Why small dealers need your business more than before 

I called my Sweetwater rep last week and asked to be notified when the Silver sky SE came out. He asked if were to get one what color would I would want assuming basic colors. I picked blue and he said he would reserve one for me. Called again today to order a Lock-it strap and was told my guitar would ship Tuesday..

Reverb was kind enough to put the wrong information on the 1099 and send it to the IRS then ignore all communication. My CPA still can't figure out how they arrived at the wrong income. This is lovely. They are already skeleton crew. And now I have problems with the IRS because of them. Beware!

Phil, I'm not a musician but I really enjoy this virtual conversations. You are an excellent story teller

i can’t stop putting these videos on

I don’t think I’ve ever commented on an ad before, but I have to complement the player for bringing out the versatility of this great instrument.

I LOVE my All-American American Pro Mom's Apple Pie Strat with the CANADIAN maple ne....oh no I meant the OTHER All-American American Pro Uncle Sam one with the INDIAN rosewood ....oh forget it. Time to go practice some cool Soukous guitar riffs on them, for that American Legion gig.

Phil, look forward to this every week. Thx for always coming thru! 🍻

I really appreciate that you say when you are sent stuff or you personally requested it. Also I'm glad you post the full podcasts cause I always miss them.

Great video Phil as always. In these trying times I love just sitting back and listening about guitar gear.

Dear Philip, thank you very much! Happy New year!

Great podcast this week Phill, lots of great topics. Loved the term "she shed", OP naming right there

My favorite guitar is my Fender Chinese made Thinline Telecaster p90 Deluxe it's fun beautiful and affordable 😋 lts as good as any American made Telecaster I've ever had!

I was lucky, I got an Ultra Luxe strat back in late December and just learned today about the price increases. I’m not new at guitar but I am super clueless when it comes to the new/used guitar market, so it’s cool that I lucked out on what seems like a small deal on my purchase

Thanks for the show Phil. I watch the show every week and look forward to listening while I do chores or mess around with my acoustic. Hoping to get to try a Silver Sky SE soon

I wanted to buy a Gibson SG Special with P90's recently. Had 3 different Guitars in my hands, all riddled with QC issues. Thats why i bought the Epiphone version instead, and am pretty happy with it. I swear if Epiphone would use Nitro finishes, Gibson wouldnt sell a single guitar anymore.

Mr McKnight, you're an artist, believe that... You paint a vision on RU-vid. A vision not only containing rational comparisons of gear and all it's capacities, but a rational view of human understanding and philosophy. That's entertainment and artistry

Thank you for another episode! I think it’s funny we all were shocked by the SS se, I feel like people have been talking about it for months.

Yeah I own Gibson,US fender,Mex fender,etc etc but on any given day my fav guitar can be my "squier vintage modified thinline tele".

Nice work man ! Thank you for sharing.....

I wish PRS would offer those Silver Sky colors (or similar) for their other models. I love the guitars, but I’d like a more casual/colorful look than all the flame tops.

Is it just me, or are there a LOT more ads on these podcasts than there used to be?

I have only been a sub a year or so, but this is a Weekly highlight for sure! And maybe its me but are these just getting better? :) love the show, love Phil!

Sweetwater reached out to me and let me know I’ll be receiving the final PRS 35th Anniversary coming out of their factory. The finish is Yellow Tiger, and I’m really looking forward to its arrival! Thanks, Luke. 😎

1:10:30 I've actually wondered what you thought of that guitar and where it was on the wall these days. Glad you talked about it.

I just found a good deal on an Imperial for my buddy. It blew me away. It’s like what you want a Deluxe to be, plus an amazing drive channel with the “bite” control, which makes it sound like a plexi

Hey Phil, I bought the Ruby Sea Strat shape after watching your video. Can't wait to hear the Bare Knuckle pickups.

I do agree with the white guitar hypothesis. I've done a series of tests for my university dissertation about different acoustic guitars and their finishes affecting the tone. This essentially boiled down to higher frequencies are damped if there's a lot of paint and/or varnish applied. So this will transfer over to electrics as well but with a slightly less pronounced effect I'd hazard a guess. Would be interesting to fully dive into that at a future date tho.

