Which Is the Best Jazzer?

I think I mentioned a couple posts back that I’ve been playing with some jazz-ish kind of stuff. I know that I’m a blues guy at heart, but some of those outside sounds are just super cool. I’m not any good at it. With the course open in front of me, I can play what’s written, but I’m having trouble remembering the material after I put the book down. The chords are weirdly shaped, and chromatic seems to barely describe some of the riffs as you hit every single note when moving from one place to another.

But it’s fun. And I like the sound. And maybe someday I’ll remember some of it.

One of the fun things about it has been trying to find a good jazz sound. Like I said, deep down I’m a blues guy. SRV and the 3 Kings are my heroes, and I only wish I could play like any of them. Except for BB, they all had some grit and drive in what they played. I’ve even always steered towards the cleaner side of blues. But trying to find a nice ultra-clean jazz tone has been fun.

The three guitars I’ve been primarily using in trying to get that sound have been my Epiphone Inspired by Gibson Custom ES-355, my Epiphone 1962 50th Anniversary Sheraton, and my Epiphone Standard 50s Les Paul. I’ve played around with my Gibson ES-339 for the sound too, but I always seem to come back to the others. And to my ear, they’re all really good sounding.

The Sheraton, since it’s that special Anniversary model from 12 years ago now, has Gibson mini-humbuckers in it. To my ear, they’re everything I imagine when I think of a smooth tone. The 355 has Gibson Custombuckers in it. They’re really nice sounding. And I swapped the pickups in the Les Paul for a burstbucker 1/2 pair. And that Burstbucker 1 in the neck is probably one of my favorite pickups of all time. Weirdly, I think the Probucker 1 that I pulled out of it sounded better, but I’ve never swapped it back.

So I started the jazz-tone-journey the way that I think probably everyone does. I got the amp tone as lean as a whistle, set the guitars to the neck pickup, and then rolled the Tone knob to 0. I wasn’t a fan. So I rolled the tone knob back to 10. That definitely wasn’t it either. So I started playing around with it.

Each guitar has ended up needing that Tone knob set somewhere different. And the Sheraton, with those Lando-Calrissian-smooth mini-‘buckers has the best jazz tone. In a previous post, I think I said it was as smooth and gooey as warm, melted chocolate. Just so nice. Using whichever amp I happen to be using (usually either my Spark 40 on a Dumble model or my 1w Blackheart set to about 1/4 volume), I’ll set the Vol to about 8 and the Tone between 3 and 4. And I totally dig it!

And that seems to have become my jazz tone. So I guess that makes my best jazzer the Sherry with a little Vol and a little more Tone rolled off into a clean amp. Such a nice tone to my ear. I really want to use it with some blues, but it doesn’t cut like it should. Warm and gooey so that you just want to roll around in it. I think that’s what a good jazz tone is supposed to be. At least it is in my head.

Two guitars are hanging on a wall. On the left is an Epiphone 1962 50th Anniversary Sheraton. On the right is an Epiphone Inspired by Gibson Custom ES-355.
Two guitars are hanging on a wall. On the left is an Epiphone Standard 50's Les Paul. On the right is an Epiphone Inspired by Gibson Custom ES-355.

But can you really tell?

I don’t know why I follow guitar stuff online sometimes. I really don’t.

I saw something recently where a company’s new sparkly had been been either accidently or purposefully leaked. I point that out because it, honestly, looked like it could have been either. It’s a really cool new sparkly. Truth to tell, it’s a sparkly I’ll probably pick up at some point because it’s a sparkly unlike any I have, and it could be fun to play with.

Neeways, I got to reading through some of the comments. And that’s what I really need to stop doing. In the comment section, some people were talking about how cool the new thing was. Others were talking about how nobody needs another thing like that because they already exist. And others were pontificating about how they would buy one if it has this component versus another component, and how if it didn’t have the component that they want, it won’t remotely be worth what they’re asking for it.

Which got me to thinking about the whole corksniffery aspect. There are some folks that love a Klon and think nothing sounds as good as they do. Then there are Klon haters that hate it for a million different reasons. Some of those that love them deride any klone as a cheap imitation. Some of the haters say that one reason they hate them is because you can get a Klone for cheap.

My take on the Klon debate is a little different. I’ve never had a Klon Centaur to A/B with a klone, but I have a Klon KTR, and I’ve used it to A/B every klone I’ve ever had. Yes, to me, the KTR sounds amazing. It is one of the best sounding OD pedals that I have. And most of the klones I’ve had have sounded pretty dang good too.

But here’s the rub (to me). Sitting in the quiet of my little music studio, I can hear the difference in some of the klones. There’ve been a couple that I have kicked because they just don’t sound as good as the KTR (or the others). But, if I’m being honest with myself, outside of the quiet solitude of my little music room, I wouldn’t be able to tell the difference. They’re all dialed in to pretty much the same sound, and add in a bass, drums, maybe some keys, and somebody singing, and one klone may as well be any of the others.

