"Put the effort in, and it will come back tenfold."

Known online as TheGuitarGeek, Andy Ferris has spent a decade guiding music enthusiasts with his trademark wit and refreshingly transparent equipment insights. In this candid interview, the British creator opens up about the bizarre turn of events that launched his YouTube channel, finding his distinct voice, studio ergonomics, and why human authenticity beats AI.

Let's take a step back to the time before you ever hit the record button on a camera. What specific genres, players, or early musical experiences originally inspired you to pick up the guitar? And how did those influences shape your personal taste in music?

I grew up with Queen and Brian May. He was so amazing that I thought playing guitar would never be possible in the beginning - like, how do you begin? So it anti-influenced me, because I thought you could never achieve this godlike status. But then, I heard Nirvana in 1993 or '94, and I was like, okay, so you don't have to be an amazing musician, you can get by with all these amazing sounds. I remember hearing In Utero by Nirvana and just being blown away - that is what I want to do with my life! The moment I heard that, I thought, I don't care how I do it or how I learn it; that is what I'm going to do. And I managed to do that.

When you first started publishing videos, online media looked very different from the way it looks nowadays. What was the initial catalyst that drove you to share your thoughts online, and how did you manage to make your style so distinct? You have this humorous voice, which is kind of rare in this genre.

Well, it's a pretty simple answer. The reason I started is that I moved to Austria to be with my partner. I had a job lined up, but the job failed. I moved all my stuff here, went to the job, and the job didn't exist - it was all a big scam.

So you basically had to reinvent yourself?

Yeah, I never set out to be a YouTuber. I never had this dream because it didn't exist back then. But I thought okay, I'm in this new country. I don't speak the language yet. I have to start making money, and I have to start building something. I like to say that every moment of failure is also a moment of opportunity - I can turn this around, and I've got nothing to lose.

Coming from live music, I was a presenter and an entertainments manager. I've spoken on stages around the world, and I thought, well, I could probably do that. I had another YouTube channel before this, doing song covers and video covers, but that was really hard because it's pure entertainment, and I was trying to push that forward. I learned video editing, a little bit about cameras and lighting, and I learned about myself. But it just wasn't working financially, so that sort of failed.

I thought, well, what can I do now? I saw some guitar reviews on YouTube and thought, that looks pretty easy. And it is, compared to trying to get people to listen to your music on YouTube. It is better for my set of skills. And I actually hit 10 years this month!

Really? Congratulations! Happy anniversary!

Thank you. I need to do a video on it. I’m still planning that. But yeah, my first video was terrible. I was staring at the camera and I was scared. Then this voice came because I decided I just want to be myself. That's how I've succeeded so far, and that's why the voice is extremely rare - because only I have it. Every person that does a creative thing, there's only one of you. So as long as you're authentically yourself, you are different, and your audience will find you, or you will find your audience.

Yes, but you also have to be talented, don’t you? Many people find it difficult to be their authentic self and find their own voice.

Well, I learned it. I was too scared to be my real self in the beginning; I wasn't this happy with myself at all! And yes, you’re right, I see people doing that…people reach out to me all the time with new YouTube channels asking, "How do I do this? How do I do that?”. I can see them trying to be me, or trying to be Rick Beato, or trying to be someone else. But the question is, who are you? What are your experiences? So, yeah, it's hard to get past that initial stage. But I guess I also had nothing to lose, so why not just keep going?

 

 

Given this huge volume of high-end equipment that passes through your hands daily, it must take a lot to impress you these days. Is there still one dream piece of gear out there that you haven't managed to acquire yet?

What a great question that is! I wouldn't say it takes a lot to impress me; it takes a lot to excite me. In doing what I do, you can go through periods of being a little bit bored, like oh another this, another that. What makes this special? So what I try to do is find out why has this company or this person made this product? Why does this new thing exist? Do we really need another Telecaster copy? What excites me is when I find something that is either extremely good value for money or solving a problem that nothing else solves.

