It still amazes me that people don't understand that social media is a regular job. You keep being transparent we keep watching your demos and join the conversation in the comments. Cheers!
I think its more important to understand the reviewer and their 'opinions' over a period of time. I know that NDA's prevent reviews/demos dropping before a certain time/date so I can understand why MANY reviews all appear at the same time for example and don't see that as a problem. What does become more of an issue is if all the reviews seem to say the same 'corporate' type statements which them comes across more like they are reading what they should say rather than their 'own' opinion. As I said, get to know the 'reviewer' through their 'Reviews' - Once you do that, you'll know where their 'Bias' lies, what they 'like/dislike' (which could be different to you) and even how 'consistent' they are. If they have a Bias towards Fender, you need to take that into consideration when reviewing other Strats/Teles, normally hates 'Pretty' tops so may not 'bond' with or feel comfortable with 'Pretty' guitars etc - so you can get an idea of whether they are a paid shill or 'consistent'. I'd be very Surprised if Rhett Shull would bond with a Core PRS Cu24 and 'bond' with it, give it a 'glowing' review - Much more inclined to feel an S2 Standard 24 is 'better' because the guitar is more 'consistent' with his 'preferences' in his 'own' instruments. You get to know what an honest 'reviewer' is likely to say about the product, assuming it 'works' as expected, before they 'review' - so all you are looking for is more the things you don't expect - Finish issues, Electronic issues, stability issues. Andertons never really review Chapman guitars or really use them in demos - something I actually respect as Lee is 'co-owner' of that brand. I can understand why they aren't 'reviewing/demoing' things they don't sell in their Shop as they probably don't get those items to review/demo and won't link to other stores either which is totally understandable. I think Lee is also very fair and whilst he may not always come out and say 'negative' things, he doesn't shy away from saying it isn't his thing or its OK for the Price - even if it doesn't 'compete' with more expensive alternatives he 'prefers'. Point is, understanding the Person behind the review is more important than the review itself as only then can you put that 'review' into context.
there is always two sides of the coin. of course you are tempted to take the money. no way you can be truely honest. if you think you are, i tell you you are wrong.
There’s a lot of wisdom in this comment, thanks for sharing your thoughts man. Knowing the person is important to be able to read between the lines. 👌 And BigEdWo: I have a great way of „going around“ that issue: if I don’t like something I‘ve been asked to review I decline the request, sometimes even send back the product instead of making a video on it where I can’t stay true to myself. Instead of bashing on products that I don’t like I rather just say no to the offer. My strict agreement with myself was when I started making my videos was that I only showcase stuff that I‘d use myself or recommend to my friends. My channel could be much bigger by now if I showed everything that the internet is hyped about but I don’t care. I love doing this too much to turn it into a money making machine. Cheers!
Hi Chris, I really get you point about someone being emotional biased because he did not pay his own Money for that piece of gear. People tend to justify their expensive spending with overpraising what they bought. Even the biggest pile of s**t will be praised, because it has to be good, because "I payed a lot of money for that gear" But there can be the other side of the coin: How long will brands pay your reviews or even provide you with test gear to make reviews, if your reviews are to critical to become marketing value for those brands? Therefore reviewers can tent to be cautious to not be to harsh on some flaws, or they are not part of the next review round and therefore wont feed the Algorithm and the channel will suffer from that. Also, there are "rumors" that some brands will send very strictly selected test gear to those reviewers, that may hide some production or QA problems, so that there are less flaws to review. That's why you see some reviewers do crowd funded undercover orders of gear (e.g. Glen Fricker had a friend of him order some HB Guitars to see, how they arrived compared to the review samples he ordered or got provided by Thomann)
So, every "paid" review, at least in my eyes, has to be taken with at least a some caution by the audience. But a basic caution should be the case with every review. Your get an foreign opinion, maybe some "technical specs", here and there some explanations of those specs. You get, at least with your kind of gear, some audial examples in YOUR signal chain, with YOUR Audio post processing and YOUR style of playing. Everyone should be aware, that if Kris plays wonderful (as always) and make the thing sound so special → that must not be the case with the listeners talent and signal chain (and mostly not happening post processing). Everyone should still try to test the thing himself (e.g. at Thomann), feel how it feels (if it is an instrument), or hear how it sounds in the closest to your signal chain, that the shop can provide to you, in their test rooms... Don't relay on other opinions. Take them as a hint about what could be worth trying, but nothing more than a hint.
