BEST & WORST GUITARS & GEAR OF 2022!

Welcome back to in the Blues my name's Shane  it's that time of year when I release my annual   end of year wrap up this is the best and worst  music products of 2022. this is my sixth annual   one as well so thank you so much for all the  support with this particular series I always   look forward to doing this it's great to reflect  on some of the stuff I had my hands on and some   of the stuff I purchased and some of the stuff  that might not have lived up to expectations   before we get into it a massive thanks to all of  the subscribers Patreon crew and channel members   for their continued support in 2022. I had no  idea I'd still be doing this at the end of this   year when I first left my job back in 2014. now I  was doing YouTube long before that but it's crazy   to still think the channel is still moving forward  so thank you so much if you're already subscribed   and you like what I do double check the Bell  notification un-click it click it again and hit   all notifications that way you'll be notified  of videos that I post you don't have to watch   them all if they don't all interest you but at  least you'll be notified it's a huge help for the   channel if you'd like to check out any of the gear  that I talk about in this video I'll post some   affiliate links down in the description below they  help support the channel at no cost to you here we   go let's kick things off with one of the more fun  topics the best random stuff of 2022 I'm going to   start by talking about the Frine fret polish it's  really tough to say give it a go this basically   allows you to clean your Frets and it comes with a  little tool kit that allows you to do it nice and   simply a little while ago I cleaned the Frets on  my Gibson Flying V which were completely corroded   due to a damp issue here at the house and the  Frine fret polish man that's hard to say worked   beautifully I have no hesitations recommending  it a lot of people will also use those little   erasers which have worked really well also but  I found the frying fret polish just easier to   source it's cheaper and it works beautifully I  think I paid about 25 or 30 dollars for it now   of course there's a million different ways you  could probably clean the Frets but the Frine   fret polish works extremely well I bought this  myself and it's one of the best products of the   year for 2022 and by the looks of it it's probably  going to last about 10 or 15 years you only need   a little bit and it works beautifully over to  one of the most impressive things I've had a   chance to showcase on the channel and I've been  using it for the last month or two is this this   is the AEA N22 ribbon microphone this is made in  the United States and while it's not cheap it's   not as expensive as a Royer 121 you're getting  an extended high-end frequency response which   makes it a one and done microphone if you're in  a situation where you're looking for a ribbon   microphone you've got a fair budget give this one  a look this saves you the need to have a second   microphone you can always do that of course and  get a blend between them both but if you want   a one and done ribbon microphone this is by far  the best one that I've used while this microphone   sounds unreal for electric guitar cabinets  thanks to its maximum sound pressure level   you can essentially use it for anything like drum  overheads kick drum brass whether it be saxophone   or trumpet it even sounds great on my voice doing  spoken word stuff and I use this on my voice in   the review video and a lot of people commented on  how great it sounded so it's a beautiful sounding   microphone check them out I'll link it below  another one of the products that really surprised   me is this and I've been using it non-stop when  I go out and play Live this is the artist PBBo1   power supply this gives us seven outputs that we  can then power our pedals from we also get one 300   milliamp output so that's usually enough to power  a few pedals just with a daisy chains and this   thing works beautifully on top of all of that it's  Dirt Cheap coming in at only 69 Australian dollars   roughly 40 or so US dollars I also love the fact  it has a USB output so if you need power to your   phone or tablet for a gig and you need to read the  lyrics you can do that or you can just charge your   phone this also has USBC charging as well which  is always a massive advantage over those old micro   USB ports and just to let you know that it's on  we get some LED indicators it's just those little   things like that that make this extremely flexible  if you're a live player this will make your life a   whole lot easier charge it up once and you get  plenty of run time out of it you don't have to   go worrying about whether or not you're one spot  or whatever power supply you use is going to reach   the wall socket or if there's a spare plug on the  wall if you've ever gigged you know exactly what   I mean so this gets the big thumbs up the last  thing I want to throw into this round section   was to focusrite Scarlet 18 I8 audio interface I  purchased this about two or three months ago as   of shooting this video and I've been using it on  every video in this room since that's required an   audio interface it's just a great sounding audio  interface that replaced my old Steinberg Ur 22   Mark II which was on its last legs I basically  wore it out over the last five or so years but   it lasted great but I thought you know what I'm  going to try one of these because I had a chance   to use one at Jerry's left of guitars when I was  shooting videos over there and his audio interface   surprised me for a number of different reasons  the first thing I love about this audio interface   is the fact that I can see my