I just have to say as a 59 year old woman just starting to try and learn to play guitar, I am so incredibly glad I found you. You’re informative, and easy to listen to. You make learning about Gear very enjoyable.. 🙋🏻
Phil is the man! He taught me about my first Strat and was the reason I actually started adjusting my own guitars saving me $100s by not having to take my guitar in to a tech.. ever since then I push the channel to new players and other people on Fender FB pages and Other player pages on FB and other social media platforms! 🤙🏼. Keep jamming and don’t give up!
For me, playing guitar is like playing golf. I do both because I enjoy them. I will never play at Augusta at the Masters or in Scotland at the British Open, but I buy clubs and can play at famous courses on vacation. I will never headline at Wimbly Stadium, but I will always rock on. I buy gear because I love it, and if that helps people in the music industry, it is a win-win. I want people to be able to make their living making or repairing instruments or teaching music.
Being able to make Music is a Gift . Anyone can try and most that show true Interest can play some songs or Riffs . Its not easy but Music like I said is a gift to the World and your Soul from Slayer to Enya its Amazing !!
i spent most of my life playing a 2005 MIM strat. apparently that was the last year they made them with small frets. i had no clue. not until i bought a 2017 les paul studio did i realize that the reason i liked rosewood fretboards was because i was playing too hard and using too heavy of a grip and didn't like the feel of lacquered maple on my fingers. now i'm developing a light touch and don't care about fretboard material anymore. I find it crazy how many guitar things i thought i knew that i have recently challenged as i get older. i used to hate humbuckers and les pauls. now i have one and it's my favorite guitar. i only liked rosewood fretboards, now i don't mind other woods Played too hard, and liked high output pickups. now i love vintage voiced alnico pickups started liking more amp types. grew up with a marshal and now i have a ac15 and an orange i used to hate classic rock and 80s hair metal, and now i've grown to appreciate them and love playing those styles learned i totally was using pedals wrong and have learned to stack gain pedals finally decided to learn music theory and am now kicking myself for not learning earlier. don't get set in your ways. open your mind and try everything, wait 5 years or so and try it again. your tastes may change.
I loved the "making my shift go faster" comment. I have blasted this live show on the restaurant's kitchen speakers for four years now. My early opening shifts & late closing shifts. Most of the other cooks think it is cool too.
I get what Phil say's I'm relatively late to guitars. I've ridden and collected motorcycles all my life, since 16, I'm in my 60's now. I cannot imagine the reaction walking into a motorcycle dealer and not being taken seriously because I'm not a pro, don't ride in the GP and hold no lap records. It's a ridiculous concept.
It’s funny when I was a professional musician making the majority of my income through music I couldn’t afford most of the gear that I own now as a hobbyist
One thing I didn't realize I really respected from you until you mentioned it is that you don't rag on anyone for their playing ability. The music world would be a better place if more people thought like you. Keep on making great content, Phil. It's always appreciated.
Yes that's true, even here in Malaysia I am observing the same that while in this current economic climate most business is not doing well the sales of local music stores is picking up also because of online orders and RU-vid is also part of the reason in encouraging more amateurs to play guitar to say the least among other instruments.
As others have said hobbyists keep the industry going. But where did all the professional musicians start off, no one is born the next Steve Vai, Brian May etc. Everyone starts somewhere.
True! No one is born talented. Talent aside, to go be a professional musician it helps to be born wealthy with no fear of failure or poor with nothing to lose. Most of us aren't either.
Buying guitars is like buying golf clubs for some hobbyists. It might be better to invest in lessons vs buying more gear. Buying new gear does increase interest in playing more.
@@hoffguitar My father was a "collector" of golf clubs. When he passed, his brother took the several hundred that had some value and the left over 10,000 (honest estimate) that we had to take to as many thrift shops as possible among 3 counties until they told us to stop! And the rest we had to pay to drop off at the dump. There's no lesson in this. Maybe more of a warning.
Never thought I’d be into this channel cause it didn’t seem fit my other subs but Phil’s passion is inspiring and his Abasi and Solar videos definitely changed my mind, he’s holding back boys Phil can shred!
Great live Q&A again. It’s amazing that we all spend so much time thinking and talking about guitars and corollary accessories. It’s like a giant gear geek family that has a weekly reunion.
I've asked just about every music company if the give a veterans disabled veterans discount. The only company that said they do was wampler pedals. All kinds of businesses offer veteran discounts but not the music industry.
I really just don't get the acoustisonic. 2K for a guitar that does neither a good acoustic or electric sound. It's Fender robo-tuners to me. Who is actually asking for this product?? Two grand can certainly buy more useful gear.
