My issue with the 'all digital' routes is that you end up with the simulation of the recorded tone. Which is really useful for recording, and great for a FOH sound (as long as the venue's PA is even close to modern), but for me it's like the difference between a saucy pic of the missus on the phone, and getting time alone with her.
Your observation on Tonewood debate is spot on. No one could identify a mahogany, ash or maple electric guitar by its tone, but the player himself/herself, by its feel and resonance, which in turn will affect his/her playing. For the listener all that matters is the sound created by the magnets and coils around it at either end of the signal chain!!
Just recently, I decided to learn how to play Jan Ackerman's part in the Focus tune called Tommy. He was using a Les Paul through Fender Bassman amps at the time. I've got an HSS Strat which I play through a Yamaha THR30 amp. I didn't obsess about matching the tone, and it's not identical, but not worth arguing about the difference, despite one guitar being made of mahogany with a rosewood fingerboard, using a shorter scale length and Gibson humbuckers, and the other having an alder body, maple neck with pau ferro fingerboard, longer scale length and going through Fender PUs. Half of the difference can probably be accounted for with 'feel' .😀
Feel: I tried to listen to a couple of the most famous pieces by Joe Satriani again last night. Like Surfing With The Alien. In all cases. I ended up turning it off after a minute or so, "When will he stop making noises and start playing music?". Taste...
I watched Steve Vai trying to play Thunderstruck and he just wasn't getting it - far too precise to give it a natural 'feel' but I also doubt Angus would be able to play what Vai plays. Difference between technique and feel depends on what you want out of a song/tune 😁
Great list. It can be fun to have some of those discussions as long as it’s friendly. And it’s okay to disagree as we’re all individuals and if we were all the same, that would be boring. But totally agree about theory. If you know what you’re doing on an instrument, you know some theory, yet some will react to that as if it’s a great insult.
Great video, John! This'll stir up the comments section! The thing about feel for me is, I think if you ask two people what the definition of it is, you'll get three different answers. It confuses me what's being talked about. It seems to me that any guitarist you name who has great feel, by whatever definition, also has the technique required to deliver those nuances in their playing. Can you have great feel without great technique? If you have great technique, won't you be able to deliver feel?
I really like the worn in feel of reliced guitars, plus being over 50, I don’t have 40 years of hard touring to get a new guitar like that. I don’t like the heavy relicing but some light wear is always nice to me
If you use a barre chord, you're using music theory. If you are tuning your guitar, you are using music theory. People love to believe in magical properties and the like because it's easier to be obstinate than learn a little something. Oh, the speaker your guitar sounds come out of govern your "tone."
I once made the mistake of saying that I wasn't really bonding with a particular make of guitar on a guitar forum. People seem to take these things so personally.
Not a fan of the relic thing, TBH, but don't lose any sleep over it. Best of both worlds w Analog / Digital, Technique / Feel, a bit of basic Theory. I do have an interest in woods, though . . . fretboards in particular, but then again my main guitar for the last 30 years has laurel on a matte maple neck and it's great - much as I love ebony on my LP and Rosewood on my Strat.
Hi John, imagine taking your brand new reliced Strat that you just paid a fortune for to it's first gig and someone says, "You play quite well, it's a shame you only have that old guitar, can't you afford a new one?" On the tone wood thing and it's probably unrelated but I have a dabble at Irish penny whistles too and on my birthday last year a friend sent me a hand made whistle made from African blackwood and that whistle sounds better than any of my other whistles by a mile.
"...then used as a welder's bench." Until Murphy Labs drops lots of solder beads to burn the nitro, and lather some switch/pot solvent too, it's not authentic aging.
I once made a joke on a Strat forum. After a couple of years, I noticed that there was oxidation on the bridge where I rest my hand. I posted a photograph and captioned it 'The relicing begins!' You wouldn't believe the anger that produced. Guitarists, eh? Amiright?
