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Author Topic: Why I hate artist endorsed Major Brands?  (Read 52163 times)

Offline firemodel55

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Re: Why I hate artist endorsed Major Brands?
« Reply #150 on: August 14, 2007, 07:24:35 AM »
Inc X,

I suggest you talk to Eric Reyes.  Low key guy but I think he knows a lot about good sounding bass guitars and stuff related to them.  Not too active but never declares kanya kanya.  I think nasa gitna siya and will give a more objective point of view. 

I do not mean to be be poignant about this matter but please understand that based on my experience, hindi talaga ma-apply sa akin ang kanya kanya.  Good sounding equipment like good tasting food will sound and taste good to a great majority of people.  Regarding the analogy, the Baker#55 is that far from Gibson USA.  Its like comparing a Japanese Ibanez Prestige versus a local Santa Mesa made electric guitar.  So in a certain sense I am not exagerating.  The only problem with the Baker#55 is that only so few of these guitars will be made.  Not only because Gene has limited capacity but also because Cliff and Gene have to scout for wood before starting a batch.  Hindi iyan parang pwede ka lang mag-order sa isang US wood mill on line, tapos gawa na.  They personally inspect the planks and stash away until another specific batch of wood comes along or find which they think will complement the current stash of wood before they start on another batch of the Fire model.  Usually the batches are small from 5-10 guitars at a time only. If its any indication, I think Gene Baker B3 only number around 100 pieces at best for the last 3 years. 

Offline Phil

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Re: Why I hate artist endorsed Major Brands?
« Reply #151 on: August 14, 2007, 07:28:43 AM »
....... The funny thing is despite some anecdotes here by people saying that tastes change, I have never heard Steve Vai say it in person or declare that his taste changes.  Rather, the impression everytime I read an article about Vai, watch is video, or his DVD is that the guy knows what he wants.   
I have ... a masterclass clinic somewhere in europe ...saw it in youtube or something.
... he said ... he used to hate blues...now he loves it and is influenced by it....go figure...maybe one of the reason why he's using a Fender now.
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Offline firemodel55

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Re: Why I hate artist endorsed Major Brands?
« Reply #152 on: August 14, 2007, 08:02:45 AM »
Good point.  Wish I had saved the picture of Steve Vai playing a PRS.  But still, let me qualify that the scope my discussion is limited to tastes with regards to equipment choices and not musical styles. 

Offline bluenote

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Re: Why I hate artist endorsed Major Brands?
« Reply #153 on: August 14, 2007, 09:31:27 AM »
I guess it all boils down to what you are most comfortable playing with... Even if there are better or more high end gear around if you are not comfortable playing them then why bother... Most artist endorsed gear are taylored to thier needs. I know Vai and Satriani were very closely involved with the development of thier signature amps. It just so happens that artists do evolve and and improve on thier crafts ("Thank God"). Can you imagine Vai doing the same thing over and over again on every album? Everything in this world has room for improvement so dont fret if they change thier gear from time to time it means they are doing something that they didnt before...
Change is the only thing that is constant in the world...

The dragon has put out my fire.

Offline firemodel55

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Re: Why I hate artist endorsed Major Brands?
« Reply #154 on: August 16, 2007, 06:44:36 AM »
Well, it takes deltaslim so long to answer.  I cannot blame him because it is a really difficult question to answer specially for someone who changes tastes frequently.  Funny, for someone who changes tastes so often he has a number of regrettable gear sold based on his thread, around 6 pieces of gear I think.  As of today, I have no regrets over any of my gear sold in the past 20 years of my guitar playing.

I will attempt to answer the question of "What to look for in a good sounding guitar?" which is really nothing new.  But before that, have you ever noticed how artist promote their new signature guitars?

