A $99 Guitar Is All You Need
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- čas přidán 16. 07. 2023
- You've heard it on TV, films, video games, and in music: this $99 guitar proves it's all about the idea! Thanks to @TomStrahle for the hang!
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Hi, my name is Paul Davids! I am a guitar player, teacher, producer, and overall music enthusiast from the Netherlands! I try to inspire people from all over the world with my videos, here on CZcams.
If you want to know more about me, check out PaulDavidsGuitar.com or check out my guitar courses at: learnpracticeplay.com and nextlevelplaying.com, and acousticadventure.com
Thank you for watching!
Paul
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This was a great morning. So much fun. And just so you all know Paul is very same guy you see in his videos, a very genuine and nice guy. He's a great player too!
Thanks Tom! It was an inspiring day for me, thanks for sharing your passion with us!
Thanks Paul for the video. And thank you Tom, it's a pleasure to listen to both of you, people talking about something they are really passionate about.
Loved it, Tom, and great insights!! :)
make more videos with paul! was really cool.
Such a great video. Thank you both!
This dude's enthusiasm and charisma is leaking through the screen... You can see it in his eyes, he can't wait to tell you everything. Great video
The power of the music is NOT in the equipment, but in the talent and spirit of the artist.
Indeed. Any guitar can be great as long as it stays in tune and have a proper setup
Indeed, that said I’m found the guitar that just inspires endlessly, that was 65 strat.
@@millmoormichael6630 I'm a Tele guy, but you can't go wrong with a 65' Start. Nope.
@@perihelion7798Well you completely missed the point of the video. It is in the equipment. He chose that particular guitar because it has a specific sound.
@@rustinpeace770 As if the 'sound', which is completely subjective, cannot be duplicated with different equipment. That's pretty silly, but in line with all of the gear elitists out there. Yep.
That guy has some serious groove. You can see why he's in demand. Thanks for doing this interview, Paul. Like you say, very inspiring!
This is a VERY important story for people to see. Use what you have…and you do NOT need the most expensive gear to create greatness! VERY INSPIRING EPISODE! 😃🎸👍🏻
Is it? He didn't JUST have a $99 guitar. All the other stuff costs money too. Or do you think all the thousands of dollars of amps, pedals and recording equipment comes free?
@@thomasdequincey5811Well to be fair using an amp SIM would not cost thousands of dollars
@@thomasdequincey5811 you can get amp sims for free my dude
@@thomasdequincey5811you're completely right. I spent thousands of dollars on bias fx alone and I'm a liar.
Just a real expensive computer and some pricey plug-ins...🙄
Look at this WORKING musicians set up. No RGB, no crazy 10k guitars, just a home office that gets USED every day. I probably have 4x the money invested in my studio and have put out less than 1% of this guy’s catalog. So smart.
What's RGB?
@@lukehunnableRGB = Red Green and Blue.
Referring to fancy colorful lights in this context.
Being a budget player, I played a Squier Bullet Strat for a decade. I got a lot of great sounds out of it and I recorded a lot of music that I loved with it. I always felt kind of bad for not being able to afford better instruments. This is an incredible, very reassuring watch. Long live cheap Squiers!
I have a CV tele. I wouldnt change it for anything❤
@@Lalairuthose are top of the line Squier, I play an Affinity Tele
@@MasteringSilence yeah I know, still a lot of guitar for the money. Affinities are great too!
@@Lalairumy friend backed up a whole lot of vocalists and played with several top local bands playing a couple of squiers. including an affinity...tweek here tweek there and he played it through a fender twin...I dig em'
@@pgroove163 thats an amazin combo 😁
Wow this guy is out of this world creative. It's cool to see big pop artists using actual instruments and artist and not just full digital.
Great stuff, Paul! This might just be the most important video for so many (young) guitarists to watch. Very, very inspiring!
💯
This makes me so happy.
@@TomStrahleyou're a legend man, just got to know about you today
But 99 dollar strat is horrible for beginners because its not as playable
@@sieni221 yes my cheap ibanez has better neck but tone is not as clean as a cheap fender strat
Got such a buzz from this video. The sheer enthusiasm, that riff, the tunings, and especially the use of ultra cheap guitars. Being able to leave a bunch of instruments in several alternative tunings seemed like an unnecessary luxury... it certainly doesn’t look that way so much now. Cheers, Paul and Tom!
Cheers Chris!
Don't look in the left corner. There is the definition of expensive in the Two Rock sitting there.
