If Tonewa doesn't matter
and pickups don't matter,
then why a Les Paul sound
different from a HSS strat?
- Oh man, now that
statement is pure gold.
Spyware 1100, I've got to thank you
for inspiring this episode.
You know what, let's shoot out
a Les Paul versus an HSS strat
because I just happen to
have access to those things.
As for them having different sounds,
well, that's your claim anyway.
But the big question is, do
they actually sound different
once you record them?
Now I'm not talking
about a single coil strat,
we did that video last
year and everybody could hear
a single coil in a blind test.
Turns out it wasn't a vintage 1966 strat
like everybody assumed,
but rather a piece of shit
1986 Westone.
So much for a guitar
player's extremely developed
sense of hearing once
the visuals removed.
But a Les Paul versus a Humbucker strat?
Well, I'm not so sure there's
much of a difference at all.
Now look, I get it, this
kind of thing goes against
conventional wisdom,
conventional wisdom that was forged
in the days before
people could actually afford
to record themselves.
Now this next comment here
is the typical response I get
for daring to suggest
that Humbucker pickups
really don't sound all that
different from one another
once you actually record them.
- Dude, you don't understand
how pickups change the sound
because you purposely
don't want to do the proper
live testing as it would
clearly defunct your point.
For one, when you change
pickups for a specific sound,
you also rewire the guitar to
allow those wanted harmonics
to shine.
You can't take us off the shelf, Ibanez,
with low end electronics and expect
massive differences.
The pickups only shine
and influence the sound
if you're selecting far
end of tone differences,
either side like tonal of money.
In a guitar as well as electronics,
but to reinforce this
factor, you can set up an amp
at a guitar center and
plug in numerous guitars
and notice immediate differences.
If you own a nice
guitar and install a pickup
with similar characteristics,
then you want to notice a difference.
- Pardon me, sir, but I
believe the word you're looking for
is debunk and not defunct.
Recommended reading to help you brush up
on those all
important communication skills
would be hooked on phonics,
followed up by C-spot run.
Now, what you're hearing at guitar center
is the acoustic sound of the instrument,
which is being
blended with the amp sound.
And this is easily observable.
(guitar music)
This is also an easy mistake to make,
as I've been making the
same mistake for years,
and so many others are as well.
However, once you record those guitars,
the apparent differences become minimal
to almost non-existent.
We've shown this on the show,
and this has also been
inadvertently demonstrated
by many others, making YouTube videos
trying to debunk my findings.
See what I did there?
Now, I've done a lot of these tests,
and the biggest
complaints are always the same.
There's too much
distortion, there's no cleans,
there's no soulful lead playing.
Fuck sakes.
Okay, that might be valid,
but let's be honest here,
I'm not really interested in those tones
because I'm interested in creating
awesome metal tones.
This is a metal
production channel, after all.
However, I've put together today's tests
in order to see if
there's any kind of truth
behind those complaints,
because people love to
bitch without bothering
to back up anything with even
a minimal amount of evidence,
because that would take effort.
So today, we went down the
entire Tone Snob checklist
and put together a
rig that would make even
the most discerning Eric
Clapton fanboy wet themselves.
Starting with the 2Rock TS1,
this double clone checks
in at a hefty $6,500 new
for just the head, and is
the envy of every guitar player
who spends his time
wondering why he doesn't sound
like Eric Johnson instead of practicing.
Next up, we're running
that amp into a custom 2x12
by Happy Cabs from Los Angeles,
and mounted in there are the things
that actually make the sound
two vintage 1977 selection blackbacks.
They're beautiful, they're
rare, and most importantly,
they're what's
actually generating the tone.
Microphones being used are from Lewitt,
the 440DM Dynamic, and the 640TS,
an incredible multi-pattern condenser
that is fast becoming a
favorite on guitar cabs
here at Spectre Sound.
Now these are going into a Neve 1073 OPX,
and as far as preamps go,
yeah, these are the real deal.
And those are connected
to an RME Fireface UFX+,
a legendary recording interface
by one of the best in the business.
And I've also brought in a
world-class guitar player,
Mr. Christian Vey,
whose skills on the guitar
are light-years beyond mine.
Now, making this a Les
Paul versus Strat Challenge
would be pointless as
you'd have a 50% chance
of picking the correct guitar.
I'd rather that you use your
ears to tell us which is which,
so I've brought in four guitars total.
Hey Christian, what's
up with that Les Paul?
- This is a Gibson Collector's Choice
number 39 Minnesota Burst.
- How much was it?
- Enough.
- No, what'd they wanna know, how much?
- I got it for four grand.
- US? - Yep.
- Okay, there we go.
- Don't look at the price on Reverb.
- Okay.
Is that expensive enough for you fuckers?
We've also got my
Fender American Ultra Strat
in HSS configuration.
It features the Ultra
Double Tap Humbucker
and costs a cool 2,200 at Sweetwater.
Now, according to Spyware 1100,
those two guitars should sound different
and therefore it should be no problem
to soon one from
another in a blind shootout.
But to make it even more interesting,
we've also brought in
a PRS loaded with EMGs
valued at roughly 4,500 US dollars.
And just to really make
the tone snobs squirm,
I've also included one
of my favorite guitars,
a Harley Benton Double Cut
that costs a whopping $269,
which is loaded with Tesla pickups
because it can't possibly sound good
compared to these much more
valuable instruments, right?
Of course not, that
would be downright silly.
So we're running two tests here,
clean and edge of breakup.
There will be no high gain in this video
because I am tired of
the broken record comments
about you should do clean tones.
Well, tone snobs, be
careful what you wish for
because now's your chance to show off
those golden ears of yours
that you keep telling us
are so fucking amazing.
And most importantly, we're
showing off the recorded tones.
You know, the part of the guitar sound
that the rest of the world hears,
not just you playing with yourself.
All right, let's run the clips.
(soft piano music)
Hmm, that's a real toughy isn't it?
I'm not so sure which
guitar is which here,
but I'm certainly interested in hearing
you think. Now next up let's run an edge
of breakup tone. The
two rock we're using here
isn't exactly what I'd call a metal
master, but if you're looking
to wow the crowd at your next
gig at the old folks home, this amp will
certainly do the trick.
Okay, now I'm going to be completely
honest with you guys. The
guitars that I introduced
here are the ones in the blind shoot up.
There is no trickery
going on because I really want
you to use your ears and tell me which
guitar is which. I also
came across an extremely
interesting observation from the viewer,
the Armota. Check this
out. I'd like to point out
that for the most part Metallica, Slayer,
and In Flames all used an
EMG 81 in the bridge and
all those bands sound wildly different.
So Glenn's point is
kind of proven. You know,
I never really thought of it like that
before. That's kind of
brilliant to be honest. Thanks
for sharing that statement. I'm going to
keep bringing that up the
next time someone starts
droning on and on about how awesome their
pickups are. So what guitars
the strat, which guitar is the
less pulp? I want to know. Listen
closely. Otherwise you
might just wind up picking this
cheap Harley Benton and then all your
tone snob credibility goes
right down the toilet. Choose
wisely. Now, before we go, please hit
that subscribe button. So you get
notified when I publish the
follow-up video to this revealing which
guitar is which it's
certainly going to be interesting
because I don't even know what guitars
which only my editor does.
I'll see you guys then. And
remember, before you drop down your
hard-earned money, please
consider this. Pickups are a lot
like college degrees. They cost a lot of
money and don't really do much.