ilovefuzz.com

The way all players make stuff fit into whatever their particular playing style is makes me trust written reviews a little more. Like, maybe it sounds great when Kayzer or Knobs or Andy plays it, but reading someone's actual review seems to strip away the player-bias a little for me.

I don't know if I've ever read a good review. Look at premier guitar or tone report - when have you ever read a negative review there? Cons are like "maybe a little pricey" "maybe too many knobs for a casual user". Pros are always a mile long. Most reviews just feel like glorified ad copy.

I think this is the reason why I only watch JustNick's demos now. They just open with 15 minutes of noodling with different settings followed by a general impressions. But I typically like to listen to demos while working, so longform videos are more ideal compared to shorter 5 minute ones.


I haven't actually bought a new guitar pedal in months and months though... and I'm still more likely to just rebuy a pedal that I already had then stupidly got rid of.

wfs1234 wrote:The way all players make stuff fit into whatever their particular playing style is makes me trust written reviews a little more. Like, maybe it sounds great when Kayzer or Knobs or Andy plays it, but reading someone's actual review seems to strip away the player-bias a little for me.

Exactly how i feel.

goroth wrote:I don't know if I've ever read a good review. Look at premier guitar or tone report - when have you ever read a negative review there? Cons are like "maybe a little pricey" "maybe too many knobs for a casual user". Pros are always a mile long. Most reviews just feel like glorified ad copy.

I think our user base here is the best written reviews you can get. For example Sylnau: i know what he likes and what he ditched. if he comes up with mid-fi overdrive that might really be sth. for me. The better you know the guys around here, the more their "reviews" will fit in your audible mindset.

yeah i don't really watch demos anymore. since anyone who's around here regularly knows what people's rigs and tastes are like, it's pretty easy to get enough useful, unbiased information to make worthwhile purchase decisions.
i also find that because my amp and picking style are pretty far off what anybody who makes videos uses it's pretty pointless to decide based on something like that.
if i'm gonna watch a gear video i'd rather watch a showcase kinda thing where a musician plays their song or improvises with a certain set of pedals or something. that can be pretty inspiring from time to time.

D.o.S. wrote:

univalve wrote:Any amp manufacturer brings out a pedal line with boost, overdrive, distortion, delay. Wow. Finally i don't have to mix brands. Let's go Full engl. But please add the Tele, strat and paula rip off and some motherfucking cables to your Portfolio.

Savage.

i'm struggling to think of an example of this that isn't the very definition of superfluous garbage. that was a really good one

backwardsvoyager wrote:

D.o.S. wrote:

univalve wrote:Any amp manufacturer brings out a pedal line with boost, overdrive, distortion, delay. Wow. Finally i don't have to mix brands. Let's go Full engl. But please add the Tele, strat and paula rip off and some motherfucking cables to your Portfolio.

Savage.

i'm struggling to think of an example of this that isn't the very definition of superfluous garbage. that was a really good one

You can go full interior soon with Engl.

Chankgeez wrote:Knobs' or Kayzer's "demos" are useless to me as demos because they're more about the way those guys play than actually demonstrating what a pedal can do in the hands of most players. (Also, all of Knobs' & Kayzer's demos sound the same to me.)

Super true of Kayzer, I think. I could identify that guy in any context, I think. Which should be a compliment to him as a player...but it does make it tough with demos.

I actually think setting up a loop and running it through a pedal is a good idea for exactly this reason. No noodling, no chops, no 'live' mistakes...just turning knobs to get the ranges of the settings. Maybe boring for some, but...it's a pedal video.

That approach seems way more geared toward hardcore pedal people.

Andrew wrote:I think this is the reason why I only watch JustNick's demos now. They just open with 15 minutes of noodling with different settings followed by a general impressions. But I typically like to listen to demos while working, so longform videos are more ideal compared to shorter 5 minute ones.


I haven't actually bought a new guitar pedal in months and months though... and I'm still more likely to just rebuy a pedal that I already had then stupidly got rid of.

Just Nick is fantastic because he actually switches his playing and style up for pedals. He's a tgp like player who loves the ILFier side of pedals as well.

He also takes strides to be neutral from his bias, like when he reviews a pedal he doesn't like he does it within the context of other pedals lime it, rather just blindly bashing it.

