Cheap Vs. Expensive Gear: What Do Working Musicians Really Use? 

I like YT Premium cuz I watch too much YT & hate the their intrusive ads, plus I use YT Music everyday, so it's worth it to me. 🎶

Hey Phil. Rush is the opposite of a "jam band", JFYI. Famously, they are actually the opposite. They play the songs live EXACTLY like on the record. Cheers from Ohio!

I am 74. I have seen a great deal- mostly GTR type instruments. I hope all the younger musicians that watch you realize how much money and time you are going to save them with your expertise. They should be telling their friends to watch. You do and excellent job of explaining the modern guitar market to your watcher. I sold vintage guitars, so I watch your to learn about the current stat of affairs. Thank you.

I had some Gibson fanboys the other day giving me hell because I was talking about how if you work as a musician in low key venues like bars and so forth- your gear gets abused all the time. It's very common to have your guitar knocked over while it's on the stand- that's probably the most common thing I see- the second most common being ppl getting their feet tangled in cables- which also often results in your guitar hitting the floor. And we all know what Gibson have a tendency to do when this happens- the head stock breaks off. I've seen it happen to SGs as well, has to do with the way the neck is put together- I think Phil has even covered it in one of his episodes. And yeah- Strats tear up to- if they get knocked over the head stock may not break but often, something else does. That's why every guy I know who works these kinds of low-level gigs uses like Squier, Epiphone, etc.- something they can lose or damage and not cry about it. Strats are a little more common because of how modular they are- you can replace parts on them readily. But if they're vintage- no one would bring them to this kind of gig. I can't speak to what guys who get to play big arenas and stuff play- I'm sure in that atmosphere things are a bit more controlled on stage. Plus, they have the cash to replace stuff- they're not hurting. Guys who play at bars and stuff usually don't even make enough to say they make money- by the time they put out for expenses- they probably paid a few bucks to play.

Guitars coming out of the Far East are some of the best playing guitars now.

Rush isn't a jam band. They're hard prog rock.

I have no doubt if Springsteen played an off the shelf 499.00 Squier Tele on stage in a mix with seven musicians in front of 15,000 audience, no one can tell sound wise…

I bought 2 PRS SE custom 24 guitars on black friday saved over $500 and both guitars are amazing!

I used to love buying pre-owned guitars at musical instrument stores, most of which are gone. Prices are usually unreal now. I'm saving up for some new gear...which I'll probably get from Sweetwater.

Thanks Phil, great chat as always.

I know plenty of working musicians that don't take their best most expensive guitars to gig's anymore due to drunk patrons damaging their equipment or having it stolen at a gig. It happens way to often all over the country especially in major cities with high crime rates. It's easier to replace a Squier Stratocaster, Squire Telecaster or Epiphone ES335, SG or Les Paul than the high American brands of them.

The Cult was staying at a hotel where I was security. Billy Duffy actually came over and asked me if he could get a room for his guitar. We gave him a complimentary room for a really cool Les Paul. He let me play it but told me to not get too passionate because he had a thing with it.

Hi Phil, Thanks so much for all that you do, it is much appreciated! I thought that I was the one who doesn't take my top end guitars/ gear out to gig. I am a bit of a collector, as well as a player (50 guitars and counting). For every Gibson, Fender, etc. in my collection, I own an Epiphone or Squire to play out with... for the exact reasons you stated... thieves and drunks are a catastrophe, just waiting to happen. I treat my amps the same way (15 Tube amps and counting). My high end amps stay at home and my lesser amps, gig out. It's easier to replace $1500 in equipment, than it is to replace $5000 in equipment. I learned this lesson early on in life, the hard way. Thieves aren't much interested in stealing Epi's, Squire's or Bugera's... no resale value at a pawn shop (or to other musicians), to speak of. This also allows me to mod those instruments, without much fear of losses. I have never felt the urge to "show off" what I own... as so many other musicians seem to need to do ( Hey... look what I have)... I still get the comments from my musical contemporaries, about, "Well someday, when you own a real guitar, amp etc. you'll look back on these and think about what you've missed out on, all this time". Truthfully though, most of them would be drooling over what I actually own and play, at home... and that, just makes me smile. The equipment that I play out with works just fine and does the job that's needed in a local bar scenario... and that's all that really matters.

