Cable TV?  The major networks?  Oh Margaret!

That’s a Bugs Bunny reference for you youngsters.  He also said “What a maroon!”

I don’t watch cable TV.  I have it because I have a wife and two kids and a dog.  The dog doesn’t watch much TV but the rest of the family does.  But I pretty much only watch YouTube and Netflix.  And lately, mostly YouTube.  I’ll do the same searches you do, such as “Behind the Music” or “Classic Albums,” but I subscribe to a small number of channels.  Of those channels, here are my faves:

  1. Wampler Pedals.  The podcast is the best guitar podcast I’ve found.  That’s a dubious honor, because there are only a small handful of guitar podcasts and this is the only one I listen to.  I was a fan of 6 String Bliss but it went away.  Still, I am a fan.  Brian Wampler knows pedal dirt like no one else.
  2. Rob Chapman.  Rob’s earlier videos were funnier than hell and the content was great.  I almost always like his videos with Lee Anderton, but have no interest in his band (not my style.)  The shootout videos they do where they play guitars blindfolded are some of the best guitar videos out there.
  3. Tim Pierce Guitar.  Tim Pierce is a session guitarist in LA who is very successful.  I first saw him on the Alan Parsons videos about recording.  Tim has some very good tutorials on how to play popular rock riffs as well as some other interesting topics.
  4. stewartmacdonald.  No, really.  Stew Mac sells overpriced tools to people like me who work on guitars.  You’d think I’d want to avoid them, then, but HELL NO.  Yes, the $14 fret end dressing file is overpriced, but the first time you use it you’ve saved money over taking your guitar to a repair shop.  Dan knows his stuff and the videos are great if you want to learn how to fix your own guitar.
  5. frettedamericana.  Hey man, it’s PHIL X!  You gotta love Phil’s demos of vintage guitars.  He’s a lot of fun to watch.  He makes mistakes, he rambles on and on, and I wouldn’t want him to change.
  6. Dave’s World of Fun Stuff.  If you work on guitars, Dave’s channel is interesting.  He’s a grumpy old Canadian known for his hatred of StewMac.  But you can learn stuff from Dave in addition to being amused by his grumpy nature.  A grumpy Canadian.  Who woulda thunk it?
  7. Premier Guitar.  Yes, before you say it, I miss Rebecca Dirks too.  Yes she was cute, but she also knew how to ask a question and then get out of the way, something some of their other hosts don’t understand.  But I like John Bollinger.
  8. The Doug and Pat Show.  Two old guys talking mostly about old guitars and amps.  If you love vintage stuff, like I do, this is a cool channel.  I hope these guys keep it up.  Caution – the “playing” sections of the videos are 2 billion times louder than the “talking” sections.  So be ready to ride your volume control.

Two other channels I subscribe to but don’t love are the PRS and Fender channels.  Every so often they’ll have a great video, but mostly they suck.  Mostly they’re 2 minute demos of products that don’t tell you anything.  Not educational, not entertaining – obviously neither of these companies understand social media.  They keep making TV commercials instead of YouTube videos.  People want to hear from people.  And people don’t want 2 minute videos.  I mention this because I’m a fan of both PRS and Fender.  I hate that they don’t get YouTube.  They’ll have 3,000 views and 2 comments.  That means your video sucks.