FINALLY someone can explain what the tone differences are between these iconic guitar types, in such a clearly explained comparison video. Well edited! The best video I have seen on this subject.. I liked a lot what you played! It helped me, as a beginner, to narrow my preferences down to the Gretsch and Les Paul without any more doubts. Thank you!
Been a Guitar Player for 30 years. This is one of the best Guitar videos I've ever seen on youtube Fantastic demo from start to finish - All tones/melodies/licks and riffs were so pleasing to the ear. Kudos to you Sir, Peace and Love from Ireland
I’m looking to shift from acoustic to electric guitar for worship. This is the first video where I’ve been able to actually hear the difference between the models. Nicely done!
Thank you for the kind words! And great to hear you’re expanding your tonal palette! These versus videos can make you hop through a long rabbit hole though, what matters is what works for you! :)
Oh yeah. Especially if you’re listening to these videos on a phone (my analytics tell me that’s the majority device)! I hadn’t realised the pickups and their feel would make such a big difference to how receptive I’d feel about the Duo Jet. My previous Jet had Filtertrons and I didn’t like it!
Thank you for this video! I am self-taught so a few years out I am now getting further into tones and how to blend with my worship band. I’ve only had strats. I’ve been really happy with my Squier Strat HSS paired up with my POD GO. I have great patches to maximize my sound and blend. To God be the Praise!
You’re welcome! I hope it was a blessing. A fellow Strat man! That’s ground zero guitar for me. HSS is so nice for the variety of clean to grind. And I’m slowly reaching for my POD Go more often than my HX Stomp!
This video was super helpful. The format was great and your comments were succinct and clear. Thank you for encouraging us to glorify God with our gifts. Keep it up!
I prefer the Gretsch, and after that the Tele because I like the clarity of the high end. This amuses me because the only electric guitar I've ever owned is a Strat. I have no plans to get anything else. I figure, if I can't get a Strat to sound amazing, I'm the problem, not the guitar. Lincoln Brewster plays a Strat, enough said...
The strat will always be my “ground zero” guitar! Haha, but Lincoln Brewster has a very unique tone circuit that includes a clean boost. I was always wondering how he got such hot strat tones!
It was quite recent I started paying attention to the guitars used for worship songs in the CCM genre. I used to use my metal and rock rigs with a dialed down distortion any focused on just getting time based effects right. Then at the end of 2019 I decided to invest in guitars specifically for church. Ben from Paul Baloche’s worship band, the Droff and Jonathon from bethel all had me interested in duesenbergs and Gretschs. So I got a gretsch used over a digital Vox AC30 and Matchless platform which gave a nice fullness to the playing without the aggression of my active pickup superstrats. Delving more into worship guitar tones and knowing we would freq have an acoustic player for church services I looked into lambertones cremas for my epiphone Les Paul and it’s a little more chimey than the gretsch through the same rig. On some tone groups for the digital rig I use (headrush pedalboard) there’s a decent amount of guys using SSH strats for their services and that’s got me interested in getting my first non-metal oriented strat.
Im using a Custom 22 SE. It's not an American version, but I can say it can go toe-to-toe with its big brothers. They are well-made guitars. Quite pricy, too. I'd love to have a gretsch, too someday. Before I acquired my PRS, I was looking to pull the trigger on a Gretsch. Sadly, the model I wanted was no longer available in my area.
Great video with a pure heart and 4 awesome guitars. I own a tele strat and SG. But I have to say, your Gretsch sounds so good. I liked the thick chimie-ness tone it was producing. Thank you for putting out this guide of tone comparison. Blessings bro
Thank you for the kind words! Ah, the SG, the one guitar I haven’t really tried yet. Does yours have a neck dive issue? Yes that Gretsch is indeed magical. I owned a Duo Jet before and I didn’t bond with it, then when I played this one, the difference was night and day!
