This James fellow has been getting his hands on everything

[ElmerJFudd]

These reviews from YouTube channel ThePianoforever have been showing up in a my feed often - suddenly he"s got a Crumar 7, CP-88, P-515, SV2, etc. I know his Stage 3 review was rough on build quality and misfiring action, and he was not kind to the Casio PX-S3000"s action either. Be aware he"s monetized the channel so there"s ads to contend with.

 

From the Channel it appears he"s around 19 at the moment, is based in Sacramento, CA. While he certainly isn"t the be all and end all of digital or acoustic piano knowledge, he"s pretty funny (ymmv) and in a way refreshing because he just doesn"t give a crap and says what he thinks.

 

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Well you get the idea - I think this links the whole channel, https://www.youtube.com/user/ThePianoforever

[Adan]

While he certainly isn"t the be all and end all of digital or acoustic piano knowledge, he"s pretty funny (ymmv) and in a way refreshing because he just doesn"t give a crap and says what he thinks.

 

 

I've watched quite a few of his videos and this is the reason. There is no fluff or hype in his reviews. It's just his unvarnished opinion. Of course he isn't right about everything, but when I compare his opinions to my own hands-on experiences, there's no denying his credibility and objectivity. That makes him a very useful reference point. If he says the action on ABC piano is heavier than XYZ, you can be reasonably sure he's correct.

 

More power to him.

 

His reviews do tend to be very long, and that faux biker jacket was a bad idea the first time he wore it. Also, he brings a distinctly classical perspective which for the average jazzer may leave important questions unaddressed.

[nursers]

I hadn't seen his stuff before but agree, I really like his approach!

[niacin]

The virus seems to have inspired a few keyboard players to start churning out review or comparison video after video. I like this guy, like James he calls it as he sees it:

 

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[rickzjamm]

Didn't realize James was nineteen, indeed very knowledgeable, talented, well spoken and somewhat "cocky" (confident comes off like that sometimes). He's been doing this for a few years so he must've been ten or twelve when he started?

[Biggles]

He has some major plus points

 

There is no ......wazzup

 

No ...... hey dude

 

No ..... hey man

 

No ..... umms and errs.

 

Just a very articulate guy giving his own balanced view of equipment.

[PianoMan51]

He has some major plus points

 

There is no ......wazzup

 

No ...... hey dude

 

No ..... hey man

 

No ..... umms and errs.

 

Just a very articulate guy giving his own balanced view of equipment.

Completely OT, but Biggles, where the hell were you when we needed you last Saturday?

[Adan]

The Italian guy is not as methodical. Something I like about James is that he tries to apply the same methodology and cover the same points in more or less the same order with each keyboard. It can't be scientific, but at least it's striving for consistency. The point is not that you should accept his opinion. The point is that he attempts to hold his opinion as a constant across different reviews so as to give you a relatively fixed reference point. And of course you also use your own ears, but that can be rather unreliable when listening to YouTube videos. For instance, just the fact that one keyboard is louder than another in a side by side comparo can affect your opinion.

[ElmerJFudd]

It would be nice for him to learn a few more pieces, delve into playing a few more styles. But actually, for the purpose of reviewing and side by side comparisons - playing the same pieces is helpful if not less interesting.

 

I agree with him most of the time on quality, feel and behavior of digital piano actions in the various price points. Consistent enough that I"d like to give the SV2 a closer look. The SV1 is great on EP but I didn"t care for it on the internal acoustic piano sounds. They"ve added new acoustic pianos and seem to have made an effort to match them up interactively (velocity curve to volume and timbre) better on the SV2.

[Reezekeys]

Up until recently he was evaluating DP sounds in mono through a Roland KC amp... in a recording studio! He's a classical player who seems to have a limited knowledge of the tech involved in DPs. He's also very bright and well spoken and has enough subscribers to completely finance his gear acquisitions. Good on him. I wish him continued success â but when it comes to DP reviews I'll be going elsewhere.

[Al Quinn]

While I respect James' abilities on acoustic piano and always like it when someone speaks their mind, I don't think it's cool that he hides negative comments on his YT channel.