input gain visually  thanks to some LED lights on the front of the unit   which lets you know if you're in the safe green  zone whether or not it's starting to get hot in   the orange zone or whether you're clipping in the  Red Zone these are LEDs that flash on each of the   channels this is invaluable for what I do it's  one of the major reasons why I think this is one   of the most functional units of the Year for me I  only strike against this unit unlike some of the   less expensive of options from focusrite is the  fact that I don't get a mix control on the front   and this mix control is usually a pot where you  can decide how loud your recorded electric guitar   tone would be for example and your playback volume  if you're jamming to a backing track you have   to do this via software it's not the end of the  world but it's a huge oversight in my opinion but   still I love this unit because of those four XLR  ends on the front let's talk amplifiers without   questioning the amplifier of the year was the  Hagerman pp12 push-pull 12 watt amplifier this   thing sounds unbelievable unlike a lot of popular  amp companies which are just re-releasing slightly   modified versions of Marshall or Fender amplifiers  yet charging a fortune this is a unique circuit   it might run el84s and 12 ax7s but it doesn't  sound like a Vox it doesn't sound like a marshall   doesn't really sound like a fender it has its own  thing going on and one of my favorite features is   the Contour control this allows you to bring in  a frequency that will help you cut the mix this   is an absolutely beautiful sounding amplifier  I've showed okay some live Clips on the channel   and it was the star of the show tone wise for me  I've never had a better Stratocaster tone not only   does it sound great without pedals it takes pedals  beautifully if you're looking for something very   different that sounds unbelievably good it's made  in Hawaii go check it out the Hagerman amplifier   sounds unbelievable I'll link Jim's website down  in the description below this next amplifier   is great if you're looking for something you can  use at home to just crank up and get really great   tones this is the Kustom Defender 5 watt amplifier  head I got sent this out with the matching single   12 cabinet and while the cabinet is nice and  light the speaker in there won't be for everybody   you can get really gnarly Tweed tones all the  way up to really saturated lead tones just by   cranking up the master volume one of the things  that really makes this amplifier pretty unique   is its voicing control it's not your standard EQ  stack or anything like that it just gives you five   or so different options that allow you to cycle  through different EQ sweeps so you can get more   or less treble more or less ice just by moving the  dial my favorite one was the second one from the   right in my opinion that one just sounded the best  to my ear at least with the gear that I had the   biggest takeaway is this amp doesn't stay clean  for long so if you're looking for an amplifier   that you can just crank up and get tube saturated  tones this would be the way to go I'm next going   to talk about the joyo bsk 60 acoustic amplifier  what an acoustic mansion on my channel I have to   mention this one not only is the build quality  excellent but the overall sound is phenomenal   this amplifier completely exceeded my expectations  so if you're looking for something you can blend a   vocal microphone with an acoustic guitar turn on  some Reverb it also has a Noise Gate which helps   eliminate feedback this thing is phenomenal well  I don't often speak about acoustic gear much when   I find something I like I have to mention it in  this joyo amplifier is awesome so for an acoustic   player looking to plug in and make some noise  I'll link this one down below it's definitely   worth it it's also far more affordable than other  brands who provide the same sort of feature-rich   options as this amplifier so check check it out  if you get a chance up next is the best practice   amplifier of 2022 and it has one feature that  I can't believe no other company has thought of   which is why it lands a spot in the best of 2022  this is the NUX mighty space practice amplifier   so there's a lot to like about this I can't go  through all the specs and the video will come up   on the channel in the next few days after shooting  this but this particular amplifier is a stereo   practice amp it's wireless as well so it comes  with a transmitter it has Bluetooth connectivity   drum samples IRS effects Looper everything comes  with a foot switch but that's not the best of it   the best of it is you can use this as a dedicated  amplifier head thanks to the speaker output on the   back what this means is you can run this amplifier  as it head through your favorite cabinet whether   you've got a 1x12 a 2x12 a 10 inch cab it doesn't  matter you can run this amplifier as an amp into   a much larger speaker this opens up a world of  possibilities this is also loud enough to jam with   friends it's quite loud 30 Watts out into a large  speaker is better than you might think now while   this is a digital modeling amplifier going out  into a big speaker it feels unbelievable under the   fingers when you see my video review pop up give  it a watch it's one of the best sounding digital   modeling amplifiers I've ever played one of the  things that NUX got right is the functionality the   top panel is all analog looking so you can just  add more gain add more Reverb whatever the case   may be if you go into the app it's where you can  really customize the amplifier change the cabinets   change the effects change the order of the effects  and all that kind of stuff so it's a very powerful   app the great news is you can store