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Guitar Pedal Demo-ology - Insights, Art and Science

Feb 11, 202208:00 by

Stefan Karlsson

Guitar Gear ResourcesGuitar Pedal 101

The 5 x 5 visual above is not necessarily definitive, but surely largely representative - spiralling out from the 3 OG Elder Statesmen in the centre and covering 25 of my favourite demoers. The selection features most of the big names along with many of my own personal favourites - while I tried to make it as broad as possible too.

The full Longlist below numbers 100, while there are many more demoers even than that referenced on this site in general. And where the top 25-30 are really responsible for the lion’s share of demos that are out there. I selected demoers for the list based on how many times they had been referenced onsite and how often they had positively influenced me towards a particular pedal.

While he may or may not have been the actual first one to record and drop an official pedal demo video - Andy Martin is very much the central fulcrum of this discipline - having cut his teeth with the Tone Report and Pro Guitar Shop Demos since 2007, and now obviously central to Reverb.com - he has amassed an unenviable collection of super high quality video demos - numbering in the thousands now - just an extraordinary archive of pedal development and innovation. And all interpreted via Andy’s inimitabl expressive and dextrous finger-style playing.

At the core of the demo discipline and my visual we have the 3 stalwart and all-rounder OG Elder Statesmen of guitar pedal demos - Andy Martin of course, Brett ’Burgs’ Kingman and Mike Hermans. Funnily those 3 have overall been the most influential for me too over the years - having contributed most often the demos which swung it for me for a particular pedal - i.e. most persuaded me to get in a particular pedal. I did an exercise a few years back - in gauging who were the most influential demoers specifically for me - and this is the order I ended up with then - where I was a little surprised to see Mike Hermans as the top entry (I expected it to be Andy, but Mike had it by a whisker (obviously significantly dependent too on the actual pedals they demoed - which often did not overlap), while there was no surprise that the OG3 were the Top 3! :

1 : Mike Hermans : Pop To The Chemist
2 : Andy Martin : AndyDemos / Reverb.com / Pro Guitar Shop Demos / Tone Report
3 : Brett ’Burgs’ Kingman
4 : That Pedal Show : Daniel Steinhardt and Mick Taylor
5 : GearMannDude : Eric Whorton
6 : Knobs : Scott ’knobs_demos’ Harper
=7 : Alberto Barrero
=7 : Dennis Kayzer
=7 : Pete Thorn
=7 : Rabea Massaad
=7 : RJ Ronquillo
=8 : Livin Rroom Gear Demos : Eirik Stordrange
=8 : Shawn Tubbs
=9 : BestGuitarEffects.com : Gabriel Tanaka and Jake Behr
=9 : Shnobel / Shnobel Tone : Roman Belonozhko

I still feel this is a pretty decent gauge - even though some of those demoers are no longer quite so active or prominent. it’s a big job - going through each and every pedal you acquired (I’m up to 700 now near enough) and recalling who or what it was that pushed you across the line. This article is already massive - while I may do the same exercise again in a year or two - obviously pending the right mood and attitude!

I used to be a massive fan of BestGuitarEffects.com and leading proponent Gabriel Tanaka - those were my own early years of pedal exploration - where that was probably my most useful website resource alongside the Effects Database and Kit Rae’s Big Muff Pi Page! Gabriel was also the driving force behind the Abracadabra Audio collaboration with Chase Bliss Audio - and the resultant Ayahuasca Trem-Fuzz. The demise of that once essential resource still saddens me as that was likely one of my own most significant inspirations.

Eric Whorton / GearMannDude seems to be in semi-retirement from pedal demos currently - so he’s alas not so influential these past few years - and while some disparage him a touch - he has nevertheless been responsible for winning me over to a large number of pedals. Roman Belonozhko seems to be increasingly focusing on his own Shnobel Tone pedal developments these last couple of years too - meaning a lot less demos, and less influence recently. All the others feature in my select 25 main visual up top.

Why Demos?

It seems that Aaron Miller, owner of Pro Guitar Shop and Andy Martin's first proper industry boss was the first to realise that more and more customers were wanting to sample audio equipment from the comfort of their own homes - rather than tracking into the store every time a new pedal was released.

There are so many pedals out there all over the world - that it's impossible to keep track of them all by yourself - and there's no way you could or would want to test out every single one - so Demo Videos are the perfect proxy for checking out a new pedal or pedals - making it far easier to engage in that activity.

They are absolutely essential for my blog - as timings and manufacturing limitations and other concerns usually get in the way - meaning that you often cannot get the actual physical pedal in time - so you need to rely on another professional's appraisal.

There's a real knack to wringing out every ounce of tone from a pedal and properly 'sampling' and representing its full range of capabilities. A clever demoer can do all that in the quickest time and by the fewest moves as such!

