Tonetalk is going downhill!

rrhoads17

Inspired
I used to be an avid Tonetalk viewer, but I feel that the show has gone downhill drastically. They used to have amazing guests like Grover Jackson, Bob Bradshaw and John Suhr. Now, literally every other show has turned into an "Ask Dave" session. I love Dave Friedman and his knowledge, but those shows are getting old. And no offense to the guests, but the guests on the show are not nearly as good as they used to be. They seem to be having guests on that no one really cares to listen to honestly like the guitarist from Evanescence (no offense to her or her talent but who even listens to them anymore?) and other random people. I happened to stumble upon Jeremy White's channel and I saw where he had Wolfgang Van Halen, Michael Anthony and members of Def Leppard on his show among others. It is hard for me to believe that Dave cannot get some of those bigger names on their show since he has so many connections and has done rigs for some of these guys. There are also other rig builders that would be amazing to interview like Dave Phillips from LASD. I also feel that the show has turned into a money grabbing front. They are always pushing their Sweetwater affiliate links so they can get a kickback from your purchases and never talk about their local music stores who probably desparately need business. They also force you to donate money to ask a question in the form of a superchat so you are basically paying for access. Tonetalk needs to step up their game or else they will wind up losing viewers.
 
I really dislike the livestream thing on youtube but it seems to be a big thing now. Watching them do the whole thankyou so and so and so and so for the superchat donation...🤮 - guess it's a way to make a buck, but not enjoyable to watch imo.
 
I was big into the YT guitar scene for a couple of years, and really did not like many of the "talk show" type guitar YT channels. I found the people on them more interested in exactly what you're talking about. "Super chats" and pushing ways for them to make money from their viewers. "Here's a link to my AMAZING learn to play guitar course!!!" Things like that. It's just an hour long advert opportunity. Unless they have a real artist on, which also, as you pointed out, is becoming more and more rare. One in particular I couldn't stand, as he had like a thousand people on, and was all over the place with his discussion subjects. He also wasn't a very good guitar player, and to me, I want to hear guitar, not just an endless stream of talking about it from someone who doesn't seem to invest a lot of his time in playing.

The only one I stuck with, and continue to watch, are Pete Thorn's live Sunday streams. He's such an awesome guy and does it because he loves it. And he's all over the World, which is super cool.
 
I really dislike the livestream thing on youtube but it seems to be a big thing now. Watching them do the whole thankyou so and so and so and so for the superchat donation...🤮 - guess it's a way to make a buck, but not enjoyable to watch imo.

Have you watched Pete Thorn's live streams? He's really great.
 
Have you watched Pete Thorn's live streams? He's really great.
ya - I watch his - still don't care for his livestream format but tune in cuz Pete offers real and intelligent insight + some great guests (ie Peter Frampton). I have nothing against youtubers making a buck this way (we all have to somehow), I just find the format very awkward/disjointed- some do it better than others - PT one of the more adept at it. Other notable guitar related youtubers I follow in addition to PT cuz I value what they have to say are:
  • Rick Beato
  • That Pedal Show
  • JHS Pedals
  • Leon Todd and Cooper Carter of course
  • 5 Watt World
  • Johnnathan Cordy
  • Brett Kingman
  • Landon Bailey
  • Lucas Lacompte
  • Leo Gibson
  • Ola
  • Justin Guitar
  • Hunter MacDermut
  • Darrell Braun Guitar
  • Dylan Talks Tone
  • Elmo Karjalainen
  • Paul Davids
  • Marco Fanton
  • Plague Scythe Studios
  • Robert Baker
  • Steve Gibson
  • Steve Stine
  • The Lefty Guitar Channel
  • Tom Quayle
  • Tim Pearce
  • Shutup & Play
  • Pariah VS Gear
  • Late Night Lessons
  • Kris Barocsi
  • Glenn Fricker / SMG (ya ok - everybody here hates him - and though I think Glenn hurts himself with some of his shtick, imo he has a lot of good solid content - same opinion for Henning @ EytschPi42).
  • Edit: Shane @ IntotheBlues
Who needs regular Tv lol!
 
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I also feel that the show has turned into a money grabbing front. They are always pushing their Sweetwater affiliate links so they can get a kickback from your purchases and never talk about their local music stores who probably desparately need business. They also force you to donate money to ask a question in the form of a superchat so you are basically paying for access. Tonetalk needs to step up their game or else they will wind up losing viewers.

That is all standard practice now for influencers and their channels. Not just a Tonetalk thing
as much as a Youtube thing.

