and nowadays you have to fake it cuz peeple are on the Flat Earth crap and u cant leave the Flat Earth although Columbus almost sailed of the edge of the globe, Um, I mean theres no globe
Loool! Stupid statement!!! There is a telescope satelite orbiting the moon. You can go online with your cell phone (!!!) and see the pictures of the rover tracks, and other stuff we left there, so the "faked moon landing" myth shit is dead...duh doi oi!!! Loool
Ill tell you as an engineer, haven't had this with pedals, but sometimes I'll be tweaking a compressor or eq for 5 minutes, really thinking I'm hearing a difference, only to realize it's in bypass. That's when I know it's time to take a break.
I have done it, too! Work for hours, thinking I’m hearing a tone/sound effects pedal change…..only to notice that the change seems really slow and small…..ah- ha!! The pedal was off!!! All inside my head •••••••beautiful noise from the “Sweet Spot” between my ears!!!!!!! 🤔👍😎
Yup, and the same in the studio, tweaking away on some eq or compressor vst, thinking you can hear the difference, only to realise you're on the guitar DI track that's muted.
I'm an electronics engineer with 50+ years industry experience. 66 years old now. I agree with everything this guy says. He knows what he is talking about, which is unusually refreshing from such a young guy.
Capacitance of a guitar cable is 30 picofarads/ft. Capacitance in the tone control knob is roughly microfarads. Doesn't seem like true bypass should affect tone at all. What am I missing?
@@arkie87 Guitar tone caps are actually in nF, 22-47nF are common. Source impedance of a guitar is ~6-8k ohm for a single coil, double that for a humbucker. Even with short cable runs (10 ft to pedal board, 5 ft through pedal board, 10 ft from board to amp, or 25 ft total) you are getting 750pF (0.75nF) of capacitance. Cutoff frequency for a humbucker through a 25ft cable (with volume maxed) is 1/(2*pi*750pf*16k) = 13kHz, already in the "air" of the audio spectrum. Start rolling that volume off (adding more resistance) and you are effectively rolling high frequency off at the same time. Double the cable length to 50ft. and you are starting at 6.5kHz, already affecting presence and high overtones. Putting a buffer in the middle of that cable run basically breaks the capacitance in half - only the capacitance of the cable to the buffer affects tone. Also note if you have an effect that is always on, like an overdrive, or EQ, or compressor, you get the same effect as a buffered bypass.essentially
It is worth noting that engineers tend to design analog circuits to be immune to variations in the characteristics of the individual active components (tubes, transistors, op-amps). So the designer is actually working against you when you hope that swapping active components will make a difference. Thanks Josh for being a voice of reason and a force for good in the world!
You should make a pedal with true bypass, germanium transistors and a JRC4558 chip, all parts through-hole mounted and call it "The Uncopyable Boutique Pedal" - and fill it all up with goop!!!
Or… don't do it, say you did, cover it with goop and do a listening test episode. What do I know… I'm just the bass player. Loved the episode. Great stuff.
Or just make it buffered with silicon transistors, all surface mount, fill it with goop and call it the "Uncopyable Boutique Pedal" and we'll never know the difference ...
Everyone is talking about the pedals but i Just loved how he gave a second pedal because the guy was depressed, YOU'RE A BEAUTIFUL PERSON MAN! Thanks for bringing Joy to people!
Well, it's complete but it isn't necessarily correct - I'll cop to using an extra "." in the ellipsis. A four-dot ellipsis is a journalistic notation which means that some part of a quotation has been removed from the cite - clearly not the case here. Top marks for the BA level knowledge. That said, an unfinished sentence is not, grammatically speaking, an incomplete one. Especially if it's being used as a rhetorical device. Extra grammar fun fact: The guy who proofread Hitler's speeches was the original Grammar Nazi.
The whole Klon clone thing intrigued me. I ended up buying an “exact same electronics “ as the Klon. It was a gift for my son. All the “pros” think it sounds better, nothing like it, darker, cheaper, to much high end, warmer, not warm enough etc. What you said makes complete sense. When I started professionally in 1971 you didn’t have many choices for pedals. As life continued on, I definitely did not feel any remorse for trading or selling those pedals. Thank for putting everything in perspective. I am now a fan and subscriber. Be well…..
I work in a music shop. We carry your pedals. I really appreciate that you yourself are the face of your channel. You tell things as they are. You promote other brands. I really appreciate what you do, Josh. Thank you.
I’m an electrical engineer at an aerospace company and every circuit is built with surface mount resistors. If rockets can depend on surface mount resistors then so can your pedals.