Hey Kris, Very useful and thought provoking content as usual. The reason I haven't become a content creator myself is that I'm dealing with some health issues at the moment, and I do realize how much time and effort would go into producing quality content. Besides the fact that I would be starting without any prior knowledge of how it's done. I appreciate the hard work that you and other content creators do.
Great vid Kris. I like most of the UA-cam demo people and am happy you all get paid for the great work you put in. People just need to accept that a paid demo is exactly that, you're not gonna get a brutally honest "I don't recommend this pedal" review, not really the way advertising works!
It's the same thing with brands, we constantly hear about Gibson, PRS, Fender, and it becomes tedious and annoying. Not to mention, they don't necessarily have the best manufacturing quality in the world. I think Japanese guitar brands manufactured in Japan do a better job for less money. The Japanese are uncompromising about the quality of their products, which is not always the case with Americans in general.
Overall I agree with you Kris. The key word is transparency. But what bothers me however is that the most talented and entertaining guitar UA-camrs ultimately find themselves in a situation where for business reasons it no longer makes sense for them to do a 100% unbiased and balanced review that includes criticism of a product’s shortcomings. That approach would mean that brands would steer clear in the future. Most opt to emphasize the product’s strengths and ignore most or all of the shortcomings. The viewer is left with an entertaining video and perhaps some GAS but in some cases they really may be no wiser in the end.
Kris is a gem! I obviously know him personally as he reviewed one of my amps recently. If you didn't ever publish a cool UA-cam video by yourself, you cannot imagine the work that goes into it as it just looks so "easy" on the screen. To earn money for your work, many well-known UA-camr's will celebrate anything big manufacturers will pay them for. Kris doesn't do this. He only puts out honest videos on what he likes without earning much money for it. Not many do this. Big respect to you Kris!
Kris is in the core of modern marketing communication and branding. Every product or service creator and every consumer should understand the statements Kris is talking about, the use of social media and the influencers, being HONEST, shared content, user and consumer evaluations and reviews of the product/service, being visible on multiple channels etc. Well done!
I enjoy your videos and demos, especially your playing. I just have to fight the urge to buy the great pedals and amps you review! Especially that TWS amp!! I even looked it up. It is out of my price range and appears to be Euro only, but I love the specs and the features and appreciate your review of it.
The problem with some youtubers is the fact they cant be fully honest as future early access to gear from a company like gibson etc for reviews could be denied without explanation. They just wont contact you. And we know the algorithm for views and mass influx of purchases as the product is released benefits the reviewer more (through affiliate links etc) Like the glowing reviews from established media for films and tv shows that turn out to be average or just downright bad- i.e the ring of power, Will all come out with generic reviews to ensure future access. For guitars reviews this has them questioning very little like the price, lack of features, potential build issues and comparing the guitar to better alternatives.......and thus they keep it simple Even andertons does this for expensive guitars like gibsons, new prs Se, fender, when their overseas models are almost as much as the USA prices (1000+), and the USA prices are jacked up (nearly 2000 now)etc but in other videos question why there needed to be a more expensive yamaha revstar when the element was so good, even questioned why dan electro was asking 500 for its guitar when they were 'cheap catalogue guitars' like 40years ago...... Review format inconsistency is the issue and bigger brands have been getting preferential treatment Some people like Rhett shull whos channel is less focused on gear review proved this recently by changing his approach and compared a new epiphone to a real gibson les Paul 59 and they were almost identical in sound and showed why theres no need for a gibson if your a player ,not a dentist /doctor collector.
Hey Kris, I am a Newble luthier wannabee, and my bro's guitar ESP LTD H(something) and it has a folyd rose bridge, but the strings created a grove in the string holder, and it cant hold the strings anymore. Because it's an older model i need to change it. I am thinking to get from Thoman a replacement. I cant decide if it would be more worth to get a floyd rose low pro edge, or that as well will get the string grove in it and then i need to throw it away. What is your experience with Floyd roses tremolos ?
Hi Kris My conspiracy I never win music competitions for fear etc 😁😁😁 I run a small business I think that helps understand how things are The way I see it is that if I buy via your affiliate link , twice now I think , I’m helping support you to make videos on more gear, more techniques and more information As always thanks for your video !!
