ilovefuzz.com

So i'm starting a vintage/rare pedal store (not the point of this thread) and i'm working on a Youtube channel to go along with it.

The idea is to use a range of different guitarists playing different gear in different genres as opposed to just the standard demo format of one guy playing the same old stuff. I'm not big on the babbling on part of demos, i want to just show the pedal and use the description for any of that other information.

Here's the test demo i did with a made playing for me:

http://youtu.be/bgnZnay58Js

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bgnZnay58Js[/youtube]


I'm after some honest opinions on the video format etc. Decent idea/format so far? Is the audio/video up to scratch? (i'm aware there's a bit of clipping in parts).

Cheers guyyyyyyzzzzz

A good start. It sounded really good and I like the Hand of Doom manipulating the knobs freeing you up to play. I do like that you don't talk at the beginning and instead list tech specs on screen, however slow that scroll down or maybe like fade in fade out instead. But you should talk at some point, share your feelings on the guitar or pedal.

So you should talk more but still not talk too much. Yeah.

My first thought is it seems very tedious if you are using it as a platform to sell an item that might not always be in stock, or limited availability. But I think it might make you an internet hero if you have good demos of rare and vintage pedals. I'm on the bus so haven't watched the video yet, sowwy! I'll update later!

Dark Barn wrote:My first thought is it seems very tedious if you are using it as a platform to sell an item that might not always be in stock, or limited availability. But I think it might make you an internet hero if you have good demos of rare and vintage pedals. I'm on the bus so haven't watched the video yet, sowwy! I'll update later!

so i'm doing the youtube channel to accompany the store. i don't actually own that muff anyway so i'm more than happy to demo pedals that have already sold just for the exposure. like, there's a billion demos of current production pedals, but it's super hard to find a good Lovetone or Foxrox demo for example. i want to be the channel that has those available. a hub of sorts for all things rare and vintage down here in Aus. you make valid points though

Seedy wrote:A good start. It sounded really good and I like the Hand of Doom manipulating the knobs freeing you up to play. I do like that you don't talk at the beginning and instead list tech specs on screen, however slow that scroll down or maybe like fade in fade out instead. But you should talk at some point, share your feelings on the guitar or pedal.

So you should talk more but still not talk too much. Yeah.

bueno, the hand of doom says thanks for the tips

I thought it was a good demo. Really showcased the star of the video. Being the Green Russian Big Muff, and what that pedal can do. Would of liked to see some bass guitar thrown in because that pedal is the tits on bass. The format of the demo was good too. No boring chatter just pedal sounds, the knob tweaking and the text info of equipment used. Great job oh! And your mates facial expressions cracked me up

Overall, I'd give it an A. However, I would have liked it even better if it was a minute shorter. You're off to a great start though. You got virtually all of the big things right... no string noise on the audio track. Not a lot of talking. No stupid animation or title card at the beginning (a really quick one would be fine). You didn't spend 30 seconds demo'ing your clean tone, or waste time saying unnecessary things like "Hi everybody, it's me George from the Pedal Store, and today I'm very excited because we have a brand new demo of the Big Muff" (all of it a waste of valuable time).

I agree the scroll goes by too fast. You might float the text onscreen and leave it up for a wee bit (at a medium or small size). It won't be in the way. I find a scroll is distracting, on the news or wherever.

In general, I don't need to see every single thing a pedal can do. Show me a few key points, especially what the pedal is great at. I think you did a really good job of that. If a demo video is long, I almost never watch the whole thing, unless it's a really complicated pedal that I am already interested in.

You might want to talk a tiny bit at the end, like a 20 second summation, to get your face onscreen and recap the main points, pros/cons, cover anything that wasn't explicitly demo'd. Unless you're not good on-camera, or don't know how to make that interesting. Because then we associate your store with you the person. Not essential though. Especially if you say UMMM a lot. If it's at the end, people can skip that part easily if want to. You could also use the Youtube description section to cover things you didn't discuss in the video.

Cut the majority of the scrolling. Intro info on what guitar/who/amp etc is what a single card is for. It makes reading it when paused a meaningful option as well. Also never use that clock in the background, it will make edits disjointed.

As someone starting their own youtube channel (More Gear Than Talent), I love it and I'll tell you why:

1. Length: When I look for pedal demos at about 7 minutes I'll scroll to look for something shorter. Your respectful of your audience's time.
2. Sound quality: Sounded good, pro. No extraneous noises.
3. Good lighting: 'nuff said.
4. The scrolling text helped convey what needed to be said without taking away from the performance.

You've got me wanting to buy the Bass Big Muff Pi which is based on that Russian Muff.

That font with the outline was a little hard to read when it was scrolling. Got better when I enlarged the video though.

The picture in picture showing the knobs being moved is great.

Remember you asked for brutal honesty...

