Stew Mac KYG Deal is BACK!!! (Get 10% off and 50% Off Stew Max Free Shipping for 1 YEAR!) stewmac.sjv.io/RyQ2nX Im giving away a set of Blackstock Northern Lights Humbuckers. kingsumo.com/g/occ2zh/blackstock-northern-lights-humbucker-set Subject Index 00:00 Intro 00:50 Stew Mac KYG Deal is BACK!!! (Get 10% off and 50% Off Stew Max Free Shipping for 1 YEAR!) stewmac.sjv.io/RyQ2nX 04:10 Im giving away a set of Blackstock Northern Lights Humbuckers. kingsumo.com/g/occ2zh/blackstock-northern-lights-humbucker-set 08:30 Texas Toast guitar and video 12:30 What is the best noise Gate to use? Boss Noise Suppressor sweetwater.sjv.io/Pyvd4Q ISP Noise Gate sweetwater.sjv.io/k012Zd 17:20 My favorite High gain pedals? sweetwater.sjv.io/eK5Zgz 27:00 Are the guitars behind me tuned in different tunings? 29:15 Two volumes two tones and why you may need a master volume? 31:40 I will be handing out water at the Kiesel event and a clinic. 36:00 Why Fender, Gibson, & PRS Hate Headless Guitars 53:38 How I take a guitar on a plane 59:00 What tuner do I use on headless guitar? sweetwater.sjv.io/OrvdOW 1:10:01 Did Kramer Guitar just say they can not make a guitar like Badlands did? 1:19:00 Merch? www.bonfire.com/store/know-your-gear-shop/? 1:26:00 Are guitars music style specific? 1:36:38 Why I do not sell KYG Tools, Picks, Straps and other type things 1:41:00 The picks I use 1:52:30 Green Fricker and his thoughts on Pickups
Best thing about the StewMax deal is that it’s free shipping to the UK too. Signed up about 6 months ago and a lot of items are cheaper to get from Stewmac with the free shipping than it is to get in the UK , there are monthly deals too that are great also .. just ordered a LP guitar kit as it was on sale.. plus they gave a $25 off any order a few weeks ago. So get the cost of the deal back pretty quick.
As a studio guy only, I switched to a luthier made headless guitar and I love it. My favorite thing about the headless is rarely mentioned: When I'm in the studio recording, I move around a lot, bend over to dial a pedal, reach for the Apollo to lower the volume, stand up to get a drink, not having a headstock that bumps in everything, like a 4k monitor or pricey studio monitors is amazing. I used to bang my Ibanez headstock into everything, drove me insane. This is the most liberating thing for me.
I was a detractor of the headless guitars, even I watched a Ola Strandberg interview, that change my point of view about ergonomic guitars, even bought a couple of affordable ones, a NK and GOC, and right now I’m a believer, not doubt they are the next step into guitar evolution
I built a cheap, $100, headless Steinberger style kit a few years ago for travel. There were a few assembly challenges but it came together good. Total price with a pickup/wiring upgrade and paint was about $170.
I'm a guitar player over 50 and have been struggling to have a travel guitar. all the 3/4 size guitars are just shrunk down to be comfortable. I bought the new Ibanez q52 headless, and it's wonderful. Compact and easy to play. Bought a Legator soft case for it. score!
I did last years KYG StewMac shipping deal, but this current one came too late as alot of us had to renew a month or so ago. Renewed at full price reluctantly, but StewMac did us a "solid" deal later. They provided $25 coupon to use on any item, so essentially that took are of the 1/2 off shipping deal.
40:26 I think the point about IP is probably right, but also: it is prime real-estate for the logo. Players on stage effectively have a mini-billboard on their guitar, advertising the brand. It is hard to imagine the incentive to make a headless guitar (compared to making another run of, say, sea-foam green).
I agree with Phil's point about the IP in the headstock for Fender, Gibson, and PRS. It reminds me of the old hood ornaments that classic cars used to have in the 30s and 40s. Cars today don't have them anymore, but the branding element has shifted to the front grills. Today, you recognize cars because of the distinctive grills. Electric BMWs don't need grills for cooling, but they all have fake BMW grills. Guitars will work the same way. Once headless becomes more popular, guitar brands will transition to branding the pick guard or the guitar equivalent of the automotive grill. I'm reminded of the new Epiphone Casinos. They've got that prominent Epiphone "E" on the pick guard and truss rod cover. I don't think Fender or Gibson's first headless guitars are going to be Fender or Gibson branded. I think they're going to try it on Squires or Epiphones first. If it takes off, you'll see headless migrate over to the main brands.