Their promotion techniques (with my usual snide remarks):
1) Saying its sounds great e.g. timbre reference  (Hey, that was the same thing that another artist said about the timbre of his guitar except that he was promoting another guitar company)
2) Features exclusive to the artist e.g. Musicman designed this trem for me, they profiled my frankenstein neck, they put in the same dings as my old 61 tele, etc  (I wish your special feature made your signature guitar sound better when I tried it.  It didn't and it just feels like you and I am not you.)
3) I have new pickups e.g. this is Evolution II, YJMs are for neck, FRED 2 etc. (Wait a minute, you got famous with specially wound Steve Blucher pickups and stock DiMarzio HS3s and PAFs.  So are your record sales down and trying to promote your own pickups to make up for a short fall in record sales?)
4) Its a limited edition e.g. 200 pieces only (Somebody forget to mention why they decided to limit quantity so that they can raise the price)
5) Aesthetics e.g. It has 100 led lights in a see-thru acrylic body (Ok... I thought you had your led lights thing  in your previous model's fingerboard?  Gimmick not enough?  Does it really sound better with more puke lights?) 
6) Its like my orignal vintage strat with some personal tweaks (Which turns out to be one of best selling lines of well known Stratocaster Company, so I guess Mr. Guitar Player soon realized that his prize possession is too valuable in terms of sound and money to tour with because it took him 25 years to finally decide to have a signature with this well known compnay)
7) It took 100 tries for (Insert Guitar Company Name) and I thank them for not giving up (Somehow I don't know whether this means that he gave up first in frustration or the guitar company is really incapable)
8) Hey this is my best V ever (How about that good sounding Gibson Korina Flying V that you keep forgeting to mention?  But you already had 2 other Vs from 2 other well known companies, how different can this be?)
9) This is the last Strat prototype that Mr. Pride and Joy approved before he died (Huh?  That was a prototype.  How come he got onto another Japanese company's endorsement add 5 years earlier with a Strat knock-off)
10) This is Mr. GNR approved signature (How come the guitar he uses on the instructional video has more flame and looks prettier than this one in the dealer's store?)

In contrast this is how local luthiers promote their guitars:
1) Its cheap and will rival Fill in the Blank Guitar company (Except when you ask them for a specific Blank Guitar Company to model, they have not actually physcially studied one in person)
2) It will be made out of local wood and its a great chance to promote local wood (When you compare it to other Asian made guitars with the traditional woods, it does not sound as good and it weighs a ton)
3) It will be one-off made by me for you (It becomes hard to sell after the honeymoon period and you realize that you want to go back to the traditional strat, tele, gibson or prs)
4) Look at the wood planks, you get to choose your grain (Which after a while starts to look all the same because everybody gets to look like furniture)
5) I will do a unique shape for you (Which later turns out to be unbalanced and uncomfortable)
6) I will put in a lot of inlays (Trying hard to look like an artpiece but without any artistic resale value)
7) Tweaked to all your specifications and requirements (And later on you realize that there was a better feature in some other well thought non-custom guitar that just makes your custom so wrong)
8) Your choice of finish (It turns out not the way you envisoned your finish)
9) May Guarantee (He is later on too busy to repair the problem because he has so many custom orders to fulfill)
10) I was an apprentice by so and so Master Luthier (It turns out that Master Luthier is never around to confirm if what his apprentice is doing is correct; whats worse Master Luthier is never around to certify that his apprentice can make a good guitar)

This is just me poking some fun but endorsing and making guitars is more serious than this and usually decisions are made with one factor that makes everything logical which is either the lack of money or the need for money.

What artists and luthiers often forget (albeit conveniently) to elaborate and guarantee is the sound character of a guitar...

As you may well know that I believe I have a guitar with one of the best sound character in the world.  This is the list of people who have tried and enjoyed the Baker#55 other than myself.  Arie, Lito, Steve, Mike, Gabi, Miks, Essie, Tinnie, Kakoi, Odie and PJ. The only person who did not like it was Atz.  13-1 ain't such a bad ratio.  Now if you look carefully, this is a broad range of people with different styles, different degrees of proficiency (practice time) and I would initially say have nothing in common.  In short KANYA KANYA.  How is it possible at the minimum they say its a great sounding guitar and at the maximum cause them to do crazy things like sell their best sounding Gibson to buy a Baker?  I will give you an answer hindi KANYA KANYA ang guitar character -- timbre, features and looks may differ but these factors are NOT what defines a really good sounding guitar.

So what does?

I will stick by the following criteria which I have posted before and in no means exhaustive but I believe if you get all 10, I can guarantee you a good sounding guitar that you will keep for a long time.

