The "opening up" of an acoustic guitar (top) has been referred to as "torrification"; the thinking is that the top continues drying out over a period of time. Starting out as a folk guitarist in the 60s, I was told that as the guitar experiences vibrations it causes the top to become more resonant. It mostly seems to happen with good guitars that have good bracing systems. I've experienced the phenomenon on several Martins and my current Gibson Custom Shop J45. The Martins took a year or more of regular playing - the Gibson much quicker, but it was always on stage being bombarded by my electric guitars and the bass. The effect I hear is that suddenly the tone will have more body and more harmonic response. It's happened enough times that I'm a believer. Cheers
The changes in wood over time are real, and undeniable by reasonable individuals. "Torrification" (aka, torrefaction), however, refers specifically to the process of artifically aging wood through heat treatment. It DOES work, but can leave the wood brittle, if overdone.
I'm far from a Gibson fan boy but I do own 3: 2015 LP Less+, 2016 LP Studio HP and 2018 LP HP2. All bought online and therefore, effectively, unseen (photos can hide a lot..). I am very particular about my guitars. Potentially a bit OCD. Each of my Les Pauls are cosmetically and functionally perfect. What are the odds? Needless to say, I love them all. I have set them up with seriously low action and they play beautifully. The Studio absolutely rules tonally. The Less+ (with Classic '57s) is a close 2nd. Even the G-Force tuners on the Less+ & Studio work perfectly. Best not to believe everything you read/hear on the www and just try/buy one 👍
Congrats Phil, on being a Gretsch owner! I have a G6120SUU Brian Setzer signature that I bought maybe seven or so years ago. They definitely have their own sound and it's a beautiful thing.
Eddie’s rocks! I bought two amazing guitars there including an R8 LP CS RI . I came in looking to buy an R9 and they had 4 decent options-however none boneded either me…until the sales manager showed me an R8 that is my best sounding guitar. Thank you Eddies1
There are two things that control guitar pricing: supply and demand. On the supply side, manufacturers will not produce instruments that cost more to build than they can fetch on the market. That sets a floor. On the demand side, sophisticated markets (not just individual sellers, but the market as a whole) will pretty quickly and reliably zero in on what buyers are willing to pay for various features (whether the feature is a type of wood or a factory of origin). You care about American-made enough to pay for it, they will charge for it. You can't make cheap guitars in the US, because US labor costs are high. That is why expensive guitars are made in the US - not because US workers are better at building guitars, but because the supply cost of American guitars is higher than $279.
I think the problem with finish on Gibsons is like washing machines- the more bells and whistles on a product, the more can go wrong. A Fender style guitar is designed like flat pack furniture with the pieces easily assembled- e.g: with no fret edging, the bridge screws flat to the guitar, the headstock is the same piece of wood as the neck. Couple that with the amount of instruments they make and you can see how these problems happen. Saying that, personally I’ve had far more QC issues on my Fender Telecaster than all seven of my Gibsons put together.
A classical violinist once told me about a newly made violin he’d recently purchased. He was in the process of “playing it in”, which would take several months. He could hear the steady improvement of its tone. He was a rational person in general, not given to mysticism, so I believe him.
Everyone falls for this one. I have too, it's convincing. Speakers, guitars, headphones, violins. It's just your brain adjusting. Try it with two identical pairs of headphones. Use one pair for a month, let them "break in" til they sound good. Now try other pair for the first time. Do some AB blind tests. Lo and behold, the unused pair has magically broken in too. I spent $20 on two pairs of cheap earbuds to test it myself because I had to know. Those were my results. I encourage everyone to try the same.
Will be signing up with Tim Pierce in the next few days. Looks like a fantastic course and Phillip getting a little kickback is just the icing on the cake ❤
Looking for alternative universe version of Tim Pierce who became a bassist and offers bass lessons. Tim is sure engaging with his personality, experience, and stories.
Having used a Tonerite, it brings out whatever is in the guitar, whatever that maybe! Or you could just play the heck out of the guitar & get the same effect, but it just takes a bit longer!
Excited to watch the picking portion, I have had many conversations with Matt about alternate vs economy picking and pros and cons. It’s an incredibly frustrating part of guitar
Tonerite on the cheap. get the cheapest fish tank air pump you can find. Cheaper means more vibrations from the motor. Add three rubber feet like in the StewMac listing and there you go.
I’m pretty sure the fish tank pumps come with four rubber feet pre installed, but if you want the “authentic”😉 tone rite experience, you might have to go with three.