Mike Rutherford of Genesis playing Squier Strats on tour tells you everything you need to know about what you “need” as a working musician.

I just gotta say, as someone who got back into guitar again recently after a 1-year break, your content is just pure gold to listen to/watch! I was a fan even before, but now with some more musical experience under my belt (in other instruments) i can appreciate it even more!

I just bought a Fender Player Plus Tele new in cosmic green for $746. They retail at $1099 and are on sale at most places for $999. WINNING!

I'm glad you mentioned that crate cb 150 power block. When the lights are low I love that light. I use the RCA inputs to bypass the speaker simulators and it is a great amplifier I bought one of the pawn shop for give me one now as a backup. I later traded it at guitar center for a organ simulator pedal by Electro Harmonics.

I have a Godin A4 Ultra Fretless - absolutely wonderful instrument. It also has a built-in MIDI pickup so you can plug it into a guitar MIDI interface and then into any MIDI synth. Superb!

That EVH Crop Circle Strat looks sweet on the wall!!!

Thanks Phil!

Speaking of "cheap" guitars, I have several brand name guitars, including a very nice 1973 Strat and a 1981 Hagstrom Swede. What do I gig with? My 2019 Harley Benton Fusion ll with upgraded pickups and my 2010 Squier CV tele with a fishman piezo bridge. The Tele cost me $350 cdn and the Fusion ll cost $569 cdn and both are great and practical instruments. The fusion is a remarkable instrument and I can find no fault in it. I changed the pickups out because I thought it might improve the sound. It did but only marginally. No regrets!

Thanks Phil!🙏🏻

I have a 1974 lawsuit era Japanese LP copy. Its excellent quality and plays like a dream.

Love the EVH on the wall!

On the Tele pickup, I use a Mojotone Johnny Winter Firebird neck pickup and their ‘52 Quiet Coil in the bridge. This cuts down on noise AND lets me use 500k pots without feeling like I mismatched them to either pickup.

You remain the funniest, kindest and most honest guitar guy on planet earth.

?? Thanks for the 3/4 guitar answer. It was helpful. Made the mini into 25.5 “ scale … had some issues , but learned a lot !❤

Crate Powerblocks! I bought two of 'em brand new for $75 each many years ago. Both still work and they're awsome!

Good point about luxury items and what they are.

I was saving up for a Murphy Lab Les Paul Goldtop and hit goal in October. But with all the deals, I decided to get a few PRS SE guitars. With many stores offering 10% additional off, and a couple places not charging sales tax (not sure why), the money has gone such a longer way. The McCarty may not be the genuine LP, but a handful of SEs cover more ground collectively, and every one of them plays incredibly.

My GE Frig just turned 40 yrs. Fingers crossed.

I love Warmoth mahogany necks with narrow and tall stainless frets.

Thanks!

I choose 5 string fretless for versatility and playing comfort. This gives great tone and impact. If tone was my most important consideration, I would choose a stand-up fiddle. I learned over time, that you will know you have good tone, when you no longer use a pick. Having both, acoustic and solid body bass is the best path for greatest versality.

Now I understand why you really like Short Scale Basses... they are much easier to hand over your shoulder for hours at a time in a gig bag! Great stream Phil! And... get a cheap looking gig bag... like Harley Benton... maybe that will throw them off? 😎🤘🎸

Hey Phil! Been watching your videos for years now! I am a Manager of a Pawn Shop in California and have a large selection of guitars! Been doing this 15 years and have seen it all! Fakes, Vintage, Holy Grail, super rare, signatured guitars, all kinds! I would be glad to do a pod cast with you! Let me know!

A lot of people I know that regularly play live shows own expensive gear but play out with cheap gear. Less of a hit if the gear is lost, broken or stolen

Paul had a vintage shop in (I think Willamette IL) called Northern Prairie Music. He had and out fitters shop next door.

