Your Heroes Gear Might Not Be Right For You - ASK ZAC EP 30
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- čas přidán 6. 09. 2024
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Most guitar players make many gear purchases based on what their heroes use. This is fine in itself, but what is more difficult, is to know when their gear is not working for us. And to keep from getting too philosophical, I also dissect some of the licks and parts to "Quarantine Man Blues" that I play at the top of the show.
The Danny Gatton Hot Licks video I mentioned amzn.to/3g42h9u
Gear used in Video:
2019 Danocaster Blackguard (1953 Telecaster Style) with Ron Ellis 52T (Bridge) and Julian Lage (Neck)
danocaster.com/
Strings:
Ernie Ball 10,13,15, 24, 32, 42. Nickel-Plated Steel.
Pick:
Blue Chip TPR 35 RB
Amp:
1965 Deluxe Reverb amp with Celestion V30 speaker
Effects used:
TC Polytune
Mirage compressor pedal
Line 6 Echo Park Delay
9v power via Truetone CS6 amzn.to/38S9rZK #askzac #guitartech #telecaster
Love this topic! Thanks brother.
You are so welcome, brother.
"The closest you'll come to sounding like your heroes... is them on a bad day" - Jerry Donahue
True
That depends, you'll never be just like someone else but you could come close but with some added influences. A couple good examples of this would be Stevie Ray and his take on Albert King or Chet Atkins and where he went with Merle Travis's style.
That's never hurt leo's sales of his signature artist brand products.
LEO sold 3 trillion sounds that all were his.
Only 1 trillion of his sounds were put on record.
There's 2 trillion LEO fender sounds that never made it to CZcams. (leo was actually building his signature artist brand products for CZcams recordings not studio records)
Eddie Van Halen has built a company that's built 800, 000 different sounds already.
He's only used 2, 000 of them.
So there's plenty of EVH sounds which nobody has used yet and they're building millions more sounds just like LEO did.
My friend Tony Rice said use your heroes to inspire you to find your own musical identity. Its a wonderful journey on a road with no end. Enjoy the ride..
Well said!
How about you look at your own social identity.
Why do you make your life hard for yourself?
Heros you say.
Millionaires made brands.
There's no heros there.
You're on a spinning planet.
You must be dizzy by now.
Definitely learned this lesson over the years. Many half stacks, string sets, picks, and guitar configurations over the years. Now I'm running a 50s Roadworn strat, 10-54 in d standard and jazz iii picks into a tweed champ with a ge200 for effects while loving my tone. Sometimes unique combinations are "your tone".
They're all LEO's tones before he sold them to the 1000's of middlemen retailers before they sold them onto you.
You didn't build any sounds.
They built the sounds and generously sold them on to strangers who promised to sell some to you.
Heart and hands. Amen brother. Gear is fun, for sure. Possession obsession is not. I tried DR 9.5 to 44 on one of my Tele's and I have found that to work really well for me in the context of what I play.
I have a funny (I think) story, if you will indulge me.
I was at a show and the guitarist in the band I had come see was a hero of mine that I had met through an acquaintance at a couple of functions. He heard some of my stuff and liked it.
I got called out of the audience to come up and play a song with the band. I didn't have a guitar, of course, but my guitar hero just handed me his and he went and got a harp and did some vocals, letting me do the guitar chores. Well, after I strapped it on, I knew I was in trouble. The strings felt like telephone cables and the action was so high I almost needed two hands to clamp the strings down on the fretboard! He had sounded great and I was sounding like a novice, only worse. His pedal board was (to me) upside down, and I didn't dare touch anything! After a minute or so, which felt like an hour, I started to make a little headway. I saw a slide on one of the amps, and went for it. Of course, it didn't fit right on the finger I typically use a slide with.... but I can get around in standard tuning while using a slide, and that kind of saved me. YOUR HEROES GEAR MIGHT NOT BE RIGHT FOR YOU - indeed.
You're struggling to understand signature artist brand is no different to LEO fender signature artist brand products.
Truth, logic, and common sense prevail in the words you speak. Sometimes you buy something because one of your heroes uses it,, then you end up using that item in a different way.
One thing that has revealed itself to me after many years and many dollars is that when you use good tools, it's easier to get the job done. The old reliables, (Teles, Strats, Les Pauls, Tweeds, Black face, AC30's etc. have proven track records for reliability and sounding great. I don't use that stuff because my heroes use it, I use it for the same reasons . Works and sounds great if you keep up with the maintenance.