I recently bought a headless guitar and fell in love with them. Already have bought another one. Recently went on a cruise and threw my headless gig bag over my shoulder and carried on the ship. With a tiny multi effect pedal and a pair of headphones I had a complete system. Love them
As an artist , I think it is being overlooked that the headstock is part of the design aesthetic. Hall's wife wrote the logo script for Rickenbacker, the Fender logo was one of Randall's best designs,and the headstock a part of Bigsby's legacy ; it is part of the aesthetic. Many things are superfluous to use ,but are essential to the appeal of the product.
Another very useful show, Phil! I especially appreciate the fact that you addressed noise suppression and hi-gain pedals back-to-back. My favorite hi-gain pedal is the (non-preamped) Diezel VH4...which I was about to send back due to excessive noise...until I gave the Boss NS-2 a try! It single-handedly elevated the VH4 to "Godhead Status"! AND, it's SO transparent, I can leave it on ALL THE TIME; and there are NO "Tone Drawbacks". Just UNBELIEVABLE!
Met Phil in line today at the store. He was gracious enough to chat with me for a few minutes about gear and small brand legacy. Love the headless topic, I wish I would have grabbed a bunker headless years ago when I had the chance, I do have a beat up Hohner "the jack" headless that I travel with occasionally though, it's lightweight, no neck dive and a total vibe. Love the content!
The lack of headless is not about IP it's about market demand. There is very little. Ibanez has even slashed its offerings. Most players think they look goofy and few, if any, mainstream guitar heroes play them on stage and that is far and away the number one decision driver for younger and first time buyers. They are absolutely awesome vacation guitars. I kind of miss my Steinberger GLs and GMs from back in the day. Never, ever had to worry about stability but people asking me "what's that thing you're playing up there" got very tiresome.
The thing is - they *could* make a headless guitar with a custom (very small) headstock. Maybe just a swoopy decorative wooden piece a couple inches long on the end of the neck with their logo on it - for looks only.
What you said about Glen and what he is referring to with the "pickups don't matter" thing is the best explanation I've heard. That was explained way more accurately and understandable than the way Glenn says it. I completely agree with your thoughts about what he means, but Glenn really should explain in more detail because there are a lot of players that don't understand and just go around telling everyone that pickups don't matter.
I had a nice gig bag for my Spector NS1 with a hook. I would bring it to the gate and the flight attendants would hang it in the coat closet of first class. I did not have a first class ticket.
The ISP Decimator works better than noise gates because it isn't a noise gate, it's a downward expander and sounds much more natural than a noise gate. Buck Waller at ISP is probably the world's expert on noise suppression.
For fender Gibson or PRS were to cut the headstock off, like you said, and I was thinking the same thing was that you’re basically cutting off your intellectual property which if you think about it, would be a form of castration. Why would you want to castrate yourself? And you’re absolutely on the ball on that one.
Headless guitars, just think of the 3+3 tuning issues this could solve for all brands! Like others suggested, would be cool to have the option to go headless or add a "fake" headstock just for show (and the brands can still see their iconic headstocks). Someone who is smarter than me can probably come up with a system to preserve the body shape as well, maybe make tuning adjustments from the back which would have recessed area for the system. From the front it would look like a normal guitar!
On your pickups - the flame treatment is called "case hardened". It's a term from the firearms industry. It was a protective treatment that preceded "blueing". You see it on American Civil War era firearms. FYI....
The Gibson Corvus was designed to be headless but the designer was told to put a headstock on it, it’s an obscure model but if you Google it you can definitely see it
Headless guitars are a godsend for those of us with back problems. Also, the ergonomics of a headless help prevent many of the common long term injuries that many guitarists experience over decades of playing.
For years I ran the ISP Deci-Mate G, ISP's mini (1509a enclosure) one knob noise gate that has all their latest technology and connects by way of TRS, it worked okay, but I sold it once I found my Donner SophGate which has worked better for me than any other noise gate I've ever used personally, it's a 4 knobber, but lets you dial in your gate much, much more efficient and effectively and is way cheaper too.
