Connect with AJ
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Doug: Hey, what’s going on? Welcome to “The Doug Show.” I’m Doug Cunnington, and I’m pumped. I’m interviewing another YouTuber out there, AJ Devera. How are you doing
AJ: Good, man. Thanks for having me
Doug: Yes, we have a pretty fun soundcheck that we’ll play at the end where we geek out on guitars and stuff like that. I know not everyone is here to listen to us talk about guitars, so I, I did put that at the end. But today we’re gonna dig into just being a YouTuber and the struggles, the, you know, the pros and the cons, and just get into the details. And this is kind of part of a series where I’m talking to people, uh, YouTubers that I watch, where I’m like, “Oh, you know what? Sure would be cool to talk to those folks.”
And luckily, I have a platform where I can, like, send an email and just be like, “Hey, let’s do an interview,” and just, like, geek out, talk about stuff that you probably don’t normally talk about. So AJ, welcome to the show. Um, can you give a little bit of an intro about who you are, what you do on YouTube, and that sort of thing, and then we’ll get into, uh, all the details about YouTube?
AJ: Yeah.
AJ’s Music Roots
AJ: So my name’s AJ, and I’ve had my channel– When I look at my analytics, it says I started the channel in 2020, but I didn’t upload my first long-form video until 2023. So I, I feel like I started in 2023. Uh, and before that, I, I actually like was, uh, in my 20s until my 30s, I was– I call myself like a pro musician, but I was a touring recording musician, and yeah, I was just kinda grinding it out, playing guitar in multiple bands.
Um, and then, and, and then I quit that, and in my 30s, you know, I started having kids and had a career, and so it kind of… The music took a backside, but I still play guitar. And I think over COVID, I, I was like, “You know what, man? I, I feel like I have so much experience with that life, and I still am very passionate about it.”
And so I’m like, “You know what? I’m gonna start making videos about it.” And so that’s what I do. I make videos about guitar gear. Not necessarily review videos, but I just basically am showing people, like my audience, that you know what? You can still be passionate about guitar even if you have a whole bunch of stuff happening in your life.
So that’s what my channel’s all about, man.
Doug: Very cool. And let’s, let’s go back to, um, some of the, the touring days. So you, um, were in bands, like pro- probably since you started playing guitar or something like that. So yeah, go back to kind of the early days and take us through a couple of the, you know, stories of the timeline
AJ: Yeah, so I started playing guitar, I think I mentioned it earlier when we were talking off, off camera, uh, but I started playing guitar Christmas of ’96. And, uh, I learned three chords, uh, which are cowboy chords, uh, which are like the most basic chords for those who don’t know. And, and then when I learned barre chords, again, this is like deep baseball for non-guitar players, but I learned a barre chord, which basically opens up the entire fretboard.
And why– And then I started playing g- uh, in bands right after that, like in ’96, like, or sorry, it’d be ’97, uh, ’cause I got it Christmas of ’96. So s- shortly after learning guitar, those three chords, four chords, I started playing in bands, like in high school. Um, and I did that from high school and all the way into my 20s.
Vancouver Scene and Nickelback
AJ: I grew up in a small town, uh, Prince Rupert. Shout out Prince Rupert. Uh, and then after high school, I moved to Vancouver, which is where I live now. And yeah, that’s kind of where I cut my teeth in, in Vancouver. Um, yeah, played in bands. There was a really cool scene in the 2000s here. Um, around that time, it was kind of a revolving door of different bands.
There was a lot of venues at the time, and what was cool is, uh, we had a, a, a, a radio station, 99.3 The Fox, shout out those guys, and they had a radio contest every year. It was called The Seeds. They don’t have it anymore, but The Seeds was like this launching platform for bands in our city, and one of the most successful bands out of that, the winner of that contest was Nickelback.
And this is 2001, I believe. So they won it, and again, I was just part of like this small community, and to see those guys win this contest and become like huge, huge touring act based on that, it just made me realize like, “You know what? If those guys can do it, like I, I think I could do this.” So yeah, so those kind of the early days was just kind of slugging away, uh, in the Vancouver scene.
Doug: Interesting. Well, and I was gonna say, like, Nickelback is so big that they’re, like, a butt of jokes now, right? Like, the thing is, like, the songs come on the radio and you’re like, “Ah, that’s not, that’s not that bad.” Do you have any– I don’t have a clean question here, but, like, do you have any thoughts on that?
Like, it sounds like you were coming up with those guys and playing at the same venues and stuff like that, and you probably knew them. So yeah, do you have any thoughts on, like, the whatever, the commercialization? I think that’s what happened. It got so big and people were like, “I don’t…” But anyway,
AJ: Yeah. Yeah, so they, they came up like a generation before me, I would say, ’cause they were coming up like in, in like the mid to late ’90s, and then they didn’t break until ’01 when we- they won that. So they’d been slugging away at it too. So I kinda came up right when they were getting big, and I think… I love them.
I love them, and I’m not embarrassed to say that. I think they’re a great band. I’ve seen them live several times. They became the butt of jokes is because they exploded so quickly it seems, like even though they’ve been together for like a long time and they slugged away. Go- There’s actually a documentary on, I can’t r- remember if it’s on Netflix or Prime or whatever, but there was a, a, a documentary on them in the last couple years, and it’s a really good watch.
But they, they basically struggled for, you know, five, six years before they made it big, and so it seemed like they were an overnight success. And I guess the problem was, or not the problem, but Chad Kroeger, the lead singer, was also producing different bands, and those bands became successful. And so he had his finger on like all these little things in, in, in, in the early 2000s, and they were just kinda everywhere, and he just became the butt of jokes.
But, and like, yeah, in our circle, like in the 2000s, um, in the MySpace era, they were kind of like the band like, you know, everybody was so artsy and, you know, you probably see this too, but you know, they, they’re like sellout band. But deep down like, and then I was playing in bands like that as well, ’cause I was playing in like radio rock bands and like pop punk bands, and we didn’t wanna be like a sellout band.
But at the end of the day, like I feel like Nickelback was doing the thing, and we all wanted to do the thing. So if it came down to like getting a record deal and selling out, dude, all of us would’ve taken that life in a second. So my thoughts on Nickelback is, dude, like they’re very successful for a reason and very good band, so you can’t really hate on that, man, so.
Doug: Yeah. Interesting. I w- I didn’t think we’d talk about Nickelback, but here we are. This is funny. It, um… And, and I don’t have any major issues, but it, I think about, um, like the brewing industry. I don’t know if you’re a beer drinker or anything like that, but like I got into home brewing and stuff, and, you know, a, a brewery would, would do well and grow.
And then if they did really well, some bigger company would buy them. There’s a ton of consolidation. But yeah, they would sell out, and it’s like, yeah, they, they did it. Like they grew, and they produced something so good that someone else wanted to buy it, and that’s a great thing, and they sold out. But I mean, yeah, any- anyone would do it, especially when they’re a dump truck of money up
AJ: D-
Doug: to buy the brewery or
AJ: dude, that’s a great analogy, man. Like, uh, I have friends, um, actually I have a really good friend who we played in a band together. He’s, uh, he has a whiskey distillery locally. It’s called Mainland Whiskey, and we do like a whole bunch of music together. But him and I played in a band, but, you know, uh, he’s kind of struggling, not struggling, but he’s s- slugging away at it.
