Pointless youtube Demos.

[edcmat-l1]

Originally Posted by ljguitar

Life is too short to get frustrated at poor YouTube videos.

T-shirt.......

[Silurian]

Originally Posted by ljguitar

Hi S

No, there are so many I just end poor videos and find better ones. Life is too short to get frustrated at poor YouTube videos.

It's not necessarily that the videos are poor. In fact the playing is often of a high standard. It's simply that at times the demo's only highlight limited aspects of the guitar's capabilities.

I don't use them for purchasing decisions but if I'm interested in a guitar I will seek out as many Demos as possible to get a "flavour" of the guitar.

In most cases I have no intention of buying the guitar at all. I'm just interested in what it sounds like.

[FrankHudson]

I understand the OP's point--and also the reply that life's too short to get frustrated by YouTube videos, and I guess I agree with both.

I've not bought an acoustic guitar in some time, though I do some delusory window shopping which can lead to watching YouTube demos. I suppose there's some information about the sound qualities that can be derived from them--otherwise why would I spend the time--but as the OP states, what's played in what way by what player impacts what comes out of the guitar.

The secondary point already made upthread that a guitar's recorded sound is not the sound in a room to a player's ear is also true. One lesson I draw from that (and from reading about some modest instruments that have been used on effective recordings) is that a connoisseur who's substantial use, value and enjoyment of their guitar is that experience of it in that unadorned splendor is not the same as someone, like me, who plays them for coarser pleasures, or to compose, or to record (sometimes as a supporting part in a mix).

I'm not knocking the connoisseur. And yes, I know there are recording artists and recordings featuring expensive and/or rare guitars thought of as "holy grails" by many of us too. Just saying that the flattening of nuances that may be important and valued in one context is somewhat inherent in the recording process, up and down the line of recording and streaming technology. So yeah, the quickie video recorded in a bad room with a cell phone can still bug me. And the OP finger picker is understandably miffed for a moment to hear that something like his technique may be missing from a demo video. I spend a lot of my time cross-picking with a flat pick. The best I'll get in most demos videos is a little fill or bass string run with a flat pick. Finger-pickers wearing finger picks get close to the same attack I use the most, but even that is less common than bare flesh or flesh and nails.

[Dwight]

Originally Posted by gr81dorn

I think this guy wins for me, if I had to pick a demo maker doing it right:
Ian Meadows: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmZ...epQN5CXZBJgCKg

He has quality recording equipment, he keeps himself out of the video completely (no talking, no face, etc - it's just about the guitar). He plays a variety of techniques and capos part-way through to give that nuanced change of dynamics. It's very high quality with good headphones, too.

Bonus is that he shares comparisons of many similar styles of guitar one after another so you can get a real comparison.

It's about as good and useful as such videos can be IMHO.

I'm lucky to have him as a friend and advisor. He is the most honest person I know and has sold me dozens of guitars at Acoustic Music.org. The only time I don't take his advice is when he tells me I don't need another guitar.

Check out his duo and band "The Meadows Brothers"



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[roylor4]

Originally Posted by Neil K Walk

I feel like this is where personal websites for vendors need to step up. YouTube is a hot mess of amateurs looking to pass themselves off as experts.

That's your opinion.

I have found youtube to be a treasure trove when it comes to gear reviews by experienced and gigging players.There is a lot of great content out there. They may be in the minority, but when you find the good ones they can be truly valuable.

[BoneDigger]

I use YouTube quite a lot for this purpose. In fact, I'll generally listen to all of the video reviews I can find about a specific guitar to get an overall "feel" for it. But, I do so with the knowledge that it will sound totally different when in my hands. Playing in person is much better, but that's not always possible.

[rstaight]

One You Tube channel I watch is Darrell Braun Guitar. When he does a comparison he will play the guitars he is comparing with just the neck pickup, then the bridge pickup, and all pickups. Using the same amp and settings.

I gives a somewhat reliable comparison with his equipment

I did see and acoustic review this weekend. Don't remember who it was, never seen him before, just came across it.

He was sent a guitar from, cover your ears, Zager. At least the one he was sent looked good and it didn't sound bad. But the reviewer did say there was no label indicating country of origin and it felt like an Asian built guitar. He did say he would spend maybe $500 to $700 on it. But no way he would spend the $2500 on the website. That was marked down from I believe $4999 or something like that.

There are some people I trust and do a very good job of production. Then there are others who are just hacks. And that is just not guitars, it's across the board.

[mawmow]

Originally Posted by SkipII

I consider most YouTube demos worthless. (Matt at Eddie's Guitars in St. Louis is one of the exceptions.)

The system compresses most sound anyway, and whatever true nuances are easily lost in the limitations of your computer's processing or speaker quality (and headphones are only a minor improvement). At the end of most of these videos -- if they are by someone who clearly knows their stuff -- I just wish they woiuld offer their perspectives on the differences.