Please visit our sponsors, who so kindly made this post possible. :)
 
You're seeing how people make more money on YT compared to views alone - from direct donations and selling other products. Plus, it's really difficult to make an engaging livestream - not many of us have the content or personalities to make compelling live content in a talk show format.
Coverage of a live performance, event, etc. is fun, but it seems that most livestreams don't do much to take advantage of the live aspect. They're discussions to draw out time to get donations - they could very well be taped and edited, and would improve because of it. IMHO.
 
ya - I watch his - still don't care for his livestream format but tune in cuz Pete offers real and intelligent insight + some great guests (ie Peter Frampton). I have nothing against youtubers making a buck this way (we all have to somehow), I just find the format very awkward/disjointed- some do it better than others - PT one of the more adept at it. Other notable guitar related youtubers I follow in addition to PT cuz I value what they have to say are:
  • Rick Beato
  • That Pedal Show
  • JHS Pedals
  • Leon Todd and Cooper Carter of course
  • 5 Watt World
  • Johnnathan Cordy
  • Brett Kingman
  • Landon Bailey
  • Lucas Lacompte
  • Leo Gibson
  • Ola
  • Justin Guitar
  • Hunter MacDermut
  • Darrell Braun Guitar
  • Dylan Talks Tone
  • Elmo Karjalainen
  • Paul Davids
  • Marco Fanton
  • Plague Scythe Studios
  • Robert Baker
  • Steve Gibson
  • Steve Stine
  • The Lefty Guitar Channel
  • Tom Quayle
  • Tim Pearce
  • Shutup & Play
  • Pariah VS Gear
  • Late Night Lessons
  • Kris Barocsi
  • Glenn Fricker / SMG (ya ok - everybody here hates him - and though I think Glenn hurts himself with some of his shtick, imo he has a lot of good solid content - same opinion for Henning @ EytschPi42).
Who needs regular Tv lol!
Nice list, some I should check out.

Also Produce Like A Pro.
 
ya - I watch his - still don't care for his livestream format but tune in cuz Pete offers real and intelligent insight + some great guests (ie Peter Frampton). I have nothing against youtubers making a buck this way (we all have to somehow), I just find the format very awkward/disjointed- some do it better than others - PT one of the more adept at it. Other notable guitar related youtubers I follow in addition to PT cuz I value what they have to say are:
  • Rick Beato
  • That Pedal Show
  • JHS Pedals
  • Leon Todd and Cooper Carter of course
  • 5 Watt World
  • Johnnathan Cordy
  • Brett Kingman
  • Landon Bailey
  • Lucas Lacompte
  • Leo Gibson
  • Ola
  • Justin Guitar
  • Hunter MacDermut
  • Darrell Braun Guitar
  • Dylan Talks Tone
  • Elmo Karjalainen
  • Paul Davids
  • Marco Fanton
  • Plague Scythe Studios
  • Robert Baker
  • Steve Gibson
  • Steve Stine
  • The Lefty Guitar Channel
  • Tom Quayle
  • Tim Pearce
  • Shutup & Play
  • Pariah VS Gear
  • Late Night Lessons
  • Kris Barocsi
  • Glenn Fricker / SMG (ya ok - everybody here hates him - and though I think Glenn hurts himself with some of his shtick, imo he has a lot of good solid content - same opinion for Henning @ EytschPi42).
Who needs regular Tv lol!

Dang! I needed to charge my phone after that post. :)
 
The rising tide of hucksterism is definitely an acquired taste that not everyone will acquire.

I am finding that I am actually watching less Youtube because of it (and listening to and playing
music more), which I am guessing could be a plus :)
 
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Maybe worth keeping in mind that Youtube (err... Google) takes 30% of the Superchats, and
45% of the revenue earned from views.

And we all thought that 20% commish the music store wanted to sell our axe was too much.
 
Have you watched Pete Thorn's live streams? He's really great.
Yeah Pete Thorn has a good show and is a cool guy. And Dave Friedman is also a super nice guy too who is full of knowledge and rig guru. He is pretty opinionated about Fractal, but all amp builders are. I don't know much about Marc Huzansky. He kinda strikes me as a business guy who is reaping the benefits of his talk show to buy alot of gear as his room has only gotten more cluttered with gear as the show has progressed lol. I just think Tonetalk has evolved from a really good show with great guests all the time to a mediocre show with a great guest every once and a while. I honestly wish they'd invite Cliff to the show to discuss modeling and how it's evolved. It doesn't have to be an us vs. them show.
 
