If SD ask you to write about them, isn't that simply them asking you to write an ad in disguise? No doubt your review will be raving about the product.
I never said anything about writing a review; at some point I may have to, sure. But that was not the initial reasoning behind contacting me.
When I was approached, the guys at SD stated they want me to write articles focused on how-tos, technique, etc.. all things that really have nothing to do with SD in terms of product, but things that I've already been writing about in Bass Musician Magazine. If we're talking about using your onboard controls (which parts 3 and 4 of my series I wrote do talk about), they'd obviously prefer it that I either use SD gear in the example over a competitor, or not mention any specific brands at all. But it was mentioned that there is not a lot of bass-related content on the site, and they wanted someone that would be able to bring that to SD.
I do not trust any reviews on the internet and think nobody should. Lots of them are written by the actual companies selling the product or they persuaded someone who is a fan of their product to write this "review" for them.
Then frankly, what reviews do you trust? I don't see how the situation that you just outlined is any different in the print media with many of the instrument magazines. I specifically remember a lot of Bass Player mags from the past that this focused on; lots of ads for "Product A" and then, hey look, there's a stellar review for "Product A" in the same mag. Coincidence?
Is it easier to find a lot more of this stuff on the internet? Sure. But let's not just point one finger and say that's where it all started; it's just easier to find nowadays. To be clear, ANY review needs to be taken with a grain of salt.
And like Ed Friedland mentioned on a TB thread (that talked about this), he only reviews gear that he likes and/or might use. It makes no sense for a jazz guy to review the latest fuzz pedal, as much as a death metal player would review a small practice amp. You have to have people that are familiar with the specific item and in the target demographic review the gear in order to get something of an in depth and worthwhile review, and that selection process is already going to skew the article to a point.
No offence dude but quite frankly you writing a review as a long time fan and endorser makes no sense.
Having an endorser in their stable that already writes these types of articles for another online magazine was, like Nacho mentioned, a very good business decision and a logical move forward. And since I'm getting paid for these articles, it makes sense for me to give it a shot and see what happens.
If Warwick had asked me to write some articles for their monthly newsletter, would you have the same response?