You need a good guitar or two and a good amp. Everything else is gravy

My brother bought a "lawsuit" era no-name Les Paul copy from now defunct but beloved guitar shop here in Maine. He knew what he was getting, he knew how low they were selling it for ($99), and it was to be a beater project guitar for experimentation. It was also a nice cherry red stain with gold hardware. One of the gold metal Gibson style tuning pegs snapped right off in his hand as he was tuning it up after just bringing it home. The metal was that flimsy and cheap and old. The tune-o-matic saddles had so much wiggle and slop, the stud tailpiece always felt loose, the frets were sharp ended (factory, it had never been worked on fret-wise) and overall the fit and finish was poor, plus everything plastic had yellowed to almost orange in color. Also this same shop got a Chibson in one time too. I think the owner of the instrument didn't know and the shop owners didn't catch it sadly. I know they wouldn't have even taken it as a trade if they had known. But everytime someone pointed to this black custom with binding, they would angrily say 'No it's not real.. it's a fake!" Me and my guitar nerd brother wanted to ask what had happened but we never did as we knew it was a sore subject. But I've seen all the videos and articles, so l looked for all the tell tale signs and didn't find any on the guitar! It looked legit to me.. I'm guessing they opened it up and saw something or knew something I didn't.

Love my Rickenbacker 325v59, the short scale makes it so easy to play. It has a 20.75" scale and needs 12-54 gauge to play in standard pitch. The resale value is a nice bonus 😁

I have picked up guitars in a store and put them back down before even playing them, because I knew instantly I didn’t like it. Others i merely held, and knew before playing them that I loved them And I bought a couple that way I don’t own as many as a lot of guitar players I know, and part of that is trying before I buy I love every guitar I have bought, and I love them even better after owning them. Buy the way you like, but try before is where I am at.

Ordered a Gotoh trem a couple of months ago. It is due in July 2024. Can confirm

Hermanos Guiterrez has me wanting a 6120 now. Tried the nashville, Eddie cohcran, and Setzer smoke this summer.

I’ve had YT premium for a couple few years now and it is amazing. I’d forgotten what it was like not having It and was watching someone else’s RU-vid at thanksgiving they did not have premium. It drove me insane, they had ads every three minutes. I wanted to break something into smitherines. So frustrating when your focused on whatever topic at the moment to be rudely interrupted by the same ad you just saw three minutes ago… lol there’s my two bits. Nobody cares I know, but haha, got mine in anyway…

Quite a "Marathon" Show, this...but, as always, there's great content here, again! Regarding the "Headliner": While I've been fairly "Maxxed" @ 100 gigs per year, I'm nowhere NEAR entering the "Wear Factor Zone". I DO prefer to include "guitar theft" as ONE element of what I call (the ever-escalating) "Gear Casualty Factor". This would include ALL gear I use @ gigs; and the chance of it being rendered "unusable" for ANY reason. How about doing a "Viewer's Poll" eliciting comments on our experiences about the ways our gear has been rendered unusable from gigging?

If Fender brought back the musicmaster bass as an acoustasonic model, that would be a real twist...a short scale would be more capable of a convincing upright tone, and the shorter neck would be better balanced...plus the novelty of it would get the collectors to pull out their wallets

I brought a second - hand spark mini on your recommendation and it's absolutely brilliant practice amp. It replaced my Marshall MG10 which I thought was crap.

David Rawlings is a really unique guitar player, albeit acoustic mostly that I think is an interesting interview. Definitely an influence on me.

Back in my day, making a phone call meant putting a finger in the rotary thing and spinning it to dial the number. "Touch tone" was the new tech and cost extra, so my parents wouldn't get it.

I would honestly be just as happy if Fender released the American Acoustasonic's electronics kit including the body sensor so we could install it on the Acoustasonic Player

I've had everything from Kiesel to Gibson to Fender to Jackson.. Once you get past the price point where you need to upgrade parts, you are starting to pay for BS! I DO believe you usually get better quality from big, trusted companies, but I have had Schecters, Oscar Schmidts, Squiers and Danos that were simply OUTSTANDING guitars after a good set up, or pot upgrade. We guitarists have an absolutely embarrassing gear fetish. Jeff Beck can be seen online melting faces on a little Cube and Mexi tele he favored. Satch is on a vid wherein he crushes all of us easily in a fan's bedroom, on a 250.00 Strat, into a 150.00 Crate. Will Ray & Greg Koch can often be seen online destroying our abilities on some garage sale guitar.. you get it. HF!!!

