Just chilling on the balcony after a cleaning job for the mob 😂

Am I good at listening? Henning is great at talking!

German public television once made a test on the street. They had two pairs of jeans on a table. One was a 700 Euro designer jeans, the other one was the 20 euro knock-off of the exact same designer jeans. The only visual difference between those two pairs of jeans: The original designer jeans had all labels and logos removed and was not recognisable as a designer jeans anymore while the knock-off sported all the bells and whistles. Passers-by were then asked whether they would rather take the designer jeans or the fake, and more than 75% opted for the copy, which outwardly displayed all the status symbols one would expect from designer trousers, while the original generated little enthusiasm. I am afraid that people would still buy products from certain brands even if they were made by Kim Jong Un himself.

I dig these rant videos. - SENT FROM MY SAMSUNG SMART TOILET

Boss/Roland, Yamaha and FujGen have never disappointed me.

“Never sell your company. You will get to watch other people ruin it.” -Leo Fender-

I used to be a brand loyalist tbh. I lusted after a Gibson LP & SG and I believed only Fender could make a good Telli. Then two thigs happened, 1) I picked up an abused Gibson Epoch so to make it even usable I had to learn to be a luthier, 2) I bought a used Schecter C-6 Elete. That Schecter is one of the best playing guitar I've ever had in my hands. Now I try EVERYTHIG out myself. I don't even buy new gear unless I can try it out (and I mean for awhile 45min to an hour) to see if it sounds like and feels like what I want. Hel of an eye opener tbh.

A few thoughts: 1) What is commonly labeled as “brand loyalty” should at least in part be considered as a very human way of dealing with a very real challenge: No one has the time to buy, tryout, re-sell and/or research all the available gear on this planet. Rules of thumb like “brand loyalty” make life easier for us. 2) Basically all of the examples of companies undergoing change are cases of companies reaching a critical (if not leathal) stage/age in their life cycle - as a company. Being a bass player, i'm kind of curious (or rather anxious) to find out what will happen to Phil Jones Bass, once Phil is no longer around ... One takeway might be to be aware of companies who pretty much „lived their lives“. As a sidenote: It's not easy to keep a company alive, once the founders die or retire. As a bass player, i saw companies like SWR, Genz Benz or Eden disappear. Trace Elliot kind of reapeared as a label. TC Electronics used to be an okayish company. Depending on whom you ask, they no longer are. Companies come and go. That's the way it is. 3) Gear review channels like yours obviously deal with new gear exclusively. Given all that you just said, I will probably keep pulling the trigger on reasonably priced Ibanez Soundgear basses that are available from second hand. 4) What you are describing is not entirely new phenomenon (which obviously does not invalidate your argument): Leo sold Fender to CBS almost 60 years ago. 5) You focused on the issues of changes in ownership/key personnel at the company/the local distributor. I'd like to add another one: Supply chain issues. Since the pandemic, we all had to deal with this. When i started playing bass, Gallien Krueger was one of the major players in the market for bass amps (and one of the most trusted ones). Since of few years now, their products are availably over here in Germany only sporadically. I suppose that this is at least in part related to supply chain issues, i.e., problems with sourcing all the required components.

"dried rice, cheapest components, plastic plus Marshall logo" - that's the most accurate description of Marshall MG10/MG15 i've ever heard :D

Henning, I am guilty of this but couldn’t agree with you more. I’m over 50, so I have a soft spot for those 80s Marshalls. Rather than Marshall, I’ve moved on to Friedman. I’ve met Dave, and sent several emails before owning my first Friedman product. He is a rarity in this industry. Dave, the man, makes me want to own only stuff that HE personally approves of and supports. Speaking of “that tone”, he has every flavour of it. Worth every penny, and worthy of product/brand/owner loyalty. Look in g forward to following Dave for many more years.

My loyalty is to the product quality, not brands, not people, not country of origin, as long as the product has quality and is made in decent work/environmental conditions and in a country that is not like Russia/NK that's what matters to me.

Why do you make rants if I can’t disagree? Very good, guys.

Cool video. I think your point about many people not being aware of some of these sweeping changes behind the scenes is bang on. The only thing I’d say is that with legacy brands people just get old and retire, die, etc so it’s tough to use this as the main reason for loyalty. If a company can retain its vision, mission, and quality in both service and products then that’s something to get behind. This is like the Soldano example u mentioned. Thanks for posting!

