I’d rather watch John than Dave and Cici. They’re too spazzy for me. Their playing and knowledge is great, but the frenetic movements and over the top hamming it up is just too much.
It’s very cool, but tbh if I was doing it on a total budget I’d ditch the amp, pickup a valeton GP100 or maybe a zoom g1 four if I wanted something super portable and a pair of headphones and just get the guitar I wanted with the left over dosh. Amps still have a place but it’s way more nice than it used to be. At a gig you’ll go straight into front of house and at home practice most commonly it’s gonna be headphones, so most people on a budget can get a guitar, multi effects, headphones and worry about the amp later.
Hey also side note, when you guys are talking about Floyd's and how much of a headache they can be, it would be worth mentioning that there are tools you can buy, such as trem blocks that make string changes much much easier. Also helps when setting up the spring tension when changing string guages. Too many people are afraid of floyd rose systems because people make them seem so difficult, when in fact once you understand them they are probably the most stable trem system ever.
I bought an RG with a Floyd two years ago. I did my homework upfront and knew exactly how and why Floyd's work. If anyone has trouble with them, they simply didn't pay attention before buying. I would not buy another guitar without one now.
@@bobwallace9814 I can't say I wouldn't buy one without cause I love my stop tailpiece guitars and my tele, and even my prs even though I do not use the trem on it cause it's one of the old se models with the plastic nut and I haven't switched that out yet. But I do agree with you that folks who think they are too challenging haven't done their homework. Now I can see someone who never uses the trem at all staying away from any and all floating trems because it's a lot to deal with if you aren't using it.
The funny part is that the Kramers are dive only, there’s no cutout for pulling up. They’re blocked from the factory, from my experience a dive only floyd is only slightly harder to restring/tune than a normal guitar with a trem.
@@watersnortmoment3734 yeah there were a good number of guitars that were setup to dive only. I do find it interesting that you have found those models harder to setup.
Couldn’t agree more. Maybe he just feels more confident these vs days playing with the virtuoso playing of chappers..who was awesome … this jam at the end this time was quite something. Lee …whatever you are doing (and if it’s the lessons from Justin) ..Keep it up !!👍
Back 20+ years ago I had a Behringer V-Amp II, a little blue guitar-shaped multi-effect/amp modeler. I used it live for 2 years with my Blues For Tuesdays band. Used it right up until my son and his no-good, drunken friends kicked the knobs off it, stumbling around our practice space, jamming on our gear while we were at work. Last time I was truly happy with my tone. F-ers... Using Behringer gear in my studio now, but with a Digitech RP 355 or my recently acquired Mooer GE-150. That Moore "tube-screamer" Digital John tried to demo was pretty lame but I really like the majority of tones in the 150. I also just bought Mooer's smart guitar. If that had a direct BT link for output, that might become one of my favorites to play.
Depending one when in the 80s it was built, it’s likely an ESP made body and neck but assembled in the USA, the Focus line was fully made by ESP, the only downside being the electronics and pickups.
I love the pained/disappointed look anytime you fellas are playing on shfordable equipment. I'm not criticizing whatsoever, if I played custom shop gems all day then had to strum on a Gio (which are amazing for the cash) I would probably look slightly depressed too.
I was really vibing with the East Coast guitar and then that feckin' Squier just wiped the floor with everything. Either one would be a good purchase, just can't believe the value for money.
John shows us that Marshall + Fender (Squire) is still a classic combination for 80's rock. Otherwise I think that Lee's rig was not bad either. Still, I would much rather pay a little more to get a Squire rather than the East Coast guitar, probably just because I am more familiar with how good modern Squire guitars tend to be. I think the Catalyst had the best basic tones but I would want to get a seperate pedal to take care of modulation with that since it sounds like you can't blend the ones built into the amp. I also believe it is better to have effects seperate from the amps because once you move on and get a new amp, replacing all the effects built in with pedals at the same time is going to be a big financial shock in addition to the amp cost.
I absolutely love my Marshall Code 50-other than one thing: it does not and will not work with looper pedals. It plays nice with any other type of pedal, but it can’t work with looper pedals. You loop a riff and try to play over it and you can only hear the loop if you’re not playing. As soon as you start playing, the loop cuts out. I’ve contacted Marshall about this and they say because it’s digital it can only replicate one sound at a time. Huge bummer, but my only complaint-because otherwise it’s fantastic.