Flooding UA-camrs with a new product is rather counterproductive. I see 10 videos about the same product and that just puts me off. That's not the fault of the creators, but of the companies. It oversaturates our little musician brains. I have to admit that I'm really tired of watching thousands of reviews about a cheap guitar brand, while there are other, more interesting brands, but they are not willing to send the material for free. I do respect many UA-camrs (like you are) but I think that the system will be harmed when companies are sending there stuff out to anyone who has a couple of thousand subscribers. Keep up the good work Kris.
Nice sound kris.I tell you what I can’t stand mate.its when you can’t buy the gear straight away…Tonex pedal for example….preorder only.maybe you could do a vid about how that works.I mean if 1000 people preorder where does that Monet sit until ya get the product.keep up the good work mate.
Hey Kris, people who watch UA-cam videos without having spent the effort, time in shooting, editing, publishing a clip don't even have a clue on how time consuming this can be... your videos are pro, unbiased and when there is a product promotion, it's not dishonest to get paid for what you show. It is a lot of work and it guides the consumer, providing it is done in a honest way, which it is ! Cheers man: don't let the haters/trolls ruin your work and keep on doing the right stuff ! Rene
The funny thing is that even when it's a demo channel with paid promotion I still watch it. Yet, I buy nearly nothing in the way of gear ever, just too poor and set in my ways. It's the only way I can get a guitar hang. Got no guitar (or musician) buddies at this time.
Hey Kris, great video, thanks for the input about UA-cam videos. I'm in the process of changing my sound and only getting my sounds done with pedals, like you and Paul Gilbert do. I'm currently looking for a pedal-friendly amp, the wattage doesn't matter because I'll play it through the UA OX Box. So far I have 2 amps to choose from, one from Marshall the SV20 Studio or from Blackstar the St. James EL 34 head or combo, do you know any other good amps and which of them would you recommend? many thanks for your response :), David
Let’s all just take a minute to appreciate how much great music and entertainment we all enjoy through these types of videos. Ignore the sales aspects. I am, however, still waiting on someone, anyone, to give a negative review (besides on the metal zone)😂
On the “everyone releasing the same video demo when a product comes out” thing , for me I’ve just started tuning them out because you don’t get 10 different opinions on the gear because people need to keep brands happy to get the next thing and keep an income stream. You don’t get one vid saying this is cool and one saying it’s meh and one saying this sucks for what I do etc etc. you get 10 videos using the same style of rig that say the same thing “here’s what it does and you might like it”. I don’t think there’s anything wrong or dishonest doing that I just don’t think it’s effective anymore. The world is getting fed up with being advertised at 24/7 in every bit of media.
Demo reviews all on the same day? The main difference is the number of YT channels doing a demo - there were not that many magazines back in the days, and most weee monthly. So it also depended on when during the month, a magazine was published. So much more volume on YT
Very true. It’s much more personalized now though which is helpful. You can choose to watch 1-2 reviews from those players that you like and trust and ignore the rest. I find that much more informative than just reading the specs in a magazine. 🤷♂️
I love your naivete regarding the fact that a good add should be "an honest add" ... I've worked in the advertising business during the passed 30 years, in the number one advertising group in the world and I can assure you that there is nothing "honest" in almost all the adds you see no matter the media you look at (TV, online media, paper, radio etc.) it is not that it is "dishonest per say" (sometimes it is, there have been multiple scandals and frauds about certain products, I do remember one of the biggest scandal worldwide, in the car industry, famous brands, most of them in fact, cheated on their technical numbers regarding CO2 emission ...) but it is mostly a "lie" and at minimum an embelishment of the reality ... marketing is nothing else than making look good, great, beautiful, useful ... you name it ... what it is not so much in reality and even sometimes the opposit ... UA-camrs and influencers (what a word, it says it all !) are participating to that brands' marketing ... business first ... that's the world we live in ... but I trust your honesty and love your playing and will carry on following you 😉
Thanks s lot for your comment! I might be spoiled by Thomann‘s marketing philosophy then. 😅 That’s the only kind of marketing I was ever involved with and their ways are straight forward: don’t fool the customers if you want them to have a good experience and want her/him to come back again. They literally told me to please be myself and don’t say anything that I don‘t mean. And that’s the reason I agreed on making videos for them on the Thomann channel. I wished it was like this everywhere. Cheers!