Heck, Mr JHS even got a Bad Monkey pedal to sound like a Klon, and it’s not a klone. I loved that vid just because it should make all of us stop and think about how half the gear industry is what we think we hear and not actually what is being heard.

That’s where the comments about the new sparkly had me equal parts laughing and irritated. Would those commenting really be able to hear the difference in the components being used? I’m sure some probably could. I’ve got a buddy who has the ears of a bat, and he can discern subtle differences in tone that I can’t. He’s also a sound engineer, and I’ve got tinnitus from loud amps. I bet folks like him are easily in the minority. I would be willing to bet large sums of money that most folks couldn’t tell the difference. They’re just parroting that they’ve heard one is better than the other, so they’re sniffing corks. We’ve all done it at some point.

So, if they couldn’t actually hear the difference in the components, why do they care what’s in them?

That said, like I mentioned, in the quiet of my music room, I do believe I can hear a difference in pedals. In fact, my Germanium Tumnus kicked the KTR off my board because it has a something to it that I hear in the quiet that makes it the best sounding to my ear. And the nicer pedals are generally the ones on my board because some do sound better, and it makes me happy to play them even when I’m not able to hear the difference on a stage.

Amps

Last week I talked about the guitars I play most. That made me think that I don’t think I’ve ever talked amps. I’ve been through a few. In fact, I think there were 5 that were sold or traded away in the Great Gear Purge of 2020. In that purge, I got rid of a Fender Super Champ x2, a Vox AC4, and a Fender Hot Rod along with a couple of others.

I mention those because of the first amp that I’m going to mention below. Here are the ones that I use the most now.

Fender Super Champ X2

Yes, I sold one in 2020. It was the combo. I always liked that amp. I’m still not sure why I got rid of it except that I was trying to create some room in my little music room. I sold it to a buddy with the caveat that, if he ever sold it, he gave me first option to it. I liked that amp. Truth to tell, it was probably the one that I played most while I had it.

Channel 2 on it has amp models, so I was always playing around with those because I could get the really boxy sound of a tweed Champ or switch over and get an AC30 tone or switch around and get what’s probably always been my favorite amp, the Bassman. Or I could switch over to Channel 1 and get those super clean Fender goodness.

After about a year of not having it, I started trolling Reverb for one. I never could find another combo at a price I wanted, but, in the fall of 2023, I finally spotted the head version for a price I liked. And it was at a store across town. So I went and bit. I ran it through a cab that I had been using for another amp for probably a year. That’s when I finally found a matching Fender cab for the head. So I finally had the set.

I use it pretty often. I still think that the cleans on Channel 1 are really nice. And, on Channel 2, I almost always am switching between the Bassman and Princeton models. In fact, the wireless receiver is currently stuck in this one’s input.

Postivie Grid Spark 40

The amp that I probably use the most is my Spark 40. After I got it, I got familiar with the app, and really like what I can do with it. Only these days, really all I use the phone for is to play music through the amp to play along with. For a couple of months after I got the amp, I was always monkeying with the app and changing the amps and the setting. I finally settled on the 4 that I have. Even then, I only use 3 of them, and they’re the only ones I remember at the moment.

One of the models that I use is a super clean something. I think it might be a Fender, but, honestly, I don’t remember. It’s super clean, a little dark, and I will sometimes use it when I’m playing with that jazz sound. The one I use a little more than that is a driven AC30 top boost model. The one that I use the vast majority of the time is a Dumble model. The clean on the Dumble model is really nice, and the drive is too. I can see what they are legendary amps.

The Spark 40 is the amp that I use the most. Since it’s solid state, it’s just so convenient. And it’s kind of nice to be able to pump whatever I’m listening to through it. I got it for Christmas like 3 years ago, and my experience has been that it’s a great amp.

The Blackhearts

Then there are the Blackhearts. I’m going to keep this as short as I can because, although I have never been affiliated with Blackheart, Crate, LOUD, or anyone else in their sphere, I have always tried to collect everything I could surrounding Blackheart, and consider myself an armchair Blackheart historian since more and more people have never heard of them. As it is, although I don’t own any of the combos, I have at least one of every head and cab that they made. Yes, I’m a bit of a Blackheart collector.

At the moment, the amp that I use the most of these is the 7/15-watt Handsome Devil in the 7-watt mode. It’s at the top in the middle of my Wall of Blackheart. This one isn’t a Master Volume amp, but it a Gain and Volume control, so it has a little more versatility than the others. These amps sound very Marshall-y. They have a very classic rock sound. I run this one through 1-10″ Blackheart cab and 1-12″ Blackheart cab.