Henning, you raise an important point! More critical/independent thinking is needed by all of us these days. Often, we are drawn to 'the badge/the name' rather than the substance behind it. Sometimes it's due to what we feel others will think of us (e.g. if we play a Gibson guitar or a Marshall amp we might think people will attribute to us things associated with the brand). If we continue to follow the badge (i.e. provide it with sales) regardless of the quality, customer service, care for staff within the company, etc. there is less influence on the brand to improve their product/change the way they operate. Think of sports teams for example. In some cases, not all, if the owners continue to charge premium ticket and merchandise prices for a sub-par team, and the public continues to buy tickets, we are 'voting' with our dollars and, on some level, saying we're okay with things the way they are. If the public moves their buying power somewhere else, if the owners are smart, they acknowledge the loss of revenue and make changes to provide a better product. And if the originators of the product we liked, e.g. guys from Marshall moving to Blackstar, are supported by consumers, the new company that provides us with the sound we were originally drawn to will have the ability to thrive and live on.

Let's take it a step further. Not only is brand loyalty not ideal from a position of wanting to support good passionate people, it's also extremely limiting. By remaining completely loyal to one brand, you're denying yourself access to a huge world of great products made by great people! For this reason, I actively go out of my way to make as many purchases as possible from companies that i dont have anything from yet! If I'm returning to a company, it's probably because I genuinely believe in their products and want to support them! Great video as always henning

I've bought several Fender guitars. They are never what I expect and I end up selling them. Now, I have Squier and Jackson guitars. You are 100% correct, Hennings.

You'd think this is common sense, but many people don't know. I'll bookmark this video to send to such people, especially when they argue. You gave great examples, thanks! :) I can see an exception about signature guitars, for example: a friend bought a white JEM which is Indonesian Premium series. I prefer my Japanese RG550 and it's higher quality and it's 3 times cheaper! But I still understand him getting the JEM, because he loves Steve Vai, even when it's not the better guitar and it's not even the same guitar. But that's not exactly brand loyalty, that's more like loving an artist so much that you want a guitar that looks like his. It's more about the looks than anything, it's a bit like cosplay where how it looks is more important.

Everything changes and it's your own responsibility to inform yourself.

I completely agree with this and wish more people would get this! Being in the industry for over 30 years now, I have seen to many banks buy great and innovative companies. Then all they care about is pleasing the share holders and they lose 100% of where the focus should be...the customer that buys the product to solve a problem or a need. Sad.....

I often pay attention to the factory where the guitars come from. You can usually guarantee a guitar out of WMI in Korea will be of good quality whatever the actual brand that had the guitar made there.

I'm pointing alot of people to this video instead of trying to explain these topics. You guys did a great job explaining the "loyalty". Great video!!!!!

It's like sports teams. Players, managers, and coaches change, and sometimes the team plays at a new stadium. Fans will still support the team they've always supported.

In short: At the end the product needs to be good and you need to like it, this is why people buy them. The logo does not make me buy anything, neither do the people. The logo probably lets me try their products first if they have good reputation for what I am looking for. And people and ethics might prevent me at the end from buying something (which rarely happens to be that serious to me to be honest). Longer version: Henning, I totally get your point and admire your connection with the people not the product per se. But, if it is the product you care, then the brand might be the one to stick to. And here is why: everything, the people you like, develop with a brand, belongs to the brand - at least this is true for all the contracts I have seen so far in large comanies. This means, even if the people that designed your amp leave the company and everything else in the company changed, the products stay the same as the brand owns the design and everything around it. It might even be illegal and therefore impossible for the people leaving the company to build exactly the same product on their own. If you want the old product, you love, then stay with the company that holds the rights on the design (it might be sold to another company though). This, however, is mostly true for products like amps, where there is basically no craftmansship involved during manufacturing, also the factories do not matter much. Here, the people building are in my opinion having less influence on the product than the original design (still from the original people). All the manufacturing process and quality gates defined do not depend on people in electronics (as soon as there are components not available anymore and you would need to re-design to make a replacement work, the people matter again even for the old legacy design. It is hard for the consumer to have that much of insight though). For guitars, like the big G, this is totally different and I totally agree with you. Here, the people have at least the same (IMHO way more) amount if influence on the final product in my opinion as the design of the guitar. In general, I guess it depends on in which step people are really relevant to the final product. In case, there is a lot of CNC and automation used in the production, the importance of people is becoming less relevant and the original design (and programming of the CNC) becomes the holy grail. Then this can be easily replicated. Following the people to new companies might on the other hand not make sense, if the new company designs different amps. A designer that did my favorite metal amp might design amps for the new company that is not meant for metal, so why just buying this amp just because it was by the same guy? Does not make sense to me, neither. To stick to the example with bands, you still buy the old albums (the legacy design) as in the production of the CD (yes, still buying) there are no people relevant. But of new releases you might stay away. But on the same, if my favorite artist is now doing completely different music, I do not like because he wanted to change - why should I still buy it?