Fully agree @31:50 with Rickenbacker ... I have the 4003 Fireglo Bass and it is the best sounding passive instrument I have without a doubt. It feels great, it's stylish, it's well balanced ... Everything about it is phenomenal. That is one instrument I would never part with.

PHIL nobody looks at your old videos cause your main page is absolutely 100% user unfriendly. Organize your videos, Sharpen your axes, podcasts, instructional, tests etc etc, make them EASY to find. I love your stuff but i'm not going searching for thing I don't know if you have done. Some regular should bring this up to you

While the country of origin is outdated and they are all capable of producing good quality. The prices on import guitars are so high now that I can find a USA or Japanese made guitar used that's far superior for the same or less money.

I recently bought my first Gibson last week, and I did in fact have the “I’ve arrived” feeling myself. Well put Phil.

Good talk, especially the country of origin part. My Reverend Corgan is from Korea. But it’s flawless and plays like a dream (for what I want) plus when you consider that we have no problem with the electronics they produce.

I have multiple Guild and Gretsch guitars made in Korea. Every one of them is gorgeous, play very well, and were flawless on delivery.

Phil love your RU-vid header title. It says it all. There used to be a stigma with anything made off shore. I think the quality of the non American made guitars should be understood by now.

With the price increases, I prefer companies to do them outright instead of over time. Even if it comes out to the same end price, the one jump looks more understandable two or three smaller increases.

USA vs MEX- phil, you’re spot on. Mexican strats are made by ,inimum wage workers in mexico. USA strats are made by minimum wage workers a few hundred miles away. A strat is a CNC guitar, designed by Leo to be as easy and cheap to make as possible. A squier is barely different to a fender.

Hello from New Mexico, your the reason I bought the glarry semi hollow and the yellow srtrat..both needed a little work but there nice to tinker with..just orders the new jazz ggs 101 jazzy.hope you have a review soon on it,.took a chance on it..lol blessings brother.

So glad I bought my fender am pro 2 jazzmaster on December 31 2021... next day the price jumped from 1599 to 1899. 300$ increase in a matter of a couple hours.

Regarding the gear insanity and not being able to tell the difference, I call all of it "tonewood" in that it does make a difference but the difference doesn't really make a difference. There's a young guy at my job who is a metal guy and we were talking about tube screamers, and did the various models of them sound different, and in the end we decided that they all sounded different but they were still all just tube screamers. It didn't matter because they would all do a tube screamer thing to your sound.

I recently acquired a PRS SE Hollowbody Std. with the intentions of changing the p’ups, upgrading the electronics, and sanding the neck for a non-gloss/natural wood feel. I installed some OX4 Low-Winds, a USA PRS McCarty electronics kit, and will strip the neck soon. It’s FANTASTIC, even compared to the much more expensive guitars I’ve owned. I may swap p’ups and electronics in more expensive guitars, but I doubt I’d sand a Core 594. The SE makes it easier to customize. The level of SE (and other overseas built guitars) is so far beyond what was available when I started playing in the early ‘90s!

Was able to grab an Ever Green silver sky this morning through sweetwater. Green and dragonfruit are the only colors left. I was still able to pick my weight (6.14oz) and look forward to trying this out when it gets to me in the desert

Fenders increases to me have been the most noticeable. Jim root jazz I bought last Jan was 1499….now they’re 1949 bro no one can afford that. I sure as hell know my wages haven’t increased that much.

Nardo Grey is the car color. Named for the Nardo ring, which is a track where manufacturers test some prototypes.

Time to pay back those stimulus checks that we borrowed!

You may not be doing many pedal videos, but I swapped a TC HOF2 for a Keeley Caverns because of your videos. Your thoughts on pedals come across loud and clear- actions speak louder than words.

Happy new year! Thanks for all the great content! Question for anyone on here really. I own two AO Strats - 50s and 60s- I have no real intention to sell- but I am curious to what happens to value of guitars like that when production gets discontinued? Lose value? Still hold value? Does it Depend on what Fender will replace that series with? Thanks !

that comment phil said, can you gig with it, for that's all that matters . . . yes i know the 1.5K + guitars are great, but also totally agree with refining or learning to hear in tone chasing. I remember I tasted b33r for the first time. THought it was bitter and yucky. Now I love chasing local craft brews . . . same with wine. This is helpful in navigating electric guitars, so much about them. Also true country of origin doesn't matter, so many areas know to build quality guitars . . .

