The DARK Side of Gear Reviews

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00:00 Intro
2:00 How I fell into gear demos
3:15 What I charge (ballpark) for a demo
4:15 Approaching companies?
4:35 The Company Approaches You...
4:56 Companies aren't Offering You Money To Show Problems
5:50 Is it reasonable to show flaws?
6:20 That is probably about fair?
7:00 Should you demo Gear for free?
7:55 A very one sided arrangement
8:20 If it isn't a gear launch - what then?
8:55 What I think gear companies actually want
9:37 Even if you're not getting paid - someone else will
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[@ThadBrown]

I'll tell you two stories from a long, long, long lost world when there were things called 'magazines.' I wrote for one that concentrated on home recording (as opposed to Mix, which was for 'pros'). First story is I had been writing a column for them, doing features and reviewing some stuff for about two years. One day the editor emailed me and said, 'Hey, you'll notice that you're changing titles on the masthead. You're a contributing editor now.' So I wrote back and said, 'Hey, does a contributing editor make more per word than whatever I was before I was a contributing editor?' And he wrote back with one line. 'hahaha.' Second story. I was geuninely surprised at how little the commercial side impacted what we said in reviews. If I had something that just sucked, where I couldn't write a good review, we just wouldn't cover it. But the magazine thought we had to be honest with our readers, and that our readers were smart enough to tell ad copy from a review. So in all but one case I never heard a thing telling me to pump one product or company. Except once. And that once was when the same editor emailed me and said, 'Hey Thad, I'm sending you a [ thing ] from company [ thing ]. And in case you were wondering, yes, they did just by the back cover for the next eight months.' So their thing got a good review, which was easy because it was actually a very nice product, one mith say it was Major Producer Critical, but they bought the back cover. Other than that, though, again, I was suprised at how little they pushed us on reviews. Totally different world now, just thought someone might like some context from the Jurassic era of gear reviews.

[@Lomoholga2]

We have been living in this age for many years now where KZbin guitar gear channels are modern day infomercials The guitar industry benefits greatly as they get to market to an audience in numbers they would have had to pay outrageous money for in the magazine era of the 80s and 90s The companies get this market outreach for just the cost of sending out gear for free The KZbinrs benefit by getting the gear, and making some money of KZbin The consumer benefits by beiymade much more aware of gear than in any other time in history The KZbinr’s disadvantage is once they get mildly successful then are then compelled to increase or at least maintain the same output of infomercials, as they cannot really do ‘quality content’ (whatever that even means), and everything they do must be through the lens of getting views, ‘engagement’ (lol), subscribers etc etc The downside to the consumer is the constant gear lust and consumerism becomes normalized and more and more people are easily swayed to have gear acquisition as the focus of their guitar life rather than playing

[@martinrotolo]

Well put

[@dorianford6227]

Perfectly said

[@fivewattworld]

Great perspective John

[@fishy4071]

Your knowledge, playing and honesty should be gold to companies releasing gear. If you say their product is ok then they have the best of recommendations.

[@Smart-Alex]

Also, one more point: change the terms of your contract to get paid 50% up-front if you can. You can't pay your rent in hugs and good intentions.

[@DanePeterson]

I do actually appreciate your honesty and transparency. I think over the long run it's a much better way to keep people on because they feel like they can trust your opinion more. If everything someone reviews is perfect 5 stars all the time, I start to question their motives and, thus, their opinions and, ultimately, their channel. I'm interested in the whole picture of a product and what someone actually thinks because I can watch a company ad somewhere else! Not saying negativity has to be present but I tend to gravitate towards channels that feel like I'm hanging out with my guitar buddy who knows his stuff instead of Mr. Guitar Hero, sponsored by everyone. I get it's a job but I've also got limited time and energy to spend. I'd rather hear less window dressing if I can help it.

[@RogerThat902]

Great content. I strongly suggest you charge a flat rate for reviewing a product even if you don’t ever post it. Because even if a product is terrible and the negative video never goes out…you spent time reviewing their stuff. They want to use you to make money. That’s the game. It’s not necessarily evil or anything, but always make sure you get paid for your work.

[@akaerik1]

💯 agree. You out in the work you should get paid. It's not your fault if they make an inferior product and don't like the video.

[@Luxaudiodesigns]

That opening jam though, brother

[@timparker4228]

This is good insight John. I think the influx of dozens of demo videos (some of which claim to be reviews) on the day of product launch is becoming a little fatiguing for the audience, but that could just be the online vocal minority giving that impression. The hyperbolic use of 'game changer' and shocked face thumbnails adds to the fatigue from certain channels.