up to seven  presets so if you get the sound you like you   never have to open the app again yes and then you  can just use the foot switch to go between each   of the presets or use the button on the top of  the amplifier so functionality is Paramount when   it comes to digital modeling amps and ux got  this right if you're looking for an all-in-one   amplifier solution and you're into the whole  digital modeling thing give the NUX mighty space a   look it's a great practice amp and it makes for an  even better experience going through a much larger   cabinet up next is an app either completely caught  me off guard this is the Marshall 2525c Silver   Jubilee amplifier combo has a lot to like about  this relatively small studio version of Marshall's   amp this is hand built in the UK so they do cost  a little bit more but that aside these amps are   so usable if you're a studio musician looking for  a really great tone this would be a really great   choice even though you don't get Reverb with  this amp the tones sort of take care of itself   I didn't really miss it once I got the amp to The  Sweet Spot now this is a 20 watt amplifier combo   it's all valve but you can switch it down to five  watts and get really great recorded tones at much   lower volumes now five watts is still pretty loud  when you're talking about a 12 inch speaker in a   room cranked especially if you're in an apartment  for example which is why I always recommend a one   watt tube amp in those scenarios or an amp you  can turn down even lower than 5 Watts but this   amplifier has tone for days I love the clean  channel the off clean getting it to that spot   sounded great the drive Channel also sounded  unreal now not everybody likes this amplifier   in terms of its tone you either love it or you  find it a little bit clacky sounding but this   amp really surpassed my expectations I had a  blast filming this and also another Marshall   amplifier which I'm going to leave off the list  because they're both very similar to each other   but I love this Silver Jubilee but the 25 25c it's  all right with me I could feel that rhyme coming over to the best electric guitars of 2022. now  if you don't know the channel I'm actually a   Southport I play left-handed but all of the  guitars on this list are also available in   right-handed configuration when I put this list  together the first one that came to mind was   the Epiphone es335 I've been a huge fan of these  guitars over the years I played an epiphone.335   for a very long time as my first gigging guitar  it was such a great instrument and I really regret   getting rid of it I think this new Epiphone es335  is the best one that I've ever seen not only does   it have a nicer finish the neck feels great it's  extremely playable but it has a block down the   center which makes it far more versatile than  something like the Epiphone Casino additionally   the pickups in this guitar don't need replacing  they sound fantastic they've got a great top end   which is sometimes rare on an es335 and allows you  to get really clean and clear solo tones with or   without overdrive and the great news is these  pickups also handle high volume and higher gain   tones far better than a lot of other Alternatives  if you're looking for an Epiphone and you're on   the fence between a casino and an es335 get the  es335 especially if you're a game musician it's   a far more usable instrument the next guitar I  have to put on this list is the Eastman SB 59   gold top LP this less pole Star Electric Guitar  absolutely slays it's such a great instrument I   think there's a bit of a misconception when it  comes to Eastman guitars a lot of people think   they're just mass-produced guitars but they're  actually handmade instruments they're every bit   as good as far more expensive handmade Gibsons  at a fraction of that price they're not cheap   guitars but they are somewhat affordable when you  compare them up against the Alternatives and they   play and sound fantastic one of the things that  really stood out about this guitar when I played   it to Jerry's Lefty guitars overseas is the fact  the pickups were as nice as they are the Eastman   sb59 is loaded with a set of Seymour Duncan 59  humbucker pickups and they sound unbelievable   this guitar for those who don't know my channel  I own a japanese-made Tokai ls110 which I've kept   even though I I've owned far more expensive Gibson  guitars this is every bit as nice it's a beautiful   instrument the top looks great it's got a big  fat 50s neck and overall it's one of the nicest   LP style guitars I've ever played from any brand  if you haven't played in Eastman give them a go   I'll try and find some links so you can check  them out in your part of the world down below   this is a really special instrument and overall  it was one of the best guitars I played at Jerry's   Lefty guitars over the course of this year I had  a chance to test and review a number of different   Gibson SG’s but there was one that really stood  out the Gibson SG modern in trans black not only   did this look completely different to the rest  of the Gibson lineup it was loaded with a great   sounding set of burst bucker pickups which are  my favorite pickups when it comes to the Gibson   lineup this guitar comes loaded with 24 Frets and  a compound radio so it's very comfortable to play   and very versatile one of the features I usually  avoid on Gibson guitars is a whole split coil or   single coil tones thanks to this Push Pull pot  feature this guitar was one of the first where   I found it can completely usable which is  unlike any of the guitars I've ever owned   with this particular feature so overall they got  this right whether you like the look of the trans   black fade is completely subjective they