So gear demos. What does it for you?

ToneShackTrev

Some good stuff here, thank you. I think (hope) I do a lot of it already. My take has always been plug in the pedal, tell you what it is and then go through sounds as I would auditioning a new pedal for myself. Trying a few different styles and trying to not be the play lots of notes guy (although sometimes I do get carried away if I'm really loving it).

What I do find difficult is what to actually play. I hit record with something in mind and despite playing in several bands covering most styles of music I can never think of anything to play so mostly just improvise something. I know I should plan the demos out more but so far they have just been set up and go.

As far as guitars go, I generally use a US STD Tele, mainly cause everyone knows what they sound like. I've just used a Strat for the latest few demos and I've had and sold various Les Pauls which have made it onto a few vids. On the lookout for another one currently so will start using a few different guitars.

skay

ThePrettyDamned said:
Not if you want to know how something sounds when played fast. Some pedals (and amps) don't like fast playing.

Also, strummed chords on something like a amptweaker tightmetal would be a bit silly.

The op asked what do we like to see in a gear demo, so I answered what I liked, it's ok that you don't agree.

I have different taste in what gear and sounds I enjoy to many others here, so I posted for the type of pedal I would buy, a gear demo would be improved by lots of rhythm guitar playing and not solely fast lead guitar licks. Sounds reasonable to me....

EricTheWeary

For me a lot of demos are too long - too much talking, too much playing- and I'm always skipping forward trying to find what I want. I'd like a brief sonic overview - 'hello I'm Eric, this is the new Sodomiser FFS13 from Boss and these are some typical sounds' followed by a few seconds of strumming on a few basic settings. If I like what I hear I'd stay for the rest of a more detailed review,if not I could move on. The PGS ones are by far the most watchable and he demonstrates what the bit of gear can do rather than just how he would use it ( like Chappers). I am, however, very aware of being sold to and that Andy could make anything sound good.

Blueingreen

My main problem with drive/distortion etc demos is that most distortions sound very different at gig volume than they do at sitting-room volume and most demos seem to be closer to sitting room volume.  

hugbot

Banner scrolling the info instead of talking.

Pedal played in a variety of contexts, with and without backing.

Basically the prymax demos.

ThePrettyDamned

skay;362498" said:

ThePrettyDamned said:
Not if you want to know how something sounds when played fast. Some pedals (and amps) don't like fast playing.

Also, strummed chords on something like a amptweaker tightmetal would be a bit silly.

The op asked what do we like to see in a gear demo, so I answered what I liked, it's ok that you don't agree.

I have different taste in what gear and sounds I enjoy to many others here, so I posted for the type of pedal I would buy, a gear demo would be improved by lots of rhythm guitar playing and not solely fast lead guitar licks. Sounds reasonable to me....

Yeah absolutely.

What I meant was, demo to the pedal's strengths. It's why PGS works. If a pedal has only one or two useful sounds, that'd what it'll show.

Could be a fairly useless pedal, but if they can demo one or two things it excels at, it's going to be a very useful demo.

Dave_Mc

juansolo said:

JustNick is my favourite. He manages to articulate very well how and what a pedal does, which doesn't always come over clearly on YouTube. He's talky, but generally very interesting and a great demo guy.

Yeah justnick is very good. I know I said I didn't like talking, but he's maybe the exception. I guess, like most things, it boils down to judging each case on its own merits- if the demoer is good at talking, then talking isn't necessarily a bad thing.

Also I'm always slightly bemused by all the love for PGS Andy and Mike Hermans. Don't get me wrong- they're pretty good. But they don't seem to me any better than a lot of people, or at least they never seem to sell me on much. I just see them as (fairly blatant) sales pitches!

skay said:

What would be helpful to me is showing the guitar and amp you are using (especially how you've set the controls on the amp/what channel etc) plus showing the pedal settings either as you adjust them or in a little box on the screen somewhere to give a good idea of the range the pedal can cover.

Get a convincing clean tone that someone could actually use and then add the pedal on to that, or it just seems the amp is set for the pedal and will probably not work when using other pedals. Strummed chords are better than solely fast lead guitar licks and remember you're showcasing the pedal and not your skills as a player...

Agreed (especially the bit about dialling in the amp for the clean tone... I always wonder what the point is if you have to dial in the amp to suit the pedal!).

Though as TPD rightly said, certain styles of music need that fast stuff, so if the kit is aimed at that style of music, playing the fast stuff is fair enough, if you ask me.

timmysoft

I'm really not into these slick demo vids, if someone can get good tones through a cheap camera/phone then for me that's a more accurate representation than a demo with mic placement and a load of post treatment.

Voxman

timmysoft said:

I'm really not into these slick demo vids, if someone can get good tones through a cheap camera/phone then for me that's a more accurate representation than a demo with mic placement and a load of post treatment.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Thank goodness for you timmysoft - I was reading all the posts and feeling despondent because I can't do all those slick vids

ThePrettyDamned

timmysoft;362891" said:

I'm really not into these slick demo vids, if someone can get good tones through a cheap camera/phone then for me that's a more accurate representation than a demo with mic placement and a load of post treatment.

I asked someone for a demo of a pedal once and they said they just needed to clean it up. Fuck that! I want to hear it with an sm57 and no processing AT ALL. I want to hear the digital noise, clicking noises from the pedal or amp, background hiss, the harsh top end and flabby bass.

timmysoft

ThePrettyDamned said:

timmysoft;362891" said:

I'm really not into these slick demo vids, if someone can get good tones through a cheap camera/phone then for me that's a more accurate representation than a demo with mic placement and a load of post treatment.

I asked someone for a demo of a pedal once and they said they just needed to clean it up. Fuck that! I want to hear it with an sm57 and no processing AT ALL. I want to hear the digital noise, clicking noises from the pedal or amp, background hiss, the harsh top end and flabby bass.

Yeah, I want to hear it as a real world item, not full of processing and channel strip! If i do any demos it's just my ipad doing the recording or my cheap Samsung digi cam