Your experimental string gauge at 14:00 is one step further to the ultimate Tele twang, even better when combined with the Blue Chip pick (I use a 45), great stuff! Kind regards from Switzerland.
I really like how you touched on what you were playing in the video. Definitely continue to do this! You're the man.
Will do. Thanks, Tater!
We already talked briefly about the 10-38 strings in the other video.
Gotta say it again, love these, exsactly they sound balanced.
It also gets one a tiny bit closer to Jimi, one can hear it with a fuzz and the low e 38 right away =)
True, i also tested everything, srv, supers, huge strings, 808s, jimi, plexis etc and found what i like and is of use to me.
Ended up after a 10 year journey with a custom strat, 10-38, jtm, fuzz, boost cuz i dont dig drives much, vibe and reverb and im so happy =)
Zac, I came across your videos after seeing lil Tommy Bukovac's video on the ODR-1. I appreciate your down-to-earth approach with these videos. You have a knack for tackling specific facets of guitar discussion that others seem to omit. I too battle with getting a thick enough sound out of the high E and B strings, while the lower strings ring true to my ear. I don't know if it's my fingers or what. I think I need to try this customized set you've come up with.
I went through the rounds as far as picks go, and once I went back to my original preference, Fender mediums, I was right at home. I often wonder if it's because I miraculously got it right the first time, or that learning with Fender mediums during my formative years ultimately shaped my preferences.
I appreciate the wisdom. Thanks, Zac!
I can tell you from first hand experience that gear is a personal thing. My own personal hero has been Larry Carlton since the 70s, and still is. I can hear three or four notes, and almost immediately recognize his "voice" - it's uncanny. The guy's playing is pure magic to me, a very close second (if not equal) being Lee Ritenour. Everybody else is next, and pretty far down from there.
I bring this up for two reasons. One is that they both use different gear (except for the 335, I guess); But more importantly, it took me years to discover that no matter what I played I sounded like me, and I sounded best when I didn't try to copy either of them. The world definitely does not need another Larry or another Lee. We already have the originals.
The gear point was hammered home to me many moons ago when Valley Arts announced their Larry Carlton model (may have been some time in the late 80s/early 90s?). I could barely contain my excitement when I managed to get an order in the batch of the first 100, which would be signed and numbered by Larry. With all the hoopla surrounding the announcement, I was convinced that this guitar would make me rip through Larry's solos on Sleepwalk, and his Steely Dan stuff. Problem solved! Right?
Well, the guitar (#12/100) finally came in about 7 or 8 months later - and it was indeed gorgeous, and the build quality was something I had never seen before. I realized very quickly, though, that I hated it! The neck was just wrong for me, and I wondered how Larry could even play it. Luckily, I managed to sell it (for a small profit even!), but I discovered later that I actually prefer fat necks, while Larry likes thin necks. I prefer the 25 1/2" scale mostly, while Larry likes 24 3/4" mostly. Now I sound like me, but Larry is no less my hero for the experience.
Thanks, Zac, for focusing on this!
Zac says, "Dom't just go out and buy your heroes' gear." Me: "BUT I JUST BOUGH FOUR SETS OF PYRAMID STINGS!!" ;^)
The only question is, are they working for you?
LOL! I have a couple of sets on the way too! Also the trem springs... Thanks, Zac? Ha! Ha!
Did the same thing, just to test out. I’ve been using 9.5-44 from D’Addario, which I like.
Hi Zac,
I am using that exact string gauge currently, purely by experimentation. I started off trying the 10-38 set, and wanted a slightly thinner D and slightly heavier E. I love the way it balances and how the wound strings don’t overwhelm the plain ones.
That string gauge also makes a lot of classic rock and country licks make sense. Bending the G string a whole step while fretting two other strings is now possible, etc.
Totally agree about the gear. You’re never going to sound just like your heroes anyways and something that may work for them, may be terrible for you. The string gauge thing is a good example. SRV used really heavy strings, but he also used high headroom amps and 15” speakers that could handle the extra low end. If you try and string up your Strat with 13’s and play it though a blues junior, it might not work so well...
I enjoy guitar, learning new licks, playing the same old licks, but what I love is the constant “hunt” for different gear.. I use Bonamassas term, “guitar safari” I love buying/selling/trading cool guitars and amps, and all the cool people you meet along the way are just a bonus.. brilliant video Zac! Keep up the good work!
