BOSS and EVH Collaboration - SDE-3000EVH

[Nitro Express]

I'm sure there's a certain portion of the market that buys certain brands hoping to sound "like" the artist endorser... that's fine and typical in the gear market.

But then there's others who are chasing their own sound and see the capabilities something like this pedal/effect can do for their rig and signal chain. The reference to EVH's live sound rig give you a real world application of it's use and capabilities. There's a lot of guitar players that love Eddie's work but have no interest and certainly don't have his playing ability... so they don't try to emulate Ed's compositions. I'm that way... but the gear aspects are interesting.

The 5150 amps are liked by country players because the clean channel is on the twangy side. Ed never used the clean channel. He was on the red channel most the time but the channel Ed never used sells the amp to some customers.

[Nitro Express]

Fuck there is so much gear anymore it’s nuts.

[Terry]

The Ratt is still one of my favorite pedals. I have a Ratt, a OCD and a Plush Cream in my gig bag. I can get my sound with any amp using those.

I love my Pro-Co Rat distortion pedal.

My others (MXR Phase 90, MXR Distortion +, Boss Phase Shifter, Boss Digital Delay) are basically mothballed.

Olden-time stomp boxes.

The one other stomp box I used to love as much as I love my Rat was my DOD PDS 1000 Digital Delay. Lost track of it in the mid-1990s when I was moving around a lot. Am thinking of tracking down a used one online...I loved that fucking pedal. The BOSS one I got to replace it is good, but not the same.

[Terry]

I'm sure there's a certain portion of the market that buys certain brands hoping to sound "like" the artist endorser... that's fine and typical in the gear market.

But then there's others who are chasing their own sound and see the capabilities something like this pedal/effect can do for their rig and signal chain. The reference to EVH's live sound rig give you a real world application of it's use and capabilities. There's a lot of guitar players that love Eddie's work but have no interest and certainly don't have his playing ability... so they don't try to emulate Ed's compositions. I'm that way... but the gear aspects are interesting.

When I first started playing, it was just before signature models and gear started hitting the market. You'd have players endorsing a line of guitars or amps or gear but it was along the lines of so and so uses these strings or Fenders or Marshall amps. This was, like, 1981 or so.

The first one I sort of remember being tied to a particular player was the Charvel Jackson take on the Flying-V which Randy Rhoads used, in that I think after Rhoads' passing it was named...was it the Rhoads V...something like that.

Like, obviously one could call Fenders or Gibson Les Pauls or Marshalls or Floyd Roses signature gear referencing the names of the manufacturers, but it wasn't until the mid to late 1980s that I remember, say, Fender putting out an Eric Clapton model.

[ZahZoo]

When I first ventured in to electrics in 1970 there wasn't anything artist endorsed or signature models. I bought a used Univox hollow-body that was an ES-335 copy for $40 with my paper route earnings and traded a sting-ray bike for a beat-up Sears Silvertone amp. At 13, I was the envy of my buddies... and a nuisance to my neighbors! LOL

Wasn't much in the way of pedals affordable or widely available then. Sadly back then you could pick up used Strats and Les Pauls for a couple hundred bucks or less. They were just viewed as old crap rather than vintage gold mines. Still have a 2-12 speaker from a 1964 blonde Fender Bassman rig I bought at a yard sales for $60 when I was 16... my buddy up in Alaska still has the amp and won't sell it back to me... I've been hounding him for 40 years now and he won't budge!

[Nitro Express]

I would say artist branding started with KISS. With recorded music losing its value artists have to have a few side gigs going. Merchandising is more important than ever.

[Nitro Express]

My first real good guitar was a 72 Les Paul Custom. The music store had a whole rack of used Les Paul’s and they were cheap because nobody wanted them. I picked up a silver faced Fender Champ and then got an overdrive pedal. Actually it was a good setup. That Les Paul was a boat anchor. The Champ would be worth $800 today. The Les Paul would probably fetch around $3,000. Not a bad hobby when what you buy goes up in value. Wish my skiing equipment did that.