Like, it’s, it’s a crazy thing, just like any microbrewery. But if, if, uh, I don’t know the big brands or the big parent companies, but if they approached him for like a buyout, like in a second, he– I think he would, he would take it, man. Like, that’s a great exit strategy, right? So
Doug: Yeah. Yeah, that’s the dream. It’s like, it’s fun to grow stuff and build it, but then at some point, like someone else could take it over and you get, you can get paid and do something else. So, um, before we go too far, uh, on things that aren’t even related to, to YouTube at all, um, did you go to music school or anything?
Or all just, uh, self-taught and maybe a couple lessons or something?
AJ: Yeah, I was in band in, in grade six, sixth grade for you American, my American friends. Uh, so yeah, sixth grade I played, uh, saxophone in band. That’s the only music, uh, um, theory I learned. Uh, other than that, I was self-taught and like, you know, like in, in, in the mid-’90s we were buying Guitar World magazines, so that’s how I learned how to play was buying Guitar World magazine.
And then we had dial-up internet around this time too, and so I was downloading tabs. Do you remember like tabs used to like take forever to download and you’d print them out and you’d have like a binder of them? That’s what we did
Doug: Yep. Yep. 100%. Yeah, I had a three-ring binder and, um, yeah, it was a whole, whole thing, and it was, you know, it was made up. Uh, it, it wasn’t like graphics. It was like the, the letter, like the ASCII characters or whatever. but we, yeah, we figured it out, so okay. Moving on.
Starting YouTube and Finding Ideas
Doug: All right, so we, um, we’ve established, uh, you were in bands, musician. You ended up, um, settling down. You’re in Vancouver. COVID hits. A lot of people are inside. have, uh, more, more time to do stuff, and I think, I mean, YouTube and guitar YouTube kind of exploded, like re-exploded so many people were at home, and people were buying guitars. Like, they could explore hobbies that they didn’t get a chance to. So you got started, um, or you started the channel in 2020, but then a couple years later is when you actually started producing. So talk about those, like, early days, the inspiration or were there people that you like to watch and were like, “I kind of wanna do, like, this style”? And we’ll get into, you know, some more details about creating content.
But yeah, the, the early days, what was it like for you?
AJ: So I was always a big fan of YouTube, and it actually goes back to, I think around 2016, 2017, I bought my first smart TV, and it was the very first time I ever watched YouTube on a TV. And before that, you know, I was like most people, I would say I, I watched YouTube as a transactional piece. You know, like if I wanted to fix something, I’d look it up and the how-to videos, and you quickly look up the video and you kinda use YouTube that way.
But having it on my TV was the first time it kinda opened up the platform for me. Like it was an entertainment thing, you know? It was kinda like Netflix and, and you know, um, those kind of streaming platforms. And so I got into watching YouTube early, like a- again, 2016, ’17. And I saw, uh, obviously I would geek out on, uh, guitar v- creators like Morty Schwartz if I wanted to learn a song.
Rhett Shull has like, I think like one of the greatest channels on YouTube, period. Uh, and Rick Beato. Like those three really showed me like what you can do on YouTube. And then I discovered Casey Neistat and Peter McKinnon. And Peter McKinnon, uh, you know, a fellow Canadian, I love what he was doing. And I love what he was doing because he’s a camera guy, but he’s not doing nerdy camera tutorials like, you know, like nothing against that like, like other creators were doing, but I just love his style of storytelling.
And, and so like literally like from that time, ’17, 2017 till like when I first uploaded, I wanted to do YouTube and I felt like I had enough stories, I had enough experience, I just didn’t know how. And so those were like my biggest inspirations was, you know, like the, the guitar guys and then, and then mostly Peter McKinnon and Casey Neistat with their storytelling
Doug: Okay, cool. Yeah, I love those guys too. I, I haven’t watched either of them in a little while. I know Peter kind of tapered down, uh, his publishing schedule, and then the algorithm’s bananas, so he– maybe he’s publishing a bunch of stuff and it’s just not coming up on my feed, and I’m not going to look for it.
But, um, those guys are great, and, uh, you know, I could, I could understand that, like watching your videos, I could see, you know, you’re trying to take the pieces, um, to make it more of a story arc versus like, “Hey, we’re just doing a straight tutorial.” And, and one thing I, I appreciate is like you don’t have the same exact format for every single e-episode or, or sorry, every single video. So sometimes it might build upon, um, a story that’s ongoing for people that watch the channel often, and other times it’s just like, “Hey, this was on my mind.” So, well, where do you get your ideas for the videos?
AJ: That’s a, that’s a, yeah, that’s a kind of multi-faceted question. Um, I, I get inspiration from other channels obviously, and again, like I… It depends on like the video. Like currently there’s, you know, like there’s the, the Fender whole, like going back to guitars, like recently there’s like, um, kind of newsworthy, uh, stories that are kinda popping.
So I,
I’ll make a video on those, uh, depending on what it is. Like for example, like again, like the Fender thing, I, I made a video about that ’cause it seemed like all the creators were… Not, that, and that’s not why I made a video. I actually felt, uh, what I said in my video about the Fender thing was like legit, like how I was feeling, so I felt like it warranted a video.
Um, but yeah, I, I think I just watch other creators making videos and like now these days I’m, I’m watching non-guitar niche to tell you the truth. I’m not getting ideas from other guitar creators because I don’t wanna copy those videos for one, and, uh, I kinda wanted to do, uh, explore other ways of, of telling stories about guitar and guitar gear.
And so I watch other creators and when I see a video that, that I love watching, I’m like, “Oh, cool.” Like I wanna know how I could take that idea and, and bring it into the guitar community.
Doug: Brilliant. Yeah, I love that. I, I think, ’cause other, you know, niches and other people are thinking of things in a completely different way. So I watch a lot of, like, cooking and food-related stuff. And yeah, you could… I mean, not that you would exactly take their title or headline, but it’s like, you know, the five reasons your pizza crust isn’t turning out right, and it’s like the five reasons your pickup swap is not turning out like you expected or whatever. Um, so you could take a great idea somewhere and just like, these people haven’t heard this idea before. Um, yeah, so very good. So do you, um, do you think about how the algorithm is gonna treat it versus, like, your own personal interest versus the audience? How, how do you deal, how do you deal with
AJ: Oh, man. Yeah, this is a painful subject, obviously, probably anybody who’s making any YouTube videos. Um, I– When I make a video… So I did hire a, a YouTube coach, uh, a couple years ago, and, uh, and he was very helpful and, and he loved what I was doing, and he’s not a guitar guy either, and he actually did real estate, um, my YouTube coach.
And one of the things he said was, “If you wanna be the Peter McKinnon of guitar, you have to think about Peter McKinnon s-” Like you’re, you gotta think of, of, of your audience as like– ’cause Peter McKinnon has a massive audience, and you gotta have to think about your videos that way. If you know that the video is not gonna perform, then actually, like don’t make it, you know?
