120D]

The only thing I'd disagree with here is the suggestion that the wood of the guitar is going to affect tone (ie: the actual frequency spectrum balance) in a meaningful way. Literally everything else is spot on. One other thing though, its pretty clear that you're fed up of Glenn's claims. The thing is he's not catering his videos to people like you and I. He's targeting the kid at home with the Harley Benton guitar plugged into a hand-me-down mid 2000's Line 6 Spyder. Tonewood, pickups, hardware, cables, etc... don't mean shit at the beginner level. Glenn is 100% on point in encouraging young or inexperienced guitarists to stay the fuck away from the esoteric shit and actually get some bang for their buck. When you get to the level that you and I'm sure a lot of your audience is at, chasing those diminishing returns does indeed become worthwhile. Just miss me with the tonewood stuff. Appreciate your sentiment on this video though. Its a good PSA.

[@Marco_Aleman]

The real friends were the tones we made along the way .

[@rickjames5684]

Amen

[@KeyanHoushmandLive]

real

[@rickjames5684]

@@KeyanHoushmandLive talk

[@Emily_M81]

best answer

[@Xenbjorn]

You can still make your tone sound similarly to what you want so long as you make the minor tweaks to your sound to compensate for the differences in instrument hardware and electronics.

[@scottmh96]

I'm still not convinced that tonewood matters in electric guitar tone. But I fully agree that the pickups, setup and player make a huge difference. I'm a djenty boi and play an Ibanez RGMS7 in drop F#, my tone has a metric f*ck tonne of top end in it, but my mate came round and played my guitar and said "why does it sound sh*t when I play it" and when he was playing it all the top end disappeared... We decided it was because he picks like a lil bish

[@johntravoltage959]

yeah, I really find that the biggest difference is in the pickup position/string height over pickups. Recently I've been messing around with building a guitar, with a set of bareknuckle pickups that are the same as a set in an ibanez 26.5" 7 string I have. I wanted to test some weird setups so we decided to just make a spacer, screw a saddle into it and place pickups on the table, while my mate got some pliers and stretched the string out, braced on the table, just guessing a scale length that ended up being about 26". With the tonewood being a random ass wood block, a benchtop, and my mates muscles/bones braced against the workbench, when we matched the pickup height/position of bridge, it sounded ridiculously similar, and even had a very similar profile in EQ...

[@mikepollackguitar]

😂

[@xSirEnderx]

Yeah tonewood is a myth with electrics. The sound you hear from the amp is simply the vibrations from the strings affecting the electromagnetic field of the pickups. Any component that isn’t in direct contact with the strings themselves have zero impact on the way those strings vibrate. Im not even sold on bridge, nut, etc having that huge an impact in tone. I believe any tone change from hardware to hardware is marginal at best. Tone, in my opinion, is 100% strings and pups. And even then, you can make any pickup sound like another with enough EQ.

[@khairulpoka7623]

@@xSirEnderx Different bridge tottaly gonna make different tone for Palm Muting part, i have 2 guitar, one with tune 0 matic, one with the original edge trem, but both using the same pickup Duncan Distortion, same string gauge and same tuning. Trem Bridge definitely have more aggresion, more tight chugging and more tight low end. but if you just do the normal strum on both guitar, it will be sound the same but not for chugging tone.

[@Emily_M81]

@@khairulpoka7623 I concur. I have to palm mute differently on my guitars with Tune-O-matic style vs FR style. It's easier for me to be clean on the FR, and palm mutes are a little "woolier" on my matic guitars. I have to adjust my hand differently to get similar sorts of palm mute notes.

[@sids8nrazor355]

Hey Keyan, I would like to chime in as an audio engineer and guitar player. The hardware: -Guitar mass and the material the guitar is made out of is absolutely irrelevant due to the fact that the strings are passing through a magnetic field that produces a low voltage current referred as the "guitar signal". -the wood of the guitar affects how the instrument sounds acoustically , since the wood will absorb and amplify certain frequencies, it cannot generate enough energy by itself in order to be able to transfer it onto the strings in order for it to be picked up by the pickups. Wood however can have an quantifiable impact on the duration a string is able to produce sound, or in other words sustain. -Different pickups do affect the signal when we only talk about gain ( passive or active pickups are highly dependent on how many times the copper was wound up in the coil itself),physics wise it is impossible to alter the sound like an equalizer. -You have also mentioned how pick-up height is directly linked to the sound being more robust or clean, this can be brought back to gain. -The cable does not affect the sound unless it is being passed through or in the vicinity of cables that are passing through higher voltages, as it will pickup noise through electromagnetic interference. -The interfaces that are being used could possibly affect the sound but only slightly as most manufacturers try to achieve a very clean signal that doesn't color the sound. I would argue that gain staging in this instance is more important than all of the above since a weaker signal will distort less and the amp will generate less harmonic overtones or distribute them differently. And regarding generating tones, the hardware that is used to playback the sound are important such as studio monitors in an acoustically treated room, what type of headphones/ IEMs(which are more prone to biased EQs from manufacturers) and so on.