Dude. I got to do an EMG roadshow in Nashville pre covid. Morgan amps are kicking. I have a vid where he explains his amp with me playing. Great dude. Need a tour so I can afford his amp lol.

I agree regarding country of manufacture, I own a UK made 84' JCM800 and a US made Block Letter 5150, but my best amp is a Chinese made Jet City JCA50 that cost me a similar price to a Bugera. What can I say it's a brilliant amp and the best New gear purchase I ever made. It takes Drive pedals even better than the 800, & It does Cleans several leagues better than the 5150, also its Gain channel is like the 5150's but smoother and a little tighter, so seeing that I play Prog/Math Metal, that fits me perfectly

I have a Strat with a 7.25" radius neck. It was my first electric guitar, and over the years I found that I didn't like the radius. The frets we're wearing down, and I bought frets and a 9.5" radius block to reshape the fretboard before refretting it. Then I got to wondering what would happen if I just radiused the existing frets instead. To my surprise, it worked well. It confirmed that I much prefer a flatter radius neck, and I've extended the life of the frets.

Called guitar center to ask about SS SEs and they said they have no control over buying (lol) and they just get shipped what they get shipped and it shows up when it shows up, what a wild way to run a business. Also I’m very excited to watch the secret guitar video this week

Phillip, If you're having trouble with your suppliers for the parts you need for your pickups. The same thing is happening to the big manufacturers for their guitars and amps. Not only were they having to catch up with their backorders and fulfill existing orders, but they were running short of parts for some of their most popular selling models. Many of the big chain music stores and big online stores were short of the hottest selling models. Now if new ones are suppose to be coming out you have to preorder them and wait to get them shipped to the store or to you directly.

I also have a fascination and phobia of sharks. Saw jaws at way too young as well. Students and friends give me shark paraphernalia all the time. To terrify me and laugh lol.

I saw Rhett Shull and Rick Beato both got a new Tone King Imperial mk ii recently. I've been lusting after one of those for a bit now - I'll be interested in your review. Especially how the attenuation works.

great news I have been wanting to try the silver sky so bad but why tempt 2600$ 850 I'm in cant wait to hear your thoughts on it

Phillip. I checked out StratOsphere, as you mentioned they’re a great source for parts. They have the goods, for sure. I get a kick out of the descriptions there…-Robert Cray knobs , Malmsteen strat jack plate …….. LMAO !

called a small shop, got the old price, free shipping, and a discount on top for a case. I love sweetwater but that was hundreds saved.

Guitar center is doing well. Filed bankruptcy for reorg, but 2020 and 2021 were record, years, and completely fixed their financial issues. Analysts forecast another record year for GC in 2022.

Our strange guitar shop is named "Guitar Bar." If you go there, you will see it is not a bar of ANY description. It actually is a large shop with two large rooms. The right side room is an ordinary pawn shop, and the left side room is a full-on guitar shop.

I play a Fender Mustang. The pickups were of course a bit lacking. I picked up a custom set of Strat/Mustang sized P90s called Stra-Dogs from Craig Vineham of Vineham Pickups. They are so good and they were only $100 for the set.

Hopefully this SE Silversky helps drop prices for the old SE EG. cause the specs on that old EG are what I like better. 10” radius, 25” scale, set neck, yes please.

I’d like to know a lot more about is wood, sourcing, seasoning, and selection. I’m guessing that make a big difference in cost and potentially quality and value.

Ironically the only time I got a dead pickup was a new pickup. I buy EMG B-stock from their factory outlet and used pickups whenever I can. Never had a problem.

I’ve always thought there might be a difference with white strats, but whatever it is, I like it! I always felt white strats all had a particular vocal quality. But while typing this out, it feels like a stupid thought haha!

My Rickenbacker guitars are keepers, the only brand I will never sell.

To celebrate a new career with a significant pay bump, I got a PRS custom 22 artist package. Gorgeous guitar, absolutely perfect, but it didn’t inspire me to play. After two months, I returned it and got a kiesel and can’t put it down.