Like that’s a terrible thing to say, but… So in terms of algorithm, uh, now that I’ve made– I, I can’t remember how many long form I have now. I, I counted the other day. It’s like 130 something or, or something. So I have enough data to know which videos my audience is gonna like and which videos YouTube algorithm will show to a lot of people.
And so to answer your question, Dale, I, I still love making videos that are story-driven and sometimes even though I try to make it not about me and I wanna make it about my, my audience, my avatar, I, I still wanna make those videos for me. And so I know it’s kind of fine balance, but there’s some videos that I know aren’t gonna do well and I, I still make them.
But for the most part, I make videos for the audience and I do want the biggest audience possible, so.
Doug: Yeah. It, um, yeah, it’s a tough one, and if, if you ask me on different days, I’ll have different answers, you know. But if– for reference, I didn’t mention this in the intro, but you have about 9,000 subscribers, videos, which I guess some of those are YouTube Shorts probably, right? and then you have 4.7 million views.
Did you know you were up, up
AJ: I have no idea. I think, I think–
Doug: That’s
AJ: Yeah, thank you. Uh, uh, I think, uh, vidIQ tells me that, but I just, you know, it’s one of those emails that I get. Um, I think I, I got a, I got up to a million views, and that was the last time I, like, really, like, kinda sat down and was like, “Oh, crap, that i- that is a lot of people watching my stuff.”
So I haven’t really looked since, but yeah, that’s a, that’s a cool number to hear, actually.
Doug: Yeah. Yeah, and just looking, you have, um, a few videos that have 160,000 views, 142,000. Yeah, so I mean, there’s– That’s a lot of people, bro.
AJ: Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Which is crazy to me too. And like even when I have a video that has like, you know, 200 views, like which I would, would’ve died for like in the beginning, that’s still like 200 people watching your video. Like if, if you think about that many people in a room, like that’s a ton of people.
And I always have to tell myself this when I’m getting a 10 out of 10 video, so
Doug: Yeah, yeah. Well, and so one, one thing, y-you didn’t ask me, but I’ll just mention something on my, on my channel here. So I’ve done YouTube for a little while, and I have a lot of subscribers, although I ran ads to get a lot of subscribers. So I, I mean, I would have had tens of thousands. But back in, back in the day when I was getting a lot of views, I was like, “You know what?
Like, this is interesting and somewhat validating, but I can’t let that, like, I can’t let that be, like, my self-worth.” Not that you’re doing this at all. But, um, but basically, I was just like, “Hey, if the views fall, I don’t want that to bother me either.” So I kinda distanced myself, and I look at the analytics, but I was just like, “You know what?
I’m not gonna have a good day or a bad day based on number of views.” And it served me well ’cause this is mostly a podcast, so there’s a lot more audio folks. But this year, the algorithm has hated me. So I used to publish these episodes. They would get thousands of views on YouTube and then, you know, audio listeners out there. Um, now it’s, like, less than 100 views. But back, you know, I made the decision, I’m not gonna let it impact me. I’m doing– I’m having these conversations with people I wanna talk to, like you, AJ. And, like, if other people wanna watch it, even though the algorithm is not rewarding it, I was like, “Fuck you, algorithm.
I don’t, I don’t need you. I’m not doing it for you. It’s, this is my thing.” But I’m in a, I’m in a different sort of… My goals shifted over time, so. Um, but it is tough ’cause like, yeah, like you said, y-you publish something, you’re like, “This should be really good.” And then it’s not hitting for some reason.
You’re like, “Oh, man.
AJ: What, what do you th- what do you think that change has been like? You said like, yeah, I, I– You’re not the first person I’ve talked to who’s been on YouTube for a while that they had big views and then it kind of like tapered off. Like what, what do you think that is? Like I, I don’t know personally
Doug: Yeah. So a couple, a couple things. So I’m mostly was talking about online business and a specific, you know, affiliate marketing approach. And because the, you know, Google algorithm shifted from a search perspective, uh, that business model changed. And then of course, AI has, like, changed um, people consume information and where they’re going for information. So the whole sort of business model shifted, and I have moved away from it, you know, over the past few years anyway. So I think part of it is, like, literally there’s like a audience mismatch, and I am also publishing long form hour-long interviews, and that’s generally just not gonna perform as well on YouTube, especially like in the genre that I was in. so th- those are probably a couple things. The algorithm was always shifting and stuff, and I wasn’t catering, like I don’t have a super strong hook in the beginning. To me, this is an audio podcast first that I just happen to be publishing on YouTube. So I’m stubborn. I’m
AJ: Yeah. That’s cool though. You know, like, and like I think it’s a healthy– Just going back to the audience and like seeing them in per- like what 200 people would be like or 100 people i-in person would be… I, I think it’s a healthy way to look at it, uh, especially for anybody new making content, man. Like, you know, it’s not always gonna fly and if y- like 100 views is still 100 people, especially YouTube, where we’re different from Instagram or TikTok, where those platforms feed people the videos, whereas with us, we have titles and thumbnails and people are clicking on our videos, right?
Like they’re choosing to watch our videos, which is, you know, like that’s another thing I have to like always tell myself too. Like, it’s like, “Okay, people chose to watch this video.”
Doug: Yeah.
Scripting, Burnout, and Video Formats
Doug: So how do you, um, script out a video? Or do you script it out, or do you have a couple bullet points? Um, yeah, what’s your
AJ: Yeah, so I actually do script all my videos. Um, I, I just, you know, like my first– y- you can go on my channel and watch my first few videos. They’re terrible. Uh, I didn’t– There was no script. There was nothing. So, uh, the first thing I do is, is I come up with the idea and title and thumbnail, packaging. That’s the most important thing on YouTube, in my opinion, especially for what I do.
Um, so packaging and idea is the most important thing. So I ha- I wanna make sure the idea is good, and then I come up with my title and my thumbnail first. Now, this is kinda opposite of what I did back in the early days, where I’d, you know, I was like, “Oh, yeah, I have a cool video idea,” make the video, and then last minute try to scramble to get a title and a thumbnail.
So now I flip. I spend a lot more time on ideation and packaging. That’s a whole day on its own. Like today, after we get off this call, I’m working on a video and, uh, my entire job today is to come up– Well, I have my title, is to basically make my, my, my thumbnail and, and script my intro. Um, my intro is– It, it’s evolved over the last couple years.
This year, man, uh, you know, I, I feel it too, is that we live in a world where people scroll so fast and we, we really have to hook them. And so I– my intros are, are shorter. Like, I want my intros to be 20 seconds is my goal. This is deep baseball YouTube, by the way. My first line, first frame, when you click on that video, of course, you click because my title and my thumbnail hopefully is good.
My first five seconds, I wanna confirm to you that you’re in the right video. So if the– my first frame, my opening line is gonna basically confirm my title and my thumbnail with an– in whatever shape, you know? Uh, which is the hook, which is the hook of the video. And then I Do some other thing, and then I, I give you a promise, and then I get right into it.