Warwick Gnome is a great clean lightweight class d bass amp. Love it out my 18” blended with a 12” guitar amp as a “distorted horn” for my rock tone, and the venue sound people I’ve worked with love it + the DI out. The 200 has worked perfectly in 100 people and under venues, outdoor gigs, and the Whiskey a Go Go which is about 500. Going to eventually get the 600 for even larger spaces and keep the 200 for small venues/as a backup/go into the 12” if more oomph needed without extra cabs. Class D for the win, my Warwick and 18” JBL weighs less than the 100w 15” Crate I started on and hated for years for being too quiet and big. Not a problem with the Class Ds, practically they rock the f on. Part of what made me enjoy being a bassist again 😊
@PhillipMcKnight - I enjoyed your discourse on headless guitars, and totally agree with your points. Over the years, owning a Steinberger Spirit, and more recently a Kiesel Zeus, I'm a headless player who appreciates their strengths as well. IMO, the biggest technical issue with manufacturing a headless guitar is the bridge, and more so for one with a trem. It would need to accommodate built-in tuners that work well, and have stable tuning and sustain. Ibanez has released some fixed bridge headless guitars, but lacks any model with a trem - likely they have been working on making their own. The EART GW series have some bridges that I found to lack sustain (bridge pulleys), and are hard to tune. The Hipshot and Steinberger trem bridge designs are great IMO.
I think Fender could be a contender (hey that rhymes) for manufacturing or outsourcing headless trem bridges; Leo did come up with the original Strat bridge after all. I have low confidence in Gibson doing anything in the headless other than a reluctant response to other first movers. Look at how they bought and now just sit on Steinberger without supporting the brand.
Regarding speakers and tone; I was struggling with finding my sound to the point of going through several very expensive amps. After watching Glen, I purchased some EVH celestion's for one cab to see the result. Absolutely loved it. Went back and tried a couple of amps I thought I just didn't like and loved them through those speakers as well. I do play a mix of 80's metal, but still had issues with the "cleans" through the stock v30's. I don't record, just play for my own enjoyment. I definitely believe what Fricker says regarding the biggest change you can make to your tone in most cases. I'm sure there are instances this may not be the case, but for me it was exactly what I needed.
Thanks for the 2 volumes 2 tones in the middle position explanation because I thought my Aria Pro 2 from the 80s had been tampered with in the past. Now I know it is correct.
Ibanez Q52 wall-hangs somewhat normally. I am less about the travel aspect and more into it because it is 5lbs and I tend to play at my desk and it works much better without the headstock.
I am excited to see you review the texas toast guitar. They are such nice people, I learned a ton taking a class up there. Hope you and your family have a great holiday!
Back in the late 70's, I took my acoustic Epiphone on many flights. I would always downtune it, not sure why, but I was told it was a good idea. The flight attendant never had a problem setting it in one of the first class closets that were located close to the door. I was young and good looking at the time though. Maybe that had something to do with it.
Downtuning reduces tension on the neck. So the idea is that downtuning reduces the likelihood of something breaking during the heat (and humidity) cycling during transport.
For a headless guitar to work for Fender, I think they would either buy a company or work out a license agreement similar to Gretsch. I agree that the heart and soul of the fender is the head stock. rationally I understand it is a placebo effect, but I do perceive a difference in a Strat and an identical S type copy.
I've seen Dr. Andre Fludd on here has a headless guitar that has a nubbins of a headstock. There isn't a full on headstock there, but there is the start of one, so you can feel it at the top of the neck. That really seems ideal to me. I'd have to check his channel out again to see the brand though.
I love my Kramer "the Duke" headless bass from the late 70s/early 80s... it has its own thing going bc it's painted with spiderweb designs and big dimarzio style pickups. It has metal in the neck as well.
It’s not just headstock. PRS also has the birds inlays as their property. Similarly Jason Becker has the numbers inlay as part of his property. So if PRS made a headless, but it still had their birds inlay, it couldn’t be copied.
Bunker guitars are effectively headless. The bridge is where the nut normally is and there’s a decorative headstock because, like you said, it would be ugly otherwise.
A solution for the big brands would be a snap on cosmetic headstock to use onstage - when you have a headless certain audience members react negatively to it so this would also solve that issue. People won't notice no tuners or strings on it as long as they see the brand and headstock where they expect it to be. You'd still have the thrill of Fender or Gibson ownership even if you never snapped it on more than once or twice...
