Are Vintage Pedals Actually Better Than New Pedals?

This episode is incredibly simple. I'm going to take four classic, coveted, full-of-mojo vintage pedals that are really expensive and hard to find, and I'm going to shoot them out against the modern reissue by the same company. We're going to figure out, do vintage older pedals sound better? Could new pedals possibly sound as good as the old ones? Stay tuned to find out.

Chapters:
0:00 Intro
0:26 Vintage vs Reissue Shoot Out
1:07 ProCo RAT
1:55 "Big Mean Mouse"
2:41 ProCo RAT Thoughts
4:22 EHX Small Stone
5:18 "The Ghost Of Josie"
5:53 EHX Small Stone Thoughts
7:12 Ibanez TS9 Tube Screamer
7:50 "Don't Sweat It"
8:28 Ibanez TS9 Tube Screamer Thoughts
10:19 Boss CE-2
11:05 "Night Dust"
11:40 Boss CE-2 Thoughts
13:05 Final Thoughts
14:39 Record Time
15:46 Thanks for Watching!

Gear in this episode:
JHS Switchback Advanced Loop Switcher
ProCo RAT Whiteface
ProCo RAT 2
Electro-Harmonix Small Stone EH4800 Phase Shifter 1970s
Electro-Harmonix Nano Small Stone Phase Shifter
Ibanez TS9 Tube Screamer 1980s
Ibanez TS9 Tube Screamer Reissue
Boss CE-2 Chorus
Boss CE-2W Waza Craft Chorus
Seuf Guitars Sunburst Strat
Gibson Les Paul Gold Top
JHS "Loud is More Good" Amp

Record Time:
Dire Straights - Brothers in Arms

Josh’s record player is by U-Turn Audio

#jhs #thejhsshow #guitarpedals

[Aarbud]

In this episode; Josh convincing people to stop buying vintage pedals so he can finally collect them all.

[jefffletcher]

“You complained about this for 30 years so they changed it, and now you don’t like it.” Should be a t-shirt. Admittedly a very large t-shirt but still.

[dancrowe]

Finally, a JHS episode that should have a deflationary effect on pedal prices. Suck it, Reverb!

[rhabdob]

When I was younger, my dad called his vintage gear his “old broken shit.”

[alexcampos]

I love how rockers went from being revolutionaries searching for new crazy sounds to faith worshipers trying to imitate the same old tones... I can only imagine Hendrix playing with something like a wampler terraform or a rainbow machine....

[RiffsAndBeards]

Man all the old vintage pedals I have ever had have noise issues, volume drops, worn out pots. etc. Gimmie the new guy all day.

[metalzonemt-]

British pedals don't have chips, they have crisps.

[gimmickmusic]

This kind of reminds me of an old joke.

How many blues guitarist does it take to change a lightbulb?

17, one to change the bulb and 16 to complain about how the old bulb was better.

[MechMK]

Okay first of all, the chip in my TS was made by Johan on a Tuesday afternoon, right after a delayed lunchbreak. I can clearly hear how the rushed eating of Johan affects the high-end of the tone, and gives it an overall warmer and more pleasant tone than all the other chips.

[pvgaming]

I'm just glad these companies are re-releasing these pedals so that normal people can still afford them, unlike some boutique pedal manufacturers.

[notzech]

Josh- "you can't do a shootout by setting both pedals to noon"
Andertons and That Pedal Show- "Surprised Pikachu face"

[zachshipstead]

"This is not Apollo 11, this is an overdrive" Quote of the week.

[Um_im_ryan]

“The box is bigger so the circuit is bigger” that’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard, everyone know that if the box is bigger the tone is bigger and that’s what makes it better

[mathieupelletier]

Josh has always amazed me about how honest he is. He never tries to oversell his product and he has a serious respect of the other builders in the industry. He's basically just a gear nerd like most of us. Major respect to that! JHS is awesome!

[Ireland_M]

"But...but....what about the '60s, '70s, and '80s dust and rust that adds 'mojo'?" ;)
I was listening, not watching for part of it, and could not tell when you were switching. That says it all.

[thirdwavefinance]

Josh: “chip isn’t that important”
Everyone named Chip: ☹️

[thefandalorian]

I see your game Josh, convince us that the reissues are "just as good" so we will buy them instead of the vintage originals. That way you can have the vintage/used market all to yourself!! Have you no shame sir!!

[MajicFreeman]

Omg, the tube screamer segment had me rolling.
"When he talked about remembering a vintage tube screamer 40 years ago at a bar in Des Moines, Iowa I was lol'n. We have to face as a society we can't even remember what we had for breakfast on monday."
i've been watching for a while and this is about the hardest i've ever laughed.

[ZigbertD]

I'm not sure why having the exact sound of a specific vintage pedal is even so important to begin with. I love fiddling with guitar tones, so I get that, but I don't really want to exactly replicate some sound I heard (insert famous great guitarist) get. I can get close if I want, but there's always the pesky issue of it being me playing, not (insert famous great guitarist). If you can't play something that sounds good to you on virtually ANY budget, you need to focus on practicing and writing better songs.

[michelmoe]

"you have to massage the knobs a little bit..." man, that's a lesson most people need to learn. FOR LIFE! =D