Expensive VS Cheap Gear 

Time to get practicin'! You CAN get better than you've ever been. I am! I practiced 3 hours today.

It's in your head. Maybe you weren't as good as you thought you were. You are trying to justify spending more money.

Working towards something feels more rewarding than instant gratification. That's my experience at least.

I totally agree I have all my dream gear back when I was 16 I owned a Kramer pacer and a crappy crate amplifier 😁 I'm 50 going on 16😎👍

Geoff Bell Definitely! The more you learn, the less you know. Every answer brings new questions. A big thing is that I spent my 20’s in bands, playing live and with other musicians. Now my playing is done in my Man Cave while watching Football etc.. playing with others definitely keeps you sharp

Anyone who puts out an upload on a competitor is a real genuine bloke in my book. Always likes the character of Josh Scott.

This is pretty much my thinking at the moment. I have a full pedal board and no real need for anything else but I will be purchasing a JHS pedal probably within the next 6 months just to support a company that is so cool about supporting the whole industry. It's refreshing to see someone sing praises of their 'rivals'. Tells you a lot about his (their) character.

I saved money for the bonsai cause I have been dreaming of an original ts-808! And the bonsai just surprizes me everytime I plug it in!

@@emil1279 I'd love an original ts-808 but somehow I just don't think that I could justify spending that much. I wish I'd bought one when I was young....and not sold it like so many bits of gear that I've owned, and then regretted selling over the years.

Same. I wanted to buy a JHS Kilt and a Wampler Pantheon because of their awesome YT contents.

yeah, he fucking rocks. Could listen to him all day.

As you get older, hitting those sweet notes is way more appealing than shredding. I'm closing in on 31 years old, and I've turned into a boomer guitarist. Especially playing for Worship, where hitting those sweet notes is way more of a priority than shredding scales and arpeggios. Timing, phrasing, feeling, and letting the notes breathe is how the timeless guitarists of history imprint their legacy.

I was taking away the exact same lesson from this video

David Gilmour

Josh does as good a job of "playing the pedal" as anyone I can think of. He certainly knows how to cast an effect in its best light. Not to mention he's one of the tastiest musicians I've ever heard.

Amen!

That's deep man.

So true.

So terribly true!!!

subtle humble brag?

There's an episode where he had his son on to talk about the drum audio rig

Once it started up it is all I heard.

Whole drumset sounds amazing 😉

the hot sauce for sure

Brandon Banks don’t think it’s his son hahahaha

The electronics themselves are not super expensive, but Art supplies generally are

Yep! That's totally an anesthesiologist's (or lawyer, or crown prince) rig and tune. I laughed.

You'll find the majority of Blues Lawyers in PRS showrooms these days.

Reminded me of a friend who used to complain how the lawyers were all buying Harley's 15 years ago...

😂😂 That’s exactly the first thing I thought of before I even saw the song title.

Thing is, you could get an Ethos Overdrive and pair it with Tier 2 here, and get really close to Tier 1. You could also spend 300-750 modding the heck out of an Epiphone 335 dot and end up with a very configurable ES series that can emulate 335/345/347/357 and more . So cheap gear made well shouldn’t stop you, but poorly setup gear with worn strings WILL SOUND ALL WRONG. Conclusion: get your current guitar setup properly FIRST and attend to any repairs , before concluding that you can’t make music with your current gear .

Best comment right here.

Well said! Also, a good guitarist or musician if you will, can make damn near anything sound very likeable and/ or playable.

@@galenmarek8287 This. Not just the playing technique, but the experience to dial in the signal chain. Throw a total newbie behind that $15,000 rig, with every knob turned down, and tell him to craft a sound with no hints, and it'll very likely sound terrible. Why? Because not only doesn't he have the chops, but he's not familiar with the available controls, and what sounds good on guitar (which is totally different from what sounds good in consumer hi-fi).

The difference in sound doesn't justify the high prices; a good guitarist will sound good even with cheap equipment; expensive stuff won't help a hacker.

I agree

He wants monopoly , he plays dirty.

Maybe he grew up in a stable two-parent home with copious examples and expressions of love...

@@gusisagreatname doood! I don't think you can say stuff like that out loud. *looks around nervously*😎

Or maybe he just doesn't need the money? Lol just kidding I love the guy and his pedals

@@GeraintDafis it takes a mother & a father to raise a child. Not that you can’t do it without both, but in general.