Late to the party, but, I believe the initial Greeny was 50 guitars at $50,000. Then the "cheap" Custom Shop ones at $25,000. Then the "really cheap" USA Gibson ones at $2,500 or so. And, then, the "give em away" EPI's at $1,500 (or something like that:).

I bought a MIM Acoustasonic Tele for traveling and I love it! It's a great couch guitar too! Paid $1k for it and the only thing I regret is that I didn't buy it sooner!

Loved the Squier Acoustasonic discussion but we just got a MIM version for $499 Brand new never opened. Fender obviously dumped them They had a ton of them. (Edited to remove the name of the place so the trolls stop whining - I’ll keep my finds to myself)

OMG, Yes about the stealing things. I know that I make sure my Gibson is in a case that says Epiphone on it.

When you lose inspiration to play music then do a couple of exercises for accuracy, dexterity or hand synchronisation. It is better to practise one or two exercises regularly for a few weeks than many. Just make sure that the exercises are musical as well as mechanical and that they help to improve an aspect of your playing that could do with brushing up, in a style you want to play. For instance, I practise a couple of shredding exercises when I get this way. I don't - and never will - put in the hours to build up shredding speed, but when I'm not in the mood to play then running through these two exercises for however many weeks really tightens up economy of movement, hand synchronisation, accuracy, and so on, which benefits all of my playing. It's better than not picking up a guitar at all, or mindlessly playing through the same pieces of music you know inside and out.

My PRS SS SE came with a Gig bag that says PRS SE on it. Just thought I would point that out. Maybe the more expensive ones do not.

Ha! The Spark GO is up to $114, just 2 days after this stream! I'm ordering one anyway, Christmas present to myself.

industry is now developing EPD’s. I’ve worked on two in coatings industry. A EPD reflects a carbon foot print, pollution/eutrophication snd even a social score if it relies on cheap or hazardous labor. When you do this a products service life becomes the denomination for the wastes. Not sure how this will all land, but it tends to show total cost to own including what are called externalities like landfills.

I had a 1997 ibanez lp. It was an amazing guitar and i totally regret selling it.

??? Hey Phil! What on earth is the deal with the Stratacoustic. I play mine 10 times any of my other rigs, including my G&L Fallout (the MOST OVERLOOKED tone monster EVER).That acoustic SHREADS! I Got mine for 300 used.Best deal ever, andi couldn't care less if its Chinese. The Acoustisonic is goofy A.F. I donta silly new CONCEPT rig at any price. The neck on my Stratacoustic feels like a perfect solid body unit, and the body is totally unique.when you really dig in with the pick it "breaks up" a lot like a tube amp does, BEAUTIFUL. ALTHOUGH they are out of production I would love to see a deep dive on one from you. Have a Great Day man. Know you are appreciated muchly😊

I found a picture of the Nuno N4 tattoo guitar on Pinterest - Uploaded by Julien Falcone (labeled) Washburn N4 Nuno Bettencourt Signature Tattoo Model (only 50 made for Japanese market)

3/4 size guitars are smaller bodies and the neck scale is the same as it's full size counterpart. The difference is : You skip the first fret distance, and add more frets at the end. Think like a neck from fret 2-23 , only now it's called fret 1-22 fir example. Put a capo on the first fret, reimagine the dots= 3/4 size.

I have 10 guitars; half are from local pawn shop. Some of the best deals to be had if you can haggle

I'm in a similar boat as John 13 guitars guy. After a few years of being self-taught, mostly just learning songs and a little instruction, I've hit a wall. I'm not a creative or artistic person, and I've tried all kinds of artist endeavors without any success. But guitar was different, I went in determined to not let it beat me, and when I started playing along to songs and felt like it was doing it I was having fun. But I can't "play" guitar, I can only play the songs I know. I wish I had a real musician as a friend who could tell me whether or not I should continue.