Interestingly all of the OG Trio - Andy Martin, Brett 'Burgs' Kingman and Mike Hermans cut their teeth too at Pro Guitar Shop - while Andy was really the mainstay there and the long-term face for the operation and all those activities. I've included the earliest Pro Guitar Shop demo I could find : the TC Electronic Nova Series Reverb - featuring Andy of course - and dating all the way back to 8th December 2007. On that Pro Guitar Shop YouTube Channel there are 1.897 uploaded videos in total!

Triangulation

One demo is rarely enough - if you're trying to get a feel for a pedal remotely - you ideally need at least 3 videos to compare and contrast - so you can sum up and figure out the most typical output. Fidelity of output is the essential thing to gauge here - i.e. what is the core character and timbre of the pedal - where some demoers can be overly smooth and cover up some facet of the pedal's true output or function. That's why you need to be able to aggregate across a few - so that you can be sure how reproducible those actual tones are. For our purposes here I have selected 3 really decent King of Tone demos - which each give you a distinct facet of that pedal's range.

I've developed an unerring knack over the years to be able to discern all kinds of minutiae from a semi-decent demo - where I can really get quite a solid grasp as to what the pedal is about - even from as little as one decent example. It will wholly never replace sampling the pedal live and direct - but when needs must - it's a methodology that really works for me and overall it's a touch more practical and helps you come to a decision that more rapidly!

I've not made a mistake in years with this methodology - and pretty much all pedals acquired from this process wholly live up to my projected expectations. In fact it's been years now since I actually went to a guitar shop to physically try out a pedal. Instead I rely on a network of experts who in many ways do some of my due diligence for me by proxy!

You soon come to realise which demoers are nearest to your own appreciations - and come to rely on them for their particular take on those kinds of pedals. All the people I follow most closely are of that ilk - while I still need to be aware of their own musical preferences and how they themselves like to dial things in - which will rarely exactly match with those settings that you choose yourself.

You can always tell from my reviews - whether they're first-hand or triangulation observations. The Triangulation Methodology is really critical to my own research and pretty much my entire acquisitions process!

What Makes an Ultimate Demo

For references here I've included two of my favourite all-time demos and pedals - where those were entirely instrumental in my acquiring those pedals in the first instance. At the time both were very limited - one Spanish, the other German - so no easy way to actively 'sample' those.

On the back of those two demos I did not just warm up to the talents of Alberto Barrero, but I ended up being really good friends with both the makers - Guillem Vilademunt of Decibelics, and Pete and Matthias at Demon Pedals. Those two above demos are the absolute perfect examples of an Ultimate Demo - where I could have picked any number from some of my other favourites. Where I've not necessarily gone on to be good friends with all the builders or demoers I feature - while I do recommend them a lot to each other, In fact only recently have I been actively asked to liaise with demoers on behalf of certain builders.

The art and science of a demo is to extract all the essence of that pedal into a musical tapestry which best showcases and accentuates the distinguishing and finer points / parts of that pedal. The very best demoers are often 'Composers' where they create the perfect soundtracks or precision hewn pieces of music - with just the right riffs and grooves - to really get the character of the pedal across - along with some of its most likely usage scenarios.

I have evolved 5 key characteristics which I deem essential to this process :

Authenticity / Fidelity - getting the tone and timbre just right to showcase the true nature of the pedal's output
Range - being able to deliver the full range of what the pedal is capable of - say for an overdrive - the lows and highs of gain structure - how it compresses and sags and how signficant its harmonic bloom and how precise and impactful the EQ!
Suitability - a lot of pedal builders don't understand this one - but essentially you typically need to map onto a common theoretical grid - such that the consumer knows what the pedal's core nature is about and what types of music and phrasing the pedal is most suited to
Musicality - the general purpose of a pedal is as a musical device or separate instrument even - even something like an aliaser or ring-modulator - both of those can sound horrible if you dial them up 'wrong' - it's up to the demoers to extract the musical aspect of the pedal - hence the use of compositions and themed music to best demonstrate that aspect
Memorability - a fantastic demo has by its very nature something truly memorable and inspirational about it - which is often why the melody is so important to hooking someone in. There's a big difference in having a bespoke composition to showcase the merits of the pedal versus just some generic noodling

The very best demoers have amazing musicianship and a singular skill in being able to craft just the right sort of music to represent that pedal in a wholly pertinent and standout fashion.

An ultimate demo requires no triangulation - it is wholly stand-alone in its efficacy as you are very rapidly swayed and won over. By contrast a poor demo leaves you somewhat undecided at the end! You could say that a good demo is a 'Convincer'!

Engagement and Scheduling

As a builder looking for someone to demo your pedal - you need to be aware that there is a hierarchy out there of various cliques and affiliations. Several of these guys and gals are touring musicians - so you will need to fit in with their expansive schedules.