[@stevekirkby6570]

Also (retired) audio engineer here: Yes the cable *can* affect the tone - long cables can sap the treble. Some swear by short expensive cables for recording. Personally, it has never bothered me, but the issue does exist. Those same cables are unsuitable for live use as too inflexible, and basically too bright for live work without adjusting the amp. But really, as you mention other factors aremuch more important.

[@LuLeBe]

Yeah long cables do sound different. I'm not sure at which point, and I don't use expensive ones, but obviously you can't (even without extension interference) play from LA into an amp in Florida and expect any signal to arrive there. Debatable if it's 5m, 10m or 30m of cable to hear a difference. Pickups clearly color the sound. Physics wise it's actually impossible not to do that unless you live in that theoretical physics world without friction etc that we know from school. But they don't (unless they're active and include circuitry for that) add any content, so you can equalize them via EQ.

[@potentialbouldercrusher9159]

The mass and the material the guitar is made of has an impact on the tone since the wood vibrates, and the pickups are mounted in the wood. Therefore the vibration of the body affects how the strings are moving in relation to the pickup, which is what actually matters. Most of the time the differences are minor, though. Pickups do change the EQ. Watch any comparison videos. The polepieces/bar magnets dictate the shape of the magnetic field. The coils in the pickup and how they are wound give you different resistance, inductance and capacitance, which in turn affect the response (induced voltage) to different frequencies. Again, the differences might not be huge, but saying it's physically impossible for the pickup to affect the EQ structure is simply not true.

[@Durkhead]

I blame youtube audio compression

[@maxalaintwo3578]

You’re not gonna replicate Spotify or Apple Music tone perfectly either

[@nicholasmullins3693]

So KZbin audio compression alternately makes things so bad you can't tell the minute differences between tone woods, and better than what you can get in person? 😂

[@jannik-x]

KZbin videos, as long as you watch in 720p or above, have higher audio quality than most premium music streaming platforms. That's definitely not it.

[@gigafuq8751]

​@@jannik-x exactly, you can actually hear the improvement on KZbin through audio monitors vs spotify

[@belligerentamateur]

the compression is not nearly what you think. it makes minimal difference

[@xxdr34m5xx_4]

Shots fired towards Glenn 😂😂

[@Mrvegas6666]

Yeah, I'll listen to Glen over a guitarist any day.

[@Wizzerman95]

I really think everyone took away the wrong point. Pickups do make difference but if you really need dramatic change in sound, it shouldn’t be the first thing you change.

[@phantomtearsca]

@@Mrvegas6666 Glenn is a dumbass

[@AverageHomelessMan]

@@Wizzerman95 bingo

[@somepurplerandom1519]

@@Wizzerman95the only difference in pickups is gain/output or how hot it is.

[@jannik-x]

Bro drank the tonewood koolaid 💀

[@bellowick]

Bro's watched one too many paul reed smith videos i think. Don't get me wrong PRS guitars look absolutely stunning, but zebrawood doesn't make your guitar sound any different to spruce when it comes to electric guitars (density of wood obviously effects acoustic tone).

[@schleppvideos]

as opposed to you whos been lapping up glenn frickers bullshit lol

[@kaipilled]

⁠@@schleppvideosyou’re so mad and for what? pickups don’t make a huge difference. all you have to do is change the eq and all it takes for you to see that, is experimenting with eq. but no, you wanna just sit there and state your own bs. lmao

[@Seymourbutts-u1d]

Glenn, Reed and kesha or whatever this dudes name is, should all get together and see who is the most full of shit.

[@schleppvideos]

@@kaipilled the point is that they do make some difference, watch the video (again) and open your fucking ears. and if what he says dont matter and can just be matched with eq, how bout you replicate his guitar tone and well see how far you get

[@Skepsis0Metal]

To add to your final point, a huge huge factor in how your "hands" affect the final sound of the instrument is how in sync your hands are with each other. Especially with the more compression and overdrive modern amp settings are adding - if your pick attack is 100ths of a second out of sync with your fretting hand changing position then your note clarity is going to suffer and that's something you'll never fix in post. The further out of alignment your 2 hands are, the squishier and more muddy your tone becomes

[@adamlutz1994]

All fantastic points. I’d like to add that I feel like a lot of modern guitarists are using top down mixing. So their master chain also affects the guitar tone. Great points nonetheless

[@josuastangl7140]

Whether "top down" or not, yes most mixes on you hear on youtube have compression and limiting on the master and that also makes quite the difference when it comes to dynamics

[@adamlutz1994]

@@josuastangl7140 💯

[@Wind-nj5xz]

0:28 That's what someone using a secret pedal would say!

[@naskosokurov1815]

Agreed. Whoever has studied physics will know how the way that the strings vibrate affects the tone. I won't go into detail about that. Another thing that makes a huge difference in how does your guitar sound if you're using amp simulation is the output device. For example, if you play with headphones, even if they are studio quality and very expensive, the tone will still be more muddy. If you're using a surround sound system with subwoofer and speakers, it will be more round and clean.

[@benjaminmuir1776]

I agree with everything except the assertion that wood itself makes a major difference. If you've got the pickups and similar construction there, you're dead on.