When I started out way back in the last century, there was a religious war between the believers in Shure and Sennheiser. No idea if this is till going on.
Hands up all those who bought the guitar of their dreams because ‘it’s just what I need’,and then weeks/months later changed the pickups,machine heads,pots capacitors,because it made it sound BETTER. Yeah……me too. Well….the manufacturers said so………..
music theory. if you are just covering existing tunes, you don't need it. if you are composing at any level (even just noodling around), you are using it. tone woods are more a thing with acoustic guitars (compare options on the same model from the same manufacturer). nearly anything digital is now cheaper than analogue as small processors are now so cheap.
Valve amps for me but each to there own I love it that guitarists like different guitars and amps I’m a Fender Strat man through and through but love RG550s and have owned Gibsons. In my opinion a Strat allows the players identity to shine
I love my "beat up " guitars, but heres the thing, They started out bright and shiny and over the years they have degenerated into the rag order state they are in now. I dont like the idea of artificially relicing them. I am proud that mine look like crap for real.
I just knew you were going to say 'MDF' in the tonewood discussion. Personally, I agree with the unplugged resonance test. But once you are gigging, size of venue, amp volume, whether you are through the P.A. etc. all these things make the differences between guitars much less important. I've stopped taking multiple guitars to gigs because, frankly, nobody in the audience can tell the difference and you end up looking like a complete poser. And it's just more stuff to hump about!
Relic'd...No Thank You! Digital vs Analog, if it sounds good and does what I need, I don't really care. Technique vs Feel...I practice my "technique" so that the "things" that I might want to bring into my playing come more naturally to me.....but I certainly am not a "Flash" player or "Shedder", by any means. Some "Shredders" can still be very Musical.....I think that is the key. Music Theory....good stuff, but I don't dive deeply into it to be quite honest. Enough to get me by..... OH! Tone Wood! I am a believer in..... "everything effects....everything!" when it comes to guitars...acoustic to be sure, but also the electrics!
In reality, it's unlikely anybody is going to be playing a custom shop relic at the kind of small gig where there's any remote chance of the audience talking to the band. Like yourself, it's not for me, but what they choose to spend their own money on is their choice. It's not like brands only make relics and it's taking away my choices. More bicker inducing topics ... String brand, gauge Pick size Amp brand Whether player X is/isn't "better" than player Y
Tonewood. There are other instruments as mainly made of wood guitarists tends to forget that. And I am asking myself why are those instrument made of specific wood instead of jusr picking something as an piece of an old outgarden shithouse or some random pee-weed? By also doing other things in life than just wanking a electric guitar will give the answer as there are answers, knowledge.
The best bit about the whole relicing thing is that if you bang up your own guitar, you get to feel less bad about it.
I have US strats and what makes me smile is the CS Strats are based on factory built guitars that is abit cheeky
My issue with the 'all digital' routes is that you end up with the simulation of the recorded tone. Which is really useful for recording, and great for a FOH sound (as long as the venue's PA is even close to modern), but for me it's like the difference between a saucy pic of the missus on the phone, and getting time alone with her.
Your observation on Tonewood debate is spot on. No one could identify a mahogany, ash or maple electric guitar by its tone, but the player himself/herself, by its feel and resonance, which in turn will affect his/her playing. For the listener all that matters is the sound created by the magnets and coils around it at either end of the signal chain!!
Just recently, I decided to learn how to play Jan Ackerman's part in the Focus tune called Tommy. He was using a Les Paul through Fender Bassman amps at the time. I've got an HSS Strat which I play through a Yamaha THR30 amp. I didn't obsess about matching the tone, and it's not identical, but not worth arguing about the difference, despite one guitar being made of mahogany with a rosewood fingerboard, using a shorter scale length and Gibson humbuckers, and the other having an alder body, maple neck with pau ferro fingerboard, longer scale length and going through Fender PUs.
Half of the difference can probably be accounted for with 'feel' .😀
Really enjoyed this. Thanks, Jphn.