This guy is super inspiring, especially as a guitarist who's only been playing for 8 months and wanted to start trying to write things on my own. This gave me a bunch of ideas, thank you guys for sharing this!
Music Theory, modern acoustic technology, a love for music and a mad scientist attitude to stringing guitars in a bizarre ways makes this guy so cool!
We could clearly see Tom's enthusiasm in his eyes, very insightful and loves so much what he does. Very lovely riffs, by the way. Hats off to both Paul and Tom for this video. 👍👍👍👍
Still have my £100 Squier Strat and 10W app combo (a good 16 years ago).
Only ever adjusted the neck and scooped some frets and stuck higher gauge strings on there...
It was and still is a great guitar amongst the many I have now.
Still have the cheap Squier that was my first guitar, now still my main guitar. I've gigged with it. Though it's not all stock anymore the upgrades aren't the fanciest either, and most are unrelated to tone. Also thank you for not making this a glorified advertisement for some specific cheap guitar. This man is very inspiring and creative.
A Squier Strat for $99 was the first electric guitar I ever got. Still have it all these years later, and it still sounds like a charm. Such a great guitar for the price, and I frankly wouldn't have wanted it any other way.
i got a squier tele from the late 90s...and like his strat, missing that volume knob lol
For some reason I like my squire strat sound better than fender American, paid 1200$ for that thing some 10 years ago.
I love my $99. HSS FSR Bullet Squire. Dang thing takes a beaten and stays in tune. We are in the Golden age for quality affordable guitars.
@@josephgoforth9722I actually took it off. I kept turning it down when palm muting. Problem solved.
that's amazing. no mods or anything? i bought a japan st copy called a selder. it sounded great when my friend modded it with alnico pickups. i'm still relearning guitar after not playing for 10 years, and i love this thing.
Your content is always quality Paul, but this must be the most inspiring vid you've had yet. Love Tom's creativity!
I was lucky enough to have a short conversation w/ Jack Pearson about this subject.
He plays a Squier Strat at times, I believe he said that Squier is one of his go to guitars.
Jack is an incredible musician and has shared the stage w/ so many rock and blues legends. The man can literally play anything he wants and he still plays a “cheap” guitar.
What a good interview. This was as others have said a very inspiring video. Absolutely loved it. Thanks Paul . Thanks to Tom for sharing. Would love to see a longer interview with him. 🎸
Love his approach to the instrument: Different tunings and string combinations etc. We don't often see non-rock star musicians featured and his approach to making music is very inspiring. Would love to see more of how he approaches composing on the guitar for movies and video games. One great key takeaway is that the idea is stronger then your gear. Thanks for bringing us along Paul!
What a great guy! So joyful, humble and cool. Who wouldn’t want to sit down for some songwriting or scoring with Tom.
My favourite guitar I own is a Squier Affinity Strat that I modded. The neck is magical!
Same here, the necks are glorious!!
@@michaelclarke8426 Not all of them though, you have to find a good one.
I have a Squier Affinity tele that I can’t stop playing. The neck on that is also spectacular. I don’t know how they can sell them so cheap…
It’s truly incredible what you can do with even the cheapest of guitars. People often forget that it’s not about the guitar it’s about the player, great quality and tone is just an added bonus. Love your videos Paul, you inspire me every day to become a better guitarist and a better CZcamsr. Keep spreading your love for music so that it can be passed down from generation to generation “Keeping Music Alive.”
Did not sound that great without the effects. Reminds me of the clip of Jack White nailing a wire to a board, then plugging it to an amp and making shredding sounds with it. Then he says "You don't even need to buy a guitar kids" or something, but to get that sound they would need to guy his 5000 amp or something like that.
If an instrument does not sound good without added effects and amps, I think that instrument is a hindrance. If a guitar does not sound good clean, it does not sound good at all, what ever the good in the sound is is brought by the effects and whatnot.
@@vege4920 Bruh you are comparing a guitar with and without reverb. The actual tone is great.
"If a guitar does not sound good clean, it does not sound good at all"
How did you discover this law, great one?
Plus, you can get all of these effects for free on your computer. Compression and a Fender Twin. I can get a similar glass tone out of my $100 Yamaha Pacifica, using Guitar Rig Free.
“Beato talks about it all the time!” Man, I love how many of these professionals watch each other on CZcams.
