Phil, I am an amateur luthier and for the past 4 or 5 years, I build about 3 guitars per year and donate 2 each year to Gutars4Vets in the DFW area. They have sent them to other chapters and raffled them of and raised good money. They are a great organization and worthy of peoples support.
As far as I see most youtube channels are actually product promotion channels and they never say anything negative about the guitar they are given by the manufacturer. We are lucky to have real review channels like yours.
I like Pete Thorn's product videos; he may not say anything negative but he does give the gear a full demonstration and if it doesn't do what you need you can see that for yourself.
@@patrickdionne3732..you managed to buy a used ES335 for $2000 in Canada?….you mean $2000 USD…or $2700 CND….yeah..that would be a really good deal up there..but possible…and 1000% agree that re-sale is something they never consider. It’s like buying a new Kia…and sure…it will get you around..but then try trading it in on anything…and you will go home in tears.
Gibson quality control is Terrible . About half the guitars I look at that are Gibson have issues with the nut . One of my juniors has a twisted neck . I like the sound of Gibson’s when it’s a good one but even their sound is inconsistent at times . Highly overrated , I’m just used to the sound At this point . They don’t really care about theirs costumers
Phil, you are the man. I said it in one of my livestreams a little while back but I’ll never forget that I sent you an email, you replied, and spent a very long time talking to me, giving me advice, etc. for nothing. That is rare in this world.
Love your channel and your philosophy in really playing the guitars you review. Probably the best channel for utility designed, sort of new thought guitars
In my area (Carolina’s) people have been dumping their excess gear for the last couple months. The issue is that nothing has been selling because I have noticed that most of the gear is listed anywhere from just below retail with chips or scratches, to above retail for clean gear. I have been buying gear new because I can’t justify paying nearly retail for a guitar that comes with no warranty or protection from the seller.
Phil don't stop doing the live show, it's the best content of my week. I've worked out that you're a good bloke and i enjoy the chat. I don't always agree with you but that's not a reason to unsubscribe. Clearly there are some pretty shallow people amongst us.
Phil talking about the business and things on the inside is probably the most interesting content out there atm in guitar land. Also, hearing him how he does business the man has crazy integrity. Go Phil! 🎸🎸
He’s the last of the 10-15 subscriptions that I had. He’s the only one I consistently watch due to his honesty. Too many of the others were just to well scripted week to week. Phil is sincere and his personality and personal stories keep me interested. No polish,no BS 🎉🎉🎉
About Stew Mac/tools etc. - if you’ve been unable to afford the nice tool and you DIY it, you get a good feeling. But when you get a little older, more money etc. its *so* much better to just buy the right tool. Stew Mac knows they have the right tool…so I’m glad they work with you
@34:40 Being a coffin dodger (72) I just sold most of my guitar collection, around 20 guitars. I just wanted to make sure that my guitar footprint doesn't impinge on my family (who know nothing about guitars). I kept 5 that are "lifetime" guitars and it's a big relief.
Huge shout out to you for the extra work you put in to include the subject index! Love your content and it lets me jump to my favorite topics. This is a great channel! Thank so much! ✌️😌🎸
The World would be a much better place if more people had Phil's wonderful attitude, perspective of life, and understanding on how to treat each other. A couple months ago I started watching Andre Fludd's Channel. He goes into a lot of stuff that is easy to overlook, but really matters in the long run. Another Channel I really love is Leo Gibson. He does great detailed comparisons of gear like Modelers that would take many hours for any individual to research, and all presented in a clear and unbiased way. 😎
The live shows are the thing I watch the most. The reviews are interesting at times, for sure, but from the live shows I learn something every time out. I watch every week.
I'm a novice guitar player who started late in life (50 yrs young) and because of you and your videos I buy Stew Mac tools and am very glad to support both Stew Mac and you. Win-win-win, I'm learning how to take care of my guitars. Thanks for Youtubing Phil.
So, is the day fast approaching when my new Ibanez from Sweetwater will be delivered by a Amazon drone? FYI, Dave Simpson's channel is a absolute blast. His passion for guitar is unmatched.
I love buying things this time of year. All of the people that get their refund checks and make stupid purchases that are now realizing how much they could use the cash. This is exactly how i got my prs this year. I got a 2 month old 245 for less than half of the retail price, and it already had a set of seymour duncans in it. AND, he threw in the stock pickups to boot. So, almost $1000 worth of gear for $400, all because of someone getting a tax refund purchase that they regretted. This is why i call it my “tax” guitar. I named it “reef”, short for refund.
In Nashville, a lot of people put the edge of the capo so that it covers half of the fret. This way, you’re not putting the tension in such a way where the strings go sharp, the tension is instead directed over the fret, half the fret. This works.