Here goes:
1) Rich sounding notes with overtones that reinforce the fundamental -- a three dimensional soundstage whether in clean or overdriven mode.
2) Pick attack defined versus the sustaining note.
3) When a string is bent, the note for a time drops in volume but suddenly increases in volume at the top of the bend. Even louder than the initial
pick attack volume. The bent note at the top of the bend is punchy and powerful not flat or weak.
4) Chordal volume does not drown the guitar when you suddenly switch to a lick or riff.
5) When you constantly bend and release a note, the guitar weeps and wails as if there was a subtle wah-wah effect.
6) Balanced volume across all strings.
7) So soft to play even with heavy gauges as if you were playing one gauge lighter.  The guitar reacts to every playing nuance.  It can be subtle
and mean when you want it to depending on your technique.
8) Can punch thru a band with a bass player, another rhythm guitar player and a keyboard player without having to compete on an amp volume basis.
9) Notes on the upper frets do not sound thin and choked.
10) Most importantly, the guitar magically surprises you everytime you play because it produces different sounds e.g. squeals, picking nuances,etc.

Guess what was Cliff's answer about Baker#55:
"It will do all those chores quite easily. It's designed and built for those tasks."

And as much as I want to prove him wrong, I cannot because number#55 delivers.  If most of you feel that I am not an authority then I encourage you to ask these three people who have spent the most time with the guitar and who have admirable skill in music: Arie, Miks and Kakoi.

I wanted this to be a fun and educational discourse and not a venue to brag about #55 but rather to give people who do not have as much collective experience trying out guitars a rough guideline on how to choose and pick a good sounding guitar.  When#41 arrives, it will be subjected to the same stringent criteria.


Offline ubersam

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Re: Why I hate artist endorsed Major Brands?
« Reply #155 on: August 16, 2007, 07:30:36 AM »
Ubersam,

I understand your experience.  Let me rephrase it another way...  What was common between your 4 channel high gain setup and the low gain bassman setup that really attracted you?  Forget about timbre and all the scientific mumbo jumbo about how different a bassman is from your 4 channel high gain amp and just center on the common positive aspects of both.
Two aspects, note clarity and response (vibe/feel).

Offline firemodel55

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Re: Why I hate artist endorsed Major Brands?
« Reply #156 on: August 16, 2007, 07:38:23 AM »
Ubersam,

Amazingly those are the two most important things that I look for in an amp and I don't have a bassman and I don't have a 4 channel high gain amp.  The other thing I look for is LAMBOT sa amp.  It shouldn't be stiff sounding.

See?  We have something in common.

Offline PRSMan

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Re: Why I hate artist endorsed Major Brands?
« Reply #157 on: August 16, 2007, 11:37:23 AM »
As you may well know that I believe I have a guitar with one of the best sound character in the world. 

You're like a kid with a new toy.  Parang lagi kang naghahanap ng chance to announce that you've got a Baker.  Just my observation.  You should indeed be glad you have one... but do you have to keep on bringing it up?

Guess what was Cliff's answer about Baker#55: "It will do all those chores quite easily. It's designed and built for those tasks."

I like Cliff because he is responsive to emails/calls, keeps you in the loop regarding what you're looking for, etc.  However, remember that he's still in business of promoting his guitars, amps, etc.  He told you that #55 is special, and that the answer to your search is #55.  That's the same type of praise he gave about #59 when I was inquiring about it -- before Miks snatched it from my clutches...  :-D  When I asked about #59, he said "That Baker is built to my specs and is out of our best wood stash. No solid body will out perform that guitar. IMO."  Sounds familiar?  Now that doesn't mean that you should now be skeptical about what he says.  He's still one of the most credible characters in the industry...  just don't get caught up in the marketing man, and stop name-dropping.

Excited na ako sa "Earth" mo.  Pictures naman and clips when you get it.

Offline firemodel55

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Re: Why I hate artist endorsed Major Brands?
« Reply #158 on: August 16, 2007, 12:11:07 PM »
PRSman aka PinoyBoy (I think),

At least I dont announce my baker on Gear page. Heh Heh.  You've got two toys.  I only got one.

For your info, #55 and #59 are from the same plank of wood.  At least thats what Cliff told Miks, so no surprise here if he has the same comments for both.  Don't know which specific body parts had the same planks though.

I only name drop if I have to because as I qualified if you don't believe me, you can ask other people who have better credibility than I.  Its that simple.    Unfortunately, I, you and Miks have a baker b3, so we can more or less relate to each other but for the rest who may be curious, its better for them to ask authoritative people who don't have the Baker so that they can discount our bias.