@@AllAboutWorshipGuitar: after your video. I started checking out the 6128 with the “D” pickups. I like!!! The sg’s neck is only a little heavy but not bad. Manageable. But it’s for sale along with the strat. I like those guitars but I don’t need them/not really connected with them. I want to find that forever guitar. I would love to get a Portlander but there very $$$$. So looking at the Gretsch is an option. Here’s one guitar I’ve been checking out is the PRS Vela with f hole. I keep going back to that one. I played it and it was very nice and easy to play. Thank you Blessings bro
I've watched a couple of your videos on the Gretsch now and it really has a certain something special that works so well in worship. I'm really new to the genre only recently joined the worship team at my church, so I'm looking for something effective. Thanks for putting this content out
Hi Jorge, thank you for watching! Welcome to the wonderful world of P&W, I pray your worship ministry journey may be overflowing with the Spirit's power!
Justin, what a great video, one of the best I’ve heard that distinguishes the different tones of the individual guitars. I would also like to add that you showed some lovely playing, your worship group is blessed to have you play for them every week.
@@AllAboutWorshipGuitar I enjoyed the video, but have no idea what the hell worship guitar is or means. Seems you've got some serious rig, but likely play hymns or do some background music for the church choir I'm guessing? I hope those drums aren't used, they'd be very distracting in a place of worship and would give the older generation a headache at the very least. 😮
@@nostro1001 Hi there! The term "worship guitar" is shorthand for guitar as applied in a worship music context. Specifically, I serve in a contemporary worship context, where a full band (guitars, bass, drums, keyboard, vocals) plays the music for the Sunday service. The music may have hymns, but we mostly play songs from the Contemporary Christian Music (CCM) genre. I personally try to reharmonize or reimagine hymns with a full band!
@@AllAboutWorshipGuitar Hi Justin, thank you for the reply. Being on the other side of the globe, I don't think that is something we do or if so it's in a very small number of churches. Then again there was certainly no 'gospel' singing, so perhaps the concept of more contemporary styles & playing of music has a 'historical' context in the US, whereas out here things generally are more traditional. I know we now have Hillsong church out here & would guess that is something they may do. Famously our PM attends that church, otherwise I'd likely not have heard of it. Keep up the fine playing... Cheers. 🎶🎶🎶
Bro, so well done! Thank you for this video! I loved hearing the guitars one after the other with the same effects and play style and then all together. Definitely helps to choose my next guitar! Great job! 👍🏽
That was quite an experience. The person who really stood out to me as a Guitar player too was..Lou Reed, the live 1969 album a Gretsch country Gent strummed into eternity, never heard anyone make noise with a Guitar like he did. Hendrix of-course and the Guitarist from the Hollies(Black les paul custom P90+ de-armond) and Jeff beck playing that 50s Esquire all left a unique signature sound. Your vid was clever, you put the 4 most used Electrics together and for me the Telecaster was the one Iistened to although all had thier effect in more subtle ways. Thanks.
Thank you for the kind words! I think the Tele is the most versatile of my guitars. I certainly reach for it as my secret weapon when layering guitar tracks, even on a heavy metal mix. No one can tell!
Great comparison, I can clearly hear the differences between the 4 guitars! As for which is best, I say they each have their moments and uses (I have each of those guitars for that reason!)
When I saw Bride play live and Troy Thompson making amazing clean and overdrive tones with his Gretsch, I had to have one. I've had mine for quite a while now and it is so versatile it is by far my most played guitar.
Super cool comparison Justin! I only own a AIO Les Paul that I modded with some PAF sized Wide-Range Humbuckers and I've had my eye on a tele for a while. I'll need to listen to this video a few more times but you may have swayed me towards the Gretsch
Thank you for the kind words! I do think Les Pauls can do it all, as I’m discovering with my 2019 LP classic with the coil tapping. I’m glad you found it helpful!
Justine, This was the first and only video that addressed these issues; that you are worship musician #Amazing #BigManTings so unexpected... Blessings me friend (love to hear your story), Kurt 1080p and headphones
I stumbled on to this video and I'm glad. First, you seem to be so genuine and that's refreshing. Second, what a great comparison! I love the way you not only played back to back but also pointed out the nuances and their differences/similarities in the moments. I have to say of the four my favorite will always be the Gretsch with the Les Paul in close second. I haven't gotten to play on one that souped up however I'm a fan of even their black top broadtron pickups. Had the chance to play a 5220 and it did everything the other 3 did and had its own sound still just like your jet. Well maybe not "just like" but it more than checked all my boxes. Right now though ANY electric guitar of decent quality would be an upgrade. Been playing an old beater acoustic since the fam hit hard times. But I can STILL play and for that I'm grateful. Thank you for such a candid and heartwarming review. 🙏
Hi Will, thanks for stopping by and watching the video! Haha, I've tried bonding with the Gretsch Streamliner series with the Broadtrons and they remind me too much of a hot-rod strat or a Les Paul. Indeed, gotta find the guitar that checks as many boxes as possible. I also pray your family situation will improve too. Our God is faithful and remembers us!