Hey Kris, I truly believe that it is awesome that companies want to pay content creators for their hard work. Having a lot of information about new stuff at a release date is luxury of our time, so few appreciate it. Those people, that think that a content creator should work one's "regular job" to buy a piece of gear to demonstrate to them for free, are insolent men of little culture, at least. Thank you for your work!
You're also coming at it from the German perspective where you're (if anything, over-) regulated about advertising. In your vids you're always upfront about paid placements etc in your description. There are other yt channels (and some with 6 figure subs) who are very vague and woolly in both their written description and verbally in the vid ("thanks to X for sending me this to review") and don't tick the paid-advert box that even yt says they should. Imo they should be clear and honest - "X paid me to advertise this - but my opinions are my own". Those vague creators who dance around semantics and oddly never dislike anything (even gear other channels have panned) pretty much are shallow advertisers. Yet I see comments on their vids saying "best reviews on UA-cam". So while I generally agree with all your points, I'm not sure everyone is seeing through them judging from their sub numbers. But the flip side is about trust. It's up to viewers to watch enough vids to make their own judgement on who they trust, and understand each creators personal gear preferences and even minor biases. I don't "get" why viewers comment on vids suggesting the creator is a shill - if you don't trust their opinion, stop watching their content.
Well , there is nothing wrong about yt creators showing new gear , but in these days there are so many new amps / guitars and most of all pedals beeing made and there are so many yt guitar related channels showing all that gear that it becomes a bit silly and not fun to watch after a while .
You have to be pretty naive to be surprised that guitar UA-cam channels have a lot of sponsored content. You think it is just a coincidence that 50 different channels all happen to be featuring the new Fender release all on the same day? The degree to which this bias's a person's presentation of the gear is tough, because it isn't a single factor analysis. That said, I always watch a review for what I can get out of it beyond that person's opinion, as even if the video isn't sponsored, their opinion may have no parallels to my preferences or my use cases for gear. Many gear reviews are people just playing solos anyway, which that can't tell you very much about any piece of gear.
Just stop asking us to sub, like and click the bell. The ones that want to already does. The ones that don't will not anyway. And then there are your already subbed ppl who just get annoyed by it.
Absolutely nothing wrong with earning money via UA-cam! If the person advertising the product actually 'believes' what they are saying. Otherwise it's just a sales gig! and lacks integrity 🙏🙏
My view about UA-camrs being sponsored or getting free stuff is: SO WHAT? I just want to hear how it sounds. If someone says, "OMG this is the best thing ever!" I'm not going to mindlessly pull out my wallet and buy the thing. I have a brain, and I suspect all of you do, too. The idea that just because you didn't pay for some piece of shit guitar automatically means you can't give a balance review is ridiculous.
Hey Kris, every time you tell us viewers how much work you put in your channel I wonder why you do this. Is it more a job, or an enjoable hobby, maybe both? Or do you just want to grab free pedals? 😂
They are not brainless but clearly advertisers in the purest sense. UA-cam video's on gear in the end try to talk people into stuff - that is a fact. They are often called review although the title ' (payed and therefore biased) product presentation' would fit better. Also here applies: you do not bite the hand that feeds you.
It still amazes me that people don't understand that social media is a regular job. You keep being transparent we keep watching your demos and join the conversation in the comments. Cheers!
Much appreciated! 🙏
I think transparency like this is super important man. Awesome take and video as always 🤘
Much appreciated Jack! 🙏
I think its more important to understand the reviewer and their 'opinions' over a period of time. I know that NDA's prevent reviews/demos dropping before a certain time/date so I can understand why MANY reviews all appear at the same time for example and don't see that as a problem. What does become more of an issue is if all the reviews seem to say the same 'corporate' type statements which them comes across more like they are reading what they should say rather than their 'own' opinion.
As I said, get to know the 'reviewer' through their 'Reviews' - Once you do that, you'll know where their 'Bias' lies, what they 'like/dislike' (which could be different to you) and even how 'consistent' they are. If they have a Bias towards Fender, you need to take that into consideration when reviewing other Strats/Teles, normally hates 'Pretty' tops so may not 'bond' with or feel comfortable with 'Pretty' guitars etc - so you can get an idea of whether they are a paid shill or 'consistent'. I'd be very Surprised if Rhett Shull would bond with a Core PRS Cu24 and 'bond' with it, give it a 'glowing' review - Much more inclined to feel an S2 Standard 24 is 'better' because the guitar is more 'consistent' with his 'preferences' in his 'own' instruments. You get to know what an honest 'reviewer' is likely to say about the product, assuming it 'works' as expected, before they 'review' - so all you are looking for is more the things you don't expect - Finish issues, Electronic issues, stability issues.