If you want a USA Parker without spending a ton of money, look for a used Nitefly. Awesome guitars with some of the same features as the Fly. Carbon fiber-coated neck, composite fretboard, stainless frets.
After buying 3 Ernie ball guitars in the last 15 years while crazy expensive I absolutely love them all . I actually try to find flaws and my old eyes see nothing but perfection and at $3500-4k I suppose they should be perfect. Just my opinion
Hey! In early 2000s got a new early SK HsH lisc FR for about 120. Everything needed fixing and adjusting and full setup. Upgraded pickups. It sat unplayable until I watched Phil's videos and then......out to the music room and KABOOM! A screaming machine shredding kapootska. Thanks Phil !!!
Again, some very useful "Nuggets" in here, Phil! Feedback on Yr. "Pedal Dial-In" advice: I think you're dead-on! If more "less-experienced" players applied this, I'm sure that I would dread trips to G/C MUCH less! My favorite Japanese brand: For "vintage", it has to be Matsumoku builds (reasonable pricing...great quality...often striking aesthetics). For "modern", my experience says ESP. I think the LTD "trickle-down effect" tends to support this POV.
Mine are on stands and usually go sharp because my home doesn’t have ac or any climate control other than heat. Winters are cold and dry really it’s dry here year round. The weather definitely plays with the tuning stability of my guitars any way. Rarely do I have one go flat, always sharp. Take care…
I'm swapping out the stock Revstar Standard pickups in favor of TV Jones Supertron and Classic Plus. The originals, although recommended over and over on RU-vid are just "weird". Perhaps Yahama (three superimposed tuning forks make the insignia) has tried to predict the future sound of guitar playing with these; however, to my ears there is no pleasure in them. I may be wrong, but this is an example of where one's relying on RU-vid reviews DOES NOT mean the same as an in-person experience in a music store. Chris Buck plays Revstar, yes; but the pickups are long gone from it.
A bit of a confusing explanation, but it seems like Phil was basically saying that import guitars are expensive in order to help justify the expense of US guitars -- and vice versa?
He's saying that manufacturers that have a product line from a premium market and from a budget market price the budget guitars based on the premium price. Basically, people wouldn't TRUST a budget guitar that is too far away from the premium. A $300 SG COULDN'T be good, but a $700 SG is probably not too bad! People have the perception that more expensive things must be better. So, while it seems scummy, it's just the reality of how people approach purchases.
I love that......"l didn't mean to buy it!" 🤣 We've all been there, l'm just about trying not to buy a Gibson LP three pup custom black beauty with cream plastics and gold speed knobs. The most beautiful looking and sounding guitar. It's exactly the same as my one that was stolen out of the locked band room (by the overnight security guard) at the Barbican Centre in London when l was working for the Royal Shakespeare Company. I've got a Standard Gold Top, 335, TV Yellow LP special and various Fenders but it still stings when l think of that custom. It was stolen in 1981. Your Gretsh is gorgeous BTW.
Hey Phil, I just bought a 1993 reissue of the 1963 Fender Vibroverb brown face with two 10” speakers and I’m digging it. How old are we, when a reissue of a “Vintage” amp is now 30 years old itself? Is the reissue considered “Vintage” now as well?
I contacted the Gibson Custom Shop RE:. '62-'74 RECORDING, SIGNATURE, and PROFESSIONAL Model builds. No go. Anyone know of luthiers that do Les Paul builds of this sort? ANY and ALL replies welcome. Thank you, in advance. As always, thank you for both your subjective and objective content Phil.
I have two Gibsons; a 2019 SG Standard '61, and an 2022 Les Paul Standard. Both are without flaws, and were bought online. Far too much whining by people who will never spend the money a Gibson requires.
I buy Gibsons for the look, history, feel, playability, and most of all TONE. Ill gladly take a tooling mark, or spec of paint in the wrong place for everything else you get.
You're fooling yourself if you think that Gibsons have a tonal advantage. I say this a Gibson player. I love their guitars, but for sound? It really doesn't matter what you play.
Oddly, I have 5 Gibsons, sold another, from tribute up to Classic level, and every one is perfect aesthetically, as well as playing/sounding. And yes I've seen flawed Gibsons. But, I have a 35% rate of flaws/issues with PRS guitars I've bought.
I have the Marshall DSL1CR combo and adore it. I use it on my youtube shorts and it sounds great to me. Granted I don’t use it for its cleans haha. Putting on the crunch channel and boosting with a DS-1 gives me some juicy tones without hurting my ears. I just wish they brought back the made in England 1 watt JCM800. Missed out on one recently at a good price and haven’t seen one yet for sale that’s not overpriced.
