I wrote a blog entry, not too long ago, about how bad Fender’s YouTube channel was. If you could see my home studio, I’ve got an entire corner of the room dedicated to Fender – Fender clock, Fender posters, three strats and a telecaster hanging on the wall. I have multiple Fender t-shirts, and if I had to pick only one company to buy from, it’d be Fender, period.
But the YouTube channel for Fender has sucked for so long, I’d about given up hope. It was mostly 60 second commercials. No big personalities. No real actual content anyone would care about.
But now I have to change my mind. Someone has really turned the Fender channel around. Longer content, interesting interviews, some halfway decent lessons – these are really good steps in the right direction. Instead of only pimping their products, they’re integrating some content that viewers care about. The new interview series, hosted by Jimmy Jam, is KILLER. The first episode with Tone Stith is a very cool interview. The SXSW panels were awesome – not everything has to be a Fender commercial.
I’d said previously that Fender needs some semi-regular host personalities. Jimmy freaking Jam! That’s what I’m talking about!
There’s still much work to do, but what a great turnaround this channel has made in recent times. I do understand that this didn’t just happen – it’s been in the works. But I dumped on Fender in a previous post, and I feel like I need t0 point out that things have gotten so much better. Props to the YouTube team at Fender. Now I’d like to see them do an updated factory tour, and some “Mod Your Guitar” videos.
And my “shoot for the moon” goal would be for Fender to get John Mayer back, and have HIM host a series of videos. Then bring out a new American John Mayer Strat and a MIM lower cost John Mayer Strat. And why not a John Mayer amp? Fender screwed up their relationship with John over something stupid (they wanted him to have nothing but Fender amps on stage) and John went to PRS, who put zero conditions on him. It’s never too late to fix that. Still, I don’t want to end on a low note. Fender’s channel is now really good, and they deserve props for it.