Would like to hear the amps recorded direct through usb rather than through a mic'd cab. Be interesting to hear if the mics are colouring the sound at all
The best Superstrat for the money is a Kramer Baretta, Kramer 84 or Pacer for £550 odd new and all have Floyd Rose 1000s. Trust me, Kramer, Kramer, Kramer!
You can’t achieve genuine 80s tone without spandex trousers.This is why they were so widespread.It was well known that additional tassels for example boosted mids most famously incorporated into the development of the ADA-MP1.Horrific though the number of Bengal tigers killed during the period for the relevant guitar finish.Not since the discovery that whale blubber could provide oil for heat and light had a species ever come under such threat.Zebras too.
They talk about 80s coming back in now but I’m not really hearing it. Am I missing something? I feel like I’m pretty plugged in to trendy music and pop/punk stuff seems to be the big thing right now
There's something to these kramer guitars, they sound different, dunno how to describe it but they sound like they are there, almost like the sound comes from the guitar and not the amp
John, your playing is ridiculously good. And you're really doing well in this role, I always get excited when I see that you're on a video. Lee, you know I love you too 😁
I've always preferred to save my pennies and get decent gear that lasts but at 67 now I guess I don't need things to last all that long. Although I need to offload more pedals than I can count I think I'll stick with the pricier stuff just for that feel good factor. I know Squires have come a long way but there's something special about a really good quality instrument that makes you want to play it.
Not really. At the time, Boston was a unique one-off band. They sounded different than all the other rock bands at the time and held a steady rotation on the airwaves. In fact, Boston was overplayed in most radio markets which eventually pigeon holed them as “radio friendly” which they were. 80’s rock tones were heavily influenced by the Marshall JCM800 with heavy use of the Super Strat and minimal processing. Overuse of chorus is probably one exception. Just my 2 cents but I was there when it all happened. The 80’s were fun times !
The Rockman can do it and did. It was everything from Def Leppard to Megadeth to ZZTop I believe. I get what you’re saying though JCM 800 was king but on a shoestring budget a Rockman approximates the produced JCM800 tones fairly well in my opinion. Most people the first time plugging into an 800 will probably be thinking where’s the gain. The 800 was the foundation but the rack effects and boosts hitting the 800s it was all the ingredients. I think it’s why most newer players prefer digital because it sounds closer to a produced sound out of the box than an amp.
A rockman x100 isn't exactly budget any more thanks to Leppard and not exactly easy to find and pretty much only does later Boston and hysteria tone in my opinion. Still I want one and an ada mp1 for a bunch of 80s tones
@@JimijaymesProductions I guess I consider anything modded Marshall or boosted Marshall with a little too much top end fizz for today’s standards and slap a chorus in front of it to knock the tips of the ice picks off and that’s an 80s inspired tone the players were all over triads but their tones were vastly different everyone was a virtuoso and no one really sounded a like the other, all of them took something from Rhodes and Eddie that’s the common thing I hear when I listen to 80s shredders oh there’s a little Randy right there oh here comes the Eddie blasting up three notes per string.
The fender did sound like ass. I have the GT40 and that too sounds crap with default settings - it can sound good with some messing - no idea why fender don't do better defaults.
That’s sounds nothing like 80’s guitar. It just sounds like a distorted amp with a tube screamer. Where’s your eq, reverb, echo, and modulation pedal? Most 80’s guitar sounds used a Rock Man. Is there a Rockman clone out there?
So first millennials skipped Hendrix,Zep,Floyd and all things 60s and 70s because it was just too hard for their delicate ears, then they also tried to own Nirvana as if we weren’t there when it happened and are now going to wear Bon Jovi t shirts, have GnFnR tatts, tell us all about Nuno’s Bumblebee and talk like they invented Passion and Warfare and big hair? Bless… What they won’t have are really great pub gigs without some knobend from the council measuring decibels, rock biker Angels festivals like the Bulldog Bash or Kent Custom and the sense of colourful 80s optimism which gave us everything the 80s was. The only reason anyone would take a phone to a gig was because they were stoned!
Don't worry, Millennials are carrying out their sentence for these crimes every day lol. Our culture is like the already-snapped-in-half sinking Titanic and we still have like 50 years to live.