I think the point about change is the key thing here. If you are seeking a certain tonal quality or sound, not everyone has the luxury of having played a variety of different amps. So, leaning on the notion that a certain guitar + amp + pedal gets to where you want to sound makes sense. But that only applies if we are talking about like for like equipment. (How someone plays is another big factor, but let’s leave that aside). If the formulas and quality of those pieces of equipment change, then it may take some time but those companies will get found out. Fortunately we have people with experience and access to gear (like Henning) to wave a red flag when it happens. That being said, just because something has been bought by the Chinese and made somewhere that isn’t connected to the origin of the company doesn’t mean it’s bad. The proof should always be in the quality of the end product. Therefore, a badge can continue to mean something if standards are kept high.

The brand carries something with it but only so long as the products they produce are good and perform as expected. I bought a Friedman amp. I knew who Dave was and I also knew that he no longer made everything out of his garage/factory and that the name was now part of Boutique Amps (along with several other brand names). But I also knew that Dave was still integrally involved with the production and QC of his amps. All of that was great to know but the single most important thing that made me purchase a Friedman amp was that I played it. It had the sound and the feel that I had been looking for for ages. I fell in love immediately. For someone else it may be a different brand or product but as long as the product is good and what you are looking for then go for it and don’t be afraid to try many different brands when looking for something. I did. I played several amps that I expected to love and just didn’t. It’s a personal thing.

Remember, the legends of guitar only had Gibson/Fender/VOX/Marshall, available back in the day. I recently discussed what brand Jimi Hendrix would play if he were alive today. The main answers were PRS/Ibanez... Who knows.

Thanks for doing this. I used to be as guilty as anyone on this. A few years ago I really wanted to understand how amps worked, and started watching a lot of amp tech videos on YT. That really opened my eyes frankly. It was a bit of a hard pill to swallow, but I found a lot of the brands I thought were just incredible, turns out they charge insane prices for absolute garbage with truly idiotic engineering “design choices.” Yet people will just buy it because of the brand and that brand can do no wrong in their eyes. Mesa is the worst offender. Modern day Fender another example. The worst part is when the viewers brigade the comments with “well I’ve had mine 20 years, it’s never let me down” as though their sample size of 1 is the paragon of truth with that whole production line and somehow that negates the fact that these techs have done so many of the same repairs to the same amp so many times they can do it in their sleep, because of a shit design flaw the company refuses to fix over the course of 30 years. These techs literally keep a consistent stock of specific components for these repairs knowing these faulty amps will continue to come in and need repair…but yes they’re just “haters” and you know better because you’ve had your one amp you love and the literal hundreds of that same amp they’ve had on their bench, that must just be an anomaly. It’s maddening.

I can’t agree more! Since I’m honest to myself and I’m able to criticize brands that I really like, I could walk away from brands that disappointed me. Today iconic brands are just different from what they have been many years ago and what our hero’s used back in the day. Today you have so many opportunities. I was a Fender fan boy for many many years but now I spend my money on a local luthier and it was the best decision that I could have made.

Very informative video! Please keep us updated about such changes in the industry 🤔 PS: Michael Scufham today is responsible for the S-Gear SW - highly recommended 🥰

Buying an unknown brand is always a bit more risky, no one wants to get stuck with something they don't like and can't sell on..