Can't open those bags either. I use Mojo Grips over the picks. Also use textured Dunlop Flow picks. I can't feel so good either so they both are great.
I think it was smart to use gear as furniture. It beats having it stuffed in a garage where you can't park or at someone else's house. My solution would be to have a folding TV tray for the wife, if she doesn't want to come with and help with the loading in & out 😅
Mad respect about the second the show quality is down, he’s done. There’s a few 80s bands out there still milking their fans and their show quality is horrendous. If you haven’t seen a Joe show, they’re amazing. He plays with his heart.
Hey @PhilipMcKnight, I would love to see those black work shirts again in your merch section! Even if it is a pre-pay order so they're only made after payment has been made, and that there's a wait for them to be delivered.
I don't see many of Gibson's customers wanting to buy a headless Gibson. If Gibson changes anything, people lose their mind and flip out. I'm picturing the comments already, "Gibson basically broke the headstock off before it left the factory and they're charging the same price and it's less wood, what a ripoff". They might bring back Steinberger, they might do a headless Epiphone or Kramer someday, but we're a long way away from a headless Gibson, and that's probably a good thing. I don't think the advantages of a headless guitar are something that most people who are buying a Gibson or a PRS are concerned with. $3k+ for a Gibson or PRS as a travel guitar meant to take a beating doesn't make a lot of sense IMO.
The more I think about Fender, Gibson or PRS making a headless, I think PRS might be the most logical. I think the headstock is more important to Gibson and Fender than PRS. Both Fender and Gibson are true legacy brands and that headstock is their identity. While the PRS headstock is important, I imagine that those bird inlays are copyrighted and as important as the headstock. A headless PRS guitar would still be easily identifiable without the headstock as those inlays are so obvious. Plus I don't see PRS as a legacy brand (yet), and they should avoid falling into that trap. A headless Singlecut McCarty 594 would be awesome.
I have a Gretsch with a master volume, when I switch to something else the lack of a master volume quickly becomes very apparent to me, kinda like switching from a whammy-equipped guitar to a hardtail, it shouldn't be a dealbreaker but it's easy to take for granted
I have used a ton of noise gates, and my favorite is the TC Electronic Sentry. I don't think much of the Boss NS-2, any I haven't used the ISP Decitmator because I've read a lot of mixed reviews. I've used the EHX Silencer, KMA Pylon, Revv G8, Donner SophGate and a lot of mult-effects that include gates. The Revv G8 and the KMA Pylon are good, but the TC Electronic Sentry is the absolute best gate out there.
I think the 3 big brands should stick with their current trends when implementing headless guitars. They have squire, epiphone, and prs se popular with the younger market. Just like headless guitars. With the brands wanting to make those lines more “premium” than they historically have been they could make the lines their headless guitar versions. Use USA made parts and maybe even some USA made guitars for higher priced squires and epiphones etc. They don’t risk their legacy brands with the rich old guys and they may even bring on more younger players making more modern guitars and could achieve their higher end goal for those more affordable brands. Interesting idea I doubt you’d see it with the big names on them like Gibson or fender. The most they would do are the more affordable brands
Seems like the idea of a headless Fender or Gibson guitar should be obvious but it never occurred to me. Great analysis of the subject. Now that you have brought it up though, the company logo could be put on the fretboard or other parts of the guitar 🤔
I'm never able to watch live due to work. If you remember for next week I'd like to know if you have any opinion on tremelo springs and anything to watch out for when installing new one that are less tense (5 raw vintage to replace 3 very stiff Ibanez springs on a guitar made in the 80s). I know you have the video about how to put them on/take them off, but I mean more from a "things to possibly watch out for" and if the claw should be moved at all.
I had a Steinberger years ago, pre-internet...finding double ball end strings locally was a pain, it was a pretty nice guitar though, even loaded with emg humbuckers from the factory
Had a Kiesel headless Osiris, sold it. Never traveled with it, and disliked its tiny tuning knobs, plus the black anodize scratched easily when changing strings. Otherwise, a nice guitar; but I preferred the tones in my Strat.
Hollow flake and other exotic finishes are cheap to do now.I have a bunch of firefly guitars with them and they cost nothing extra.Some cheap Amazon guitars have them too.
