My Strat Blindfold Challenge | Cheap VS Expensive
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- Опубликовано: 12 сен 2024
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Spender Frat
Congratulations! You just won the internet.
Hahaha epic win!
Take my reddit gold stranger🥇
@@in3rtia619 you are truly wonderful and kind. 1000 blessings upon your house.
@@MaurizioMezzatesta thank you brother, same to you!
I have one of those Harley Benton strats. It was massively improved by about 50 quids worth of upgrades. Tuners, string trees and saddles. Great guitar for the money.
That was my thinking. Could the cheap guitar be improved with a few changes?
Great straight to the point video
I have a the nitro strat and put a set of EMG DG20 Pickups in and now it's my everyday strat.
Thanks for the vids.
Damn, Mary, your playing has really improved over the year I've been following you. Fantastic work!
Bought my 63 Custom Shop because of Mick - Took awhile to save my pennies, but could not be happier!
You should be for that money.
Man, that practicing in the dark really paid off - Mary has some serious fretboard ESP :D
I loved it. I do believe everyone should do this kind of blindtest when they go in stores to find what gear they want to buy... maybe pick something in their price range, etc... but at least, let the feel and tone speak without knowing the name on the headstock or even the price or specs... sometimes we think we’re gonna love some gear because it has some specs we like, but we don’t. And sometimes we discard some gear because of their specs and if we would try them we would actually love them. Long story short: Go blindfold!
Mary you HAVE to add a good Fender Strat into your collection! very nice playing!
nothing wrong with having all the best gear :)
@@kitano0 This girl is so talented -- and she as such a voice -- she should sing 1940/50's jazz, too.
Harley Benton looks cool though
It is truly impressive how well Mary knows the fretboard. Even blindfolded she moved into some positions with confidence, knowing where she was. Makes sense given her final comments about practicing in the dark.
I was impressed by how fluidly she navigated the neck with the blindfold. Cute, to hear her say at the end that she's used to practicing in the dark for feel.
That is a good point, you should do a blind test when buying any guitar really, it doesn’t matter who makes it it how it sounds and feels. Thanks for the reality check Mary.
My first strat was (and still is my only electric guitar) Harley Benton which I purchased for 89 euros. Love the guitar.
that specific harley Benton has an abnormally large neck. So it's a blatant giveaway. If you'd picked a harley benton with a c shaped neck it might have been competitive.
Excellent blindfold test. To answer Mary's question what did we learn? That quality and value are logarithmic. You get a huge quality increase from entry level (sub $400) to mid-range. After that quality gains relative to money become increasingly marginal. Bottom-line: if you're new to guitars and find out you love it, upgrade to a $500+ asap, even if it means sacrificing and saving a lot for it. And only ever get a $1000+ guitars if you're rich.
or the Mexican strat is a best seller and it's staged. No fucking way a pro guitarist is going to be confused between a 4k$ custom shop Fender and a mexican going for 1000EUR
@@cristianconstantinescu7264 Interesting observation. Personally I thought the player's feedback was 'weak', almost useless.
@@johnd942 I kinda agree. I noticed three key things.
1) Mary had a hard time playing the cheapest guitar. She never really got smooth on it.
2) When Mick played all three, they all sounded pretty much the same to me.
3) Neither Mick nor Mary commented much on the sound of the guitars. They mostly seemed concerned by the look and feel.
Very interesting, I agree Mary, if it feels comfortable & stays in tune(!), then it's a keeper!!! I play a Lot of gigs & have played expensive guitars that I know would never hold up to much more affordable guitars down here in this Florida heat!!! Great job!!!
Im never paying half my years morgage for a fucking guitar. Well done HARLEY BENTON. Very well done.
How come no one ever made a TV reality show where musicians would be playing crappy to very expensive instrument blindfolded and go home with whichever one they prefer!
Iremark this is an old posting. I don't know but.. I bought a sc Harley Benton which is another guitar more rock'ńˇroll machine., Les Paul Junior style.but I went in the other direction .. people treat hb instruments like shit.. and polish their expensive guitars.,making good set ups.