I just wanted to say thank you, watching your how to videos helped me get the courage to do my own sharpen my axe. I have 2 of the Epi guitars with the modern controls both had the Epi version of the burst bucker so I swapped in a set of Seymour Duncan whole lotta humbuckers into my DC pro along with switchcrafter switch and Jack and locking tuners to match the modern LP. First soldering project and while not pretty everything works and the change in tone and convenience quickly made the DC pro my favorite guitar. Thanks again for the inspiration.
Just more reasons to love Phil. Two gems of thought right off the bat on this #203 live stream. Been watching Phil since the whiteboard days and he has been consistent the entire time. He loves this stuff. All of it. And so do most of us...CHEERS PHIL - Keeping it real for everyone. And to be interviewed by Bloomberg is nothing to sneeze at....
Thanks Phillip for another great session. I caught the end live and went back afterwards to get the beginning. I agree about heavy Basses. My Yamaha is 8.5 pounds and when I hurt my shoulder I bought a hollow Hofner to play because I was so sore. Now I have a short scale and a long scale instrument. As to guitars I am mediocre at best but I enjoy my time playing. I just picked up a Yamaha Pacifica that I plan to mod to my personal tastes. I'm retired and will never sell so I do what feels and looks good for me. I look forward to your videos as I think you have one of the more honest and down to earth guitar channels available. ????how about a review on a few bass pickups too???
PHIL, To Doctor Toronto, regarding the replacement neck: unless they had specified that this would be the case PRIOR TO PURCHASE, you have every right to see this as a problem. I have made, for three specific instruments, at the request of the customer, necks with a very small back-bow, but these ALL became straight, level, flat, within 72 hours of the addition of a set of strings of a known, and predetermined, agreed upon guage and material, with the obvious exception of the relief over the first 3 or 5 or 7 frets. I have built/sold several dozen replacement necks for basses, and even more for guitars, and not one has fit the description you used for that neck. I wish you the best of luck in dealing with this, and if you cannot get satisfaction, there are other builders who WILL work with you and make sure you are satisfied, that you received what you had intended to receive. Best of luck to you, Toronto! As for the "lawsuit" guitars, my brother had a Lotus and it was CRAP! It looked like it would be a great guitar, but it NEVER sounded good, NEVER played well, and NEVER could stay in tune for a whole song.
Bought a set of p rails with the triple shot rings used from reverb. P rails were fine but the rings were broken. Contacted seller and got no response so I contacted reverb to file a complaint. Still haven't heard anything from either. In the meantime I purchased new rings from seymour duncan and my lp plays awesome. Lesson learned,buy new from manufacturer
I have my Xotic SL Drive in front of my Katana Artist for Marshal sound. I also have a Wampler Plexi-Drive Deluxe (a better pedal with adjustments), but I end up back with the SL Drive for size and simplicity.
I can get a Marshall tone out of my katana by selecting the Guv DS patch in the boost section on the clean channel, engage the GE10 EQ and adjust your levels, no need for pedals , the overdrive preset over the clean channel simulates an OD pedal in front of the amp.
Jay Leno said the same thing about vintage cars. Not that he prefers a ten inch radius cars but how 100 years ago it was the materials that was expensive and the labor was cheap but now the labor is expensive and the materials are cheap. This is why it costs tens of thousands dollars to restore a 100 year old car, mostly because it’s the increased labor costs.
$800 and you'll buy it, price is listed at $1000. Dude I've walked away for $25. You'll have the seller saying it's only "$" amount. yeah, but I told you where I was. I don't need this to live I'm out. I have very rarely regretted not buying something, I wonder if they ever regretted not selling
You are right on asking for deals. Bought a Gibson tribute advertised at 1199.00. Just asked for a best price. Bought it for 960.00 plus tax and free shipping. I always ask for a deal. Reverb or Sweetwater. Always have gotten something.
52:20 I really enjoy the "inside baseball" about guitar companies and the relationship with social media. IMHO, on the Fender Acoustisonic, back in the day, there would be a big ad splash in all the guitar magazines upon release. Sales & marketing depts know what they are doing, in general, even if we are all still learning about social media in particular.
Regarding bad Reverb experiences, I've made 44 purchases on Reverb. I've been happy as a lark with all but one. NEVER buy from 10S Guitars. I paid for a "new" guitar and at best I got a b-stock with a ton of issues. First, they took over two weeks to even put the guitar in the mail. Then when I got it, I immediately hated it. I sent them photos and requested a refund that same day, and they agreed. However, they spent the next four weeks NOT sending me the return shipping label. After two months of messing this company I finally submitted a claim with Reverb and they provided me with the shipping label. That was two and half weeks ago and it's been stuck in customs for about 10 days. I can't get refunded until they actually receive it. This began on January 25th and still isn't over. VERY disappointed.
