Why are most amp video reviews awful? Am I missing something?

[Just Wrong]

I agree a video review shouldn't 100% determine your choice, but I would hope it could give you a general idea as to which amps to seek to try in person. A comparison between a GK and an SVT, for example, should be pretty clear as to which you'll most likely prefer.

 

[J Wilson]

I think that's where a critical reviewer SHOULD play a role.

Carson, I'd settle for someone who plays bass to the song, instead of being just so slap-tastic or playing way over my head. I mean, it's wonderful for cats like that to have talent like that, but after a while it just doesn't seem musical anymore.

I'd prefer someone with a lot of experience that knows where the rubber meets the road, a vet with many, many gigs under his belt who KNOWS what works and what doesn't, and if there could be a legit tech comparison, even better.

 

[Topkat13]

It's just you.

 

[wjcstp]

Take a weekend and go somewhere you can play as many different amps as possible. The only amps I've ever kept for any length of time were those I had a chance to try before I bought them, even if trying was a few minutes in a music store.

That's the problem though, once you get past Fender, Orange and Ampeg, maybe Darkglass, it can be hard to find a lot of other options to play in person. A lot of people don't have access to smaller brands so they have video reviews or trusting written info and buying blind. The companies themselves are naturally going to show their product at it's best, so promo videos can be helpful but not very objective.

 

[Jugghaid]

I think it is WAY easier with guitar amps then bass amps. If you give me and one of my bass playing buddies the same bass and amp, we are going to sound quite a bit different. I think about the easiest way to do a good bass amp review is to put a bass line on a looper and start turning knobs.

But that is just me.

 

[fhm555]

That's the problem though, once you get past Fender, Orange and Ampeg, maybe Darkglass, it can be hard to find a lot of other options to play in person. A lot of people don't have access to smaller brands so they have video reviews or trusting written info and buying blind. The companies themselves are naturally going to show their product at it's best, so promo videos can be helpful but not very objective.

That's why I suggested a weekend trip to a larger metro area where you can hit many music shops in a couple of days. But yes, you are limited even on a trip to say Nashville or Austin, but you will see more in either of those two places in a couple of days than you will in six months in lower armpit Alabama music and tax service.

 

[bigswifty1]

People don't make videos with you specifically in mind. They make them to showcase the sounds and styles that they like

I totally agree. Also the reviews are often just players noodling with no structure or control to them (albeit often with really good players).

I used to be in a local bass group that got together to try and swap gear every year. The best way to demo anything "south" of the bass is to record a few bars of various styles into a looper and then plug that into whatever you're testing.

 

[beans-on-toast]

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candid.technology

A review should present features. Both the plusses and minuses should be presented. No amp is perfect, there are always negative points. They could be cost, design decisions, or performance issues.

 

[Geepers]

Just buy a GK and watch Porsche reviews on YouTube instead.

 

[EliasA]

All this can be summed up here: a good reviewer doesn't play any particular thing or way. He appraises the abilities of the amp and then tries to tell us what it can do. There's simply no point trying to hear the amp for what it really sounds like. Just hope you can trust him to tell the truth about what he or she's hearing.

 

[MuseChaser]

/rant mode on

I can't stand video reviews of anything, by almost anybody....

"Hi guuuyyysss... what's up! Make sure you smash that like button 'cause I've got all kinds of cool content I know you're gonna dig and lots more to come. Follow me on Squatter, FarceBook, Theta, Z, InstaSpam for more great stuff from me and my influencer buddies....."

NO.

"....Today, we're going to be looking at this great new piece of kit I just picked up, the Binford 4000 Ten Terawatt bagpipe amp
.."

I KNOW THAT FROM THE TITLE, MORON... THAT'S WHY I CLICKED ON YOUR STUPID VIDEO..

Two minutes of my life wasted so far, then a few minutes scrolling back and forth through a 10-30 minute video trying to extract the 20 seconds of (borderline) useful content.

I LOVE print.. you can scan it at light speed for exactly what you're trying to find, you can reread and digest the stuff that's in-depth and of great interest with ease instead of trying to mouse to the same impossible to re-find location in a video, there's much less temptation for the author to ramble, and most of us can read MUCH faster than reviewers can talk, saving us much time to do other things we enjoy.

Of course, the ability to communicate via the written word is a requirement for the reviewer. That may be a nonstarter for quite a few YouTube "sensations."

/rant mode off

 

[Just Wrong]

/rant mode on

I can't stand video reviews of anything, by almost anybody....