I went in the direction that I set up my Hb perfect, I changed to locking tuners which i can recommend for any brand , you win 20-50 percent tuning stability..but this is something which also more expensive brands need. I made the dry fretboard up Wirth lemon oil, but this is something which also more expensive brands @t strings which more expensive guitars also need.
the activation clarity I made, the neck bend, the low action.. the news strings!!
I play this monster , every day.. its a chesap guitar but I'm in love with her for 222euros incl. shipment.
I bought for my HB a nice Case... I treat it With the tease like others do with their custom gear.
now Its played for 6 months.. the next thing I buy is a HB Shirt. I don't need another guitar..
LOVEd that vid Mary! Do another blind test, let’s go the other side of that coin, the Les Pauls.
Yes, go for it !
Hey, stop picking on the Benton. I have a Benton Strat, and yeah I had to do a setup on it, but I love it. It wouldn't be the one I grab if the house were on fire, but that's because I can just spend under 200 bucks and get another one:-)
Glad this video popped up in recommended video list. I really like blindfold challenges and I really like Mick, and with lovely Mary this was an absolutely joy to watch.
I prefer my Warmoth Strat with Gilmour pickup assembly. I like the 50s neck Warmoth offers along with stainless frets.
Fascinating .... Whatever makes you happy is the answer. I guess there's no surprise in that but it's great to see honest you tubers making it more apparent.
Jack Pearson usually plays a Squier Bullet Strat and sounded great.
Practising in the dark, thats an interesting concept, ill have to try that although I guess eyes shut would do just as well.
I have left a comment on every Mary Spender video that I have seen tonight and next thing I know it is 4:30 am. I love Rob Chapman because he is a nice guy but I do get tired of all the heavy riffs and shredding. Yes I know that it takes a lot of talent to shred but Mary's playing is like...the way I feel when I go back home to TN and see my mom and all my friends. It is so soulful and easy on the ears and she is easy on the eyes she got the total package. Right now I think she is my favorite guitar player so I wish nothing but success for her future.
You're happy that you chose the most expensive ... think of how happy you'd have been if you'd chosen the cheapest!
She's a "Spender" :P
The cheapest ones a junk lmao.
@@analogaudiorules1724 Not necessarily. It may have some "junk" on it straight out of the box but 90% of guitar players have enough quality parts laying around unused in a box to swap things out without spending any more money. Don't throw out "wood quality difference" either. These guitars are painted, which means the woods are the worst pick of the pallet for all of them. Buy a cheap guitar with a natural finish and the wood will be better than that of a higher dollar guitar that's painted. Often that doesn't matter. If the wood grain structure is decent and it's properly dried then it boils down to visual appeal more than sound difference. Sure a person can nitpick, but there's no REAL reason to do so except ego.
I think the Chinese are also learning and learning to make their guitar replicas better and better and very slowly to approach the standard that we call Fender or Gibson. The only thing missing is the price and a lot of hobby musicians can't or don't want to spend that much money when they buy a Fender-Mexico or a Squier-Classic-Vibe if they can produce almost the same sound as with a lot with additional inexpensive effect modules more expensive fenders. If I have enough money, the price doesn't matter, but who among us hobby musicians has that?
Another great video. Nice Strats
The huge difference on the HB is it's fretboard radius. While both strats there have 7.5 inch radius (vintage strat) the HB has 14 inch radius. I'm not saying that there aren't any other differences, I'm saying that the moment I'd grab a chord, I'd realize that this isn't a strat, and especially for a person with smaller fingers it would be harder to play.
I’m a fan of Anderson’s and the Monkey Lord and everything, but I think you guys nailed the format, a bit more streamlined, and I happen to prefer Mary’s playing so much. Melodic and flowing and wonderful, even blindfolded ;)
Agree with Mick on the Classic player. Built my strat with a Classic player body and Road Worn neck and it's perfect.
Her relief of not picking the cheap guitar was hilarious.
Love your videos with Mick (and Dan, of course). You should collab more often. Maybe you should visit the new "That Pedal Lounge". Thanks for another great video!
