agents

[odin70]

Do we have many shills here on TB? working for companies. e.g im thinking of all the equipment hype we so often see here.

[bui]

I think in that case, the proper term is "shill".

[odin70]

You are right. Shills

[bui]

If I had to guess, the "Disclosures" section on user profiles was most likely created for this purpose, so that you know who has a vested interest in the product they're discussing (in addition to knowing who might be able to give you the most accurate information).

I think that a lot of the hype that you see is just gear-hungry kids wanting to keep up with the Joneses...something new and shiny comes out, some guy reports some amazing tonal rapture he experienced, and then everyone is scrambling to find one. I'm not discounting every single product, but I definitely believe that some of the hype is unfounded, or not enough to justify the cost. My $.02.

[chrisisnotevil]

Originally Posted by bui

If I had to guess, the "Disclosures" section on user profiles was most likely created for this purpose, so that you know who has a vested interest in the product they're discussing (in addition to knowing who might be able to give you the most accurate information).

I think that a lot of the hype that you see is just gear-hungry kids wanting to keep up with the Joneses...something new and shiny comes out, some guy reports some amazing tonal rapture he experienced, and then everyone is scrambling to find one. I'm not discounting every single product, but I definitely believe that some of the hype is unfounded, or not enough to justify the cost. My $.02.

Personally, I've seen a load of puppets for companies posing as users, pushing their grubby wares on here, and while I'll not name names, it's been on all sorts of gear, from power cables to amplifiers to magic pens that manipulate informational fields around your cd collection to make them sound better, in a manner which is purely subjective and that cannot be scientifically tested in any way shape or form. I work in sales and have a bit of marketing experience, especially in tv and hifi and i'm inherently cynical.

One very important thing I will say; Bare in mind if someone is attempting stealth marketing, they won't disclose this fact under any circumstances, let alone in the specified field. Unfortunately the wonderful values we hold so dear here at TB are nothing to them, and they're prepared to compromise the integrity of the community to make a fast buck. This is why I will never buy anything from anyone I see using such tactics. [/RANT]

[Godbody]

There's a few folks around here who are open about their affiliations with various companies, and keep us updated on what new products are coming out. Personally I'm glad that the owner of Rondomusic.com and a high-level employee at Brubaker are regulars on the site.

As for shills, I can't say as Ive seen any specific instances in this site, but it's always been easy enough to spot 'em other places. Just keep a sharp eye out.

[Brad Johnson]

Originally Posted by odin70

Do we have many shills here on TB? working for companies. e.g im thinking of all the equipment hype we so often see here.

Great question. It probably happens more often than I notice. It does happen

The flip side of that is that some people are quick to think shill when it couldn't be farther from the truth. Markbass' first entry in the market is a great example. I don't work for Markbass, I just happened to buy one of their amps, take it on some gigs and be blown away. When reporting back on how happy I was with the gear and letting others know about it, out come the shill accusations. over and over again. Because what happened couldn't have actually happened.

In short, sometimes the hype isn't hype at all. You can believe everything is hype but that only hurts you. Then again, a staple of TB is the next big thing. That's happened countless times, often with the same people who seem to jump from one bandwagon to the next. I think bandwagon jumping is a good tell... it lets you know what you're dealing with.

Fast forward a couple of years, Markbass has developed a solid reputation and hundreds here have had favorable experiences with their products... which means they must be shills too. Nobody could be that happy with their gear.


If a member has any commercial connections they're supposed to be disclosed. Unfortunately that doesn't always happen. I'm glad to have a connection with Kevin Brubaker but that doesn't make me recommend Brubakers to everyone for every situation... because it just doesn't make sense to me. I recommend several different basses because I use or have used more than Brubakers.

There are some people who regardless of what you ask will make the same recommendations over and over again. That gets way past old IMO.