Feel: I tried to listen to a couple of the most famous pieces by Joe Satriani again last night. Like Surfing With The Alien. In all cases. I ended up turning it off after a minute or so, "When will he stop making noises and start playing music?".
Taste...
I watched Steve Vai trying to play Thunderstruck and he just wasn't getting it - far too precise to give it a natural 'feel' but I also doubt Angus would be able to play what Vai plays. Difference between technique and feel depends on what you want out of a song/tune 😁
Great list.
It can be fun to have some of those discussions as long as it’s friendly.
And it’s okay to disagree as we’re all individuals and if we were all the same, that would be boring.
But totally agree about theory.
If you know what you’re doing on an instrument, you know some theory, yet some will react to that as if it’s a great insult.
Great video, John! This'll stir up the comments section!
The thing about feel for me is, I think if you ask two people what the definition of it is, you'll get three different answers. It confuses me what's being talked about. It seems to me that any guitarist you name who has great feel, by whatever definition, also has the technique required to deliver those nuances in their playing.
Can you have great feel without great technique? If you have great technique, won't you be able to deliver feel?
Your description of a relic is great😂 Do those that pay extra for a relic worry about getting scratches and dings on their new guitar? 🤔
I really like the worn in feel of reliced guitars, plus being over 50, I don’t have 40 years of hard touring to get a new guitar like that. I don’t like the heavy relicing but some light wear is always nice to me
I want to relic my own guitars...by playing them!!
Me too..and I know where all the dings and chips come from...my own carelessness...all earned
If you use a barre chord, you're using music theory. If you are tuning your guitar, you are using music theory. People love to believe in magical properties and the like because it's easier to be obstinate than learn a little something. Oh, the speaker your guitar sounds come out of govern your "tone."
I once made the mistake of saying that I wasn't really bonding with a particular make of guitar on a guitar forum. People seem to take these things so personally.
Not a fan of the relic thing, TBH, but don't lose any sleep over it. Best of both worlds w Analog / Digital, Technique / Feel, a bit of basic Theory. I do have an interest in woods, though . . . fretboards in particular, but then again my main guitar for the last 30 years has laurel on a matte maple neck and it's great - much as I love ebony on my LP and Rosewood on my Strat.
Digital Artefact - a great name for a band!
Knofler and Clapton 1986 Claptons technique and feel is fantastic 👍
'contrived' perfect description
Love the rant John. Technique vs feel. Joe Bonamassa vs Gary Moore. Example A yer honour.
I swim in the shallow end of the music theory pool, it gets deep pretty fast.
Is this the right room for an argument?
Half hour or full hour?
You git! You worthless bit of...no, no, this is abuse!
@@adrianlaws5057 Just the half hour please.
You can't fight in here. This is the war room.
I told you already
Hi John, imagine taking your brand new reliced Strat that you just paid a fortune for to it's first gig and someone says, "You play quite well, it's a shame you only have that old guitar, can't you afford a new one?" On the tone wood thing and it's probably unrelated but I have a dabble at Irish penny whistles too and on my birthday last year a friend sent me a hand made whistle made from African blackwood and that whistle sounds better than any of my other whistles by a mile.
"...then used as a welder's bench." Until Murphy Labs drops lots of solder beads to burn the nitro, and lather some switch/pot solvent too, it's not authentic aging.
Got the same shirt. Love it
Daft names for guitars ie. SEAGULL.,LINDO,SHINE,sawtooth.
I wonder how reilcking(? Reliccing? Relic-ing?) affects resale value… I mean like Custom Shop relic-ing.
I once made a joke on a Strat forum. After a couple of years, I noticed that there was oxidation on the bridge where I rest my hand. I posted a photograph and captioned it 'The relicing begins!' You wouldn't believe the anger that produced. Guitarists, eh? Amiright?
When I started out way back in the last century, there was a religious war between the believers in Shure and Sennheiser. No idea if this is till going on.
