Pedal Demo General Theory

[Gearmond]

Bad pedal demos show you what the pedal does

Good pedal demos show you what you can do with them.



thoughs? insight? discuss.

[JohnnyC]

bad pedal demos - excessive/useless rambling about stuff you already know, unboxing, poor audio quality, "Wrong" playing style (i know theres no right or wrong, but i dont want to hear jazz playing to demo a metal high gain distortion)

demos basically are useless as theres so many variables, but it does serve a purpose...whether its killing time or researching...

[D.o.S.]

Bad pedal demos show you what the pedal does

Good pedal demos show you what you can do with them.



thoughs? insight? discuss.

Semantic pedantry.

[Gearmond]

Bad pedal demos show you what the pedal does

Good pedal demos show you what you can do with them.



thoughs? insight? discuss.

Semantic pedantry.

if you're aware enough to see that you're aware enough to grasp the intent, and should be aware that such accusations essentially mean "i see what you mean, but disagree with it's presentation" which is a dumb thing to do, imho

[ChetMagongalo]

I dont like when people play the same riff over and over. you gotta work with the pedal!
talking is a maybe for me, depends
I think you have the right idea though Gearmond. I like seeing what people can come up with to use the pedal for.

[rfurtkamp]

I want to hear what the pedal does to the signal. Sustained notes, chords, etc. would be nice, I don't care about the playing but hearing how the pedal impacts the dynanics/sound/whatever.

Don't need anything else to be useful.

It's nice to hear how the pedal interacts with a couple other common effects but not needed.

[Doctor X]

I want to hear what the pedal does to the signal. Sustained notes, chords, etc. would be nice, I don't care about the playing but hearing how the pedal impacts the dynanics/sound/whatever.
Don't need anything else to be useful.
It's nice to hear how the pedal interacts with a couple other common effects but not needed.

yep, me too

i'm not interested in the playing (although please be in tune ffs) but interested in the sound of the pedal, and rather than jumping around playing random things at random settings, i'm happy to hear the same slowly strummed chord over and over at different settings

obviously its needs to be decent sound quality and not have the physical sound of the guitar not louder than what coming out of the amp - put the camera near the speaker and well away from your strumming hand
and just playing blues licks makes everything sound the same

[zRobertez]

It's nice to hear how the pedal interacts with a couple other common effects but not needed.

Yeah I like when this hapoens

[rustywire]

Simple guidelines from someone who's never made a demo, but watched hundreds.


#1)
STFU. Seriously. Do not regurgitate the manual and company's advertising pitch. When it comes right down to it, I probably don't wanna hear what you have to say, either. If anything, saving commentary for the end of the video provides highest probability I will sit through and absorb it.

#2)
Bypass all other effects from the start. Integrate them after exploring what the pedal/gear does itself, both clean and dirty.

#3)
Explore all of the controls. Ignoring the range of a knob, switch position...or entire parameter is foolish, lazy and/or ignorant. 2 outta those 3.

#4)
Play single notes and chords. Lead and rhythm. Familiar riffs are a plus, especially if the pedal is attempting to recreate a specific record/show's sound. Save the guitar hero theatrics for battle of the bands or a talent show...which brings me to #5.

#5)
Remember, there's a difference between a demo and show+tell "this is my toy, watch how I play with it! look at me!" wankfest. No female is going to throw her bra at your *demo* video.

Sound quality should be a given.
If you don't have a proper mic setup, there are still simple steps that can be taken to produce something of use, even with a smartphone's mic.
Position the phone like you would a normal condenser microphone, miking the cab to capture the sound and not footage of your feet and pedalboard.
Make sure your levels do not clip. 12" 18" 2" away, trial & error.
A slightly low signal can always be boosted in post-prod, the only clipping I want to hear is from the gear being used to make the music, not the gear being used to record the demo.



Thanks to the folks who have taken, are taking and will take the time to actually provide something of use; saving the Op-Ed articles for their blog.

In the past few years I've purchased many a piece of kit after countless hours of research; and video demos have been instrumental in both the information gathering and decision making processes.

[Gearmond]

I want to hear what the pedal does to the signal. Sustained notes, chords, etc. would be nice, I don't care about the playing but hearing how the pedal impacts the dynanics/sound/whatever.

Don't need anything else to be useful.

It's nice to hear how the pedal interacts with a couple other common effects but not needed.

yeah, this and the above post p much get to what i was going for, a little bit.

like its one thing teaching someone about the handbreak, and its another thing to show them that you can drift.

[stripes]

i really love how fairfield circuitry does their pedal demos for two reasons: the looping method and not playing bullshit riffs. the most frustrating thing that i run into is when i want to try a new dirt pedal, and every single demo is someone playing generic blues riffs or rock guitar and not really changing the settings that much. i use dirt pedals mainly for textures, and it's really hard for me to know which one i will like based on a demo of someone soloing badly for 5 minutes. fortunately there are companies like ss/bs and fairfield who generally make things that i like, and demos that make me want their pedals.

edit: i also hate when people record pedals demos with like macbook speakers and electric fans blowing in the background... but i'm snobby

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4iGSQEenN6s[/youtube]
just to the point, done so well, showcases every feature

[goroth]

I think there is room for variety. Not every demo needs a knob sweep. But every demo needs to show what that user thinks is the best in that particular pedal. Kayzer doesn't use that many settings but you always get a good feel for the pedal.

[Ghost Hip]

There isn't a right way. I enjoy all sorts of demos. The only person I consistently enjoy demo to demo is JustNick. Because he always plays to the pedal, and uses it how he would use it. Some people probably just want to hear the pedal and don't care about what people have to say. Then don't watch a JustNick demo. I do. Whatever makes you drop hundred of dollars on a box of metal (oh wait thats a zvex pedal) is particular to each one of us.

Bottom line is say what you want to say, show us how the pedal inspires you. Or show us how it doesn't inspire you. If someone doesn't like the way you're doing a demo they can fuck off and watch another demo on youtube. Thats the beauty of the internet is that you don't have to sit and tolerate one persons view on things. You can click pause and find someone else to listen to.

[kbit]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4iGSQEenN6s[/youtube]
just to the point, done so well, showcases every feature

Holy crap, that super resonant sound is so cool. With an expression pedal....
Dunno why I never looked into this fuzz much before.

[sonidero]

I could do with zero demos... Schmemos = Meh-mos...