Amp and gear manufacturers - I am calling you out! Your web sites need work!

[cg]

I am amazed at how few manufacturers truly make an effort to showcase their gear online. I see lots of information about the specs, components, etc and very little effort made to show me how their amps and gear sound in a wide variety of scenarios. It feels like a technical pitch as opposed to an emotional one. I want to clink on a clip and feel that I absolutely have to own that amp, guitar or pedal.

This is about making music, which is all about emotion! It's good to have the specs, but they should be a supporting element, not the main storyline.

I love Savage amps, but they have had the same 2 Blitz clips for years and years and years. Same goes for the Glas 30 and the Rohr 15. There are so many good players in town I am sure who would gladly help them record new clips. Not sure why they don't do it.

Matchless just relaunched their web site, and it's better, but not what it could be. Some of their new clips are 3rd parties. That's ok, but I would think they would want to post their own. The video clip for the Avalon isn't bad, but it's done by a music store. Why risk pissing off your other dealers by showcasing them? Why not post your own?? Own your brand!

I think Swart does a nice job at offering a wide variety of clips. Different styles, players, guitars, etc. Well done!

65 Amps has really nice clips, but the web site isn't organized that well. There is an amps navigation button and a different button for sound clips. Huh?? Wouldn't it be a better experience if the clips were listed right next to each corresponding amp? I was looking for a Lil Elvis clip, but couldn't find one.

Bad Cat? I think there is at most one clip per amp. For some amps, like the Panther, there aren't any clips. David Grissom endorsed the Panther and they don't have any clips of him? Maybe it's a contract issue? That makes no sense to me. What a missed opportunity. This is a relatively rare amp that few people will get to demo in a store.

Victoria added a bunch of new videos. This is nice, but most of the clips are poorly recorded and they take you to YouTube. Wouldn't you want to keep me on your site? The minute I go to YouTube, you risk losing me. When I click on their 45410 Bassman video link, it takes me to YouTube and, in the related videos section, I see a clip of the Fender Bassman reissue. You might have just sent me to the competition!

I just checked out the Orange web site. Not bad, but still missing clips for many of their amps. I don't see any Rockerverb clips. Why??? http://www.orangeamps.com/products.a...ion=View&ID=68


Speaking of YouTube, manufacturers should be flooding YouTube with quality videos. It's so easy to upload HD-quality clips to YouTube and hardly any of them do it.

I love Germino, but when you search on YouTube for Germino, the first clip you get is a quick one I made last year, and I'm a hack! I think my clip sounds good (soundwise), and all it took was a 10 minutes of time and a Zoom H4.

I think the best amp demos I have seen have been Pete Thorn's. His Suhr demos were outstanding and had me drooling for a Badger. He played a bunch of different styles, used different guitars, etc. I had an emotional response to his videos. That is the model! I hope John Suhr realizes the impact those videos have had.

I would think that many of our favorite manufacturers are not selling nearly as many amps as they could be becauise they are 5 to 10 years behind the times. This is pretty simple to fix. Go find a decent guitar player, get a good video camera and some relatively inexpensive recording equipment and you are set!

[StevenS]

I know what you mean.

When I was looking into buying my Shiva I found the Bogner site was pretty good though.

Lots of clips alone and in a band setting.

[JCM 800]

Originally Posted by cg

I love Savage amps, but they have had the same 2 Blitz clips for years and years and years. Same goes for the Glas 30 and the Rohr 15. There are so many good players in town I am sure who would gladly help them record new clips. Not sure why they don't do it.

I can shed some insight to Savage thing. You are right that even the guys in the shop could make some really killer clips. But Savage isn't just an amp builder. They are first and foremost a repair shop. That's what they were founded on. Stop in there and you will see shelves and shelves and shelves of repairs. The amp building thing is very important to them, but it's not nearly enough to keep the business going.

From what I've been told, Savage amp sales keep growing each year. I think Jeff would rather have a nice slow growth in sales instead of trying to go all out and have that part of the business crash and burn.

To sum it up, they really don't need to make better clips to sell their amps. The amps have sold themselves and sales keep growing.

Oh I almost forgot. They actually DID post some stuff on Youtube. Check it out.

[cg]

Originally Posted by JCM 800

I can shed some insight to Savage thing. You are right that even the guys in the shop could make some really killer clips. But Savage isn't just an amp builder. They are first and foremost a repair shop. That's what they were founded on. Stop in there and you will see shelves and shelves and shelves of repairs. The amp building thing is very important to them, but it's not nearly enough to keep the business going.

From what I've been told, Savage amp sales keep growing each year. I think Jeff would rather have a nice slow growth in sales instead of trying to go all out and have that part of the business crash and burn.

To sum it up, they really don't need to make better clips to sell their amps. The amps have sold themselves and sales keep growing.

Oh I almost forgot. They actually DID post some stuff on Youtube. Check it out.

Yeah - I get that abotu Savage. I've been in the shop a bunch and understand they have a big repair business.

They posted 3 YouTube clips a year ago. http://www.youtube.com/user/savageaudio1

Let's freshen them up!

[Stevil]

Originally Posted by cg

Speaking of YouTube, manufacturers should be flooding YouTube with quality videos. It's so easy to upload HD-quality clips to YouTube and hardly any of them do it.

no doubt. most of the clips available were recorded with a crap camera / phone in the floor of some crowded noisy convention hall with a ton of background noise. take your line of amps into the studio & record some real takes, maybe with a sponsored player, professionally mic-ed, total amateur in a living room, down the street at the local dive bar, a tech who can play from the warehouse floor, mix it with some video clips... people want to know how good these things can sound.

