Why Guitar Players are GULLIBLE MORONS!!!

Is there ANY group of consumers more susceptible to the "shiny new toy" syndrome that guitar players? NOPE. Here's seven reasons why.

0:00 Alright Everybody!
2:56 Victim
5:02 Excalibur!!!
6:35 The Vintage Scam
9:08 The MacGuffin Effect
12:06 Snake Oil
13:01 Guitarists are Addicts

About Spectre Sound Studios:
I'm Glenn Fricker, engineer here at Spectre Sound Studios. I love making records, and after doing it for sixteen years, I want to pass on what I've learned. On my channel you can find tutorials on how to record guitar, bass, real drums and vocals. There's reviews and demos of tube amps, amp sims, drums, mics, preamps, outboard gear, Electric Guitar, Bass Guitar, and plugin effects.
We've covered Moon on the Water, played Bias FX, given you the absolute best in Stupid Musician Texts, ranted & raved about bass guitar, and this channel is where The Eagle has Landed.
Everything you've wanted to learn about recording Hard Rock & Heavy Metal can be found right here on this channel!

I also respond to your comments & questions: The best make it into the SMG Viewer's Comments series of videos. Loads of fun, lots of laughs.

Thanks for checking out my channel & please subscribe!

[MusicisWin]

Yes I fondle strings, drink milk and need diapers, but at least I have dignity, unlike bass players

[AnthonyMcBazooka]

So glad I'm a multi instrumentalist. Every time you rant about guitarists I'm a singer, when you rant about singers I'm a bass player, when you rant about bass players I'm a drummer, and when you rant about drummers I'm a guitar player again.

[jamesnation]

The best advice I've ever learned as a metal guitar player is to PRACTICE to perfection! Don't just practice. Practice to perfection. My father is a world-class musician. He's in the Country Music Hall of Fame. He can play every instrument. His specialty, though, is the fiddle. When I was trying to learn how to play the fiddle, I had a cheap $100 instrument to learn on. It sounded and played like garbage. Then one day my dad picked up that same fiddle and started to riff on it. The POS fiddle suddenly sounded amazing! He normally plays fiddles that are worth $25, 000 or more. I asked him why this POS sounded so much better when he played it compared to when I played it. He responded..."practice more".
Lesson: A master's touch means more than any equipment you could ever buy. The "tone" is in the performance. Practice more!

[Geckoblade]

You summarised my feelings exactly after working at a guitar store for 2 months 💀

[moonorbust]

Are you a guitarist or a collector? That just made me re-evaluate my whole life. Thank you Angry Sound Guy

[garyshaw]

Brilliant!! . I started playing in 68, was a session player for 30 years. Only took two guitar's to a session because that's all I had. Didn't work out too bad 😁. Dopamine hungry. What a great quote. Great stuff Glenn. Best wishes from the other side of the pond

[dreamlifter]

There’s honesty then there’s brutal honesty. This is definitely something we probably don’t want to hear but it’s something we needed to hear. Cheers Glen.

[Deris]

Love it as always Glenn. There's a lot of total scams in the guitar industry, fueled mostly through clever marketing and by appealing to woo and superstition. There are a couple caveats I'd carve out though when it comes to spending more money on gear.

If you're going from a cheap beginner instrument to a more expensive one, you're probably going to get noticeable improvements that make playing more enjoyable (at least up to a point, and obviously you should only be spending more if you actually *get* those improvements, not just because it has a brand name on it). I got back into playing a couple years ago after not playing for over 10 years, and used my big boy money to get a much more expensive guitar that absolutely blows my old high school one out of the water. The neck is more comfortable, the frets are way smoother, the damn thing stays in tune, and there's something to be said for the fact that the aesthetics of it just triggers that pleasure center in my caveman guitar player brain, and makes it more fun to pick up and play.

Likewise for amps, if you're upgrading to something that you actually like the sound of better, it can make it more fun to play and make you feel more inclined to keep practicing. Upgrading your gear can be absolutely worthwhile, as long as you're not constantly chasing down 2% tone differences, and buying only the boutiquest of amps because the germanium transistors were handcrafted by blind monks in the Himalayas.

