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Which YT "Reviewers" Do You Trust?

tressie5

tressie5

The Quest for Balance
Hi, all. Maybe I'm being paranoid, but it seems that, more and more, I can't trust the product "reviewers" on YouTube because, according to them, every music plugin and hardware they "review" is the best thing since sliced bread. Sometimes I might field test a reverb only to find it is grainy, springy or wobbly, definitely not clear or pristine as was auditioned online. Or a synth, instead of sounding warm, smooth and analogue-y as portrayed was actually rough, brittle and unoriginal. I've also ran across the occasional supposed holy grail of compressors or EQ's that, in the end, was simply snake oil; thus, when a "reviewer" says, "Here is the best this and best that...", I simply ignore them.
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I don't trust any of them, either. I only click on those reviews to watch / listen to the product in action and their explanations of how it works because we simply do not live in an altruistic world where nobody needs to make money - and also because objective media content is rarely a thing outside CSPAN (edit: with exception of what dcoscina mentioned below).
 
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dcoscina said:
I just do play-throughs with no comments. I let the viewer decide based on what they hear.

My FSMO reviews are more detailed but I don't rate the products. I focus on their strengths because, frankly, the world has already too much negativity. If I don't touch on something, it is likely because it's not a feature or sound that showcases the library in the best light. Besides, reviews are subjective. I've seen people hate on VSL horns and when I attended the Detroit Symphony John Williams concert, those damned horns sounded exactly like VSL, not EW or any other horn library. So it really is a matter of interpretation and the application by the end-user.
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which vsl horns?
 
I feel the same way about YouTube reviews that I used to feel about reviews in print magazines (remember those?). Which products are selected for review, and which are ignored, is at least as informative as the reviews themselves. If you don't like a product, you don't review it at all, because your compensation comes -- directly or indirectly -- from the developers of the products you are reviewing.

Like @Fidelity (above), I look at reviews more for the factual content than the evaluations.

EDIT: Some of the posts below mention a few exceptions: Ann-Katherin Dern, Cory Pelizzari and Dan Worrall.
 
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does it bother anyone that youtube has basically become a monument to stuff? reviewing, buying, and reacting to stuff, and encouraging others to obsess over more of that stuff too. I think I broke my GAS sometime over this last year... I respect the skills youtubers have for their reviews and editing skills...but conceptually the youtube review market is starting to feel incredibly saturated and lacking in reward.
 
The whole YouTube review/course trend rubs me the wrong way for the most part. Those who simply demonstrate sound and functionality with a minimum of commentary are best, and they don't often really offer more than can be gotten from official walkthroughs and demos.

I don't think it's paranoia on your part to be skeptical. There's just only so much that can be gleaned from such videos, and the focus often seems to be less on that anyway, and more on the person making them and their status as some voice of authority (and preserving the sweet deal of getting free stuff in exchange for showing it off in pretty looking studios with high production value videos).
 
rrichard63 said:
I feel the same way about YouTube reviews that I used to feel about reviews in print magazines (remember those?). Which products are selected for review, and which are ignored, is at least as informative as the reviews themselves. If you don't like a product, you don't review it at all, because your compensation comes -- directly or indirectly -- from the developers of the products you are reviewing.
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I think that explains it very well with the difference there are way more outlets/ channels available today then for example print magazines in the day in one local market. But what you are describing there I remember very well when I worked a lot with companies like being a guitar endorser. A huge part of the magazine revenue stream came in through advertisement by brands and their distributors and therefore the magazines had to release overall positive reviews on gear to keep the manufacturer happy.
Michaelt said:
The whole YouTube review/course trend rubs me the wrong way for the most part. Those who simply demonstrate sound and functionality with a minimum of commentary are best, and they don't often really offer more than can be gotten from official walkthroughs and demos.