So yeah, I’m, I’m in and out of my intro in 20 seconds. Uh, and then for the rest of the video, I call them acts. Um, I, I, I, I basically come up with it. I do use AI to, uh, organize my thoughts. Um, so yeah, I literally on my phone, uh, and I do the, the, the voice thing because I just speak, I just speak to it the way I talk, which is beneficial for, um, actually the scripting.
And, uh, and I, I just script all my thoughts and l- I just want it to organize my thoughts. And I’ve trained it enough where hopefully it knows what, how I want the video to flow and, uh, and, and it speaks or it, it, it writes the bullet points the way I speak. And so yeah, I, I just talk to it exactly like I talk in real life.
So like I swear I swear to it a lot, a lot. And, uh, uh, yeah, you know, I just, that’s kinda like my, my process.
Doug: Okay. and that’s great. It, it definitely– I’m a slow typer myself, and it definitely speeds things up. And then like you said, I mean, it’s much easier for you like read a script that’s in your own kind of, uh, speech patterns and stuff. Like, I mean, when you’re scripting something out, you may… If you, if you were writing it, maybe you would make it like several syllables long or whatever.
But then when you say it, uh, like I stumble over stuff when I’m reading it anyway. So, so anyway, that’s a great way to approach it. Um, I do wanna tie back a couple of the ideas. So we talked a little bit about the, the algorithm and like how you’re prioritizing, like, you know, your desire to make certain v-videos and then scripting things out, and you’re like, “Okay.”
You, you have the process. You have dialed it in. Burnout’s real, and y-you see, you know, even big YouTubers like, uh, you know, you were talking about Peter McKinnon. Like, I think he’s had a couple of videos where it’s just like, “Hey, burnout is like really taking its toll.” So h-how do you deal with that struggle and that battle?
AJ: Yeah, you know what? That’s a real thing. I actually felt a little burnt out, um, man, even a couple months ago. And, uh, I deal with it kind of like the way I deal with stress in my life. Um, to me, taking time away is super important, even though when you’re on a roll and you feel like you always have to produce and you always have to feed the algorithm the videos, you know, to, in order for you not to get punished with no views.
Um, taking, taking time away is still super important. Um, I love fitness. Um, it’s like a big part of my life and, you know, I, I prioritize my health and, uh, yeah, I think taking time away and, and, and not, you know, like, like we talked about earlier, not basing your self-worth, your self-value on this thing, ’cause at the end of the day, dude, we’re just making videos, you know?
We’re just… I always say this, we’re just a bunch of guitar nerds making videos about guitar, man. It’s not even fucking serious. So I have– And again, like this is a constant work for me. It’s not like I, I, I think this all the time because, man, there are days when I’m like, “Fuck, man, like, why isn’t my video doing well?”
So yeah, to answer that question, man, I just prioritize my health. I learn how to take time away from it and then just focus on like the good things in my life, like my kids and my family. Uh, and yeah, and, and then usually I come back refreshed, so
Doug: Yeah. Do you have, um, like a regular publishing schedule every single week or something like that? What i- what is the schedule? Has it shifted over time?
AJ: Yeah, so I publish a video, I haven’t failed in probably two years, uh, Thursday morning, 6:00 AM PST. Um, every– Yeah, I haven’t, yeah, I haven’t missed in t- probably two years. So I got a, I got a video coming this Thursday. And then there’s been times where I, I do more, you know? I’ll, I’ll do like a, a Sun- I love, I– there’s some creators I love.
Um, I wake up Sunday morning and I turn on my YouTube and there’s some creators I love and they always have a video on Sunday and they’re like long-form vlog videos and I– So I love, I love the Sunday videos. Um, so if I’ll do a second video it’ll be on a Sunday
Doug: And then do you do… or talk about the different style of, of videos that you have. So there’s some sort of like gear review kinda thing. There’s some other… But yeah, just take us through the different styles and formats
AJ: Yeah, so a lot of… Okay, so like tomorrow, on Thursday, uh, the video I’m releasing is like my typical video and, uh, it’s, it’s, it’s like a listicle , you know? It’s like a list. They, they tend to do well for me. Um, this one is like a brand deal, so I– we can talk more about brand deal and how I approach them now, like later on in the video.
But it’s a listicle. Uh, it’s about gear, but I don’t… I’m not a gear– like I, I mentioned earlier, I’m not a, a review guy. Like, I don’t wanna give you like nerdy specs, ’cause I think it’s just so boring to watch and I, I can’t do them. I just, I don’t feel passionate about doing those things. And kudos to dudes that do those kind of videos, because I watch them, but I j- I, I can’t, I can’t do them.
So I don’t do review videos. I love telling stories about gear. And so if there’s a piece of gear that I love, that I’ve used, like for example, like, you know, like this pedal I love, I’ve used it on tour, I’ll talk about why I used it on tour and not because, “Oh, you should put this, you know, drive setting here.”
You know, like I don’t do that stuff. Um, so yeah, so I’ll tell stories about gear. So anyway, so my style is, uh, gear stories is kind of like my main driver. Those are kind of like the, the, the, the videos that do well for my channel. And like the last year, like 2026, I was telling you offline, I do have videos about these.
I did– I love vlogs, man. I love old school vlogs and, uh,
Doug: Yeah
AJ: I’ve, I’ve done some vlogs and my, my band, The Dark Horses, have been actively releasing songs and I have, um, like a, a multiple part series on my channel where I vlog that. And those to me are the most fun to make right now. They’re the most creatively fulfilling, even though they don’t do well for my channel because again, guys come here to, you know, watch videos about gear, but the vlog ones are kind of fulfilling me creatively and so I make those style.
I know they’re not gonna do well, but, uh, I just make them anyway. But I actually made a video three weeks ago. It was like a vlog style. I hit it like it’s… I packaged it, uh, watch it, it’s, it’s great. But I bought a PRS guitar. Where? Where is it? It’s back there. It’s back there.
Doug: Okay. All right.
AJ: That pink guitar
Doug: Silver Sky. Yeah
AJ: Silver Sky.
I’ve never owned a PRS. That’s actually the title of the video. And, uh, I brought my camera with me. It’s just a point-and-shoot, and I just kinda like talked about why… I played guitar for 30 years. I’ve never owned a PRS guitar. And then with the whole Fender thing happening, I was inclined to like, “You know what?
I’m gonna try a PRS,” because I’m not a Strat guy. So I vlogged the whole thing. I packaged it in a way… Yeah, I, I thought it was a good video. Like, I really had fun making this video because it was storytelling, but it was about the audience. And like, dude, like I– and look, I’ve never had comments so welcoming.
Like, the people of Paul Reed Smith community just kind of welcomed me with open arms. It was so cool, man. And, uh, that was a great video to make, and it did really well. So it was so fulfilling to make a vlog, to finally like have a vlog video take off. And, uh, it was cool. It was, again, just storytelling.
