This dude literally has no idea what hes talking about. Hes making these up as he goes along ans a lot of these so called new "trends" are topics that have been talked about for decades. And drop c isnt even a low tuning. Dude is so out of touch yet thinks he knows everything. All the crap he spews out is garbage from the 90's. Dude can barely talk.

On the Billy GIbbons thing, I believe the way that story actually went down is that he was using heavy gauge strings and he met BB King at some show they were both performing and it was BB that said "why do you want to work so hard?". BB King give you guitar advice, you listen.

It was BB King that said to Billy Gibbons, "Why work so hard?" after they had played each other's guitars. BB usually played 7's and still had that huge sound. The more you know🎵🎊 I appreciate the real talk. Cheers

1- proud owner of a Metal Zone. 2- i knew the "Josh Scott Effect" would be included on this list. 3- you ARE making the world a better place by making YT content... (At least MY world) 🤘

Heavy gauge strings started with SRV, so that is where that phenomenon comes from. Zakk Wylde was also using a heavier gauge for his down tuning but his are not that super extra heavy. Just relative to the lower turning. Rick Beato has a great video on how heavy string does not necessary have a great impact. Towards the end even SRV had gone to lighter guages because the heavy gauges was causing problems with his hands.

I was pumped when I found this channel years back. I grew up in a small town using Peavey, crate, and Ampeg (because that’s what the local shop sold). I thought very little about gear, as long as it got the job done. I moved to a city and all of a sudden all my gear was looked down on. ( I was using a Crate BV and a Randall cab and an old Peavey bass amp). There is so much cool gear out there… and honestly, I kinda sound the same no matter what gear I try.

Nothing tells you as much about the state of music in 2023 as the "Bad Monkey" farce.

Yes Glen Fricker is the first I saw to dump on the Sheffield

I can honestly say the metal zone got me into playing guitar . I went to a buddie's house in '94 or so, and he had this old Gibson explorer with EMGs and a metal zone into a crate amp....and it blew me away. I thought you needed tons of gear to get metal sound,I had no idea. I still think what we were doing back then still sounded pretty close to At the Gates tone

How do you know when a guitarist plays eleven or twelve gauge strings? They will tell you at the earliest opportunity.

I agree but I am old and I just like buying new equipment because I got nothing better to do. My wife and kids can sell what they want when I am gone. I am disabled and probably only have a few years left. So I enjoy as much as I can. I also enjoy watching you and a lot of other great channels.

The Metal Zone has one flaw I struggle with: size. Strictly speaking, this has to do with the EQ, which is touchy. Suppose for a moment the pedal was the size of an MXR 10 band EQ pedal. Replace all the knobs with those sliders, and we have many, many issues resolved all at once. Otherwise, the string issue is highly subjective. I used to religiously buy .009s, but they always sounded thin and shrill for blues. I switched to .010s: problem solved. I'm also heavy-handed so I tend to squeeze lighter strings out of tune without meaning to.

When I was young and had a band I was told "find gear that gives you the tones you like and then you're set. Jimmy Hendrix told me that at the fillmore west while we were warming up for our part of the gig. I still live by that advice.

I came across this last night and i fully agree on a ton of it. Harmony Central's Doom Room had a ton of posts that said the exact same thing about a ton of gear you said about it. It was a common thing to read albums that didnt have V30s, used metal zones or bad monkeys. The common concept was going with cheap gear and using what you could with it.

Amen to the lighter strings comment. I started with 8's when I was in my teens, but I did move up to 9's because I did break a lot of strings with 8's. That's probably my main criteria for string guage - if they don't break and it feels good. I went through a period of different manufacturers, guages, etc. - but I finally figured out out that the cheap strings sound as good as expensive string. Especially when you start running your guitar through distortion pedals, etc.

The Metal Zone was and is awesome. It can do so much in so many ways and will make even the tamest strat copy sound like a roaring bike

I have been playing like 30 years. The V30 thing. Bought new and still use a Marshall 4x12 with V30's. Cab was made in 1990. Love the cab. I also built 1x12 and 2x12 cabinets. I loaded them with Jensen Electric Lightnings. Fantastic sounding speakers. Strings....I have tried 8 through 11. My favorite are Super Slinky 9's tuned 1/2 step down. I cant stand tight heavy strings. Just works for me.