 

I don't see him a credible source for electric gear (i.e., for the reasons Reezekeys gave).

[BluMunk]

Completely OT, but Biggles, where the hell were you when we needed you last Saturday?

 

He was resting down in Cornwall, I believe.

[Docbop]

While I respect James' abilities on acoustic piano and always like it when someone speaks their mind, I don't think it's cool that he hides negative comments on his YT channel.

 

I don't see him a credible source for electric gear (i.e., for the reasons Reezekeys gave).

 

+1

 

I've watched some of videos over the last year or so and his video on acoustic piano were interesting, but as he tried to build channel and moved into electric piano he's lost credibility to me. His reviews sometime seem like he trying to be contrarian combined not being that knowledgable about electric piano. I don't watch any of his stuff anymore.

[Geoff Grace]

Completely OT, but Biggles, where the hell were you when we needed you last Saturday?

 

He was resting down in Cornwall, I believe.

 

That's right. He and the sportsmen were there writing up their memoirs for a paperback edition of the Boy Scout Manual.

 

Best,

 

Geoff

[Adan]

It"s not about trusting any one reviewer. All YouTube reviews are just data from which you can try to triangulate towards the truth. James will spend 5 minutes discussing the relative feel of the actions of 2 DPs, that"s good data to have and most reviewers won"t even bother to go there.

[jazzpiano88]

His demo of the Crumar 7 reminds me of the Chick + Herbie 1985 SHRED spoof on YouTube

[ElmerJFudd]

His demo of the Crumar 7 reminds me of the Chick + Herbie 1985 SHRED spoof on YouTube

 

It does, he"s out of his element in playing material outside a few classics he"s familiar with. You wouldn"t call him for most gigs, I"m not sure how fast a reader he is - maybe in a pinch he"d be alright for a wedding ceremony with flute and piano. But he"s young, if interested his hands are capable. Just don"t bring the Crumar Seven unless he promises to carry it himself and he"s installed the 'Venice Grand' samples.

 

And yet somehow I got a really good idea of what to expect unboxing the Seven, what the build is like, the action is like, operation and sounds. I think he"s found his niche being a bit anal about keyboard instruments.

[Reezekeys]

As a classical player his reading is probably just fine â doing well playing non-classical genres often relies on skills that have little to do with reading ability, however.

[Biggles]

[

Completely OT, but Biggles, where the hell were you when we needed you last Saturday?

 

He was resting down in Cornwall, I believe.

 

Not quite.

 

Lost a bolt from my Zimmer frame and spent two hours looking for it.

 

Such is one of the joys of being an old codger.

[ElmerJFudd]

As a classical player his reading is probably just fine â doing well playing non-classical genres often relies on skills that have little to do with reading ability, however.

 

Could be, if so, would be good for Presbyterian, Catholic, etc. traditional services and ceremonies where they still do the classics. But you never know. I"ve met conservatory grads with chops to envy, tons of complex pieces memorized, but slow readers when the heat is on.

[RandyFF]

I don't know how much he scripts or prepares before shooting the video, but it does seem like he's able to speak well and quickly no matter the board. This impresses me as much as anything else about his videos.

 

I was on the holy grail quest to find the weighted action board that did it all (including low weight and low price, lol), and after watching his videos on the Kawai ES110 (that and Jazz+ review), I saw the folly in trying to get it all, the most important thing was the action, and the way the both of them talked about the ES110 I KNEW that it was the board for me (relatively light touch, super responsive, much wider dynamic range). Turns out these guys were right, and I've been thrilled to have such an awesome piano board / controller.

 

It was in particular when he compared the ES110 to the Yamaha P125 that I got the picture- for a general purpose family board, the P125 has a better UI and more well rounded features, including audio/midi over USB, it's the one I'd buy for the whole family. But for the person looking for the more expressive and pianistic board, the ES110 is wonderful and am glad I got it.

[Mark Schmieder]

One of his video shoots was done at the hiding-in-plain-sight DC Pianos in Berkeley CA just down the street from my former long-term employer, and I was wondering if I was in the store at the time he did the shoot as the stock looked quite similar to my most recent visit.

