Is it just me...!

HansiR · September 2018

Hi Guys... sometimes, when a new guitar or an updated guitar comes on the scene, and it's not possible to actually go to a shop and try it out for one's self, and so you find a review on YouTube where the reviewer, after checking it out and giving a rundown on the new spec, etc. says something like "Okay, now let's listen to what it sounds like... today I'm going to be using an FX SUPER FUZZ with twin carbs, combined with an SP200 Reverb Road Rocket, put through a Whammy Willy Wobbler for ambiance..." and then they proceed to play a few riffs... leaving you wondering what in fact the guitar actually sounds like unsupported! Is it just me who finds such reviews frustrating as it's rare that you actually find out what the guitar can actually do without support from various pedals... and not everybody uses pedals. Occasionally I have come across a review where you get a chance to hear a clean rendition but it doesn't seem that often... I can't help feeling that if a guitar being reviewed is only played with the addition of a few pedals, that it's somehow lacking in something important! I would like to see reviews where the guitar is first played clean, using a basic amp and just the guitar's controls, and then maybe after that the addition of a few riffs with FX pedals... then it would be clear what the guitar is, or not, capable of. Well, that's my opinion anyway... what do you think? If you went for a test drive in a new car and the car was filled with rocket fuel for the test, you would want to know what it runs like on unleaded too... wouldn't you?

TTony · September 2018

That's one of the (many) limiting factors in any sort of review.

You get the spotty yoofs in their bedrooms showing off their widdling prowess, recorded on an iPhone.

Or the retailers with a pro set-up studio who (amazingly) tell you that it's wonderful and you can buy it on the link below.

Or the mag reviews who have to get through 20 reviews in the day before publication so can do little more than open a box, sniff it to check that it really *is* new, and then give it a challenging examination to work out whether it's worth 4 stars of 4.5.

All of the above is one person's opinion, and it's the opinion of one person who's either just spent their hard-earned, or wants you to spend your hard-earned.

You might think that there'd be a better way of doing reviews. I do.

JezWynd · September 2018

It's like selling TV's. I never knew they had a 'showroom mode', that makes everything brighter, more saturated. Keep it in that mode all the time and you'll probably burn out the screen in 12 months.

Well actually, it's not the same thing at all, but it pi**es me off just the same.

HansiR · September 2018

"Spotty Yoofs" haha, I like that! Yes, tricks of the trade... don't even get me started on those photos of Big Macs, Whoppers, etc. looking so puffed up in the photos like you could use one as a trampoline, instead of the pathetic flat thing with a limp lettuce leaf that you are actually served...!

fftc · September 2018

No, it's not just you.
The trick is to watch as many reviews as you can find/can tolerate* and filter out the bad ones. It get easier to know who trusted sources are, and to learn which bits you can usually pick up from one reviewer and which bits from another. Quite a few times I have found good reviews from unknown sources. If you do find one of these it's always good to give them a like and maybe a subscribe. Sometimes it does seem like a lot of work but in reality it's not that hard to watch a few videos and disregard the crap ones!

*delete as appropriate.

HansiR · September 2018

Yes, that is more or less what I end up doing fftc... while I was waiting for my new Telecaster to be delivered I kept watching reviews about it and was amazed that hardly any of them showed a straightforward, down to earth, sound test. But, with a 3-week wait for delivery, I was able to watch quite a few reviews and more or less work out what I wanted to know...

Roland · September 2018

fftc said:

The trick is to watch as many reviews as you can find/can tolerate ...

I prefer the trick of waiting for one to hit the second hand market at 50-60% of the original price, and reading the reason why it’s being sold. You can then try it at home, decide for yourself whether it adds any value to the way you play, and selling in on if it doesn’t.

Roland · September 2018

TTony said:

You might think that there'd be a better way of doing reviews. I do.

Most reviews are done by people who are, or want to be, paid for doing it. So guess what they’re going to say?

We did consider encouraging long term player reviews on the forum. I think that most people are reticent to stick their necks out. What we do see are lots of responses when someone asks “what do you think of xyz?”