"Use what you got". This spot on. So many guitar players including me burden themselves with unnecessary things like their next gear acquisition such as pedals instead of making the most out of the gear they currentlty have. Thanks for keeping it real Robert and by the way, such a cool wristwatch you have.

Hello Robert. On the Bad Monkey OD pedal, Phil X used it exclusively and did a video on it. He was probably another reason for its sudden popularity. I’m sure you’ve watch him use it. Love your videos. Keep ‘em coming. 🎸👍

I have MT-2 and I tried bypassing the preamp thingy. It sounded awesome. But that also made me wire more, bend my back more, and adjusting knobs more. I came back just using it with the preamp. I like the way it is.

This is the first time I come across your channel and I got to say you raise some valid points. Guitarists worry too much about all of this nonsense, they follow the trends and don’t listen critically. Conversely they do not worry enough about learning how to play or learning music fundamentals.

I'm so glad you brought up the thing about the strings! So many people screwing their guitar setup all to hell because they want to try to go from 9s to 12s on a floating tremolo LOL

I just discovered how great the Sheffield 1230 is this year. I bought an old silver stripe Bandit, and I loved the sound of the 1230 so much I bought some to load into my 2x12 cabs! I didn’t realize there was so much hate for them, I just thought they were a sleeper.

I have watched your entertaining videos before. But THIS one made me subscribe. I feel you have enough knowledge and way of communicating that I can understand and pay attention to. THANK you.

I love the Metal Zone. Believe it or not, with that deep growl you can get, I use it on my Lap Steel in open D and it sounds great. Use 9s on my guitar. Wanted to try 8s, but didn’t know what they would do to my neck.

Yup. I started out building electronic projects when I was 8yo. So I got to learn about circuitry and how the parts work together. You can’t explain to a lot of guitar players that a clone is exactly the same thing. They don’t believe it.

I still like the metal zone in the front as a boost. That pat obrien era Cannibal Corpse tone is just crushing

that video I saw on the 6 1/2 string mod really got me thinking about doing some mods to my 7 string.

Forgot to mention the EVH effect, that when he passed away, they started selling crazy everything related to his name, the 5150/6505 amps and cabs, pedals under his name, even signature guitars from him, they were selling it crazy, so when a famous musician passes away and leaves a legacy in the gear world, eventually they try to sell everything more expensive for that reason...

The cool side is that in France, the sheffield 1230 is one of the best bang for the bucks loudspeaker.

Great video, Robert! I’ve stepped away from KZfaq for about 6 months to gather myself and it’s quite liberating.

Metal zone was my fist pedal in 97. In the 2010s I learned the kids didn’t know how to eq a pedal going into the front of an amp. I think we had a lot more patience going through eq settings back in the day.

I almost forgot about those early KZfaq posters. I missed those days.

RJ- entertaining commentary, for sure! Glad to hear someone giving credit to the MT-2(lots of us cut our teeth this way). The heavy gauge segment.. SRV played 13's regularly, which I've never seen questioned, but what are the odds that(were he still with us) he'd have gone lighter as he got older(like the rest of us middle-aged rockers)? Heavy is great for baritone-type tunings on standard or short scales, though.

Beato nailed it when he said light guage vibrates faster and can create more gain Where as heavy guage is cleaner, yet you can modify the sound with effects to make the same tone

This video showed up on my home screen and instantly brought a smile to my face! You used to work at G.C. in Castleton and you were my fave person to deal with! I'm glad to see you have a channel and you are doing well! Rock on Rob🤙🤘🤘🤙

Okay, so my bass rig: early '90s GK 800RB driving two 15s in bass reflex cabs and two 8s and 2 compression tweeters in a sealed cab. Nice thing about it is that I can use one or both of the low-end cabs, and use the high-end cab or not. I built the cabs, myself, and loaded the low-end cabs with speakers out of a couple of Peavey keyboard amps the university I work for was throwing out. Here's the rub: the two amps were the same, and probably even purchased at the same time, but one had a Scorpion 15 in it, while the other had a Sheffield 15. So I put one in each cabinet, and tuned the ports to the specs of the different speakers. Guess what: when I only use one of them, it's usually the Sheffield. The Scorpion is punchy, but the Sheffield is a great sounding full-range speaker. I figure the view on them comes from the stupid idea that the Sheffield has a stamped chassis but the Scorpion's chassis is cast and machined. I mean, everyone knows a good speaker sounding has to have a cast chassis, and only cheap-o speakers have stamped a chassis, right? Because the sound of a speaker is all about the chassis, right?