The most interesting video ever about hearing and taste !
The sound difference was very similar, however, the feel and gigging durability are where the price difference comes in to play.
Fender Mexico and Fender Japan are killing it...
Custom Shop are indeed prettier and offer cool neck and finish options if that's what makes you want to rock out.
Womens intuition works and they can smell quality ... The comments about the HB sharp edges are OK, what do you want for the price... I liked that it has a wider neck (I have big hands). ...and the nitro Mex - yup, in the middle. Well done Mary :)
holy smoke those Harley guitars are so cheap there's loads of them too
I've never done a blindfold test but have had an opportunity to compare some strats. I have a mid-80s made in Japan which is a great guitar: sounds good, plays nicely, and I've played it a ton so it feels like home. But then I played an 90s American Standard (I'm pretty sure) and though I'd played it before, I was kind of shocked at how much better it was. Plays beautifully, feels more substantial somehow, and unplugged is easily 3 times as resonant. I'm still happy with my MIJ but it was actually kind of nice to know that at least in that case the more expensive guitar clearly had a better build and better materials. It wasn't an illusion.
Mary is british, has an amazing finger picking, how come she did only one Dire Straits version?
Mary, your brazillian fans (and many others) would love to hear other Dire Straits cover/versions from you! Congratulations! You're awesome!!
I gotta say i fell a little clickbaited by the title , i was thinking of bluesbreakers /Rolling Stones Mick Taylor
Mary was obviously knocked off a bit by the slightly wider neck on the HB, but sound wise I think it held its own especially for the price point. If money was no object though, I would still go for the classic over the custom shop.
Maybe buy a half decent guitar and pay a professional luthier to set it up to your preference! Less than a hundred quid.
You played a bit smoother and more comfortably on the Custom Shop Strat. Not surprising...
Red one is based on David gilmours delicate sound of thunder strat the guitar pictured
I agree that the appearance of a guitar is very important but blind testing keeps you grounded.
Great video I like the blindfold test. It takes away any preconceived notions and lets you judge on feel and sound which what matters.If it's an ugly guitar then you won't pick it up. So looks are important. Damn it :) Again it proves price does not matter these days really. You do get what you pay for and quality does increase. Those Harley Benton though serious bang for the buck. Can't wait to see more fro, you at TGU I'm loving all of it.
Well done! Brave. I did the TPS blindfold test that they put up recently & made a right pigs ear of it:-)
Props to the HB. Sounded really good.
Mary Spender. Priceless.
I like the idea of blind tests, since I couldn't care less about what a guitar looks like. For me, it's about tone and feel.
5:05 wtf he like marys spell lol 🤣
Awesome episode!!
If there is a more and more easily copied guitar than the strat, I don't know what it is. Of those three, being able to afford any of them, I'd have the red fender. I don't want guitars made of cheap materials, but I also don't really get the concept of a strat that costs the equivalent of $4200 right now.
The difference between the lower end custom guitars and standards or even mex is often not much, and for someone who can build a guitar (OK, the real truth is I'd spend about $400 on materials and a used pickguard with good sheisse in it and just build one instead), the little bits that make a straight guitar nicer to play aren't expensive.
Cannot deal with hardware that doesn't operate properly ,but other than that, no problems (and the hardware can be replaced - even the cheap stamped steel bridge hardware is usually pretty good, and good tuners cost all of about $35-$40)
I've really started to appreciate my cheap strat copies they mat not play and perform as well as my American ones but they sound bloody good
Fender is just a name. But HB can match the quality.
If you got the cherry red u tube David Gilmore delicate sound of thunder live he used this guitar for pink Floyd in the eghties era
Mary, you have to have a strat in your collection, most versitle guitar ever. Lonestar strat with humbucker in bridge gets every tone you want.😎
I thought you meant Mick Taylor from the Rolling Stones. It looks like MT and I are kindred spirits. I'm a Strat guy too.