Andertons never really review Chapman guitars or really use them in demos - something I actually respect as Lee is 'co-owner' of that brand. I can understand why they aren't 'reviewing/demoing' things they don't sell in their Shop as they probably don't get those items to review/demo and won't link to other stores either which is totally understandable. I think Lee is also very fair and whilst he may not always come out and say 'negative' things, he doesn't shy away from saying it isn't his thing or its OK for the Price - even if it doesn't 'compete' with more expensive alternatives he 'prefers'.
Point is, understanding the Person behind the review is more important than the review itself as only then can you put that 'review' into context.
there is always two sides of the coin. of course you are tempted to take the money. no way you can be truely honest. if you think you are, i tell you you are wrong.
There’s a lot of wisdom in this comment, thanks for sharing your thoughts man. Knowing the person is important to be able to read between the lines. 👌
And BigEdWo: I have a great way of „going around“ that issue: if I don’t like something I‘ve been asked to review I decline the request, sometimes even send back the product instead of making a video on it where I can’t stay true to myself. Instead of bashing on products that I don’t like I rather just say no to the offer.
My strict agreement with myself was when I started making my videos was that I only showcase stuff that I‘d use myself or recommend to my friends. My channel could be much bigger by now if I showed everything that the internet is hyped about but I don’t care. I love doing this too much to turn it into a money making machine. Cheers!
Hi Chris,
I really get you point about someone being emotional biased because he did not pay his own Money for that piece of gear. People tend to justify their expensive spending with overpraising what they bought. Even the biggest pile of s**t will be praised, because it has to be good, because "I payed a lot of money for that gear"
But there can be the other side of the coin: How long will brands pay your reviews or even provide you with test gear to make reviews, if your reviews are to critical to become marketing value for those brands? Therefore reviewers can tent to be cautious to not be to harsh on some flaws, or they are not part of the next review round and therefore wont feed the Algorithm and the channel will suffer from that.
Also, there are "rumors" that some brands will send very strictly selected test gear to those reviewers, that may hide some production or QA problems, so that there are less flaws to review. That's why you see some reviewers do crowd funded undercover orders of gear (e.g. Glen Fricker had a friend of him order some HB Guitars to see, how they arrived compared to the review samples he ordered or got provided by Thomann)
So, every "paid" review, at least in my eyes, has to be taken with at least a some caution by the audience.
But a basic caution should be the case with every review. Your get an foreign opinion, maybe some "technical specs", here and there some explanations of those specs. You get, at least with your kind of gear, some audial examples in YOUR signal chain, with YOUR Audio post processing and YOUR style of playing. Everyone should be aware, that if Kris plays wonderful (as always) and make the thing sound so special → that must not be the case with the listeners talent and signal chain (and mostly not happening post processing).
Everyone should still try to test the thing himself (e.g. at Thomann), feel how it feels (if it is an instrument), or hear how it sounds in the closest to your signal chain, that the shop can provide to you, in their test rooms... Don't relay on other opinions. Take them as a hint about what could be worth trying, but nothing more than a hint.
Man, that tune you played at the beginning on that jr was epic!
Thanks so much!
I appreciate your honesty in sharing this information that many might not know, Kris. You’re a killer player and awesome content creator.
You are awesome man, thank you!
Sounds great! Respect to your work!
Good job. Thank you for the work you do! Best Regards and Best Wishes!
Many thanks! ❤
Hey Kris,
Very useful and thought provoking content as usual. The reason I haven't become a content creator myself is that I'm dealing with some health issues at the moment, and I do realize how much time and effort would go into producing quality content. Besides the fact that I would be starting without any prior knowledge of how it's done. I appreciate the hard work that you and other content creators do.
Thanks for your work Kris 😊👍🏻
Great vid Kris. I like most of the UA-cam demo people and am happy you all get paid for the great work you put in. People just need to accept that a paid demo is exactly that, you're not gonna get a brutally honest "I don't recommend this pedal" review, not really the way advertising works!