As for the dream piece of gear...I don't think there is one to own, but I would love to play Kurt Cobain’s Martin acoustic guitar that he played on MTV Unplugged in New York. I had the opportunity and couldn't make it. It was on show in a museum in London, and I got the invitation and sorted all the logistics out. It's not a piece of gear that I will ever own, but it is a musical instrument that just has magic inside it.

So it gives you an experience.

Yeah! I've played other Martin guitars - I recently started working with Martin, so that sort of thing is a great second best. But playing that acoustic guitar...that album changed my life immensely. If there were a second thing, I guess it would be Brian May's Red Special guitar. But I’d feel really at home just playing that Martin. That would probably be the dream.

Well, never say never!

It will happen. I believe it. It just wasn't the right time. It will happen again.

I'm rooting for you!
And speaking of gear…balancing high-quality audio tracking with demanding video production requires a serious amount of physical organization. When you are configuring a production space, what are the most critical factors you look for to keep your creative momentum going?

I try to go for easily repeatable, it needs to be easily replicated. I use a Fender Deluxe Reverb amp in most of my videos because I know what the amp sounds like. I have other amps, but the workflow for that is all plugged into an amp switcher, it's always already mic’d up, my cameras are already positioned, and my lights are permanently fixed. The only thing that changes is when I take a handheld camera and do some “pretty” shots, which is fun for me. This studio is still new to me, I’ve only been here since October of last year. This is the control room, which you don't see on YouTube. You see the other side of that wall, and I haven't featured this room yet. It's still a bit of a mess in here.

From what I can see, it looks amazing! It has a great vibe.

Thanks. For me, I have to have a space in which I feel comfortable, cozy, at home, and relaxed. I don't deal well when I know that other people can hear me. I did the channel for 9 years at home in my basement, and when my kids and my partner could hear me, I just couldn't work. You know, the person I am on YouTube is also me, but it is an amplified version of me. So my workflow needs to always be there and be 100% reliable. Great quality sound is important, but reliability trumps everything. It has to work. If I come in and something doesn't work one day and I don't know why, that can ruin a whole day for me.

Because it interrupts your flow?

Exactly. I just make sure that everything works and everything is as simple as possible, because I tend to overcomplicate things. Even though I moved studios, I still have the same camera angles because that works for my channel - that’s what people expect, for example. I just try to keep it flowing and keep my videos like a story from the beginning until the end rather than heavily editing and changing things. To make it better, I want it to be real. But of course, I also like new tech and new things.

That actually takes me to my next question. You have a Buso Audio studio workstation, the Producer 2 Rise Pro, which is a sit-stand workstation. We’d love to hear how it fits into your day-to-day routine! Do you use the sit-stand feature a lot? How does it support your production sessions?

100% I'm using it as a sit-stand desk! I also love the fact that I brought my keyboard back underneath the desk, because that was missing from my old desk which was a gaming desk. 

How I use this is I do sit-stand with breaks. I have a back injury, so I have to move. I stand most of the time, but it is nice to sit occasionally. I also have a walking pad just under the desk that I walk on - I do 3 to 4 kilometers a day on good days. It's changed everything, because this desk has enabled me to have my weird setup - cameras, speakers, input devices, guitars, and things - without being too bulky and too big. If I was just a musician that made musical content, I wouldn't need the lighting up there, the cameras that are attached, and this thing that swivels around. I have a camera to shoot down that I wouldn't otherwise need, so maybe I could get away with something else, but this desk enables me to have everything! I've also got this Shure SM7B mic that swings across and gets out of the way.

The desk is on wheels, which is extremely important to me. When I shoot videos in here, I can pull it forward into the room and change the angle of the video slightly. I can also sit and change the angles: depending on what I'm doing, if there's an acoustic guitar, I prefer to sit; if there's an electric guitar, I can stand; if it's a plugin, I can stand or sit, and the desk moves with me. I couldn't be without a sit-stand desk; I would be less healthy if I had a regular desk. If I had to choose, I would probably choose just standing, but having the option really enables me to work longer and keep smiling.