Thank you for the honesty Phil. To summarize "spend that $3000-$9000 on USA made if you want resale value and the 'I have arrived' / street credit factor", it's a complete admission from an inside like Phil that there's a sort of snake oil component here with USA made guitars. The builders know this and refuse to build spec for spec the same guitar in Indonesia... Meanwhile the actual artist on stage well known enough to influence "USA better" get their instruments for free through promotional deals and many of them did play foreign built before the freebies started coming... The music instrument/gear industry is just such a minefield if you care about things like integrity and actually getting what you pay for... Have pointed out before too, there are foreign built guitars, even cheap ones like the Yamaha FG300 that actually retain their resale value just as well as USA made guitars, in fact some better than most USA made guitars... It's all about that % from final sale price to resale price.

Hey was able to preorder the ever green which is cool sweetwater only has the ever green and dragon fruit available for preorder

I have a brand new set of Wilkinson pickups from music Lily I believe also from England, I gave$60 2 years ago.

hope you review that blue ibanez behind you too.

I know its a little late, but would you do a video on the Fender American Pro II line? I love my APII Strat!!!

Hey Phil, thanks for the great education for a beginner 34 year old! Can you tell me what that orange/red, chrome, and cream Les Paul is in the background? I built an ebay bolt neck kit, vid is on my channel, and it looks exactly the same.

I called Sweetwater on Wednesday and was able to pre-order a Silver Sky SE in my chosen color. Was surprised to hear that they were getting about 50-60 of each color... not sure if that is a small.or.large amount. My guess is they will all be spoken for by release date.

For Phil and everyone else…I have had no luck with Sweetwater and deals. Have had some luck with zzounds, but most recently called around for an expensive piece of gear, no luck with zzounds, so called musicians friend. Immediately got 15 percent off and honestly service couldn’t have been better. Not annoying and fake like sweetwater. Also got a direct line to my salesman for anything in the future (very sweetwaterish). Hopefully it comes in a new box with all the parts. Lol. Just an FYI for anyone annoyed with Sweetwater. Deals are still out there.

My Epiphone LP custom is great. I wanted one because I've always wanted a custom but can't afford the ridic prices on the Gibsons so I went with an epiphone for a 3rd of the cost and I'm pretty sure it'll hold it's value. I've also had more quality issues with my Gibson than my Epiphone. I'm lucky to have 2 Gibson Les Pauls but I play my Epiphone LP custom and my made in Japan made ESP way more. I'm trying to make my brain get away from the whole. "it's American made so it's awesome" way of thinking. Mainly because I'm so sick of hearing how much better American made is when it really isn't. I'm not one to care if you like American made gear, that's fine, it's the whole making someone feel stupid for owning something else I have a problem with. Especially if said gear doesn't really have a difference of quality/sound to the American counter part. It's just toxic.

Iron Gear Pickups sound great, I have replaced Seymour Duncans and dimarzios with them in some of my guitars. Phenomenal customer service as well.

Yeah, my wife has NO clue about my guitar addiction. But she likes it just the same. Because when I'm in my guitar room bangin' on a guitar, she knows EXACTLY where I am, and EXACTLY what I'm doin'....😝

Does anyone have any other sources for used pickups aside from eBay and reverb?

What’s up with that Ibanez RG770 DX 👀👀👀

Why isn’t this posted in the podcast app yet?

I've seen Larry Carlton in playing a Sire at his tour dates now, and I know he's got a stake in it, but he wouldn't sacrifice his credentials if it didn't sound right at this point in his career IMHO .

As a Rickenbacker person, I've only known 2 kinds of people when I let them play mine ... they love em ,or think it's so weird to play they can't take it ... no middle ground it seems.