But yeah, so those are… Sorry, this is a long answer for a short question. My, uh, yeah, my style is basically gear, story-related videos, and then I’m trying to do more like personal v- not vlog, but yeah, more personal videos like the PRS video, which, dude, yeah
Doug: And, um, yeah, that’s awesome. And, and I, I watch probably more vlogs than anything else. I mean, like you said, I watch, like, gear review stuff if I’m, like, interested in something. But, um, the vlogs, those are the ones, like you said, on whatever, Sunday morning or Saturday or whenever they publish, I’m like, “Oh, cool.
I’m gonna download these. I’m gonna watch them at the gym or whenever I have a few minutes or whatever.” And, um, I think it’s great. Like you said, you kind of, you snuck it in sideways, but I think in, in, as someone, you know, you watch vlogs, so you get to know the people, and, like, the more you kinda, you know, sneak in your personality and they get to know you a little bit better, like, people will watch those.
They’ll be like, “Yeah, yeah, like I wanna watch whatever episode three of, you know, the album that you guys are doing.” So we’ll link up, make sure I’ll link up to that. Um, but yeah, those are fun. It’s like you were showing, you know, you guys, um, in the studio or, like, in your home studio, ’cause you guys were recording at your place some,
AJ: Yeah, yeah. The whole, the whole thing was like recorded here. Um, yeah, I like– I, I basically record all the music and then Garfield comes in and, and, and yeah, we do it all here. And then we have a remote, um, mix engineer that we work with, uh, Doug Fury. Shout out Doug. Uh, yeah, also Doug.
Doug: Yeah
AJ: Uh, cool name. Um, yeah, and then, uh, we send him out to mix and yeah, it’s a cool process that we’ve been doing.
Like the, the beautiful thing about music and making videos now is like you can do everything at home, man. You don’t need a fancy recording studio these days, man
Doug: Right. Right, right.
Self-Taught Audio Skills
Doug: And did you have much, um, like audio experience before you just like learned as you were, um, recording and in the studio and, and stuff like that?
AJ: Yeah, man. I, I’m all self-taught at like everything. I bought my first MacBook 2007, started on GarageBand and with like an inter- like a cheap interface, uh, a s- SM57 mic, which is like your basic standard mic that is $100. Uh, that was my first setup, man, and I just kind of like learned as I went. And during COVID, actually, I went deep dive into mixing.
Like, uh, that’s kind of like the skill that I really wanted to focus on, and it kind of helped me with this YouTube channel and the way, uh… Yeah, all– When I’m playing guitar in my videos, again, this is Deep Baseball, I’m recording the audio separately, like me talking, but I’m recording the guitar separately, and then I will process that guitar sound and m- and sometimes my, my, my vocal track.
Um, yeah, so I learned all that self-taught by watching YouTube
Doug: Very cool. Yeah, I mean, you could learn everything on
AJ: Anything
Doug: okay. So I can talk to you all day long, but I’m gonna, I’m gonna shift here ’cause we’re, we are gonna run out of time. Are you good
AJ: Yeah, dude. Yeah, you, you go as long as possible, man
Doug: All right.
YouTube Money Reality
Doug: Let’s talk a little bit about money. You mentioned brand deals and, you know, a lot of people…
I mean, things have changed, um, as far as monetization over on YouTube. Um, I don’t, I don’t run ads anymore. Just I’m like, uh, I don’t… It, it didn’t pay much, and especially I’m only getting like 10 views and, you know, a couple of them are just me. But I’m like, uh, brand deals were the way to go, um, when I was actually, like, trying to get some more stuff going.
But when people think about YouTube, they probably are like, “Oh yeah, you could earn tons and tons of money.” And I mean, you’ve been doing this for a few years, and you actually, I mean, you have almost 10,000 subscribers. You’ll probably hit it before the end of the year f-for sure. Um, but yeah, how do you approach the, the money aspect of it?
Did you do it for money? And then you don’t have to give any specifics, but we’re gonna dissect this a little bit.
AJ: Um, yeah, I think I was s- yeah, like same, yeah, same idea you’re thinking. Like most people think like all these big YouTubers make a ton of money, and some do. Um, but for me, no, I didn’t make it– I didn’t start a YouTube channel to make money. Obviously, it would’ve been nice. Um, but yeah, I just started making videos because I truly love making videos, and it again fulfills a creative passion that I have.
You know, other– I, I get to play guitar and then make videos about it and show people what I’m doing. So I will say that making videos about guitars, I’ve made more money doing that than actually playing guitar in my 20s. Like, which is crazy, right? Like, I made more money m- like hitting record on a camera talking about a piece of gear than actually playing the gear live.
So that’s gonna give you some context of what you could do on, on YouTube. Um, I didn’t get monetized… Well, you know, obviously you have to get 1,000 subscribers, 4,000 watch hours. I feel like I got that within six months of making videos, but again, like I know people have been on it for years, man. Like, or, or they did it way sooner than me.
So, um, yeah. So if you’re doing this for money, dude, it is gonna be a long, long, painful road for you. And, uh, it’s probably not a good thing to aspire to
Doug: Yeah, it’s pretty tough. Um, I think– I can’t remember. It must’ve been 2018 or ’17 or something where the, the, know, the CPMs, RPMs or whatever dropped dramatically ’cause people were making like a lot of money and then it got slashed by whatever, like 40%. So people were making a shitload and then it dropped, by a lot, which changes the whole economics, like if you have a video editor or like just cash flow-wise, it made it a lot harder.
Growth and Retention Tactics
Doug: so once you… H-how did you, um, grow so fast? Like you said, some people maybe are producing pretty good content for years and they don’t hit that threshold.
AJ: I think that I just studied YouTube. Like, I just nerded out on YouTube and, you know, like there were times where like that’s all I watched was like how to grow a YouTube channel. And of course, I had my coach and I’m part of like a, uh, uh, like a coaching community, and that was really valuable. Um, just to be in the same room as people doing the same thing, struggling, you know?
It– this is a, a lonely journey, as you know, and when you’re with other people doing the same thing, it’s, it’s really uplifting, I find, and inspiring. So, surround yourself with people doing the same thing. Uh, that’s one. And I, again, like I just nerded out and I just wanted to make the best videos possible and whatever that took, again, like watching YouTube videos on how to do it and like really learning.
And there’s, there’s a thing in, in music, uh, like when you’re making records, uh, it’s called deep listening. I just watched a video on this, really cool. But basically, uh, let, let’s say there’s a song that you really, really like. You, you, you hear– it comes up on your Spotify randomly, and you just like hit re- uh, rewind on it, and it’s just like on repeat on y- on your, on your iPod when you’re at the gym or whatever, or sorry, on your phone when you’re at the gym.
And, and if you really listen to it, like you like deep do- like actually sit down and listen to it, you, you can kinda like dissect what’s happening. And I do the same thing with videos that are, are, are outliers or, you know, uh, popular videos. I’ll do like a deep watch. I’m like, “Okay, why is this so good?
Why is this title, why is this t- thumbnail, why did I click on this?” And then I’ll watch the intro. It’s like, what did they do? And so that’s kinda what I do, and it’s a good exercise to just really deep watch or like deep listen to like something and like really dissect it and really take it apart and take what they’re doing and then apply it to your video.