I'm surprised that people would unsubscribe from your channel for voicing your opinion. You're always respectful and your opinions are well reasoned and principled. What's controversial or offensive about that? I appreciate your work!
I honestly believe, out of all the guitar channels on RU-vid i subscribe to , your collection blows everyone else out the water . Your taste in instruments is very close to my own tastes .
I love this channel. For me it's almost like the early days of FM radio. I can sit and listen. Don't have to "watch" the podcast, I can close my eyes and absorb information. Sometime my wife will accuse me of "falling asleep listening to that stuff", then I say something like "no, Phil is discussing the possibility of Amazon some day buying Sweetwater". She knows Amazon, but thinks Sweetwater is a soft drink.... Anyway thanks Phil. I enjoy watching the deep dives, but this couple of hours each week is like a vacation from EVERY FREAKING THING that drives me crazy. Keep us sane... ☺
Last week, your comments about the PRS Special Semi hollow body were very compelling, so I purchased one from Rainbow Guitars before the supply dries up. You were right.
I bought that ESP EC-1000 solely based off your video. I don't use the piezo very much but I love that guitar, love how it looks and how it feels and how it sounds.
Gibson DOES hold it's value, and it's Critical that people understand that!!......as you start to buy guitars, you will Hit a point where you need to Sell, Trade......just the way it goes. The hard reality is 95% of guitar brands Don't hold their value like Gibson.....period.....you can have a $5000 PRS or Fender, you probably Won't break even unless it's Vintage or John Mayer or something that Many people want.........it takes the Right buyer to show up With the cash that wants "that" exact model. There's NO shortage of Gibson buyers, all models are desirable. Everyone should have at Least 1 or 2 Gibsons to boost your investment. Like I said, there's no point in collecting guitars if you're going to Lose your ass all the time....buy what you like, But buy something that will make financial sense too.
Martins are kind of the same way. Specially signature models like 00028 EC…or OMJM. In terms of Fender…can’t go wrong buying a nice used Jeff Beck, Clapton, EJ, Mayer, even SRV, Knopfler…etc. As far as Gibson…yeah, most things…save for tributes…or crazy priced Custom Shop / Murphy Labs for $10K. Finally, even early core PRS’s like CE’s…
I love GC....don't care what anyone says....I can go IN person and Feel guitars, it's far superior than buying online and you Don't know what you will get. My GC is 5 minutes from my house.....all the other shops near me flat out suck, and have nothing good.
I’m dumping 5 guitars in the UK, trading in exchange for a nice used Martin and low watt handwired Matamp. But these guitars were low value, purchased nearly 20 years ago, and the plan has been to sell them for the previous year. But I’ve timed it at the worst time possible! I’m also selling off some bass gear through a high end London bass store with 15% commission: 3 bass guitars, 4 bass cabs. Interestingly, these are going for more than I paid for them. The guitar shop and bass shop both declined a lot of other gear in my list. I think they’re only going for stuff they think will sell quickly.
No "impulse or comfort buying" issues here on my end, Phil! I put my Covid $$s to use on a bunch of Studio upgrades--most noteworthily on a slammin' Yamaha Electronic Drum Kit, a proper Mixing Board and a foray into the "SuperStrat World" (which I'm still exploring!). I also upgraded my main pedalboard and put together a second pedalboard with some semi-funky "leftovers" and a couple of essential new ones. Invaluable experience, ALL!!
Don’t give up or give in. We love you. As a matter of fact, I’ve unsubscribed to others because they’re always playing or just viewing guitars. No insight comes with them.
Phil the live show is one of the best things on RU-vid don’t bend to the Algorithm it’s a joy to listen to an honest person who loves guitar as much as you do thanks so much for what you do an your honesty 😊
This is my favorite channel by far on RU-vid. The Friday live show is my favorite show/video. Absolutely a must watch. I have utterly lost all interest in infomercials & honestly most gear demos on RU-vid. I watch yours & Intheblues' demos mainly to support both channels. It might not pay (at least as much) to have an opinion, but there is no way you could be anything else, Phil. That's something quite valuable. This is the punk ethic, I suppose. "We're the proud, the few, Descendants..."🤘
I like your videos, the how-to info, the reviews that show me what to look for when buying AND what to look for in the guitars I own that will need attention. Your honesty is refreshing and your insight is valuable. Have you ever done a video that took a Fender stock replacement neck and prepped it for install/assembly from start through to playing? Thanks much for everything you do!
I use a Shubb 12 string capo with the roller. It has adjustable tension and doesn't pull the strings sideways. Bought it for a 12 string but found it works great for classical and other guitars as well.
Now is a good time to find some killer deals on gear! I just bought a Mesa Boogie JP2C+. Which retails new for 4,000.00 dollars. I got a brand new one for $3045.00.