Mike Rutherford of Genesis bought a couple of Squier Bullets when he found himself in South Africa about to be locked down and without a guitar. He ended up playing a lot of the 2021 Genesis farewell tour on Squiers although his tech did upgrade some of the hardware to make them a bit more tour worthy.
what a great guy! This was very inspiring, the most important gear is the neuron path in the brain. That's important information for those of us that can get overwhelmed with the tone and gear chasing. Hit records on cheap guitars has been a formula for so many great works.
funny that he mentions 5 year old strings. 5 years ago i kept the strings on my guitar when i stopped playing, i loosened them, so they don't mess up the neck bend, two days ago i tuned them again and they are still in tune today.
Great to see you two together. Tom is on youtube weekly, love to see the live lessons, even during Covid on a daily basis, learned so much during that time.
Great to see you both
Tom did a great video for older players getting started that I really took to heart. So great to see the two of you together. Making friends and making music is simply a win win. Well done and so tasty.
I absolutely love Tom. Such a good dude, great teacher, you name it. His live streams are awesome. This was awesome!!!
Great video-- really enjoyed that. You two have an infectious love and joy for what you are doing.
This is just so inspiring, would’ve never thought about guitar the way Tom does. Thanks for the awesome video Paul and Tom!!!
Thanks so much for sharing this video! It is very inspirational even to an old campfire player such as myself! 👏👏👏
Love this. I’ve always thought there’s so little difference between different guitars. Just need decent pickups and good intonation. I don’t hear much difference between $100 guitars and $5100 guitars
You were right Paul, it was very generous of Tom to share his great idea with everyone.
I can honestly say that I have thought about a string variation using octaves like he did, but I never went through with it.
And that all E string sound was just fantastic.
This is a great video and thanks to Tom and yourself, the music world just got a little brighter.
This video was delightful! And inspiring! Thank you for sharing--more, please?
Love this guy's enthusiasm! He's playing and having fun with his job!
My main baby is in fact a mini Squier Strat I’ve been playing since I was 12 and I’m never gonna get rid of it. Any cheap guitar can sound great It’s mostly on the artist.
It was a genuine pleasure to watch. Conveys a very strong message - just take what you have and create.
This is one of the best videos on music I've ever seen. This is so creative, I'm glad you were able to make this video. this inspires me to stop looking at the price only.
lots of truth here. To play good music all anyone needs is a decently built and comfortably set up instrument. Whatever that instrument initially cost, or whoever made it, is irrelevant. There's a big gap between the things we want, and the ones we actually need
His creativity and energy is amazing. Great video.
Best video from anyone on guitars full stop. Every existing and budding guitarist must watch this. Fantastic!
A breath of fresh inspirational air. Thank you Paul, your enthusiasm is infectious.
All most Squiers need is a good set of strings and a decent set up. Some can really benefit from new tuners or nut (most of the time the nut is just fine). Sometimes pickups depending on genre but this applies to all guitars, not just cheap ones. Great to learn how to “work” on guitars with little to no risk too.
The biggest problem is the necks feel really bad on a lot of them, a lot of extra fret and rough necks
@@xcx8646 Check out some $100-150 ones, a lot of the time they'll have frets sticking out the scratch your hands. If you can do a fret job they're fine, I just like it when I don't need to do the. Plus the finish on a lot of them isn't very good.
Wow! This man is a genuine great human being and musician!! Overflowing with enthusiasm, charisma and knowledge
Awesome video.. cool change of pace! Wouldn’t mind seeing more like this .
I watched this with a smile on my face. Very fun video. So cool to get a small window into that world. Thanks Paul!
This guy is so damn happy. I love it. Confident and cheery. His attitude is contagious enough, but being a guitar player I of course think, “well shit, I need his studio now…”
Great stuff, great vibes! I wish this episode was 2 hours long :)
I’m still playing with a Squier Strat to this day, and is sounds amazing! Thanks for bringing light to this, Paul!
I really needed more about tunings, Paul, thank you for this awesome content
Paul - Thank you for introducing us to great people/musicians!
Every new Paul Davids video makes my day.
My fav quote that will stick with me till end of times😀"The most important part of the signal path, are the neuron signal paths, where you come up with a good idea. A bad idea with the best signal path and the best instruments is still going to sound like a bad idea." 👍
I love how the pleasure of talking about this and doing it as well shines through Tom's whole being. Very inspirational as well to go off the beaten path (6 E strings, who comes up with that haha). Great video!