Very cool!
I use Joe's "Guitar Safari "also .My latest was an amp Safari were I found a limited edition Deluxe Reverb for the price of a Champ.
As he was just in the news and sadly passed away, I tried an EVH Wolfgang, to have if I felt like playing the music here and there, and my goodness I didn’t enjoy that guitar at all. Not only could I not play his music but the guitar just felt uncomfortable for me and I found out I am not a Floyd Rose trem person. I love the signature gear being available and have a great strat that I finally got after 20 years of wishing but it can sometimes be a miss. A unique guitar is sometimes for a unique player that’s for sure. Nice video Zac
LEO fender signature artist brand products.
LEO built those guitars.
Its his name on every product.
You're just crazy.
Wake-up idiot.
Brands are brands.
You must now smack yourself for saying the most idiotic stuff.
Fender is second generation signature artist brand products and EVH is more complex than fender and its 3rd generation.
Which means ALL EVH products must be in use before any of the products will work.
The EVH wolfgang guitar won't work until Every EVH product is also plugged in.
Once you plug in the full EVH setup, then the guitar will start working.
As a matter of fact Zac my Hero’s “ Paisley / Atkins / Campbell/J Reed/ S Moore/B Guy/ EVH /Frampton/ Harrison are usually using a Solidbody Sometimes a ES 345 or similar., & Tube amp ! As far as effects delay chorus reverb compressor. All I really like is a Simple Rig; 1 Guitar set up right, with or with out trem-arm depending on how talented your hands are ! & 1 Tube Amp 15 to 50 Watt, Blues Junior- Deluxe- AC30-type withTube Rectifier . Is it Ever Enough or Never enough ??? Ha Ha !!!
Don’t chase your hero’s gear, learn your own! With the right experimentation your own voice and unique tone can be found. I’ve had some of my best “Les Paul” tones come from a Crook T-Style and my best Tele tones come from a Les Paul Jr. style. Limitations and experimentation spawn innovation.
When I was a teenager in the mid to late 90's Gibson came out with this Joe Perry Signature Les Paul and I thought that thing was the single greatest Les Paul I had ever seen. I would literally cut out every picture of it from every Guitar magazine I could find it in and hang it on my wall. I was absolutely obsessed with that guitar. Finally Guitar Center got one in stock and I took off down there to finally get my hands on it and the moment I picked that thing up was probably the most disappointed and let down feeling I had ever experienced in my whole life. LOL! I still consider it a beautiful guitar to this very day but man that thing for ME. The same thing goes for the Monterey Strat when I played one of those but it was just a Mexican version so maybe the American one would feel quite a bit different???
If you combined the 2 brands fender and EVH you'd get 2 trillion 8 hundred thousand sounds which nobody has tried yet.
Those 2 trillion 8 hundred thousand sounds aren't on any recording.
You didn't build any sounds.
Somebody else sold you their sounds they didn't want.
Why would you go into your workshop when there's already 2 trillion sounds for sale and nobody's using them?
Its called LEO fender products.
Yep. It's true. Each human body, brain and heart can get ideas from what their hero uses, but the chemistry comes from the individual's practice and ears. You are the talent.
That was a cool little ditty at the intro. You hit the nail on the head in that for most of us guitar geeks our favorite players have not necessarily been the fastest or most schooled but just one's that found their own voice on this instrument. Been playing a long time and am still workin on it.
While You're working on stuff fender's made 2 trillion different sounds that aren't on record yet.
EVH has already made 800 000 sounds that aren't on any recording yet.
So While You're hearing voices you should see a mental health doctor.
They've sold 2 trillion 8 hundred thousand sounds that aren't on record yet.
How many Guitar youtube Channels need to watch this. youngsters these days. Thanks for the truth Zac
I chased the David Lindley world of funky pawn shop Italian and Japanese finds trying to play like him.
I never knew how Lindley made them sound so good until I read in Guitar Player that he completely reworked them with new hardware, tuners and played through a custom Howard Dumble amp! Ha!
Now, my gems look best hanging on the wall. Lindley is Lindley as Santana is Santana and Steve Cropper is Steve Cropper.
Agreed!