It's not uncommon that people ignorant to the topic makes an opinion around a myth which then somehow becomes a "fact". Just look at audiophiles and cables - exactly the same thing. Pumping thousands of dollars into "special" cables which more ofthen than not, not really differs to cheaper ones. It does not matter what the box contains, as long as you get the desired outcome. People need to stop propagating idiocrazy and just enjoy their pedals! :)
Those boards in the rocket ships, are also Class III electronics, conformal coated, and require perfection! I'm hoping most pedals are Class II, BUT, since they are consumer electronics, they are most likely Class I. I haven't seen any ads on ANY pedals advertising build class. Wish I did!
I've been saying that to guitar snobs for years. Actually, when it comes to guitars, I add a little more: If it looks good, feels good, plays good, and sounds good, then it IS good.
If it doesn't give me heartache to hear what the guitar does to my notes, then I can surely live with it. My skilz are thin enough I don't need any additional punishment. Actually, it sounds a lot like rock these days. (Still looking like rubbish). woot.🎸
Absolutely. If you can't put it down and you play it well, then it's the best guitar in world regardless of where it was made, who else plays one, or what you could sell it for.
@@OddTimeMan same here and to add a thing to it , if it looks good , feels good , plays good , and sounds good , it IS good , and if it costs a fragment of the magical brand it is even better haha
Once bought a gallon of the absolute cheapest plastic-bottle gas station vodka available, and fraudulently poured it into Grey Goose bottles for a party. Everyone raved at how great Grey Goose is.
@@devolve42 Was the plastic bottle vodka made by Karkov, by chance? I call Karkov the "Fantastic Plastic*" vodka. *only applies when used in mixed drinks and not when consumed straight.
I saw something like that years ago on a cheap beach restaurant.. the food was sooo god an the wine (poured on glasses) was perfect for the mixture... some guys at my spend a good time trying to guess the brand, year and strain of that nice white wine... turns out it was box wine. I was almost obsessed with true bypass... until my wha was modified
@@ManuelMartinez09 Don't you mean the opposite? Vintage Wah's are noted for being tone sucks because they didn't bypass or buffer. You always passed through the circuit... just the tone (wah) part was disabled.
@@jimistheman9732 I'll explain myself: I knew about tone sucking of vintage pedals but I loved the tone of that VOX pedal, I was obsessed with true bypass (all my other pedals were TBP) so I modified it and two things happened: 1.- I recovered My beloved tone, 2,. Every time the wha was activated my signal was unaudible (full band playing) and the tonal difference between on/off was so notorius that I realized TBP is not the best for every pedal (maybe a buffered TBP was needed in this case)
I had a RAT modified years ago because "if it doesnt have the LM308 chip its trash". The pedal sounded the same, but it didnt feel the same... if that makes sense. I sold it to some cork sniffer and bought another one.
Yep. Every video I watch on this channel is great, and greatly appreciated. He does not have an agenda to push his own brand, but to help us consumers. Much appreciated!!
Well going to the moon......that was through hole technology and a state of the art crude computer system that was probably a lot less than a commodore 64.....let alone a commodore 128.....and hmmm how much RAM. But then again perhaps we should ask the Israeli's about crashing into the moon and the "communications failure"....since that's technically only a few day out of the box. I actually favor the Israeli's as they build some impressive devices & firearms considering the conditions......I haven't been there since the 1970's People erroneously cite these technologies not realizing that they have a short service life or that the package has a big service contract on the back end. If you talk about medical hospital equipment..... The tax man calls it depreciation You can buy a model T and it will run or a 57 chevy…….there is no computer or electronics involved, but buy a post 1980's vehicle that's early computer or well into the electronics age....and good luck if the vehicle will run reliably...….and I trust you aren't planning to go to the moon or need life support systems
@@mikecamps7226 One should try to keep a machine as simple as possible, for the task at hand. Overcomplicating a design to achieve the same result is wasteful and, indeed, potentially dangerous. After all, the more parts in a system, the higher the chances something will break when you need it the most.
Digital technology is not only inherently obsolete by the time it is first used it is also highly degradable. Analog technology is impossible to degrade. A shovel made today is the same one as a shovel made a thousand years ago. A shovel can't be made obsolete.
I've been around guitars my whole life and I'm just starting starting to seriously learn to play at 50. Your videos are great as I need equipment that is super versatile and inexpensive. You show me great affordable equipment and give real explanations.
@@bradmodd7856 With some boss pedals I definitely notice some tone suck, but I have not noticed it with the Waza craft line. I usually place a buffer in the beginning, middle and end of the chain with the TU-3w at the end. I think the problem might be more with the quality of said buffer than it being buffered bypass or not. Some boss pedals(the non waza SD-1) have an awful buffer while some of the others have an incredible one(any waza pedal and even the non waza TU-3).
@@bradmodd7856 Exactly. Tone suck does occur when you have a bunch of unplugged buffered pedals on front of your amp. The snake oil is in thinking buffered pedals don't sound good...they did, and of course still do.
