I feel like this one is aimed at me so I'll respond as if it is.
First of I don't really review things, I have a look at them I am not passing a score, I am using a product live, while people watch, to see where it's strong and where it is weak in a very practical sense. And I intentionally don't read the manuals nor watch the walkthrough if I can, that allows me to look at the library how many users will experience it, just diving in......
This is useful for a few reasons, It allows you point out any design flaws which the developer might not notice because they are so familiar they just inherently know how it all works. So if I can't find a cool new feature, or a controller is hidden, or I am fumbling around using something incorrectly that shows the developer that it might not be as clear or as intuitive as they thought. I have been messaged multiple times by multiple developers that my critique helped them improve something they overlooked and made the product better as a result. Everyone wins and there is a value to showing how a library works as raw as possible with not time to tweak it to be perfect. If its shit out the box people will hear its shit out the box. If it take lots of effort to get the most out of it I think its fair to compare that to competition that provides comparable results with less effort. Its also good to live work out if that extra effort is indeed work it. These are all things you don't tend to get too into if you already know the ins and outs and I have always felt ff you want to know how the fucking thing works, watch the developer walk you through it, No review or opinion video will do a better job that the people who make it, so to use it as a critique of why certain Youtubers are bad doesn't sit right with me. Why you would goto a review over a dev walkthrough to see how to actually use it may be more your issue than the reviewers.
And you also have to realize that doing a video or a live stream isn't really that similar to composing. If I get stuck with a library when working, I will figure it out. If I am live streaming to 100 people live and a button that wasn't well highlighted or explained meaning that the library isn't doing what it should, I will just move on to something that does, and mention that as it happens "This isn't working as I would expect."
And I know most of you here fucking hate me by this point, I have learned to accept that, but I think the way I conduct my videos is in line with me and the way I want to live my life. I think they hold value to people watching who want to see things as raw and out the box as possible. I think there is value in showing a developer where someone will get stuck or what isn't as obvious as they might think.
This was a thread to suggest cool Youtubers to the OP, there was no call to take a shit on people who do them not up to your personal standard.
But if you want it your way go do one yourself. Put yourself out there. Let the biggest names in the industry tear you apart for daring to critique them. Put yourself out there and lay your creative process bare, with mistakes and misunderstandings open for all to see and judge, or use as excuses to call you a shit composer. Spend a few hours out of your work schedule to share some cool tools you found recently and experience them live with a community of like minded people you have cultivated over a decade. Put yourself out there more to have people compare you to everyone else as a human being and express why you are worse than them or they are doing better. Put yourself out there a bit and dare to have a thought of your own.
Or you know, just sit there and judge others adding nothing of value to anyone.
I critique stuff, I am obnoxious to many. But I care, I try, I give effort, I provide value. I am improving, I am learning. All while other people try to tear me apart because I swear a lot, or I dared to speak against their particular favorite developer....all while ignoring the positive things I say about those same people.
I always say what I think, because of the brain I was born with its almost impossible for me to not say what I am thinking. I always show what I say with evidence and would never lie to keep getting NFR's I have said good and bad things about all of the devs out there. Most act like adults, some call you a shit composer who should be disregarded as a hater. So to just throw around shill without evidence is a bit brazen and I believe totally off the mark. Besides, I would much rather watch a passionate shill than give two fucks about those who jeer from the sidelines.
To the OP
Check out:
Chris Siu - Improves every video
Dirk Ehlert - Covers lots of libraries and has an awesome studio that seemingly moves country every few weeks
Alex Pfeffer - One of the OG Youtubers, has a more succinct approach which some of you seem to prefer.
At the end of the day, you really just want to listen to the library and see if it gets you personally excited on sound alone, if it does you are then just browsing the other videos to see how others are using it, how it plays with other libraries, how playable it is and how intuitive the UI is. And at the end of the day its how you feel about it.
Also finally keep in context the people you watching and where their opinion comes from. When I give my opinion its coming from my experience as a working film/game composer who writes music everyday in cinematic, hybrid and filmic classical styles. So If I say something is good, its meaning in the context of the work I do for me as a working composer. Its not an objective statement. Like if a new library came out promising to be the next big thing in hybrid sound design, opened it and it sounds like 90's disco synths, I am going to say that is a bad library...but to someone making 90s disco or looking to do some specific fusion with it then they might say its a great library. Biggest issue is when I say the first part and someone says the second part but then tells me I am wrong or that I dont know what I am doing, or I'm doing it wrong, without considering why I say that. Not important for all but its worth thinking about if someone has a different opinion or one you might not agree with initially.
If I don't like something and you do, neither of us are wrong. You are the artist, you ultimately decide.
-DJ