I don't particularly care for brands, but it took me awhile. As it pertains to guitars, being a trumpet player, I couldn't care too much but I recently started playing guitar and bass. Ended up with a Fender strat not because of the brand but because that is the exact sound I wanted... I also bought a Sire h7 semi hollow and an Epiphone 59. Based on looks I'd like my next one to be an SG with whammy bar. Loveed your vid on the Mexican Strat, and living in California I can tell you, you are correct! I almost bought a player plus but it weighed 9.5 lbs. The neck was perfect

Lewitt mics are golden and affordable. The dynamic 440 they make kills the sm57 in many ways. the condenser 440 line is very well done and easily competes with the akg counterparts.

I’m a fan of Orange amps mainly for the color. Plus it helps that they sound amazing. You go into a shop and most of the amps are black or gray. The Orange ones stand out like a freakin beacon. Clever marketing. 🍊

that is the reason why Brands promote the logos and not the people. And the normal consumer have only a little chance to see through. But we can try! I agree 100%.

In a world where appearances are increasingly important, big brands only make you count money and rub your hands together. I love my G&L S-500 👋💪

Well, I have my 2 cents about amp loyalty. I loved Marshall Silver Jubilee 2550, and I love the Vox AC30 on the normal channel, never Top Boost, I never used Reverb or Tremolo on it. So, I did some digging. Steve Grinrod was the designer of 2550 and 2203, and also all the solid state Marshalls in that period. Afterwards, he moved to Vox, designed Vox AC15/30 CC1 that I am not particularly fond of, but the newer C1 was based around CC1, and he also designed all their solid and hybrid amps. Then he moved to China, married a chinese woman, and started working for Warfendale and Albion amps. He designed a few models based around AC30 and 2550 and quit the business. But he designed it there on printed circuit boards that even Mesa Boogie would be jealous of the quality and the design. And they are made in China. I am an electrical engineer, I compared the printed circuitboards from my Albion TCT50 and the new Marshal 2555, they are night and day difference in favor of Albion. And the price of new head is almost the same - Chinese amp and UK made amp. I really don't care of the brand name, I am into tones. as for guitars, I have no brand loyalty, whatever is made good and needs minimal modification to suit my personal preferences, that is what will I buy and play. I'll always skip the Gibson's over LTC EC-1000's...

I was waiting for Leslie to mow the lawn..... :)

Great points and loved this and the interview as well. The way I think about this discussion is that when guitar or amp companies lean to the corporate side the quality suffers sometimes. We have seen this happen with a few companies in the last few years. Also discussing brand loyalty as mentioned in the interview is that sometimes loyalties change when you find out negative things about the company, like layoffs or political views of a company. For example, Jon is drinking out of mug that has extreme political views. Some people would look at that and think OMG why is he supporting them? Then there are people like me that think it's just a mug.

Great rant Paul! After buying stuff in the past based on brand I also came to a certain conclusion, recently being dissapointed masivly by a very well known Japanese guitar brand, it's the direct rival to Ibanez and they also have a big say in the metal scene. Anyhow I came back to Ibanez and it's fair to say they are among the most consistent on the market. Would you consider to make an episode solely on Ibanez regarding the company and some insight?

First, awesome outfits! 🤣 🐣 Great video…I do buy everything individually. Some brands I do like simply because they just make a LOT of good stuff…but I just buy what I think is the best to me regardless of the brand. And yes…it’s ALWAYS about the people. I love that you’ve called attention to this! Oh…and James Santiago is just so awesome! He’s essentially converted me STRONGLY to UAFX! I literally bought their pedals because of him and I have not been let down. 🎸❤️ But I can tell you that - at least where the Mark amps are concerned - Mesa Boogie is still solid…but I keep an eye on them too. I love my Mark V though.

What about companies that not only get bought and sold, but completely change what they were know for? I was a huge patron of Alesis back in the 90's. My studio was filled with Alesis rack effects and I was totally ADAT with the large remote and whatever else I could use. Once the ADAT technology started disappearing, so did their recording gear. They started coming out with more keyboards (some good, some crap) for years until they changed again. Keyboards went away and now they're big on eDrums. They seem to have gone from pro/semi-pro gear to consumer instruments that a lot of other manufacturers make. I just don't understand the logic of what they think the market is. Granted, rack gear and ADATS are no longer valid, but my point is...where's the originality? They were a game changer 30 years ago. What happened?