I really liked the Metal Zone, definitely want the Waza Craft soon, but rn my favorite is the Metal Core distortion pedal

The BOSS Metal Zone is still one of my Favorite pedals. I have a stock one and a Keeley Modded one. I would never get rid of them. My favorite Speaker is the Carvin HE12 from the 80's Strings for me 9-42 or 10- 46 Super Slinkys have been my main string since the mid 80's Don't need extra heavy strings I have a bass for that. You and Ola and Phil (KYG) are the only ones I watch. The thing I hate are the people who complain about a person and their videos and how they could do better but have no videos on their personal ghost KZfaq page.

Billy Gibbons used to use heavy gauge strings, but while backstage with BB King - who famously used 8 gauge strings, BB told Billy 'why work harder than you you have to'. Then, in classic Billy Gibbons style, he went one gauge lighter and used 7s.

Got the tools I needed and this is the first video I seen in months. Thanks, I see I'm not missing anything. .

I like a slightly heavier gauge for the feel and resistance I get in bending. 10's on my strat but when I run the same on a shorter scale length (Les Paul) I overbend with 10's. Changing to 11's on the LP solved the issue. Also use pure nickel strings though, maybe they bend easier, not sure. They sure feel a bit different that wound. /shrug

Good stuff man. I love my Metal Zone. Infact, I have two of them....the Original and The Waza. I also have a 112 Sheffield Bandit. Apparently I play through all that sucks....lol.

You're absolutely right, it it started a long time ago. Remember all the crazyness about effect racks in the late 80's, then someone just said, "just one amp and some pedals" ... All the racks went straight to the junkyard. And now how many youtubers, have you seen trying to promote any guitar other than a Fender strat or a telly ? Personnality is not today the trend, but I still enjoy my DS1 slightly modified and some good old pedals on my classic 30 equiped with a celestion lead 80 speaker, and it sounds damn good if you play with some feeling !

Your mention of using the Metal Zone in the Effects Loop, (or any other gain inducing device,), I agree, is criminally overlooked. For anyone that has an Effects Loop on a distorted tube amp...USE IT for the place to add gain, tone, and EQ shaping...the front end of your amp will often chew up and nullify the nuances of your distortion device. With your distortion device in the Effects Loop...you can then use a 20db Boost Pedal...or a Boss GE-7 as a boost & solo EQ.

TONY IOMMI. 8s tuned to C#. Heaviest sounding guitar EVER.

I play a six string in B standard.. playing the mammoth slinky's has made the strings have more tension, and it holds the tuning and intonation better.

One major reason why I used very heavy gauge strings in the past was the fact that they didn't go out of pitch when you picked or strummed a little harder. Nowadays I have Evertune bridges on most of my non-trem guitars and they eliminate that problem. For distorted tones I actually *prefer* the sound of medium to light gauge strings.

Your video is making me remember the Seymour Duncan pickup, The Invader with a big magnets they couldn't even sell those things for 29 bucks when they were to do, now look at them

Those Peavey speakers sound pretty damn awesome! *EDIT* I definitely laugh at those gear dorks who suddenly think they’re riding on rare gear money bucks with their mass production stuff that really isn’t THAT rare. Like the Bad Monkey kids! Haha! Yeah my various pedals that do the same thing aren’t worried.

The Metal Zone is truly great. Dial the mids to the same frequency as the Klon, turn the drive down, and boom. You're in K territory. Peavey always made good stuff. My first experience with a dude really espousing a piece of gear was my drummer's dad saying Peavey Black Widows being the be-all end-all. I like the Greenback best.