You are correct that the hobbyist guitarists are keeping the industry going. Pro guitarists and musicians would be unlikely to buy tons and tons of gear as once they have their setup especially for a tour or session they are done. What I have noticed is that PRS were one of the early brands to support and get their products to hobbyist who then became upcoming (influencer) guitarists on social media. I like the brand and what Paul has done. I always like kids of others brands too like fender, schecter, Ibanez Gibson etc. You could say I just like gear and have GAS. At the end of the day being a guitarist and the content online these days including yours is amazing. None of this was here when I started guitar over 25 years ago 👍
here's how i figured out what radius fretboard i like. everytime i play a guitar and am amazed by how great it is that sucker usually has a 12" radius.
gotta say I have 9 "drive/dirt" pedals on my board and they are all set different but honestly they can mostly all sound similar if you play with them enough. Every "Light/Medium" overdrive I've tried has been able to sorta get that pushed Marshall sound if you play around enough with the knobs and the rest of your rig settings. Its all EQ and feel.
The obsession over vintage is such a sad delusion to me. I pity people who spend thousands on something just because its old, when the same designs and the same sounds are still being made, just improved
I never used to care for vintage gear, I still don’t love it. But I recently realized the value of it...at least for me. The main reason for me is when the same designs are not available new. I’ve always wanted a Les Paul with T-tops but Gibson doesn’t make T-tops anymore. I only know one company that makes faithful copies, but outside of that, the only way to be sure you’re getting a T-top is to buy the actual vintage pickup or a vintage guitar with those pickups. Same with my Kramer, you can only buy Indonesian made reissues with 1000 series Floyd trems, good guitars but not the same as an original USA made one with the German made tremolo which I prefer the feel of. There’s also a mystique in getting to have the original thing, having an 80’s era super strat, knowing the history and mojo behind it is fun. It’s nothing tangible but it’s fun to feel like you have gear that’s got some stories, history, and quirks behind it. I’ll never spend crazy amounts just for vintage, but if price is reasonable and the guitar plays and sounds good, I’ll happily get it. But I’ll never spend the crazy amounts some vintage gear goes for..
Phil sez...."there's no shame here"....gestures at his amps.." I didn't steal these....my kids are fed ".....I gotta remember that next time someone sez...."why ya got so many guitars dude?"....absolutely perfect...thx Phil
Thanks for all the buying tips! Just bought a PRS S2 594 singlecut and saved over 300$ (brand new) by just sending a quick email! never hurts to ask for a deal.
Right there with ya, Phil - I like the jumbo (or medium jumbo) frets and I dislike vintage frets. You have to press harder on vintage frets. It's more work.
It really is true about asking for a deal. I asked for a deal in a local store on a PRS S2 594, and they offered me $200 off. I ended up deciding to wait, but the point is that it never hurts to ask.
Hobbyist vs professional: when people ask me what I do I say "Lots of things: paint, garden, play guitar, cook, collect records...oh you mean for work? I'm a geologist, but that boring and I'd rather talk about something else."
Lucky for me a fellow moved in to my very rural area and opened an excellent guitar shop 20 years ago. The gear is always superior quality, from boutique instruments and amps to very good quality for the money student instruments. Over these 20 years I have bought over $30,000 in instruments and amps and traded several thousand more. My home insurance rider says I still have $20,000 worth, all from his shop. But, except for a couple years, I have always been an amateur. I've been playing music for 68 years now and the pros I have known range from luthiers and amp techs to performers such as jazz great Johnny Smith (look him up kids, I'm that old.) I have gotten respect from people like Smith and Bob Hoover of Santa Cruz, but I really don't care about FMC because Leo sold the company to investors decades ago. And I don't care what the "play authentic" guys in Nashville or Memphis think because they are just loud mouth marketers. The bean counters who run the major companies today really don't matter, it is the players, experts and novices, and the hands on makers who matter.
Thanks for your input on Reverb.com. Ordered a pedal that was in "mint" condition yet 2 knobs were cracked and it was scratched to hell. It works great so I'm gonna keep it and replace the knobs... it's just that feeling of being lied to, you know? I guess "mint" is an opinion lol. Anyways I love this show! Thank you for this premium content.
Collecting is specific and selective! Hoarding tends to be random and all inclusive! I have14 guitars and two basses and have been a club and bar band guy! I would have starved if not for my day job! I have six Boss pedals, maybe seven, 4 ElectroHarmonics, zip ties on a piece of plywood! Laziness seems to be a component of my personality as well as workaholic tendencies! 44 years in retail, retired at 70, joined two bands,etc! I’m living proof that you are never too old to be crazy!