also  have one in a blueberry fade as well but the   black to my eye looks really cool it's a great  point of difference let us know what you think   of this one in the comment section if you're  looking for something a little bit different   this next guitar might be for you this is the  Yamaha Revstar element rse20 this was the first   time that I ever played a Yamaha Revstar because  they've never made lefties before I also got to   play the model up from this one as well but I  really like the rsc20 there's something about   its Simplicity and overall feel and design that  really appeals to a simple guy like me the first   thing that really stood out when I picked this  guitar up was how great the satin neck felt in   my hand there's no stick or anything like that if  you're not a huge fan of super high gloss necks   The ROC 20 absolutely feels beautiful secondly  the tonal options on this guitar are fantastic   not only do we get a great sounding pair of  humbuckers in have lots of top end they sound   great clean you can also throw as much overdrive  or distortion on them as you like and the guitar   will have no problems with squeal or anything like  that you also get another feature which I think is   the star of the show on the tone control there's a  push pull option this enables the dry switch which   adds a high pass filter so rather than splitting  the coils conventionally it's rolling out some   of the low end so get a buzz free experience but  with kind of like the tones of a mini humbucker or   single coil pickup it's a really great feature and  I haven't seen this on too many other instruments   being that this guitar comes with a three-way  toggle switch we can switch between Bridge both   pickups and neck it's a much more simple system  than you'll find on the standard model which   has a five-way toggle switch now it's up to you  which one you like the best both are beautiful   guitars but I love the feel of this guitar the  Simplicity and the tones I don't think there's   much of a compromise between getting the rc20  and the standard this year was the first time I   ever got to play a baritone electric guitar this  being the Harley Benton MR classic baritone SB   now we all know Harley Benton guitars some people  love them some people don't it's up to you but if   you're looking for an affordable baritone guitar  that has a great sounding set of P90 style pickups   in it this would be an absolute no-brainer and  it really makes you play differently it made me   play more chord-based stuff than I've ever played  before and that's where I think it really shines   if you're a songwriter looking to get a different  sound this is where the baritone guitars make a   lot of sense this guitar completely surprised me  and it also motivated me to play it and I also got   to play the Mr classic which was the standard six  string electric guitar with a very similar design   and that was a great sounding guitar you could  put either one of these two on the list but I   want to add something a little bit different  and this baritone guitar definitely ticks the   Box this is a really great sounding electric and  if you haven't played a baritone before give one   a shot if you're unfamiliar with the channel  I have a series called guitar search Saturdays   where I go to guitar shops wherever I travel one  of the guitars I saw in Hawaii when I first went   there earlier in the year was Tagima or (TA-GI-MA)  however you want to say it that's up to you tajuma   guitars are kind of made in two separate areas so  you've got your more expensive brazilian-made ones   because the owner even though it's a Japanese  name he lives and makes the guitars in Brazil   there's also the ones that are made in Asia and  they're far more affordable those are the ones   that I'll be talking about in this video now  there weren't any lefties at that particular   time but I picked them up and I had a look and  I went man these feel and look amazing they look   every bit as good as SX guitars and maybe more of  the standard classic Vibe Series without talking   about those anniversary models so it's somewhere  around there but they're more affordable as they   should be because the name recognition just  isn't a household name later in the year I   was in Melbourne Florida not Melbourne Australia  but Melbourne Florida and I went to a store called   Wickham Road music where they had lefties they had  a lot of Lefty guitars in that shop and I finally   got to play some Tagima electrics now while the  amplifier I was playing through was essentially a   practice amplifier could tell instantly just how  much of a quality instrument it was considering   its price these are well worth a look if you're  looking for something different from your   Squires or SX guitars give to Gmail or Tagima  guitars a look they're well worth it they make   strats tele’s and just about every other style of  electric guitar that's common in the marketplace   but they're less expensive so check them out as  an affordable option for someone getting started   these would be high on my list this year I finally  got to play a Michael Kelly guitar this was the   patriot decree op which stands for open pore the  black finish on this guitar looked absolutely   stunning not only that it's a string through  body so for an LP style electric guitar you   don't often see this I think it's a great point of  difference visually this guitar looks stunning but   better than that it also plays extremely well  this is one of the best playing guitars of the   year without any question the pickups loaded in  this guitar are called The Path plus pickups and   they'll handle anything from really great chirpy  clean tones all the way through to as much gain as   you want to throw on it the body's also