Doug: I’m jumping around all over the place. Let’s go back to the monetization. Um, so you, you have some a- you, you have ads on your, on your videos, right?
AJ: do, I do, yeah
Doug: a… Okay. So you make a little bit there. Are you able to share, like, you don’t have to say the exact amount,
AJ: Yeah. Oh, yeah. Like, so I will say that, um, the ads are probably the least amount of the income that I generate from my channel. Um, you know, I’ll average… You can do the math, but, like, I think my CPM is out– or there’s RPM and CP- I can’t re-remember the difference, but basically…
Doug: think it’s…
AJ: You go ahead. You, you say it.
Doug: I think R- RPM is like the, um, the revenue and then C is the
AJ: That’s what we make, right?
Doug: cost. Yeah, revenue. Yeah, RPM.
AJ: So RPM is like what Google charges the, the brands. CPM is like what the creators get. I- is that right? Anyways.
Doug: I think it’s the other
AJ: Okay.
Doug: y- yeah, w- whatever. It, it doesn’t
AJ: it is. Okay.
Doug: per, per 1,000.
AJ: Per 1,000 views, I usually generate, in my niche, $3.50
Doug: Okay
AJ: Uh, other niches like business niche, like I think they generate like $10, like crazy amounts, right?
Like the Hormozis and, uh, all, all like, you know, uh, Gary, Gary Vee, like all those dudes. Like their niche, $10 because that’s what the ads or the, the, the brands are willing to pay for those, those ads. Based on that, I, I, I, you know, average 500 to 1,000 on AdSense a month. Uh, and then, um, yeah, and then other sources of income is I’ll have brands approach me to make a video for their, their company or their brand.
That’s kind of far and few, and I actually don’t do a whole lot of those because I want full creative control on my videos. Uh, I don’t– I, I, I think that’s like the sellout like of, of, of YouTube is like, “Hey, can you make a video about this? But here’s what we want you to say.” Like, I don’t know, man. There’s something really disingenuine about that, and I just don’t resonate with it.
I’ve, I’ve, I’ve got burnt once doing that, and I said I will never, ever do it again, where they had controlled the title and the thumbnail and what I said, and I, I felt like a sellout. And I was like, “You know what? I’m not doing…” And this was early, and you know, I had no, I had no reason, I had no reason to even get a brand deal.
But I was like, “Oh, okay, this is what people were talking about that I don’t wanna do.” And so I don’t do those. So if a brand approaches me, they want me to make a video about a product or whatever, they have zero creative input on, on the video. And everything I say on, in the video is, is, is my own thoughts and opinion.
And I let them know this, and I say usually if, if they’ll approach me and it’s like, “Hey, we want you to make a video about this,” I always go with the point of, uh, view of let me try out the gear first. Let me see if I would actually use it. And that’s kinda like what I always say. It’s like if I don’t think I should make, uh, if I, if I’m not gonna use this product or if I don’t like it, I don’t wanna make a shitty video about it.
Like I don’t wanna shit on this product or this brand, especially if they’re like a small brand. Like that, there’s no point to that. So I will just let you know. You can send me a, a, a return slip. I could return the product if you want. Um, but usually brands have been great, man. Like, uh, now because I’ve been doing this for a while, I just get sent a brand.
They don’t even say make a video. It’s like, “Hey, we have a product. We’re gonna send it to you. Just let us know what you think, dude. And if you want to, you can make a video.” I love that approach from brands when they’re like approaching me. It’s like, “We’ll just send you a product, man. And if you like it, you like it.
If not, all good.”
Doug: Yeah. And that makes sense. And, and I think, like, I guess at least in the guitar industry, the music industry, the brands have figured out, like, that’s what is gonna work because y- like you said, you’re like, “Ah, it felt dirty.” Like I, like I don’t wanna have someone telling me exactly what to do. I mean, you guys are artists, right?
So you’re like, you don’t want someone to tell you what to do. Um, and you’re bringing in enough. Like congrats on the, you know, 500 to 1,000 per month just on the AdSense side. I mean, that’s, that’s pretty awesome. and you’re bringing in enough where, like, you can continue to operate. And, you know, I have bumped into, um…
I, I used to have online courses, but I, like, retired all those. So those were great when I was selling them, but at, at this point, I’m like, “Okay, if I’m gonna keep doing this, I do wanna earn a little bit of money.” So I’ve had to s- you know, figure out, take… It’s not exactly brand deals, but it’s the equivalent where it’s just like a sponsored video on some marketing product.
And I think my audience realizes, like, “Hey, if, if we want Doug to continue to produce stuff,” ’cause I don’t run ads otherwise, so it’s just like, if we want Doug to keep doing anything, then he does have to do something to earn money occasionally. And those might be, you know, where I’m like, “Okay.” To your point, exactly what you said, I’m like, “What title do you want?”
I’m like, “If you have a script you wanna give me, I’ll take that too.” And, like, I’m just like, “Okay.” Every now and then, I take a sponsored thing where I do sell out, um, but I’m not, I’m not creating art like
AJ: Yeah, but I think, I, I think it’s more common for, like, what you’re doing, right? For, for podcasts to, like, have an ad read, like, you know, at minute… Especially if you’re an hour-long podcast, at minute 20, you’re gonna do a one-minute ad read on, you know, Athletic Greens or whatever, you know? Like, all the big guys doing, like, what you’re doing, like, do this, like, you know, like the Modern Wisdom and, like, all those dudes are, like, doing that same thing, right?
So-
Doug: Yeah. Yeah, yeah. funny to lump me in with all those other guys, but thank you. Appreciate that.
Channel Goals and Authenticity
Doug: Um, so where, where do you see the channel going over the next, um… You know, we can give a couple timelines, say, you know, next six months, next year, three to five years kinda thing, so short term and long term
AJ: Yeah, that’s a good question. Um, I think I just wanna keep making good videos is like my most important goal. Um, as much as I would love the vanity metric of, of more subscribers, like obviously I do. You know, I wanna hit that 10K and I wanna get a silver play button, you know? Like those are like big YouTuber v- goals of mine.
Those– Like that’s more long term. Um, but yeah, I think I just wanna make great videos and really just be… My goal, man, like the, especially the last year, and if you look at my thumbnails, you know, I, I wanna be the most authentic version of myself. And, uh, yeah, uh, that’s my goal, man. I want you to watch a video and, and just like really feel the authenticity that I, I’m basically showing on screen.
Actually, the best compliments I ever get is when people see me in person. It’s like, “Dude, you are exactly like in the videos.” Like that to me is the biggest compliment because it shows that I’m just being myself like on camera. And yeah, I think that, that’s my biggest goal, man, is to just make the best videos I can, the best videos I can, and then just be my most authentic self.
Doug: Yeah, I was gonna say we just met and you’re exactly like on the videos. I mean, and you’re even in the set
AJ: Dude, I,
Doug: just like, “Oh, this is
AJ: yeah, I appreciate that. You as well, man. I watched a couple of your videos, so it’s, it’s really cool. Yeah, like I think it’s so cool when you have a conversation with someone that you see all the time, especially on YouTube. You know, you, you, you hit subscribe on a content creator, and then you watch them for a while.