[@Jgambina91]

Its really crazy to think that some musicians have played for years and believe that all the points you made are false. Every small difference adds up to sum of its parts especially when it comes to musical instruments

[@andyglamrock]

Pickups aren't microphones, so wood and to an extent string don't matter. I don't like Glenn any more than you do but Jim Lill's scientific videos are flawless and untouchable

[@MarkToast99]

Always surprised to see there’s people still in the “pickups don’t make a difference” camp. Are these guys playing with their gain cranked all the way up? You can plainly tell that two sets of different pickups create different sounds. It’s probably the most important part of your signal chain, even if it isn’t the part that has the most influence over your tone. Pickups are the starting point of your tone, they pick up everything your guitar is doing and initiate that whole process that leads out of the speaker.

[@SoundAloneband]

I know a lot of the sound is the player. I am also a pro drummer and mixer. I know for a fact I can have 6 players same rig same everything and it will always sound different. Drums this is especially true Lots of factors but player is a big one.

[@gregfender]

Dude thank you for saying the things about the hands. It's really annoying when people try to treat tone as something separate from the performance. As if a guitar tone can exist by itself somehow without a player. People can try to get ultra nerdy with semantics and say that "tone" is EQ and technique+EQ = "a sound", but that's not what 99.999% of guitarists mean when they say "guitar tone." They're talking about the whole thing. It's usually people with poor technique who argue against "tone is in the hands".

[@EricJamesVideo]

Bravo. Excellent explanation. Tone chasers will never be happy. Granted I do copy settings from other users, but then tweak it to my taste and how my guitars responds to presets. Sure start with baseline settings then tweak it. Find your own sound. There's honestly too many tools out there and I've gone down rabbit holes myself. If you're chasing too much, you ain't writing riffs and songs.

[@rossi1kid]

My goodness thankgod you addressed it.pickups,wood,placement of everything ,quality,interface ,cables,strings…..everything It alllllll equates to the overall result. Why do audiences give so much flak to these great artists? They learned,adapted and found the way to shape their own tone.prolly why they have progressed from room studio playthroughs and guitar content- artists on stage being all they can be. There’s only one keyan houshmand and only one you.make your own🙂 much love Ross Eastough

[@vomito72]

Really realistic point of view! the most important in my modest opinion is the last one...Everyone sounds different with the exact same gear and setup. it's really easy to understand if you share a guitar with other guitarists

[@gvsd3]

Very good video Keyan, this is a very clear and complete video about this topic, and the last point is spot on... all the things you explained is basically my guitar journey, from tweaking the hardware & guitar spec, to understanding the structure of a tone, spending years of tiresome tone shaping, and now Im at the point where I care more about my playing than anything else, and I want to sound like myself more than ever.

[@JoshuaMRichard]

Dude thank you for talking about this. I was actually thinking about it recently, I think it's an important topic and I definitely appreciate your commentary.

[@bruzanhd]

What a novel concept that a different signal chain produces a different sounding signal. Glad people are starting to come back to realizing that gear and technique actually matter.

[@GrimyRen]

You forgot the most important point. Gain Staging. In your videos you set the gain on your interface just shy below clipping. Neural said that for years as well, but that is "wrong" if you want the most accurate picture of the amp. Check out the videos of Ed. But hey, if it sounds good, it is good. We all need to stop dicking arround and make some music. Cheers

[@MetalMan1245]

I think people like Glenn who seem to think nothing matters except the speaker do have a point, most elements of an electric guitar don't make much difference in context. Though one of this problems is he doesn't really tune below D, and I feel like once you get into the lower register of like B and lower the rules definitely do change.

[@tonycarpaccio9550]

When people are kind of new and they don't know they are listening to a double or quad tracked mixed recording being mimed on video, that's when they kind of despair about not being able to achieve what they are hearing. Not saying you are doing that of course, I'm just pointing out what I think can be pretty confusing for new guitarists sometimes. It's the same as listening to your fav artist though and trying to get their tone without realizing the guitars have been mixed along with several takes layered and panned etc.

[@brandongullion6353]

I've always been more of the mindset that using someone else's tone setup is more of a starting point, not an end result for anyone other than the original creator of that tone. You'll always need to tweak things based on your gear, setup and playing style. It's almost more of a "quick start guide" for people trying to achieve a similar tone. Great explanation of the variables that go into tone that many don't think about!

[@yeserguitar]

I totally agree to the points, well said dude. Every guitarist has to know how to do proper setup, use fresh and match-to-tuning strings for tracking, make sure the playing and articulation is on point. Everything starts with good source tone, good DI and playing. Rest is how we process the sound and if something sounds unhealthy, it'll be much harder to process for sure. Big pill to swallow for some, but it is what it is. Thanks for making this dude! One more point, I share my Neural presets with each cover and I put a readme just for this. I'm motivating people to work on the tone rather than dial it right away, because it's not gonna be the same at all. I also watch your Neural demos and explanations to check which guitar you are using. All those details pay off if one knows how to work on it. Cheers 🥂

[@cassdobbins1605]

"In the room" tone is different from "finished product" tone because it's going through an extra filter with it's on eq (the mic), then eq'd again in post. Even raw room-mic tones are getting to your ears through the extra filter of the speakers of your phone, headphones, computer.