Biggest myth I believed was that I needed to play heavy guage strings it order to have good tone. All those years I put 11’s on my strat. I’m so glad I switched to 9’s/10’s depending on the guitar scale length
Partially agree. You don't need the heavier Guage to have good tone. But there is a difference in tone. I actually like my Strat with 10s as opposed to 11s. Has a more bell like quality. But my Jazzmaster and Gretsch both have 11s (mostly because they behave better that way). My D18 sounds MUCH better with 13s than with 12s.
Same here! Use to think 11's were "better" because they offered more "tone". They certainly do have a different tone but by no means better. That's what amps are for. I like 10's now, easier on the fingers and more flexible. I feel like I can smash the strings more and they give out a little. I encourage people to even try 9's. They're bendy and slinky and have a really cool tone all on their own. Sure, sometimes a certain gauge string will/won't play nice on certain guitars but hey, that's the guitars preference not a tone requirement.
Billy Gibbons had a similar mindset till he met BB King and found out how thin his strings were and he still had this massive tone. If you can find the interview it's really interesting and great to hear about the early days of ZZ Top.
@@auberginedreams00 that’s not because heavier strings give you a heavier tone though. It’s because if you downtune on a standard scale guitar (24.75” to 25.5”) you have less string tension which can make your riffs sound “muddy” or “flubby” or “less tight” (pick your preferred adjective). Heavier gauge strings require more tension to reach the same pitch. You get a similar effect with an extended scale (or baritone) guitar without the need for as heavy a gauge of string.
Also........I have a $299.00 Bugera V22 amp I use in church and smaller gigs. It looks strikingly similar to a Bad Cat combo amp. I sent off $20 to Bad Cat and purchased one of their logos. I removed the Bugera logo from the amp and replaced it with the Bad Cat logo. I played a small club with it just last Saturday night and you would not believe the compliments I got on my Bugera/Bad Cat amp. One guy even offered me $800 cash on the spot. I just didn't have the heart to tell him. Of course I would never sell someone a fake amp. You are so right on about peoples perception of certain products especially in the boutique pedal market.
You know how the trend among some amp builders is to have a cool retro vibe logo? I have a bassist friend in a band that has an old bass amp, can't remember the brand (maybe Ampeg?), but a famous maker. Simply for fun he took off the logo and put on an old appliance badge off an old fridge, because it had a cool retro look he liked. He had some visiting musician buddies hounding him about his "boutique" amp.. he got them going real good and then finally spilled the beans.. "That came off an old freezer junked in my neighbors backyard! Looks great though!" lol..
V22 are honestly super underrated. I was given one 9 years ago, and it pissed me off because it sounded so good (clean channel only, the other one shouldn't exist). I replaced the speaker and rolled in some better tubes, and it's amazing. I own tons of great amps: old Fenders, new Fenders, Orange, old Marshalls, Matchless etc. I honestly take the v22 to shadier bar gigs instead of something more valuable, and I honestly think it's on par or better than anything else I've got. Laugh all you want, internet. That's a no joke great amp.
@@davidschwartz3427 The Bugera V22 is a decent sounding little amp. Can't beat it for the price. I used it instead of my Marshall JCM2000 because there was about 100yds of gravel to get to the stage. The EL84's sound better the hotter they get. Still a Marshall guy though!!!
I love the statement that the sound of a pedal is colored by event, the memories of the experience as well as the actual sound of the pedal. Great point.
I would argue that true bypass (or even passive bypass) does have one advantage which cannot be denied... when I was a young and couldn't afford a power supply for all my pedals, and couldn't really afford to change all batteries for every gig; true/passive bypass meant that my guitar signal still got to the amp halfway through the song. If a battery dies, just stomp the box off... all is fine. Unless the switch broke of course... Would be very interested to hear more about op amps in hard clipping pedals vs tube screamers etc.
I've definitely bought into the "boutique" and "true bypass" myths in the past. Gotta say that the JHS (and Wampler) channel has definitely changed my thinking on pedals in general. Thanks for making this. Also, congrats to the winners. Super cool of JHS to send that second pedal to Justin
As a drummer and engineer who is constantly fascinated by what goes into making things, I found this video to be honestly and refreshingly captivating!
Love your videos. I'm an old war horse of musician. Growing up in the biz I got sucked into a myriad of b.s. regarding pedals and amps. You are saving newbies a ton of grief by giving them good information and saving them money in the process..
More like boomer ideology! You should see the old men in some of these forums, man. They sound like they know alot but its literally just spouting other stuff they read on forums.
@@7hotfuzz7 Couldn't have said it better myself. I am a member of several "audiophile" groups on Facebook, you have NO idea what's being blurted over there, and how boomers make love to snakeoil all the time...