It's the same thing with brands, we constantly hear about Gibson, PRS, Fender, and it becomes tedious and annoying. Not to mention, they don't necessarily have the best manufacturing quality in the world. I think Japanese guitar brands manufactured in Japan do a better job for less money. The Japanese are uncompromising about the quality of their products, which is not always the case with Americans in general.
Overall I agree with you Kris. The key word is transparency. But what bothers me however is that the most talented and entertaining guitar UA-camrs ultimately find themselves in a situation where for business reasons it no longer makes sense for them to do a 100% unbiased and balanced review that includes criticism of a product’s shortcomings. That approach would mean that brands would steer clear in the future. Most opt to emphasize the product’s strengths and ignore most or all of the shortcomings. The viewer is left with an entertaining video and perhaps some GAS but in some cases they really may be no wiser in the end.
Kris is a gem! I obviously know him personally as he reviewed one of my amps recently. If you didn't ever publish a cool UA-cam video by yourself, you cannot imagine the work that goes into it as it just looks so "easy" on the screen. To earn money for your work, many well-known UA-camr's will celebrate anything big manufacturers will pay them for. Kris doesn't do this. He only puts out honest videos on what he likes without earning much money for it. Not many do this. Big respect to you Kris!
You rock Kris! Love your vibe and honest approach !
Cheers Scott! 🙏
Kris is in the core of modern marketing communication and branding. Every product or service creator and every consumer should understand the statements Kris is talking about, the use of social media and the influencers, being HONEST, shared content, user and consumer evaluations and reviews of the product/service, being visible on multiple channels etc. Well done!
You are so very kind. 😊 I don’t even know what to say to that.
I enjoy your videos and demos, especially your playing. I just have to fight the urge to buy the great pedals and amps you review! Especially that TWS amp!! I even looked it up. It is out of my price range and appears to be Euro only, but I love the specs and the features and appreciate your review of it.
The problem with some youtubers is the fact they cant be fully honest as future early access to gear from a company like gibson etc for reviews could be denied without explanation.
They just wont contact you.
And we know the algorithm for views and mass influx of purchases as the product is released benefits the reviewer more (through affiliate links etc)
Like the glowing reviews from established media for films and tv shows that turn out to be average or just downright bad- i.e the ring of power,
Will all come out with generic reviews to ensure future access.
For guitars reviews this has them questioning very little like the price, lack of features, potential build issues and comparing the guitar to better alternatives.......and thus they keep it simple
Even andertons does this for expensive guitars like gibsons, new prs Se, fender, when their overseas models are almost as much as the USA prices (1000+), and the USA prices are jacked up (nearly 2000 now)etc but in other videos question why there needed to be a more expensive yamaha revstar when the element was so good, even questioned why dan electro was asking 500 for its guitar when they were 'cheap catalogue guitars' like 40years ago......
Review format inconsistency is the issue and bigger brands have been getting preferential treatment
Some people like Rhett shull whos channel is less focused on gear review proved this recently by changing his approach and compared a new epiphone to a real gibson les Paul 59 and they were almost identical in sound and showed why theres no need for a gibson if your a player ,not a dentist /doctor collector.
I like in guitar world that product does not go outdated years. I watch video about pedals that came out years ago.
You were starting to remind me a J Mascis during that last solo Kris...great feel dude
Hey Kris, I am a Newble luthier wannabee, and my bro's guitar ESP LTD H(something) and it has a folyd rose bridge, but the strings created a grove in the string holder, and it cant hold the strings anymore. Because it's an older model i need to change it. I am thinking to get from Thoman a replacement. I cant decide if it would be more worth to get a floyd rose low pro edge, or that as well will get the string grove in it and then i need to throw it away. What is your experience with Floyd roses tremolos ?
Hi Kris
My conspiracy
I never win music competitions for fear etc 😁😁😁
I run a small business I think that helps understand how things are
The way I see it is that if I buy via your affiliate link , twice now I think , I’m helping support you to make videos on more gear, more techniques and more information
As always thanks for your video !!
Flooding UA-camrs with a new product is rather counterproductive. I see 10 videos about the same product and that just puts me off. That's not the fault of the creators, but of the companies. It oversaturates our little musician brains. I have to admit that I'm really tired of watching thousands of reviews about a cheap guitar brand, while there are other, more interesting brands, but they are not willing to send the material for free. I do respect many UA-camrs (like you are) but I think that the system will be harmed when companies are sending there stuff out to anyone who has a couple of thousand subscribers.