Bro you are opening up a can of worms larger than you realize. 😂 This goes far beyond just amps and guitars. This is every single brand of anything on the face of the earth. And we need this conversation. Thank you! 🙌

For me as a semipro user brand loyalty means nothing. It all comes down to the quality an usability of any individual piece of gear. Nevertheless, the brand name may have some weight regarding resale value. Thanks for discussing that topic! Edit: I just heard you talk about VHT amps from China. I own two Special6 (one combo, one stack) and I am pretty pleased. I knew that they are chinese made and by that time I had no idea who VHT originally was.

Ultimately, you both have bills to pay. I suppose the question concerns how far you need to depart from the reason we began following. Regardless, you're both amazing, informative, and entertaining.

I’m an Ampeg super fan. But I can’t afford an old B15. The new stuff just doesn’t sound the same. So what do I play? An Ashdown ABM because I can get the sound I want.

Great rant, this topic does crossover to other industries like motorcycles and automobiles. Is that triumph motorcycle that is made in Indonesia a great bike yes , but it not made in England like the tank badge says. So people tend to just see the logo and assume what and we’re it’s made. Personally I pick products that I like the look ,feel or whatever makes me say dang that’s cool. I am not brand loyal. Keep up the good job guys

What about the flipside to this? There are certain brands in the guitar/amp/pedal space I will not touch because of stories about their behaviour. Do you think a brand can redeem itself?

I learned early to ignore those who became known as gear snobs. I fell for it a bit initially, but learned to ignore it When I started jamming with others I had my gear disparaged because I had Les Paul copy with a bolt on neck. No it wasn’t as good as a Gibson, but it had its good points. My amp was a used one by a Canadian company that has an avid niche crowd, but it wasn’t Marshall or Fender, so people looked down at it. The n I got a used Ibanez Iceman that was made in the 70s These same people turned up their noses, as it was MIJ, and wasn’t a Gibson or a Fender I bought a Roland Jazz Chorus, again, not a Marshall or Fender, and was (horrors) a solid state amp. Then I bought a 70s made Fender Mustang, made in the USA. But it wasn’t a Strat or a Tele, and for some was CBS era guitar. And don’t get me started on the pedals. It didn’t matter what I had, or what I liked or how well they played and sounded, it wasn’t their thing. Even when many of them loved my tone (maybe not my playing, but my tone) So ask yourself, are you buying the gear you like or trying to impress someone? So like what you like, don’t worry about the logo (I don’t buy based on resale value, I buy to play the gear) and

I think there's a difference between brand loyalists and fan boys. If I buy a guitar and it fits me perfectly and I really enjoy playing it, I'd probably replace it with the same thing if it broke. I'd still try and play other brands, but my #1 would be the same. If I play one brand exclusively (Unless I'm being sponsored) and declare all other brands are garbage, that's a little too irrational for me.

When I could afford a "real" amp, it was in the early 90s. We didn't have many options at that time. I bought a mid-80s JCM 800. Later, a dual super lead traded that for a mark 5. After that, a hiwatt 100 super lead. My loyalty is determined on the brand continues its quality to deliver what I am expecting, no matter where it's made. Also, my needs change. One brand is usually better at certain things than other brands. I love marshall amps. I have about a dozen of them. Along with a handful of bad cats. I have no reason not to trust them, I still do session work, and between those amps, I can cover a lot of ground without a lot of fear of my amp failing. If Bad Cat makes a bad product and blames the public for the failure, then I am done with them, I am not going to defend them. To me, the Marshall code is a total flop. I still think Marshall makes great tube amps, but the digital stuff is awful. I am as loyal to them then they are to me.

Im at around min 6, welp as long as it still sounds alright and musicians i like use them, especially if they still use some of the newer ones, then its alright for me. I bought recently my first tube amp, the 2555x and for 1k euros like.. what out there could i even get to get a clean channel that i like that also has the clipping thingy, and has kind of a triple gain staging( drive + "master volume) + input gain volume + clipping mode. So i will probably never use pedals with it, i dont love drive pedals anyway. Does it sound like the best marshall tone i ever heard? well i havent had the opportunity to try almost any real marshalls, i tried 2 other 2555x and a jvm but all of them were turned quite loud. When turned decently loud, mine does the marshall thing too. I think it works haha. Is it the same quality as an 87' ? i have no idea. People online have different opinions on it and im not people online, i am me with my oppourtinies of what amps i can try or buy. Long story short, brand loyalty? well what marshall sounding amp could i get for 1k euros ? Add to this the , can i try that amp before buying?