There is NOTHING that comes close to matching the entire sensory experience of holding a guitar against your body and playing it as you play to appreciate the differences.

And, yes, many of them are thinly veiled attempts at showing off.

I almost entirely agree, particularly about the compression issue. I once recorded a comparative video (fingerstyle) of three orchestra acoustics I own to show the sound differences. After uploading, the differences became so subtle that the demo became worthless and I just withdraw it !

[brencat]

Originally Posted by Tnfiddler

I'm a bluegrass/country player and as much as I love Heartbreaker Guitars, when Mike(who is a FANTASTIC player) has dreads and only plays fingerstyle on them, it drives me crazy!! Carl Miner's videos at The North American Guitar are the best demo videos on the internet, in my opinion!

This ^ 100%. I really only care about bluegrass flatpicking and strumming. 2 mins max, and get right into it. Don't waste my time with G chord, C chord ringing out for 30 secs. Just don't have the patience. I want to always hear how a guitar sounds in the context of a song, even if it's improv on the spot. Because that's where a guitar's secrets are revealed... i.e. harmonizing effects, blended vs articulate sound, etc.

Carl Miner's demos are the best. I like Stuart Ryan as well...also from TNAG.

[Fatfinger McGee]

If you're watching Youtube vids to get a realistic picture of how the guitar sounds when you're playing it, you'll probably see them as somewhat pointless. Unless it's a video of you playing it, I suppose.

If you're watching to get good advice from knowledgeable pros, see what and how they think about guitars and gear, learn things to think about as you try guitars yourself, window shop for guitars you'll never play or own, or steal neat licks and 3-4 minute songs, you'll probably be pretty happy with them.

As always, one man's trash is another man's treasure.

[Glennwillow]

The best guitar demos come from players who I already know play like me. Al Petteway and Doug Young play like I do, and so when they play a guitar I listen. I learn a lot from their videos.

I remember looking around on YouTube for some good demos of the Guild F512 before I bought mine. I could find almost no one on YouTube who really knew how to play a 12-string well, at least from my viewpoint. And when someone did play an F512 well, he or she did not use good enough equipment for me to learn anything. I bought my F512 based on what I knew about the Guild F212 I had owned for 40+ years.

So, yes, YouTube demos can be frustrating. But... again, if you have the right player using good equipment, you can learn a lot.

I don't have much patience for someone playing me a G chord or C chord and then waiting for 30 seconds for the sound to decay.

I think the range of comments on this thread combined with the widely varying expectations shows why it's so hard to please people with YouTube demo videos. Nobody wants the same thing from the video, so how can you please anyone?

Folks have mentioned Carl Miner's videos. Yes, he is one terrific guitar player! I am not a bluegrass player, so I don't listen to his videos for the purpose of choosing a bluegrass guitar. But I certainly enjoy listening to Carl Miner play, regardless of what guitar he is playing. Man! He is good!

- Glenn

[mercy]

I dont know how true to life the Dream samples are but they afford a comparison as they all seem to be recorded the same. What I would like is for the strings to be plucked one at a time slowly then the same with the basic chords. It also bugs me when a guitar the is obviously a fingerstyle guitar has a guy playing blues or just chording.

[boneuphtoner]

Yes, I agree with the OP that there are a bunch of demos that don't show different styles, etc. and I tend to stay away from those. I'm a fingerpicker myself and I don't tend to watch demos if they don't have some fingerstyle content.

I think they can be very useful at identifying guitars that might work for you if you are using good headphones. I recall when I first heard the Martin D-28 MD that I thought it sounded fantastic with fingerstyle by Chris at Alamo music. Then I heard a comparison of this guitar with a regular D-28 by Chris and then Jarvis at the Guitar Spa on youtube - all of them showed that the D-28 MD sounded exactly like what I wanted. But many of the written reviews here and elsewhere said that the MD was brighter than the standard guitars which is NOT what I wanted. It wasn't until I went in a store to buy a D-35 Woodstock guitar that my eye caught a MD D-28 hanging on the wall. And in less than a minute I knew I would not be leaving the store without the D-28 MD. So in my case, using great headphones, the demos were actually very informative since I knew what I was listening for, and I know what types of tone that I like.

[rokdog49]

So someone is going to tell me that all of the thousands of You Tube demo videos, there are none of any value.
Ha! ...I laugh in your face.

[UncleJesse]

Originally Posted by rokdog49

So someone is going to tell me that all of the thousands of You Tube demo videos, there are none of any value.
Ha! ...I laugh in your face.

ha! I've actually gone back and listened to videos after I've purchased a guitar and can make that connection. That has helped me afterwards searching out new guitars. So they're definitely of value for me, the good ones anyway.