Point to me is how similar these guitars are despite the price difference.
and who hasn't picked out a guitar, got it home and started noticing flaws you missed? you notice the intonation is out, the bridge has issues, there's a bad fret, and it won't stay in tube using the whammy, and it isn't as easy to play as you thought it was... and you go, "fuck, i bought the wrong guitar." is it just me?
I know other people have, but I have personally never had that "Oh man, this $300 guitar blows this $4000 guitar out of the water!" moment (assuming they are all functioning and set up properly). My Epiphone Special II isn't as nice to play as my Traditional Pro, which isn't as nice to play as my Traditional, which isn't as nice as my R7. The question to me has always been the degree to which it is "nicer" and how much you miss that while playing. I can have a great time playing that Special II and while playing I'm not sitting there going "this plays like crap" or "this sounds awful". Tests like this are usually more about trying to make sure you picked them in the "right" order versus just saying, man this is a nice guitar too, but just not as nice as this other one, or saying this one truly is junk, etc.
I am impressed with the Harley Benton range, everyone I have heard sounds very good
What was "learned" was: pick 3 more guitars, all with NARROW necks, since she tossed #2 due to the wider neck... lather, rinse, repeat. She also should have spec'd a bit more seriously whether a $3800 axe was truly within her serious range, or, just wanted to try and see if the difference was obvious.
Because if a guitar truly isn't in your range, it wastes a test to include it in the 3, when another guitar might have played as well or better to her fingers or ears.
It'd be interesting to do the same test but after correcting some of the truly budget features , like the long screws on the bridge saddles. Henning Pauly (another you tuber and incredible guitarist) liked the Harley Benton ST62 he was testing so much he decided to keep it, even though he has other much higher end Strats. My Yamaha 112 has also got the long bridge screw thing going on (at the moment).
What was the riff that Mick played, sounds groovy? Cool video Mary, I enjoy all of your videos and look forward to a new video each week.
i kinda want a Harley Benton strat now.
David Freeman why? They're junk
But a Harley Benton strat doesn't feel like a strat. It has a very flat fretboard and weird neck profile, while strats are known for their rounder fretboard. If they are about to copy a guitar, they should do it right, or not do it at all. Go for Squier, they feel way more stratish.
I recently bought a Harley Benton Rickenbacker copy and you know what? It's fine. Doesn't sound or feel exactly like a Ricky, but it's a fair approximation and all for £168.
50 Shades Of Spender :-P
Great guitar players have their own sound... sounds like Mary
I love blind tests. Proving so many cork sniffers wrong. Hahaha. I want to see Paul R Smith in a challenge. I'd buy tickets for that show. Guarantee hed back out.
Well Phillip McKnight has handled perhaps a hundred thousand guitars, owns high end stuff and he still feels best on his old Mexican Strat. That's a guitar we worked on the frets himself. He still acknowledges that Fender Japan fit and finish IS better than MIM, and that everything from a good Affinity to a CS can all be very usable, if it is a correctly set up good example with the specs desired.
Major point: for me *the neck is everything Ina guitar.* I would tell beginner players to focus on that alone, for starters.
What a wasted opportunity to give a CLEAR OPINION ...instead of the half-assed mumbling and joking. "What did we learn from that...?" What a grear question indeed!
Pretty much down to the feel, all guitars sound great. If Harley Benton gave you a choice of pickups and neck profiles, I really don’t think you would be able to tell the difference. The HB in this case has a fatter neck. I saw another RUclips video yesterday comparing the same HB Strat and 62 Fender. The Fender tapers in thickness, narrower at the head, it being more comfortable to play for that particular player. It would be amazing if someone created a video with say three guitarist comparing say three different neck profiles.
Mr Tech I know what you mean, I have an HB 35 plus, when I got it at first the neck profiles was not what I was used too and it did not feel right. However I had it for a few months and one of my go to guitars. Over time your muscle memory gets used to the change. I played the same Strat for around 30 years before being able to buy more guitars, so you can imagine who awkward the feel was when trying a guitar with a different profile. The same when I recently got a PRS custom 24, completely different feel, I’m slowly getting used to it.