Always ask for the best deal or what their bottom line is. Its easy to do. If they give you a deal, great, you both win. If they don't, you get to decide whether you want it at the asking price or not. Either way you win... and on another note, buy the tonemaster!
It’s really strange industry.. the top level pro musician get gear for free or get paid by the big brands... so to say pros don’t buy your gear... which pros ? The low-mid successfull pros? That’s like Nike saying well the really good guys in the “G” league don’t buy from your shoe store.
If these company's just made gear for the pro's then there wouldn't be any major brands. Just small builders that built for a very small portion of the population. Just like if athletic shoe companies just made them for the pro athlete's then there would be any major brand name shoe company. Let's not even get into the fact that these companies give, or greatly discount, their products to said pro's just to use the product because they know we "hobbyist" will buy their product.
Yes, I fully agree. At least the shoe companies have embraced the sneakerhead culture. Too bad music instrument/gear companies haven’t done that for the hobbyist musician.
You know Phil when you do your live shows you have the most I think you know you have the most live people participating in the show than any other show I come across yeah I remember when it was in like the two digits and then it became the four digits pretty successful there sincerely yours, Cecilia's Bob the blind bedroom guitars
Its just hobbiest is how far theyve lost sight. Weird parallel but explains it halfway well. In a pet store all the food is at the back. So you have a higher rate of "impulse" purchases. Millions of dollars are put into store layouts to figure out how to control "impulse" shopping. Its why end caps at wally world change constantly. Hobbiest in the guitar world are "impulse" shoppers they are learning about the hobby and more likely to purchase some new gimmick on the rack on their way to pick up strings. Professionals know exactly what they want and are normally impossible to dissuade in their choices or less impressed by a new "gimmick" just like every avenue of retail impulse shopping drives industries.
Youre so right about the difference between how hobbists vs pros buy and collect gear. I am a hobbyist and my partner is a pro, and we have 2 very different philosophies on what we buy and why. for him it's all about function. He have about the same amount of gear (i think he's passed me recently lol) but there is such a difference lol. I like variety. He has a specific sound and vibe that he sticks to (how many fuzz pedals is too many?)
Watching this way late, but I can’t agree more, the industry is funded by Joe Average, the point that if you by a nice guitar and amp, and play 3 chords, it’s all good. Having gigged and worked within the industry, it’s wasn’t the guy on tour paying for my GAS, it was everyone coming into the store on a regular basis. Good on you Phillip , as always Thanjs for your service and rock on
Hobbyists are the reason why the industry exists. It is astonishing to think that there are companies who believe there are enough professional musicians with enough spending capital to support the entire industry.
You talked so much about RU-vid and your channel, I had to throw in my opinion regarding scripts. My channel could use notes on a good day, but never a script. It just wouldn't work. It all depends on your subject. Keeping it real is always better.
I definitely think there is overexposure to products. I've seen so many videos of people talking about Fishman Fluence pickups and Seymour Duncan JB & Jazz pickups and stuff like that. I'm sure they're great but I don't want anything to do with them because I'm tried of hearing about them. I have Iron Gear pickups in my guitars and they do the trick for me. Any plans on getting some Iron Gear pickups on the channel?
I have been considering new/more vintage sounding pickups for my AZ 2204 (HSS). I like my LP Traditional BB/57 and the JB in my Brian Moore. What would be an HSS set that brings JB and LP together, has a good balance between single/HB and can leverage the Dyna Switch.
Hey- can someone help an old man out? I'm about to buy an audio interface but I really don't want recording options as much as I want tone shaping options and backing tracks and stuff like that- and basic recording options would be cool to- but I need it to be simple. Some of this software I see ppl using is so complex- I'm sure it's capable of recording and mixing and editing and all that good stuff- like I said, I'm not as interested in that as I am just being able to get a good tone, load different effects, making backing tracks, download backing tracks, etc. I'm never going to have more than two instruments at once run into it- and that would only be if a friend came by to jam or something maybe. I've thought about just getting a Positive Grid Spark or a Catalyst- something like that. Any suggestions?