It reminds me of hifi buffs. I've worked with producers and engineers who wire their studios with good quality electrical copper wire. That's it. Then you see some guy who's spent £150 on a phono cable for his hifi to get the the "true sound". It's bullshit.
I like Boss pedals, even some of their overdrives and distortions. They sound good, almost never have a problem with them, and it's always easy to track one down if something does go wrong. Oh, and they come in cool colors.
You're trying to reason with some people who still think the world is flat.......:) In my 40 years of playing I've lived by the words of the great Joe Meek - "if it sounds right it is". Amen.
totally agree. everyone's so worried about every one else's tone. if you like it? it's right. bottom line. I'd choose an Carbon Copy over a Timeline every day.
one thing i love about josh is ive seen him advertise boss pedals more then his own he never pushes his pedals but the more i look into them the more i see they are fn good pedals n he knows they will sell themselves once musicians use them , thats a talented creator of anything! i have alot of respect for josh hes just a really awesome guy n gives me alot of knowledge in a very un-bias way!
Just watched it for the second time. Love that episode! Here's my thought: I think many people will get obsessed over details to unconsciously not do the actual work: practicing, playing, composing, etc. (I know I do.)
Yup, many great players are completely technically clueless, whilst many not so great players may tell you how to build a perfect rig. Few are as talented at both.
One Saturday morning, back when I was still a wee lad in short pants, I was spending the weekend with my grandparents. I was planted in front of their massive console television, watching Hong Kong Fuey, a bowl of Trix on a TV tray in front of me... Suddenly, a commercial for Children's Palace popped up on the screen. The Palace was a precursor to Toys R Us (R.I.P., sweet giraffe) and learning that there existed a chain of stores that had inventories that consisted 100% exclusively of TOYS?!?!?!? Well, I lost my mind. In an instant I had leapt to my feet, launching my cereal and toppling over the tray, soaking the carpet and my Planet of the Apes pajamas with pink, sugary milk. Accompanying this mayhem a guttural, feral sound emitted from eight year-old me... Anyway, I'm 52 now and, just now? At the 3:04 minute mark, when I got my first look at that wall of pedals? Same experience. Also, amazing video, sir.
Yes, but to clarify, they were BENEATH The Planet of the Apes pajamas, not pajamas solely related to the original 1968 masterpiece. My apologies if I have (even unintentionally) misrepresented the situation at hand.
Really enjoyed your comment. I'm 57, for a few more months anyway. Made me feel nostalgic. I trip out sometimes when I realize I've been a guitar geek for about 47 years now. Happy to say I still get excited about new gear (toys), new licks, etc. Still waiting to be a rock star though! 😉 Thanks Stan ( that was my brothers name, bless his soul).
I am a (more recent) pedal junkie/collector. For overdrives, I have several, and a DOD 250 preamp/OD I bought couple years ago is one of my fav ODs. That said, I also have a JHS 3-Series OD pedal and I love that sound too. I also have the JHS Foot Fuzz and love that too. Every pedal brings something different to my sound and interacts differently to my various guitars. Josh' pedals are awesome and love his honesty in his RU-vid videos. (disclaimer: I do not know Josh, dont work for JHS, and wasn't paid for this seemingly promo). Keep up the great videos Josh!
The DOD preamp 250 is my favorite od as well. i had an old one stored since the 80s and nver used it until a few years back. Now its my go to distortion. Simple circuit, great sound.
As a repairer of guitar related electronics, from reliability and ease of fault finding and serviceability perspectives I prefer through hole components and products that use them. Everything else I'm in full agreement with you. The only time I think a true bypass is needed is if driving a pedal such as a fuzz face, is if you are trying to replicate particular recordings or sounds such as those of Hendrix. There is a particular interaction between the guitar (passive) electronics, namely the volume pot and the input of the fuzzface. A directly connected guitar to this pedal will allow the amount of distortion/fuzz to drop or reduce drastically with only a slight "nudge" of the guitar volume in the downward direction alowing you to go from filthy overdrive to a relatively clean sound for cleaner playing. If there is a buffer between these two, this interaction will not exist and the change from full drive to clean is spread across major part of the volume pot rotation. Whether this is a good or bad thing really depends on what you are after and your musical tastes. Thanks for the great video.
@@gringopig : Yes and no, depends on the complexity and density of the board being worked on. If removing components for any reason and this is more related to SM technology I would need to have a new replacement as I would not trust reusing the old one even if the old component was considered OK. I prefer to do a number of tests on the circuit especially when dealing with analogue signals. With or without access to a schematic (with being preferable) you can do a whole lot of tests such as dc voltage measurements signal tracing to find out where the signal is getting to or not. Very rarely do I need to pop off a component to find out what is wrong, SM or through hole.