@@stoneysdead689 Yup! It’s 1 watt and can be switched to 0.1 watt mode too. Still plenty loud in a bedroom but I can crank it up and push the tubes without killing my hearing or pissing off neighbors. I have the combo so I play it through the 8 inch speaker cab. I think it is possible to run it through a separate speaker cabinet and there is a head version as well. It has speaker emulation and headphone options. For practicing and playing at home it’s a fun little amp. I sold off my Yamaha THR modeler after getting this.
@@rocktorrocks Man, that sounds awesome- I am definitely going to look for one. I grew up on tube amps- I'm in my fifties- and I use a modeler now. When my last tube amp tore up- Blackstar Club 40- I just decided to break down and go modern. But I would love to have a small tube map like that around to play with at home and in the studio.
@@stoneysdead689 I can understand. I also went over to modelers and amp simulators but am glad to have a tube amp back in my collection. Would definitely recommend checking one out.
I bought a Gibson Les Paul Smokehouse Burst Studio a couple of years ago from Chicago Music Exchange. I cannot install the pocket chip. It will not fit under the nut on the selector switch. Not enough thread engangment. Any ideas on how to fix?
@@mchammer1836 I got the HSS signature “strat.” He has a “tele” too. Love it! Manager of Pitbull Audio suggested it when I asked for best $1000 strat or strat type. Cool colo choices, too. Comfortable roasted maple neck, locking tuners, fantastic sounding pick ups!
Gibson set a low bar for quality control when competition was much weaker. Many factors made attempts to improve quality control a lesser issue than brand recognition. Allowing their instrument makers to focus on their artistic input above adherence to quality points allowed buyers to search through what was available and bond with a particular instrument. That led to "brand loyalty" and also to searches for instrument pairing for an individual player. The "magic" being assumed to lie within the instrument became the basis for resale price increases above average inflation rates. Those who are attracted to that game have themselves to blame/thank for it. Let the market "worK' and decide what sort of "player" you are.
If At the prices your "traditional" brands ask for a mediocre guitar, you can build your own and make it flawless and unique. After 30+ years of playing and paying, that's the route I went for and I'm not coming back
But made to spec truly custom guitars have no resale value and most people aren't interested in anything but flipping guitars online to suckers, hence all the freaking out about used guitar prices tanking for this exact reason
@@neilpatrickhairless You are spot on. But what I'm interested in is having an instrument that suits me and makes me wanna play it, that sounds like I want it to sound (or should I say feels like I want it to feel?) and is absolutely reliable. I don't care about flipping guitars and while I enjoy some gear porn myself, I prefer to spent my time playing than browsing 😁
I've received a Gibson 335 with atrocious cosmetic flaws. But i think that Gibson's reputation in this regard is over-exaggerated - probably due to the prices. I've also sent back Fenders (Mod Shop) and PRS (SE) and a Japanese Ibanez. I've had cosmetic issues with other Asian-made guitars as well - including Indonesian Schecters. If you buy enough guitars - it's just a matter of odds & percentages.
It's that way with everything, so I agree. I'm in IT, and I see more failed components at work than I've ever had myself. Difference in buying one part versus 100+ at a time.
Avoid purchasing ANYTHING manufactured during the COVID years. Low morale by employees and the constant revolving doors of employees caused poor quality of manufacturing.
Re pricing- I'm confused. A USA guitar is priced at $4k and,say, costs $3k to build due to higher labor, building/overhead cost, whatever. But an Asian built guitar that costs $250 to build is priced at $800 or more? To bring perceived "comparability" between the two more in line? I'll have to think about this.
Potential factors are brand dilution, Prs won't sell se's at $350 retail new as that would put them in the basement bin with 'lesser' status brands. Also, players will perceive them as being so cheap compared to core line that they won't have anywhere near similar spec.
Confusing? not to me, Foreign quality guitars are under cutting state side guitar sales with a marketable product. America is no longer top dog in the world market.
Gibson doesn’t give their employees enough time per guitar? That’s what greedy Fender brass does to their workers. My chilango buddy went on a tour at Fender and the (many) Spanish speaking workers told him that, too. Talented folks not given enough time. Pressure, pressure, pressure!
@@Peterbrendanalbertthat’s the argument I’ve made for ages. If you keep a Gibson long enough and maybe even play a few paying gigs with it, it’s not only free given the resale value, the universe actually pays you to own it for a while.