[SatelliteAmps]

I know why we usually don't post clips. The lack of control. I can take one of my amps, pick a guitar, and record a demo of it. I can record it with a cheap camera, and expensive camera, take a DI off the amp, use a cheap mic and a computer recording, or use a U87 and go direct to tape. I can process all of this, and then post it on youtube, where someone will go to listen to the clip. They might listen to it through the 1 inch speaker in their laptop, or through some earbuds, or possibly through some 3 inch powered computer speakers, or even rarer possiblity through a real hi-fi system that will pump out the sound at ear blistering volume.

The next issue is versatility. What I may play may not be what someone wants to hear. Which guitar I choose may not be what someone wants to hear. Which speakers I choose may not come through very well, or be familiar enough with the listener. What happens when someone wants a new demo with a Dean Flying V with Super Distortions, through a ProCo Rat, and a Teese Wah, into a detuned cabinet with a Scumback and a Vintage 30? Should I go out round up all that gear, and make the new demo? What I prefer to do is to try and help find a dealer (or start a new one, or even mail out a loaner/demo amp), in a possible customers area, so they can go try the amp out in person, with their own gear, and their own ears.

When it comes to clips, what I prefer to do is to occasionally show clips of bands playing my amps live, and also to provide links to real studio recordings of bands, to show how our product fits into a band situation.

(And, FWIW, my website is extremely outdated. It's always in a state of being redesigned. Just don't have the time to do everything.)

[nmiller]

I entirely agree with the OP - most manufacturers' sites don't have any clips at all, be they guitar, amp or pedal makers. There are a few nice ones, though - one of my favorites is actually the Electro-Harmonix site, on which they have helpful and substantive demo videos for most of their pedals.

[tubetwang]

Well now...

That is the reason why i build my own amps...

[lukeII]

+1 with CG. For some boutique manufacturers that don't have a broad base distribution network posting clips gives you a lot more chance of getting people interested in your amps. We all know that there are inherent limitations to listening to amp clips over the net using computer speakers or headphones but at least it gives you a good idea of what the amp sounds like and a tone reference.

[SatelliteAmps]

Originally Posted by lukeII

+1 with CG. For some boutique manufacturers that don't have a broad base distribution network posting clips gives you a lot more chance of getting people interested in your amps. We all know that there are inherent limitations to listening to amp clips over the net using computer speakers or headphones but at least it gives you a good idea of what the amp sounds like and a tone reference.

I've seen a lot of online manufacturers clips that do not sound like the actual product.

[Scumback Speakers]

Originally Posted by SatelliteAmps

I've seen a lot of online manufacturers clips that do not sound like the actual product.

I've had a speaker manufacturer try to buy some speakers 3-4 weeks before they introduce their version of what they were trying to buy from me.

[newking70]

hello budda, are you listening?

[tubetwang]

everybody is building

but

nobody is buying

so...

build it for yourself and be happy

[hangten]

Your site might be outdated, but it is very classy IMHO. (I am a graphic designer/webdesigner as well as a musician)

The amps look real cool too!

Originally Posted by SatelliteAmps

I know why we usually don't post clips. The lack of control. I can take one of my amps, pick a guitar, and record a demo of it. I can record it with a cheap camera, and expensive camera, take a DI off the amp, use a cheap mic and a computer recording, or use a U87 and go direct to tape. I can process all of this, and then post it on youtube, where someone will go to listen to the clip. They might listen to it through the 1 inch speaker in their laptop, or through some earbuds, or possibly through some 3 inch powered computer speakers, or even rarer possiblity through a real hi-fi system that will pump out the sound at ear blistering volume.

The next issue is versatility. What I may play may not be what someone wants to hear. Which guitar I choose may not be what someone wants to hear. Which speakers I choose may not come through very well, or be familiar enough with the listener. What happens when someone wants a new demo with a Dean Flying V with Super Distortions, through a ProCo Rat, and a Teese Wah, into a detuned cabinet with a Scumback and a Vintage 30? Should I go out round up all that gear, and make the new demo? What I prefer to do is to try and help find a dealer (or start a new one, or even mail out a loaner/demo amp), in a possible customers area, so they can go try the amp out in person, with their own gear, and their own ears.

When it comes to clips, what I prefer to do is to occasionally show clips of bands playing my amps live, and also to provide links to real studio recordings of bands, to show how our product fits into a band situation.

(And, FWIW, my website is extremely outdated. It's always in a state of being redesigned. Just don't have the time to do everything.)

[smolder]

So you'd like to have the amp manufacturers improve their sites. Well fine. Yes, it would be convenient to read all about the amps and the specs and who plays them. Might be even cool to hear some rad player on low fidelity clips. But that is a terrible way to shop for an amp.

AND... if I am an amp builder, the last thing I want, is for you to decide NOT to buy my amp based upon those low-fi clips and my the info site. What I want, is for you to go into a store (one of my dealers) and play through the amp with YOUR guitar (or one similar) and YOUR hands so that you know what it sounds like when YOU play it.

The net is great for convenience and for buying some things. But it is a terrible way to try out and buy an amp. Get off your lazy butts and get out there and play some amps.



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