What do you want to see in videos?

[Lozek]

We spend a lot of time bitching on here about YouTube influencers and what the kids are doing these days, but what do you actually want to see in a YouTube video?

If you were checking out a demo of guitar software, how do you want to see it done? A quick play-through of patches? A fully comprehensive in-depth section on every single function? A five minute overview of the general shape of it?

Do you like when there's humour? Or do you want the demonstrator to shut the fuck up and play?

[RevDrucifer]

All of the above?

I hate waiting through people talking at the start, I want to hear it right away. A few minutes of an overview and then demo the features as they're being described. Humor is great as long as it doesn't take long to get there and back to the topic at hand.

[Chris]

What I like: How Ola does it. He can play his ass off, he's charismatic/funny without being annoying, and he never sounds like he's trying to sell me anything.

[Randy]

Tits!

[Randy]

What I like: How Ola does it. He can play his ass off, he's charismatic/funny without being annoying, and he never sounds like he's trying to sell me anything.

To expand on that point, Ola's videos are a good balance of info, banter and playing.

A good rule of thumb is imagine if a casual watcher happens across your video either from a recommendation or because it's a subject they're interested in (certain piece of gear, etc),

1.) get them what they came there to see
2.) give them incentive to stay
3.) get them to want to come back for more.

So, compositionally, frontload some of what they came there for right off the bat, give them an explanation of what's going on without rambling on, get right to the meat and potatoes. All the best channels follow this format, and Ola is notable.

Another rule of thumb that kinda sums all that up, if I open a video and I need to skip more than twice to actually find where the guitar playing is going, I just fucking leave. I usually play the first 5 to 10 seconds, skip to like 1/4 way in, skip to halfway or little past and if I'm deperate, skip to about 3/4. More invested viewers will watch it from beginning to end or if they skip and find a hook, then they'll ride it out. But if there's too much talking or cutaway or too hard to actually find the content, they're gone.

[Chris]

Another rule of thumb that kinda sums all that up, if I open a video and I need to skip more than twice to actually find where the guitar playing is going, I just fucking leave. I usually play the first 5 to 10 seconds, skip to like 1/4 way in, skip to halfway or little past and if I'm deperate, skip to about 3/4. More invested viewers will watch it from beginning to end or if they skip and find a hook, then they'll ride it out. But if there's too much talking or cutaway or too hard to actually find the content, they're gone.

All of this.

I also can't stand the goddamn over the top miming. Nobody plays guitar by themselves in front of their computer while making faces like Peter North every time they pick a note. It's disingenuous and looks ridiculous.

[Iron1]

What I like: How Ola does it. He can play his ass off, he's charismatic/funny without being annoying, and he never sounds like he's trying to sell me anything.

[mpexus]

- Getting to the Point right away instead of endless blablabla. Hate to see a 5 minute video and 4 mins is just blablabla.

- Time stamps, so we can go check the part we are more interested instead of having to endlessly click at random places. I'm super impatient by nature, I close a website that doesn't open in less than 10-15 seconds, so if I have to click 3-4 times to try to find the place of the things I came to see I just move on.

- Knowing WTF you are Reviewing/Demoing without having to resort to things like: I think it's Mahogany Body, oh no spec sheet says Wood X... come on...

- Remove the damn obvious... I once said this to a YT reviewer, We know its a HH guitar, it shows right away, we know it has a selector and 6 tuners ... it's also obvious, We dont review a car and say: Here is the Turning Wheel, it has four tires and a Gas tank etc etc right? Tells us things we don't know by seeing or reading the specs. How does the neck feel? How is the fret work? Is it heavy? Does it feel cheap? Does it stay in Tune? How is the Nut ? He kinda got pissed at me.

- If demoing and comparing Pickups use Short riffs and bounce back straight away from one into the other, after 10 seconds and different Riffs we cant judge anything anymore. Providing DI's would be great.

Now, some guy I watch and don't follow of any of the things I mentioned, but they make videos that are interesting and rewarding to watch, even if I will never buy what they are demonstrating or even if I have no interest in the gear itself.

Leon Todd is great, so is the more newcomer friendly Darrell Braun Guitar channel, Phillip McKnight doesn't have super produced and "pretty videos" but and even if he talks a lot he is very straight to the point and has Time Stamps. Last but definitely not least Brett Kingman channel is just awesome.

[Toshiro]

Less miming, less flavor of the week, less polish.

[Chris]

Less miming, less flavor of the week, less polish.

Seriously, way less polish. If the "demo" is something that took 90 seconds to play followed by 12 hours of mixing and mastering, it's useless.

[Valtteri]

Can't think of anything else to add right now, except I'd wish everyone would stop doing those STUPID FUCKING THUMBNAILS.

[Ryan]

Johan Segeborn has it down perfect for me, minimal talking and good back to back comparisons of the stuff he's demoing. I mostly don't give a crap about modern amps so I don't mind the fact he doesn't do anything much older than the 80's either.

[Drew]

Great post from Randy here.

Beyond that, I'd say one thing I'm careful to do whenebver doing a comparison video is keep it judgement neutral. I suppose that's easier when you're talking two different pickups or something than a single thing you're demonstrating like an amp VST software, but there are two reasons I think this is worth doing:

1) when comparing things, just because *I* prefer something, doesn't mean someone else won't prefer the other, and if it's a good comparison that shows the differences well, it should be just as easy to come away liking the other one for different reasons than me.
2) it really helps to make you shut up and play, since you're not talking about all the things you like about it.