chambered  as well so it's a little bit lighter than your   conventional Gibson Les Paul I love the fact this  guitar can be either used as a traditional LP   Style with a three-way toggle switch and you'll  be ready to rock out with the humbucker tones   or you get up to eight options if you start using  the push pull configuration visually this guitar   is beautiful in the hand it felt great and it  also sounded amazing these are well worth the   look if you're looking for something different  I know I'm a little bit late to the party with   the Michael Kelly guitars but this holds its own  with guitars that are thousands of dollars more   expensive so definitely give them a look this year  was the first time I got to play a guitar made in   England and it was a great experience this is  the Maybury guitar Fish Hook tee or fish hook   tally style electric on the surface this might  appear just to be another tally style electric   guitar but this is handmade in England feel is one  of those things it's a little bit hard to convey   when you're doing a sit-down Talk video like this  but it really does feel premium in the hand if   you've ever played a custom shop style electric  guitar that's kind of how this feels everything   from the top to the fretboard inlay markers  everything's just a little bit different I love   the headstock design on this and how it's kind of  burnt in with the logo there's lots of really cool   things including locking tuners on this guitar  as well so it came in a great gig bag the pickup   sound fantastic because he actually uses Fender  made in Japan 1980s style pickups which are unreal   well not style they're authentic made in Japan  Fender pickups so it has the classic Fender tone   and those are pretty highly sought after on  the used Market if you're in the market for   something handmade that's very different and also  very visually striking check out Maybury guitars   this next guitar has to be one of my favorites  of all time this is the Teye Apache what makes   this really unique is we get a voice control so  it's loaded with two humbucker pickups but you   can make it sound like anything from a strat to  a Telecaster all the way to an acoustic guitar   just by using a very simple voicing control it  really does cover so much ground sonically and   it really puts it into a league of its own now  visually this is very different and as are the   rest of the guitars in their range but the cool  thing about this instrument is it's a straight up   dual humbucker electric guitar I think it looks  and sounds amazing I got some of the best tones   I got at Jerry session with this tire Apache if  you're looking at this guitar thinking hey is   this a zemaitis guitar it's not they actually  did get the nod from zemaitis on their design   these guitars are handmade in Nashville and the  United States and they sound unbelievable visually   this won't be for everybody but I think it looks  beautiful but better than that it felt amazing to   play it sounded great in the hand a little bit  on the heavy side again being it's a typical   mahogany Body Electric Guitar but by far the most  versatile guitar I've ever played when it comes to   its tonality this next guitar is one I've always  wanted as a lefty and it was a Jerry's Lefty   guitars he has them custom made for his shop and  this is one I'll probably end up buying it's the   Suhr Legacy now if you've ever seen on the Night  by Dire Straits it's basically that style guitar   it's that sir pencil style electric loaded with  EMG's these EMG pickups sound unbelievable I have   no idea why some people give them a hard time this  was one of the best sounding electric guitars that   I've ever played not only on the neck and middle  positions and those combinations but the bridge   humbucker size pickup also so sounded phenomenal  so this is on my radar as a guitar to get I think   moving into next year I'm gonna have to get rid  of some stuff get some extra cash and maybe make   a deposit on one man it sounds unbelievable let  us know what you think another really beautiful   guitar that we had a chance to test on the channel  Ben actually showcased it here in the studio it   was the Reverend jet stream 390 electric guitar  this is loaded with three P90 pickups which is   a really unusual combination Reverend Guitars  are extremely consistent instruments the quality   control is awesome and you can get some really  unique sounds and tones out of it thanks to one   of the Contour controls which is this passive  design pot to give you more or less low end in   your sound so you can essentially roll it out and  get a thinner more sort of stratty style tone we   can roll it up and get a much fatter P90 tone this  Contour pot is found basically in every Reverend   guitar that I've ever seen I don't know if it is  in all of them but it's in a lot of them and it's   one of the most flexible tone shaping tools you  can get on an electric guitar this Reverend jet   stream 390 is definitely worth a look and again  I'll link that down in the description below the   last guitar I'm going to put into this list even  though I could fill it up with 20 great guitars is   the LSL bad bone LSL guitars are handmade in Los  Angeles California and this particular instrument   had a Rosewood neck so it was a little bit heavier  than some of the other models in the series but   it's absolutely beautiful this is easily as  good or better than high-end Fender Custom   Shop guitars at a more affordable price now these  aren't cheap but they're nowhere near as crazy as   Fender Custom Shop prices additionally LSL make  their own pickup so whether you're looking for   a humbucker guitar or one with single coils  there's plenty of different options and they   sound absolutely beautiful