Some folks DO, while others make clickbait garbage.

MirrorProfiles said:
he's just an audio edgelord/troll, in a way I actually really respect how he transitioned out of recording bands (and if we're honest, failing) and turning towards youtube and being tremendously successful.

my biggest issue is the sort of attitude's he gives off may lead less educated/younger views to follow suit. Its beyond me how he can constantly complain about musicians (and particularly bassists) when you see what his playing is like. Let alone the fact that some of the greatest producers and mixers ever are from a bass playing background. I also hate the whole smashing things up for attention, there's nothing funny about it and he's way too old to be finding that kind of s**t funny.
Click to expand...
He shit on drum samples for months/years.

Until he started selling them.
 
Bruce said:
He s**t on drum samples for months/years.

Until he started selling them.
Click to expand...

he had his head so far up his ass that he was oblivious to the fact all his favourite bands/albums/producers/mixers use all the stuff he whines about. Its kind of one thing to moan about over editing if you're working with amazing bands who can play and you ruin it. But sometimes you have to know when to lean on that stuff, and you just have to be open minded to doing whatever gets the job done. Its all taste and knowing when to do something - its so stupid to flatly say something is always good or bad like that. Not editing something can be as bad as editing something that didnt need it. He really pushes this close minded "THIS IS GOOD/THIS IS BAD" mentality that wont get you anywhere. And lets not even look past the fact that what he thinks doesn't really matter - what does the client want? has Glenn ever even talked about how you're providing a service to someone else? That bassist he's always making a joke about may have some influence in who gets hired on the next album recording.

he gives out some good advice in with the bad, but ultimately he isn't someone whos lived in the trenches of making huge selling albums. its been a part time hobby for him up until youtube took off, and I suspect he's doing less recording with bands now than he was previously. I dont think he means any harm, but obviously with an audience as big as what he has, he definitely has a level of influence and I really do wonder if the net result of what he does is positive or negative.

uhhh
 
pipelineaudio said:
Like it or not, unlike so many here, Glenn actually tests his claims and admits when he is wrong
Click to expand...
The big picture he’s missing is his tests are only conclusive for a niche genre which encompasses.00002% of guitar sounds used in music. If you’re going to review a piece of gear or even a component of a signal chain, you have to take into account a bit broader of a user base. Or simply state from the outset he pours so much gain on a sound nothing matters. Damn tubes, pickups, hell the guitar can be missing strings and it wouldn’t matter. It’s a half a degree away from white noise.
So while he’s “discovered” pickups, tubes, strings, amps, mics, and virtually everything else in a signal chain doesn’t matter, what he hasn’t come to realize is he sucks at getting guitar sounds. Which is a bit astonishing given the decades he has invested. I guess when you pigeonhole yourself into that kind of scene, your ability of growth and vision get hampered.
 
Bruce said:
The big picture he’s missing is his tests are only conclusive for a niche genre which encompasses.00002% of guitar sounds used in music. If you’re going to review a piece of gear or even a component of a signal chain, you have to take into account a bit broader of a user base. Or simply state from the outset he pours so much gain on a sound nothing matters. Damn tubes, pickups, hell the guitar can be missing strings and it wouldn’t matter. It’s a half a degree away from white noise.
So while he’s “discovered” pickups, tubes, strings, amps, mics, and virtually everything else in a signal chain doesn’t matter, what he hasn’t come to realize is he sucks at getting guitar sounds. Which is a bit astonishing given the decades he has invested. I guess when you pigeonhole yourself into that kind of scene, your ability of growth and vision get hampered.
Click to expand...
Ahhh the usual copium tropes and some strawmen to boot
 
Perfect example of a tuber riding the algo and don’t care what people think or how he might affect people in negative ways. He’s free to do it. I stopped viewing him many years ago.
 
Bruce said:
The big picture he’s missing is his tests are only conclusive for a niche genre which encompasses.00002% of guitar sounds used in music.
Click to expand...

I stopped watching him years ago but unless things have changed Glenn was always very specific about it being a metal channel. Why would he review the best compressors for country if he's focusing on metal?

He's not missing your big picture, he doesn't care about other genres.
 
Tbh, I haven't kept on to how YouTube gear reviews "evolved" during the last 4-5 years.

I follow a few channels/people that I've discovered back when watching reviews was actually fun, and some of them I still enjoy, while certain others have become sheer clickbait BS, all talking, (almost) no playing.

Pretty much every time I try and watch something else, the video starts with someone babbling their heads off, mentioning sponsors etc.
I proceed, clicking through various points on the time bar, only to get more talking... At this point, my blood pressure says "hello", and I get angry AF and ragequit. Sorry, not sorry. You lost me. I wanna HEAR HOW IT SOUNDS, is that too difficult to grasp?

Whoever it was, the internet is damaged, these days. I tell you.
#oldmanyellsatcloud

EDIT: And WTF is that new "thing" where YouTube folks actually change the titles/headlines of new videos every couple of days? Does this generate even more clicks? GTFO.