Your heroes gear is a good place to start. Take of it what you like and try something else for what you don't. That is what they did. I started out with Gibson->Marshall sound of Jimmy Page. I ended up Strat->Brownface Fender. If that isn't a vast change... I no longer buy much gear. I still have the gear I bought along the way for those other sounds that my usual rig can't do very well. And of course everybody needs a Tele!
Good discussion! My heroes often play Strats and Jazzmasters - nile rogers, j mascis... but those guitars have never sounded right in my hands. Now I play a Jag and it gets similar sounds, even though it's not the same guitar.
I'm sure LEO plucked the strings before selling them on to strangers.
So, its LEO fender signature artist brand products now played by Nile Rogers.
Define sounding right.
Electrically its impossible for leo's jag to sound anything like those other 800,000,000 guitars.
Thank you for the video. Real wake up moment for me. I've been too busy trying to be my heroes instead of finding my own thing.
Good coverage of the gear we seek and use. Thanks!
You bet!
Fantastic turn around and thanks for the explanation !
My pleasure!
I use Ernie Ball 10 gauge strings on my telecaster. They are the best.
Points well taken Zac. I totally agree. I loved the opening tune and licks you played! So glad I found your channel, can't get enough!
Welcome aboard!
I love this subject! In addition to your advice ... I'd add "remove the word "best" from your vocabulary when it comes to gear". Trying to min/max your gear is also a dead end. That is also obsessing about the wrong thing. Losing the feeling that I am "less than" because I don't have that special piece of gear has been the best thing. It's freed me to love what I have and enjoy finding the tones I already have access to. Thanks Zac! Love the channel!
Your bang on Zac. Concentrate on the playing. You will find your way with the gear. I find a very basic rig allows me to experiment more with techniques and worry less about what new pedal or effect to buy. Theres alot to be said about just playing your favourite guitar through your favourite amp. Less complicated.
Great video, I use a Blue Chip TD 35. John Mayer uses the same pick, I found that out later on. I gave up on buying my hero's gear and finally discoverd a set up that works for me. Playing the guitar is the most important of all.
Agreed
I guess there are two ways that people approach "hero gear". One is simply loving the sound you heard on the radio, on record, or a CZcams video, and wanting to replicate it and effectively put yourself inside that recording. Not much different from the archetypal teen singing in front of a mirror into a hairbrush, or playing power chords on a badminton racket. Of course, as has been noted many times over, what gets reported as the gear used is not the same thing as what was done, or even needed to be done, to get the final sound. That amp, pedal, and pickups may have been used, but maybe this volume level, and that mic, positioned in his way, were also essential. There is both missing information, and often circumstances that are hard or impractical to replicate. So, a bit of a fool's errand to look at gear that way, even though there is no denying the pleasure one receives if you DO happen to nail the tone of a tune you've always loved.
The second approach is one of what the gear *allows* the player in question to achieve. So, maybe a particular tremolo system lets player X use pitch-bending in a particular way. Maybe speaker Y introduces some degree of "natural compression" at club volume levels. Maybe this or that fretwire makes it easier to bend, or stay well-intonated. If your hero says "I like to use *this* because it LETS me achieve that", then the goal becomes one of what the player themselves wishes to aim for in their own playing, and the player can simply treat it as advice pertinent to what they would like to achieve in their *own* playing, rather than merely something that lets them copy someone else.
Master woodworkers will recommend, and rely on, various kinds and makes of tools, and tout the virtues/advantages of this one over that. They do so because it makes the task of achieving what they aim to do easier, and more ideally realized. But is what *you* aim to do the same as them? Are these the right tools for *your* job?
Most excellent advice! Gear Acquisition Syndrome is a good way to spin your wheels and go nowhere fast. It happens in guitar, photography, woodworking and other places too. Once a few "decent" pieces of gear is acquired you should spend your time on learning! I do confess that new gear does provide a little bit of fun though!
I bought that DG rhythm video when it came out as my main heroes were roy (buchanan) and DG .It was a great video ,i learned so much and at the very end he does "lonesome fugitive' as a tribute to roy-i will never forget it!Another great video thanks!!
Welcome!
You and Keith at FWW have really sensible approaches towards gear.
Thanks again for the excellent content.
LEO fender went on to build a company that's sold 3 billion different guitars and 3 million amplifiers SO, you do the math.
His signature artist brand products now tally over 3 trillion different sounds.
Maybe 1 million have been used on a recording somewhere.
Why are you SO protective of those 1 million recorded LEO fender sounds when there's 2 trillion MORE that nobody's heard yet?