Keep up the good work Kris.
Nice sound kris.I tell you what I can’t stand mate.its when you can’t buy the gear straight away…Tonex pedal for example….preorder only.maybe you could do a vid about how that works.I mean if 1000 people preorder where does that Monet sit until ya get the product.keep up the good work mate.
tone x is great sounds just like the real deal.
often enough
Most people have no idea that for 1 min of video there is at least 1 HOUR of editing / filming / research work behind it.
Hey Kris, people who watch UA-cam videos without having spent the effort, time in shooting, editing, publishing a clip don't even have a clue on how time consuming this can be... your videos are pro, unbiased and when there is a product promotion, it's not dishonest to get paid for what you show. It is a lot of work and it guides the consumer, providing it is done in a honest way, which it is !
Cheers man: don't let the haters/trolls ruin your work and keep on doing the right stuff ! Rene
Thanks a lot Rene! You are the best. 😁
The funny thing is that even when it's a demo channel with paid promotion I still watch it. Yet, I buy nearly nothing in the way of gear ever, just too poor and set in my ways. It's the only way I can get a guitar hang. Got no guitar (or musician) buddies at this time.
To me it's all about the hangs, sharing infos and sharing moments. :) You're much appreciated here dude!
Hey Kris, great video, thanks for the input about UA-cam videos. I'm in the process of changing my sound and only getting my sounds done with pedals, like you and Paul Gilbert do. I'm currently looking for a pedal-friendly amp, the wattage doesn't matter because I'll play it through the UA OX Box. So far I have 2 amps to choose from, one from Marshall the SV20 Studio or from Blackstar the St. James EL 34 head or combo, do you know any other good amps and which of them would you recommend?
many thanks for your response :),
David
I prefer to think of it as infotainment, somebody gotta pay like R&D advertising ain’t free!!!!
Your videos are excellent and you should be compensated.
I appreciate that! Cheers!
Let’s all just take a minute to appreciate how much great music and entertainment we all enjoy through these types of videos. Ignore the sales aspects. I am, however, still waiting on someone, anyone, to give a negative review (besides on the metal zone)😂
First of all thanks a lot! Second, let’s discuss negative reviews in my next Comment Time video. 😁
On the “everyone releasing the same video demo when a product comes out” thing , for me I’ve just started tuning them out because you don’t get 10 different opinions on the gear because people need to keep brands happy to get the next thing and keep an income stream. You don’t get one vid saying this is cool and one saying it’s meh and one saying this sucks for what I do etc etc. you get 10 videos using the same style of rig that say the same thing “here’s what it does and you might like it”. I don’t think there’s anything wrong or dishonest doing that I just don’t think it’s effective anymore. The world is getting fed up with being advertised at 24/7 in every bit of media.
The beginning is called Balaton Blues 🙂
I LOVE that title. ❤
Demo reviews all on the same day? The main difference is the number of YT channels doing a demo - there were not that many magazines back in the days, and most weee monthly. So it also depended on when during the month, a magazine was published.
So much more volume on YT
Very true. It’s much more personalized now though which is helpful. You can choose to watch 1-2 reviews from those players that you like and trust and ignore the rest. I find that much more informative than just reading the specs in a magazine. 🤷♂️
I love your naivete regarding the fact that a good add should be "an honest add" ... I've worked in the advertising business during the passed 30 years, in the number one advertising group in the world and I can assure you that there is nothing "honest" in almost all the adds you see no matter the media you look at (TV, online media, paper, radio etc.) it is not that it is "dishonest per say" (sometimes it is, there have been multiple scandals and frauds about certain products, I do remember one of the biggest scandal worldwide, in the car industry, famous brands, most of them in fact, cheated on their technical numbers regarding CO2 emission ...) but it is mostly a "lie" and at minimum an embelishment of the reality ... marketing is nothing else than making look good, great, beautiful, useful ... you name it ... what it is not so much in reality and even sometimes the opposit ... UA-camrs and influencers (what a word, it says it all !) are participating to that brands' marketing ... business first ... that's the world we live in ... but I trust your honesty and love your playing and will carry on following you 😉
Thanks s lot for your comment! I might be spoiled by Thomann‘s marketing philosophy then. 😅 That’s the only kind of marketing I was ever involved with and their ways are straight forward: don’t fool the customers if you want them to have a good experience and want her/him to come back again. They literally told me to please be myself and don’t say anything that I don‘t mean. And that’s the reason I agreed on making videos for them on the Thomann channel.