 

I would have thought he's older than 19 by now, but I guess he started way young (with his videos). I find it fascinating to watch how a prodigy grows and matures while in such a critical age range, and to see whether their principles get compromised, as happened to a famous reviewer of harmonicas after he took an endorsement from a start-up company.

 

My impression is that James choreographs in advance, for the most part, and that he has a very structured and well-organized mind with a strong sense of time required for delivery. I don't always agree with him and sometimes find him a bit annoying, but I'm forgiving due to his age, and often learn a lot from his presentations. he has his own experience and needs, and that will affect what he says.

[ElmerJFudd]

He may be in his 20s now. I am only basing his age on what it says in his About on his YouTube Channel.

[AUSSIEKEYS]

Overal i dig james efforts but i did laugh when he switched from cardigans to wearing a leather jacket.

 

Obviously an image matters and makes consistency. Its always an interesting watch and he has stayed true to being independant and thats what matters. Ill continue to watch him as long as he stays true to that ideal. I do feel im getting a fair look at the boards he has put under the microscope. Good onya James.

[ksoper]

He lost all credibility with me after calling into question the character of Mike Martin and Rich Formidoni. He has nothing to say that I care to hear.

[Mark Schmieder]

What? He made a personal attack on them? or did he simply disagree with things they had said, whether in an anonymous way (not knowing the source) or in direct response?

[BluMunk]

In

he spends 20 minutes "defending" himself against the implied Casio corporate shills Rich and Mike.

 

Taking a whole 20 minute video to poke back at Casio, creating a sense of back-and-forth bickering, when in fact Rich and Mike were replying to someone else entirely during a live stream, reeks of self-importance and a lack of perspective.

 

It may not quite be a "personal attack" per se, but showing clips of them speaking and then cutting to why he's right and they're wrong gets close to the flavor of a personal attack; he doesn't call them liars, but instead calls a lot of what they say "interesting" in light of the facts he has. Very "just asking questions".

 

It's manufactured drama. This is the exact same type of person who would pull an Uli and dedicate resources to create pro marketing for a fake product just to publicly piss off a reviewer.

 

Bottom line, he strikes me as a toxic personality, and not the sort of person I'd want to support with views. Add to that the fact that his videos are way too long while being light on content, and often just plain wrong, he gets a hard pass from me.

[Adan]

So now I have to think about whether, if I click on a James video I'm dissing Mike Martin? This is getting too complicated . . .

 

All I really want to know is when I can start going into music stores again. Like Elmer, my curiosity has been peaked about the SV2. A decade ago I owned an SV1. Reading the positive review from Josh Paxton and hearing various Youtube demos has me wanting to give the SV2 a try. James' review is just another data point. In the normal world all of this data just feeds into my decision whether to audition it in a store.

[ElmerJFudd]

hmmmm

interesting interpretation of events. from that video I had no idea James is not part of that conversation. That is both disingenuous and disappointing to hear. Definitely haven"t paid close attention to this back and forth that closely. I think Jazz+ shared the original PX-Sxxx review. Come to think of it - I bet that"s why James" is showing up in my suggested videos! Evil Google and their tracking of interests and targeted ads.

 

I got to play the PX-S1000 when it showed up right away at my local GC. Thought it might be a fun impulse buy - passed on it because of the action without ever seeing a James" review. James points out the short key = dead spot at end of key issue that we see on lots of other boards, like the Roland VR-09 and FA-06. Not a surprising find. The gram weighting analysis of an entry level keyboard is obsessive. I like the action on the PX-360 and 560 very much in the $900-1200 price range.

[EscapeRocks]

 

Bottom line, he strikes me as a toxic personality, and not the sort of person I'd want to support with views. Add to that the fact that his videos are way too long while being light on content, and often just plain wrong, he gets a hard pass from me.

 

That's the impression I get and it has to do with his reviews and conclusions many of which I agree with him. He just comes across as an arrogant douche talking down to us peasants.

 

 

The way he went after, so to speak, Mike and Rich, totally out of context to make it appear his beefing with them is bush league stuff.