You're about the least sensible person out there.
Its clearly labelled Fender.
LEO fender signature artist brand products.
They're all brands now.
They've graduated from recording artist to product brands.
I think the gear obsession seems to be pretty bad for many people. They are not guitarists any more, they are music gear buyers.
Just @ me next time, damn.
Damn.
Hi Zac, greetings from Australia. Love your work. Great topic. I used to read all your articles in Vintage Guitars, Every morning, the first thing I watch on CZcams after making myself a cup of coffee is watching your channel and Tom Bukovac's. Keep up the wonderful work my friend. Also, just bought a Boss Analogman Tremelo TR-2 after watching your demo of your board. Sounds killer, thanks !!!!
Thank you so much, Hugh. Glad to be in good company!!
Fotunantly I didn’t fall too far down that rabbit hole before I realized that it’s 70 or 80% in the fingers to begin with and everybody has a different touch on the guitar. So you just played have to buy stuff that works for you. Excellent video Zac.
Thanks, David
Good stuff Zac....especially the licks..... I think most of us on the "tone journey" wish we could have some money back for the gear that didn't work out.....but, as hard as it is to admit, finding out what DOESN'T work has some value. When I sought out some of the gear of my heroes, I usually found something that I liked. I dug SRV's tone and the first time I plugged into a Super Reverb, a lot of the mystery of his tone was revealed. I did use a Super for a while and discovered that old Blackface amps were my thing.....I found that the Deluxe and Vibrolux Reverbs were my preferred amps and the Super fell by the wayside. David Grissom's tone (and playing) knocked me out in the '90's so I checked out his blueprint. Turns out the PRS guitars became my go-to for humbucking guitars (ergonomically they were very compatible to my strats) but the Marshall was too much. DG's use of the Arion chorus has also remained a staple of mine since the '90's - it's my favorite swirly pedal. I have other examples but those were pretty important. I guess the moral for me was to not be afraid to admit that some of that "hero gear" just wasn't right....but some of it was. Nice vid Zac.....
Great tone journey! Love it. I still have an old Arion too because of Grissom and Landau
@@AskZac Those are the guys! Yep....I remember when they were $20....ugh....
7:25 Clapton basically does that lick on the Cream tune, Sleepy Time Time.
Picks are so personal.....I recently did a pick test and went to a Jazz 3 for the first time.....I then tried every kind of Jazz 3 and went to a Carbon Fiber for Acoustic and a Jazz 3 Ultex for electric. Was amazed how different each of the Jazz 3 sounded
Great advice! Nothing will be more important that actually playing and practicing and learning new things on the guitar. It is fun to get into gear research mode but we can probably benefit more from learning some new chords or the changes to a good song.
Well said!
Your strings are approaching Jimi Hendrix’s string set. The thing about strings and fret wire size, you cannot duplicate your heroes unless the dimensions of your fingers aren’t exactly the same. I have chunky fingers, so unless I have tall frets and high action, I am lost on the fretboard. If my hero has slender dainty fingers, they can go all low action and shorter frets - I can’t do that. I think with other gear, you have to feel it. I feel Hendrix a lot, and I get there with mostly Vox amps, does the job for me. Gear is also a fun journey, why take the fun away by exhaustively trying to reproduce someone else’s equipment. I have a lot more fun making my own discoveries. Heck, I was using a modded DD-2 into a Vox ac4 being used as the echo and run dirty. The ‘dry’ amp was a Vox Pathfinder and I started using the onboard tremolo along with reverb, but no distortion. And man I was getting the most beautiful filthy Leslie-ish Woodstock Hendrix tones ever! And none of that gear or choice of effects remotely resembles what Hendrix used!
Also, love your playing Zac, gradually more guitar instructions/tips in the future please. Thank you.
Thanks! Will do!
Awesome show! Not only is chasing heroes a rabbit hole, I think changing gear too often will hurt ones chances of achieving a satisfying tone. it takes time to find all the sweet spots and use them in a "second nature" way during a song. We have to adapt to the gear to a certain extent.
Bless you, Tom! I completely agree! Know your gear, and stop changing things out.
Zac, you are such a mellow and “real” cat!
Hey Zac. You were mentioning in this video you used to let local players play through brads rig. It made me remember and wonder. Back in the early 2000’s (I think, might have been late 90’s) I was playing in a band in taylorville IL and brad was playing the venue behind us “Nashville North “ (where I actually ended being in the house band there) and anyway after the show, some of the brad paisley crew came over to our gig. A guy got up and played guitar with us and wondered if maybe that was you? Anyway, like I said, that comment just got me thinking.