What a great comparison, thanks for all the time and effort that went into making this! And yes, headphones make all the difference. I have recently started playing a PRS McCarty Thinline at church due to its versatility. The tonal options, playability, and quality are incredible, but there's one guitar that it cannot sound like... the Gretsch. You may have convinced me to buy one :)
Thank you for watching! Now that you’ve mentioned it, I want to check out a McCarty myself! My Duo Jet has DynaSonic pickups and not Filtertrons, which accounts for the major difference in tone. It’s like a souped up single coil sound.
I’m now a Jet convert! Haha, which is why the question, “Which is the BEST for worship” on FB forums is always going to attract 100 different responses.
Different EG's have such distinctive sounds, and the reason why I have five of them! haha But play 4 mostly for worship. Bought a POD GO recently, so used it the last two Sundays along with my Tele Hybrid, so 2 of the 5 switch settings emulate a Strat. It also has 3 noiseless pickups! Much needed from Fender! On my other Tele, I have a Certano G&B Bender installed. I have used my Gretsch 5420T at church. Also a PRS SE Custom 24, which has a cool push-pull switch to go back and forth from SC to HB's. Fifth EG is a Les Paul Custom, and I think a bit too much from its humbuckers. With your Brightness comment on your Tele, I've seen the same thing with my Hybrid, so maybe I need to tone it back on the Higher Freq's on the EQ. Thanks. Good video. I'm a subscriber. PS.....extra info. My long-time FAV gtr player is Vince Gill. Just so smooth and tasteful. Brent Mason, probably Nashville's #1 session guy, comes in 2nd.
Thanks for sharing! Oh my that bender installed on the tele must be a LOAD of fun! Much easier to get those country sounds that are slowly making their way into the mainstream worship sounds. Oh boy, Vince Gill and Brent Mason; you have excellent taste, sir!
Great video! Really clarifies the distinctions. I prefer the Tele tone for the worship environment. I’m about to go pick up a 2 Humbucker Tele with coil split on both pickups so I can cover all the bases. Thanks for the video.
Thank you for the kind words! That was precisely my goal. I watched many other videos but the guitar playing was in too different contexts, like “standard” rock/metal etc.
I’ve always admired what Taylor Johnson does with a Les Paul. How he gets it to sound like a more well rounded/thicker tele. His tones for Wickham have always made me want to noodle around.
Wow, this is a solid review of the 4 main guitars that I liked. I'm a strat guy too. I think it's most versatile. I also like the ES335, ES355, hollow-bodied Gretsch and maybe Tele. But, I think the strat can do it all. I'm hooked to they bell chime.
Indeed, my two MJT strats can cover everything I need for both worship and non-worship music applications. I think ES semi-hollows are cool, but man are they huge on me. Even the smaller ES-339 is too big for me!
@@AllAboutWorshipGuitar they are more versatile than most people realize. Search Julian Lage vids playing his Collings with Dynasonic - type pickups (by Ron Ellis). Man I wish I could afford that guitar!
@@AllAboutWorshipGuitar I already have a HSS Strat. I think about buying one more guitar, as a addition for the tone of the Strat. Think about a Tele American Ultra. Or perhaps a PRS SE Hollowbody Piezo? What do you think? Thanks in advance.
As much as the other guitars probably sit better in a busy band mix, there’s just something about a Les Paul that warms up the digital ambience for me in a very pleasant way.
Thanks Justin, just the video I was looking for! I'd love to hear more about each guitar as part of the intro e.g. which version and if the pickups are stock or otherwise. A reasonable portion of us viewers probably can't justify the spend for big brands, instead opting for the eastern made equivalent with upgraded pickups. I've been a LP player for the past decade but am looking for something more delicate for P&W especially during the quieter moments. I'm leaning towards a tele as I've never liked strats at all. But maybe you've changed my mind... Anyway, like others here I appreciate what you're doing and your words of wisdom.