Behind that one, I occassionally use the 1-watt Little Ant. It’s currently running through one of the 10″ Blackheart cabs. Up until the last time I rearranged the room, I ran that 1-watt amp through a 4×12 Blackheart slant cab. Through that 4×12, that 1-watt of guitar goodness could still get obnoxious and rattle the walls. That Little Ant is probably my favorite amp. Its only downside, and the reason that I don’t use it often is it only has a Volume control, and, if I’m going to keep things reasonable in the house, I can never turn it up more than about a quarter of the way.

The 3/5-watt Little Giant doesn’t get used that much because, although it has more versatility than the Little Ant, it doesn’t have as much as the Handsome Devil. It running through a 12″ Blackheart cab.

I’ve also got the 100-watt Hot Head. I got it to say I had each of the amps. I turned it on after I bought it to be sure that it worked, and that’s the last time I’ve had it on. It has 4 modes. They’re 30, 60, 50, and 100-watts respectively. Channel one is called Loud, and Channel 2 is called F’n Loud. It is bigger than every 100-watt head I’ve seen. And it’s heavy. So it is currently sitting on top of the 4×12 over in the corner. I didn’t have the Les Paul when I bought the amp, but some day, I’m going to plug that one in on 100-watt mode and feel my pants leg wave in the breeze when I hit a chord.

Conclusion

Those are the amps I use…well use most of them. I’ve got others too. From where I sit, I see an old Fender G-DEC and an even older Danelectro Nifty Fifty, and I know in the closet there’s, among others, a PG Spark Go and a PigNose. The Spark 40 is the one that I use most. It’s just so convenient. And, from a playing at home perspective, convenience ranks as high as what it sounds like. But then that may also be because the convenient amp also sounds pretty dang good.

Guitars

Been thinking about my guitars lately. And I’ve probably talked about this in a previous post. I’ve had 3 or 4 primary players over the last 3 or 4 years. Here they are (and maybe a couple of others) in no particular order with some thoughts.

The Telecaster

It’s a Fender 50s Road Worn. I know I’ve done a post or two about this one. Never bonded with it until I changed the pickups. It’s purple. I dig it! I put it back in the closet this morning, but it’s one I play pretty often.

The Les Paul

It’s an Epiphone 50s Standard. I may’ve done a post on this one too. Got it because I wanted a gold top, and it was a steal of a deal as a blem from AMS. No idea why it was a blem. Has 50s wiring in it, which I’m not always sure I know what that means. Came with ProBuckers. I eventually swapped them for BurstBuckers because I could. Although I’ve never swapped it back, I actually preferred the ProBucker in the neck and like the BurstBucker better in the bridge.

This one was my main player no question for several years. Truth to tell, during that time, it’s also about the only one I played. Even today, if I gig with an electric, this is probably the one that I’m grabbing. Weird thing is, up until this one, I always considered myself a Strat guy. Never really bonded with a humbucker guitar. Got this one, and I have hardly picked up a Strat since.

The PRS

It’s a PRS Custom 24 SE in bonnie pink. No idea why they call it bonnie pink. It’s hot pink. And, since hot pink is one of my favorite colors, I couldn’t not get it. There is so much to like about this guitar. For a sub-$1000 guitar, the fit and finish on it out of the box is unmatched. It has split coils too. And, with in singles-mode, it is the first split coil guitar I’ve ever had that can sort of get that spanky Strat style sound in the in-between position. My only problem is that, in humbucker mode, something is missing. I can’t put my finger on it, but the guitars I have that have PAF-esque pickups in them sound better. No idea what I think I’m hearing, but it’s there. The singles-mode is great, but the ‘buckers-mode is…generic and boring. I haven’t yet, but, even though I think the humbuckers are lacking, this is one that I might carry to gig with.

The ES-355

It’s an Epiphone IBGC ES-355. I know I’ve talked about this one in the past. I can’t say enough good about it. I love the neck. I love the CustomBuckers in it. I love the semi-hollow sound. I know that this is anecdotal and very well may be specific to the Gibson ES-335 that I had, but this Epiphone is everything that my old Gibson 335 wished it had been. If the Gibson had been like this Epi, I’d still have it. This one has been, and will probably remain my main player since I bought it nearly a year and a half ago.

The ES-339

It’s a Gibson ES-339. Technically, it’s a Custom Shop, but I think they were making all the 339s in the Custom Shop at that point. But it’s cool to be able to say it. I don’t play this one nearly as often as I should. This is what a Gibson should be. Everything about it is a cut above. The main reason I don’t play it is because of what I paid for it; I don’t want to screw it up. There is nothing about this guitar not to like. When it’s out and hanging on the wall, it’s the first one I grab. Caramel burst. ’57 Classics. It looks good, feels good, plays good, and sounds really good.