Is it possible, that these two guys are the most genuine individuals in the guitar world?! It's so awesome to see Tom nerd about his different guitars and tunings and ideas. This is a really nice video - please work together again sometime
Now that's a guy who's doing something he absolutely loves, you can see how much he's enjoying sharing his thought pattern/ideas for it with others who understand what he's talking about, with the side benefit of getting paid for his passion.
Thank you for taking us along on your guitar journeys!!! Good times!!!
What a fun video and honest producer! Love it, Paul!
My friend has the same guitar and I was surprised and amazed at how good it sounds and how great the neck feels on it for what it costs. I use an ibanez as my go to and the sounds are so different between the 2 that I'm getting the squire for that reason. Gonna stick my set of ernie ball colbalts on it and go to work! Awesome video!! Just confirms what I thought!
Not every cheap guitar will have the structure to sound that good. The adjustable bridge is crucial to good intonation, and the time spent working on intonation is well spent. If you don't hear the harmonics ringing on the low strings while you're tweaking the high ones, it's just not going to sound good. Remember, Tom rejected a bunch of guitars before he found the one worth keeping.
My all-time favourite guitar is a 1999 Squier Affinity Strat that is very harmonically rich. It used to bother me until others pointed out how rare it is to find a gutar with so much sympathetic ringing and that feels like the whole thing vibrates in your hands when you play it.
This may have been the most inspiring video I've watched in.... years, like in forever. What a nice and smart guy, not only do I love his riffs, but at least as much how he thinks and talks. Great stuff, thank you!
Cool video! Thx! Great to see that down to earth fun approach getting great results!
As an Epiphone and Squier player this makes my heart swell with joy. I like to do some basic mods to my guitars, but yeah it's all in the head, soul and the hands. The only comment I have about these guitars is that a little fret work and set up is often required otherwise they'll do the work.
Buy you a few tools and watch some CZcams videos on fret work. It's not remotely as difficult as people think.
Wow this is so important to show that all guitars no matter the price have a legitimate place in music. Budget guitars aren’t just for beginners or djent bros to mod beyond recognition
Man, it’s really amazing and inspiring watching you guys, you can see Tom breaking a lot of mith in the guitar world, im hunting and saving my ass to get a PRS and here you watch Tom creating and playing beautifully on a 99 squier. Amazing. Thank you Paul.
Great content once again. Love the enthusiasm!
I love this guy and the way he thinks-- i love this rlly he just has super cheap guitars and makes us see guitars differently bc of that - the way he thinks abt it is so inspiring- aah can u do more stuff with him? Haha i love u 2 talking abt guitars tunings and all this stuff is so interesting and how cute excited he gets to eyplain it i rlly want more of this ahahaha thanks for this video/ interview! Thank u💜💜
P.s i just love how hes just doing his thing being himself like that its beautiful to see cuz thats what were all here for just be and be happy while here and id that means to be what ppl call „ childish „ damn why not- ppl call me childish when i geek around abt stuff- if we all just let each other be and enjoy the moments rather then ciritizing then sich beautiful moments can be everyday and we can all work towards being more free rather then working slaves without hearts
I love yall snd thanks for reading tis lil thingy i wrote
I can't remember the last time I saw a dude this stoaked to show off and play his guitars. What a gem!! 🤘🏻
Now that video just made my whole month never mind my day. Proper musicians both of you, thanks !
What a great video! Thank you for sharing a different way to look at gear.
They need to make a Tom Strahle Squier Signature and sell it for $99.
What an inspiration
Right? Haha.
They already do, they just call it a used tuxedo Affinity Strat.
You definitely didn’t have to stop with weird tunings. This is awesome to see someone push the limits of normal on guitar.
Brilliant video! Totally agree with Tom Strahle. What a great guy, and sooooo talented...... Amazing how you talented guys make everything sound so achievable. LOVE IT!
This is the content I love -- artists showing how they find their inspiration and sounds
My very first electric guitar is the red Fender Squier from China! It has a rosewood neck. It's an awesome guitar! Anyway, this channel, 'Paul Davids,' is really inspiring. I love your editing skills and, of course, your content and guitar playing skills. 🙌🙌 PssT: My channel was inspired by yours! 😍
Man's got chops!
That was genuinely fascinating. Great video! Thanks.
It was so informative and laid back. Thank you, Paul and Tom, for the great discussion. Bieber is not my cup of tea musically, but it was inspiring to hear how he came up with the ideas.