Ako rin excited because I want a P90 driven korina body that has the same character as the#55.  I will leave the clips to Miks when it arrives.  I also want to tempt him more.  Heh Heh

Offline fraudulentzodiac

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Re: Why I hate artist endorsed Major Brands?
« Reply #159 on: August 16, 2007, 12:19:36 PM »
Ok OT and this was probably asked a million times but what the heck (since most of the experts in this forum are active in this thread)
I've just sold my Blues Jr and now am ampless. :|
I'm planning to get a tube amp in the future if I come up with the money na (it's a tight budget)
Now all I'm asking is what would fill the following requirements:
-must be within my budget of 40K max
-can handle huge events (i'm looking at 30-40W)
-must be locally available (don't wanna go through the shipping, waiting and taxing process again...)
-can be considered as a decent clean tone amp

Thanks and please wag nyo ko awayin. :lol:
To give you guys a hint I'm wanting a Fender HotRod Dlx. I'm really into(or probably "ok na") with that not so expensive fender clean tone (not those blackface or silverface cleans which are way so expensive...and rare hehe)

Offline skunkyfunk

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Re: Why I hate artist endorsed Major Brands?
« Reply #160 on: August 16, 2007, 12:22:05 PM »
Ok OT and this was probably asked a million times but what the heck (since most of the experts in this forum are active in this thread)
I've just sold my Blues Jr and now am ampless. :|
I'm planning to get a tube amp in the future if I come up with the money na (it's a tight budget)
Now all I'm asking is what would fill the following requirements:
-must be within my budget of 40K max
-can handle huge events (i'm looking at 30-40W)
-must be locally available (don't wanna go through the shipping, waiting and taxing process again...)
-can be considered as a decent clean tone amp

Thanks and please wag nyo ko awayin. :lol:
To give you guys a hint I'm wanting a Fender HotRod Dlx. I'm really into(or probably "ok na") with that not so expensive fender clean tone (not those blackface or silverface cleans which are way so expensive...and rare hehe)

Get a rivera for Chrissakes...

Offline fraudulentzodiac

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Re: Why I hate artist endorsed Major Brands?
« Reply #161 on: August 16, 2007, 12:24:48 PM »
Ok OT and this was probably asked a million times but what the heck (since most of the experts in this forum are active in this thread)
I've just sold my Blues Jr and now am ampless. :|
I'm planning to get a tube amp in the future if I come up with the money na (it's a tight budget)
Now all I'm asking is what would fill the following requirements:
-must be within my budget of 40K max
-can handle huge events (i'm looking at 30-40W)
-must be locally available (don't wanna go through the shipping, waiting and taxing process again...)
-can be considered as a decent clean tone amp

Thanks and please wag nyo ko awayin. :lol:
To give you guys a hint I'm wanting a Fender HotRod Dlx. I'm really into(or probably "ok na") with that not so expensive fender clean tone (not those blackface or silverface cleans which are way so expensive...and rare hehe)

Get a rivera for Chrissakes...
ok, where can I probably test/get one?Thanks.

Offline deltaslim

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Re: Why I hate artist endorsed Major Brands?
« Reply #162 on: August 16, 2007, 01:17:21 PM »
Deltaslim,

So answer the questions with this point in time as reference...   How can you tell me that you know what you want if you keep on changing from time to time?  Its like somebody who stays in college for twenty years trying out all the courses and never accomplishing or making a career during in the 20 years of vacilation.  Besides how can you know what to change unless you know what it is today?

Alex - Let's put it this way. I don't think the subject is important or objective enough for me to bother providing you a detailed answer. :-D  Suffice to say that our knowledge of the world, including tone, keeps on growing.  And that's true for all the different types of guitars because they're all unique instruments, with their own voice.  So, my ideal Strat tone has evolved and will continue to evolve.   My ideal Les Paul tone has evolved and will continue to evolve.  My ideal Tele tone has evolved and will continue to evolve.  It's not people's fault cuz it's epistemological.  Besides, humans know more than they can express.  Some things cannot be expressed or codified!

Well, it takes deltaslim so long to answer.  I cannot blame him because it is a really difficult question to answer specially for someone who changes tastes frequently.