Gretsch and Fender have never let me down. Got a new gretsch hollowbody, came set up perfectly from their warehouse, also snagged a Fender Super Sonic 22 head and I'm just in heaven. Do I have brand loyalty for these companies? Bet your sweet ass I do ^_^

From a pyschological point-of-view, holding on to brand loyalty helps people deal with the world rapidly changing, especially when comparing now to their childhood. For xennials in the USA, a lot of the world we grew up with and has been mostly eliminated. From records to cassettes to CD's to the final phyiscal nothingness of fully digital. We also lost our reference points for shopping such as Kmart, Sears, Montgomery Wards, and more. Ibanez, Marshall and Fender haven't died and there's comfort in that. 😢

I kinda fall into this I think, I like Orange amps, I like PRS guitars, but I like them because they both do a thing that aren’t offered elsewhere in the market. (I do have a vintage Orange inspired clone too) However I’m still of the opinion if it sounds good, it is good. I’ve got lots of different brands of stuff and for me I just want the stuff to inspire me.

Hello Henning, wanted to share with you, been to Malmsteen concert yesterday, I really enjoyed it, with my mom. Cheers!! He had a 30 Marshall heads, but dunno if Vintage or new.

Waiting for the H&K rebrand as Hugh & Hefner! XD

Hi Henning, welcome to you tube, great first video hahahaha.

I mean what if I can't afford the logo, or the migrated prestige ? I don't think there is any shortage of professionals for the logo companies to recruit, but yeah, the resume goes with... there are plenty of gear companies that have sprouted up too, it's a heck of a thing......as amps go, it's going to lower wattage, there are too many really good bands, so the venues most people patronize are smaller venues.

A North Korean “Rocket Man” amp would be the bomb.

Company of Theseus, I suppose. To me, it's about the guiding philosophy and company values. I think it's possible for a company to create a culture where these things carry through leadership and even ownership changes, engineering/R&D team changes, etc. But it being possible doesn't mean it happens, because I also think it's very hard, and gets harder every time that change happens. With the exodus of talent from Marshall to Blackstar, I think it's fairly obvious that this wasn't the case there. I also don't understand how people can remain loyal to Gibson - even if you ignore the moral question around them moving the factory to suppress wages, the product is just bad for the price. The quality control is atrocious! In general, I won't write a company off just because they deliver a bad product once - sometimes shit happens - but once it happens, I'm going to start paying a lot more attention, and also look at what the alternatives are. Once it becomes a pattern, that's when I abandon ship.

The only value of a brand is if you can depend on a certain level of quality. It's typically the person today in music equipment. People like David Barber, Dave Friedman etc still protect their reputation. In fact if you want a good Marshall today buy a Friedman

A good example of customers being loyal to the people, not the brand.... The people that designed/made the original Trace Elliot equipment, now run Ashdown after Trace was sold and is now in Peaveys hands. Those same people that were Trace Elliot customers back in the day are now Ashdown customers. I hope that makes sense.

I was manning the stand next door at the London Guitar Show when Blackstar did their first show. The staff we drank beers with were almost the same blokes as on the Marshall stand in the years before...

My faith and trust in pedals and amps is JPTR-FX. Want a Titan so bad.🖤

Speaking of Marshall I tested the JTM Studio early this year. Sounds good but looking inside the amp wasn't worth the 900 € price tag with technical desing flaws. So I boght a Amp 1 with a cap from Bluguitar, cause it gives me the sounds I need in better quality for a bit less😂

The interesting bit with Marshall is that they mostly still make the same old products from before the zound take over. Other than cheaping out on the transformers their classic amps (or at least the reissues) still seem to be the same and sound the same. But hey, if someone can recommend a JCM 800 2203 alternative I'm all ears. :)

Brand loyalty in the meaning "blind faith" in anything with a certain logo is ridiculous, but there are definite differences in build quality, design, construction etc that make me prefer certain brands over others. I have for example over the years owned and loved a lot of products with the F and G-logos, but these days none of those produce quality products, possibly with the exception of very high-end custom-shop stuff. F's mass-produced amps for example use cheap components which give them an estimated lifetime of just a fraction of what it once used to be. Beancounters with no attachment to the brand are happy to turn out shitty products if they can save a couple bucks on a $1000 product.