The Other ES-339

This one is an Epiphone ES-339. I think I’ve mentioned it before too. I pre-ordered it when Epiphone announced they were going to be making them because I wanted a 339. I got one of the second wave to hit the stores in early 2012. I bought it intent on upgrading the parts in it as soon as I bought it. But I liked it well enough that it stayed stock until it went into the closet because I got the Gibson.

When I got it, they had started putting the Alnico Classics (their version of the 57 Classic) in them instead of the ProBuckers (their version of the BurstBucker). About the time that I got the Gibson, I realized I had an extra set of ProBuckers on the shelf, so I swapped them out. I can’t hear much of a difference, but I’ve always thought I almost like the Alnico Classics better. This guitar was my non-Strat player until I got the Les Paul.

The Sheraton

This one is a 1962 50th Anniversary Sherry. I bought it back in early 2013 to try to scratch the 335 itch I seem have always had. It sort of scratched it, but it’s one that always seems to end up back in the closet. Not because it’s bad, but more because it’s never been my main player, and it’s the first one that gets bumped for the something else sound I want. It’s a really good looking guitar! It sounds really good too. It has Gibson mini-buckers in it.

I think the reason it always gets bumped is that it has a rattle in it that really bothers me and I’ve never found. After all these years, it finally occurred to me the other day that I think it might be a pickup spring that’s just not compressed. Some day I need to pull the rings off and see if that’s what it is. If it’s super simple like that, I’m going to feel really stupid, but it’ll probably stay out more.

The Others

I’ve got several others that I really like for one reason or another. I just don’t pull them out and play them very often.

There’s the Gretsch 5120 that I have basically upgraded to a 6120. I love the sound of it. It just doesn’t get played much.

There’s the Parker P-42. It’s another with coil splitting. In singles mode, it has a super nice clean sound. But it doesn’t get spanky like a Strat in the in-between. In ‘bucker-mode, it also reminds me of the PRS…kind of generic and boring. Super fast neck. And it looks really cool! I gigged with it several times in the late ’00s when I played every Sunday at the church where we attended.

The Squier Thinline Tele in natural. It’s a workhorse of a guitar. Wide range humbuckers in it. I like the look and feel of it. It’s another one that sounds kind of generic.

All the Strats. The two main ones are my Highway One and the American Design Experience (now called the Mod Shop). The Hwy 1 was my main guitar for years. It’s got the scratch and dent look to prove it. Workhorse of a guitar. And it sounds just like a Strat should. Then there’s the ADE Strat. I spec-ed it out and got it after a factory tour in Corona. It’s kind of my Custom Shop guitar because I’ll never get an actual CS Strat. It’s got CS69 pickups in it, and they sound AH.mazing. At this point, if I need a Strat, it could be either of those two…really whichever is closest to me at the time. They’re both great guitars.

Conclusion

For years and years, I considered myself a Strat guy. Weird thing was, I always kind of preferred that open, airy sound that you can get from semi-hollow like a 335. When I got my Epiphone 339, that started turning me a little bit from the Strat side, but it didn’t completely do it. Come everything re-opening in the fall of 2020 and me doing the Great Gear Purge of 2020, and that’s when I got the Les Paul. And that is the guitar that completed the transformation to being a humbucker guy.

Now, with the purchase of the 355 last year, I’ve finally landed with that sound that I’ve always said I preferred. That semi-hollow sound that you can’t get with another guitar. Oh, and I’ve always leaned towards a cleaner tone, so that airy tone isn’t being hidden under a lot of drive. That said, I’ve also recently been adding more drive. So maybe that airiness is beginning to be lost.

Anyways, the journey has been a little weird and circular. And I’m sure it’ll probably keep going in some form or fashion. Although, I have gone a year and a half without buying a guitar, and I think that’s about as long as I’ve ever gone since I started collecting them. So maybe the circle has slowed.

JHS and Pedals

This past weekend a buddy and I got to attend a really cool event. JHS Pedals held a Tone Workshop here in the Metroplex. Mr JHS himself and a guitar player named Stu G hosted it. They talked gear and tone and gave away a whole bunch of pedals. It was a LOT of fun.

They announced it a week and a half out, and tickets were free. I figured they would go quickly, but it seemed to take a couple days for them to announce it was sold out. Guitar Sanctuary and the The Tone Shop seemed to be the sponsors. I thought that was really cool because those are my two fave stores in the this area. They held it at a church whose name I have already forgotten. Turns out, it was a convenient location because Josh’s brother-in-law is the pastor there. I’m sure everything was done on pretty short notice because of Josh’s recent bike accident. Which I’ll quickly add, reading his substack where he descibes the accident and his injuries, it was really good to see him up and about.