Thank you for the kind words, and for the suggestion, maybe I should do a gear spotlight on each of these. As for strat vs tele, I look at two things primarily: comfort (the strat has the body contours while the tele doesn’t) and tonal options (the strat has the position 2 and 4 “quack” tones, while the tele has a raw and bright bridge pickup tone). And for me the comfort factor usually wins, haha! I totally understand the point about eastern equivalents, and I must admit they’re getting better as the years go by! Although I still remember an Indonesian guitar that I had where the neck could never stay straight and it would go out of tune with one strum…
@@AllAboutWorshipGuitar cheers Justin, good to know about the comfort factor. I have yet to play a tele. Gear spotlight sounds great if you ever do it. I hear you on eastern equivalents. Although my Korean epi is a keeper but that's from a different age. Thanks for the added comparison notes on Strat vs Tele. Appreciate your reply!
Justin, thanks for that excellent video. It certainly explains why I've been using for years my Line 6 JTV-59 for P&W. Not only this guitar covers all bases from electric to acoustic, but also I can shape sounds through its editor. And now using a Pod Go and a few of your presets, it sounds better than ever. If there's a new guitar guitar I would get, it will be a Veritas Portlander. Thanks and Be blessed!!!
Thank you for the kind words, and so good to find a fellow JTV-59 user! I really hope Line 6 doesn’t pull support for the Variax line, they are such innovative instruments.
Thank you for the kind words! Indeed, it’s all for Him! That was a reminder to myself as much as it was a message I wanted to get out while filming it, haha.
@@AllAboutWorshipGuitar I would love some thoughts or a video on a budget setup for worship that still offers a lot of diversity in sound. I lead worship now with an acoustic in a band with two "leadish" electrics, rhythm acoustic, bass, drums, keys and 3 vocals. There's no one really doing electric rhythm with effects at all. I'm thinking maybe a Tele with a Hx Stomp or Pod Go to offer some depth and options?? My acoustic guitar just seems to get buried in all of the sound. Thanks for any feedback....I'm all ears!! 😁
@@AllAboutWorshipGuitar I'm also based in Singapore. If you don't mind me asking, which Church do you serve in? I would love to watch the service if they are available online. Thanks!
@@paoloelicano Cool! I serve in Ang Mo Kio Methodist Church, but we only have pre-recorded worship at this time. I'm in charge of recording the team, here's the playlist! ru-vid.com/group/PL0U6CffjlF_QFvraeh1gKw1Zan92uNKVl Which church do you serve in?
Good approach to this video Justin. Although I don't a Gretch I think overall if you want one guitar for worship band, it would be the Gretch. Not all worship teams are fortunate enough to two electric guitarists where they could potentially have 2 different profiles.
Thank you! I myself come from a worship team that only has one electric guitarist. I'll usually pick a bigger sounding guitar than the Gretsch in that situation. But since incorporating tracks in our worship ops, I've recorded myself playing rhythm and lead parts with different guitars to fill up the mix. That has had the secondary benefit of freeing up my mind to concentrate on being the MD for my band!
I can’t get over how amazing your tones are. I personally love the smooth but distinct sound of the Les Paul, After that I think all three are amazing.(I personally have an ephiphone les Paul, and a squire finity strat)
Thank you for the kind words Garion! That LP is really something, and I chose it out of a couple I tried. You have a good selection too, wide enough to do all things P&W!
@@AllAboutWorshipGuitar Yeah its awesome, having a hard time making the LP shine compared to the strat on my boss GT10 pedal board but my mixing is getting there.
Indeed, Ive played an American Tele which is amazing through a line 6 helix but I just started using en Epi Les Paul and now my Tele will sit at home 😖
Someone who influenced my preferences? George Harrison My last 5 guitars have been Gretsch guitars with Filtertron pickups. I have 2 6 string Electromatic Hollow Body guitars and 2 12 string Electromatic Hollow Body guitars (a matched set for home and church). The other one is a Country Classic which is getting too heavy and why the replacements were purchased. I like their sound through a VOX amp.