 

And that’s what it’s all about!

Yeah, when you're on video, you have to have a certain energy. When I'm editing, I set a Pomodoro timer to make sure that I'm not sitting or standing for too long. I'm really, really pleased with this desk.

That's really nice to hear. Has it already found its place? You said that this is a fairly new studio - do you feel like you've already moved in entirely, and everything has found its place?

This desk is staying here; the desk has found its place. There are some things around the room that still need to be changed. Basically, I've got a lot of products that have come in recently that I haven't made videos for yet, and they needed to go somewhere, so they're here in the control room. But yes, absolutely - I designed this room around this desk! I also have acoustic treatment that is based around the fact that I am sitting and standing, so they're a little bit longer than what I originally intended to use. It's fully integrated into this room.

 

 

I hope you don’t mind us sharing some images of your setup while it's still unfinished.

 

No, I’m really happy to share the fact that it is an unfinished room, because the desk is finished! The one thing that is set up is this! So I don't mind the fact that the acoustic treatment is not painted, for example.

 

I believe your fans will love some behind-the-scenes shots anyway! It's really interesting to see what's going on behind the camera and how a video actually comes to life. 

This next question is not related to your workspace, but I want to take this opportunity and ask you. Your recent announcement about moving away from online platforms to distribute your content exclusively on physical DVD box sets certainly turned heads around. Some people said that it must be a joke, others found it quite interesting. To quote: "In response to the trends in the gaming industry, as of 1st of April 2027, i will cease publishing new videos to YouTube. I am shifting to an exclusively physical-media model, producing videos only for DVD." Now setting jokes aside for a moment, what’s your take on the shift back toward analog and low-tech media? It feels like people are really craving authentic, non-AI experiences lately.

Just to confirm, it was a joke to draw attention. People don't realize how much work actually goes into making a piece of content or making a video. When someone has something physical in their hands, I think they respect it a little more. If you have a disc, a pedal, or a guitar, it has a different relationship compared to watching a video on your computer or having a digital plugin. It was absolutely a joke, and I didn't expect people to actually respond to it.

And with AI everywhere now, it really brings us right back to staying true to your authentic self, like we were talking about earlier.

 

I see people editing videos with AI, I see people making music with AI, and I just think we're missing the human part. The reason people need art in their life is because it cannot be made by anything other than an artist. It's about bringing the humanity back and bringing the realism back. So no, I won't be leaving YouTube, and no, I almost certainly won't be making DVDs. It was just to draw attention to the fact that - even though I wouldn't call myself an artist - the people that make art are the people that change how people feel during the day, when you hear a good song, see a beautiful painting, or see a sculpture and it makes you feel something. We need to respect that, and we need to make sure that we don't lose that. And there are artists out there that can't pay their bills. I've tried, and it's really hard. AI wasn't around back then when I was trying to be an artist, and I became a content creator because it was really tough to be an artist. Now, in one way it's easier because you can reach an audience very simply by pressing a button on a computer. On the other hand,you can't get heard above the noise.

For me, the AI stuff is fast food, and the artist stuff is gourmet meals. People will always want a gourmet meal. You will always want to go to a restaurant for special occasions and enjoy food, but sometimes people are too lazy and just want something easy right now. 

So as a species, we need to slow down a little bit, stop looking for the easy way out, and respect life and its opportunities. That means taking the hard choice: buying a CD, buying a ticket, or buying a T-shirt at a concert, and actually listening to music and looking at art - not just being exposed to it and letting it wash over us. It's an active thing. It's a hobby that needs to be done. You get so much out of putting that effort in, like with anything. Put the effort in, and it will come back tenfold. If we just let AI make music or make art, we will lose the thing that we were given in the first place.