Neeways, I had not heard of Stu G. He apparently used to play with the band Delirious? and is now playing with Michael W Smith. I vaguely remember in the late 90s hearing a song or two announced on KSBJ in H-town by his band, but, until Saturday, I couldn’t tell you anything he had played or any of their songs. Listening to him and some of what he was doing to demo his rig, he definitely has that modern, Edge-inspired worship sound. He never just took off and ripped, but, if he’s playing with someone on the level of Michael W Smith, you know he’s a killer player. Seemed like a down to earth kind of guy too.

I don’t really remember that much about his rig. He played a Strat style (I don’t think it was a Fender, and had like 4 drives, a fuzz, delays, and reverbs on his board. The one thing that stood out to me during the workshop was that, being a world famous player and the player in arguably one of the biggest CCM acts of the last 40 years, he never made the “show” about him. When answering questions, he would give open, honest answers from his life without being a name dropper, and when it came to the jams, he very much played to the song and didn’t overshadow anything else that was being played.

It was really cool to see Mr JHS on stage and hear him talk about the history of JHS and the rig he was playing and generally just be himself. I’ve always thought that he seemed like a really cool dude and a class act through his youtube and socials. He didn’t change that impression on Saturday. He seemed approachable, answered questions, leaked a couple of things coming out, and generally was the same guy you see in his youtube vids.

My buddy and I went up to check out his board during the break. I wish I would’ve gotten a pic of it. I remember he had a KTR, a Morning Glory, and at least one other drive on it. He had a fuzz of some variety. But the thing that stuck with me is that he had a Dan Armstrong Green Ringer clone that he ran in conjunction with his fuzz that made it sound really good.

I’ve got 2 or 3 fuzz pedals, but I never use them. To me, I can never get them tamed. He was using a Land Devices Domino with it. So, while we were sitting there in the workshop, I hit Reverb and bought one. Figured I’d give it a try.

Other than buying the pedal while it was going on, I picked up 2 or 3 things from the workshop. No, I wasn’t lucky enough to be one of the pedal winners, so that wasn’t it. Although, the guy sitting to my right won one. So congrats to him.

First thing that stood out was something that Stu G said. It’s something that I’ve heard Griff Hamlin (the Maestro) say for year, but it was kind of cool to hear someone else say it. At one point, Stu played a riff, stopped, and said, “be sure you can sing it. If you can sing it, you can play it. Or at least you’ll know if you’re not playing it right.”

Next thing was something that Mr JHS said. And, coming from him, I thought it was super interesting. It’s something some buddies and I have talked about, but Mr JHS is in business to sell pedals, so I really wouldn’t’ve expected for him to say it. He said to find your sound without your pedals, and then use your pedals to season your sound. And then he and Stu G spent the rest of the workshop trying to decide what pedals were salt, what were pepper, what were garlic, etc.

In saying to find your sound first, he was coming from the perspective that so many of the great players in years past, you could tell that it was them playing just from the sound of their guitar. He said too many of us get a pedal and decide to build our sound around that when what we should be doing is getting our sound and then complementing it with whatever the pedal is. He then went on to talk about how your sound is so much more than just your amp as well. In fact, he said, he had been disappointed in the past when he got to play one of his hero’s rigs only to hear that he still sounded like himself.

The last take away for me was something that Griff has also told me in the past and that I struggle with. A lot of us guitar players struggle with it. If there’s space in a song and a moment with not much going on, we’re going to fill up. Play a riff. Lay down a line. The silence must be filled. At one point, Mr JHS complimented Stu G for always playing to the song and not always filling every moment with sound. Stu G said not to be afraid of the silence. Sometimes the breaks in the melody are what the song needs. Sometimes not playing anything is as loud as playing a flurry of notes. Play to the song; don’t be afraid to let someone digest what you just played before you continue.

All in all it was a fun workshop! The fact that tickets were free was a bonus. If they do it again, I’ll try to go back. Educational, informative, and just an absolute kick in the head. I’m pretty sure my buddy totally dug it too.

Budget Pedals

I got a couple of new pedals come in this week. I ordered them back in like April. Yes, they’re a couple of those new Behringer pedals. One of them is the 69 Vibe. I’m a sucker for a good vibe, so I thought I’d give it a shot. The other one was their Centaur because I dig klones. And, yes, the one that came in is labeled a Centaur and not a Centara. As long as I waited for it, I fully expected the Centara. After all, wasn’t all that noise from like 3 months ago.