@Mr Tech If you have any DIY skills you could always contour a cheap Strat like guitar, seen a few guitarists do this. You could copy one of your guitar necks you know you like the feel of. Many leave them bare wood too. I've got a HB E35 Plus, the neck on that is more U shaped, seemed weared at first, but the more I play it the more I like it, it took while though to adjust, man I love that guitar now. I changed the pickups for AlNiCo II's, only out of preference and stuck on some decent Wilkinson 19:1 ratio tuners and it feels and sounds way beyond the price I paid, actually I can't put a price on it, It's a great guitar. Yeah the new Player series are well spec'd, close to the older USA ones. I've already got a USA Strat, but I don't like the pickups. I've just ordered a set of Chris Buck Signature Pickups and quality harness with linear pots, I can't wait to try them, I'm pretty sure I will love them to bits and play hours on end......
Mr Tech all manufactures follow similar trends if it’s making sales. Well I only spent £50.00 modding my HB, and did not really have to change the pickups. The only other thing I did was oil the fretboard as it was dry and polish the frets, they were dull and scratchy. If you go for their top of range ones you will get a nice guitar. I’m looking to add to my collection now and have shortlisted the HB fusion II. Check the speck on that guitar, insane value for money. I’d very much doubt I would need to mod it. Each to their own I say. I think you’re right in terms of a Fender Strats, the player looks great value in their line up, they are gonna sell loads.
I've got a 60s sunburst nitro mexican with rosewood. My number 1.. b creative
It’s not Mary’s first time playing with wood blindfolded. There. I got it out of my system.
I can feel the difference of a cheap guitar more that I can hear it. Rolled frets, the neck generally are feeling sort of sticky. The body really is not really the important thing for me. The neck comes first, than the pickups than the sound wood and the shape -- although I played a flying V and I loved the neck and the sound but it felt so uncomfortable for me :D
Wrong! I wanted to play guitar before I have ever seen anyone playing guitar (in the 60s, we had no TV at home at that time). I just loved the sound of an electric guitar when I heard (as a kid) some records (early Beatles, some Rock & Roll bands and some Jazz players).
Should have put a Vintage V6 in there they rock!
Yes The V6 are awesome for the price
Mick, I'm surprised you didn't pick a Custom Shop with a Maple neck knowing your proclivity in that direction. I hope you find what you want Mary.
That's right my friend
Casual Nitta Strauss haha
Hi MoE - great video!🙂❤️ I didn't play enough electrics to really have a confident.opinion on what I like the best but I think I like rose wood fret board better than maple.love you!😎🤘💋⭐️🐅🌻☃️🐯🐆🦈🦋🐺
Loved it!
The Harley Benton sounds just as good but she said it was harder to play.
Yes a lot of people say HB strats has a so fat neck. But sounds really good for the price
Warning...classic Series isn't the same as classic player... These are different ones. I played a Classic Player 60s Strat and it was aweeeeesooooommmeeee!!!!!
Thanks Mary, Custom shop overrated, go for the Mex.
I do love that Mick can smell Nitro.
Mary, you have expensive tastes in Strats... and you were able to spot the 'pretender' guitar.
SING, Mary! SIng! Dadgummit! Hands down. The CS sounds best. And is quite gorge. A razor blade takes off that lacquer with a bit of effort. Makes a HUGE difference. BETTER!!
FOCUS FFS!!
Nice video
I'd like to know why Mick smelled that Classic 50!!
By the way I have one of those and it's simply great for the price.
But I'd totally love that Blue maybe with a mint green pickguard..
Nitro cellulose! Smells good
Should have been able to tell the by the fret board.
The Yamaha is underrated
Nope
Its overrated
It doesn't look of feel like as strat
And it doesn't sound like a strat too
Smell that strap button! lol Also.. no, thousands of years ago, when I was a kid, there was no video, just the radio. I could only hear it, and it was still cool.
Try a LsL Sarcony one
Great challenge 👍🎶
Mick Taylor 😀
Oh! 😕
I pick all my guitars by the smell, sniff test all the way
That store is nice! Mick, did you just smell that guitar?
I think Mick's glasses don't have lenses in them lol