Hehe... I was holed up in Tagaytay conducting a training/workshop for the OPAPP trying to think of better ways to find peace and development in the country, especially in Mindanao. ;-)  Unfrotunately, I am one of those guys who have to work hard (dobol-job pa nga!) to put food on the table for my family, ensure my kids get a good education and we all stay healthy.  And then, maybe, just maybe, I might have leftover money for gear and have time to talk gear and make it appear as if I know what I'm talking about and that my humble knowledge and opinions matter.

Funny, for someone who changes tastes so often he has a number of regrettable gear sold based on his thread, around 6 pieces of gear I think.  As of today, I have no regrets over any of my gear sold in the past 20 years of my guitar playing.

What's funnier is that I don't keep count but you do!

Alex - Just be happpy with your accomplishments and your knowledge and HELP others gain knowledge on tone/gear so that they find what works for THEM.  Open other people's eyes to what's out there. But respect their choices when they don't go for the same things as you do.

Money opens a lot of options but it doesn't ensure better decisions.  A rich dumb guy will have a lot more options but is more likely to get bad tone than a poor but knowledgeable guy with less options.

Speaking of money, I'll go back to real work now... gotta bring home the bacon...

Offline PRSMan

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Re: Why I hate artist endorsed Major Brands?
« Reply #163 on: August 16, 2007, 01:17:58 PM »
PRSman aka PinoyBoy (I think)

The one... the only...  :-D  The name is Eric.  Paano nga ba kasing magpalit ng forum nickname?


At least I dont announce my baker on Gear page. Heh Heh.  You've got two toys.  I only got one.

Huy ha... and hindi yung B3 ang in-announce ko... yung Bluesmaster...  :-D  Couldn't help it.  But hey, it was in a thread about Bluesmaster owners di ba?  So it was appropriate and not pilit at siningit.  Yun nga ba yun?  


For your info, #55 and #59 are from the same plank of wood.  At least thats what Cliff told Miks, so no surprise here if he has the same comments for both.  Don't know which specific body parts had the same planks though.

That might indeed be true, but even then, no two guitars are ever built exactly the same way, so there can't be two "bests" out there.  It's no big deal really, because I do believe that Cliff's not out there to deceive people.  We all know that what he really meant was that both are darn awesome guitars.  It's just funny that mukhang every guitar leaving his shop is considered "special" (gaya nga ng sinabi ni pareng Deltaslim).
« Last Edit: August 16, 2007, 01:19:49 PM by PRSMan »

Offline deltaslim

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Re: Why I hate artist endorsed Major Brands?
« Reply #164 on: August 16, 2007, 01:31:18 PM »
That might indeed be true, but even then, no two guitars are ever built exactly the same way, so there can't be two "bests" out there.  It's no big deal really, because I do believe that Cliff's not out there to deceive people.  We all know that what he really meant was that both are darn awesome guitars.  It's just funny that mukhang every guitar leaving his shop is considered "special" (gaya nga ng sinabi ni pareng Deltaslim).

Ding.... ding... ding!!!

"What did he get, Johnny!

Ang hirap naman ng may matinding GAS dito sa Manila...  Una kailangan FIRST to own ka!  Tapos the ONLY one to have one!  And then kailangan the BEST specimen yung iyo!  Tapos ngayon kailangan "SPECIAL" pa!  Waaaaah! 


Life is hard, and then we die
« Last Edit: August 16, 2007, 01:33:56 PM by deltaslim »

Offline vhunter

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Re: Why I hate artist endorsed Major Brands?
« Reply #165 on: August 16, 2007, 01:42:39 PM »
DELTA, BACON IS BAD DONT BRING IT HOME.


Hahahaha. Anyway .. ALEX SELL ME THE MARSHALL... I WANT IT.

Lol .. on a lighter note i dont know what this thread is about but i think all our bakers are different. Mine has wings, Alex's has teeth, and Eric's has ostritch like legs. Im not afraid of heights so i think mine is the best (why i bought it). Eric likes fast things with names like diablo .. etc.. so hes got the ostrich baker. Alex likes to dominate ... thus the tiger baker. ! Lol ... sorry that entire paragraph meant nothing.

I want a wizard amp or a /13 or an xtc.
Why xtc - coz its cool and alot of people use it (vai ex and brad whitford)

i want a wizard coz Brad whitford uses it

I want a /13 because Brad whitford uses it.

