Video tutorials can be useful, but they don’t eliminate the need for good written tutorial materials! Quick Guide / Reference Manual is a common division, but there can be others.
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I’d love there to be both.
Most quick guides suffer the same as full manuals, just condensed functions.
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they are better than most product manuals let us not even get started with Roland and Korg manuals that are beyond atrocious and confusing except for the well written Roland SP 404 MK2 manual.
I’ve definitely loved some roland manuals in their days but this attempt at a modern, non book based screen manual is literally one of the worst things I’ve ever had to try and trawl through.
https://static.roland.com/manuals/jx-08_reference/eng/index.html
By contrast the Elektron manual are dense but fitting of the comlpexities of the machines, personally I’m a big fan.
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With the exception of the Octatrack, Elektron writes good manuals.
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The best written manual I think I’ve read we’re the Sequential Pro One manuals by Stanley Jungleib. Informed and easy to understand but with enough information and real world examples for beginner and seasoned user alike. Sequential clearly made an effort to make the manuals a quality product in themselves, something some of the current manufacturers should take note of.
Off the top of my head Arturia and Moog are two companies who produce good manuals.
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On the subject of alternatives that offer a different approach to the official manuals, I like these:
https://sunshine-jones.com/sh-01a-the-missing-manual-a-users-guide-to-the-roland-boutique-sh-01a/
He’s done them for a few of the boutiques.
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Haha, Sunshine Jones, one of the peeps why I still have 2x Alesis MMT-8.
The Boutique manuals he edited for the better are a good example.
I used these a ton for the Boutiques I own, they extend on Rolands crime-of-a-flyer like manual.
Or whatever they call these newspaper like wrapping papers that come with a Boutique or other newer gear from them.
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I did. And I agree. Take the MPC bible, MPC-Tutor did exactly that: It is the complete guide to using the new MPCs from Akai, packed with practical, ‘hands-on’ beat making projects that teach you everything from core beginner’s concepts all the way up to advanced power-user techniques.
His words not mine - but true 
Without his version of a hands-on manual it would haven taking me longer to understand the machine, never owned a legacy MPC before.
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Example why I still like Mackie manuals to this day (from the Big Knob Passive manual, explaining the Mono Switch)
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I also prefer having a non-interactive manual to read through. While I can sometimes find what i need through a video tutorial, it’s a lot easier to search a PDF than sit through things I already know in a YouTube that may not be broken down into chapters.
One of my favorite recent reads-
Informative, jokes, ideas!
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His guide to the TR08 is great. Such a non tuitive drum synth.
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Ironically a device which reading the manual is not required at all haha
If you know how to read a schematic, that’s all you need to understand your mixer. But if you don’t, or lack confidence…
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This all the way.
I definitely get the reactionary asking questions.
I just find it strange when some one come on a forum to ask questions just as it’s designed for, and people are like, you’re doing it wrong, RTFM and quit asking.
Personally I finally grasp stuff from asking here, reading the manual, watching demos.
Definitely a process.
However it doesn’t really click until I get a better understanding from mucking around usually.
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Funny enough, true.
Actually I needed the schematic to know if I can connect a single Auratone, so I found the part I was sharing when looking it up.
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Nord Modular G2 manual, p.264: “synthesis basics”.
Thank you, Nord.
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I just hit buttons and twist knobs hoping for the best.
I always wanted to do a YouTube video with a really clickbaity title like “here’s the secret technique all the pros are doing” then just have a video of me randomly hitting buttons and twiddling knobs.
Couldn’t be arsed though, probably already been done anyway.
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