wanted to comment on the robo tuners when I first heard of them I thought they were great then after seeing reviews and stuff I realized that there isn't a chance in hell that I would be able to use them because of my blindness even dialing even trying to dial in an amp becomes a huge project I have to sit down next to it by the time I even find the knob that I wanted to adjust the sustain of the guitar is gone I want to beat my head against the wall sometimes cuz it takes me forever and then I'm never satisfied you know when I got my first stamp and I started playing again in 2016 I guess it was I bought a 20-watt friend of mustang the version one eventually I learned what every click was I got to memorize it you know through it from the top third from the bottom or from left to right or whatever you want to look at it you know then I don't play that amp for like 2 years and I sit down with it and I have no idea what is what you know I have a two amp I have a katana 100 version 1 my two bands is so simple you know but still you know finding that knob in time to adjust it where you can hear what you're adjusting is a real real pain in the ass so now I try and stick to simple amps you know I only have three so it's not like I'm but you know when I buy my other ramps in the future they're going to have to be simple you know not many knobs not even thinking about the models anymore anything with a touch screen is just out of the question and even if they put the accessibility settings in it like the phone does you know by the time your finger finds the right spot but you have to worry you actually will develop muscle memory I do with my phone but it's not all that accurate and I can't imagine trying to set up an amp using a touch screen with the screen reader capability anyway that's my opinion on that one sincerely yours, above the blind bedroom guitarist
Good and bad pickups...it's all opinion and price doesn't matter. Everyone has a different ear. I just bought a Gretsch because I had listened to many pickups and couldn't decide between the P-90 and a Filtertron. (My ear remember) This one had both. The P-90 was everything I dreamed of. Sure there are hundreds out there, but this one was "the" one. Unfortunately the Broadtron is a fake. It is actually a humbucker and sounded like crap to me, so I have on order a HS Filertron. Are there "better pickups? Maybe. Lots of people swear by the TV Jones. I don't think the TV Jones is even close to the same sound. Not saying they are bad at all, but the HS is the sound my ear wants.....My two bits on pickups. A bit of old vs new. New versions of old pickups.
I have a mik RGT. Seems better compared to Mii And I have a prestige, and tbh I feel like the mik is on par for the most part. Why did IbZ move production to Indonesia?
Phil, I am looking for a CV strat. I look on reverb and every used guitar costs $100 more then new. What am I missing here? I’m a beginner but I wanted to move up to a better guitar
The problem with all the reviews of the jazzmaster is that each reviewer found another bad point about the guitar add all the bad points up and it put me off buying one fuel reviews would’ve been more beneficial to them
I play almost every day and like to try new guitars/pedals. But I don't listen to music very much. I think playing for me is like meditation for others. Is that weird?
Not weird at all! Playing is a sort of meditation for me as well. I also love listening to music but when I’m not listen to music, I’m making and listening to my own music. Playing is an amazing outlet and it’s a blessing to those of us that chose and are able to play! So keep playing 🤙🏼
@@PhillipMcKnight awesome!! Thank you and I love your channel! I do have a picture of me wearing your T-shirt that I keep forgetting to send in!!! I also have a project guitar that I started before EVH passed, but because of financial issues, I am only working one day a week now since COVID I am still not able to finish it.
thought of this question after the stream and with a newborn i dont kno if ill be able to catch next weeks so ill ask now, i just got my first guitar after not playing for 8+ years and im really happy with the quality and playability of the guitar, the store i got it from gives every guitar a set up before it leaves the shop, how much of the playability or quality of a guitar is from the building or manufacturing of the guitar and how much is from the set up of the guitar?
That's what I see too... or maybe at 38:58 he talks for an hour and 40 minutes about bad Reverb experiences. (JK) I hope the rest of the time stamps are posted.
No. A 9 inch radius would be this: Take a 9" string. Pin one end down, hold a pencil at the other end. With the string tight, draw a curve. That curve will have a "9 inch radius" same shape as a 9" radius fretboard.
Hahahahahaha that was so damn funny!!!! Stay away from , actually just run 🏃♀️ from “selling for a friend..” !! Oh man, my stomach hurts from laughing .. good stuff! Or it’s like the FB marketplace ad that says “plays like a dream, pretty much brand new” and the pictures are of a guitar that’s dusty as hell and full of dings and scratches.. I often wonder how those people get through life, honestly, I’d feel dumb trying to sell people my crap.. hahaha. THANK YOU FOR THE LAUGH!!! That was awesome!
Me.. a hoarder?. Maybe. But my wife loves my guitars because if there's something I want, I save and look around and shop around until I find what I want for a good price. So what I buy is worth more than what I paid for it. But more because it KEEPS ME AT HOME in my guitar room and when I'm in there slapping the strings on a guitar, she knows exactly where I am and what I'm doing 🤣
have 2 Warmoth Jazz basses and a Fender Jazz bass special and all of those necks must be removed to adjust the truss rods. What a pain in the butt. I LOVE the 75 Jazz bass neck feel and curvature but loathe any neck that must be removed. What an idiotic design. It serves no purpose.