I have an Ibanez Ichi10 (headless) and I took a beat up Talman body husk and put the same pickups with a 10-way switch (which I think I learn from you, Phil). Those are my number 1 and number 2 guitars for gigging and such. It's great.
Defending 70 year old headstocks that were stolen from other companies in the first place makes me lose any respect i had for Fender, Gibson and PRS. How about patenting innovation instead? Want to ruin something? Get lawyers involved.
I've always liked the headless concept. I'm looking at a number of brands at the moment. I remember when Steinbergers first hit the market around '86. I wanted one even back then, but the issues were as follows: too expensive, with a waiting list of months; a lack of double ball end string brands, at the time only one on the market, which were more expensive than standard strings. They still are and now there are maybe three brands. But bow you can use regular strings with a headless because most headless guitars come with locking nuts.
"...not because it broke off..." 😂😂😂 I cleverly bought a Traveler guitar just before the pandemic, but I can see how easy it is to get hooked on a headless design. I like it.
I bought an Alp (Advanced Live Performance) headless guitar from a company called Asmuse. It is full length, with an aluminum body, adjustable bridge with individual adjustable string saddles, 5 way pickup selector, adjustable truss rod and many features not found on Fenders, Gibson's or other "top name" guitars. It arrived with a level neck, correct intonation, low action, no buzz or rattling or rough frets or sharp fret edge and a custom made, well padded carry bag. It plays and sounds very good and--- the aluminum body will last forever. I have owned Fenders, Gibsons, etc. but decided that I am not going to pay for brand name guitars just to impress people. My goal is to entertain people ! No one has made negative comments about the instrument, and when asked about it I explain what it is and why I bought it. One of the things I tell them is----- making headless guitars with bodies made of materials other than wood reduces the number of trees being cut down.
Since there are already headless “copies” out there, Fender might as well make the money they’d make off of headless guitars and give us Fender fans reason to not buy it from someone else. And it’d fit perfectly in the Squier Paranormal series. There are adapters available for the Steinberger Spirit so that you don’t have to use double-ball strings. But the guitar isn’t great even at its budget price. Gibson is really leaving a lot of money on the table by not doing anything worthwhile with the Steinberger brand. What’s the best headless out there in the Squier price range? You say you’d have fewer amps if it weren’t for the channel… Yeah, I’m there. I still have one tube amp so that I can occasionally remind myself that there’s nothing magic about tubes. I have a Roland JC-40 for when I need my modelers or my synths to be amplified. (And because I love the sound plugging straight into it.) I might get an acoustic amp to use for acoustic gigs or as a mini two-channel PA. That’s all I need amp-wise. I’ll never understand the attitude that import guitars shouldn’t be at every price point. If there’s a guitar that I think is worth $2000, I don’t care where it was assembled. And the whole “made in…” idea has long been pointless anyway. Just about every product has parts or depends on tooling or design expertise from all over the world.
Had a headless Steinberger guitar for 25 years. Easy to play, compact, easy to maintain and sounds as good as any other electric that I have. If I get asked at airline check ins, I often say that it is a tennis racket. Don’t bring the Allen keys with you on flights. Les Paul is an iconic guitar because of the people who have played one. The design is really old tech, the build quality is crap and finish is below par for the price, an Asian made guitar is finished better than a Les Paul and a Japanese one is probably better made than 90% of American guitars, regardless of price . An Les Paul is kind of like someone who is still driving a 70’s American car , thinking that there is nothing better.
OK first let’s get to the elephant in the room… never say you love another man’s nags… second which guitar do you have that you can’t stand the most that you would love to sell? I would be interested in some thing not more than $500 in a fender Stratocaster, which I don’t have or a full grown ass Gibson, Les Paul, standard, or something like that? thanks brother , you bring a vast knowledge of guitars and pedals to the table it’s really great listening and watching what you have to say and what you’ve changed up in the background lately. By the way, I’ve been in three bands myself and I blew my Bluetooth mixer/PA and I’m really having a time finding some thing else in my price range because everything is gone so far up in price. By the way, I have a Rickenbacker frying pan with volume in the tonearms and its original case it was my grandfathers I’m looking to get somewhere around $46,000 out of that and I even have a picture of him sitting down playing it when he was not playing in his band that he had back in the 40s and 50s. It’s a beautiful piece of artwork but I just can’t afford to let it sit around any longer. I’ve got a son who is the last in line to get it, but he gave up playing drums and guitar along time ago so he probably would do the same thing he probably take it and sell it.. so I figured I’d sell it and use the money from me and my retired wife and my mother, that she takes care of who has dementia. Yeah, it’s a rough life for me right now, but like my mother always said, don’t let the day month week or year get you down there’s always another one unless of course you don’t make it that far. Have a good one brother.