Paul7926 · October 2018

Whilst this is not guitar specific the way I approach reviews on other things is this:
Take a product you own and have formed your own opinions about and then go find reviews of that product. Some will be lacking in content and can be disregarded. The ones with reasonable content I then compare the thoughts of the reviewer against my own. When I find one or more people that agree with my observations I can then go to them for reviews of products I don't own and know that I can trust them more because they have similar preferences to me on things I do know about.

Jalapeno · October 2018

Just be aware that the headless guy on Prymaxe videos can make any piece of crap sound amazing

munckee · October 2018

Part of the youtube formula means that people who were doing there own reviews of stuff they bought suddenly get noticed and then start getting sent free stuff or paid to review and you have to be able to spot the change to know whether you can take it at face value or not.

Jimbro66 · October 2018

HansiR said:

............."Okay, now let's listen to what it sounds like... today I'm going to be using an FX SUPER FUZZ with twin carbs, combined with an SP200 Reverb Road Rocket, put through a Whammy Willy Wobbler for ambiance..." and then they proceed to play a few riffs leaving you wondering what in fact the guitar actually sounds like unsupported!

Yeah, that really is quite irritating and unhelpful. It was what stopped me bothering with Guitarist CD/Video reviews of guitars in the 90s/00s when every guitar they demo'd sounded exactly the same due to heavy overdrive and other effects. The most you often get in that sort of review is "Here's my reference clean tone" Branngggg! before it all gets dirty. That might be all that metal players need but many others often prefer to hear some clean playing to understand the core tones. There are some reviewers who do that, Andy Martin of PGS/Reverb is a great example.

johny5 · August 2019

It's not just for you. The only way is to check out as many reviews possible.

sweepy · August 2019

If you give the same setup to five different Guitarists, they’ll all make it sound different, yet another reason to ignore Youtube reviews unless it’s for tech specs connectivity etc

Tannin · February 2021

Variation on the same theme over here in Acousticland where I live. Time and again, we see reviews where all or most of the playing is done plugged in, usually with reverb and EQ and who knows what else, settings and FX mostly undisclosed, and you are left with little or no idea of what the instrument actually sounds like.

It's really not hard: take a decent microphone and place it in a standard position. Play.

Bloody rocket science to some of these turkeys.

hollywoodrox · February 2021

Sometimes though you get reviews where you want to hear how a certain guitar sounds with a great overdrive but they just play bluesy stuff or clean and you don’t get the full impact of what the guitar can do. Tom Quayle is good , he recently reviewed an epiphone les Paul. With a BE 100d setting on his axe fx whatever and churned put some great Slash type stuff ,but also did some clean stuff towards the end .

Timcito · August 2023

I agree with the OP. Let's face it, pretty much any halfway decent bog-standard electric guitar can sound impressive if it's pedaled and amped up enough.

Another gripe I have, though, are the guys who use the clip to play internet personality of the year. Some even film themselves opening the bleedin' box, as though we want to be fully immersed in their 'journey' with this guitar. Then you get the loooooong spiel about the guitar itself, the guy often taking ages to point out stuff that's patently obvious - one of the controls is for tone and the other for volume (Really? It's a good job he pointed that out!). Finally, finally, they play the darned thing.

LastMantra · August 2023

Because if you just recorded guitar into an interface they'd all sound the same?

swiller · August 2023

Id like to see a guitar channel using same riffs, amp settings (multiple) , audio recording stuff for all guitars reviewed.
its why i like to comparison ones over and above the just reviews.
Here is imho a cracker of a demo of the 3 different versions of the SB59.. from a channel with 600 subs, but thats the kind of thing i want to hear. Do think the sunburst (normal sb59) hits the sweet spot.

PeterMoon · August 2023

Speaking as someone restarting guitar in my retirement ,it was obvious how little objective reviewing there is. I just wanted clean sounds...Perhaps a touch of Overdrive .
it appears,from both shop and YouTube every guitar is fantastic. You see so few negative reviews.

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