Neeways, getting these pedals made me think I should mention a few of my favorite budget pedals. I guess I’ll start with these two, but I’ll be brief about them. The vibe isn’t a bad vibe. In my playing around with it the other evening, it has a vibe side and a chorus side. And it does the things. Not a stand out, but it’s not bad. The Centaur is definitely a klone. Sounds like one. Looks like one. Kind of like most klones, stick me on a stage in a noisy venue, and there’s a good chance I may not be able to tell it from any other. In the words of Mrs Snarf, both pedals are fine.

Now for some of the ones that I really like.

First is my always-on pedal. It’s been on my board for several years now. It’s the Nux Steel Singer. It’s a D-type pedal. It does a really good job doing that light OD thing. I have no idea how much it goes for new, but Nux seems to have turned into not necessarily a budget brand, but I got this pedal for $27 shipped off Reverb when I got it, so it fits the bill.

Sticking with the Nux theme, next up is the Nux Morning Star. I bought it about a year after I got the Steel Singer. I had gotten on a bit of a Blues Breaker kick. I picked this one up for like $35, and it was definitely one of my favorites. In fact, it and the Wampler Pantheon are the two that I like better than the Prince of Tone or any of the other BB pedals. The thing about the Morning Star is that it has this Shine option. Press the pedal and hold it, and it turns on. When you do that, it adds this high end brightness to the tone. Nothing that’s fizzy or harsh. It just kind of adds some clarity up top. To me, that just sets it off and makes it sound really good to my ear.

For a vibe-y pedal, you can’t go wrong with the Danelectro Chicken Salad. It’s another one that may not be a budget pedal anymore, but I got mine back when they were still considered a cheap pedal. It’s another that I got off Reverb or from GC or somewhere for like $25. It’s a great vibe! I have one of those Tech 21 knock-off pedals stuck on a board that has an OD, delay, and reverb in it. I have the Chicken Salad sitting next to it, and I can play for days with that little setup.

Another drive pedal that I think is a stand out is the Tone City Durple. I got it shipped from Anderton’s for like $45 once you add in the conversion. It’s another one that I bought about the same time as that Nux Steel Singer and put on my original Afford-a-board. When that experiment kind of ran its course and I realized that it was back to mostly not-affordable pedals, the Durple is one that has kind of stayed on it. It comes off occasionally because it’s not the the specific sound I’m wanting, but, it’s a good sounding OD that is on the board more than it’s off. In fact, it’s on it right now. Sits in front of a Wampler Germanium Tumnus.

That’s four, so I’ll mention two more honorable mentions. I use these two occasionaly, but not on a regular basis like I do the ones above.

The Donner Dark Mouse is a great Rat pedal. It’s definitely a distortion and not an OD, but, when I want that Rat sound, this is the one that I grab even over some nicer Rat clones. Admittedly, I’ve never owned an actual ProCo Rat. It’s always been copies. The next is one that I’m not going to link. It’s a straight up copy of another pedal all the way down to the enclosure and graphics on it. It’s the Demon FX Dual Gun. It’s a copy of the Kingtone Duelist. It sounds super good to my ear. It’s got two sides. One is a BB and one is a TS. I discovered it when I was on my BB kick. If the Kingtone Duelist wasn’t so expensive, I’ve wanted to get one to see how it compares because the clone sounds really nice.

So there you have it. Six relatively inexpensive pedals that I like to use. A couple I use all the time, and some of the others rotate in and out and around. I got them all (except the Dual Gun) for under $50. I think I paid $60 for the double pedal. So they weren’t always like Amazon Basics or Caline cheap, but still priced low enough to be affordable.

What are some of your favorite affordable pedals?

What are the words?

The spring that I graduated from high school, an album came out that has turned out to be very nostalgic for me. As my lifelong best bud and I have said, I can hear the songs on that album and be transported back to those day. I’ll smell the model glue from the airplanes we were building and feel the hope and eagerness of graduating and transitioning to the first days of finding myself as an adult. Within a couple of months of the album coming out, I had moved across the country away from family and friends. Before I left, my buddy had copied that tape for me, and I listened to it over and over because it reminded me of home.

One of the songs starts off with the lyric “What are the words? What are they saying?” It was asking a totally different question than what I’m going to talk about here, but the questions are the same.

As guitarists, we tend to have our own vocabulary that folks that don’t play guitar sometimes don’t follow. They probably get the big ones pretty quickly. “Crunchy.” They may not know to call it drive, but they know it’s that chainsaw sound. “Woofy” and “thin” and words like those are pretty self explanatory. Others might not make as much sense to them like “crispy,” “fizzy,” or “quacky.” Sometimes I think our descriptions work really well. Sometimes they leave, even me, scratching my head. I was doing some reading the other day, and came across on that I think fits the best of any yet.

I’ve been playing around with some jazz sounds and even some actual jazz. So I’ve got one of my semi-hollows pulled out and neck pickup sounding like I think jazz should sound. I’ve really been digging the tone I’ve been getting from it. Wasn’t really sure how to describe it other than “warmer than usual.”