"Hi guuuyyysss... what's up! Make sure you smash that like button 'cause I've got all kinds of cool content I know you're gonna dig and lots more to come. Follow me on Squatter, FarceBook, Theta, Z, InstaSpam for more great stuff from me and my influencer buddies....."

NO.

"....Today, we're going to be looking at this great new piece of kit I just picked up, the Binford 4000 Ten Terawatt bagpipe amp
.."

I KNOW THAT FROM THE TITLE, MORON... THAT'S WHY I CLICKED ON YOUR STUPID VIDEO..

Two minutes of my life wasted so far, then a few minutes scrolling back and forth through a 10-30 minute video trying to extract the 20 seconds of (borderline) useful content.

I LOVE print.. you can scan it at light speed for exactly what you're trying to find, you can reread and digest the stuff that's in-depth and of great interest with ease instead of trying to mouse to the same impossible to re-find location in a video, there's much less temptation for the author to ramble, and most of us can read MUCH faster than reviewers can talk, saving us much time to do other things we enjoy.

Of course, the ability to communicate via the written word is a requirement for the reviewer. That may be a nonstarter for quite a few YouTube "sensations."

/rant mode off

100% with you.

But you forgot the part where the reviewer starts by screaming your ears off for no reason.

 

[DuluthDank]

Other than reviewing the features, functionality, and tech specs of an amp...all the demo does is showcase how that person playing that bass (that you don't own) sounds through the DI or a particular mic on a particular cab with a particular amp.

...with whatever cab sim and post-production they might add, after being uploaded to youtube and subjected to audio compression, and sent through your own speakers/headphones.

I've gotten to the point where I think of youtube demos as no more valuable that written reviews, or maybe even less so. Even playing gear in person at a music store, on a different bass in a different room is of surprisingly little value to me.

 

[faulknersj]

This is the best bass playing/bass line on any Jim + Doors song imho

 

[JimmyM]

You need more than one review per piece of gear. People play as they play and they use sounds that they like. I think they're good for showing the features and putting together short lists, and some reviews are downright useful as a buying tool, but you have to dig deep sometimes.

 

[brianrost]

Take a passive Fender Jazz or Precision, DI out into the interface, set the EQ flat and show each control's range. Fingers and pick. Add a backing track at some point.

I don't want to hear the amp DI, I want to hear a miked speaker. Even then it's just an illusion of what the amp and cab will sound in the room. Most of us do not play gigs in recording studios miking our cabs up with $2000 microphones.

When it comes to basses and/or amps, I've never understood how I'm supposed to get an idea of something that fills a room over earbuds or computer speakers.

I listen to YouTube videos over this stereo system, I prefer the ones where you can get the matching 180g limited edition LP even though it's a PITA getting the two to play in synch.

 

[pepj]

I've bought my last 2 amps blind, from online demo's.
What I'm looking for is an indication of quality so I can get a good sound out of them.
I don't want loads of knobs and if it has a DI, that needs to be decent.
Like many things, what does a job and what is a very nice piece of kit is quite a trick, imv.

 

[wncBass]

I haven't shopped for an amp in years and thought watching video reviews was going to be a good starting point. Can't be that hard to make, right? Take a passive Fender Jazz or Precision, DI out into the interface, set the EQ flat and show each control's range. Fingers and pick. Add a backing track at some point.

Boy, was I wrong.

Distortions and slap everywhere. Great--finally a demonstration with fingers... on five-string double reverse P fretless short scale bass. Ohhh, tapping and chords!

A section dedicated to how the amp sounds with... a Darkglass Alpha Omega Ultra, because...?

New Aguilar TH and AG amps are out. Lots of videos showcasing both. Great! ... Here's the AG with a PJ Spector being slapped and here's the TH with a Precision with flatwounds played with a pick. Next. Finally, a video where they showcase both amps with the same bass played in the same style... with the Deep and Bright switches on on the AG vs the TH with the Drive knob at 3 o'clock and a low-mid boost.

Is it just me? Or am I missing something?

You should make your own reviews and show the world how it's done!

 

[carsonchilders]

I don't want to hear the amp DI, I want to hear a miked speaker. Even then it's just an illusion of what the amp and cab will sound in the room. Most of us do not play gigs in recording studios miking our cabs up with $2000 microphones.



I listen to YouTube videos over this stereo system, I prefer the ones where you can get the matching 180g limited edition LP even though it's a PITA getting the two to play in synch.

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Why would you want to hear a mic'd up speaker and no DI? That is a serious variable.

 

[mpdd]

the future of youtube is the rare no talking pedal reviews, hopefully the amp reviewers will catch on to this

Ie reading specs isn't really a review, not for cars, not for cameras, not for anything else