Tip: CAPOs put guitars out of tune so I use a D'Addario adjustable capo with a spring. After you put on the CAPO you then tune up the guitar again with capo in place making small adjustments so it is right in tune. As far as guitars go, You might look at it like this: Own what you Love; and only sell what you don't want to keep. When you are clear on what you want to keep in your private collection keep them separate. What doesn't motivate you to play should go to someone else who loves it.
I agree with you. My local GC is full of used guitars and amps. I kind of thought once COVID was over and things got close to normal, people would restart their lives. They are dumping all the gear because they don’t need it. It’s the same deal with home gym equipment .
Hello Philip, I am in my 50s own maybe 30 guitars, work at guitars a little, enjoy your tech detail and I watch your show most weeks. Your opinion on anything would not put me off. Want to say thank you for making effort to mention Scott Grove, as you say not always popular but I found he had good helpful advice. Thank you BoneyBob.
Hey Phil please don’t stop doing the live show, I can’t watch live cause of work, but I never miss it mostly cause it makes my wife roll her eyes. That tells me you’re spit-on!!
The best capo I have found is the d’addario with adjustable tension, I have all the “best” name capos and they all caused me some sort of issue, one of the main issues I had is the capos leaving dents or lines in my frets even with light pressure. The d’addario is the best in my opinion as someone who uses capo about 80% of the time I play
Happen to still have a black 98-99 7 string ibanez you bought off a guy at your old shop few years ago? Glad it was you that bought it but regret selling it. Im on a search to find it
I'm getting a ton of collection in, but it's not covid guitars. It's mainly guys aging out or dying. I'll get people who are moving into a retirement home or the family of someone who passed regularly. Sometimes it's vintage stuff, but a lot of it is 20 years worth of mid priced guitars. The first wave of guys to do that are coming in to the end of their playing careers and that is driving the number of used guitars in the market as much as anything.
Phil makes reference to the best guitar he owns/ever played. It is the Kiesel A2 Aries 2. They are custom made & start at $1549. Phil's video is The New Kiesel A2 Unboxing and runs 48:36. Kiesel has it's own video, Kiesel Guitars A2 (Aries 2) Guitar and Bass Line Unvieling and runs 47:54. Those are the titles of the videos on youtube.
I was at guitar center in delaware a couple months ago if that, and they had a sign on the door saying.. "not excepting any trades or buying used guitars as we are over stocked on used gear", maybe they bought some collections ha..
I really like the idea of the fret kisser and I should buy one. They are incredibly expensive for what you're getting, but the functionality is probably worth it. I tried to make one but adding sandpaper makes the fret rocker not have a completely flat level surface.
Such a great and unspoken perspective Phil, that people that work for American guitar manufacturers are often paid less than a living wage right here in America. Great perspective that, I believe, knocks that argument that Asian manufacturers succeed on the backs of their low-paid workers. Stuff like this is the reason I like your content.
That Firebird is rad. I've never played one, but I've been wanting one. Wonder if I can get an Epiphone in that colorway. Also, I refuse to order from Sweetwater again until they open a proper west coast distribution center for guitars since they're not particularly competitive in terms of pricing vs ordering from somebody that's more local to me and it takes considerably longer.
I just sold 4 pedals to buy 1- the JHS Packrat. That said- my god what a pedal- 9 drives in one pedal. And these aren't like you just change the diodes out or something- each drive is complete- its own thing, diff. cap. values, diff trans. and diodes, diff. op amps, diff. design. It has 40 something switches inside it and when you select a drive all the corresponding switches flip and you're playing a whole different circuit. And they're amazing circuits- pedals that cost hundreds of dollars if bought on their own. I can't wait to get it.
I like the tubemeister series just recently got the TM18 still has the 5watt option and a 1watt option which is so much fun to crank in my apartment lol 😂 not loud enough to piss everyone off but enough to enjoy and play
Even though I may think so, Tim Pierce DID NOT say that Sire is better than Gibson. In fact, he said the Gibson was better, but the Sire was so much more guitar for the money.
Mn. My 1994 US Standard Stratocaster will *now* sell for the equivalent of what I paid for it in 1994, new, once you adjust for inflation, but it's only really in the last few years that that's been true...
Wow Phil, thanks for talking about the fact that you are giving your honest opinion about stuff on your channel. It is obvious to me that you are genuine and honest about your reviews and opinions on the guitars and amps you are talking about and reviewing. My experience with RU-vid is that makes you special and different than the sycophants out there who are merely kowtowing to the manufacturers. I applaud you, you probably already know, but one of the most dangerous and daring things to do in modern America is to get caught telling the unvarnished truth in the light of day (the politicians are incapable of this). My compliments Sir !