1. I don't need to see the guy on screen. It's cluttered. I see the Seahawks logo more than the pedal. Keep it simple - Pedal, logo...that's all you need. If you want to make it more customized than that, work out something to frame the pedal (set design or graphic), but it's a waste to show this guy on the screen. You want this to represent your company. For that, visually, you want something that shows off the product and something that reinforces your brand. Pedal, logo - get the most out of those two elements.

2. The first :04 of the video is soundless for me. If this is by design, fix it. You want to catch viewers' attention from the very beginning.

3. Settings change way too frequently. Remember - people are incredibly impatient. You want people to be able to scroll through this, hit the highlights, find the setting they are looking for, etc. You're changing stuff way too quickly for that. You need to sit down and think about structure...do you want to structure this around certain settings? If so, let the guy play at one setting for a while (you can always edit it down shorter if it seems to drag). Or do you want to feature a variety of settings based around certain styles of playing? If so, maybe think about title cards to announce each change (so people can find them easily) and break it up.

Mojo named anything .

onyxrhino wrote:Remember you asked for brutal honesty...

1. I don't need to see the guy on screen. It's cluttered. I see the Seahawks logo more than the pedal. Keep it simple - Pedal, logo...that's all you need. If you want to make it more customized than that, work out something to frame the pedal (set design or graphic), but it's a waste to show this guy on the screen. You want this to represent your company. For that, visually, you want something that shows off the product and something that reinforces your brand. Pedal, logo - get the most out of those two elements.

I was gonna comment on how I spent the whole time looking at that hipster-assed fixed gear in the background! I kid of course, what kind of bike is that? I love riding fixed and have a Super Pista frameset on the way but I think there's a different thread to talk about that

But yeah, minimizing the subject a bit would be good, but there's kind of a fine line. For example - in Knob's demo of the CT5 (aka the greatest demo in the history of mankind) I would have liked to see what his hands were doing so I could tell which sounds where coming from him and which were coming from the pedal. Needless to say I'm on the waitlist for one, but that's aside the point. I don't think for fuzz pedals you need to see anything but the pedal, unless you have a blank backdrop (ala aen).

Yeah, shorten it down and spend a little more time in the sweet spots, like oxy said.

off topic but pertaining to brutal honesty: http://achewood.com/index.php?date=02242009

I was gonna comment on how I spent the whole time looking at that hipster-assed fixed gear in the background! I kid of course, what kind of bike is that? I love riding fixed and have a Super Pista frameset on the way but I think there's a different thread to talk about that

But yeah, minimizing the subject a bit would be good, but there's kind of a fine line. For example - in Knob's demo of the CT5 (aka the greatest demo in the history of mankind) I would have liked to see what his hands were doing so I could tell which sounds where coming from him and which were coming from the pedal. Needless to say I'm on the waitlist for one, but that's aside the point. I don't think for fuzz pedals you need to see anything but the pedal, unless you have a blank backdrop (ala aen).

Yeah, shorten it down and spend a little more time in the sweet spots, like oxy said.

That's the custom made Toyroom bike haha. it's in Toyroom colours with the logo on it. It's decorative, i ride track fixies to commute cause they weigh nothing. currently rolling a Specialized Langster

I was going for the "using a background instead of a white sheet" look because i wanted it to look like a dude jamming instead of a studio recording.

I kinda figured i was messing with the knobs a bit much too. i thought next time i'll work with the dude to find sweet spots first before we just jam on things.

onyxrhino wrote:Remember you asked for brutal honesty...

1. I don't need to see the guy on screen. It's cluttered. I see the Seahawks logo more than the pedal. Keep it simple - Pedal, logo...that's all you need. If you want to make it more customized than that, work out something to frame the pedal (set design or graphic), but it's a waste to show this guy on the screen. You want this to represent your company. For that, visually, you want something that shows off the product and something that reinforces your brand. Pedal, logo - get the most out of those two elements.

2. The first :04 of the video is soundless for me. If this is by design, fix it. You want to catch viewers' attention from the very beginning.

will fix that audio in the future yep.

as for the filming, i need to show the guitarist becaus ethe people signing up to do the demos are local guitarists after exposure. they need to be on screen or else they won't do it. a representation of my company is being personable, so i want to split the focus between the pedal and players. players are gonna be very important.

i completely get all your points though, thanks for not holding back

echoraven wrote:As someone starting their own youtube channel (More Gear Than Talent), I love it and I'll tell you why:

1. Length: When I look for pedal demos at about 7 minutes I'll scroll to look for something shorter. Your respectful of your audience's time.
2. Sound quality: Sounded good, pro. No extraneous noises.
3. Good lighting: 'nuff said.
4. The scrolling text helped convey what needed to be said without taking away from the performance.

You've got me wanting to buy the Bass Big Muff Pi which is based on that Russian Muff.

i got on eBay and found some studio lamps for $50 that included 4 umbrellas, stands, globes and everything. best deal ever, looks so pro all set up in the room.