I think if any of those three brands would pull off a headless guitar it would be PRS because I believe the bird inlays are trademarked as the headstock is.
I bought a complete Starcaster Strat guitar By" Fender .thats actually all on the head stock. .anyway i got it at my local 'Music-Go-Round' for under $100 for the express purpose to strip it and mod it extremely to my specs.. the finish on the body of this Chinese made piece was so thick that a belt sander took time to get through it to the bare wood body.. the headstock was easy.. then I took my time after the gloss black base coat and then the custom stars and planets space theme air brushed paint job which took a llonger time to perfect to my liking and then the thick Clear coat to be able tolevel sand and polish to a glassy shine i want... then there the extreme electronics in it for the 3 quad rail hunbuckers with Les Paul style control lay out.. P/P coil spliting in thr bolume pots the 3 500K ohm audio taper pots and the regulad 500K audoi taper tone pots with ,047 orange drop caps each. and a bypass switch to have neck and bridge together regardless of the 5-way selector switch position jsut the way i want.. on a regular 5-way thats mot possible.. and a little led set as indicators for each coil in circuits at any time wired through the other side of the P/P pots .. just use the usually vacant part for another added attraction... the hand made stainless steeel pick guard is salvaged from a patio standing propane heater...lol ... the tank case that is the base was the stainless panels i used and although they were polished i used the belt sander and wire wheels to get the brushed finish i wanted.. and cutting to shape and the pick up holes as well and for the pots and switches and output jack...as well as the fact that its extended as is the control cavity to acommodate the extra pots and switches for the les Paul style electronics wiring where a matter of adding a third section to the original circuit design and the selector was just a little different, but not as hard as I had thought it might be. adding a pot pair was the trick... over all wiring just a bit more crowded but since the normal 18 awg wiring is actually extreme overkill anyway with only mili volts and mili amps in the passive circuit to begin with a much lighter and therefore thinner wiring that will do the job nicely I so I stripped out a VGA cable to get the very thin wire collection in it and use the variety of colors to my advantage for my purposes.. lol it's traditional to use the 18 awg wiring but not really necessary the output jack needs it but that's just for the solder joint strength. .. configuring the pick guard took me on an adventure with a step drill and a dremmel with a cutting wheel or rather many cutting wheels to get to the right size and shape I needed the the mounting screw holes were really just a matter of marking with the original plastic one and adding a few for the extra size of the new version that I made.. then mounting everything was finer work that usual with added weight of the extra parts and the fact that the fine adjustments in the size and fitment here and there,,, a trim here and a tweak in alignment thre and trying to avoid bending it at all... omce i had it all assembled the weight was amazing.. heavier that you moght think but it more than aff sets the removed wood from the body and actually adds more still to the average it wasw at only 7lbs 4 oz. im havent weighed it fully assembled just yet not having had the painted body abd neck assembled with the rest.. addint locking tuners bit no added weight in the titanium nut it was mocked up to test the electronics but them i found the flaws in th circuit and the damaged pots and switches that will get replaced soon.. testing porvewd out the sound qualith of the cheap Pick ups that do sound good through my amp but even better through the while signal chain .. the final assembly after the finish and electronice are all finished and done right. all shiny and working right,, finaly i dream of that day.. I think a wireless rig may be needed as i tent to walk around in circle as i Play..lol tangled cable is a pain..only 3 to 4 ft from the amp and still the 10 ft cable is all tnagled up just in about 10 mins.
The head is the Achilles heel of Gibson guitars. They break off easily and make tuning difficult. A headless version of any Gibson model would be a better guitar.
About pickups with distortion... I wonder about, say, that seymour duncan bridge pickup shootout where JB, black winter, nazgul, etc, etc.. they all sound quite different, and with some pretty heavy riffs too. So is that a post production mix or is there more to it than just distortion? Also why would they even make so many different 'heavy' pickups if they are mostly the same with distortion?