I’ve got it up on the neck pickup. The Tone knob is set to 4-ish. Minimal crunch in the sound. It totally wouldn’t work for a blues band, but, to my ear, it just sounds so good for what I’m playing. That’s where something I read comes in. It said that in a good jazz tone, you’re looking for it to be “warm and creamy like melting chocolate.” And that’s what this tone sounds like to me. It’s kind of warm and gooey and just slowly dripping in your ear. Kind of like a candy bar that’s been sitting on your dashboard. “Warm and creamy like melting chocolate.” Non-players may not quite understand at first, but I bet nobody that heard the tone could disagree with that statement. It’s just so appropriate!

Epiphone or Gibson

This morning I was perusing the Big R as I sometimes do, and I saw the question that is so often asked by trolls or folks just trying to stir the pot. I think the one asking this morning was the usual person just trying to stir things up. The question? Is Gibson so much better than Epiphone that it justifies the extra cost?

Never has a more subjective, and even divisive, question been asked.

I started to reply to the thread, but then decided that it just wasn’t worth it. I figured I’d put my answer here instead.

The BLUF

“Better” is a pretty subjective word. What’s better to me isn’t always better to someone else, and what’s better to them I may not like as well. Look at all the updates that Microsoft is always making to Office, and that will tell you all you need to know about “better.” Sometimes better is an improvement, sometimes it should just be called “different,” and sometimes… Well, sometimes Microsoft is the only one that thinks the change is good.

Sometimes Gibson is better than Epiphone, and sometimes it’s the other way around. Here’s my totally anecdotal evidence to support that.

The Les Pauls

I own and have owned Gibsons and Epiphones. The first humbucker guitar I ever got was an Epiphone. It was a Les Paul. It was a dog. It had the infamous mudbuckers in it. The neck was a lot thinner than I was used to. The frets were scratchy. And I felt like I was always tuning it. I actually had it for probably 15 years, but I never bonded with it. I replaced the pickups with Burstbuckers, and that helped the sound of it, but it didn’t help the feel. I ended up trading it off.

I played Les Pauls occasionally when I’d be at the local Guitar Center, and they felt better than the one I had. But I was always afraid, since I hadn’t bonded with the one I had, that I would be wasting money if I got one.

I had always wanted a gold top. A gold top was one of the first guitars I remember seeing when I was a kid, so I had always been drawn to them. Weirdly, not a month after I got rid of that first one, I saw a gold top 50s Standard Epiphone being sold as a blem. I took a chance on it. Still have no idea what was “blem” about it. I’m guessing it was just a return. It is now the Les Paul by which I judge all others. It is that good.

Point Epiphone.

The ES-335s

Back in 2016 I bought a Gibson ES-335. I had always wanted one. Got a bunch of overtime at work, so guess where the extra cash went. I think I’ve talked about it before. It was definitely a Friday afternoon guitar. I liked it, but it was a frustrating guitar to play. It sounded like a 335 should, but I think the neck was a little wonky or something. I ended up trading it in the great gear purge of 2020.

A couple years later I bought one of the Epiphone Inspired by Gibson ES-335s. It was a great guitar. From a fit and finish and playability perspective, it was everything that Gibson should’ve been. I did think, in the quiet of my little music room, that it didn’t quite have the sound. After I had it a year or so, the input jack fell into the guitar. I had an extra 57 Classic/57 Classic Plus pickups in the closet. So, when I had the shop fix the jack, I had them just upgrade all the wiring and put those in it instead. In my mind, that made it everything that the Gibson should’ve been.

Then last year, I picked up one of those Epiphone Inspired by Gibson Custom ES-355s. All I’m saying is that this is really, really where the whole subjective thing comes into play. I know there are things about Gibson that make there guitars premium, but this ES-355 really proves that there is no sense in paying the Gibson tax. This guitar is everything that my original 335 wished it had been. The IBGC line, imho, takes Epiphone to the next level.

Point Epiphone.

The ES-339s

Since I’m throwing out anecdotal evidence, I think this is my strongest case for or against the argument. I have 2 ES-339s. The first is an Epiphone. I bought it as soon as Epiphone released them. Truth is, I had wanted one long enough that I pre-ordered mine as soon as they were taking orders, and I got mine in the second run. According to my sales rep at the time, I missed the initial late-2011 run by a few orders. I got mine when the next batch hit the first of 2012.

I loved it! The size was perfect, you could clean it up and get that semi-hollow airy sound, and it felt and sounded great. I gigged with it. I recorded with it. It was my go-to guitar for the next 10 years. And it was bone stock. It cost me $400 when I bought it.