Hear bloody hear

From an equipment standpoint, I'd agree.

It´s simple: the expensive equip today was the only option in the past, so it´s sound like the past. It doesn´t mean that new, low cost stuff doesn´t sound good.

...or a worse time. Ridiculous amount of choice stunts many a musician’s creativity and aggravates GAS which is the enemy of playing.

I agree but disagree. For the professional it's hard because the market is very saturated, but also I agree because of how much incredible gear and knowledge is out there at our fingers tips, and we are blessed in that sense. So I can go both ways 👍

A half sized glass that is full is still full. You mean glass half full?

According to Josh, there is absolutely no such thing as bad gear.. everything is great...! And that's not being honest at all really, is it..?

I love this “half glass [that is] full” and I’m stealing this new take on the saying from you 😁

​@@CliveBarnesMusic I don't think that's really what Josh is trying to say. Some gear is definitely better than others; I think his main point is that gear, no matter the price, should almost never be a barrier to making music.

@@mxix7424 They are written for the jam

Nathan Montover Love the Gunnery Sergeant Hartman reference!

Yeah, having the popular opinion is sure gutsy. Meanwhile every [insert brand] plays perfect out of the box, makes you run faster, jump higher, and they pay you to own it.

@@kampfkustomer2343 damm can i have one??

Perhaps to someone who posts comments under a fake name you might have the false impression that anyone can say anything on the internet without consequences. But JHS is a business that is accountable, and being honest - knowing that it could impact your business (gee, Kampf...I wonder how many people with Gibson hoodies and tattoos might be in the market for a pedal...) takes guts whether you recognize it or not.

@@nathanmontover1436 is that why he posted a less than glowing review? Funny how EHX gets a pass on how many of their pedals die or have problems, but Gibson 'has to be called out'. Also if you notice Josh is usually universally positive about everything. I've seen Made In China Fenders with MSRP of $1399 and racks of pbasses I could say were 'only good for archery'...if I wanted to disingenuous and ignore the need for a trussrod tweak and neck angle reset. Josh is a people pleaser and the meme is lol muh Gibson quality concerns, play it befote you buy, yet he bought that off of Reverb with no problems. The fact is that most who bitch about Gibson price or quality are just trying to justify their overpriced Epiphone.

That thing sounded like garbage, I thought I would never, ever use one. Then i read your comment and nodded in agreement.

Leonardo Berbesí Mesa You’re using your ears the right way. For wisdom and your own taste of tone. 👏🏽

That Joyo Vintage overdrive is excellent.

Dude, you have amazing gear, just buy some more pedals (not more than 4 or 5 including the Joyo if you want classic sounds) and build a pedalboard, or buy the boss footswitch for the Katana and create some presets for it! You're good to go!

Leonardo Berbesí Mesa - yup. Spot on.

That guild is a lot of guitar for the money

This is what I was thinking, no doubt. Another discussion, are you just paying the brand? And also in some cases is better a CNC than a handmade guitar? or even, people with money just want to pay more because to show off and differenciate from less fortunate ones. By the way China could make great guitars, but if that guitar was 1000$ who will buy it? A lot of food for thoughts!

That mindset works to a point. I have always equated guitar gear to woodworking tools. I know there is a often quoted line that "only a bad craftsman blames his tools" but when you get into furniture making or some other form of woodworking that requires very precise, very fine work, you need tools that can handle that kind of work reliably. You need tools that you have confidence in. Getting a entry level guitar setup is like going to a Home Depot and buying their house brand power tools. They will work okay and are great for people just starting out or those who just need the tools for jobs around the house but if you are a professional or even have a lot of experience with various tool brands, you will probably look at higher price points (though perhaps not the highest) as that is usually where you find more reliable tools with more functionality/utility over the long term. When it comes to buying guitar stuff, I kinda pick and choose where I put money and where I don't. Stuff like the guitar, amplifier, and some key (most used) effects are going to be the places where I invest. Lesser used pedals and even some accessories are where I tend to try and find lower priced stuff. Either way, I am always trying to find the "best bang for the buck" and it has generally been my experience that the best bang for the buck isn't the most expensive but it is also not the cheapest.

Even an average player, with a positive outlook!

Greg LaShay totally agree. It’s the player that matters most. Although I will say a crappy amp will make even the best guitar sound mediocre. But a good amp can make even a cheap mediocre guitar sound great. Player is #1 imo. Amp is #2.

ola englund just reviewed a zoom 505, one of the most looked down piece of gear ever released, and made it sound great....