[@kopan14]

not to mention the room you're inside, this makes huge difference for real-life in-the-room tones even if everything else is the exactly the same

[@christophernoble76]

a lot of them use plug ins so room and mic dont really matter

[@kopan14]

@@christophernoble76 agreed (i have plugins, too), for jamming/ playing i never use plugins, it will never get to that fire-breathing power compared to real amps/cabs when you play inside your room lol

[@bezakn1420]

You forgot to talk about the editing and post production mix

[@KeyanHoushmandLive]

I’m talking only about guitar tones in isolation, in a mix is a completely different story

[@bezakn1420]

@@KeyanHoushmandLive Ah okay, I think to get a good tone you just need to use the fortin nameless x and explore settings to find which is good for you

[@klap00]

@@KeyanHoushmandLive Who cares about isolated tracks lol, if the tone is "good" alone, one instrument trying to fill the full spectrum, it will choke the mix.

[@TheLostpapers]

@@KeyanHoushmandLive Hi! Thank you for this interesting video. However, I must agree with Bezakn, your youtube videos and all other youtube editors, all have great soundstage and fullness around the spectrum, even this one videos, where your sound does not feel like a mono track recording. I guess you definitely have some sort of post process right to enhance the recording in your DAW?

[@KeyanHoushmandLive]

@@TheLostpapers hey dude, thanks for watching! All the isolated tone demos you heard in this video and any other video I’ve ever made have only ever been made from plugins with no “trickery” or “special thing” added on top. It is the combination of all of the things talked about in this video, and a general tone that anyone can use at home. I hope this helps 🫶

[@mattlombardi54]

Ok so I have to say this, I have an ltd jm2, bugera 1990 120w tube head and an older crate 4x12. Using the eq knobs and a precision drive I can get almost any modern metal tone I want. I have also done it with a $250 Dean guitar as opposed to a $1,400 guitar. I also have played a strat through that setup and it’s awesome as well. The point is, if your listening to tone through a phone and trying to emulate it something is wrong w

[@shredystevie2806]

I'm pretty sure your my favorite guitar youtuber when it comes to the Breakdown and technical aspect of signal and tone. Thanks again for a wonderful video and explanation

[@woocifer]

As much as these elements can affect the tone, I really think you're missing a major portion here... they might be using those settings on the plugins or amps, but the major catalyst here is that they have a lot of either experience in mixing and mastering their tone, send it to their editor who may also be a sound engineer, and somewhat MOST importantly...they dial in their tone, and then they go back and run it through the actual cabinet IRs they've customized in order to get that proper mix down that sounds huge, rather than...you know, a single channel with some settings in generic sound chains. To say its in your hands is more about attack and emphasis than tone. The woods, bridge, all that, sure it helps to run confidence through the sustain or body of the signal coming through. The pickups are A HUGE portion of this as well, as they are wired and distanced to get certain pre-EQ elements for clarity or girth or whatever... But this video does not expose the actual reality of what goes on behind closed doors. And it all has to do with post production via different cabinets and mixing. No one will expose that cuz then everyone would sound the same.

[@AAAA-lt9hq]

There are so many variables in a guitar tone signal chain that it's impossible to determine the most important factor. Each player's setup will be different. The one you can control most is your technique and hands. Learning more about how to dial in a good signal with the gear you have is more important than buying gear. When buying gear, used gear you have experience with at a good price is most important. As an example, I have more experience with Jackson, EMG, and Seymour Duncan, so I stay mostly with those brands. I'd suggest books on audio engineering and mixing before dumping money into more gear, especially if one mainly records and does not play live. I have gotten death metal tones from Gibson 57 Classic PAFs (Alnico II 8-9k) using a 15 year old POD Farm Platinum plugin using an emulated boosted Tube Screamer in front of a Marshall JCM 800. Shortfalls in one part of the chain can be made up elsewhere. In this case, although the pickups lacked output, the amp and pedal's collective gain and distortion boosted them to where no one could tell I was using vintage spec pickups. Under high gain, the difference expensive "tone wood" makes will be marginal. Proper EQ'ing is more important. Many classic albums were recorded early in bands' careers when they were using cheap gear. It's also important to realize now that many music gear influencer videos are essentially what we called infomercials in the 90s. Influencers are either directly sponsored by gear companies, or they are selling things in the description, or they are making money from ads. All of these things create conflicts of interest regarding objectivity. They also have expensive home studios that they have built over many years as they have grown their subscriber base. The thing is, influencing on social media is a full time job like anything else. It takes away from time to practice and perform with a band. In this sense, many musicians no longer have time to be musicians, anymore. They are well financed hobbyists/salespeople who do a little music on the side. Some are more knowledgeable than others. Others just make well-produced videos that successfully target and monetize the right audience.

[@---Alex]

It's all about EQ. Moslty any guitar youtuber never show their EQ game.

[@ThorsShadow]

Yes. Also no. EQ plays a big part (that is the most obvious statement ever lol) but pretty much every "KZbin guitar person" shows their EQ settings when they demo an amp or plugin or do a "how to get tone x/y" kind of video. No idea where you get that idea from.

[@tyednz]

I feel this. Watch Busters Oldehoms dailing in a guitar tone video, all makes sense.