I have not really been big into music since I switched my focus to photography a decade ago but a 4x12 cab with offset Vint 30 and WGS veteran 30s is one of the sweetest metal sounding rhythm cabs I’ve ever heard.

Definitely some really good guitar speakers out there in the obscure-isphere. I've been using a low-mid PA speaker designed by B&C and it sounds absolutely killer on my B flat tuned 7 strings and can handle some serious power. Fane, Warfedale, SLM, Austin Speaker, and Faital Pro all have some impressive offerings if you aren't finding what you want from Celestion, Eminence, Jensen, Weber, etc. Also, play around with cab design (open back, closed back, and ported). If you have an open back, cut out a sheet of plywood that can cover the back and try it both ways to see what you like better (this can change room to room or even where you place the amp in the room). Also, playing has been much more fun since I stopped trying to clone some influential guitarists' rig and started turning knobs on what I have. I've even just twiddled knobs without looking at them just using my ears and found some killer tones just understanding how each knob and switch setting effects the sound.

Great points! Makes me wanna go play my metal zone into my Sheffield equiped Bandit right now! 🤘 Fwiw, Billy Gibbons best guitar tone was on the first 6 ZZ Top albums (through degüello pretty much). Billy used 11 gauge strings on all those albums for certain. I don't know when exactly he started going lighter, but everything since then, including his current live and recorded sound, has been so heavily processed and compressed that he could use any guitar and strings and it would sound pretty much the same. I'm not an advocate for heavy strings = better tone, but i think Billy Gibbons name gets thrown around too often as justification for lighter strings when it's not really a valid argument.

I don't really use drive pedals so much, but thanks to Josh Scott, I know that Scott Pilgrim used a Bad Monkey to save the world, so it got added to the list. I tend to eschew the normal bits of gear, like I have always figured that other people had the Vintage 30 requirements filled, but also the low demand for my special stuff has kept the prices fairly viable. I have not yet filled every slot so I don't really publicize much of the excellent bits that I have discovered. yet... 😎

For youtube, I try really hard to find reviewers who have a similar setup to me (pedals, into ACS1, into a mixer and monitors) and have a similar guitar layout (tuning, strings, pickup style). So honestly having a plethora of people reviewing stuff does help me become an educated shopper. And on the topic of strings, while I could use 52-10s for C standard/drop C, I chose DR 54-11s. The added tension just makes it more pronounced and articulated, especially for chugs. But thats just me and my guitars specific scale lengths that made me try that.

Still have my metalzone. Ten years ago I was stacking it with an TS808 overdrive and getting great tones thru my Marshall DSL 100. Thinking I should probably dig it out.

In the case you can't or don't want to use the FX loop of the amp when using a metal zone or DS-1, the key is patience! Tweak the knobs, both on the amp and the pedal and trust me, you will eventually find a good sound. They have very powerful and active EQ sweeps. The Josh Scott effect is also hilarious. For those mad at Josh, here's a not-so-secret. Check out the Wampler triumph, it's got a modified version of the bad monkey circuit and the boss SD-1 circuit inside for right around $100 flat. A lot of people here would be fine just grabbing a morning glory, to be honest.

The Metal Zone can also work as an amazing clear boost with considerable or tone shaping options. Pairs very well with a variety of amps for that purpose. Then, of course, there’s all the other potential for it as a distortion pedal, a pre-amp, etc. It can also be used to get into a kind of chainsaw territory.

I'm a older guy and listening to you and reading some of these comments and it is truly funny.

You are spot on. Thanks for the honesty!

One of my favorite things about Robert is how self aware he is. He'll make fun of himself better than some wanna be troll can. Love the content as always!

100% i used the metal zone since i was 15 never strayed from it always had it in the effect loop. This had tuns of room to find the perfect tone. If you cant then you are the problem. I recently rediscovered light strings and realized how flexible the bends are I felt like I been duped for years, the peavey sheffields my only issue with them is if im playing with a digitech whammy my speaker will freeze it's done it since day 1. But i hit that note agein the speaker will unfreeze

I have Sheffield's in my Classic 50 212 combo and they sound perfect for that machine. I have a pair of Vintage 30's in a straight 4x12, along with an Greenback and an EHX so I have different 'voices' to choose from for that cabinet. My favorite cab though is my Carvin 412VB 4x12 loaded with GT12 speakers by Eminence. Cleans to classic rock stomp to high gain snarl and 'womp' from my baritone are no challenge for that cabinet. It delivers. Not bad for something that came out well before all these doodads and gottahaveits.