I sort of did a big dump as well. Can only play so many guitars at once and I was feeling like it was a waste of money. Maybe others just really need the cash because they lost their jobs due to Covid. I didn’t get good deals either. Lost 2-300 bucks on some guitars.
I tried a Sire 335 and it was really bad. The fret ends had raw cuts with zero finishing. Granted this was the worst out of all of the sires Sweetwater had out on the rack but I doubt it had any inspection. The other sires did not impress me that much except for one of the strat like models. The experience of shopping in person was very slow, Their used gear cave had some good stuff like a pair of 8" Kali monitors and a Source Audio Collider pedal. Buying new gear is like shopping for the large items at Ikea. You pay and either wait at the registers for 15 minutes or go to the back where house entrance for them to pull the order. Its a nice huge store but better to use their online shopping system. I bought a pedalboard and it was only in their southwest store and I had to have it delivered. The sales staff was hit or miss.
Phil…maybe it comes with age or maturity BUT, I love hearing your opinions…of course I don’t agree with all of them…but I value your opinions and like you thats what interests me in most videos…keep doing what you’re doing 👍
Phil, is there a guitar out there with the build quality and tones that will cover my 3 fave guitars, strat,tele and sg, in one package ? Thanks in advance and love the uploads.
Hi Phil, mate I realise you probably wont see this but I'd like to comment anyway. I listened when you spoke this week about how you lose subscribers because of your opinions. Well I want you to know I listen to your shiw everyweek and indeed follow your channel because you have and share your opinion. Please dont censor yourself. View yourself just like all the rebellious fist in the air rockers we love. I would rather watch and listen to you than any other RU-vid review channel. Stay sunny, stay true, stay YOU... also highly recommend The guitaristas channel to you and listeners. Colin is great and between him and yourself I have learnt more in 2 years than the past 20 regarding guitars and gear. Cheers Glenn
Is the Neural Amp Modeler and companies introducing amp/pedal modeling at an affordable price like IK w/the tonex marking the beginning of the end for real amps? Tube amps?
No because nothing can beat the organic characteristics of a true tube/analog amplifier that's handwired ptp, and well built amp and cabinet/speaker construction components. Often imitated but can't be duplicated with subpar design and elemental components. Of course the argument that everything's just different, and nothing ever sounds better or worse, is gaining traction among liberals I've heard. Lol ...cheers
@@Burnt_Gerbil They're are fun but learning curves suck, I massively improved my playing practicing thru them. They are pretty amazing honestly. I play a boss nextone and a fender vibro champ, but practice thru a mini5 vox in my apartment.
Is it the Aries or the A2 mentioned concerning the best guitar? Because it looks like an Aries and not the 2, at least from their website pictures. Thanks if anybody responds lol.. I know they do custom stuff.
A lot of what is hitting the market are the baby boomers dying off and or needing the cash due to not working any longer mixed with inflation pressure. Also the market isn't what it used to be for guitars anyway. The prices are high, especially for amps due to the free money, which in my opinion has ruined it. I'm waiting for guitar center to shutter, prolly any minute now, as so many retailers have the last couple years. Things are changing with the music biz. Now there's Ai and God only know what that will bring with it. 😇
I noticed guitar center started sending me emails a week ago… I was confused because I didn’t now how they got me on their mailing list. 🤔 they must really be desperate for business although it doesn’t explain how they got my info lol
When I worked in the retail music business we sold all strings 2 for 1 and used list. Got people in the store. Also strings are so overpriced when we used to get strings 50 + 20 + 5
Man I've been gassing for a firebird pretty bad recently. Only the custom shops are available new, and I don't love firebirds enough to pay that much. I also couldn't bring myself to pay more than new price for a exc+ condition used firebird. I ended up getting a used collings 360 lt with minihumbuckers. It's obviously fairly far off from a firebird, but Collings craftsmanship definitely lives up to their reputation. I guess I'm going to wait and see what happens when they eventually come out with another run of standard USA firebirds.
I would love to see you review some nice Kramers. I had a good one apparently when I was a teenager. I remember it was nice, but I didn't know anything about guitars back then lol A friend owed me some money and gave it to me as a payment. Anyway, l lost it one day.... lol long story, but some years later, I found out it was worth 4 or 5 grand. It was a Kramer Bereta with an original Floyd...killer cream color with black headstock etc... A friend told me I had a 'grail' type guitar ha- Would be cool to see you check one of those out.... great vid brodda! -thanks
You know Phil is a gear head. “Yeah I used to own this amp 5 years ago but I didn’t play it a lot. So I sold it. But then I saw it on reverb at a good price and I had to have it so I bought it”. Haha
My local store in a smaller sized town does not carry Ernie Ball. So amazon 2 day delivery it is. wish it wasn't so but if wishes were guitars I'd be Sweetwater.