[@KeyanHoushmandLive]

I’m talking about guitar tones in isolation. If you’ve ever watched me dial in an isolated tone, I’ve never put an extra EQ on it while I’m playing through it

[@Wind-nj5xz]

You guys are using EQ?

[@masterofreality230]

I think the speaker and cab makes a bigger difference and sound better than more extreme eq settings.

[@horrifyinggelatinousblob]

I definitely agree with the last point, I have the hardest time playing blues, funk, anything with barre chords, hands a knobby and skinny, can play metal, shred stuff just fine but mechanically any barre chord I do sounds like ass

[@tusharjamwal]

the most impactful and easy to control variable by far is the input gain of whatever FX chain you are copying. Always add a gain plugin before the input of your amp sim for example and increase or reduce gain to compensate for difference in levels caused by differences in pickups/placement or interface gain. After you have played around with that then you can think about changing pickup height or long term shifting to a different set of pickups if you like those better/they sound like the sound you want with less processing. The wood and stuff does make a difference but nobody can tell outside of A/B tests. If you heard one in context today and another replica with a different wood tomorrow, you won't be able to tell that they were different woods.

[@123Ir0nman]

The guitar/pickup choice is really important. So unless you have the same model of guitar you're going to need to do a lot of eq'ing. Easy fix - use a boss eq pedal to sculpt the guitar signal before it goes in the audio interface or amp.

[@alexanderkendysh9071]

Wood doesn’t affect the sound. Meshuggah ibanez in the video sounds nothing like resonating wood. Cut everything and there will be no changes at all. Pickups and a huge scale length allows you to get higher string tension with less string thickness, and that gives you a brighter sound. Plus attack “inside” a guitar, like a slap on the bass, so the string will hit the fretboard and you will get punchy sound and no problems with intonation, because the string will just hit the frets and there will be no excessive up and down motion, that changes the base note and ruin your intonation. There is nothing more to it.

[@Aangrox]

Guitar KZbinrs NEVER show their signal chain in their DAW. NEVER!

[@Mendelian]

Thank you for saying pickups make a difference 🎉 Lovely vid btw!

[@somepurplerandom1519]

They don't just output and how hot it is

[@KeyanHoushmandLive]

@@somepurplerandom1519all food doesn’t taste different from each other, it’s just the ingredients and how spicy they are

[@somepurplerandom1519]

@@KeyanHoushmandLive I love you man but chicken tastes like chicken the only difference is the seasoning. Even then I couldn't tell you if you used paprika or not it still tastes good. You can definitely tell if there's garlic though it flavors up the whole thing.

[@somepurplerandom1519]

@@KeyanHoushmandLive that to say the chicken are the humbuckers, seasonings are the electronics, and the garlic is the speaker if that makes any sense.

[@KeyanHoushmandLive]

@@somepurplerandom1519 I love you too man, so then the seasonings DO make a difference? No matter how minor? ;)

[@matenorth]

I think what they complain about is that the don't get a usable tone out of the same plugins others seem to get a crushing tone from.They are not trying to make it sound the same. The most important thing besides cab, is the sonic information the signal carries before the amp. Then, clean DI input comes second and the rest (guitar,pickups,player) are secondary or irrelevant, specially on a hight gain tone. My two cents

[@Sadix99]

it's the speakers of the cabinet (or the IR), the bass bleding with it, how much the drums influence the rest and the mixing work of the music and the video (EQ, compression and other stuff in the daw). Things they never show you.

[@TheOuterDrive]

Volume nob on the actual guitar should be at 8 ...also KZbinrs master most of the music they release ..Most people don't realize that mastering your song makes all the difference..

[@teamskdm1]

some people just have not played enough guitars. take tonewood for example , they simply have a misconception of what the pickup is actually hearing. theyre correct in that the pickups do not pickup the sound of the wood, but theyre incorrect in that the sound of the wood actually changes how your strings sound which then gets picked up. sometimes its not even a darker/brighter thing. some tonewoods like ash and alder in my experience have more attack and snap than softer woods like basswood and mahogany which give the impression of warmer or brighter tone. same with rosewood board vs maple board strats , the added attack and snap of the maple and the softer attack of the rosewood is what gives the impression of warmth or brightness.

[@AutopsySuiteable]

I get so sick of hearing the pickups don’t matter argument when it’s so damn easy to hear the difference and feel between them usually.

[@Andreas_tropicalwinter]

I scratched my head a few times, why I couldn't get close to for example Plinis tone, even if I used the NeuralDSP plugin and his presets. I tried different guitars but couldn't get closer soundwise. Also the Rebea presets didn't sounded close either. One day I stumbled across a video explaining every pligin has a specific gain setting on the interface. After lowering the input gain quiet a bit, the presets started to sound like they should. So for me nothing made more of a difference than the input gain on the interface.

[@joshuasalgado4694]

Wow people actually argue that pick ups don’t make a difference? That’s a new a one…

[@necroticpoison]

Using amp sims for mixes (of other people's music) can show just how different source (DI) tones can be. The difference in gain and treatment of freq curve both in the amp, and before and after, is massively dependant on the DI. Remember to use a Hi-Z input without gain, fresh pick, fresh strings, pick well, and don't have strings that are way too thick for your tuning, also appropriate scale for that lowest string; you can get away with low in 25.5, but it does seem to sound better with each increase of scale length up to a point, for low-low tunings.