Years ago, I had a small Marshall with a built-in 10" speaker. It sounded good, but I wanted more sensitivity in the input. I was talking about this is a guitar store, and a guy with an Aussie accent said to me "you should get one of those>" Pointing to the earlier version of the Boss Metal Zone. I bought it, took it hame, cranked up the level all the way, turned the distortion down all the way, and it was perfect for what I wanted. Marshall sound with the sensitivity and harmonics I wanted.

Never got the Metal Zone hate. I always keep a stock one around and also one that has a mod that clips a cap out of the circuit. Even into the front of an amp both sound good. Regarding strings: I like 10-52 on a guitar I use for standard tuning playing metal. They just don't flop around much and seem to work better for chugging on.

Great video. This is a great help for those being insecure of things that they like but are afraid to acquire because "it sucks". If you like something because it sounds great to you, forget what internet thinks about it. Enjoy it the fullest and let the naysayers stay in their echo chambers.

I have a WGS veteran(along with a Weber alnico) in my Gretsch Valco 6161 amp clone. I had NO idea I was supposed to use it for metal.

I used to have 15's on my standard tuned guitar, but it was a floyd equipped guitar and I liked the way it sounded. But i only mentioned the gauge when people asked. I've had many mt-2 pedals over the years and i never understood the hate. And the thing I ever did was getting an Eminence Henpdog and the DV-77 and modify my cabinet to make the speakers work.

The Bad Monkey was slick when you could find a used one at just about any shop for $30. It's pretty transparent and sounds good. I've even had decent results using the DI with a decent noise gate. I didn't know they were selling for so much. The Hardwire transparent overdrive was a good cheapo, too.

The Peavey Bandit w Sheffield speaker used to be the bomb for starting guitarists.

I only found out that my first cab's Sheffield speakers weren't to my taste after playing my mate's cab which had a combo of V30's and G12T-75's in it. The sound (to my ears) was much more in line with what I desired my sound to sound like, and that's all that mattered; what it sounded like to my ears. Hearing a good tone come through my cab makes me more confident in my playing and as a result things sound decent. Simples.

Wish I had my boss HM-2 from the 80's. I always use .009 for standard tuning and go up in .001 increments per half step of detune. Had a PV cab with Sheffield under a PV ultra + and it ripped. Now I use a 2000 Marshall 4x12 with the stock speakers under a 6505+ and it sounds great for metal. Just recently bought 2 1x12 orange cabs with V30's and they also sound good to me. This video was entertaining, thanks.

Metal Zone is a good pedal but maybe some people don't understand the frequency knobs. I have heard awful tones coming out of it from some who just carelessly boost and not take the room, gear into account. Sometimes you need to cut certain frequencies.

Josh will tell you what's awesome about what you have. That means he tells you what's awesome about what other people have too (seriously, what HASN'T he done?) Don't mistake that for thinking that you need what Josh is talking about this week. What I love about him is he showed me that some of the oldies are still REALLY good , and that You don't need the new new or the rare rare to be distinct. Got me back into the Rat and DS1 for which I will be ever grateful.

Actually it was B B King that told Billy that quote, because B B King used .008's. on "Lucille" and he convinced Billy to "experiment" with lighter gages of string. So he uses .007's these days... Read that somewhere in a Guitar Player magazine several years ago. I stick with .009"s these days. I use EB Hybrid slinky. 9-46.

As someone who's owned several cabs and amps with sheffield speakers, I can give a different insight into it. I think it's just that they all aren't made equally depending on the year of the speaker. This will happen with most things that get mass produced at some point in time. Access to different materials and changing in factories and workers can make a huge effect on the sound of the product being produced. My old Peavey bandit has sheffield's in them and they sound amazing. I had a 5150 cab and the speakers sounded horrible. What happens is guitarists try something once, and if it happens to be bad, then suddenly they always bad (think squire or epiphone back in the day.)