Hands up all those who bought the guitar of their dreams because ‘it’s just what I need’,and then weeks/months later changed the pickups,machine heads,pots capacitors,because it made it sound BETTER.
Yeah……me too.
Well….the manufacturers said so………..
music theory. if you are just covering existing tunes, you don't need it. if you are composing at any level (even just noodling around), you are using it. tone woods are more a thing with acoustic guitars (compare options on the same model from the same manufacturer). nearly anything digital is now cheaper than analogue as small processors are now so cheap.
Fender or
Gibson
I find roy buchanan ,mick taylor,robben ford exciting players to listen too.
Solid state or valve?
That's an interesting one. Does anyone argue that solid state amps are better than valve amps?
Valve amps for me but each to there own I love it that guitarists like different guitars and amps I’m a Fender Strat man through and through but love RG550s and have owned Gibsons.
In my opinion a Strat allows the players identity to shine
Wish you could get new cars relic’d then i could get the wife one with dents & scratces already on it 😂😂
Relic-ing. Same concept as buying a pair of jeans with the legs ripped to shreds before you even put 'em on.
I mean... WTaF? :-)
Real aging is nice like an old car or if you want your guitar to look like your hero eg SRV.
I love my "beat up " guitars, but heres the thing, They started out bright and shiny and over the years they have degenerated into the rag order state they are in now. I dont like the idea of artificially relicing them. I am proud that mine look like crap for real.
Long may they continue to deteriorate in authentic manner, mate!
Also alvin lee.
I just knew you were going to say 'MDF' in the tonewood discussion. Personally, I agree with the unplugged resonance test. But once you are gigging, size of venue, amp volume, whether you are through the P.A. etc. all these things make the differences between guitars much less important. I've stopped taking multiple guitars to gigs because, frankly, nobody in the audience can tell the difference and you end up looking like a complete poser. And it's just more stuff to hump about!
Relic'd...No Thank You! Digital vs Analog, if it sounds good and does what I need, I don't really care. Technique vs Feel...I practice my "technique" so that the "things" that I might want to bring into my playing come more naturally to me.....but I certainly am not a "Flash" player or "Shedder", by any means. Some "Shredders" can still be very Musical.....I think that is the key. Music Theory....good stuff, but I don't dive deeply into it to be quite honest. Enough to get me by..... OH! Tone Wood! I am a believer in..... "everything effects....everything!" when it comes to guitars...acoustic to be sure, but also the electrics!
Thanks for that, saved me having to bang away the same thing on my laptop! 😂
In reality, it's unlikely anybody is going to be playing a custom shop relic at the kind of small gig where there's any remote chance of the audience talking to the band. Like yourself, it's not for me, but what they choose to spend their own money on is their choice. It's not like brands only make relics and it's taking away my choices.
More bicker inducing topics ...
String brand, gauge
Pick size
Amp brand
Whether player X is/isn't "better" than player Y
Acoustic classical guitar affected by wood choice and a Seymour Duncan equipped shred machine can't honestly be part of the same argument, can it?
i relic my own guitar way to fast as it is... lol
Tonewood. There are other instruments as mainly made of wood guitarists tends to forget that. And I am asking myself why are those instrument made of specific wood instead of jusr picking something as an piece of an old outgarden shithouse or some random pee-weed? By also doing other things in life than just wanking a electric guitar will give the answer as there are answers, knowledge.
Relicing is idiotic! lol Digital-analog makes no difference to me too. Feels is what moves your soul.
Oasis or Blur 😂😂
I think the tone wood debate is more relevant to acoustic instruments...
Slightly aged is ok but reliced never
Marc Knofler is probably the best guitarist that I’m not interested in.
If you don't play an 8 string banjo with a floyd rose, you aren't a real carrot stick!!! I"m an expert, gawdammit!!!
Gawdammit, I'll never be a real carrot stick.