"It is about the people!" So that is why you like your PRS guitars so much i understand now 🤣 😉

There is a whole other back story to the Fryette/VHT saga.

The guitar for me which is my comfy home is a Gibson SG, I can't explain it, it just is home, the feel of the guitar is not the same as the Epiphone or ESP equivalent, nothing to do with the label on the headstock, but the modern Gibson guitars ... geez it is complicated to get a good guitar with proper QC ... My second home is Schecter Hellraiser and Hellraiser-Hybrid, again, feel of the guitar not found anywhere else. As for amps, one question only, "does it sound good and how you want to sound?" end of store, amp loyalty brand is ridiculous, the Wang 2204 is a handwired Marshall JCM800 ... period, it just says Wang insted of Marshall on the head (yeah I know ... this was kinda of intentional ;) )

The people are one thing, its the commercial direction that drives the product. I agree that brand means NOTHING! but its a big melting pot of WTF

I've played guitar for 35 years. I get what Henning is saying and I agree in the general. However I have no brand loyalty and the JMT Studio is the first Marshall I've ever bought. It was the right price, the right spec and the right sound for me.

Make a pedal company with brand name Rant!

Well..... I would agree to a point- because- there's a cost to hand built stuff. Of course you can put your trust into hand built expensive stuff like Soldano, Magnatone and so on. That does make sense to me. But mass built amps man, they are all made in China, they all vary on quality control, there are issues of course.. You get what you pay for it at least you should. With Marshall, Fender - of course the time is gone when they were the building blocks of rock n roll. But the nostalgia is still there. The logo has it. On the other hand if you buy a cheap Marshall you have to be prepared you will not get the best stuff. It is just what it is, but it comes with the cost. What would be a shelf price of a Marshall on the level of the hand built ones in Britain from the past? Would people pay that? That's the question. And yes, brand loyalty when you play their low end stuff is crazy, I agree with that. But the argument is not as simple as business is business- they make what we buy and when the market is not there, they will not make it.

Started with Ibanez as my first guitar, was a big fanboy of many years but noticed recently that their QC has gone down and their price up. Took a bit of time to get rid of the habbit of dismissing any non-Ibanez and instead to start looking for a guitar that matches my needs instead.

I did some OH-A05 Mods, and sent the mods to IKN for Oripure .... like I can see their investment money running out in the design, and it was hurried to market .... that happens. the power supply rocks, ( and you know that is where they started )... but the filter caps made it excessively stiff for a valve rectifier amp, so I took all five down to 10uF. the tone stack needed some help, and it needed a snubber cap too. but the current production sounds good, certainly ok ... exceptional for 251 USD

Love the ‘fit’

I think you're right. I really like Tone Talk and over time it became obvious that the good products follow the people who design good products. Actually, I prefer the episodes where they interview the technical guys over artists. Side note, didn't Heritage fire all their employees at some point too?

In my recent experience with a certain purchase of an amp, I got barked at by brand loyalists because I was unhappy that there was not a better unboxing/manual experience. "Oh they just focus on building the amps, they don't care about websites or manuals"...Ok cool, well I do care about having a good experience when I spend a fuck ton of money!

I understand brand loyalty because a lot of ownership changes do try to preserve the legacy of the company. Most S and T-style guitars that aren't made by Fender are modernized. You typically find the more vintage specs from Fender or boutique brands. That's why companies like Fender and Gibson still have loyal customers. That's why there's always pushback when they change things on their more vintage lines. And following the creators and builders doesn't always work. Fender's creators went on to G&L and EBMM but neither of those sound or feel like Fender. Ted McCarty worked with PRS but those aren't Gibsons. And Heritage may have old Gibson employees and equipment but they don't make a SG or Firebird. And their LP doesn't look like a Gibson. Guitars are a whole package. It has to have the right sound, feel, and look. The Fryette thing is unique and is mainly found in boutique brands. Marshall's designers may have moved onto Blackstar but people aren't playing Marshall for new designs. They want JTM45s and JCM800s. Marshall is still making those and Blackstar doesn't. Marshall hasn't had new flagship amp in 25 years and that's not really a problem for legacy brands. People who are loyal to the old companies want things that resemble the old gear. They're not loyal to those companies because they're reinventing things. The American Vintage and Vintera lines don't go past the 70s for a reason. People don't want a Murphy Labs 90s Gibson. The problem with following people is that the thing you liked that they created usually remains with the company. And unless the company stops producing that thing, it will always be the thing you like.