Hi Walter, thanks for the comment! Wow, you have matched sets between church and home, so you don't have to bring them back and forth? I should leave some of my gear in church so I have the space for the stroller and my kids! I've played a Country Classic II, that guitar is massive!
Thank you for this wonderful video. I've watched many videos about how to get 'great worship tone', and while one must acknowledge that Christian worship music is a genre with certain tendencies and archetypes, you (correctly) make it clear that the best worship tone differs for each person and is an expression of that individual person's worship. You can worship just as much with a cheap pedalboard and a Squire as you can with a board full of Strymon pedals and a Gretsch Falcon. I agree that we should do our best for God and in general, but "best" worship differs from person to person and isn't necessarily limited by budget.
@@AllAboutWorshipGuitar Thanks! I was inspired by another RU-vid video to build a minimal worship pedalboard. The video's "minimalistic" worship board cost over $2000, which doesn't seem minimal to me. I chose a few criteria: 1. It needed to use all miniature pedals and fit on my Rockboard Duo 2.1. 2. The pedals couldn't be super expensive (less than ~150 each). 3. The pedals needed to be decent in quality -- not just buying the cheapest possible pedals. This is what I chose: Xotic SP compressor, Duke of Tone, Tumnus mini (the NUX Horseman is a good alternative), MXR Carbon Copy mini, Tonex One, Hall of Fame 2 It's far from cheap, but it's quite small, and it's far from the most expensive board out there. I used it at church a few weeks ago, and they said it sounded great. I love the Fender Twin emulation in the Tonex pedal, and its spring reverb and compression are decent, too. I thought of trying that one all by itself some time.
Thank you for this video, I see these guitar as a paint brush with different uses, used in different parts painting a story. Each guitar has it's own part. but for me the most versatile is the MJT strat and the Gretsch is gretsch, love the tone. but for a all rounder go I go with strat. But where get the drum beats? God bless you brother in Christ!
Thank you for watching, and God bless you too! “The Gretsch is Gretsch” is an amazing quote and I might use it in a future video, haha. I agree with you on the versatility of the Strat! I program my own drum beats on MIDI then run them through a few layers of drum machines, mixed with samples of real drum kits I’ve recorded before.
Haha, Jemmuel Magtibay’s been pushing for me to get one too, but I just don’t have the funds for one! How does it compare to a standard Penguin, and by extension, a Duo Jet?
Awesome comparison, I have been a percussionist for 25 years and am branching out into guitar and this solidified my decision now it's down to two Stratocaster or Les Paul LOL
Thanks! To be clear, it's two Strats or two Les Pauls? (I think you probably mean either a Strat or a Les Paul, but I say...why not both? Haha) The 2019 LP Classic that I have is a wonderful specimen of a guitar that can get single coil-like sounds, but of course the quintessential quack is only possible with a Strat. And on the flip side, a Strat can never grind as hard as an LP.
@@AllAboutWorshipGuitar that is true but how versatile the Stratocaster is with the type of music the churches that I play for play that would be a safe option but then I might get a Jazzmaster as well then I'll go down the rabbit hole.
The offset body shape is surprisingly ergonomic! I wish the controls on a Fender Jazzmaster were simpler though. I’m actually contemplating on a Suhr JM, but I’m resolved not to go down that rabbit hole, haha
Hello Justin, this song is incredible! Thank you so much for sharing it with us. What drum loops do you use? They sit so well in the mix, and suit the worship genre so well! I would love to buy them.
Thank you for the kind words! I’ve made these tracks from scratch and I’d have loved to pass them to you but they were on my old PC which had an unfortunate update mishap (UGH WINDOWS). I’ve lost pretty much all of my old files, and my plugins that I used for the production don’t work anymore, even when I roll back the OS!
My tele had very shrill pickups. The bridge pu was almost unusable without lots of gain. I swapped them with lindy fralin blues special pickups and it’s my favorite guitar by far now. The bridge is bright enough to cut through but not shrill. Someday I hope to upgrade my Strat with a set as well
Some say the pickups are the heart of the electric guitar. Glad that it worked out for your tele! I've not had much experience with Lindy Fralin pickups, but as your experience testifies, I've heard great stuff about them.