[@joshichabod]

There are people who think wood affects tone over pickup selection? The fuck.

[@bolotskih675]

all of this is for metal high gain with humbackers pickups - a bit. it all compressed and distorted. (even human voice became indistinguishable when distorted even thought our brain evolved to distinguish it.) its output level affects mostly the gain level you should set. that's it. wood - nothing finish - nothing pickup position and overall construction - yes. but not so much. I personally would put "player's hands" into this category on a par with setup, scale and so on. amp - yes. especially voicing cab - a bit speaker - A LOT mic and it position - A LOT phase when mixing - A LOT that's all you need to start from when you try to mimic a metal tone

[@schleppvideos]

kay make a video replicating someones tone with your gear then

[@AdamDallas]

I agree with absolutely everything in this video, great stuff Keyan! Especially the hands. Guitar playing really is such a prime example of how the sum of everything is worth more than the price of individual parts kinda deal.

[@markus_m4rk]

Nice points and I do appreciate this argument from someone with a more percussive djenty style of playing as I think I hear differences. But as someone has said, "Don't get mad, get evidense". I believe Glen as he has done the research including isolating elements such as strings, pick ups, body wood and cables. Also, speakers, cabinets, amps and tubes. Please do some high gain a/b comparisons as there seems to be only one person on youtube doing this with any depth atm.... and thats a bit polarised. We need someone else to compare with.

[@brianmcdonald4039]

Hey man, I think the point of the video was less about the tonal differences about strings, or pick ups or tone wood/etc. I believe it was more a statement on how they all add up to the difference in peoples tone they hear in videos like Keyans, and what they get from their own setup. Showing people that the tone videos, are more of a start point to getting the tone, instead of the end point.

[@Morroh]

Preach. The last point is the one new guys need to take in the most. Your hands are the source of your tone, where your arm lays on the instrument, how you hold your pick (grip tension), how far away from the bridge and pickup your pick hits the string, pick angle(flat picking vs angled picking) pick follow thru, your pick velocity in the context of the part. All this matters far more than people realize, especially new or non guitars players who are judging guitar tones. You’ll never sound like your favorite guitarist 1:1. But you can improve these things and sound awesome in your own way. Focus on this first before breaking out your wallet for the newest shiny piece of gear you probably don’t need.

[@he1ar1]

Of course when i play my guitar at home it sounds different because the sound is coming from a completely different speaker. It isnt coming from my mobile phone. It isnt coming from a digital upload, or through a mic or a preamp.

[@ferna182]

wait, hold on, people say that PICKUPS don't make a difference? ... what?!

[@burtosu86guitar]

Not throwing shit or something but i have 5 guitars, 3 with emg and 2 passive and one of the passive is lower output, they all sound the same in plugins, all i need to do is boost the signal with the gain knob from my interface, i tried it with the same tuning. Im talking about metal/high gain stuff. In the graphics, they lock diferent but are allmoat the same tone/sound. Again, talking about high gain stuff, i never play acoustic. If you change the monitors or the interface, how hard you fret and hit the strings, strings.... it's another thing, you are right here 🤘🤘🤘

[@squirelova1815]

"I will NEVER sound like you." Well, I can assure you that you can Thank your lucky stars for that one.

[@MopsLife]

Yeah I went from an active Fishman Fluence Les Paul to a passive S type and I had to do so much tinkering with the tone cause it sounded wimpy on the passive, once I did some tinkering it sounded great, but then back to the actives it sounded way too much and had to dial it back again. Even had to change cabs to get a tone I preferred for each pickup, it’s never as easy as copy and paste

[@anthonyjwilkerson]

Finally someone understands what tones is in the hands means. Thank you.

[@astrog7361]

Lucidity, logical reasoning, and the scientific method. Fantastic video!!!

[@robertsteinberger]

Pickup position (closer to the bridge or neck) is something that's often completely overlooked. Even a 2mm difference completely changes the tome. That sh*t matters so much.

[@hugoferreux9314]

Wood affects how guitar vibrates, which affects how strings vibrate, which affects tone It's no secret, I don't understand why people keep on debating such facts PS: I find Alder to be one of the most recognizable wood tones

[@adamfinlay169]

Great video dude - also very humbling to see you still have to check your semitones haha

[@jd5393]

The biggest difference I’ve seen over the past 20 ish years is definitely the bridge distance to the bridge pickup. HUGE difference in tone

[@masterofreality230]

I dont wonder why I cant sound as good as KZbinrs, I wonder why they dont sound as good as me! lol

[@nunolance23]

On an electric guitar, I reckon that most of the tiny little details that some brands/people market as making a significant difference in sound (woods used/chambered or not/bridge type/nut and tuners materials/even paint used…) are actually mostly aesthetic and functional. Just watch Jim Lill’s videos on this. From my experience, what actually makes the most difference equipment wise is anything that influences the position and vibration of the string relative to the pickup. So that includes scale length, pickup position, pickup height, string action, string gauge. Everyone should play around with these parameters before buying into whatever is the latest “big thing” that someone is trying to sell. The point about the “tone being in the fingers” all about how each player approaches the guitar, which will definitely influence how the pickup captures the sound - which pick/fingers you’re using, how strong you’re picking/plucking, what techniques you’re using, the dynamics in your playing, etc etc. - a big part of why James Hetfield sounds like him is because of the way he picks for example, so you might get closer to the sound by getting a tone in the ballpark and getting the technique really close than the other way around.