[danielsheehan]

It’s actually pretty crazy how much better you get even by playing a scale at 70 bpm on a metronome.

[elmosharp]

VARIAC: IT DOES WORK, because it reduces the high voltage supply to the valves, reducing the headroom, making for an earlier onset of distortion at a lower volume level. It's too CRUDE, as it also reduces the voltage to the valve HEATERS (Which will eventually not heat the valves enough to operate). The amp modification "POWER SCALING" is a better approach.

[DGPersonal]

Hi, guitarist here. This video is so accurate, especially between opinions and Excalibur syndrome. I used to have a JS 32 Jackson Kelly that I loved more than all of my other instruments but ended up having to sell to make rent because my manager lied to me about having pto for a paid vacation, and lost a full weeks pay right as rent was due. I still yearn for another Kelly one day, but the whole thing made me a Jackson fan boy and I now currently play an 8 string multiscale Soloist. I still want another Kelly but the rest of my instruments wouldn't collect dust if I got it but the play time for the others would be greatly reduced. Also on the topic of opinions are the solid state vs Tube arguments because one of my buddies likes to harp on me for using amp sims while he plays away on his Marshall. Space is a big reason for me at the moment but I still prefer going this route because it works for me but I wouldn't shoot anyone down for what works for them. Anyway, love the content as always. Fuck you Glen, I hope you're taking care. :)

[GianmarioScotti]

9:06 is very prevalent. Very few musicians understand the concept of empirical evidence and removal of bias.

[Metaldad]

As a guitarist this is all 100 % true. I honestly never understood the vintage market myself, oh look its old its worth 100x more lol

[neilduty]

Thanks Glenn this had me crying with laughter I'm a long time guitarist in my 60s who plays Harley Bentons and Hagstroms as well as the stuff I build myself so I'm qualified to laugh at myself and anyone else with a delicate ego many thanks fellow music nerd

[JR-ddec]

I was a poor musician I made do with what I had. I never bought gear that wasn't needed. I made my Peavey solid state supreme 100w head sound pretty damn good

[neileynonmusic]

I always thought the use of the variac by EVH was as a form of attenuator, allowing him to run the b*ll*cks off the amp, getting its best tone, but at usable volumes. Fun video.

[PetiteLameque]

Guilty. I spent my whole life spending, trading stuff, selling good guitars, believing the tube myth’s. I simply quitted after 20 years. I spent two years without playing. I bought a couple of acoustic, and now I play and learn to work with what I have. Never been happier!

[AidenEclipse]

Glen thank you so much for always brightening my day up, this has been my favorite video so far, as guitarists you are 100% on the dot. Thank Scorpio I have learned from you not to waste my cash on crap I don't need or have an urge to buy anymore. Over the years of watching your channel you have taught me so much about the shady music business and how they can and will sucker us into spending, spending, spending until our cards are maxed. I've watched a lot of your videos and you single handedly showed me there are good folk out to help the average consumer, I am so happy I found your channel sir I still have my very first guitar and its "the one" still to this day just an average older Yamaha EG 112C so basic an instrument but it gets the job done still to this day.
P.S. I also have an old Hondo guitar that I can't find any information on all I know is it was my ex-girlfriend's uncle's guitar when he learned back in the seventies or early eighties, I'm not sure. would you know anything about that brand of guitars? any info would be appreciated Glen again thank you so much for being the best on YouTube you motivate me to actually play, learn and experience the instrument the way it should be done with passion.

[Microang]

I think the vintage PC argument is hilarious as they too are now worth stupid money to collectors 🤣🤣🤣

[igooog]

"... and broke when they fell over"
I remember as a kid, one of my buddies started working at 11 years old to start saving up for a Les Paul.
He finally saved enough (~$2700) when he was 14 and ordered it.
First time he plays it, he sets it on a guitar stand onstage.
Stand falls over.
Head snaps off.