You, you, you feel like you get to know them, you know? So
Doug: Yeah, totally. Um, so is there anything specific that you’re working on? You’re like y- you wanna keep creating good authentic videos. Is there anything that you’re working on specifically, like in, again, in the next six months or something like that, where you’re like, “I’m working on, you know, the hook or the story in act three,” or whatever
AJ: You know what? I, I, I look at the analytics, um, you know, not, not, I’m not obsessed with it, but I do a- I do look at the analytics and I like to look at, um, the graph, uh, where it shows, uh, what is, what is that called? Where it just shows where people drop off. The retention, yes. So, so I do look at that a lot.
And you can dice– I love YouTube Studio because you could– it gives you everything you need to know, uh, on why your video performed or didn’t perform. And so, again, this is deep baseball, but in the intro, again, like I mentioned, I like to keep mine super short now. There’s always a drop off . I wanna know what I’m saying at that point where there’s a huge drop, and then I wanna just basically– So I’m, I’m trying to eliminate that.
I think if we look at a MrBeast video, his retention is like 70% or something crazy. Like, there’s like a cr- there’s no crazy drop after the intro because he like, uh, like he gives you all this crazy shit. And I’m not, I’m saying like I’m gonna make MrBeast-style videos, but we could all learn a thing or two about MrBeast.
But his retention is like, there’s a little drop because most people, you know, like a lot of people will drop off after the intro, but because his intros are so good and it is just like straight through, and then there’s so many curiosity gaps that your brain wants answered that you have to watch it.
And so that, that’s also what I’m actually working on when I’m scripting is, is, is curiosity. And, and that’s, you know, I, I, I think that’s a human nature thing and we could all work on that in our, in our intros and in our acts. And so to go back to the scripting, um, again, there’s like the intro and then there’s the body, and then there’s acts in the body, and there’s like a story arc, whatever I’m doing.
But in between those story acts, I want to create an open loop. And so you’re– So again, this is all retention. I want you to basically keep watching so you know– Or sorry, so I, I, I open a loop here and you want that answered, but it’s gonna get answered here and so on and so forth. And so that’s kind of like what I’ve been working on is like really focusing my time on the script and the story, uh, the scri- the script writing and the storyline
Doug: Very cool. All right, man. AJ, this has been fun to catch up and get to know you a little bit. Where should people check out your stuff?
AJ: they could just check it out on YouTube, uh, AJ Devera. You could just, uh, type that on the search and you’ll see that. I’m on Spotify. I have three different bands. Usually, actually all the time, I will link my bands down on the descriptions of my video. It’s The Dark Horses, uh, Donnie Em and The Whiskey Cult, and I do have a solo project called Villainheart.
So, um, those are all on Spotify, Apple Music, wherever you find your streaming platforms. And yeah, that’s kinda like where I’m at.
Doug: Cool. Yeah, I’ll link up so people could find that stuff really easily. And I do wanna give you a sec to talk about, um, the release. Like you said, you’re recording with your, your band and you’re releasing stuff, and I know something is coming out pretty soon, so give us a little plug on
AJ: Yeah, so I don’t know when this pod episode’s gonna be dropped, but on July 10th, my band Dark Horse is releasing a single called “Body.” Super excited about it. Um, yeah, it’s kind of a step in, uh, a new direction for, for this band and just super excited about it. Uh, again, I’m playing guitars on it. Uh, I produced the, the song and my childhood friend who taught me how to play bar chords, ah, uh, like, uh, f- call back, um, we were talking about bar chords earlier.
My, my, my childhood friend who I hadn’t seen in years plays sax on this song, and I’m super excited to have him, uh, on this song, so
Doug: Right on. Super cool. Congrats, and, um, yeah, we’ll link up to all this stuff so people can find it out there. Thanks a lot,
AJ: Yeah. Thanks, Doug. Appreciate you
Doug: All right.
Guitar Collection Tour
Doug: So I see a few guitars behind you, and we’ll kind of just take a little tour. And I want to hear, like, what’s your number one guitar where you’re like, I really love this one”? And if you’re just gonna pick something up for a few minutes, which one do you pick up?
AJ: if I, yeah, that’s a, that’s a crazy cr- question. I, I have so many at this point in my collection, but if I had to choose one guitar to… It, l- let me put it this way. If there was a fire in my house, this is the guitar that I would run to go get
Uh, this is a, I think it’s a 2003, 2005, uh, Gibson Les Paul Studio. It was, like, my first very good guitar that I bought, and I bought it in 2006. I was living in Nagoya, Japan at the time. And, uh, yeah, I just was, like, never– It was the first time I made any kind of money, and I was playing in a band, and I just was like, “You know what?
I’m gonna get the best guitar I can get, and this is it.” And so, yeah, it’s, and it’s been my number one when I was more actively playing in bands. Like, it’s been all over the world, all over Canada, all over the US. Uh, it’s got a broken headstock. Like, it’s not perfect. It’s actually, like, not worth as much as it should be, but, um, yeah, I think it just has the most amount of memories.
And yeah, I think, I think this is the one, so.
Doug: Gotcha. And then I imagine, like, your hand just fits pr- like it’s part of your hand. It’s just an
AJ: Oh, dude, yeah, 100%. Like it’s, it feels like home. And I d- I have several videos on my channel about that guitar, but every time I describe it or every time I’m playing it on the channel, it just… That’s what I say about it. It just feels like home on like when I’m playing it either sitting down or standing up.
Yeah, it’s, it’s like an extension of me at this point, so
Doug: And then is it, uh, stock pickups in there or are you a tinkerer and, and all that?
AJ: Um, it, I don’t– Because of the broken headstock and, like, as long as I’ve had it, uh, I have the Slash, uh, Alnico II Pro pickups, Seymour Duncan, shout out to them. Um, Slash is, like, my hero, why I started playing guitar, and obviously this is a Les Paul, so I put the Slash pickups in there a few years ago now.
And, uh, what else have I done? Like wiring harness, uh, again, like the broken headstock, so like that was a repair. Uh, I think new tuning. Yeah, it pretty much, most of the hardware is non-original on it, so
Doug: Body and the neck,
AJ: Yeah
Doug: How are, how are the frets holding up? Or have
AJ: I’ve had a f- fret dress on it. I, I haven’t had to re- refret it. Um, I think at some point it probably will.
It’s holding up pretty good. I think because I have so many guitars now, like I, I’m not grinding it out like the– I was when I was on tour. Like it was– I only had like two guitars when I was going on tour, which is crazy, and that was like my main guitar. So now that I’m not touring, I, I, I just… I think it, the lifespan of it has basically prolonged, so
Doug: That makes sense. Yeah, and I, I, um, I’m sort of earlier in my collection, uh, journey, but I ended up getting a, I think it was a Les Paul Tribute, like a honey burst, but I did put the, uh, Slash Alnico II, and they are killer. I, I mean, so, um, I guess like bright and exactly what I was looking for, and I did like the ’50s wiring harness and all that
AJ: Cool.