I have the 15w version and love it. For anyone wondering you can get it for around 200 when it goes on sale, and it's a full fledged tube amp that sounds pretty decent. I did have to replace a tube that was faulty after about a year and the reverb tank was too jangley for me so I took it out, but I've had it maybe 2 years at this point and still use it as my main amp.

This, please!!

...and include your favourite MXR Dunlop pedals which will probably require and separate video.

Jared Burdick i agree, but us as the artist, we need the most inspiration possible.

See. I've always said it was so.

Possumlove I had the lower end in quality stuff and it's what I learned on. But I didn't improve fast enough for my taste. 25 yrs ago I paid what I thought was big money for a used Amer Deluxe Plus Strat. It was in a ulgy color as far as I'm concerned Vintage white or butt ugly yellow as I've always called it. But that guitar made me want to be better because I never had anything that inspired my to play more or didn't have to ever fix anything or even felt like ever wanted to change. It been fan- fucking-tastic since the day I brought it home and still inspires me to play it every day. No junk guitar with fret problems or lousy p/u's or any other problems would have done that. I've bought other quality equipment to compliment that guitar like 2 great amps, a Les Paul and enough pedals to build a great board. But that Strat is still stone cold stock and kick ass to this day. Is was and still is my inspiration. Guitar wise everything is mid range top quality but I got enough equipment to stock a band. I actually play bass in a worship band with a $80 bass and a $50 practice amp. That's all they said I need. I went and bought a D I for myself so I can get used to not using a amp so I'm still learning new stuff every day.

@Possumlove Took a hell of a long time to say MY WIFE MADE ME SELL ALL MY BEST GEAR there bud. I've never paid more than £500 for a guitar, and I don't have a wife. Imagine how much spare money I have laying around ;)

I've seen great sounding amps... I mean GREAT sounding amps be NOT reliable due to cost cutting measures. And then I get paid to fix them.

So true! I want the few hours back that I wasted watching those people explaining why true bypass is the answer for everything.

And his/ her wife/husband becomes more angry...

Because Josh is the only cool power around here.

True boomer energy from this comment

I dig your parallel reality 🤘

To be fair though, morello’s tone and fashion of playing kinda sucks tho😂 85% of it is just noise and a whammy pedal

@@zerohourdrift Common, nice joke, but he is actually one hell of a player with unique sound, you can always tell when he is playing, is not necessary to be everyone's cup of tea though.

@@radiradev2387 I wasn’t joking. He’s definitely not worthy of the praise he gets imo. He definitely has a unique sound and yes you can recognize it, but his playing is way to reliant on random noise and his whammy pedal. There are thousands of better players

He's an amazingly mediocre guitarist who happens to be surrounded by actually talented people. Think like Meg White. Mediocrity can be a feature.

I love your passion for using he word fricking!

@@moodyvol89 I didn't fricking want to get fricking cancelled

Dan Califone spot on! 🤣🤣🤣

I have more gear than I NEED, but I recently started modding guitars, and it has been such a rewarding experience that it inspired me to build from scratch... Skipped the kit build, went straight to literally taking a few boards from Home Depot ( with absolutely zero woodworking experience, not even a high school shop class ) and designed my own Guitars (I'm working on my 4th). I've been using budget hardware, reusing electronic components from previous upgrades, etc. Surprisingly, they play decently, sound decent, look cool (even with the imperfections that are inherent to novice builders). Do they compare to decent budget guitars? In some ways, yes. Would I buy any of these exact guitars if I didn't build them myself? Not in a hundred years!! But I am thoroughly getting enjoyment out of the process, I understand the instrument on a much deeper level now, and it's gratifying to play because I have put time and effort into creating something thats actually useable for creating music!! Cheers to y'all on a similar journey towards doing what you can with what you've got!!

Right on. There's this from Andertons, but I'd like to see Josh's take. blog.andertons.co.uk/learn/should-i-spend-more-on-a-guitar-or-an-amp. Or more realistically, combine tiers 1 and 2 and 2 and 3. Which should you blow your budget on, guitar or amp (whether college student with $1000 to spend or middle-aged weekend warrior with $5000...)

A Nautical Gate Ha ha. I have a firebird and a 40 watt 3 tube pig nose

I was looking for this comment. I've never seen a 335 anywhere near that price. Maybe 2,000 if I'm lucky.