Completely agree with your point about it's people and their work we should love and not the IP and branding name. Case in point: Peaveys decline and how it was massively accelerated by this crazy "Undercover Boss" episode that was essentially about the last few remaining workers in the US and was really heartfelt and sweat - and ends with the information that the prick of a boss let go the remaining US staff shortly after filming had finished.

The absurd part is the used prices. I‘m not even talking about real vintage.

Yes, you are so on point. As a bass player I always want to vomit when the reaction to a bass shoot out with a Fender bass in it and the fan boys automatically say the Fender bass is better when it clearly is not. OK I think Fender basses are really ugly and completely overpriced for what you get.

The problem is that these brands hold their value a lot better. If you’re someone who likes to change/sell off gear every now and then, it’s much easier to not lose your money if you buy and sell Fender, Gibson, Marshall

Fully agree with everything you say here. Gibson is the best example, they are sp clearly resting on the heritage even though there are so many better speced and build guitars right now.

Henning, I do not like the G either, but please watch the recent Andertons G Factory Tour - a lot of the manufacturing equipment is the same like in the early days!

Very interesting video and something that is annoying me as a builder in the UK, I've stopped all UK shows now because I'm in a sea of Gibsons and Fenders and the people that go have virtually no interest in boutique guitar makers, i have no interest in anything that the big brands make now, i ony look at small makers guitars, i hope Europe is a better boutique market for us small makers. People need to try small maker stuff, they'd be surprised at what's being made. Btw i had a stupid comment about my headstock despite it being a better design and it stays in tune.

As a child ...I grew up in Minden Germany. My folks were in the military. I remember having only German TV channels and watching a program with Smurfs, a strange little girl and a singing ringing tree 🌳... or something. Seeing you two in those lovely pyjama thingies takes me back there. Since I remember watching this TV program wearing Pippidee red and white stripey pyjamas! Anyhow... YES!. Please. Stop worshipping the logo. Buy something else instead. It's very frustrating for the rest of us.

I'm with you Henning, but I still bought a Gibson custom shop 59 Les Paul because they still do that better than anyone else , yes even heritage. I know that if I buy a heritage I will want a Gibson custom shop at some point . Yes it's a lot of money, yes I don't like that Gibson charge so much for it but again no one makes it like they do , and if I don't like at some point I can re-sell it for probably the same or similar that I bought it for

Now why again is there still no "Animals at the end" song? Lyrics and everything.....🧐

Industry news with Henning would be great! Had no idea about the AKG-Lewitt-Austrian audio or Marshall-Blackstar. I rather buy from a brand that I trust the quality than buy from a new brand and possibly get dissappointed. But my brand loyalty vanishes if the brand dissapoints me. Is there a reason why you don't do Boss videos?

I think, if you believe in a logo or brand. You don't believe in the people what build it. You believe in the mangment behind the logo. In there honesty and mind behind the product

I already knew about the dried rice in the amps rumour

I am very loyal to Engl. My favorite gear company. Just better, more quality. now for example a full birch wood cabinet. I dumped a Marshall origin cabinet (after1 year) cause it caught a fungal problem - made of MDF in China, that learning method was about 350€…

Henning speaks his TRUTH (un-afraid if you disagree or not) shills don't do this; this is a rare thing in KZfaq Guitar World. We're lucky to have your honesty on a platform full of nonsensical thinking people. Cheers Henning and your guest today does great YT work

07:40 the philosophical problem known as The Ship of Theseus

AKG was bought by Samsung, that’s probably why some engineers left the company and started Austrian Audio. Samsung also owns Harman Kardon, which has done great research into headphones, which is used to make new AKG headphones, like AKG K371. Those are very good pro headphones, with a very flat tuning that matches modern research, unlike the old AKGs which basically have no bass. It gets complicated fast :)

I remember that H&K guy. He knows a lot about bass amps.

Angus Young would take 9 Marshall`s just for Stage Presence : ) & no we r not related. what`s truly Amassing is the power adapter he used to make sure they got original voltages no matter where on Earth he played..

Much credit to Henning for standing with the PEOPLE!