Why are all demos shitty blues?

[goroth]

Interesting responses folks!!

I actually watched that Bonamassa vid. Dude can play, that's for sure. But he called a klon scooped. Which makes me question whether he actually has ears.

[coldbrightsunlight]

just to clarify - my "laziness" comment, beyond snark value and brevity, wasn't directed at why people play blues, but, rather, why they do it so frequently in demos

Oh don't worry wasn't offended I entirely agree with you RE laziness in demos (even when it really doesn't show off the range of the pedal). Didn't intend to come across defensive about playing the blues (lots of good blues out there) was just explaining the background of why I play it a lot (and why demo people might, also). Maybe it was an irrelevant anecdote.

[qersty]

Interesting responses folks!!

I actually watched that Bonamassa vid. Dude can play, that's for sure. But he called a klon scooped. Which makes me question whether he actually has ears.

I mean compared to a tubescreamer with a mid boost at 500hz I guess a little more scooped. The klon pushes treble more which a lot of guys call scooped.

[qersty]

Also goroth if you dig his playing you might wanna check this out

https://shop.jbonamassa.com/collections/collectibles-home-office/products/joe-bonamasa-flying-v-garden-gnome

[Velcro Bottom]

Dosn't the """"blues""""" think come from Mayer being huge with american Moms? Does not really explain all the dudes who want to play shit like his but I guess MILF pornography getting more popular and especially among the youngsters could be a theory (this is where it is revealed I stayed up late chainsmoking and drinking brandy after a 12 hour night shift and it has effected my cognitive abilities somewhat) so i guess you could say that the mature ladies fucking on camera are to blame for the dead and company which is a deep rabbithole. Somebody who goes to their shows here is a fun idea for a sign: MILFs play faster

I want to read your manifesto.

[raj007]

I mean, what’s “shitty blues”? The whole genre?

I personally never got into SRV….but, some of the old cats like Hound Dog Taylor freakin’ rule. There’s a ton of interesting and good blues music.

Probably because it’s the backbone and birthplace of so much guitar based music…demo folks maybe feel there’s more common ground in that genre w the average watcher/listener?

I’d love to see more straight up punk style power chords w demos of dirt pedals…show me some simple fuckin Ramones type shit on that bad boy.

I will say I’ll take the generic blues demos alllll day over all this ambient, looping bullshit that’s been running rampant the last few years.

[Dandolin]

yeah, we have a blues thread on here with some good shit on it - i don't think this thread is about condemning blues per se, but rather lamenting the lack of diversity and perhaps lack of attention to the particular characteristics of the pedals being demo'd in a large percentage of cases...but good points

def don't want to throw the baby out with the bathwater and condemn a rich genre with a history spanning a time that pre-exists rock and even amplified music itself by a substantial margin and underpins a huge percentage of the popular music in that timeframe and beyond....

that said, anyone who wants Bayer and Nonamassa can keep'em....

also agree that ambient looping is no panacea, just like lazy rings into clouds in the eurorack realm....

...makes me question whether he actually has ears.

getting right to the heart of the matter, as per usual

finally,

let's try to leave garden gnoming to the professionals, shall we?

[Blackened Soul]

that said, anyone who wants Bayer and Nonamassa can keep'em....

for me what gets under my skin about these guys is I remember when I was a kid and my parents played in cover bands those guys would have been considered just average skillwise not guitar god status. I don like most demos as I just want to hear what it does: play a few chords, play something leady, change setting repeat, I don't need to be entertained...

[friendship]

I don't know but I blame them for casting the guitar into the dustbin of uncoolness, possibly for eternity. I never want to hear the minor pentatonic scale again lol.

[coldbrightsunlight]

I don like most demos as I just want to hear what it does: play a few chords, play something leady, change setting repeat, I don't need to be entertained...

This is the main point. I just need to hear what it does!!! Shouldn't be that hard and shouldn't be a chance to showcase your blues chops/ambient looping technique

[Dandolin]

third'd

[goroth]

I like the blues, but the crap in these demos has about as much to do with Howlin Wolf as.. um... insert simile here.

I think Andy is a good example of a demoer who plays to the pedal. He plays pretty tasty, he makes stuff sound good. It shouldn't be that hard.

[friendship]

I've given it more thought and I think it's because these are people who thought playing guitar would give them a personality, and blues clichés are the lowest-hanging fruit for people like that.

+1 to echorec. I don't know why, when given a clean amplified sound, they immediately try to sound like Nile Rodgers if Nile Rodgers had broken every bone in both hands.

This concludes my shit-talking for today.

[MaxMaps]

I must be lucky and I not watch a lot of gear demos where people play shitty blues licks.

For what my two cents are worth as a beginner guitar player and novice bass player, blues is just easy to play bad. Single notes and as long as you hit the changes and do a little vibrato you sound better than what your playing - never really playing guitar until now I can completely understand where the wankery comes from. Hendrix, Page, SRV, ect all worshiped at the alter of Robert Johnson.

[jirodreamsofdank]

This is erasure of the shitty metal demo community IMO.

And the shitty ambient demo community.

I dunno, guitar/pedal/amp demos don't lend themselves to writing songs so it's always going to be wankery.

Synths are almost as bad but it's easier to create something resembling a song with a single electronic instrument.