Thanks Phil for another Friday of Music fun. Guitar and gear fun! You know it's the Beatles actually took all the finishes off of their phones because I don't know if it was Jimmy Page but some famous guitarist of the time told them that the guitars sound better with no finishes on them all our natural cuz they breathe better. So all the Beatles did that. And they did that with more than one of their guitars. Even when fender of different subject but my friend that was trying to push their guitars onto the Beatles there wasn't any real desire necessarily to play them. They had their other guitars. And when they started out they all had cheap like guild acoustic guitars and they put their own pickups on them. And that's how they performed professionally on stage in the very beginning of their careers IE I think Germany Hamburg sessions and stuff. All of the guitars for cheap acoustic guitars with aftermarket pickups put on them so you can imagine a nightmare trying to play that through an amp. And their answer all cheaper some of them all purpose type amps with PA inputs and instrument inputs and Mike instruments Mike inputs. This is what they all played with back then in england. Don't forget Gibson wasn't making a Les Paul's anymore you know not the like we know them they were making the SGS they were extremely expensive as was fender. Although I took a little later on George had bought a Gibson or someone gave it to him probably. Yeah you know and look what look where those modest instruments got them. But yeah that whole wood thing you know the finish is stifling the wood or stifling you know the wood from breathing. And you got these people that kind of make sense to me to say you know what's dead it doesn't breathe lol. And I want you introduce say a magnetic pickup you know that is well potted you know wax potted it kind of takes a lot of the other factors of what the other components do for the sound. Although I seen some channels videos where they use different you know they're they're taking good instruments and they're pulling off like on a Gibson or an epiphone they're pulling off the tail pieces and put it on aftermarket ones then you know there is a difference I wouldn't have thought that would have made a an audible difference but apparently there is. So you know who knows. Is it that much of a difference to bother with it well it depends on your own space in your head and what you're looking for. Either way it's your guitars you should enjoy them the way you see fit and don't let anyone else tell you that you're right or wrong. What you hear is right. Anyway sincerely yours, Bob the blind bedroom guitarist keep them going Phil looking forward to a whole new year of more know your gear and all that kind of groovy kind of cool stuff

Reflecting on the country of origin subject, my question is , is Fender the best deal ??, They have there own Mexican factory and build there own products, were as everyone else builds in the same factory.. any thoughts??.

Iron gear are affordable and super good. (Currently my preferred brand)

Let's talk about OEM parts on USA guitars what a Lie. What exactly are people paying extra for. Fender Corona factory is 50 miles from Fender Mexico. Fender Corona also is known for sending bodies to Mexico to have them painted and brought back to USA for final assembly.

I’ve noticed since Gibson has opened their Gibson Garage in Nashville, a majority of the country artists are now all playing Gibson acoustics. Gibson is putting their acoustics in every artists hands that will take them.

6:05 Ford calls that color "Area 51" on their new trucks and SUVs...lovely color!!

Regarding the Silver Sky SE< where exactly is the value? It's a Squier Strat being sold at Fender Player Plus prices, with a worse spec sheet. I don't get the PRS cult.

Like a slate blue Phil sir lol

My wife knows next time we go to Montana we’re stopping in Bozeman. I’m pretty excited.

To the person that brought up the Beatles and Epiphone, those Epiphones were basically Gibsons. They were made on the same line, at the same factory, by the same people as Gibsons. Also George and John both used Gibsons as well.

I discovered RONDO MUSIC in 2003 and bought my first 6 string fretless bass, a BRICE private label model and my first Asian made bass. BAM!! I have since bought several from them, and a dozen Chinese, Vietnamese, Korean, Indonesian, and have been impressed with the quality. A SADOWSKY line is now made in China,... There is a company in Germany named Thomann Music and they have their own private labels, one being HARLEY BENTON. I have a few. Unbelievable values.

Although it is true quality guitars can come from anywhere, I don't see how CNC machines have anything to do with it. Electronics, hardware, fit and finish are usually where the corners are cut, not the shaping of the instrument.

Phil, did you pick up an ebmm sabre?

When was there ever such a hype around a signature guitar since the 80s with the Jem or something like that. Weird.

The Beatles would either play canjo's or midi synth guitars. They'd go one way or the other.

Called musicians friend they don’t know wtf I was talking about. Lol

Affordable Humbucker for semi hollow or HH Config Guitar 920d custom smoothies Humbuckers Dimarzio PAF Master Humbucker Dimarzio EJ Custom Humbucker

Funny the timing of this change in PoV... Especially since for years now you could almost spit from Fender's US operation to its Mexican one.