[@compucorder64]

I think I started watching your channel through your Squier J Mascis Jazzmaster playing. And I think it's nice the way you've highlighted some affordable, but actually suprisingly good and verstaile instruments and gear. Like the JMJM, Helix and Sire L7. Because as you show, you can be happy and do most everything decently well with kit like that, if you spend the time on getting the most from it.

[@r0bophonic]

The problem of product reviewers having conflict of interest existed well before the internet. The nonprofit Consumer Reports solved this by having no relationship with manufacturers, instead charging a subscription fee for access to ratings and reviews. Harder to maintain information secrecy in the internet age, but would be cool if something like this existed for music gear.

[@GearAGoGo]

I recently asked a KZbinr if he considered his channel and "demo" or a "review" channel. I never got an answer. Although the medium is new, the conundrum is not. Magazines who survived on ad revenue were far less likely to give negative reviews. They would contact clients of mine to tell them they were doing a review of product X. Would they like to have their product x included? BTW... the costs for a full-page ad opposite the article or at the end of the article were $X and $Y. Interestingly, the most respected magazine in the industry made enough from its subscription base, it was immune to industry pressure. Patreon seems to be the KZbin equivalent to that. Best advice I can offer is it seems you're at an inflection point in your channel's life. I suggest you choose whether you're a reviewer or a demonstrator. Doing both dilutes your reputation enough that you're likely to fail at both. There's no dishonor in either choice as long as you're up front with your viewers. So you can evaluate the value of the above, I'm got 30 years in Marketing... 20 running my own firm. HTH!

[@Chimp_No_1]

Very good point !

[@Lomoholga2]

They are infomercial channels

[@rhythmguru1]

That opening was tasty. Seems a bit out your your normal style, but still holding JC flair.

[@ogmakefirefiregood]

I live 30 minutes away from Sweetwater Music. I basically get to do my own "Gear Reviews" 😅 Seriously tho.. my favorite gear recently: Boss GX100, Schecter C1 Elite with the sustainiac, Wampler Pantheon Delux.. and some studio headphones..gimme a sec... BeyerdDynamic DT 770 PRO X. these things are AWESOME!

[@nunolance23]

would love you to have a look at the Harley Benton ST Modern Plus - sounds like a really decent budget strat with higher specs (SS frets, compound fretboard radius, rounded fret edges, babicz bridge, etc) - i would trust your review

[@timchalmers1700]

Getting jilted by a company is terrible. Here's how I think I would proceed. 1. Sign the NDA. 2. My fee to get started is blah, blah. 3. Send me the gear and let me get acquainted with it. I'll make some notes. 4. Get on phone and give them the my thoughts. If they don't like my thoughts, I send the gear back, or keep it if that's my fee. We're done. 5. If they like my thoughts, then my project completion fee to make the video is blah, blah, blah because of the time commitment to make a good video. To move ahead, I get paid half of said fee.. When the video is done I get paid the other half of my fee. 6. I know, I'm crazy. 7. I don't actually make videos so don't send anyone to see me. 8. I'm an independent computer consultant and I've been jilted a few times but not enough to be scarred by it.

[@DylanODonnell]

I have similar situations on my channel. I'm not a beginner astronomer, so I'm really not keen to review, demo or try gear I'll never use. Thankfully, it's not a job so I prefer to buy the stuff I actually want and use and it anything turns out to be shit I'll say so. Some brands get upset, but I never got paid so fair's fair.

[@fixedgear37]

It would be fair even if you DID get paid and gave a bad review, that's the problem. Companies can make shit stuff and then pay people to review it positively instead of just making good stuff or taking honest criticism

[@CookieShreds]

You seem like really honest and fair guy, so i guess thats why you are less than ideal for those companies.. Whole thing is scammy to me as a customer: KZbinr with 200k subs gets Harley Benton with perfect setup and flamed maple neck and promotes it like its 5k Suhr, then on reddit or some smaller youtube channels with like 500 subs i hear about dead frets, blemishes on paint job, neck is not nearly as vivid like on that promotional video...

[@strumminronin]

Second that on the HBs. I am still not sold!

[@tomtrack16038]

I'm not at all business savvy, so i would never make it as a KZbinr, but all i came here to say is, i think your channel is one of the best out here in the KZbin tundra for guitar players.