I wished it was like this everywhere. Cheers!
Hey Kris,
I truly believe that it is awesome that companies want to pay content creators for their hard work. Having a lot of information about new stuff at a release date is luxury of our time, so few appreciate it. Those people, that think that a content creator should work one's "regular job" to buy a piece of gear to demonstrate to them for free, are insolent men of little culture, at least.
Thank you for your work!
You are not only paid for time spent on video. That did took many years to learn guitar so you are worth something to brand being in touch with you.
I'm just going to say "There is nothing wrong about getting paid for honest job"
👍🏽
You're also coming at it from the German perspective where you're (if anything, over-) regulated about advertising. In your vids you're always upfront about paid placements etc in your description.
There are other yt channels (and some with 6 figure subs) who are very vague and woolly in both their written description and verbally in the vid ("thanks to X for sending me this to review") and don't tick the paid-advert box that even yt says they should. Imo they should be clear and honest - "X paid me to advertise this - but my opinions are my own".
Those vague creators who dance around semantics and oddly never dislike anything (even gear other channels have panned) pretty much are shallow advertisers. Yet I see comments on their vids saying "best reviews on UA-cam". So while I generally agree with all your points, I'm not sure everyone is seeing through them judging from their sub numbers.
But the flip side is about trust. It's up to viewers to watch enough vids to make their own judgement on who they trust, and understand each creators personal gear preferences and even minor biases. I don't "get" why viewers comment on vids suggesting the creator is a shill - if you don't trust their opinion, stop watching their content.
Interessantes Video, vielen Dank. Gruß Lars.
Shallow advertisers? Why I only watch kris then
Well , there is nothing wrong about yt creators showing new gear , but in these days there are so many new amps / guitars and most of all pedals beeing made and there are so many yt guitar related channels showing all that gear that it becomes a bit silly and not fun to watch after a while .
So Kris... how much do you think you should get paid to make a pedal review video?
Come on Kris, I subscribed to you as a long time lurker today, but the headlines for your videos have sucked recently..... Just be you !
Maybe presenters should state at the start of the video that the product is not available until later and maybe give a date.cheers
You have to be pretty naive to be surprised that guitar UA-cam channels have a lot of sponsored content. You think it is just a coincidence that 50 different channels all happen to be featuring the new Fender release all on the same day? The degree to which this bias's a person's presentation of the gear is tough, because it isn't a single factor analysis. That said, I always watch a review for what I can get out of it beyond that person's opinion, as even if the video isn't sponsored, their opinion may have no parallels to my preferences or my use cases for gear. Many gear reviews are people just playing solos anyway, which that can't tell you very much about any piece of gear.
Just stop asking us to sub, like and click the bell. The ones that want to already does. The ones that don't will not anyway. And then there are your already subbed ppl who just get annoyed by it.
Absolutely nothing wrong with earning money via UA-cam! If the person advertising the product actually 'believes' what they are saying. Otherwise it's just a sales gig! and lacks integrity 🙏🙏
100% agreed. That’s why I’m so selective with what I show. If I’m not excited I can’t make a good video so I just don’t make one, haha.
My view about UA-camrs being sponsored or getting free stuff is: SO WHAT? I just want to hear how it sounds. If someone says, "OMG this is the best thing ever!" I'm not going to mindlessly pull out my wallet and buy the thing. I have a brain, and I suspect all of you do, too. The idea that just because you didn't pay for some piece of shit guitar automatically means you can't give a balance review is ridiculous.
Hey Kris,
every time you tell us viewers how much work you put in your channel I wonder why you do this.
Is it more a job, or an enjoable hobby, maybe both?
Or do you just want to grab free pedals? 😂
They are not brainless but clearly advertisers in the purest sense. UA-cam video's on gear in the end try to talk people into stuff - that is a fact. They are often called review although the title ' (payed and therefore biased) product presentation' would fit better. Also here applies: you do not bite the hand that feeds you.
Who cares
Me trusts Tele players only