And several demoers are actually affiliated with certain brands, dealers or distributors - which is why you see some demoers covering all the same pedals from the same makers. In some ways there are gladiatorial stables of musician demoers - so they're not all always fully available to you!

Moreover there is a steep hierarchy of pricing from around $200 equivalent to around $2000 equivalent. A lot of that is negotiable and a lot depends on how appealing your pedal is to that musician. The thing is unless you're one of the giants of the industry - it means you can't always get who you want to as a first choice - to demo the pedal at the right time.

Also some routes are more closed than others - That Pedal Show - for instance is notoriously hard to get into - that's largely about networking and being associated with the right people - or at least someone who knows someone - who can put in a good word for you. It has a lot to do with timing, patience, your own personal connections, and of course luck!

I'm often bemused by how controlled this environment can be - and how difficult it is for new brands to get involved. Also note that while some demoes have incredibly high professional values and quality control - others can be more variable in their output - and don't always treat the new fledgling brands with adequate respect.

A great demo can really make a pedal - while an average or mediocre one can sink it! So a lot of this is based on long-term performance records and meticulous tracking of players' quality of output - where it's really gold dust when you find someone that you have access to and which syncs with your own mentality and direction.

Horses for Courses

Very few demoers are wholly all-rounders and generalist - rather most of them have particular specialisms and individual skills which lend them better suited to some genres and devices over others.

A lot of what I do is advising pedal builders which demoers are the most ideal for creating an ultimate demo for said pedal - so you really need to know your oats here as such as who would be the most likely to deliver for the genre of pedal you're wanting to showcase.

My tracking all these demos for all these years has led to my recognising various patterns and idiosyncrasies so that I'm pretty handy when it comes to suggesting the most suitable candidates and alternatives.

Here follow a few samples of such groupings - where I try hard not to give away all of my secrets - but several of them do get aired to a degree. After those sample selections, we then have the full list of 100 most impactful and influential demoers currently as far as I'm concerned. There are several key criteria, but like I said in the intro - it is largely about how many times I have referenced each which is the most significant.

Note that most times when I list out demos on articles - I do them in my order of preference. That is not possible every time - as some of these launches are very much 11th hour and rush-released. While you will find that whenever I feature said pedal again - I always select one of my favourite demos to accompany that feature. Sometimes I rotate a few - while on rare occasions there is just one ultimate demo necessary!

Note that each selection is not definitive as such - in that further demoers can / could likely be added to some of those categories - rather these are those for me who are the most obvious shoe-ins as part of my current mindset!

So here follow a few example groupings with one or two or so pertinent demos for each selection:

The All-Rounder OG 3 (The Elder Statesmen!)

As mentioned in the intro - these three gentlemen are really the heart and core of this movement - and over the duration (and since 2007) they have been my most significant influencers and persuaders. Each of these very much does their own thing - and all of them are exceptional. They have an excellent all-round aptitude for near enough most every genre of pedal - and near enough always deliver sterling work. I have selected a video from each where I was influenced by that to get each of those pedals or else be convinced by its merits (note that II actually had the Thorpy Camoflange significantly before that video was released - while the video was for me said pedal's perfect encapsulation!) :

Andy Martin : AndyDemos / Reverb.com / Pro Guitar Shop Demos / Tone Report
Brett 'Burgs' Kingman
Mike Hermans

The Composers

Each of these is well known for creating a bespoke and specific composition / piece of music - in order to best showcase the various facets of said pedal. These guys for me are always the superior deal in getting to the authenticity / fidelity / core character and purpose of the pedal! I've selected one of Cohen Hartman's best for these purposes :

Alberto Barrero
Andy Martin : AndyDemos / Reverb.com / Pro Guitar Shop Demos / Tone Report
EytschPi42 : Henning Pauly
Mike Hermans
Pete Thorn
Shawn Tubbs
SpiralCasterPlaysPedals : Cohen Hartman

The Visualizers

I've always been in awe of Scott Harper - with whom I am kind of on friendly terms these days, and its nice to see that while Scott takes more of a back-seat on demos, that Devon Blue Whitaker is coming more to the fore! Each of these has a unique visual style which sets them apart from the rest - while people were starting to copy Scott's approach. Devon Blue Whitaker is a magnificent auteur and film-maker with a superb imagination - and equal to his execution - these various demos really set a new benchmark and high water mark for creative demos and how to get the message across in new and interesting ways. These at their best are super-immersive audio-visual experiences :

Devon Blue Whitaker
Knobs / knobs_demos : Scott Harper

The Deep Divers

These are the guys that really get deep into the heart and soul of the pedal and spend inordinate amounts of time fully getting to grips with every ounce of the pedal's being. They produce incredibly detailed exposés of what makes these pedals work as much as how they sound and function :

EytschPi42 : Henning Pauly
Jay Leonard J
JHS Pedals - Josh Scott and Nick Loux
Joe Perkins
Mark Johnston
Shnobel : Roman Belonozhko
That Pedal Show : Daniel Steinhardt and Mick Taylor
The Pedal Zone : Stefan Fast

The Kings of Nuance / Tone Masters

These guys are all about wringing out every ounce and nuance of tone through superior dynamics and touch-sensitive playing. These can really make a pedal sing and do acrobatics with just tiny subtle movements of their digits. These are the guys you would want for an expressive low-gain overdrive for instance!