[@Luxaudiodesigns]

"designed for landfill" 😂

[@nedludd3641]

Esty has just today posted a very very very similar vid to this one. I understand it's a soft market in the US atm. I wonder if that's making marketing depts more aggressive?

[@fixedgear37]

KZbinrs just all follow the same trends. there will be 50 more guys doing vids like this in the next couple weeks. They all do the same shit.

[@nedludd3641]

@@fixedgear37 - interesting, thx 4 that

[@mortonwilson795]

There are less and less YT 'reviewers' I can watch these days - maybe half a dozen 'regulars' and the rest only if a guitar or pedal comes up I'm drawn to. It's amazing to me how inept some are at just 'presenting' on camera. Some take themselves so damn seriously it's painful (learn how to laugh at yourselves chaps!), some do a 'double act' and spend half the time trying to be f****** comedians, some cannot seem to grasp the fact that when 'reviewing' an electric guitar it can actually be helpful to let people know what the pick-ups sound like clean before whacking on whatever massively distorted OD pedal and boring us to death with endless shreddy pentatonics, and there was one guy who is just so dumb I couldn't believe it demoing a Rickenbacker and then making googly baby eyes at the camera and saying 'no idea what this knob is supposed to do' as if it was cute - what a moron - and he's still out there . . . be warned! Whatever - I have no idea about the commerce involved and don't really care so happy to stick with the few who can play and offer a fair overview of whatever they have in their hands. Also, too much of a good thing? Reviews popping up every 5 minutes are a bit of a red flag. Sigh 😂

[@ArtOfShredYT]

Thanks for this, John! Really nice to hear about your behind-the-scenes experiences. I have a very small channel and I mostly stay away from sponsored content but I've done a couple sponsored gear videos. The problem with "free" is we've still gotta pay taxes on the value of any gifted gear so if a company doesn't want to pay it costs reviewers real money to do the video, in addition to all the time involved.

[@nedludd3641]

"People just ain't buying pedals atm" - true or false?

[@tdz69]

This guy is such a great player. Wish he would do playing videos rather than gear videos. GAS is a terrible thing. Takes away from the focus of playing the guitar. The gear is so inconsequential….he could play through a tiny dry amp and still sound great.

[@Smart-Alex]

Last point, and I'm done. The KZbin influencer is far more valuable to companies than Google Ads IMHO. Don't let them railroad you - Google Ads costs tens of thousands of dollars and they're taking advantage if they're not fairly compensating for this type of advertising and targeted reach.

[@neildeakin4454]

Heyup

[@CameraLaw]

Great insight. As a consumer, I desire one type of information, like what is new and what are its features. But I’m also a player, for that I like hands on demonstrations. After buying a Boss ME-90, I went looking for videos. Found yours, learned a bit. But, of course, no followup. It seems when you review equipment, it’s all first impression. Thank you very much, and another ad done. As a player, no matter how fair your review was, I would like to see more, a deeper dive into features. But … that doesn’t exist. Looking up the ME-90, I find that around 10 months ago loads of videos were made on the product, I suppose that was the launch date. Since then … nothing. In my fever dreams, KZbinrs would care about me as a player at least in addition to seeing me as a marketing target. Your video makes it clear that I should “Dream On, Bozo!” We’re all “professionals” here. In truth, I get more information from the manufacturers website. For real. Roland/Boss has excellent information online, very helpful. Take this comment as coming from someone who really likes your personality and approach. I just feel you could do so much more for your subscribers and fans while also paying your mortgage. It’s that extra mile that is lacking when it comes to equipment. And you have so much experience and the ability to give players valuable ideas. My two cents.

[@Artec619]

You don't say you actually learned more about your unit by reading the manual than watching demos on youtube... If you actually paid attention you would see that JNC has multiple Helix or NDSP videos spanning multiple years, the fact that there are no more ME90 videos means he probably does not use the unit or find it particularly interesting for a regular feature. If you want people to care for you maybe get some friends instead of developing weird one sided parasocial relationships with gear reviewers? My two cents anyway...

[@Chimp_No_1]

That’s a bit heavy !

[@Lomoholga2]

It’s all infomercials. The KZbinr gains by getting free/discounted gear, gets some money for the views on their infomercials, and the gear companies get very cheap marketing. The quaint days of the gear heads who would post poorly shot videos but have insight that would help people have been long gone now for these professional 3rd party infomercial makers.

[@fixedgear37]

@@Lomoholga2100% this

[@24-7Guitars]

Interesting point of view. I’ve been using the me-90 for several Months now. It has its limitations but I definitely like it and have used it live in many scenarios.