Honestly I feel the same way. The early shows were really fascinating, getting the curtain peeled back on some manufacturers who really innovated the space. And then getting some amazing artists on to tell their stories and geek out on gear. The highlight for me had to be Dean Deleo who's got to be in my top three guitarists/inspirations.

The last few months though have been pretty forgettable. I haven't watched many of them and the YT algorithm pulled it from my front page so it's even less visible. I watched the Evanescence one which was weird because she has her own very specific fan base, and while she was somewhat interesting it wasn't the same level as Dave Friedman reminiscing with Mike Soldano or Grover Jackson.

I'd rather see fewer shows if they could line up one interesting guest per month...looking forward to Dave Navarro, and would love for him to get Jerry Cantrell on.
 
Growing a channel will take a wider variety of guests than people like Dave Friedman. Having Evanescence on will likely bring in a lot of new viewers who wouldn’t have otherwise been aware of the channel. That’s the name of the game. And those folks will eventually complain about how the channel was interesting when they had artists like Evanescence on, but it has gone way downhill when they keep bringing on these old guys to talk about vacuum tubes and neck joints.

The best (and worst) thing about YouTube is if a particular channel starts to lose your interest there’s 500,000+ other ones that are doing a variation of the same thing.
 
I am going to do a Superchat on their next episode and ask why the show has started to suck so hard. ;)
 
I don't know much about Marc Huzansky. He kinda strikes me as a business guy who is reaping the benefits of his talk show to buy alot of gear as his room has only gotten more cluttered with gear as the show has progressed lol.

I've met Marc and talked with him several times. Yes he does have a good day job to afford gear. You really think he and Dave are raking it in from under 20k subscribers on YouTube and videos that don't get a ton of views? News flash...they aren't.
 
ya - I watch his - still don't care for his livestream format but tune in cuz Pete offers real and intelligent insight + some great guests (ie Peter Frampton). I have nothing against youtubers making a buck this way (we all have to somehow), I just find the format very awkward/disjointed- some do it better than others - PT one of the more adept at it. Other notable guitar related youtubers I follow in addition to PT cuz I value what they have to say are:
  • Rick Beato
  • That Pedal Show
  • JHS Pedals
  • Leon Todd and Cooper Carter of course
  • 5 Watt World
  • Johnnathan Cordy
  • Brett Kingman
  • Landon Bailey
  • Lucas Lacompte
  • Leo Gibson
  • Ola
  • Justin Guitar
  • Hunter MacDermut
  • Darrell Braun Guitar
  • Dylan Talks Tone
  • Elmo Karjalainen
  • Paul Davids
  • Marco Fanton
  • Plague Scythe Studios
  • Robert Baker
  • Steve Gibson
  • Steve Stine
  • The Lefty Guitar Channel
  • Tom Quayle
  • Tim Pearce
  • Shutup & Play
  • Pariah VS Gear
  • Late Night Lessons
  • Kris Barocsi
  • Glenn Fricker / SMG (ya ok - everybody here hates him - and though I think Glenn hurts himself with some of his shtick, imo he has a lot of good solid content - same opinion for Henning @ EytschPi42).
  • Edit: Shane @ IntotheBlues
Who needs regular Tv lol!
Pretty similar list! I really have ADD these days when it comes to practicing.. Now instead of picking up a new physical magazine, book, dvd etc., and adding to the bookshelf with maybe a few looks; it's the same with youtube guitar gurus.. And don't get me started on Patreon... John Cordy, Jack Ruch, Andy Wood, Jim Campignola, Ben Eller.... PDFs, backing tracks all over the F'ing place.. I know just enough licks to get a taste to be the guitarists equivalent of the $12 sampler at the Olive Garden.. A bit of a phony is what I am!!!! :eek:
 
Pretty similar list! I really have ADD these days when it comes to practicing.. Now instead of picking up a new physical magazine, book, dvd etc., and adding to the bookshelf with maybe a few looks; it's the same with youtube guitar gurus.. And don't get me started on Patreon... John Cordy, Jack Ruch, Andy Wood, Jim Campignola, Ben Eller.... PDFs, backing tracks all over the F'ing place.. I know just enough licks to get a taste to be the guitarists equivalent of the $12 sampler at the Olive Garden.. A bit of a phony is what I am!!!! :eek:
Magazines are gone for me but I'm still buying books which help with the ADD. Some guitar based youtubers are pretty dry but others are quite entertaining - forgot about Ben Eller with his stepdad references lol!
 
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