playability wise this  guitar wiped the floor with most of my telecasters   I hate to admit it but it was really nice tone  wise it's just different and Visually it might   not be for everybody but I love the metallic  finish on this I think they did a really great   job when it came to the overall presentation  presentation aside this guitar plays so great   right and if you're looking for something a  little bit less mainstream give LSL a look one of the new categories I'm throwing in this  year being that I got a chance to really visit   some amazing guitar shops is the best guitar  shops now they're all great in their own unique   way but there was a few that definitely stood out  earlier this year we went to Hawaii and one of   the great shops there is called Dan's guitars  I've heard about this place for years but I'd   never been to Hawaii and getting a chance to  go in there and check out their gear this is   really something special not only do they have a  great range of new guitars and it's packed full   of gear considering the size of the shop there's  also a great selection of used equipment this is   one of the things I love about the US this is what  really makes it special but on top of all of that   great stuff there's always a great selection of  vintage gear Dan's guitars as well this shop is   just crammed full of some of the best and most  unique guitars you can see on the island so if   you do go to Honolulu at any particular point  in time check out Dan's guitars it's definitely   worth a visit up next is Good Guys Music and Sound  now while the footprint of this shop is relatively   small they pack so much great stuff into this  store they sell both used and new gear so much   like Dan's guitars you walk into Good Guys Music  and Sound and you don't know what you're going to   find and this is one of the beauties of the shop  I saw almost Mint Condition Fender supersonic   60 amplifiers they had an original Fender super  Reverb Fender Twin amplifiers Peavey amplifiers   there was so much great stuff just at the front  of the shop I couldn't go through it all but I   tried my best to Showcase things that weren't as  common as what you might find in other stores and   this is one of the best things about Good Guys  Music and Sound whether you're looking for an   acoustic guitar ukulele there's plenty to choose  from in the shop Brian and Ron are both awesome   guys so if you're in that City go check it out  it's a fantastic little store and again every   time you go into a store like this you'll find  something different it's pretty wild one of the   best stores here in Australia is located in  Perth in Western Australia or just outside of   Perth it's called concept music concept music  has a massive selection of Fender Gibson PRS   and Gretch guitars amongst many others the amp  room is awesome and just the overall aesthetic   design of the shop is really unique there's also  a lot of guitars hanging around the top edge of   the shop sort of around the rafters on display  and these are really unique pieces as well the   acoustic selection at concept music is definitely  one of the largest and their acoustic room is   really something special again if you're in the  city of Perth in Western Australia go check out   concept music it's really worth checking out this  next guitar shops one I always visit anytime I'm   in Florida it's actually located in Holly Hill  just outside of Daytona Beach it's called the   guitar attic now Randy is the store owner he's  an absolute dude great guitar player and he has   one of the best guitar destinations in the state  in my opinion it's unreal it's a small store in   terms of its footprint but it always has so  much great stuff I actually purchased some   guitars from there in the past what makes the  guitar attic really unique is it's all used and   vintage gear which makes a visit well worth  it if you're used to a Guitar Center you'll   find completely different gear when it comes to  Randy's guitar attic so definitely check it out   if you're in the city of Holly Hill or somewhere  near Daytona it's definitely worth a visit I go   to the shop every time I'm in town it's great so  check it out this last shop is called Walt Grace   vintage this is maybe one of the most American  things I've ever seen it's so over the top in   all of the awesome ways and the story behind  this shop is just as impressive as the store   itself it's not necessarily a shop it's more of  a gallery if you like vintage cars and vintage   guitars you're going to get a kick out of this  particular episode there were so many great cars   and so many great guitars that I didn't feature  any of myself talking in the video necessarily   about instruments I got some overviews of the  cars from a professional and I got to chat to   bill the owner about how we started the shop and  that story is really something special anyone who   watched that episode watched way more than half  and I'm surprised it never got pushed on YouTube   which is really disappointing put a lot of work  into that video around and helped me with the   camera work and it came up awesome so if you want  to watch some something different give it a watch   while Grace vintage is really something special  and I haven't seen another place like it enjoy all right let's get into it I'm sure most people  skip to this section if you skip to it without   watching the rest of the video go back and watch  the rest right after this everyone seems to do   that I don't know why but anyway let's get into  the worst of 2022. now this is just my opinion if   something you own is in this list and it does the  job for you that's completely fine this is just my   experience with any particular piece of gear so  don't take it to heart it's just my opinion