Rumor has it that Eddie swapped his shefield speakers for v 30s in his live shows. Peavey only cared about their badge on the cab and amp be shown so he only swapped speakers to avoid contract breach. Every shefild ir I played sounded very unsatisfying to me.

I have a solid state Peavey, a very old studio pro. Paid maybe $ 50.00 last year. It appeared in a Rhett shull video and now they are listed for $ 200+. It's a cool little amp. But come on. There's a trillion of them.

I do own a Metal Zone Waza and it's great. Think I agree with everything you said besides string gauges but I agree a bit with your reasoning there too. Weirdest in guitars at the moment must be me. Almost all my free time is spent guitar related in some way.

I have several examples like the Marshall Gold speaker and I love it for metal, or the Peavey special chorus 212, or even the simple fact that you can have a good sounding track without spending all your money on gear. There are millions of things that people take too literally

It's funny that it was Josh Scott that made the Bad Monkey blow up and not Phil X with all those awesome old Fretted Americana vids. Phil has been using a bad monkey for decades now and getting absolutely killer tones from it. Josh Scott makes a video about it and everyone whines about the price increase because why? They weren't planning on buying one before were they? How many people were legitimately waiting to buy a bad monkey just before that video went out?

The Josh Scott effect incidents happened a while after the Techmoan effect was coined by some people (basically the same concept). They should collab on something and completely destroy the market lmao

I have ABSOLUTELY seen people advocating a pickup or pedal online in groups, and then asked them when they got theirs, to be told "Oh I haven't tried one yet"...

Great stuff man..

Gearmandude probably got sick of all the Jack Black comments. I couldn't blame him.

I think it's funny how many people didn't have a clue what Josh was doing with his Bad Monkey video. I have a Bad Monkey and I like it, but I bought it long before Josh's video.

I noticed Your Panama Amp head and would Love a demo! Agree on string gauge, highest I go is 11 and for baritone/ drop tunings.

Ridiculous guitar trends: - signature guitar string sets. -signature guitar pickup sets. -fanned fret guitars. -those huge guitar string dampeners.

I like gear review videos. It helps me determine what I want to try. I don't care about trends. Just what sounds good to me.

I think the Metal Zone hate comes from user error. The fact that many guitarists boosted the 8k to achieve the most annoying tone heard in 90's bars/clubs is a tragedy.

The thing that winds me up about the guitar community and guitar manufacturers who you think should know better, is calling fretboards fingerboards, fingerboards are found on fretless instruments like cello, violin, double bass.

That was awesome! I don’t watch gear videos anymore but that was worth a stop. Still laughing! The Bad Monkey thing woke me up. Josh always tells the viewers what you reiterated; think and listen for yourself. Thank you again for the laugh.

I think the metal zone got a bad reputation for a while because people didn’t know how to set them up or had shitty tone from a shitty amp and the pedal got blamed. Similar to the hate the Marshall MG got, I’ve had 100w half stack for 20 years and it rips. I still play it all the time even though I have nicer tube amps now.

Yep... all you say is true! I will add that Josh Scott in general is a trend I'm over. I'll watch your videos way sooner than getting around to another JHS video. I think mainly I enjoy learning guitar related stuff, which is why Phil McKnight never gets old! I like informed commentary that gets into specifics.

I use non slinksy's 12's so I don't snap the most of the strings overbending as I do A lot of blues and wild metal bending; but I do agree with you about the youtube sound/tone reviewers, one of these trends was the extended range guitar trend which in 2012 we saw a lot of people buying into.

Many years ago I got a deal on sets of D'Addario XL115. I just stuck to that gauge set.

Smart man, saying smart things in raw. Great.

Love this commentary. I have had a Sheffield 1230 speaker in every amp I’ve owned for the last 30 years, including Fender amps. People still lose their shit when they look under the hood. Maybe it’s our generation?!? Don’t know, don’t care.

Good stuff Robert, I know most folks Like Only Celestion Speakers and I get it they have some awesome speakers, but I have used a lot of speakers and have gotten some good sounds from some of PEAVEY speakers and they don't cost as much and are a bit easier to find down South Tennessee/Alabama Area, have a great Labor Day Robert 🤘🎸🤠