Doug: So yeah,
AJ: What’s your number one guitar?
Doug: Very fun. Yeah, no, I, I asked the question and I’m like, “Oh, I have to think about it my- myself.” So the one behind me here is, um, I haven’t had it that long, but it’s pretty cool. So it’s a Kalamazoo KG-11 from like ’33 or ’34, and I found it on Craigslist. Um, someone was just like, “Yeah, I’m not really using it.”
He has a studio, and he’s like, “People think it’s cool, but they never play it.” And then it, it needed some work, so I got it fixed up. But that’s, it’s kind of the one that’s more like it’s just an irreplaceable guitar. Um, and it plays awesome. It, it did get a full fret job, so it’s like, it plays like a brand-new guitar. Um, that said, the older guitars that– Or yeah, the couple older guitars that I have, I haven’t– Like I, I d- I didn’t have the same experience as you, so it doesn’t feel like an extension of my hand. However, the other one would be a sort of a newer, it’s a, a Gibson LG-2, so another small body acoustic, and I’ve played that one more and I’ve had it a little bit longer than some of the others. Um, so not a great answer. And then I have a couple like National resonators, but…
AJ: Cool, man. Love it
Doug: I’m basically, I’m just desc- I’m describing all of them and I’m like, “Ah, I…” And I just got this
AJ: I can’t see it. What is it?
Doug: a, a Les Paul
AJ: Oh, nice.
Doug: um, from 2016, it’s, it feels really good, but I’ve only had it a couple weeks and I’m like, “Oh, there’s certainly a step in quality from the, the Tribute up to
AJ: Oh yeah, 100%. What color is that? I can’t, I can’t quite see it
Doug: It is, I think it’s a
AJ: Dude, that’s rad. I love the flame top on that. That’s unreal, man. Yeah
Doug: And, and I was gonna say, like, I, you know, I j- I just, like, watch on Craigslist and got a
AJ: Yeah
Doug: The photos weren’t that good, so when I saw it in person, I’m like, “Wow, it, it looks, like, way better than expected.” uh, tiny bit heavy. I, I haven’t weighed it, but I… You know, it’s a tiny bit heavy.
It’s part of the, part of the, you know, appeal I
AJ: dude. Like that’s a rad guitar. I love… Do you know what kind of pickups those are?
Doug: They, they are the classic ’57 and ’57 Plus. And they s- uh, like I have gotten into, um, you know, soldering and switching out the pickups, and I’m like, it sounds fine.” Like, I don’t think I need to
AJ: Dude, that,
Doug: you, are
AJ: that guitar, that Les Paul right there, that’s a 2016, uh, standard in Faded Honeyburst. It was kind of like a limited run, but it’s got the ’57 pickups on it. And dude, I, I think that’s probably my best playing guitar, um, that Les Paul. Very similar to your guitar, which is funny that it’s the same year.
Doug: Yeah
AJ: uh, yeah, the ’57s, they’re just so bitey and they’re so thick. And yeah, that guitar, uh, I actually put a wiring harness on it. Uh, there’s a dude, local dude that makes wiring harness for Les Pauls. But we kept the pickups, uh, stock, but we put the, the Jimmy Page treble bleed circuit on it, which is basically you can roll down, uh, the volume and you won’t lose any of the tone.
And then we, uh, did, uh, a coil split. So you can do the coil split on the humbuckers. But I don’t know, that, that’s kind of… Uh, it’s, it’s a weird thing that coil splits because I, I, I, I see this online all the time that it, it just makes it sound like a thin humbucker, and I agree. But the coil split on the neck pickup during solos is so…
It’s very almost like Strat-like. Like it’s, it’s cool. It just kind of gives the guitar another dimension. So it’s really cool. You should look into that
Doug: kind of its own thing versus like trying to be a, you know, Strat neck pickup, which, know, g- get
AJ: Yeah. Yeah, exactly
Doug: you’re trying to do that. But very cool. And we, I was gonna say
AJ: Yeah
Doug: about guitars for a super long time, but yeah, any other notables? Um, a- and how many guitars do you have?
You were, you were like, “Uh, we kind of have a lot
AJ: I, I, I think, man, s- this is crazy for me to say, but I’m pretty sure I have 15 at my house right now. There’s a couple at my parents’ house we were just talking about. Yeah, probably in the, in the neighborhood of 20, and they range obviously from, you know, like my first guitar, which is like an El Degas, like, I don’t…
It’s like a, a cheap y- we, you know, my mom bought it for me for Christmas of ’96, so I still have that. It’s very cheap. It’s like, you know, it was $100 at the time. Um, yeah, I think, I, I think I’m at about 20. Uh, 15 at my house, yeah, and yeah. How about you?
Doug: I think I have 10. So I’m ki- I’m at the, uh, the point, I mean, you can only play
AJ: Yeah
dude. Yeah
Doug: So, um, but I, I’m like, “Okay, I shouldn’t get more. I need to spend time, like, just playing more and enjoying it and all that.” So, and actually, you know that Tribute that I mentioned, I’m gonna sell it, hopefully to my friend who’s another big, uh, Slash fan and, I mean, that, th- I think you did a video recently with, um, it, you just talked about Slash a little bit,
AJ: Yeah, I think I– Oh, yeah, yeah, that’s right. I, I, I think it was the video, uh, maybe like a month ago, “Why Kids Don’t Play Gibson,” uh, is, is the title of that video, and it actually did really well on my channel. Um, and, uh, yeah, it was obviously… Yeah, well, we can talk about t-title and thumbnail and whatnot, but, uh, it was more like a storytelling piece, which I love making those kind of videos, and I wanted to tell my story but make it about my avatar or, like, my target audience, obviously.
And, uh, yeah, I just talked about my childhood and, like, and, and probably the same as you, how I got into playing guitar was Slash, man, seeing November Rain. Like, him walking out of that church about to play that first solo is, like, the most epic thing ever. Still the best music video of all time, in my opinion.
Doug: Yeah. Yeah, yeah. Super similar. I’m a few years older than you. I’m 47. Um, so it was more like the
AJ: Oh, yes.
Doug: um, videos. Like, we’d just got MTV, or we
AJ: Yeah
Doug: and MTV, and I was like, “This is just amazing.” So I, yeah, I saw Slash playing, and then hence the love for, like, Les Pauls. Must be the same for you, too.
It’s just like you see him playing, and then you see, like, Jimmy Page, a couple other people, and you’re like, “Yeah,” like, “That’s what
AJ: There’s a line in that video which I love. I, I, I think I just said it off the cuff, but, um, it was that moment, like, when Slash was walking out of that church with the Les Paul in hand. He’s about to play that first solo, and I s- I was nine years old when that video came out. It was, like, ’91. And, uh, same thing, I lived in Canada, so we had MuchMusic, which is the Canadian version of MTV, and that video was on rotation.
Again, I was nine. I didn’t even really know what it was, but– And that’s my line in that video is, like, I didn’t know what it was, but I knew it was magic, and I just wanted to be part of that. And I, I still feel that way every time I see him. I was like, “Oh, dude, like, that’s rad.”