The Big Three...going Headless? They may have to someday if the market really starts to lean that way. Gibson may become the main hold out....they seem to really rely on their "Heritage" and when they have attempted changes...really went in weird directions....that weren't accepted. Headless guitars in general.... I once thought that I would never own one! Today one of my favorite guitars is not only headless.... BUT also an 8 STRING Multi-Scale FAN FRET Beast! ...and I am NOT a Metal Player!!!! This guitar has so many things that I never thought that I would like....and I love it!
I got a D'Addario locking end strap when i was string shipping at Guitar Centr and maybe a pedal, but just got the strings and strap the amp and guitar i got at my local 'Music-Go-Round', each for under $100 at different times a year apart as needed them.. the amp first to amp my cell phone at work in the commercial laundry plant to have enough power and volume to be hears over the various machinery there and compete with the many blu tooth karaoke speakers around the plant used by other employees. one song over there and another over to another side all in competition with the machine noises everywhere.... Oh what fun it is to try to hear mine among it all...my tiny Blackstar ID Core 40 watt sttereo amp dod fine when i got all dialed in for the spund i wanted and needed..oh dodO mntion that we wer forbidden to use ear buds at all so high volume speakers reigned supreme there..mine a real 40 watt guitar amp but tiny 6.5 in stereo speakers straining to compete...lol i plan to mod it with a pir of extension speaker acke. these sre to be switching 1/4" jacks in a recessed plate in the bottom of the cab to present the controls to the front instead as noirmal on thr tor rear.. when the external speaker jacks are in use they will disable the internal speakers to use the full power availab;e from the amp and the built in effects therre as well through the vertical 4X 12 cabs i will custom build for that purpose.. ass is designed for the use i propose..through a switching box i will make to work as i want... combining the4 surround system in for more power and deeper bass overall. I've tested it provisionally guitar to amp and earphone out from ampto CD in on the surround reciever to the system speakers and the sub woofer in the system too... sounds better that nay Marshall Ive ever heard but then a Marshall doesn't have a sub woofer to give that deeper bass i get from my surround system anyway.. innovate and overcome.I want it my way so i desing to my liking and expectations... I usually get what i wanted within reson. u used to salvage stereo speakers and recievers from trash piles if supossedly broken equipment that mostly were intact.. the cabs may have been junk but many components were stil god and i got what i could for free and then mix and match to get abllanced sound from a variety of sizes of speakers and other equipmet by trial and error till it sounded right to me.. i used salvged kitchen cabinets for speakers and eother esed the originad stereo furniture of mad do with hand made untis to suit... keeping as much original as i could.tis at a preteen age.. about 10 to 12... I liked to tinker and fix stuff from stereo to bikes and more... still like to play around building and modifying things to get what i want.
My guitars are almost always tuned half step down lol. The ones who complain about it need to quit whining and play around with different tunings. Sometimes I tune to drop and if needed I will tune to standard but most of the songs I enjoy playing are half step down. If I am going to be playing a bunch of songs that are in different tunings I will tune one guitar one way and another the other.
I owned a Steinberger licensed headless, full body guitar in the early 90's. It was OK but, had a thick LP style painted neck. I cannot stand painted necks so, I traded it. Phil's Keisel looks like a headless I could fall in love with. FYI, Don "Buck Dharma" Rosier of BOC fame has been playing his custom Steinberger "Cheeseberger" for nearly 40 years.
As far as Gibson goes, I don't think you'll ever see a headless Les Paul for a couple of reasons. After the Robo tuners disaster I can't see Gibson doing anything radical to the design ever again. Those guitars received so much ridicule and hate that coincided with the companies QC issues leading to a real low point for the company that I'm sure they don't want to revisit. The other thing is that people shelling out those Les Paul dollars will not do so for a headless version. I have a 2014 Les Paul Future Tribute. The future part was Steinberger gearless tuners. In practice these were more accurate and ergonomic, esthetically they just turned people off. The headstock was a traditional LP design but without tuners you could see from the front. they looked like there weren't any tuners at all. The guitar was an LP in every other aspect including sound. But people just couldn't get past the no tuner look and the series died. I can only imagine how badly a headless LP would go over with Les Paul players.
I think Fender could totally do this in the Squier brand. It’s already a compromise in the use of the intellectual property and it would sell like hotcakes. Ditto Gibson with Epiphone. In PRS case the overseas and USA models are maybe too tightly connected.