I was a “TB” jerk. Grew distain when I saw a rig with a boss pedal. Then I just dropped it after being given a Keeley BD2 fuzz mod pedal(rare), and that year I started building pedals. I realized every thing has a purpose or can work towards your advantage. Now I just buy, try and if it works great and makes me excited to play I keep it I sell to find something new. Oh and the pedal that changed my mind on smd was MXR badass 78’, still one of my favorites and I buy constantly and give away cause it’s super versatile as a stand-alone distortion or boost pedal
My takeaway is why don't I have a JHS pedal on my board? Really enjoyed this episode and another myth maybe that you could cover is this whole theology about compressor pedals. So trying to decide if I really need one. Thanks!
I bought a Fat Rat because the op amp was socketed so I could replace it with the "magic" LM308. Was it magic? No. Did it sound different? A tiny bit, yes. Was it worth the $199 I spent on the Fat Rat? No. I could have had a $70 regular Rat pedal and nobody would have known the difference but me.
I had a VFE Alpha Dog, built from the same type of Rat circuit, changed op amps, etc. it did make quite a difference with one of the suggested chips, but it was an undesirable difference that made the pedal sound awful. The other op amps, well, the result was so minuscule that I kept the original and just enjoyed that as is.
Yes ...LOL the killer is that the old chip had more bottom end but in a band the drums and bass smother out any low end from the old Rat. All you need is the new one ...and it's cheap.
You build really good products. I also respect you have never trash talked anyone or acted negative towards others in the industry. There is enough business for everybody. Guitar players will never run out of excuses not to buy more pedals and gear. =]
i´ve fallen for the myth of true bypass and buffered bypass. A great episode would be on how to create a balance between the two in your pedal board. great episode by the way
you can run all true bypass and then just build a buffer for $25 (Im canadian might be cheaper USA) as your very last pedal. buffer is better the further in your chain it is, if you run 30 ft of cable from your guitar to your board to your amp, its better to have like 10 ft to your amp from your board, and 20 ft to your board than the opposite
i am the Myth Buster as well, but on Polish side of the RU-vid, trying to convince the guitarists its all in the heads and hands first thing... the rule is simple, if something sound good its good... the biggest importance is the pedal is made sturdy, it willlast stepping on it, doesnt make any stupid unwanted noises and doesnt change the tone when off... all what u said is the myths which are repeated on forums by ppl who wants to write something, but most of them doesnt even had the pedal i in their hands, not talking bout playing. BTW the collection behind U is amazing i love it so much. keep on rockin !
I really liked your Boss video. I have actually watched it a few times. I bought a TON of Boss pedals early on and then stopped playing them (except for the tuner) solely because I fell into the trap that more expensive pedals are better. I actually think I was bullied. I think it would be interesting to see you compare boss (or boss type) pedals with their "boutique counterparts." Also - I vividly recall combing the internet for yellow Ledbetter tabs when I was younger. Learning the solo was my only goal in life.
Whoa ! I learned so much from this episode ,thank you ! My favorite instrumental album (some lyrical content) is Al DiMeola "Elegant Gypsy". Thanks for making me realize that my Klon Klone Centaur @$60.used is good enough. :-)
I compared my Electro Harmonix Soul Food (JHS - Meat & 3 Mod), to a friend original Golden Klon Centaur, we did a Blind test. Result: he was unable to identify his Klon against my Soul Food. Great pedal, Great Mods by JHS, and GREAT value: I paid only $135. Check it: www.jhspedals.com/products/mod-shop/soul-food-meat-3-mod/
I have that meat-and-3 Soul Food pedal. It could use a little more bass for my taste, and a little less noise. But it is a very good value for money. It got kicked off my board by a Keeley Oxblood which has more tonal flexibility and sounds better to me at high gain. I'd probably buy a Tumnus Deluxe today, if I were looking for a new klon-ish pedal.
This is what I've been trying to tell my brother. He likes true bypass only but doesn't understand impedance & maintaining the tone. I really like that you spoke the truth here. Way too many people hear with their eyes & are snobs & most don't know how to read a schematic nor do they understand how electronic components work. They don't understand that these companies use what was cheap & they miss the fact that you mentioned the circuit is designed around certain components just like the FF & Big Muff. Another thing is the original FF had 20% tolerances & that's why you hear the stories on this was a good one it had the magical parts. These days we have 1% tolerances & we can create equally or better sounding gear but sadly we will always have people ignorant to the fact the components in old gear dry out & at some point you will need to change those parts out.
I haven’t gotten to play any JHS pedals yet, but I do feel confident and qualified to say that JHS media content is more compelling and comforting than any other pedal company. Thank you, exemplary work.