Bought 3 guitars online. Love all of them. However buying from reputable places. Not drop ship type stuff.

a good knowledge of the different tiers of mij lawsuit guitars is good to have,like fresher is the sub brand of camel etc the camel will have better spec,the bolt on lp copys,though some are decent ,are the lower end models.the higher tier tokai/burny/greco/kasuga/fernandes/esp navigator/momose/bacchus/early mij levinson blade etc are the guitars that put the wind up fender/gibson,and japan didnt hit top gear until around 76 onwards.most of the top japanese factories who made the best copys ,dyna gakki/tokai/fujigen/terada ended up being contracted to make fender japan and orville by gibson guitars at various times,deviser factory momose/bacchus/77 make some of the best stuff from japan

My brother would get Epiphone cases for his Gibson guitars because at the very least it keeps the "honest" people from stealing his guitars

The tele neck pickup discussion was exactly what i needed. I’ve been eyeing the Schecter PT Special with the p90 in the neck. Anyone have it?

I should have gotten into Appliance Delivery & Install 15 years ago, Those guys will make money forever and don't even need to buy inventory. Just replace junk every 5 years.

This might sound cringe but I'm in love with this spark go. I cant believe technology has come so far. Nobody can appreciate it more than a guitarist from the 80's .

I have a hand full of friends that play for a living. It's a mixed bag on what gear they use. The common denominator is the pedals seem to be the most expensive gear they use. If you play at the beach alot, definitely don't want to take expensive gear with you. The salty air is brutal on gear.

I want a blonde tele, I have been stopping around strores looking for thje right one, played an affinity, it was pretty good, tone knob fell off, no big deal, just a set screw, grabbed the MIM fender, frets sticking out so far I was shocked it was still on the wall, I have NEVER seen a guitar that bad before, screws missing, glue seeping from the maple cap fretboard, blue me away how bad it was.

My first bass was an ibanez blazer I got for just £50 even though it was only about 3 years old at the time, why was it so cheap? because like your first N4 the finish just flaked and fell off like dandruff, oh and the wood was drying out and going grey. I didn't think I'd hear another story like that but here's one in this video. Bizarre that this happens. I re finished it in rattle can and it's still a very happy and solid guitar almost 4 decades later.

Speaking of cheaper acoustic/Acoustasonic guitars and/or Epiphone, I think an Epiphone release of a guitar similar to the Gibson Custom Shop Les Paul Acoustic would be the coolest thing ever.

Ive seen working musicians use high end gear and non high end gear. Most use the best they can afford. In some cases they take the cheaper stuff to gigs so the high end toys dont get broken or stolen.

On the Fender Acoustasonic …I actually don’t think it’s a great product, NOT AT 2k OR EVEN $1500 ..maybe at about $600 it would be good yeah I agree if they had a Squire one maybe they would sell some more. For real acoustic players they don’t really like them because they don’t really get a classic acoustic sound that well. It’s a good stage guitar for fitting into a band format maybe …the electric side is even more wanting in my opinion.Not that it is not a decent guitar but way overpriced…that’s my opinion. Maybe those new Fender Highway acoustic models are better?

Someone asked about the Volt 2 and its latency. ALL modern professional (such as Apollo) or semi-professional (such as Volt 1/2) interfaces are going to have low-latency ASIO drivers. They will have software that let's you adjust the buffers. If you're using a professional or semi-professional audio interface, that vast majority of buffer-related issues are related to the motherboard/cpu/ram. A good analogy is to think of your studio computer as a highway system. The world's best audio interface with super low buffer settings is like a toll station with 100 booths. The motherboard and RAM are the roads with a CPU acting like the traffic controller. If you only have 2 or 3 lanes feeding the toll booths, the vast majority of the booths will be meaningless. If your CPU isn't fast enough to keep traffic moving through the booths, you'll have congestion. The point is: Your computer is just as much a factor in latency as your audio interface is. Sometimes more so.