My collection is pretty much the epitome of indecision: Gretsch G6128T 57, Gretsch G5230T with TV Jones Classics installed, Strat, Tele, Les Paul (with Seymour Duncan P-Rails installed), and a PRS Hollowbody 2 Piezo. :P Gretsch is my go-to though. I use my others so they don't get lonely, but there's nothing like that Gretsch sound.
That's a great collection! The Epitome of Indecision is an excellent name for a collection! I might adopt it, if you don't mind, haha. Do the TV Jones sound different between the two Gretsches?
Thank you, thank you, and thank you again for this comparison. This is a great example of the differences in guitars. I'm playing a Gretsch but have been thinking of my next guitar. I love how the Strat blends with the Gretsch. But I've been wondering about the Revstar with P90s?
Thank you Phillip for watching! Yes, with DynaSonics, my Duo Jet approaches a strat sound. The Revstar with P90’s is a very unique sound, but if you’re familiar with Reverend guitars, I think the sound is in that ballpark, especially the Charger 290.
Hi there! Both guitars are great but will be in different areas of both tone and playability. The PRS's 25 inch scale length is going to be a blend of Strat and LP, so its split coil positions will be convincingly strat-like, while it can growl like a Les Paul in the bridge and neck humbucker positions. I think the PRS is going to be a more versatile guitar. On the other hand, the Gretsch is going to get the P&W chime more naturally than the PRS, with its Filtertron pickups.
And put the filtertron pickups in the strat? That could work, although you might have to route the body for filtertrons, your body might only have space for single coils
Thank you! Do you mean having a P90 in the neck while having a filtertron in the bridge on a Jet? I've seen some guitars like that but I haven't tried them before.
@@AllAboutWorshipGuitar My application would be more like recording 2 guitars, like the combinations that you showed us. You ingnited my interest in the combinations of playing parts simultaniously in stereo. Maybe filtertrons in one end, and paf's at the other end, or a telecaster pickup with paf's combo. I just wonder what sound palette combo's are good and less good.
Hi, thank you for the kind words! I believe the rhythm track is loosely based on Hillsong's "Remembrance" (I record my own backing tracks). The lead lines aren't indicative of any particular song, they're just played in a "worship style".
Nice video. Certain guitars certainly pair better with certain amps but not a big fan of using more than minimal effects. Bear in mind Church will most likely have big, natural reverb. I have an epi LP special with a fender reverb for Church and an sg with Peavey solid state amp for rock jam band practice. God bless.
Hi John! Thanks! Indeed, some churches will have that natural cathedral acoustics that cannot be replicated from a pedal, but some churches like mine operate satellite services in cinema halls where the sound is essentially well insulated and padded. Great choice of guitar and amps! I play a Peavey Bandit every now and then when I feel like changing things up on the Sunday morning (sometimes in stereo with a Peavey Blues Classic)!
Haha, “my God” good or like “Gawd” bad? That’s the cheapest (and most beat up) guitar in my collection but those Twisted Tele/Broadcaster pickups rock!
For me as a worship guitarist and a gretsch and fender guitar owner, gretsch fit what we call worship tone. Gretsch has that sweet tone and was like in the middle of single coil and humbucker pick up sound. My only complain about it is it was to heavy. Strat is a flexible guitar, but since I don't like that thin single coil bridge, I modified it to HSS Config to accommodate different genre. Had may Epiphone Les Paul Korea and I totally regret selling it.
That's a great tip, for those needing more heft and beef in their bridge position, to change out to a humbucker and embrace the HSS strat! I can get that ballpark beefy tone on a single coil bridge by bringing down the tone to 5 and adjusting from there, but nothing beats the power of a humbucker.
@@AllAboutWorshipGuitar agree bro, that tone knob is essential, I just did it for me to have the best of both worlds not needing to buy new guitar with Humbucker, I'm broke 😂 BTW More power to your vlog brother. Gob bless
Just found this channel and subscribed. Great video maybe one day you can do a video on how to get great worship tones with limited accessories. Cause you really have a lot of pedels.
@@DexterLaurence You can get a nice worship tone with only a reverb, and that can be from your amp tho, however if you want to emulate a guitar full of ambience you gonna need at least a reverb pedal and a delay as well. Cheers, and may God Bless you