I liked that guitar so much that I wondered what the Gibson version was like. So, starting about 2019 or 2020 I started looking for the perfect Gibson ES-339. Took me a couple of years, but I finally found the one I had been looking for. And I almost missed it.

Tangent: I bought it over the phone from a store I know on the other side of the Metroplex. I bought the guitar on a Tuesday afternoon, and I set everything up for them to hold it so that I could pick it up on Friday. According to the sales guy when I picked it up, he had been watching a guy sitting across the store demoing the guitar. He said the guy had been over there playing it for probably 20 minutes. He had just hung up with me and was about to head around the counter to tell the guy that the guitar had sold when he sees the guy get up and start walking up with the guitar. The customer got to the counter, and he told the sales guy he wanted to buy it. The sales guy said he had to tell him that had he been 60 seconds quicker the guitar would’ve been his, but he had just hung up the phone from selling it. Could just be a good sales story. Could be true. Either way, it’s the story the salesman told me when I picked it up.

Back to that Gibson ES-339. I knew from the moment that I picked it up that it was a much nicer guitar than the Epiphone. Granted, the guitar was used, but I could feel the difference in the fit and finish when I picked it up. Everything about it was, and is, just nicer. From the playability to the aestheic of it. The fret nibs to the finish. Everything about it is nicer.

I’ll be the first to admit that, if I was playing out somewhere the only person that could hear the difference in the two would be me, but, the 57 Classics in the Gibson sound better and a little clearer on the top end than the Alnico Classics (Epi’s version of the 57s) in the Epiphone.

Point Gibson.

Conclusion

That’s where the troll’s question comes in. The Gibson cost me nearly 5x what the Epiphone did. Is there enough of a difference in the two guitars to justify that price difference? Now that’s a subjective question if I’ve ever seen one. To me, the answer is a resounding “yes!” But I know plenty of people that would totally disagree with me.

In my mind, it’s kind of like the difference in a base Mustang and a GT500. The base Mustang will get you around town quickly, and it’ll make sure you have fun doing it. It’s 315 hp will get you about 25 mpg, and a new one will probably cost you somewhere between $30k and $35k. The GT500, however, is a whole different beast. It will also get you around town quickly and make sure you have fun doing it, but it does it with like 700 hp at 15 mpg. It’ll also start you off around $75k. One is a fun grocery getter. The other is a supercharged, street legal track car. Is there a $40k difference in the cars? To some the answer is yes. Others would beg to differ.

The Rev Billy

I’m not gonna lie to you, I like Billy Gibbons. I’ll also admit that I think a LOT of ZZ Top’s stuff sounds the same. Or at least it’s in the key of D when I’ve checked. But I still listen to them and enjoy their music.

I even bought a set of his signature strings when they released 10 or 12 years ago. I actually liked them enough that they’re the ones I buy now when I have a choice. My local GC doesn’t carry them, but, since I order a lot of stuff online, I usually grab a few sets when I’m getting something from Sweetwater. No, I’m sure I couldn’t pick them out in a blind test, but back when I tried a bunch of different sets to see if I had a preference, they were the only set that stood out. Something about them. No idea what it was. I think I said they had more twang. But I liked them, and that’s what I started getting.

Then, once on a whim, I bought one of his slides. I needed one, and the picture on it made me laugh. So I bought one. I’m not a slide player. So, to me, one slide is as good as another. So that’s the one I have.

I, also, briefly considered getting a set of Pearly Gates pickups for my Les Paul. I have always liked his sound. Between his musical stylings and whatever his setup is, he’s a guitar player you can pick out in a crowd. I ended up with a Burstbucker 1/2 combination, and I’m quite happy with it.

Which brings me to the subject for today. His setup. I got an email from that store over the pond advertising his signature amp. I can’t say I really keep up with the Right Reverend Billy nor ZZ Top. So, honestly, I had no idea what his signature amp was going to be. I know he always sounded Marshall-y to me. I also know that about 15 years ago the rumor got started (no idea where or when) that he used a mic-ed Blues Jr that sat either behind his stacks of Marshalls or just off stage in the wings. Everybody I knew wondered if it was really true, but nobody knew for sure.

So when I saw the ad this morning, I sort of chuckled and figured I was going to have to click it. Was his signature going to be a Marshall or a Fender or what? Turns out it’s a Magnatone. No idea if it sounds like a Marshall or what. I’ve never listened to one to know what it was. Also, no idea how long he’s been using them. I’m guessing that, if he’s a signature artist, he’s got them on the stage behind him. And, checking his tour page, for a 75 year old dude, he’s still out there doing it. I think I counted 41 dates between now and Thanksgiving. So he’s still out there doing it.

Gosh! As I sit here thinking about it, kudos to him for still being out there enough that Magnatone would give him a signature amp. And I hope when I’m 75 I have the energy that he apparently still has.