I think that was me.
How cool! That was a long time ago, but I do remember being wowed and everyone including yourself being very nice and a treat to meet. Maybe one day we’ll jam again.
Great advice Zac! I play through a newer Peavey Bandit ($300 used) . I have a few basic Boss pedals that I've had forever, plus late 70's MXR Phase 45 ($20). I get a great sound from my rig I.M.H.O. Even though I liked how the amp sounded stock, I tried a myriad of different speakers only to go back to the stock Blue Marvel that it came with. The speaker swaps were a waste of time and money in the end.
my personal favorite tele guy is/was Ed Bickert. His tele never really sounded like one-he installed a humbucker neck PU.
Back in the early nineties, when I started playing, my local crappy music shop only sold Dunlop Nylon picks. Still play with them today and never bothered using anything else (other than my fingers). Sometimes you can waste time and go too deep down the equipment rabbit hole.1a
Regarding heroes and gear: Huge Mark King/Level 42 fan. Mark King as bassist/lead vocalist of Level 42 a far bigger influence on me as a musician than any guitarist (yet). He played a lot on Alembic basses. Always wanted a Mark King Signature Alembic bass. Couldn’t afford new, ever, as they were $10,000. Now they’re up past $13,000. I saw a used five-string come into Guitar Center for the low low price of $5,000 or so used. It was awesome in every way except one- neck dive. I couldn’t see finding a way to make that purchase happen with that kind of neck dive, and I still wanted that bass SO BAD, like I’ve never wanted a bass before or since. I’d give it another try if I could ever find one used, but I think I’ll have to wait for all the stars in the universe to align again to be able to put my hands on a four-string Mark King Signature Alembic bass, to see if that one also neck dives... I do SO WISH that five-string worked for me. But it didn’t, and I didn’t end up selling ALL my other basses to end up with a bass I would very likely have gotten very frustrated with, and would have sold... to ultimately have neither my loved collection of basses or the bass of my dreams.
Hey Zac can you talk about how you maintain your finger nails, and maybe how you prepare for a gig, or show. Rest , what you eat, how you mentally prepare.
Thanks
I mainly try not to eat too much, or drink before I play.
I appreciate the blues changes. The Gma7 to A7, just amazing. Thanks. I just bought some "half round" strings to try out. I like the flat wounds, but I heard that the "half rounds" sounds more alive. I have learned the hard way that less is more, with gear. Great video, today.
Thank you
Thanks for sharing with us. I really enjoy listing to your intro. Have a blessed day
Thank you! You too!
Great stuff Zac! Your high E string comment hits close to home. I remember reading that Steve Howe used .12s for both B and E strings to fix the 'weak' E. Due to hand issues I wend from .11s to to .09s. I may try a your set to see how that helps. Thanks for the tips!!!
So Zac how about an AskZac V neck? I thought you were going to reveal one when you moved the Telecaster but alas...love the riff I like playing and watching. Thanks another great episode.
Welcome
Thanks so much Zac, really like your take on following guitar hero's. I have always felt the same way.
I don't play like my childhood hero or even the genre. Turns out what I'm comfortable and enjoy playing on guitar isn't what I listened to when I was 16 😆. I'm all about a strat with staggered locking tuners, roller bridge saddles, decked trem, with 9-42's, a fender heavy pick or the dunlop purple alligator pick, plugged straight into a a Fender amp. My hero as a kid in the mid 90s was EVH, if you couldn't tell by my setup 😆.
I bought a Dr. Z Prescription ES based only on the sound clips I heard of Brad Paisley on Dr. Z's website when it was first released. I didn't realize just HOW LOUD you had to play to sound like that. Hahaha. Great amp, but I don't own it anymore.
Andy22882 I did exactly the same thing!
Z28 for me DITTO!! Thing seemed almost as loud as my twin
I’m a tele and lp jr guy, and most of my heroes play a strat or Les Paul; I agree.
I been using Ernie Ball 9 thru 42s and fender 351 heavy picks for decades. I never looked past a heroes guitar and amp. 70s les paul deluxes used to be home for me, but 70s telecasters are where I have been for about 15 years. Anyone want a 1973 goldtop deluxe?