[@user-st5rr3hx8x]

Do you offer Skype or Zoom lessons.......????

[@Lomoholga2]

It’s not so much “is this video biased or not?” That was a question maybe 10 years ago or so The question in 2024 is: “Is this infomercial I am watching in this new gear providing me with anything more than another dopamine rush to acquire more gear?” Or “The high majority of gear made today is more than acceptable. Does this infomercial offer me any actual insight into how the gear is best used and actual pros and cons of the gear?”

[@picksalot1]

Do companies ask you to be a Beta Tester so they don't release gear that has serious flaws which will result in negative reviews? That would give them time to fix mistakes, improve their gear so consumers get products that meet or exceed their expectations. The amount of time and effort it takes to make bad or reasonable good gear is probably about the same, but the consequences are very different.

[@monstasonix]

There’s too much gear reviewing on KZbin. It’s all very similar and is boring. I’d rather see you (and others) create and play. Probs doesn’t pay tho.

[@petmoon125]

Would it be not be better not to take any money and just review the item . Then you can give your honest opinion. You can make money from the ads that get played. That is how many reputable media companies do it.

[@Smart-Alex]

You, Henning Pauly and other Influencers should get together and do a roundtable on this. Seems top of mind to your community. Henning just made a relevant video to this exact point, and it made me sad for him: kzbin.info/www/bejne/qnizdqynoL2Nf6c

[@Chiller11]

Interesting take on KZbin guitar gear reviews. Two things come to my mind as a consumer. First is that if a company compensates a channel for a review I automatically assume either a conscious or unconscious confirmation bias built into the review. That doesn’t mean I dismiss the review but there is a tendency for the channel to be more reluctant to give a poor review as your recent example points out. Secondly judging from your honest approach to life I get the impression that you are likely being underpaid for your reviews. My advice would be to immediately increase your rates by 25%. Also build in automatic increases every 6 months and for increasing subscriber numbers. One possible strategy would be to charge a basic fee for the demo to be collected whether the review is good or bad. Then charge a second fee if the company wants your review aired on your channel. I put that awkwardly but hopefully you get the idea. With that strategy you are at least compensated for the work involved with the demo even though you can’t give a positive review of the product. Good luck. Do what I did and take some small business courses locally or on Skillshare or the like. You deserve to be fairly compensated for the value you provide because you are a valuable resource.

[@fixedgear37]

Like everything, It's all about the $ for both the company and the reviewer. Both are doing what they do for profit. So take everything with the proverbial "grain of salt" since they both stand to make profit. Every video now is some dumb titled clickbait "The best amp ever??" or "the last overdrive you'll ever need". In the end the videos are pointless for the most part anyway.. You can make gear sound however you want with digital mixing and production and as a reviewer you can say whatever you want to get people to subscribe or purchase through "affiliate links". Everyone is going for their slice of pie. Also a lot of subscribers and fans develop this personal connection to these youtubers schilling products and it makes it seem like it's no longer a paid advertisement but more a personal connection. People purchase with emotion and youtubers know this.. and it works.

[@Lomoholga2]

Well said. We are being marketed to constantly- this is the only factor that counts. Everything else is used to serve this main goal. How people don’t see this is mind blowing in 2024. In the 80s and 90s it was blatantly obvious but KZbin gear infomercial videos perhaps lull people into the mistaken belief that they are about entertainment, reviews, demos, information etc when it’s all about marketing

[@fixedgear37]

@@Lomoholga2 Yep people get the "warm and fuzzies" when their favorite youtuber reviews another tube screamer based overdrive that sounds like every other overdrive because the reviewer establishes this personal connection. It really is just another marketing angle. Josh from JHS is another perfect example of brilliant marketing. He uses the "humble" point of view to get people to buy his products. By pretending his products aren't any better and acting like he doesn't mind if you don't buy his stuff, makes people want to buy his stuff because "he's not trying to sell me stuff, so I trust him". All while he's using a marketing strategy that does just that..

[@BillyTheKidsGhost]

People are just butt-hurt that they're not the ones doing the reviews, and raking in the cash.

[@intenzityd3181]

As soon as guitar channels turn into gear reviewers I unsubscribe. I just can't stand the cork-sniffery of CHECK OUT THIS NEW COMPRESSOR like it doesn't sound like any other half decent compressor that is already available on any modern modeller. Stopped watching Pete Thorn years ago because he just shills crap day after day (and he happens to be a twat too). The guitar world has way too much emphasis on consumerism and not enough on developing competency.