A LES PAUL sounds SIMILAR to a $14000 PRS!

Proof positive that if guitar players can't listen with thier eyes, they'll whine about it.
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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!

[TheHitmann]

I've been learning guitar for 43 years. I read the comment sections on the blind sound test videos on this channel with interest. In most cases there ARE subtle differences to be heard from each example but I can truthfully say without embarrassment that I have not been able to tell which instrument is which on ANY of Glenn's content over the years and I own and have played, many different guitars from a multitude of price points. Thank you for the work you put into this Glenn, I do appreciate it. 🤘🏻👊🏻

[BlackHawk]

That AFI album is an all time favorite of mine. It's crazy how much their sound changed from album to album. Fantastic band, and lovely reference, Glenn.

[PetiteLameque]

I play a couple of Squier’s that cost around 550$ CAD. They are Harley Benton price. I had a problem with one of them though where I had major signal lost and sounded muddy. This made me search. The problem ended being a bad volume potentiometer. The guy who repaired it told me that it’s a common issue on budget guitars. So if you think you have a bad tone, might want to check this first before swapping pickups.

[vincentmorelli]

It needs to be said, no one is saying don't buy a Gibson if that's your prerogative. The main takeaway here is that you DON'T HAVE TO in order to get a good sound. This isn't the 60s anymore where your only two options were a Gibson or a crappy piece of plywood from the Sears catalog.

[TheCleaner]

Just got 2 HB's & I'm so glad I didn't buy the Epiphone or Gibson SG's. 2 guitars for under the price of 1 including shipping. I'm amazed at the quality. Thank you God! On a side note I actually like my tone better with my old pre-amp tubes better.

[LoadedGeorge]

I never thought too much in terms of superior tone with expensive instruments. What always was most apparent to me, was the build quality, and how comfortable it feels to play them. But that has diminished so much in the last couple of years. I have tried expensive instruments and found them lacking based purely on build quality, and the guitar I currently own is a Harley Benton R-446, a metal guitar for 158€, and it is beautiful and plays amazing. I think I would not have tried that without watching your videos.
A great guitar to review btw, as it has an even lower price tag than your not SG
Great video!

[sepulveda]

"listen with your ears, not with your eyes" true. But when I pick up a guitar, before I plug it in or play it it unplugged, I pick it up. I feel the string gauge, fret wire, neck shape/width, fretboard radius, how it sits on my lap, if it's balanced with any neck dive, if any sides or corners cut into my chest. Before I make any determination on its sound, I make a determination on its comfort. I doesn't matter if it sounds good when it feels bad.

[woodsnstrings]

I have a bunch of guitars in my studio for different applications, but surprisingly the main reason ISN'T the big shifts in tone. Yes, I have Strat and Tele style models for their specific spanky single-coil sounds, and I have a couple wired with "vintage" voiced pickups vs. modern voicing. But the main difference between all these different instruments is how they feel in the hands. Hear me out...

The different pickup voicings come down to what the magnet is doing and how much output it's giving. That's going to change how much signal is pushing through the front of the chain, and that's going to change how the amp responds to what I'm playing. It's a function of signal more than EQ, so a higher output pickup makes the overdrives break up sooner.

The biggest single difference is how the guitars play in the hand. The instruments I use for metal are configured very differently from the ones I use for country or blues. The "metal" guitars have things like string spacing and fretboard radius that are more conducive to the types of techniques used to do rapid-fire chugging and shredding. The smaller radius and narrower string spacing work better for the kinds of chord voicings and double-stop bends you use in country. So you CAN shred on a Telecaster, and you CAN play blues on an 8-string with a flat fretboard. But the reason Tele's have "country tone" is because they're designed for country-style technique, so you're more likely to hear country players using that instrument. A Floyd Rose mounted Ibanez will SOUND more like a metal shred guitar, because it's designed for players who do a ton of super-fast techniques and whammy acrobatics, so you're more likely to hear shred players using that instrument. The differences in tone are not from the guitars but from the way they're played and the job they're designed to do.

And, for what it's worth, most of my guitars are budget models from Donner and Eart (because they sponsor demos on my channel), or ones I've built myself. The most expensive guitar I own, as a 36-year+ veteran studio and live player, is an Ibanez Artcore Expressionist hollow body that I got used for $300. It's strung with 11-gauge flat-wound strings for jazz, and I've been using it to play a ton of classic rock lately.