Also that he had in multiple times taken "noise toy" pedals and turned the demo on using it in a song context, which was cool.

Basically, I have major respect for the guy, even if his videos are eternal.

In demo videos, I dont want RTFM-regurgitation or marketing pitch. I want to hear as much of what the tool does with context, and some examples of use. I don't want to hear about what it does or the history of electronics. There are documentaries and lab papers for that.
Kayzer, Knobs & Just Nick are my fav 3 demo-ers. Andy is 4th because I play with fingers a lot like every started-with-4strings player [also try a HP-1 and you'll get it].I want to hear a number of things in a 'demo' vid.

When it clips, and how. Rolloff characteristics, changes to harmonic content. How it reacts to gtr-vol input changes. Subtle & extreme settings with (a range, sampling of) everything between. A true dry/bypass to wet/affected comparison. A comparison with some delay or reverb. The difference when used with active/passive instruments. Solo and ensemble context. Oscillation. Range of LFO speeds, delay time etc. Both clinical and subjective/preference approaches.
Much info can be gleaned by proxy, with potential aide in finding direction and decision-making. It usually takes me several long form vids to get a sketchy idea of what can be discovered in a few min of hands-on time with a pedal.

On the note of Just Nick, his demos have been a major influence on my wants the last several purchases I've made. He's very through and I agree his styles change enough that you can see it in different contexts. I mean, I'm a bass player and his shit is more helpful to me than most bass demos.

univalve wrote:

goroth wrote:I don't know if I've ever read a good review. Look at premier guitar or tone report - when have you ever read a negative review there? Cons are like "maybe a little pricey" "maybe too many knobs for a casual user". Pros are always a mile long. Most reviews just feel like glorified ad copy.

I think our user base here is the best written reviews you can get. For example Sylnau: i know what he likes and what he ditched. if he comes up with mid-fi overdrive that might really be sth. for me. The better you know the guys around here, the more their "reviews" will fit in your audible mindset.

Mostly agreed. The thing about written reviews when you're getting free product is that you have something of a vested interest in maintaining a good relationship with the builder/company.

D.o.S. wrote:

univalve wrote:

goroth wrote:I don't know if I've ever read a good review. Look at premier guitar or tone report - when have you ever read a negative review there? Cons are like "maybe a little pricey" "maybe too many knobs for a casual user". Pros are always a mile long. Most reviews just feel like glorified ad copy.

I think our user base here is the best written reviews you can get. For example Sylnau: i know what he likes and what he ditched. if he comes up with mid-fi overdrive that might really be sth. for me. The better you know the guys around here, the more their "reviews" will fit in your audible mindset.

Mostly agreed. The thing about written reviews when you're getting free product is that you have something of a vested interest in maintaining a good relationship with the builder/company.

Yes indeed. Hence the reason why a clinical publication like Consumer Reports exists without paid advertising...although not without controversy (cough...Buy Other Sound Equipment...wheezecough).
In most business relationships, there's little room for meaningful critique. Rare exceptions apply, but it's either praise your partner or expect to part ways.

Andrew wrote:I think this is the reason why I only watch JustNick's demos now. They just open with 15 minutes of noodling with different settings followed by a general impressions. But I typically like to listen to demos while working, so longform videos are more ideal compared to shorter 5 minute ones.

Same. Nick seems to be the most interested in the nuts and bolts functionality of pedals, which is the most useful if you're shopping. I'd say Joe Gore is kind of his equivalent in terms of written reviews. Kinda like the Alton Browns of effects reviews — practical, nerdy. Yes, I just made a fucking Food Network reference

As others have said, so many demos out there have such distinct flavors based on the reviewer. That said, I watch a lot of them just because they're entertaining, and sometimes they turn me on to some new approach that I haven't tried yet, either with an effect or the actual playing.

I always like seeing what PGS Andy chooses for songs. Knobs' demos use a lot of loops, which is very different from the way I play, but they usually sound fucking lovely and have great narratives accompanying them. Lastly, it always amazes me that Mike Hermans will make even the most aggressive pedal sound like some buttery Larry Carlton yacht jam, for better or worse (mostly worse).

PGS Andy has the best riff choice, by far.

I haven't really been sold on a Just Nick Demo but I'm not really in that demo.

popvulture wrote: like some buttery Larry

band name?