My Squier Strat is featured in several songs on my first album. I run it through my Fender Twin with NOTHING but built in gain for distortion and add effects in Ableton if needed, but barely any. I bought it for $50 off a neighbor. 20 minutes of setup and the intonation is dead on and it plays amazing. I let some of my guitar friends play it without looking at it and they were shocked after playing that it was a Squier 🤣🤣
Love this.
@@TomStrahle its an interesting phenomenon, the search for and acquisition of "gear". When I was a mechanic, I bought a $300 set of tools from Sears to be a helicopter mechanic. I was able to do the same job, usually better, than most of my peers who owned $10,000 SnapOn rollaway toolboxes full of overpriced tools. For years I played in clubs to raving fans playing an ancient electric acoustic "Applause" (cheap ovation) because I brought entertainment in the form of enthusiasm and theatrics which I needed to make up for my lack of a great voice 🤣 Ideas, talent, and many other things matter more than tools in many ways. Great video.
THIS. IS.AWESOME! Thanks for posting it. Because of this cool vid, I no longer have SIC (Squier Inferiority Complex)!
Haha.
Mind Blown!! Excellent video, massive inspiration, cheers Paul!! ❤️
Gotta love his attitude, This guy's awesome! Thank you so much for sharing this
Yet another proof that the player's the most important part of the equation when it comes to making something that sounds good out of an instrument.
Tom IS a great player, both flatpicking and fingerpicking, so it's really no wonder he can make that $99 Squier Strat (I'm assuming it's a Bullet) sound that great.
I also love his enthusiasm and his very evident passion for his work too.
Thank you for this very cool video, Paul! Great work as always!
Having a fancy computer and a ton of expensive software doesn't count of course...
🙄
@@mattrogers1946the software shown in the video ain’t that expensive bro, reverb is $50 and guitar rig is $100
@@mattrogers1946 that stuff is for recording professionally, to create great music you literally only need a laptop and cheap guitar
@@blackstormer95 They did a bunch of editing to make it sound good on the album. Even if someone could make something similar with 200 dollars, would you like everything you play to sound like its coming from underwater in a well because all the effects you put on top of the playing.
That guitar did not sound good clean, and not being able to play clean is a huge determent to anyone. Without a clean sound, you will not learn to tune, or do any kind of ear training.
@@mattrogers1946 Sure, having that stuff definitely helps, but it's not as important as you might think.
Try giving the same rig to a not particularly good guitar player and you'll see the results.
Ultimately, the playing is what *really* matters.
This guys is just brilliant. Such a cool dude
Thanks mom.
This was cool. My best friend normally picks up cheap guitars, modifies them and makes them sound incredible.
What a delightful man. I like his zest and joy in exploring and discovering new sounds. Very nice.
and a good setup
I think this is the most important. It shouldn't hold you back.
Hopefully this won't start a new trend and make cheap guitars insanely expensive!
Loved this video, so inspiring!
That's really inspiring yo. I'm also in this vibe of checking out those affordable guitars for their distinct lo-fi tones.
...and those outrageous tunings are mind blowing once heard. Great video!
Most of the famous musicians play expensive brand named instruments because the manufactures give them the instruments and pay them to play them. A $100 guitar set up correctly will play just as good as a $20,000 guitar.
I mean you could say this for any tool/object in most hobbies, obviously there's huge diminishing returns on more expensive stuff. I find if baffling how this is a novel concept to people, if you have money people like to buy nice things. Who gives a shit if they want a custom shop Gibson/ESP whatever that they're going to cherish.
Making music, really making music and following your ear. Loved this video for it. Geweldig! 🎉
What an interesting man Tom is. I really enjoyed this one. I have always had a couple of cheap guitars for experimenting with, and this has given me a lot of inspiration to mess around and have some fun. Thanks Paul.
I so admire the 0.1% of CZcams videos that don't try to convince you spending a shit ton of money makes you a better musician. Let's all admit to our one almost-trash guitar that we love dearly. Mine's a VOX ssc-33 that I bought for a hundred bucks. It's spankier than any Tele I've ever tried.
Yeah, Im so tired of the marketing loop on youtube. This was so cool.
I have a Mitchell acoustic that I got for my 16th birthday over 20 years ago. I have spent thousands of dollars on guitars since then, but I still prefer that shitty Mitchell sometimes.
@@IAmTheWorstArtist Shitty can be pretty!
Ah, the classic E-E-E-E-E-E tuning
Hehe.
😂
One of your best videos. Loved it. def going to follow Tom's channel
Crazy inspiring, amazing what he transmitted. Great vid!