you   know what they say about opinions everyone's got  one that's the clean way of saying it the first   item I'm throwing under the bus as the worst  product of 2022 has to be the Kustom Defender   single 12 inch cab now in theory this should have  been awesome it's lightweight it's small I thought   man this is going to be the cabinet that everyone  will want to buy sadly there's a few things about   it that I don't love now there's some redeeming  factors one it's small and light as I mentioned   but the speaker they put in there is terrible one  of the reasons this speaker is so bad is that it   has a lot of speaker Distortion so not only are  you getting the gain from the amplifier but the   the speaker itself is fizzing out I noticed a  massive difference plugging what I consider to   be one of the best amps of the year that Kustom  Defender 5 watt amp head into a much better   speaker and I got completely different results  so this cabinet could have been awesome but it's   let down by the lackluster speaker Additionally  you can't just replace the speaker with another   one the way the holes in the speaker actually  routed out you can't just put another speaker   in I tried and it didn't work I could only attach  two screws so you need to start drilling holes if   Kustom re-released this cabinet with something  even as bog standard as the celestion 7080 this   is going to be one of the best speaker cabinets on  the market it's not even going to be close we're   getting an open back cab it's got lots of spread  the sad news is though you can't just replace the   speaker nice and simply like you could with  any other plethora of speakers this speaker   is uniquely designed not to be easily taken out  and modded with another one so you're gonna have   to drill some holes it's a bit of a shame but it  is what it is you can align two holes and that's   it the rest you'll have to drill now if you love  a really gnarly tweet tone without a lot of low   end and a lot of top end then you'll get a kick  out of this particular speaker cabinet and it's   fine for people just getting started but when you  compare the tone of this speaker versus any other   speaker and cabinet you're going to notice a  massive difference so just keep that in mind   number two on the worst of 2022 came down to poor  reliability now when I purchased this amplifier I   was hoping it would be something I would keep  long term and I know a lot of people who own   this amplifier who have had no problems with them  and this is the supersonic 22. for those who tuned   into my live streams I kind of went over why I  ended up returning this amplifier but the biggest   reason was it was just too unreliable and it was  a lot of weird quirks with it that were making it   unusable at least for here in the studio I took  it out and played it live and it just started   whistling one night and we thought it was the PA  system it ended up being the amplifier and it also   had a lot of other issues by just plugging in the  provided foot switch which is a great four button   foot switch I plug it in the white noise of the  amplifier would go up it wasn't turning anything   on or off was doing some really odd things by  the looks of it the tubes were causing most of   the problems but interestingly enough this was  the second one of these amplifiers so I played   one in the shop it had a lot of crackles it was  making AM radio sounds intermittently I asked   for a new one that was boxed I ended up taking  that home had exactly the same problems day two   of using it in a studio situation recording with  the band I realized man this is doing some really   crazy stuff we had two or three of us on the floor  tapping the valves replacing them with other ones   that worked in other amplifiers and at the end  of the day we couldn't fix this issue so I took   it back and dodged a bullet unfortunately for  whatever reason I'm having really bad luck with   Fender amplifiers or extremely great luck so my  Fender Blues Deluxe is 10 years old and it's going   strong the one before that I had for many years  with no problems I've had so many Blues Juniors   and other amplifiers from Fender that have caused  me a lot of headache and the fender supersonic 22   at least the one that I had goes into the worst of  the year just based on its reliability and after   testing it up against other amplifiers it did  exactly the same same thing so I don't know if   it was a bad batch but I definitely have to put  this in the worst of 2022. up next is something   that's kind of great but let down by a really  lackluster neck pickup and this was something   that Ben had a chance to test here on the channel  so Ben thank you again for all your help I know   we haven't done anything since but man I really  do appreciate your time this is the Squire 40th   anniversary Telecaster now on the surface this  is a really beautiful guitar it's built great it   feels nice in the hand it's let down by one of the  least inspiring neck pickup tones I've ever heard   on a Telecaster interestingly enough the bridge  pickup sounds great that neck pickup is far too   woolly sounding and just too rolled off in the  high end overall this guitar is beautiful and it   won't take you much just to change that pickup  out but I wanted to throw this in here because   we both felt like it was the most underwhelming  Telecaster neck pickup we've both heard and he   said exactly the same thing we're both hearing  a very lackluster neck pickup and again visually   these are stunning the anodized gold pickguard  looks great the gold plate on the back there's   a lot to love about this but man how can you  make such a beautiful guitar and put a really   substandard neck pickup in it just boggles the  mind let's talk about the best pedals