[@stevekirkby6570]

Great vid and yes - it's a combination of smaller effects that add up to big changes... another one: The sound in the room is not the same as the mic or di sound recorded - also the whole thing is affected by what you listen on and the compression of any streaming. Listening to what's coming out of your earbuds, soundbar or computer speakers is not going to be the same for all peope or indeed is not going to match the sound of say a 4*12 or of high quality studio monitors. Too many variables.

[@dr.radical4152]

Some pretty good points in this video. I was expecting for there to maybe be a mention of stereo imaging. One thing that i stupidly never realized for years is why modern heavy mixes sound good. STEREO. When I dialed in my first stereo patch on my hx stomp for my 8 string, it went from sounding dull and muddy to massive and present. Now of course you wont be recording in stereo, you'll want to double track, but for playing alone or to songs a stereo guitar patch with a slight bit of delay between the two cabs panned hard left and right will sound absolutely massive! I think that the post processing, engineering, and mixing is an often overlooked side of guitar tones. How you make other instruments sit with the guitar in a mix and make up for the guitars flaws is huge in my opinion.

[@josuastangl7140]

100%, not everyone has to equipment to play stereo, but being the only guitarist in my band, stereo tones make such a massive difference. Most of the time I just play two different amps and cabs left and right (in my Quad Cortex), without extra delay.

[@eliteleaf5305]

Why would anyone want delay in a rhythm tone tho? It would Make sense in a clean tone or a lead tone.

[@josuastangl7140]

@@eliteleaf5305 not a delay effect in the traditional sense, just one repeat on full wet with 5-30ms on only the left (or right) channel to get more stereo width. Although a more traditional delay effect (similar to reverb) can also be cool in rhythm tones for big chords, more ambient sections or arpeggiated riffs, but that‘s not what were talking about here.

[@dr.radical4152]

@@eliteleaf5305 When I did no delay between my two cabs it just sounded like a big mono signal. If you add a couple miliseconds of delay between two cabs on something like a helix it imitates the effect of double tracking guitar. It really is something

[@aliensporebomb]

Great video with good points BUT the vast majority of "average listeners" (especially youtube listeners) are not going to hear the minute differences in tone that an avid guitar player will hear. The OP who said his tone was muddy and flat probably was playing with too much gain or some other setting. That guy could have discussed his setup and someone with a similar setup with better results might offer helpful suggestions on helping the issues? Also, a guitarist who's played for just a few years versus a guy who's played 10 or more are going to get vastly different results. Subscribed!

[@rmunozcue]

I 100% agree on everything you said. The thing that has made the most impact for my tones was realizing that if the guitar setup was ok for what I was going for and the part was recorded correctly, pretty much everything worked. I would also add that if the tones are for a recording, trying to play the parts to fit the tone that you are looking for is really important and it's probably worth experimenting with (for example playing closer to the bridge has an enormous impact, so do the picks that you use).

[@CZitoMusic]

Really interesting topic. I was always wondering this myself. Thanks for the points and details!

[@KeyanHoushmandLive]

Thank you for watching!

[@DJ7tringGuitar]

A prime example I can recall with KZbinr's tone was Ola Englund, when he switched the pickups in his old Strictly 7 from BKP Aftermath's to SD Distortions. It was one of best 7 string tones I ever heard and it was very upsetting when he changed again went with SD Custom 5's in his Washburns. But maybe year or so ago, he revisited the old Strictly 7 and it was such a tonality nostalgic trip back to those early 2010's

[@buricaliskan]

Yesss absolutely agree with all points made!

[@dragonAwkward]

Could not agree more. I actually bought the Ibanez Grg you reviewed a while back. The tone doesn’t sound any way near to how you demoed it. But that’s not the point. Tone should be something personal, and after spending some months with it, I can finally make it sound how I want it to. Also recorded my first single with it.

[@chad_kaya]

Great vid! I’ve struggled with this for years. Recently, I commited myself to just trying to make my tone sound as best as I can with the gear I already have. Taking this approach really freed me from feeling like I have to make my tone sound like another guitar player. I think a lot of us fall in love with other guitarists tones and think we have to make it sound exactly the same.

[@ShreddingFinn]

I've bought hundreds in IRs never once been satisfied totally convinced everything is overproduced.....

[@Gengarlegend]

I’ve never understood why people chase to get the tone exactly what other people have. I’ve always just tried to find the coolest sounds I can get with my setup rather than trying to copy other people. However, even though I’m not comparing myself to anyone besides my previous self, the two biggest things that I noticed that made my guitar tone better was working on my pick attack/muting correctly and getting an audio interface with better preamps.

[@360almostskater]

Last point of his video should’ve gotten everyone off their keyboards and onto their fretboards cause it’s the truest statement….