EDIT 2: I've spent a few years working "in the industry", and in central EU there a secret-ish general consensus that reviews from the US are basically worth zilch (apart from being seen by their followers, thus advertisement value), because anyone feels obliged to find (free or borrowed) review gear "awesome", no matter what. If someone trashes a piece, it's most probably channels that will give bad reviews in a schtick-like manner.
Sorry, I can't give you details about who I've been working for. Central EU, that's all.
 
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dronerstone said:
EDIT: And WTF is that new "thing" where YouTube folks actually change the titles/headlines of new videos every couple of days? Does this generate even more clicks? GTFO.
Click to expand...
YT monetization 101:
  1. Make a thumbnail image with a face on it because people are subconsciously more likely to click on a video with a face on it.
  2. Make a controversial or vague title. Let's say "I can't believe this new pedal!" People fall for clickbait and will open your video out of curiosity.
  3. Some time later change the title to a more sensible one. "Trying out the new Tonex pedal!" People will find this video when searching for Tonex pedal.
Glen Fricker does videos using the "political jackass" playbook.
  1. Be fake angry all the time.
  2. YELL EVERYTHING!
  3. Pose as an expert. I tried to look some info on him and one Reddit thread said "He also gave a mic a terrible review, saying it was physically impossible to get a usable sound out of it, until everyone pointed out that he had it turned the wrong way and was recording into the back of it." Couldn't find the video in question but if true, that's pretty hilarious!
  4. Stirr up controversy so people share your videos either as "look how this guy proves thing X is BS" or "look at this jackass thinking X is BS". He doesn't care which one, just give him clicks.
Just don't share his stuff, don't engage.
 
laxu said:
YT monetization 101:
  1. Make a thumbnail image with a face on it because people are subconsciously more likely to click on a video with a face on it.
  2. Make a controversial or vague title. Let's say "I can't believe this new pedal!" People fall for clickbait and will open your video out of curiosity.
  3. Some time later change the title to a more sensible one. "Trying out the new Tonex pedal!" People will find this video when searching for Tonex pedal.
Glen Fricker does videos using the "political jackass" playbook.
  1. Be fake angry all the time.
  2. YELL EVERYTHING!
  3. Pose as an expert. I tried to look some info on him and one Reddit thread said "He also gave a mic a terrible review, saying it was physically impossible to get a usable sound out of it, until everyone pointed out that he had it turned the wrong way and was recording into the back of it." Couldn't find the video in question but if true, that's pretty hilarious!
  4. Stirr up controversy so people share your videos either as "look how this guy proves thing X is BS" or "look at this jackass thinking X is BS". He doesn't care which one, just give him clicks.
Just don't share his stuff, don't engage.
Click to expand...
Yup- pretty much.
 
pipelineaudio said:
Like it or not, unlike so many here, Glenn actually tests his claims and admits when he is wrong
Click to expand...

The guy's snide and pompous approach/delivery is what causes people to criticize him so much. I have watched a bunch of his videos because I fell for the schtick at first but I didn't see a lot of him admitting being wrong about much. Then again I pretty much stopped watching his vids when I determined he was full of $hit quite a bit.
 
The dude is a fraud, straight up. He passes himself off as a pro producer, but look at his actual body of work:

Discography via Discogs

Three albums from bands nobody has heard of, the last released nearly a decade ago.

He's basically a full time YouTuber who thrives off clickbait thumbnails, shilling for low end products, and literally screaming hot takes into the camera.

Honestly, his first few videos I watched were pretty funny. It was like someone channeled HCAF into video format (see all of his old Line 6 Spider videos). But very quickly he lost credibility as the songs he produced sounded awful. And the proof I posted above, he doesn't do production for a living.
 
Jarick said:
The dude is a fraud, straight up. He passes himself off as a pro producer, but look at his actual body of work:

Discography via Discogs

Three albums from bands nobody has heard of, the last released nearly a decade ago.

He's basically a full time YouTuber who thrives off clickbait thumbnails, shilling for low end products, and literally screaming hot takes into the camera.

Honestly, his first few videos I watched were pretty funny. It was like someone channeled HCAF into video format (see all of his old Line 6 Spider videos). But very quickly he lost credibility as the songs he produced sounded awful. And the proof I posted above, he doesn't do production for a living.
Click to expand...
Woods of Ypres has some cult status and attached cred. That's it. He also produced a song for Geoff Tate's last "Queensryche" album that, afaik; he never got paid or credit for.
 
Glenn Fricker has 504K subscribers.

It’s hard to believe.

However I have to believe he’d have at least 500k fewer without the act.

He’s taken what he has to work with and created something saleable.

Am I going to watch him? No, unless it’s to participate in a discussion on here about a topic—and that’s going to be few and far between for myself regarding him. Same with blind tests, etc….

In my opinion it’s better to ignore content creators that aren’t of interest than to provide them with free clicks and publicity.
 
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