How To Do A YouTube Demo In Three Easy Steps

randomhandclaps

So I was having a browse through some demos of the Torpedo cab sim and in doing so I picked up some handy tips I thought I would pass on that seem to form part of an unwritten rule book for gear demos.  I have noticed this applies to the vast majority of micing demos, speaker demos etc so clearly it is a formula you may wish to follow if you too crave YouTube success.

1. Firstly your guitar - Time is precious and competition plentiful in the world of the YouTube.  You haven't got time for your prospective audience to have to hear a whole 5 seconds of your playing to realise you're metal, you need the to know from the get-go.  When choosing your demo guitar ignore tone, it's secondary.  You need something pointy.  Not expensive or classy pointy in case they mistake this for a Paul Gilbert lesson.  You need cheap, nasty and ugly.
2. Your Amp - This is where the bulk of your outlay will likely be.  You need a Dual Rec.  Whatever you are demoing you need a Dual Rec.  The beauty of the Dual Rec is you only need one control - the volume.  Ignore the tone controls completely as they were probably set right at the factory anyhow and we will cover the gain knob in the next step.  If for financial reasons you are struggling to get hold of a Dual Rec but still want to do demos then don't panic.  Companies like Bugera can supply cheaper alternatives.  If using one of the cheaper alternatives then place these just out of shot and remember never to refer to them by the manufacturer's name, instead repeating the phrase "That Dual Rec type-a-tone.".
3. Rule three is the most essential.  Regardless of what guitar and amp you end up using you will need a shitty, dry clean tone and most importantly more gain than any human ever thought they'd need.  Got gain? Get more. Your gain knob should be set to maximum, preferably after two stacked Metal Zones (feel free to experiment with adding a third or fourth once funds allow).  Your aim is to remove the distractions of dynamic content and transients for the listener.  This can also be aided by extreme compression in your DAW after recording.

photek

Don't forget the 15 min preamble reading the spec of the item being Demo'd, cus none of us read it online before or anything

randomhandclaps

photek said:

Don't forget the 15 min preamble reading the spec of the item being Demo'd, cus none of us read it online before or anything

Oh yes. It doubly great when you sit through, waiting to actually hear it and then they just hit a single chord, cut it off, demo ends.

monquixote

Don't forget that the sound has to be completely dominated by the twangy unplugged sound of your electric guitar. 

stonevibe

and do the demo in your pants.

Everyone wants to see your skanky pants when listening to your djent.

jd0272

I find playing the track completely wrongly helps also.

Moss

You also need to get the camera angles completely wrong - part of your face or maybe the headstock of the guitar will do

jpttaylor

Do know what really grinds my gears? People actually changing the settings during a demo. 

Why do they even bother? I only wanted to hear that same damn setting for 5 minutes. The gain range isn't important to me at all.

Bucket

I've been thinking seriously about doing some YouTube demos of some of my gear, so it's good to have these little tips.

Brb, stripping to underwear, putting my Dean (cool but both my cheapest AND pointiest guitar) slightly-but-noticeably out of tune, dialling in the fizziest and highest-gain setting possible on my Mesa and putting all three of my overdrives, all four of my fuzzes and my just-in-case metal distortion in front of it, then playing a grooveless entirely downpicked rendition of Cowboys From Hell.

olafgarten

I really love it when they sound like this (Warning it's quite loud!).

digitalscream

Still planning to get that Decatone demo out at some point (maybe), so I appreciate the tips. Unfortunately, somebody else has my Dean (I deliberately lost their number so I could never get it back), so you'll have to make do with a relatively tasteful Tele-alike I'm afraid.

I'll certainly make sure that you can't actually hear any of the amp over the acoustic noise, though. Seems like a given.

MrSwanson

For pedals especially the unboxing part is essential.

robinbowes

monquixote said:

Don't forget that the sound has to be completely dominated by the twangy unplugged sound of your electric guitar. 

This. A real pet-hate of mine.

That said, I've not done any video demos, so I refrain from being too critical until I've done it myself.

R.

DesVegas

I've even seen some pedal demo's where you can't see the guitarists socks.. wtf!!

Fiftyshadesofjay

Make sure you don't play until at least 20 minutes in, and when you do, ensure you're using the worst quality camera phone audio possible. Micing up a cab is for losers.

If you do mic up, never EVER play a chord or power chord, only lead stuff, that should make sure you never get a proper idea of the tone anyway.

equalsql

Also, don't edit out the part where you set up your camera and then walk back to your seat, plug in your guitar and start tuning it.
Keeping this in always as it ensures your video makes a good first impression.

Also.. make sure when demoing any overdrive or distortion pedals, make sure your amp is already set to high gain as the OP suggests.

dindude

Please don't forget to be totally and wholeheartedly in love with the sound of your own boring, monotone, infuriating, self -obsessed voice. And when you think it's time for playing, then take a pause for breath and speak some more.

capo4th

Hairy feet

Clarky

the video must be shot either in the:

- kitchen / dinning room

- the lounge and from time to time you can hear the kids arguing with mum [US: mom] upstairs

location location location... lmao

BigMonka

randomhandclaps said:

 Ignore the tone controls completely as they were probably set right at the factory anyhow 

lol, that's brilliant  >:D<

Chalky

Don't forget to open with something like "this is only going to be a short demo so I'm only going to talk a little..." and then talk for a minimum of 3 minutes and come across as a complete wanker.

To improve your video first say "here is a demo of the guitar" and play an E major chord. Then say "Here is a demo of the pickups" and play an E major chord. The do the same for a demo of the cable, demo of the amp, demo of the speaker, cab, strings, pick etc. Make sure you play the E major chord in exactly the same way every time. This will maximise the value of your demo...