[Nitro Express]

When I first started playing, it was just before signature models and gear started hitting the market. You'd have players endorsing a line of guitars or amps or gear but it was along the lines of so and so uses these strings or Fenders or Marshall amps. This was, like, 1981 or so.

The first one I sort of remember being tied to a particular player was the Charvel Jackson take on the Flying-V which Randy Rhoads used, in that I think after Rhoads' passing it was named...was it the Rhoads V...something like that.

Like, obviously one could call Fenders or Gibson Les Pauls or Marshalls or Floyd Roses signature gear referencing the names of the manufacturers, but it wasn't until the mid to late 1980s that I remember, say, Fender putting out an Eric Clapton model.

Fender was about to go under and some investors bought it and put a focus on the brand’s nostalgia. The Custom Shop was started and you started to see signature models.

Signature stuff sells well and you can charge a premium.

[Nitro Express]

I have an early Yngwie Malmsteen signature Strat and it’s a collector’s item now. I could sell it for more than what a new one would cost. I did buy a new one. Better pickups. The old one sits in the wine cellar.

[Romeo Delight]

i used those pickups to upgrade a Kramer Focus 3000. Awesome pups!

[Mushroom]

I have an early Yngwie Malmsteen signature Strat and it’s a collector’s item now. I could sell it for more than what a new one would cost. I did buy a new one. Better pickups. The old one sits in the wine cellar.

What was different about Yngwie issue? Scalloped fretboard? Pickups?

Nowadays, it seems any artist signature equipment is way overpriced with a huge mark-up just because it has the artist's name, and it's barely (rarely?) better than the regular issues.

[Nitro Express]

What was different about Yngwie issue? Scalloped fretboard? Pickups?

Nowadays, it seems any artist signature equipment is way overpriced with a huge mark-up just because it has the artist's name, and it's barely (rarely?) better than the regular issues.

Brass nut, special stacked pickups, scalloped neck, nitrocellulose lacquer finish. It’s a Fender Custom Shop guitar. It’s US made so that right there adds to the price and the fit and finish is immaculate. It’s a higher grade guitar than a player Strat made in Mexico. Now I have a few Mexican Strats and they are pretty good but not in the same craftsmanship and fine tuned setup as the Yngwie model. If you play and compare them it’s apples to oranges.

[Mushroom]

Brass nut, special stacked pickups, scalloped neck, nitrocellulose lacquer finish. It’s a Fender Custom Shop guitar. It’s US made so that right there adds to the price and the fit and finish is immaculate. It’s a higher grade guitar than a player Strat made in Mexico. Now I have a few Mexican Strats and they are pretty good but not in the same craftsmanship and fine tuned setup as the Yngwie model. If you play and compare them it’s apples to oranges.

From the 80's or 90's? When did they start making signature models?

[Nitro Express]

From the 80's or 90's? When did they start making signature models?

Fender was about to go tits up in the 80’s. They had become a dated brand like Gibson. What can bring a brand or style back is a popular player. Slash made Les Pauls cool again and Stevie Ray Vaughan being popular motivated Fender to make a signature model. It puts your brand back in style. If someone wants the high end guitar you offer a cheaper alternative. But the motivation of the cheaper purchase is the high end.

It’s all marketing strategy. I own several Gibson’s. Are they better playing than cheaper guitars. Not really. I have a Charvel San Dimas I picked up for $500 on sale years ago and it plays and sounds great. I will never lose money on my Gibson’s. I have two acoustics that have increased in value. Pretty well.

So if you enjoy nostalgia, can afford it, you can get a Gibson, play around with it and get your money back out of it and maybe come out ahead. You can play that game but there is a higher cost of entry.

[Nitro Express]

PRS makes great guitars but they don’t hold their value. They don’t have the nostalgic mojo. They don’t have the history. You are going to lose money on a PRS.