I don't think it's paranoia on your part to be skeptical. There's just only so much that can be gleaned from such videos, and the focus often seems to be less on that anyway, and more on the person making them and their status as some voice of authority (and preserving the sweet deal of getting free stuff in exchange for showing it off in pretty looking studios with high production value videos).
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It can generate some income for sure if the channel reaches a certain size.
 
tressie5 said:
Maybe I'm being paranoid, but it seems that, more and more, I can't trust the product "reviewers" on YouTube because, according to them, every music plugin and hardware they "review" is the best thing since sliced bread.
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You can't trust them. Most are paid, and even if they aren't if they are primarily a review channel they don't have the time to test things properly to give a thorough review. It's not financially viable to work that long on a video and there is likely a bias to review only popular stuff to get more views over the search function.

There is one guy though whom I trust when he says something is good: Dan Worrall. I think he has enough of a reputation to lose, that he'll think twice about ever hyping something up that doesn't deserve it.
 
I really like the Merriam Pianos reviews, and there's a user over at Pianoworld (Gamma) whose playthroughs I find helpful.

I really *enjoy* Simeon's piano reviews but he makes *everything* sound good, so I don't rely on them as much for buying decisions.
 
It's great to read your opinions here guys, I started making reviews before having affiliate links and I've noticed how it directly influences people's opinion on your work, even if you make close to no money or if you spend dozens of hours on a review that in the end won't bring back a single cent.

The good thing I'm reading here, and I guess this is something I should say to myself more, is : less talking, more playing (unless it really makes sense to do otherwise).

A couple of questions I'd like to ask to you all is, do you prefer long in-depth videos with every single detail of a particular library? Or just the most interesting features and one or two contextual examples? When do you feel like the talking is really relevant in a product review?

Thanks for this thread everyone! And thank you @tressie5 :)
 
Stick to developer walkthroughs IMO. Most YouTube reviewers don't use the libraries to their full potential - or worse, don't know what they're doing / haven't bothered to read the manual and showcase it unfairly in an unflattering light. The "reviews" are never that, in that they don't cover more than a walkthrough usually and there's no way the person making the video has spent a reasonable amount of time with the library majority of the time given how quickly the videos are released after launch (even if they got a pre-release copy, it still is only a few days in advance). Also, IMO, most of the YouTube self-appointed "voices of authority" are far less talented and knowledgeable than some of the lesser known voices out there (that aren't trying to shill for some developer either). Almost none of the familiar YouTubers (that have a constant barrage of "first looks" or reviews) bother writing a substantial piece with the library.
 
dcoscina said:
My sense is anything over 20 minutes is a stretch. For the more elaborate products it might be worthwhile breaking them up into sections. I did a play through of Heirloom and I was genuinely surprised by how favourable the responses were. It’s a lovely library but I hadn’t anticipated that one to draw in as much feedback.
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Good point! Reviews that go over 20 minutes (I've made a few of those) either have to bring a tremendous value or the product has to be something everyone's interested in.
 
I actually like watching various perspectives on the same library. There are several channels in tune into to see their feedback. Developer videos are all good and well but they can be best case scenario rather than real world useable. Seeing reviewers go through the sounds in real-time establishes some sense of how the library sounds without all the fancy editing or prescribed demos.
 
ALittleNightMusic said:
Stick to developer walkthroughs IMO. Most YouTube reviewers don't use the libraries to their full potential - or worse, don't know what they're doing / haven't bothered to read the manual and showcase it unfairly in an unflattering light. The "reviews" are never that, in that they don't cover more than a walkthrough usually and there's no way the person making the video has spent a reasonable amount of time with the library majority of the time given how quickly the videos are released after launch (even if they got a pre-release copy, it still is only a few days in advance). Also, IMO, most of the YouTube self-appointed "voices of authority" are far less talented and knowledgeable than some of the lesser known voices out there (that aren't trying to shill for some developer either). Almost none of the familiar YouTubers (that have a constant barrage of "first looks" or reviews) bother writing a substantial piece with the library.
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I'll agree with the reading of manuals, I personally do it every time. And I do watch other people's reviews. I've seen reviews made by people overtly dissing the product (and swearing a lot as you can imagine) when in the end, the issue wasn't the product, but the reviewer that just didn't either found the right feature or had a copy that didn't work on their system.

I wouldn't say anything bad about the voices of authority that you're mentioning because, just like with the developers, I respect the work they put in their business. Just like positive reviews don't automatically make you a sellout, negative reviews don't necessarily make you a trustful or 'honest' person.
 
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