LOL. My point is any manufacturer will send joe perry and brad whitford an amp for free just to put it on their webpage that they are "users". Well never really know what they use in the studio or in the road... They allow it coz they get free amps. Its that easy. IF ANYONE WANTS TO GIVE ME SOMETHING FOR FREE JUST TO SAY I USE .. OK LANG SAKIN! :D

Offline PRSMan

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Re: Why I hate artist endorsed Major Brands?
« Reply #166 on: August 16, 2007, 01:43:37 PM »
Ang hirap naman ng may matinding GAS dito sa Manila...  Una kailangan FIRST to own ka!  Tapos the ONLY one to have one!  And then kailangan the BEST specimen yung iyo!  Tapos ngayon kailangan "SPECIAL" pa!  Waaaaah! 

Wala yan sa lolo ko...


Life is hard, and then we die

Yup, and none of our stuff really matters in the Kingdom beyond.  So dun na lang tayo sa kabila at baka puwedeng ibitbit ang gear dun...  :-D

Offline PRSMan

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Re: Why I hate artist endorsed Major Brands?
« Reply #167 on: August 16, 2007, 01:47:25 PM »
Lol .. on a lighter note i dont know what this thread is about but i think all our bakers are different. Mine has wings, Alex's has teeth, and Eric's has ostritch like legs. Im not afraid of heights so i think mine is the best (why i bought it). Eric likes fast things with names like diablo .. etc.. so hes got the ostrich baker. Alex likes to dominate ... thus the tiger baker. ! Lol ... sorry that entire paragraph meant nothing.

Hoooy... mine has balls the size of 4x12 cabs...  :-D

Natawa ako dun a.  Wings.  Whisper... with wings!

Offline IncX

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Re: Why I hate artist endorsed Major Brands?
« Reply #168 on: August 16, 2007, 01:48:36 PM »
Inc X,

I suggest you talk to Eric Reyes.  Low key guy but I think he knows a lot about good sounding bass guitars and stuff related to them.  Not too active but never declares kanya kanya.  I think nasa gitna siya and will give a more objective point of view. 

I do not mean to be be poignant about this matter but please understand that based on my experience, hindi talaga ma-apply sa akin ang kanya kanya.  Good sounding equipment like good tasting food will sound and taste good to a great majority of people.  Regarding the analogy, the Baker#55 is that far from Gibson USA.  Its like comparing a Japanese Ibanez Prestige versus a local Santa Mesa made electric guitar.  So in a certain sense I am not exagerating.  The only problem with the Baker#55 is that only so few of these guitars will be made.  Not only because Gene has limited capacity but also because Cliff and Gene have to scout for wood before starting a batch.  Hindi iyan parang pwede ka lang mag-order sa isang US wood mill on line, tapos gawa na.  They personally inspect the planks and stash away until another specific batch of wood comes along or find which they think will complement the current stash of wood before they start on another batch of the Fire model.  Usually the batches are small from 5-10 guitars at a time only. If its any indication, I think Gene Baker B3 only number around 100 pieces at best for the last 3 years. 

mind PM-ing me the guys nos or ym? ... he sounds like a guy who can really help me out. i always like those guys who dont toot their own horn (like EJbasses - this guy is one freaking genius. i met him personally and still no tooting about his Hikari's horn).

i read your criteria on what a good guitar is... and yeah... i dont think ive ever played a good guitar *lol* i think i got only 2 and one half out of 10 of those characteristics you posted. that must be one hell of a guitar.

Offline skunkyfunk

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Re: Why I hate artist endorsed Major Brands?
« Reply #169 on: August 16, 2007, 01:52:30 PM »
Relax lang kayo.  Here is a better way to explain things.

1.  People want to own expensive stuff because in MOST cases, they beat their cheaper counterparts.  Ever wondered why Toyota and nissan never wins against Ferrari during the F1 races?
2.  People want to own expensive stuff because chances are, you'll have more unique stuff.  Status symbol if I may put it correctly.
3.  Expensive stuff = pogi points

Now let us redefine "EXPENSIVE".  I don't understand why people keep yakking that a $3k axe is considered expensive if a violin bow meant for professional use, which is made out of a long plank of wood and horse hair, can cost $2k.