Like Josh from JHS keeps saying: if it sounds good, it is good. Use what works and stop letting guitar snobs tell you what's "good enough."

[CristianCălinescu]

To get rid of the YouTube compression argument you could upload the audio files somewhere for people to download

[Rock_N_Rob]

Yes, the string factory was amazing! I have never seen the process as well. Always a pleasure learning from Glenn Fricker University. Keep up the great learning videos!

[jakelecroy]

Years ago I was recommended to buy Ernie Ball Cobalt strings because more cobalt is more magnetic and the pickups will get a hotter signal. I put them on and as I didn't shoot them out against my go to Slinky's if there was any change in strength or tone it was negligible but one big difference that I did find kinda cool was that the cobalts were gritty so it felt like your strings were contaminated which put me in the mindset of Sleaze Rock and made me wanna play some Zodiac Mindwarp and the Love Reaction. 🤘🤪🤘 *Attitude and state of mind can have a profound effect on your playing and performance.

[NetVoyer]

I own 11 guitars and they all sound a little different, but you can certainly make them sound similar if you put them through the right signal chain. They range from $150 to more than $1500 and I love them for different reasons. I cannot say that the most expensive models are objectively better than the lower priced ones. Some of the best sounding guitars that I own can be had for between $400 and $900.

[mcchurch]

I was off on the blind test for sure, really surprised that the Gibson had such high output.
When it comes to strings, for me, I go based on feel of the strings when I am playing.
I got an Epiphone not too long ago and absolutely love it, someone commented saying “imagine being excited for an Epiphone” but yeah it is amazing for sure 🤘🔥🔥🤘

[MisterBrain]

I had an old Ibanez Studio guitar languishing in the cellar, which I always enjoyed playing but never liked the sound of. (Disclaimer: the reason may have been the previous owner's eccentric electrical modifications.)
So, inspired by Glenn, I gutted the thing, bought prewired electronics from eBay (€6) and two Vanson PAF clones (€50 for the pair). And it sounds really good. In fact it sounds pretty much the same as my HH Telecaster. Which I'm now selling.

[daustin]

As possibly the only Youtuber in the world with a Neve console, SHOW US MORE! Does it have toan-wood knobs or is it worth the cost. Give us some insight inside the mystique of a Neve!

[natrixxvision]

5:23 I like that you did the samples with a cleaner sound.

[jeremybertrand]

I see these videos and can't help but think about what BTO said about it.

"Get a second-hand guitar, chances are you'll go far
If you get in with the right bunch of fellows"

Thanks again Glen!😎

[InVougeProductions]

Great video. From my experience in what changes the sound the most is low output pickups and low gain. There's nothing to hide behind with that formula. That will show you what YOU sound like. Also doing this test while clean....genius. no denying the minimal sound difference

[stevencharlton]

I totally agree with you on the price thing. I just bought my first Harley Benton this week (MultiScale-8 QBB) after watching your reviews of Harley Benton gear on Youtube. To be honest, I think it's just as good, if not better in quality and playability than many of the so called BIG brands that I have tried over the years...

With this being my first 8 string and my first multiscale guitar, I was expecting to have a few struggles. Apart from hitting the B string instead of the E string every now and again, the problems I expected haven't really materialized. The neck is a wee bit thicker than my Kramer 7 string, but I haven't really noticed it that much to be honest. I am especially impressed with the sound I get from the neck pick up when played clean. A really nice deep and smooth Jazzy/Bluesy tone that makes me purrrr with delight!!!

Apart from 1 frett being slightly rougher on one end than the others (which are well finished), its a really nice piece of well built and designed kit. Well worth every penny, (unlike many BIG names) and a joy to play (also unlike many BIG names)!!!

And YES!!! I would recommend Harley benton guitars to anyone looking for a new toy. That's why I'm already looking at getting one more... well, maybe two or three or....

P.S. Any chance you could review the Harley Benton 7 string Bass??? Ta!!! 😀

[aleksanderdjuran]

With all the tests you've done, there really seems to be something of a "Tone Trifecta" forming. The tone/frequency range is in the speaker/mic combination since as you've proven, they're the only real filters in the signal chain. The character of the sound seems to come from the amp in the form of gain structure + minor tone shifts with the onboard amp eq. Lastly, as one of your first-ever videos shows, the clarity of a performance comes from the hands. It's really impressive that after all these years, we can say with confidence and certainty where the different aspects of a guitar tone come from. Excellent work Glenn! Keep it up.