Much agreed,
@Boudoir Guitar.
I think for me and the YouTuber brands, while it’s a bit silly, I associate the YouTuber’s playing with their guitars; IE- Ola and I play similarly and go for the same kinds of tones and I know Ola’s guitar history, it was a safe bet that I’d dig Solar’s due to knowing what Ola came from and him designing them from a player perspective. I was on the money with that one, I love that guitar and it’s perfectly suited for playing chugging metal riffs.
It’s hard for me to phrase this without sounding like a total dick, but screw it, I’ve always found Chapman’s playing to be lifeless. I know he’s a capable player, but I’ve never heard anything he did, whether it was his band or just noodling in a demo video that made me go “Damn, that dude rips” and my limited experience with Chapman guitars was similar, there was nothing about those guitars that made me think “This is f*cking killer!”, it was more along the lines of “This isn’t bad for the money, I guess” and never thought about them again.
I haven’t seen much of McKnight or ToneKing’s vids, but I don’t think of killer guitar players when I see their names. I’m not sure I’ve ever even seen Phil play guitar before? And ToneKing, I know I’ve heard him play but can’t remember anything about it. There’s nothing from either of those guys that make me think “Damn, I really want to try one of those! That guy is really into _____ and I’m curious how he designed a guitar based around that…”
From my POV, it’s just another super strat in a sea of super strats, but with a sh*tty paint job that reminds me of why I’m glad the 80’s are over. There’s nothing from either of those guys that I feel is going to make the guitar better or worse than any other one out there.