Yup. They’re always around $3000. $1000 is an absolute steal for one of those

Is that the Gibson, it does sound expensive.

Yulp! If only I could find an ES-335 for $1000 USD. $1000 CAD would be even better! :)

I know right! He got crazy lucky to get that guitar for that money!

By not hard selling, Josh is building trust with the consumer; because of that, you're more likely to buy his products. Everyone wins.

About equal to my whole rig, but that's four electric guitars, a full pedalboard and a 212 combo.

@@davidozab2753 ditto

Same, and I play out often lol

@@auntjenifer7774 definitely not

@@davidozab2753 hey! You just described my rig exactly! What's your amp??

The guys saying a guitarist is only as good as his gear almost always can’t play for sh!t

@@juanvaldez5422 Agreed

Agreed

Mexican Fenders and Classic Vibe Squiers are like the top of affordable guitars though. Can't really pull the "cheap-skate" guitar rig with those. You've never known true pain until you try to play an abused school guitar that from the start cost 75 bucks.

@@TurtleGamers1 Don't worry, I've been there. I've been playing for 14 years. My CV Strat was my 3rd guitar. I saved up for it with my first job. First run of those were 300 bucks, and had real rosewood fretboards, and even better pickups than they currently put in them. I've broken the guitar's electronics more times than i can count, the neck has needed work after a car wreck, it's fallen down stairs, into the street, been tossed a little too carelessly by a younger me. So they are excellent guitars. BUT they are far from out-of-reach. If a diabetic teenager paying for their own insulin can get one, I think about anyone can if they're patient and frugal enough.

Thad Brown I was hoping he’d show it!

Me too!

...and you chose to use it by showing it to people.

Tracy Street I kinda wished on the tier 3 if he would've used Mooer, Evo, Joyo, some of the real cheap priced pedals cause I will admit that's my gear-snob point. I bought a pedal lot off EBay, 5 pedals and a pwr unit for $55. I won't use them on my board because everything in that lot I got better stuff on my board. Just being a G A S dork and could pass up a steal. Makes my pedal shelf look more crowded L O L . All I really wanted was a back-up pwr unit. Caline,Danelectro,Soundtank. I wouldn't go out and buy that stuff new. But I won't sell it either. I'll trade it for other stuff just to hear other stuff, that's about it.

My rig sits in that zone.

Well even the jump from klon to boss was weird

Kerry Egeler i totally agree

Joaquim Carvalho 🙌🏻🔥

I think the top rig is far superior in sound quality to the middle rig. However, that quality sound can be achieved for far less. Drop the klon and Strymon, get a decent guitar and quality handmade amp. There are plenty of builders making quality handmade copies of classic amps. That Two-rock sounds amazing.

@@kikomarty4337 I completely agree, other than the Strymon. I have one, and they can do so many awesome things besides what was shown here. If you need delay sounds, they can definitely get you sounds you can't hear anywhere else

@@belacickekl7579 Yes, I do agree Strymon is awesome. I use the BlueSky as I prefer reverb to delay. Just making a point about cost, as in, you can get away a little cheaper by just say using the BlueSky over the BigSky. I can't remember off the top of my head what the delay units are called.

Karl Montenegro I thought dang that rig is expensive! As I listened while driving my 9000 dollar rig in the car with me -_-

@@andrewdykes4589 yeah depends, if you bought that rig over several years or everything on a weekend. Same difference between an average IT guy and Jeff Bezos

Andrew Dykes were you driving to rehearsal to prep for a tour? And did you have more than 2 pedals and a cabinet included in your rig cost? If someone is gigging or producing/recording, it seems different than if they play a Rick in the bedroom ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Jamie no pedals! Though an axe Fx is one heck of a multi Fx unit for me. As well as my midi control for my amp. Just for jamming though I do play out on occasion. I use a diezel Dmoll, axe Fx 2 with floor controller and a musicman guitar.

Beepbeep Lettuce I agree, the cheap rig sounded fine though

Me too!

Ear that too, just wondering what kind of 335 goes for $1000? I mean is that a studio version or what?

And the tune is killer!

I think you mean to your wallet the mid tier sounds best.

so unfair bc that shit was fire lmao

Yeah he's fun to watch play.

Amen brother!

@Common Sense Hah, you must not have kids lol - Just teasing man ;-)

Common Sense not bad luck, just different priorities. I’m sure that if any man showed up with the right thing for the wrong amount of money, he’d have a slight adjustment period at home. 🤣😂

Common Sense I will also amend to say “happily married”

My significant other plays violin and she often chuckles at guitar gear prices.