I think the light bottom and heavier top string gauge you put together is the Hendrix mix.
The only thing i really want is your 65 Deluxe or one that sounds just like it. Yours has amazing tone and Fender need to model it and use it as the Tone Master sound as theirs is to bright for me, yours with the bright cap removed is perfect.
Thanks, Sean!
Excellent. Thank you Zac! Gear is such a personal thing. No harm in trying stuff out. 🙂
Its personal to LEO fender.
That's WHY his name is on it.
You're trying out leo's signature artist personal equipment.
Excellent timing on this upload!
Don’t spill your coffee on that $2500 amp, Zac. :-)
Great video, Zac! If you’re wanting to get to the gear talk discussion, start at 7:50 Very helpful video :) keep these coming please!
Thanks! Will do!
I think of guitar companies as no different than any other big brand. Nike famously marketed the Air Jordan's as "its gotta be the shoes" and hence my whole generation began to beg their mom and dad for a pair of his shoes thinking we'd then become great basketball players. Fender basically does the same thing with marketing "vintage" or "reliced" Strats. They might not explicitly say it but I've always basically thought the inference was "if you don't have a beat up Strat you're never gonna truly sound like SRV" and there seems to be tons of people who actually buy into that. There are even entire youtube channels based on vintage gear and guys trying to literally sound exactly like SRV or Hendrix or whatever. I just don't think a Strat or Tele or 335 has to be 50 years old to make someone sound like a good player. I think only lots of practice and creativity can actually do that.
Hey Zac love your low key no BS tips man....no over priced sh!tty gear being pitched no brand awareness angles just the love of great music.....may you go on to rule the universe many tx
I appreciate that!
I know exactly what you mean about all these pushers on youtube. Anytime I hear a video start out with the phrase "so the guys over at..." such and such pedal company sent me this then I know I'm gonna hear nothing but a glowing review begging me to go buy it. Then I can check independent reviews on Reverb or whatever and hear people actually being objective about it.
Did someone just mention little Tommy from Cleveland?
That opening piece was really beautiful, thanks Zac.
Thank you kindly!
Great advice Zac. Thanks for your insight.
Really good topic Zac. I find the thing that really doesn't work for me is Dumble style pedals. I've had a few and it just doesn't happen. Firstly my amp platform doesn't suit them but, also I think my hands. My touch, the way my hands open that note envelope. Just doesn't work for me.
Also I seem to remember Steve Morse used to use a .10 - 42 set.
Totally agree! D-style stuff has not worked for me either
I always use my heroes gear as a way to stop myself from buying extra stuff. I'll think to myself, "Stevie got it done with less than this. What do you need 7 variations of a tube screamer for anyway?"
Well said!
I've been wanting to ask. What is that intro you play on all your videos ? It sounds like sandman and a jazzy kind of riff all rolled to gather. I really like it
I cover that in this vid czcams.com/video/IMcztzVmLLE/video.html
This points to why guitarists need to remember that they are musicians first and guitarists second. Also playing electric unplugged has a healthy result for your musicianship
NO.
They've gone beyond just artists.
They're BRANDS .
The brand fender created new brands.
Leo's signature artist brand now makes more brands.
Eddie van Halen switched over to play in his own brand which is a more complex brand than fender was.
You can't stop millionaires inventing new companies.
Fender's made 3 trillion sounds.
You can buy 1 if you want.
2 trillion sounds aren't on any recording yet.
Now fender has built another 800,000 EVH sounds.
So They've added another 798,000 sounds to the 2 trillion sounds that aren't on any recording yet.
So you've got a choice of 2,000,798,000 sounds that aren't on any recording yet.
Buy 1.
Buy 2 and stop saying childish crazy sayings.
Hey, buy 50 of these sounds.
G.A.S. It can be a disease! Thanks Zac.
My Hero is Robben Ford, but a 1960 Tele, and a $100,000 Dumble amp are safely out side of my budget parameters : - )
Guess I’ll just need to practice a little more, and be satisfied with my rig!
Did you write this lil diddy, Zac..?! Cause if you did, it’s fricken badass lol.. tricky to play too if you’re not used to hybrid picking.. I been working on this piece. When you’re doing the little bounce part, are you just using your middle finger and pick..?
I like using those bends too Zac. I'm uploading a video on Friday incorporating that type of bend in an instrumental. Great episode.
Go for it!