Alberto Barrero
Chris Buck
Gilmourish : Bjørn Riis
Shawn Tubbs
Tom Quayle

The Fuzz Masters

Fuzz is the black belt of the pedal martial arts and you need some serious chops to produce the very best tones with those devices. These are some of the very finest players of fuzz - which have just the right touch and playing styles to really get that individual fuzz's character to shine! :

Andy Martin : AndyDemos / Reverb.com / Pro Guitar Shop Demos / Tone Report
david toRn
Matt Bradford
RJ Ronquillo

The Heavy Artillery

Extreme high gain pedal you say! Well there is knack to getting the very best out of those too! And these fine gentlemen are the likeliest candidates for that particular task :

Arnold Plays Guitar : Arnold
CS Guitars : Colin Scott
Dennis Kayzer
Dome : The Chainsaw Files
Gear Gods : Trey Xavier
HM2 Cult
Kohlekeller Studio - Kristian Kohle
MrExcane
Ola Englund
Rabea Massaad
Riffs, Beards & Gear : Ryan 'Fluff' Bruce

Ambient Explorers

This is largely about properly knowing your way around delays and reverbs - and being able to extract the most dreamlike sequences from them :

Ambient Endeavors : Andrew Schibilla
Chords of Orion : Bill Vencil
Rabea Massaad
The Pedal Zone : Stefan Fast

There are of course a myriad of nuances and far more categories than I care to mention here. Also I typically tried to limit players just to a maximum of 2 or 3 of the above groups. Of course there are other suitable candidates too - these are just my main front-of-mind ones, and the most obvious shoe-ins for each task - of course in accordance with my own preferences!

The 100 Strong Longlist (alphabetical)

So this is the current roster of likeliest suspects and my own favourite candiates! Of course it's wont to change at any time. Generally though these are the demoers I typically mostly lean on - and overall they have provided a rich and variegated yet convincing crop of demos.

I feel I may take all the data I have and do a Forbes or Art Review -like '100 most influential people' - in pedal demos! Of course I would need to organise a panel of judges - I prefer doing that in open discussion rather than putting out to a public vote - the public are rarely a barometer of true quality - and these things tend to end up as popularity contests - for now this is just an idea - let me know of an annual 100 most influential demoes would be worth doing - but then that involves a whole load of aggregation and triangulation - and I'm already overly inundated with work! So we shall see!

List is purely alphabetical by first name / channel name :

(Note also that I don't have all the individual 'names' despite best endeavours - some of these people are obviously on the run as their personal details are wholly obscured from the internet!)

I have assigned YouTube Channel links to each of these :

Final Thoughts

Even though this is quite a long and involved article it's actually rather a summary of all those key points - and just features a sample selection of categories - only around 5 or 10% of the whole thing. As every pedal and genre has its ideal demo representatives - I can't give away all my secrets!

The one aspect I did not really touch on is the art of the creative brief - and what guidance you should give to a demoer when you commission them. The same pretty much works for design briefs too - as you should always typically reference what kind of thing you're looking for with respect to their previous works. That can be a simple as possible - in that you need only highlight one or two of your favourite demos of theirs and say you would like something in a similar vein. Some demoers require very little guidance - while it's helpful for others to provide a rudimentary frame of reference. The skill is always to set out what kind of thing you like - without unnecessarily stifling the creative process!

I would imagine this would be a pretty handy guide to most builders - while some already have the advantage of having their own specific affiliated roster of demo artists!

A demo isn't the entirety of your marketing arsenal - written reviews are also most helpful. While a demo can really make or break a particular release. This is why I typically advise builders to have at least one decent demo in the bag when they launch a new pedal. A lacklustre demo will just poison your prospects and lessen the launch impact. A great demo really can be the lion's share of the marketing impact - but it should not be seen as an isolated activity - you still need to have proper write-ups and text references.

I do hope you like this new resource and are able to put it to good use. Would be nice to hear your own insights and experiences and which your own favourite demoers are and why!

Next: The Snowblind Limited Edition of Frost Giant's Architect of Reality Dual Channel Preamp has landed!