of the year   without question one of the ones I always look  forward to testing out is the latest version of   the pedal pal FX pal 800 this is a marshall in a  box that also now has the slash mod and it sounds   unbelievable actually gave this pedal to Dr Rick  and it's been a Mainstay on his pedalboard ever   since so it's a fantastic sounding Marshall in  a box if you've got a great clean channel amp   and you want to make it sound like a marshall the  pedalpal effects is as good as it gets over to my   favorite delay pedal of 2022 it's from a company  called Jacques in France I think that's how you   pronounce it it's called The Prisoner this is  an analog BBD style delay pedal that also has   modulation so it sort of turns it into a little  bit of a tape delay in many ways just by bringing   in that chorus effect now the modulation could  be turned off completely and you get a beautiful   sounding analog delay that's how I prefer to use  it I use this on my pedalboard from time to time   and I took it overseas with me and shot all the  videos and Jerry's left of guitars with this delay   pedal and it performed beautifully and it's also  very light but extremely well made you're in the   market for an analog delay I'll link this one down  below up next is by far the best orange amplifier   in a box that I've ever played it's from a company  called Tubesteader who make a great range of amp   in a box style pedals without the cab simulation  so you can just go ahead and run it straight into   a clean channel on an amplifier and it's going  to transform your amp this is a two channel pedal   so we get a clean Channel and a dedicated Drive  Channel and an EQ stack that relates to the clean   and dirty channel so it is very much like a two  channel amp in a box Ollie from Tubesteader is an   absolute wizard at making amp in a box pedals  like this he makes one based on a dumbbell a   fender amplifier and many others and I’ll link his  website down below he makes amazing stuff check   him out if you're on a budget this next brand of  pedal is the way to go or if you're just getting   into effects if you buy one of these you're going  to have really great tone at a more affordable   price the these are pedals from the brand Caline  or (Kay-Line) but I've always called it Caline so   I'm sticking to it I've tested all three ranges  of their current lineup of pedals and they're   all extremely good whether we're talking about  the G Series which I've most recently tested on   the channel and a few of those videos will come  up even after this video they're all exceptional   quality considering the price they come in at  about 49 US Dollars which is insane considering   just how well they're built prior to that I tested  the DCP series which are the Dual pedals and those   are unbelievable if you just want a one and done  pedal there's so many from that collection that   are great I'm not going to put one specific one  in just go check out my videos again those will   be down in that playlist down in the description  these pedals are unbelievable value they sound   great and some of my Pro friends who play live  all the time and gig two or three times a week   sometimes use them on their board that's how good  they are I wouldn't hesitate recommending these   dual pedals for someone on a budget who still  wants quality tone and a quality product they're   unreal Caline are doing really great stuff and  then Graphics have gotten so much better I know   that's the least important thing but they look  like a pro pedal and wrap this section up there's   two other pedals that really stood out in my mind  when it comes to tone and quality the first is the   Blackbird deluxe from vs audio this is essentially  a Fender amp in a box with two different voicing   so you can either get like a Princeton or Deluxe  Reverb sound then you turn it down you get the old   Brown face sound which a lot of people tend to  like if you like those Tweed amps on the other   side of the pedal there's a classic sounding  vibrato so this is a true two in one it also   has a dual gain feature so you can double up the  gain just by holding down one of the foot switches   this is something a lot of review videos seem to  miss but it's one of those things that's easily   missed if you don't know it's there but it's a  great sounding Fender amp in a box again with   that beautiful vibrato the last pedal I'm putting  on this list for this year is the unobtanium pedal   from crazy tube circuits much like the vs audio  pedal this is made in Greece and the Greeks are   making the best Boutique pedals in the world  it's not even close this pedal has two different   dumbbell voicings on the left hand side you get  a clean Channel and then you get the overdrive   special style sound and then on the right hand  side of the pedal you get a clone boost pedal   you can use them independently all together and  you can also get an optional external foot switch   to change between the left hand side channels  as well this is really cool and it's one of the   best pedals of the Year and that wraps up the best  and worst of 2022 if you can please leave a thumbs   up I appreciate it let us know in the comments  section what the best or worst piece of gear is in   your opinion of this year or something you got to  test or try and let us know if you skipped ahead   to the worst section first I always appreciate  seeing that in the comments but go back watch the   rest it's time stamped I appreciate it all links  to the Gear will be in the description below as   well as the playlists mentioned in this video  thanks again catch you soon see you next year

Channel: intheblues

Views: 249,509

Keywords: intheblues

Id: EePVMShfzkc

Length: 38min 25sec (2305 seconds)

Published: Fri Dec 16 2022