I always knew his pedals were good, but I hadn't seen much content like this from him until recently. Impressive. Agreeing with everything he is saying, and not just about myths. But this is basically a PSA for guitarists. Yep, I definitely need a Bonsai now. Need to rebuild my rig, need some kind of Tube Screamer in it, really the corner stone of my pedal board and top priority if needing to start over... I _just_ snagged a deal on the NuTube Screamer. The one with the weird Korg developed quasi-tube. I really liked what I heard in sound clips, perhaps the psychacoustics mentioned in this video, but it does sound more tube-y to me. Curious to play with one. But logic is... next pedal is the Bonsai. Then, with just 2 pedals, I have every flavor of Tube Screamer I can possibly want, even including the oddball NuTube. Those 2 and that's it, I'm forever covered for Tube Screamers. Why get 'a' traditional 'screamer to supplement the weird one when I can get 9 of them right? But I digress, based on this videos I've been watching I think I need to see where else I can throw JHS in. I think this guy's outlook and philosophy. My myths? True Bypass Always Better. Yep. I bought it. Once buffering's use was explained and heard, I ended up making sure I had some buffered pedals now and again in the chain. Funnily enough, now I see a total reversal on that, and boutique looking 'buffer' pedals that exist to add a buffer to those 'all true bypass' pedal boards...
I've definitely been guilty believing into the boutique myth. At this point, I've dismissed a lot of "boutique" drives that just didn't work for me as well as some "cheap clones" did, but it took me a while to really be able to try to listen honestly while ignoring the price and reputation differences.
Pedal Customer: “Has this pedal got the goop that Fender sourced from Louisiana from 1973-1979 for their limited ‘Green wire’ treble booster? I read on a forum that it’s much better than the California based goop they used in later models” Shop assistant: (walks towards nearest wall... repeatedly bangs forehead on said wall)
Hell yeah Josh! Oliver from Toronto, Canada here and I love your show. 2 times I've been held up recently, and then got wise: 1) Was thinking about getting a Proco Rat and was caught up between trying to get a vintage 80s Rat and a modern Rat II, and I had seen a bunch of reviews, but honestly, I think I saw here and on Schnobel a A/B comparison and couldn't tell the difference. I plugged into a Rat II in my local shop and it sounded so good! Spongy, full of saturation, and the Hard-clipping circuits to many peoples surprises clean up really well! Bought it then and there and haven't looked back, still one of my favourites on the board! 2) The other was tubescreamer 808 vs Joyo Vintage Overdrive. Both, and I repeat, BOTH have the RC4558 chip in it, and I was thinking ok, a metal enclosure overdrive with the same chip, come on marketing companies and forums, its a simple circuit it shouldn't cost as much as the 808s go for now! Same thing when researching too - couldn't tell with headphones in blindfold comparisons. Bought it and haven't looked back - sounds so money! I've even had some of my friends try out the Rat II and the Joyo Vintage overdrive, and with both of them costing at least 4 times less than their vintage counterparts, its time to make music and have money for drinks after! Cheers Josh! Cool is not cool, Good Is Cool - Josh Scott.
The thing about some exotic wood being a major factor on the sound of an electric guitar is, in my opinion, one of the biggest controversies of our days... It's stupidly expensive but I don't think it's actually a major factor for the sound.
As an Electronics Engineer and musician, I am so glad to hear a popular pedal builder speak about the truth on these circuits. Electrically, the silicon and Germanium have different barrier potentials and must be biased differently which cause them to react (sound) different. I also get tired of hearing about how hand wired is better than PCB. If you take the exact same circuit and components and hand wire one and solder the other to a PCB, you would hear no difference. The main difference in manufacturing between the two is that most companies use WAY cheaper parts in their production line products and better parts in the hand wired stuff. Most PCB issues are more component quality and quality control itself. Also, different op-amps are just variations of the original designs that may have different specs that are enhanced for different arrangements. I love what he said about its how the circuit is designed around the part, not the part. 100% correct!
it's bullshit mate. It's way easier to damage the PCB by trying to remove a THT part than when removing an SMD component. I knowe that surface mount parts are smaller, but replacing them is hundred times faster and safer than struggling with clinched legs of some cap or IC.
When you're talking about instrumental albums you have to include Phil Keaggy, he's got a bunch of them, I'm thinking of 220 and Acoustic Sketches. He does some crazy stuff! lol
For records: I have so many, cause I LOVE so much jazz. Chick Corea's "Solo Piano Portraits" dropped my jaw the first time I heard it. Julian Lage's "World's Fair" and "Arclight" come to mind, but his video album "Live in Los Angeles" is a must listen.... There's also The True Loves, "Famous Last Words." "The Velvet Touch of Lenny Breau" was another seminal guitar record for me.... So many!
