Well, there was a more to-the-point response to this, but MG's user login sabotage system ate it, so I'll try and paraphrase as best as possible.

Basically, go back and watch the first five minutes of your clip. Not from the mindset of the person who created it, but from that of some new-to-modular viewer. Is what you see going on something that clearly imparts the point you're trying to make, or is it something that's more likely to confuse them? And why I say only the first five minutes is very much related to how things work in the publishing and A&R realm: if you can't grab a listener by the ears with your track in 30 seconds or less, then you've got a problem.

See, you already know what you're doing. And that's fine...a lot of us do. But I see the importance of trying to educate beginners, and I know (from experience) that information imparted clearly is what's necessary when any of us put on that teacher hat. And what I saw simply wasn't accomplishing that. You're showing off a patch, but if I can't figure out what's going on because of all of the superfluous patch cords and stuff laying around, then that's likely to be a problem to someone with ZERO experience with these instruments.

Another thing that I think we all know is that it's impossible to build a complete system in a "beauty case", to borrow Dieter's term. You can certainly TRY...but either one of two things results: they either wind up with modular that DOES WORK, but which is an ergonomic nightmare, or they've spent sizable funds on something they thought they saw in a YouTube clip but which they've gotten wrong, so they've wound up with a costly noisemaker that's more likely to sit in a closet until the next geological epoch. And these tiny case builds are a huge issue on here, especially right now as there's a bunch of people who've seen YT videos, then think they can do this too, when in fact they can't. I think you'll agree that situations like that don't help either of us.

And there have been a lot of similar clips on the platform in the past year-plus, it would seem. Some are informational...but as a rule when the first thing that turns up is some tiny cab, this won't be about education. It's more of a "flex". And setting users off on an expensive tangent because they see a tiny build and they think they can build one, too...that's also not helpful. Sometimes, they DO ask for advice/help...but apply the "disgruntled customer" approach: for every one complaint you DO hear, there's nine that you DON'T.

So, YouTube. True, there's some very good presenters on there. But when I see a patch being demonstrated in a situation where there's a bunch of superfluous patchcords just laying around as visual clutter, that's annoying. To see it done without anything else in the clip is how you would approach this. Otherwise, what you have here is, at best, confusing; beginners shouldn't have to figure out what patchcords are "live" and which are "set dressing". And in a situation such as YouTube, where I know of one prolific YTer that was side-addressing an EV RE-20 in a number of their clips because...I guess?...they figured that you do that with ALL "big microphones", it's a good idea to look at a LOT of what's on there and ask:

"If I'm just beginning, does what I see help me or harm me?"

If there's any question about the latter, then it's probably time to retool what/how you're doing this. Especially if you're looking at the "harm me" part and questions DO arise.

Now, in my case, I came into that video clip cold. I try to work with a blank slate when checking these out. But when I saw a number of things right off the bat that tossed up quite a bit of what keeps turning up...and which I know causes problems for beginning modular users, of course I'm going to be displeased. But it's no "galaxy brain takedown", to use your words. Rather, it's concern for those starting out who might watch this and become convinced that they need one of those little modulars, so they DON'T get on MG and research...they get all amped up, then they hop on Perfect Circuit or whatever and buy stuff. Then they put it together, patch it up...and of course, nothing desirable happens. It's gotten better...but during parts of the last year, it seemed as if every day brought in someone else who'd gone in that direction and was now seeking a way to, in effect, "polish a turd". As noted above, this isn't musically productive nor useful.

I can understand that it's easier to present a concept in a distilled-down state. But given that many of these new users are actually looking for starter rigs, it would seem more sensible to present concepts on a proper (as in, in a Mantis or, at the bare minimum, a Palette104) build, if only to show what a beginning system can and should look like when you've patched the example up. Just a few onscreen graphics...if even that...would help to show what's going on, and if done right, you won't need to provide a link to the patch because it was presented in a clear and straightforward manner. And, hopefully, presented so that new users can see that the same patch can be taken in various other directions, and how that would work. That would be a method of realistically presenting that information, as opposed to a "special case" situation which could cause confusion for new users. And if you think there's no confusion about this...well, spend a couple of weeks on here over the holidays and see how often the "beauty case" problem rears its head. It's annoying and disturbing, and it does more to confuse than inform.

Again, when you or I or anyone presents a concept on YouTube, it's essential to put on your "teacher's hat". Keep asking yourself as the camera rolls whether you're helping or not. If not, that's why editing software exists. But it IS a dichotomy you (and others) need to remember when presenting something to viewers that might only have a skeletal view of what to do, so you need to approach this as if you have a class of students in front of you. That's pretty much the actual situation, anyway. And if I (or anyone else) click off your clips at 5-ish minutes, it's not "self-important judgement" that's at play, but me asking the same questions above and finding that, no, that's not exactly helpful. The big difference here is that you got to hear about my objections; how many objections do you not hear, however? Or worse, how many viewers came away with the wrong ideas in mind? That one, you don't and can't know.

Sure, I probably did get the wrong impression about your video. But then, how I arrived at that impression is what you need answered. So, re-read this in a more "neutral" mindset, put that hat on, and re-watch the clip in question. My objections should be pretty apparent pretty quickly.