YT gear demos, who does it right? and some constructive criticism

  • Thread starter Thread starter MadAsAHatter
  • Start date Start date
MadAsAHatter

MadAsAHatter

Well-known member
Purity started a thread asking who your favorite youtube demonstrators are which went off the rails and I don't think it ever came back. I stopped following after about page 3 or 4. I thought it'd be good to come back on track with the subject but would be better to start a new thread. And before it turns into a bitch fest on all the shitty demos, let's try to contribute by offering some constructive criticism of ways to improve. AKA what would you like to see or how would you do it if you were making the demo.

For people I like:
Pete Thorn - probably my top one to watch, professional and very thorough in his reviews
Euge Valovirta - Came across him not too long ago but I like what I've watched so far
Sonic Drive Studio (@Guitarjon on RT) - I like his format with both solo & in a mix. I also like that he mostly does basic (but eloquent) riffs and not try to go all ape shit virtuoso wannabe.

For some constructive criticism:
1. Time stamps - I'd like a mark to jump back and forth when listening to tones, especially on comparison videos.
2. More playing less talking -Things like specs, features, signal chain, etc. can go in the description. No need to talk 10 minuets on this. A quick touch on any special features and what you will be doing is enough. Anything over a minute or two is getting to be too much.
3. Don't use effects - Unless you are in a section showing how well an amp takes pedals keep a simple signal chain. Remember that you are showcasing the amp tones not the 20 drive/boost pedals you have in front of it.
4. Use a proper speaker cab - DI out and IRs have their place, but don't necessarily give a full picture like amp in the room. And if you can try to use a standardized cab, for example most can associate with a 1960 V30 loaded cab.
5. Play straight forward riffs - Yes, searing solo's are good, but that shouldn't be the entire thing. Some basic clean chording and a few crunch riffs go a long way in showcasing the sound. Personally I get a great feel for an amp sound by playing an E & A.
6. Show your settings - Demoing an amp means nothing if settings aren't known. Is all at noon, are B,M,T set to extremes? It's a big thing to know when trying to gauge the tone. If you can do a PIP window great, if not a close up of the knobs will suffice.

How about the rest of you. Who do you like and what constructive suggestions do you have?

And so Purity keeps credit for the thread he started this was his initial post:
Purity said:
Who are your favorite YT demonstrators/personalities?

For me;
1. Andy Martin - Dude still kills it after all of these years and knows EXACTLY the proper songs to pick and play for the pedal at hand, no matter what style it calls for.
2. Pete Thorn - A total pro through and through. Not much else to say about his excellence.
3. Bill Ruppert (EHX) - Probably the only direct manufacturer demos that are worth a shit
4. Ola Englund - He may sound the same in all of demos, but he knows how to dial in a great modern metal tone for us metal heads and give an honest representation.
5. Brett Kingman - Great player. Great tones. Wide selection of gear choices he demos from cheap to expensive and everything in between.
Click to expand...
 
I guess they’re not really gear demo guys, more instruction
 
Ola is the best and actually sounds like I do through the same amps we play so I trust his vids. There’s other guys who do great demos with the same amps I have as well but I’m not sure how they cop the tones they do so I watch those more for entertainment than actual info
 
Last edited:
Half of these dudes I’ll pull up a 20 minute “demo”, skip through in one minute increments trying to find some playing and I get to the end and haven’t found any lol
 
I don't watch Youtube anymore. Waste of time watch too long vids without content, and paid reviews. Was much better back in the days when don't was a business (thanks Google).
Always liked Doug Rappoport, but seem he stopped to post.
 
Yeah that thread took a sinister nosedive, truly bizarre.

I'm surprised there hasn't been more replies here, it's a topic that usually brings lots of varying opinions. It's of particular interest to me as we'll be putting some stuff up on YT this year.

I like:
- minimal talking
- close miking done by someone who knows their shit
- raw amp tones mostly, but I enjoy when a full mix is also included
- basic FX are ok if not overdone
- a few genres and guitars, from clean to dirty
- bonus if a few speakers/cabs are also included
 
I don’t know why people are so against paid reviews? The tone of an amp isn’t gonna change because that person is getting paid to review it?
 
Ola had a whole amp in a room type play through where he had the cab mic’d up a number of different ways with a variety of mics and some room mics as well and he sort toggles between the different mics. I felt like that gave me a better idea of what the amp actually sounded like especially in contrast to most of his other videos where it’s him in front of his computer

A kinda classic-ish video that I always felt was amazing to give you an idea of how things sounded was Keith Merrow playing the same song over and over again with the same guitar loaded with different pickups and then toggling between the 13+ different recordings, really was quite helpful to figure out which pickups I should avoid and what I should check out. There also was zero talking in the video but he communicated the info with the video production alone

I also really like Zach Wish’s videos that he posts on here of him playing through sweet amps, almost zero talking, just tons of great riffs and tones

I don’t mind a bunch of talking but I’d prefer it to be in a specific part of the video or at least have time stamps of when the play is actually happening… like raceu4her said, it’s dumb as hell when you watch a video and you get tired of talking and just skip around and never can find the actual playing / clips.
 
RaceU4her said:
Half of these dudes I’ll pull up a 20 minute “demo”, skip through in one minute increments trying to find some playing and I get to the end and haven’t found any lol
Click to expand...

I do that.

ZEN - this thread is only maybe 6 hours old so give it a chance will ya :lol:

I like Guitarjon and Ola and Kyle Bull for the same reasons you guys have already mentioned.

I like standard Mic'd as well as In-Room - I feel they both have their place. That mic comparison Ola did was pretty cool if you have not seen it. You don't have to like Ola to appreciate how well that was done.
 
What I don't want to see:

1. A witty 3 second long snippet taken from somewhere in the video, followed by an intro.
2. An intro
 
More guitar speaker amp not IR’s and EQing or other sound altering effects.
In a mix is cool but prefer just the amp tone.
Sad thing is different amps sound better in different music styles. So some amps get mediocre reviews because channel geared towards one genre.
Truth from the channel.
Paid reviews should be banned. It colors reviewers opinion. Regardless of if they say it doesn’t.
Ask the government lobbyists ?
 
No of course not. But there are youtube fanboys out there. Influence is influence. It’s a confident feeling with the presenter.
I guess banned is a extreme word. Maybe a large flashing notice for 10 seconds at start of video it’s a paid promotion.
 
RaceU4her said:
This is what I’m confused by, do you need the reviewers opinion to make up your mind if you like an amps tone or not??
Click to expand...
I couldn't care less if they're paid or not. The only difference is I'll definitely skip the talking if they are, compared to most likely if they aren't.
 
I know many people prefer this format, but I've never liked cell phone videos of expensive amps. It's an expensive amp, and there are many natural-sounding mics. It's not that hard to mic a cab. It's not like cell phone vids give that much of an in-the-room vibe either.
 
Tone Junkie said:
No of course not. But there are youtube fanboys out there. Influence is influence. It’s a confident feeling with the presenter.
I guess banned is a extreme word. Maybe a large flashing notice for 10 seconds at start of video it’s a paid promotion.
Click to expand...


i just watched this video the other day when i got my iic+, look how many mics, cameras, lights... its basically a movie set with im sure tens of thousands of gear. someone, im sure not Ola, needs to get paid for the long while im sure it takes to edit and create the video. should Ola or any of them doing this not get paid by the company who is now getting the exposure and money from amp sales? id be more weary of the noob reviewer kissing ass who is trying to get paid if you really value his opinion


 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top