I would just like to say how much I owe you and your channel! Coming here and combing through quite a few of your vids I found that changing my pickups in my LP Custom Elegant to Seymore Duncan "Pearly Gates" and running that through Slash signature Tubescreamer makes for a killer combo. This just might be a first step towards a signature sound of mine. Thank you so much and keep them coming please, you are doing us all a great service!
Some years back, I bucked up and purchased a Maxon Analog Delay. It was sold at a dealer that specialized in high-end gear (Tom Anderson, Gibson and Fender Custom Shop guitars, etc.), so, me NOT doing my homework, I'm thinking: "Sweet!!! I'm having a helluva grabbing a BOSS DM-2 or DM-3, but I can have a brand new BOUTIQUE analog delay for a reasonable price, not a beat-up second hand piece....!" So later, upon sharing this news with a friend, he actually questioned my application of the term "boutique". Needless to say, I found out that Maxon was a large Japanese firm that specialized in electronics and yes, even built products for the likes of Ibanez (quite the opposite of anything labeled as "boutique"). It didn't matter. I was neither angry nor crestfallen. I had a quality piece of gear, and I realized the truth....a label is just a label.
@@bwdavis90 because they are made with such tiny, robotically assembled components, that they are largely impossible to repair. Made in China to boot. JHS are a fraud.
I’m a little late to the conversation but I wanted to thank you for sharing your knowledge with us, halfway through I realized that I should mos def be taking notes and I learned so much! I vote for a show where you explain step by step how to affect an Op Amp to create distortion. I’m starting a company where I build small batch pedal runs and my mind is a sponge. I learned about capacitance and a few other formulas, so thank you so very much! BEST INSTRUMENTAL Album (Besides Jeff Beck’s “Blow by blow”) is called “Life Begins Again” from; the Jimmy Chamberlain Complex. Absolute assault on the senses. I’ve been a drummer for 32 years and when I first heard it, I was demoralized to even look at a pair of drum sticks. MUST LISTEN!
Here's a myth: any pedal with the word "Metal" in it's name should only be used for metal. In fact, they almost always sound pretty great in non-metal music! Alright, maybe not the most popular myth, but I stand by it... yep.
Never really appreciated this channel before now, and it's definitely going to be my go to for pedals from now on. Just noticed the dislikes though and I'm like, how could you possibly dislike these videos? The guy is super knowledgeable, humble and the production is top knotch. I guess there are people that really can't be pleased without pissing on everything!
When I was starting playing guitar, I bought an Ibanez TS808 that, after I learned a bit more how to play guitar did not blow me away as it was thin and did not properly overdrive like many others. It lacked the TS9's kick that I was looking for, but I never got rid of it I compared it to the Bonsai 808 and it still was not the same, and I assume it was due to the quality control margin and it passed. The kicker? It is the perfect "clean" booster TS sound and it makes any single coil sound sweeter than honey. There are differences between pedal components, and sometimes some pedals just fall in the edge of a spectrum to barely pass quality control
omg a pedal channel with videos full of information instead of people basically just reading the pedal description and then playing the same grating blues licks... THANK YOU!
If anything I hate the myths and forums for these reasons. There are too many folks who are basing decisions off of what they saw on some board someplace, and the echo chamber of a forum. When I started playing guitar, we spent all our time talking about records, bands and guitar players, not gear. We were thrilled to have an amp with distortion, or a single boss pedal. We were trying to steal likes from each other, and teach each other guitar solos we had learned of off CDs. I think this 'tone quest' stuff is GREAT, but do people even practice anymore? I spent so much time learn to PLAY Mark Knopfler riffs, I didn't spend much time searching for a pedal or pick ups to get that sound.
Nels Cline has a great point that if all you are doing is playing 5ths ( power chords) it matters much what yer fuzz pedal is. If you are really playing a bit more deeply it matters less. All the sounds people want to emulate form the pre 1990's were done with a pretty small palette of pedals. As far as cost Electro Harmonix were really cheap ( a little MUff was 20 bucks I think) but th were not made very sturdy. When MXR came and made well made pedals it chnged much. I use the same MXR Dist +, RAT and Big MUff ( green Sovtek, my 1970's little muff fell apart) I have always used, tho if I was to buy anything else it would be Eathquakers
Totally agree. I miss the good old days. I've spent WAY too much time worry about AlNiCo (and even spelling it like that), bone nuts, cables, strings, and loads of other stuff. Recently I've got back to rehearsing, building my repertoire and just enjoying playing. You know, what it's all about. Fifty years ago people bought stuff and played it. That's it!
I kind of agree, tone hunting and geeking out is very good but what's the point if you can barely play your instrument? For example SRV was one of the first guitarists I studied, and I learned how to get his spank and attitude (or my approximation) WAAY before I bought a tubescreamer and a marshall. Don't even get me started on core musical fundamentals... Jesus it's like people will do anything to avoid facing their own flaws.