[@RealNomadicus]

someone get Glenn Fricker or Jim Lil to straighten this guy out

[@studysoundaudio]

Your whole video is basically why we started sampling guitar libraries with specific gear and players. Great breakdown of everything! 🤙🏽

[@SonicDriveStudio]

Good video man!

[@KeyanHoushmandLive]

Thanks bro, love the channel!

[@shawnhits704]

i think the biggest issue is people just not knowing how to mix, EQ, double track, triple track, using left and right panning, etc

[@helio1055]

You can hear a minor difference in acoustics in clean tone woods, but they barely make a 5% difference when using distortion. I have a plywood Kramer Striker that sounds just as good and the same as my Alder Pacer with the same pickup

[@matthewroutt2825]

You didn’t even talk about speakers, the most important part.

[@Yunglemmy]

It ain't the tonewood. It's the professional recording and mixing techniques and "secrets"

[@shaunreiner7671]

These are all fantastic points! I’ve also been told that when we hear music through KZbin, it’s compressed and therefore changes the tone as well.

[@deadlydarklord666]

For everybody's who lost and not understand the point of the video is, if you have different hardware pick up/ guitar/material body/the way you play the instrument,using an old string etc, could affect the tone pretty much ,"For the Base guitar tone, not the in mixing context" for example if you an EMG user try to copy his bareknuckle pick up settings it should be major different, I suggest you guys copy the artist setting but, tweak it again or change cabinet, rather than see by your eyes to make tone, try to use the ears too

[@stevehernandez3013]

When I want unbiased opinions this is where I come

[@johntravoltage959]

I think the most important point that isn't mentioned enough, if at all by anyone else is the setup (mainly, the distance between pickups and strings) and the pickup position. Its insane how different a pickup can sound even by slightly adjusting the saddles, and in my experience with passive pickups, its a huge part of what makes the various guitars I own sound different, just from how the pickups are set up initially. Going through and normalising string height on all my guitars have an almost identical profile, even from random ibanez stock pickups to bareknuckle aftermaths, to the entry level bareknuckles. At the same time, they don't sound the same, and its obvious if you look at the EQ, but its enough to mean that you can plug them into a preset and it sounds like you'd expect the preset to sound (which imo, is a bit boring...)

[@Moonless_Future]

Usually when I hear people disagree about tone, they're talking past each other to an extent because they have different definitions of what "tone" means, ranging anywhere from "a spectral analysis of this rig to see which frequencies it most emphasizes" to "anything and everything that makes your playing sound like you" and lots of points in between. It doesn't help how rarely I hear the interlocutors define those terms.

[@mltproductionstudio]

100% agree with you, it’s never JUST ONE thing, it’s the sum of all its parts

[@bellowick]

"My opinion is the right one and I wont let facts get in the way of that" Show us the paul reed smith shrine you have in your closet.

[@Nachtmahr616]

We miss the tone veneers and tops for the perfect tone, at least according to Schecter product descriptions

[@XChristianNoirX]

I think part of the debate has to do what is defined by "tone". There isn't a world of difference in sound from player to player in basic power chords that can't be accounted for. With more complex stuff, it me comes more... Complicated. Some claim that what you are referring to as tone is more in the realm of technique. I mean... It's almost like suggesting that nothing isn't gonna even sound close no matter what you do, so even having the same equipment, hardware, strings, and setup doesn't mean anything... But when have all those elements exact, or within 1%, then one can focus on technique to get the same sound, or at least extremely close to it. However, you do go over the overall gear as being factors, so I'm not hsiing you entirely. 😂 Now.. I haven't tried to copy your tones, because it's not exactly my thing, but I still watch your channel from time to time because there is some overlap. Anyhow, I can't comment on your tones specifically but. There are other youtubers who do seem to process their sound more, in post... Or at least don't show all their secrets in real-time, and I think that's more where people are mystified... Not only their recording technique but setup, strings, and other stuff I suppose... And there is a huge chasm between these people and their end goal, which is to make their recordings sound better. I'm not singling him out directly, but Fluff's "tone", or "sound", used to suck IMHO. One day, it improved by leaps and bounds, and I think that's crucial to the gap people are experiencing and wondering about. I don't think he technique in the instrument improved... It's just that it went "blammo" all of a sudden. Like almost overnight, Fluff's results completely changed from reasonably educated amateur to sounding much more pro. Maybe some of these secrets can be found throughout his videos kinda... But not explained in a comprehensive, clear manner.... Not that I've seen anyway.. And I dint have time to watch every video anymore to know I suppose.

[@conorbeech5914]

I found out after 15 years of chasing high gain tones just how important pick ups are, I got a nice guitar and it had stock Chinese made passive EMGs, which were OK but looking into my options for upgrading took me on a learning journey, deciding between active or hot passives, ended up going passive with a Bareknuckle Aftermath bridge and a Seymour Duncan Sentinel neck, they made all the difference and I understand how important pickups are now.

[@MatDeCesare]

Just tell them about the mix pedal. It’s gonna come out eventually.

[@LTLdarylriffs]

100% agree. The guitars on my bands recordings sound noticeably different on each side and it’s the same EVERYTHING apart from the player.