I almost never talk in all of the pickup reviews I've done. Maybe that's a mistake, but i like to just present things and let people come to their own conclusions.

[Chris]

My last hot take on doing review videos is don't fucking bother. Everyone's done it to death already.

Spend that time woodshedding thrash instead.

[beneharris]

I just want to see what the gear is like. I'm sick of these four hour, unscripted videos. I get you have to hit a certain length to maximize monitization, but holy crap, if I have to sit through 10 minutes of some guy talking, at least be able to get through one sentence. They always repeat themselves. Its like listening to my 3 year old if he were an idiot.

[d8200]

If the channel is two or more hosts, keep the inside jokes and personal banter to a minimum. I get that the hosts are bros and have a history together, but when it feels like I’m eavesdropping on someone else’s private conversation I lose interest quickly. If they’re supposed to be reviewing gear, then talk about that. Don’t noodle around for 10 minutes and compliment your buddy on his chops. The video is supposed to be about engaging the viewer, not shooting the shit with your buddy.

[Lozek]

Thanks everyone, pretty much all of this is in line with my thoughts on things

My last hot take on doing review videos is don't fucking bother. Everyone's done it to death already.

Spend that time woodshedding thrash instead.

This is a potential, maybe, might be, unlikely to happen company based thing, which is probably nothing more than me mis-interpreting a conversation.

Believe me, I have enough people angry at me for taking too long to deliver current outstanding projects, pipeline potential projects and things that I'd like to play around with to keep me busy for the next five or so years. There is absolutely no chance of me having time to jump on the influencer bandwagon.

[jacksonplayer]

Get right to the point and tell me what you like about the item on review and what you don't. Throw in a little unvarnished playing on/through it.

I don't need an extensive description of the features of said item. I don't need 10 minutes of you running through every single preset.

If you think your gear review video is a stealth way to make me a fan of your music, then you are sadly mistaken. I'm only going to watch/listen to enough to get the information I'm looking for.

Don't be wacky. Don't try for humor unless you have an Ola-like gift for it.

Be honest. If you don't like something, say so. People can detect shills a mile away.

[d8200]

Don't be wacky. Don't try for humor unless you have an Ola-like gift for it.

x2

Far too often this becomes completely cringey after the second or third attempt. To 99% of Youtube video hosts: I didn't click on your video because I'm a fan of you and think you're hilarious. I was probably searching for reviews of gear and your shit popped up high on the list. Stick to the gear and save the jokes for amateur hour at your local club. No one beyond the age of, say...25 (except for neck-bearded basement dwellers), thinks modern internet humor is remotely funny. If this is your MO, you will hate yourself in a few years when the new flavor of internet comedy is all the rage and you missed the writing on the wall.

[Iron1]

* Useful sound - hate clicking on a video to discover the guitar tone has been recorded on an iPhone3 from across the room, under a blanket.
* Less random gibber-gabber, more focus on the subject matter - I think some people cover their nervousness with random verbal vomit. If it doesn't advance the subject matter, leave it out.
* A good cross-section of playing and tones (i.e. some lead work, clean riffage, chugging, etc.) Give me an Opeth song's worth of variety so I can hear the full range of what the gear can do, not just what the vid-maker can do well and/or wants to show off.
* Don't try to be funny unless you're actually funny (most are not).
* Good links in the YT description, including links to the products as well as timestamps to what's going on in the vid. Can't tell you how many times I've bounced from timestamp to timestamp in this video.
* Less over-the-top jerks... If this guy had come up to me at a show back in the day and acted like he does in his videos, I'd have put my fist in his mouth... this guy comes off like a jack hole, too. Being ugly on the internet is played out... they both might provide quality info, but the "I'm angry and think it's cool" schtick is lame. If you're trying to attract viewers, being purposefully unattractive is counter-productive.
* No posers
* Vid makers I dig who seem to hit these points: Ola, Kohle, K.I.R. I also dig Fluff, but don't dig the tones he gets - that's more subjective though.

[Ghost.]

My last hot take on doing review videos is don't fucking bother. Everyone's done it to death already.

Spend that time woodshedding thrash instead.

This.

There are far too many videos on the internet concerning guitar playing and gear that are just boring and the same thing 20 other guys were just saying.

Very rarely are they ever worth anything watching again either. Ola is one of the only modern-guys I subscribe to and check out his stuff. I loved Ola's Coffee interviews or when he tries to copy someones tone with actual gear because he does quite a bit of research. I miss Keith Merrow doing it.

Oh and the guy Michael guy who does all those sick Rack Gear videos. Gah... So good. The Late Night Guitar Lessons guy is cool too.

But I think it's all too much and not enough creative music coming out. Literally everyone pretty much sounds the same in Modern-Metal from using the same plug-ins.
It's just boring.

And then you having something like this... Now this interesting...
Yngwie playing a 1959 Gibson Les Paul.

or... Jeff Loomis shredding a LP

So what do I want to see in videos? The unexpected.

[mpexus]

Best review video EVER:

[Adam]

🤣 So accurate.

[dahla]

Spot on! 😂

[Leon]

I kinda like the Earthquaker model, where all you see is the pedal. One person is playing, and another person is turning knobs.