When I was a teenager I thought if only I had any Boss pedal and a Tube Screamer I could be the next Stevie Ray Vaughan or Jimi Hendrix. LOL! I thought that any Boss pedal was the absolute gold standard. Now I guess I'd say I prefer the "boutique" stuff not because I'm some elitist but my thing is that I think it's cool that they are pedals basically made by fanboys and just seem to me like they have this intense focus on replicating a specific sound. I will say though that I saw Tim Pierce say that if you want to get a really good tone just get the most basic Boss distortion pedal and it will work. There there is the other extreme where Joe Bonamassa said pedals are for "lazy people". Pedals are nothing else if not just simple fun to use.
I know next to nothing about the innards of a pedal. So I'm susceptible to the boutique vs common myth. Thanks for your show man. I love how you mix useful information with wit and humor. A sign of a really smart dude.
The first part of my career I was hung up on gear. Then I met an old guy that had and old rig that he plugged straight into. He had the best tone. I offered to trade him straight across. He laughed and said I was the tone. It wasn’t the rig, but the man behind the rig. I’m long retired now, but I’ve spent second half of my career just plugging straight in and going for it. I found that superfluous gear, distracts me from playing. “You are the tone son…”
I simultaneously agree and disagree. Yeah, on one hand, the tone comes from your adjustments on your rig, but you can’t make effects exist that don’t, like phase, delay, looper, or more specific ones like shimmer, reverse delay/echo, and while some amps come with reverb and tremolo, not always. After that, the preference for an overdriven amp makes sense, and maybe using a single overdrive pedal or just a boost pedal for a boost works. It still all comes down to how much you pay attention to your tone instead of a heavy reliance on pedals. I never adjust my amp to my pedals, I make sure I have a good tone on my amp before even messing with my pedals, because it starts there. So classic rock? No pedals? Sure. But if you’re trying to build a unique out of this world sound, experimenting with pedals is actually very essential. You can’t really replicate any Muse or Radiohead songs without them and that’s more up my alley. But to each their own.
Some stuff you need more. Just discovered delay pedals. Just learned to really play the reverb on my 1960's Fender amps instead of just leaving it set to 3.
The gear never makes the player, rare items are definitely fun. Expense is often over stated, cheap stuff often isn't great, but expensive stuff isn't automatically better either. Some people buy gear that's well beyond purposeful to their production and just occupies stuff, to look cool. Haha
didn't know about your pedals before today, started watching you talk about the pedals you loved, watched a few more of your videos, (looking here because I want a decent reverb pedal) I decided that I"m buying your pedal, because you seem honest and fair and like you're concerned with the sound..
I build Industrial Electronic circuit boards for a living. Where thru hole parts are superior, are on switches and connectors. If the board is designed right (proper mounting locations and such), and for further protection, conformal coated, then SMT parts work best 90% of the time. The reason Industrial Electronic boards use Thru hole parts whenever they can though, is sacrificing some performance for durability and longevity. Everything is a compromise!
Tube screamer for sure. I was about to do a gig and the button on my ts808 wasn’t working properly. A bandmate had a ts9 and i had no choice but to use it. Had a great show and couldn’t tell the difference. 🙏🏽
I don't own a fuzz. At all. I've been a full time gigging and studio guitarist for 17+ years and don't have one. Mostly is because when I was researching and looking into it I was hearing all the Germanium vs Silicon stuff and it threw me off the idea. Plus I played a few and haven't really found one I REALLY like. So still to this day, years later, no fuzz. Though, I do have two TS9s on my board, so I guess I'm alllllllllll good. James
I used nothing but a RAT for dirt for 20 years and I’ve always felt the same way. I felt like I could get plenty fuzzy enough and the market for fuzzes is super intimidating. Just built an Abominable Hail Santa fuzz and I’m in luuuuuv. reverb.com/item/32658468-abominable-electronics-x-mas-2019-ornament-build
True Bypass vs Buffered Bypass is a whole different can of worms .. its been a heated debate as long as signal has passed thru an instrument cable. There is plenty, and i mean PLENTY, of discussions (and arguments) on EVERY message board coming and going on the internet, regarding it.
John Shalamskas that is, if you are on the pro buffer side of the line 🤪 Seriously tho, I encourage students to experiment with pedal placement, as everyone’s ideal ‘best tone ever’ falls under a different definition from person to person
That doesn't matter in this buffer vs true bypass discussion. He only talked about this specific topic. Not, about "how to optimize your signal chain". Some people want wah before fuzz, other people love fuzz before wah, totally depends on the user and not what YOU believe is the "Better tone". No such thing as that exists. Cheers
can you do a video on analog vs. digital pedals, what the differences are and if one is better than the other, thanx, love your videos, I've learned so much