Exactly i find gear is mostly subjective

I can't even make myself sound good tbh.

A skilled and experienced guitarist will sound like themself ...regardless of quality of gear. But if you are neither you will still sound like doodoo even with best gear available...no amount of money can replace skill and years of daily practice

I love the way you proclaim this as if you were the first person to come to that conclusion. Got any more amazing nuggets of wisdom for us? Can you tell me what color the sky is, or whether or not water is wet? What amount of money will replace your erroneous overuse of ellipses?

Sometimes you can get help sounding good from a friend. I recently helped a kid at church who didn't know how to set up a decent eq and reverb on his line 6.

I totally agree. Using a solid state pedal when you can get a small tube amp for under $200 and he should have gone that way.

I don't know... If we all say it, won't it start to be less and less meaningful?

David Tyndale ... mind blown. 🤯

@@davidtyndale9557 Haaaaaa, you win the internet for today!

Hahaha! But actually a good point hiding in there. Many people listen way more thru cell phone speakers and such. If it it keeps you listening, it's probably a good song in some sense! At least, I think so.

True, it was hard to tell a difference between them until I listened to it through my $5000 monitors.

@@rt-uh6mt weird flex but ok

The people who actually listen to music instead of just ABing everything for the magical tone listen to music on headphones. If you need $5000 monitors to tell the difference, it is good enough

For The Love Of Noise Me too with the tiny speaker on my iPad plus I’ve heard RU-vid videos have lots of compression

CaptainSexy90 it was overdriving 🤘🏻

And sounds like shit (j/k)

That's true, but to be fair, those were sleeper guitars that were only cheap cause nobody else wanted em

Didn't kurt play Fenders?

@@2triggered2comment55 Mostly, but they were usually whatever left handed guitar they could find at a pawn shop.

Cobain was the WORST! Why even mention that lousy player? In a world of great players you went for the worst!

There's literally a million techno shredders out there, and not a one of them can write an original song....

@@markferguson3745 Legalize shred

Mark Ferguson Ever been to NAMM?! It’s your comment showcased for 4 days straight! It’s no wonder synths resurfaced like never before 🤦🏽‍♂️

How can I have better ideas? :(

@@MANI-ri1fc Listen to works and instruments outside the instrument you play. For instance, the fuzz pedal was originally sold as a way to make a guitar sound like a tuba.

I think Hendrix's first guitar was a Danelectro xD if I am not wrong. Nice guitars despite being cheap!

Very true, plus it's best to learn this stuff while you have an affordable guitar!

I would definitely agree with this, and I believe a part of the retail price difference between tiers is less time spent on setup from the factory

If it’s from the Classic Vibe range, Squier can be good enough for *everyone*, even the strats (tho the teles are probably closer to the top$ models). I got one of the last strats they made in China before moving production to Indonesia, and I don’t plan to ever sell it. It is the equivalent of made-in-japan stuff from the 80s.

@Drew Tea Great point, even though expensive guitars theoretical should have more attention paid to set up, that's not always the case certainly there were a lot Gibsons that had set ups worse than the equivalent Epiphones.

Truth🙌

Reminds me of how beat to shit my Green Muff is and is always falling apart. It sounds cool as hell.

I should really build a Green Muff clone! It’s been on my list of pedals to try, always sounds awesome in demos!

Joe Bonamassa said failry recently that nothing really turns the dial for him anymore, Strat, LP, 335, tele into a fender, marshall or dumble would all sound like joe bonamassa. He's reached a level it doesn't make him play different.

Kevin Gamble - I agree re subjective nature of this sort of material. And for that reason I try before I buy if at all possible. I’ve seen reviews for things that I felt sure I would love. They ticked all the boxes for what I thought I was looking for. Tried in person and was just “meh!?”. Moved on to other things that I was far from sure about and fell instantly in love. And I mean instantly. Not necessarily less money spent but I’m much happier with the result and would have been very disappointed had I not tried first. The right tools for you are the ones that work for you and inspire you and make you want to play and make music.

The only objectively better quality once you are above the junk that isn't fit for purpose (pedals that pop and his, amps that aren't loud enough, guitars that are unplayable) is RELIABILITY. If a pedal messes my sound around at rehersals, doesn't do what it did last week, makes me look bad, it's gone.