“Franklin Guitar works” on reverb has been blowing out HUNDREDS of Mexican acoustasonics for $500, and aerodynes at $600 They’re brand new, they just have to sell as used, to not piss off fender It’s just like Phil said Fender got in over their head w/ estimates, and now have to sell out thru their 3rd party Gray Market distributor (MIRC/Frankliln Guitar Works) - just to get a handle on it.

Very interesting point re: cease/desist vs “gettin’ sued!”

I have a Yamaha SL550, and it is better than any Les Paul I've ever had.

How about this: Squire does a T-Style Acoustisonic, but with a P-90 in the bridge.......

Did you ever do a review of the sire larry carlton t7 fm electric guitar?

Hey sorry I missed the show live. I’m currently modding a Ibanez GAX70 I put Saturday night special pickups in it, cloth wiring, new switchcraft jack with Green capacitors. It’s way too bright sounding. What capacitors/caps can I use to get less bright and more bite!?!

So much is subjective in music its hard to pin down exactly what is good and what isnt. Some people wont admit their 5k custom shop sucks, other will over hype their squire and say its just as good as anything else. People will spend hundreds on pedals and never spend the time dialing in tone, others buy one archetype and launch a successful youtube channel. Its honestly just what works for the individual. Try stuff, music stores are great places to spend time.

Hey Phil! Ive been looking at the blue guitar over your left shoulder with P90s. Can you tell me the make and the model? Thanks

Music-man owns the 5 string market with the SR5

yeah, i'd get the acousti-sonic in Squier for 500-600

Which D’Angelico did you buy? The link in the description takes us to the entire D’Angelico lineup.

ʕ •ᴥ•ʔ 🐾 Always a great way to learn about the musical equipment we own or desire. Thanks to the ones who make this possible. 🍯

I could really use a good little tube combo amp, but purchasing anything for pleasure is not anywhere on the horizon realistically. I sometimes jam with friends at low to medium volume, and I'd like something I could do a small coffeshop style gig with if need be , or livingroom practice volumes. My question is: Does anyone have any leads on contests or raffles where you could win such a thing? I work for a food pantry, my fiancees a library assistant, we want to have kids and someplace to live so reality I mean its gonna be years before I can drop any change. But I'll take the hail mary of a contest! lol

I love prs but only paul can sell you a guitar (s2) for 2k with the same pups he used for one at 599.

There is another RU-vidr(a great player) who plays Harley Benton Tele with mods when he does his gigs. He states "you think I'm going to take my vintage Tele into a bar where someone can steal it or get drunk and knock the stand over?" He said if somebody steals this Harley Benton I can afford to buy and mod another easily.

01:12:00 yes, Japan guitars can be overhyped like any mass-produced instruments. I've seen one shop (Paul's boutique in Kensington market, TO) trying to sel a Squier JV Strat with the wrong body, it wasn't even shaped correctly contours were wrong and had a weird color. Just exploiting the high market value for a fast buck. Clearly, somebody took the original body and put a better neck on it or ?? Fender's Japan necks tend to be small.

I use what works and is easiest to haul to the gig.

Austin Guitarist Jackie Venson would be a great interviewee.

It may be a bad case for marketing- big guitar companies are getting complacent with there Products. Throwing in catch phrases to boost Sales and appeal to customers who obviously Can afford to buy them . I have yet to hear any Difference in guitar amps , be it made in Indonesia South Korea, China and to some extent Canada Affordability is by far more accurate than what They’ve been attached to . Students guitar or Worse yet Beginners Guitar . The gap is between The prices , is so close that it makes little sense To spend more- certain circumstances you don’t Necessarily get more . This is something I would Like to see more often- within the industry itself Especially looking at combos . Guitar small amp Picks cord and tuner . If you can score a guitar And not fret ( guitar humour) about resale value Or buy it because your favourite guitarist buys It - doesn’t make much sense. Buy it for all the Right reasons.

Most ppl be like, "I ain't paying for RU-vid Premium. That's crazy." ALL THEM FUCKIN ADS That's why I have Premium.

I see local bands with a lot of SE’s (that sound great.)