Offline PRSMan

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Re: Why I hate artist endorsed Major Brands?
« Reply #170 on: August 16, 2007, 02:02:25 PM »
Now let us redefine "EXPENSIVE".  I don't understand why people keep yakking that a $3k axe is considered expensive if a violin bow meant for professional use, which is made out of a long plank of wood and horse hair, can cost $2k.

Sinabi mo.  The baby grand piano I want is $40K-$50K.  So sabi ko sa mga anak ko mag-gitara na lang sila...  :-D

Offline glassjaw_jc

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Re: Why I hate artist endorsed Major Brands?
« Reply #171 on: August 16, 2007, 02:45:44 PM »

Ever wondered why Toyota and nissan never wins against Ferrari during the F1 races?


Well because Nissan does not compete in F1 and Toyota is new to F1. But everybody says that Toyota is doing extremely well for a newbie.

Wala lang.  :evil:
Surf's Up!

Offline glassjaw_jc

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Re: Why I hate artist endorsed Major Brands?
« Reply #172 on: August 16, 2007, 02:58:51 PM »

Here goes:
1) Rich sounding notes with overtones that reinforce the fundamental -- a three dimensional soundstage whether in clean or overdriven mode.
2) Pick attack defined versus the sustaining note.
3) When a string is bent, the note for a time drops in volume but suddenly increases in volume at the top of the bend. Even louder than the initial
pick attack volume. The bent note at the top of the bend is punchy and powerful not flat or weak.
4) Chordal volume does not drown the guitar when you suddenly switch to a lick or riff.
5) When you constantly bend and release a note, the guitar weeps and wails as if there was a subtle wah-wah effect.
6) Balanced volume across all strings.
7) So soft to play even with heavy gauges as if you were playing one gauge lighter.  The guitar reacts to every playing nuance.  It can be subtle
and mean when you want it to depending on your technique.
8) Can punch thru a band with a bass player, another rhythm guitar player and a keyboard player without having to compete on an amp volume basis.
9) Notes on the upper frets do not sound thin and choked.
10) Most importantly, the guitar magically surprises you everytime you play because it produces different sounds e.g. squeals, picking nuances,etc.


1) How rich in harmonic overtones? 2x richer? 3x? How does it reinforce the fundamental? As if I'm hitting the root and octave at the same time? Like a chorus effect?
2) How defined? Should I hear the pick hitting the string? I think every guitar does this. Well at least all that I had. At some point, it annoys me.
3) How low should the volume of note go before picking up again? How loud should it be afterwards? 2x louder? 3x? .5x? How punchy and powerful? Define powerful?
4) Are there guitars that changes in volume if playing chords against riffs? What do you mean by drown?
5) Shouldn't continous release and bend produce that effect? You mean frequencies are accentuated when you bend and release like a wah when rocking the pedal?
6) I have yet to hear a decent guitar that does not have a balanced volume across all strings when unplugged. When plugged, it's the pickup's responsibility.
7) I also think this is the pickup's responsibility. Re softness of the string. This I agree on. Some guitars just feels easier to play.
8) Yeah, right on
9) ah eh, I dont get this. This is personal preference.

Rock on  :evil:
Surf's Up!

Offline Poundcake

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Re: Why I hate artist endorsed Major Brands?
« Reply #173 on: August 19, 2007, 01:06:34 AM »
Ok, now that the "I challenge you" and "I take up your challenge" parts have been segregated, I hope we could continue our discussion about this topic. WITHOUT all the "pre-fight" talk, of course.
"The LORD will save me, and we will play my music on stringed instruments all the days of our lives, at the house of the LORD." Isaiah 38:20

Offline firemodel55

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Re: Why I hate artist endorsed Major Brands?
« Reply #174 on: August 19, 2007, 05:35:32 AM »
Would you guys remember who endorsed first with an artist signature series?

For signature amp, I think it was EVH with the Peavey 5150.
For signature guitar speakers, I think it was Zakk Wylde with the Black Label EVMs.
For signature guitars?  I cannot remember. Possibly Fender or Ibanez.
For signature FX?  Could it be Digitech?
For signature strings?  Either Zakk Wylde or Dave Mustaine?
For signature pickups, I think it would be DiMarzio with Satriani's FRED.

Please feel free to add and correct.  Thanks.