For anyone wondering what the point of the UAD pedals is

[Boudoir Guitar]

I have this weird thing where if I'm having trouble falling asleep, I'll put on a Tony McKenzie video and it'll knock me right the fuck out. I woke up last night to this part of his UAD Dream 65 pedal review and I was all confused (time stamped to him playing through it). Because if you've ever watched any of his videos to the point where he actually plays the thing, you'll know that...his tone almost universally sucks. Yet here...even with his terrible pickup choice for that tele, his tone is outstanding! It sounds killer. Better than any blackface digital model I've ever heard? Nah, but that's not the point. Better, by miles, than I've ever heard Tony McKenzie sound. Because the pedal is just a fucking model of a super classic amp that not even he can fuck up. Which is the point entirely:

 

[paisleywookiee]

that was painful to watch.

 

[Orvillain]

Ugh. This chucklehead.

 

[jellodog]

that was painful to watch.

They always are. Even worse to watch if you have an English accent yourself; it's a full-on cringe multiplier.

@Boudoir Guitar makes an excellent point, though

 

[jellodog]

Ugh. This chucklehead.

Beautiful reference and callback, sir!

 

[Boudoir Guitar]

that was painful to watch.

Ugh. This chucklehead.

I actually find his reviews to be the most helpful of any on YouTube specifically because of their awfulness? He almost always half-heartedly starts making a patch on a modeler unit itself with no clue what he is intending to do and if you can watch that part of his review and figure out how the UI works, it is a sufficiently intuitive UI. Painful to watch as entertainment, definitely. But watching Pete Thorn quickly and easily rebuild a patch after-tge-fact to show you how easy the UI is while more entertaining is way less informative.

And as I noted above, if he sounds good through something...well, it must be a killer piece of gear!

 

[Boudoir Guitar]

They always are. Even worse to watch if you have an English accent yourself; it's a full-on cringe multiplier.

@Boudoir Guitar makes an excellent point, though

I find him to be like the Bob Ross of YouTube gear reviewers. Which works GREAT as a sleeping pill substitute.

 

[laxu]

Tony's videos' only value is seeing guitar gear taken apart. Just mute the audio as he often does not know what he is talking about.

In any case, OP is probably right. I hate the UA stuff because their feature set is so totally wrong for what I expect from digital pedals but it might be exactly what their intended audience wants, classic sounds without too much to think and hard to get a bad sound no matter where you point the knobs. There's definitely value in that.

 

[Alex Kenivel]

 

[Lysander]

Tony's videos' only value is seeing guitar gear taken apart.

This, so so soooooo much this. Everything else in his videos is a mess - from remarks on build quality, electronic components analysis (!!!) and feature talks all the way down to the actual demos.

 

[jay mitchell]

Yet here...even with his terrible pickup choice for that tele, his tone is outstanding! It sounds killer.

You and I apparently have very different notions of "killer" tone. Not to mention that his technique is so incompetent that it's painful for me to listen to.

Better, by miles, than I've ever heard Tony McKenzie sound.

From the little I've been able to tolerate of his playing, I'd say that's an incredibly low bar to clear. TBH, I've never listened to more than a few seconds; it just hurts too much to go on.

 

[Boudoir Guitar]

You and I apparently have very different notions of "killer" tone. Not to mention that his technique is so incompetent that it's painful for me to listen to.

From the little I've been able to tolerate of his playing, I'd say that's an incredibly low bar to clear. TBH, I've never listened to more than a few seconds; it just hurts too much to go on.

It is an incredibly low bar to clear. Yet, he manages to fall underneath it with the vast majority of the gear he demos. I'm not gonna go search for examples.

 

[Hapless]

The fact this guy has sycophants fawning over him in the comments makes me question why I haven't done something similar. Then I remember I'm not affected by Dunning-Kruger.

 

[Brandon7s]

I want to see a compilation of the best playing Tony McKenzie has on tape, just to be able to get a sneak peek at what Hell might sound like without actually visiting.

 

[DrewJD82]

I want to see a compilation of the best playing Tony McKenzie has on tape, just to be able to get a sneak peek at what Hell might sound like without actually visiting.

As I was reading that I was instantly brought to Fayetteville, NC at the Smithfield processing plant, it's where they slaughter all the pigs. It's the most foul stench of blood, piss and sh*t and it smells for miles, sticks to your clothes and the closer you get it burns your lungs. I could just imagine the emotional state I would be in to hear that mixtape while walking around that place at night. Or day. It doesn't really matter, that place is heavy on the bad feels.

 

[FractalAudio]

Did he poke at it with chopsticks?

 

[Boudoir Guitar]

Did he poke at it with chopsticks?

Pigeon poop.