@@AskZac Thanks. And the great episode I'm referring to is yours Zac. Mine will just be an instrumental for now. Nothing special.
@@guitareveryone Thank you, and I want to watch it!
Hey Zac. Just wondering if you have been looking into doing a James Burton/Elvis version of See See Rider? Love the work man, keep it up!!!
No, but the next episode, to release Tuesday, has an Elvis/Burton riff in it
almost all of my heros use maple fretboards (and frequently teles) or les pauls (Frisell, EJ, Lage, Lukather in the early Toto days). Interestingly, I use a rig most similar to a guitarist I'm only lukewarm on (Mayer). After doing the "whole EJ rig" thing, I figured out that I had a thing I like, and that attempting to use someone else's setup just didn't make much sense. Maple fretboards in particular are my mortal enemy.
FWIW I think my own tone is actually pretty good, even if my playing isn't as great.
Living in Texas, how can you not play a Strat? Rosewood does not work for me unless the grain is really tight and smooth.
Great episode Zac! Thank you for sharing bro!🤜🤛
My pleasure!!
Love your videos...I've got to pain my guitar room that color....lol.....keep it up!!!
Hi Zac I also play a blond Tele and a Fender 65 re issue with a weber speaker , but just purchased s the new Fender 65 re issue Tonemaster all state no tubes, you need to try this amp im sure you would really like it , could you do a demo on it if you do !!!! Thanks like your videos !!!
Yes, I will do a vid on one when I can get one from Fender
I'm heading for your website after I watch ... thanks for the reminder
Awesome, thank you!
I'm m keen to support the show, I DO get value out of your vids. But shipping across the Pacific is pretty intimidating! If you're coming across Down Under, pack me a mug, I'll buy one then! In the meantime, Thank You!
We try to keep shipping down for overseas. Just curious, what price were you quoted?
Can't go wrong with a T-style guitar and a deluxe reverb.
Truer words have never been spoken. It just always works.
RIP Danny Gatton
Hey Zac, could you do an episode of different shades of telecaster blonde? Offwhite, nocaster, butterscotch, etc.
Learned that headlined lesson all too well. Got me an EC strat to sound like him. It was a great guitar don’t get me wrong... just wasn’t the right one for me. Then I realized to stop trying to sound like someone else and sound like myself.
What string gauge helps with buzz on my tele, i notice sometimes playing the 1 to 4 frets gets buzzy sometimes......but it plays awesome so its not a neck problem or intonation......
Check the relief first.
zac. Your video on the la brea pups was great . I’m a lefty , but even tho the pick up will be installed upside down I still think the raised pole pieces being reversed will be minimal . Thanks for the tip and endorsement. Chip
Cool
Got em today , being installed axe speak ! I’ll let ya know why I think ! 😄
( as we speak)
Would you mind making a video on note choices and scales for country guitar? I've been looking for a good video about it but I can't find one anywhere. Thanks, love your stuff man.
Great suggestion! I have thought about doing more playing examples and dissecting them
If chasing the gear of your heroes keeps a guitar in your hand practicing instead of on display on the wall or in its case then I see no issues with going after their gear
2:07 Perfect example how we often say one thing with our mouths whilst displaying a totally inappropriate gesture. LOL! Loving the channel BTW.
You are going to make me paranoid!
@@AskZac Ha ha. Not my intention at all. BTW, I use 10-38 with Strat but for a Tele the 10-42 set sounds very promising... cheers for the tip (talking about not imitating your heroes' gear)
Zac, I got a Harley Benton TE-52 because the awesome axe you're playing and nearly all others are out of my reach. My question for you is, should its full ten pound weight be relieved or left as is? Have you encountered Telecasters weighing that much?
Yes. I also had a 10 pound 1979 Strat
Great episode Zac
Bravo for this! Gear is a trap and playing > gear. Wonderful advice.
Glad you enjoyed it!
I think Morse uses a set like this not sure. Since we're talking Heroes sets a question about Brads. I never saw him live but Saw a bunch of live footages and the oficial ones too. I have a small obsession with his pa ir recorded tone more than what appear to comes from the amps in live raw footage. To me sounds more compressed with some hi cut. Can you Tell something about hos signal chain after the speakers ?!
Signal chain in the studio or live?
@@AskZac i love his live tone like this last show live. Sounds much like the cd.
My mug was delivered during the middle of the video!
Fantastic! Thank you so much for supporting the channel.