Guitarist Mag: Living in the past

impmann

I'd add to Matt's description - if you listen to modern music, there is often a guitar adding texture to synths etc in most pop/soul etc. Usually these feature very interesting chord inversions designed to sit within synth based music - perhaps that would be more *useful* than trotting out instruction on pentatonic stuff that really has been done a million times before...

Matt_McG

Here's Lianne La Havas, playing some lovely stuff, for example, in a live solo performance.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Xw7qKZxUA8

It's not rock music, it's not blues, but I don't see why I'm not seeing this kind of thing in guitar magazines.*

And yes, what impmann says above, re: textural parts.

* I have actually seen one small interview with her, focused on gear, so it's not a total absence, it's just not a regular thing.

TheBigDipper

I really like the writing in Premier Guitar. Not all of it is relevant to my interests, but plenty is - and it's well written and often thought provoking. 

I try not to read product reviews, in any of them. I don't need any more gear, I just need some mental stimulation regarding playing or approach to playing. Reviews are not often that honest or helpful by the time they've been "blanded out" to avoid giving offence to advertisers. 

Matt_McG

Premier Guitar reminds me a bit of old Joe Gore era Guitar Player, at times.

There's occasional good stuff in Guitarist, and Guitar magazine, esp since Chris V took over. But they all lack much on playing and approach to playing (to use BigDipper's term).

thegummy

Nunogilberto said:

PRS Monthly. 

A near £7 a month coffee table publication for white boy blooze purists and boutique gear types.

I also used to dislike the way they would do group tests featuring Gibson LPs and Epi LPs etc, which would almost always involve unfavourable comparisons between the two when it came to the lower priced guitar, rather than judging it on its own merit.

In a way, the fact they're even comparing them is a plus for the Epiphone. I doubt food mags compare big Macs to steak dinners.

ab2017

Bring back Guitar for the practicing Musician. Sorely missed

guitars4you

Matt_McG said:

Premier Guitar reminds me a bit of old Joe Gore era Guitar Player, at times.

There's occasional good stuff in Guitarist, and Guitar magazine, esp since Chris V took over. But they all lack much on playing and approach to playing (to use BigDipper's term).

totally agree that Guitar and bass is far superior since Chris took over as editor 

SexualChocolate

Matt_McG said:

 

It's not rock music, it's not blues, but I don't see why I'm not seeing this kind of thing in guitar magazines.*

I think this answers itself

I used to buy Guitarist magazine in the mid-late 90's. I quickly got bored with the same old features and the fear of giving a bad review. I think I stopped buying it around the time I started getting more into the Internet, when I was able to find more interesting content.

Jalapeno

SexualChocolate said:

Matt_McG said:

 

It's not rock music, it's not blues, but I don't see why I'm not seeing this kind of thing in guitar magazines.*

I think this answers itself

I used to buy Guitarist magazine in the mid-late 90's. I quickly got bored with the same old features and the fear of giving a bad review. I think I stopped buying it around the time I started getting more into the Internet, when I was able to find more interesting content.

As evidenced by the way they arbitarily canned InterMusic/Electronic Music (?)/MusicRadar forum/community Future Publishing have never really understood the implications of the Internet

Phil_aka_Pip

Jalapeno said:

 Future Publishing have never really understood the implications of the Internet

they are "Future" whereas the internet is old hat. it was invented back in the 1970s.

EricTheWeary

guitars4you said:

Interesting reading your view points on what was traditionally the largest guitar mag regarding readership in the UK - And how 'boring' it has become - I get  a free copy as an advertiser but admit I almost read it with a cuppa in 10 mins and find very little fresh or exciting to read - But is this because we keep re-inventing the wheel many times over - I equally get bored reading new NAMM features now as very little is actually new - Maybe that is our trade all over today

just coincident that I was reading this OP - At the same time I just got an e-mail update from www.premierguitar.com and noticed Tom Wheeler had recently died
  
- https://www.premierguitar.com/articles/26987-remembering-tom-wheeler?utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=PGN - 021318&utm_term=PG Weekly

many will know him for some excellent books he wrote on the guitar history and I recall him as editor for Guitar Player in the 80's - Maybe there was some mystic with the USA mags and market place back then compared to our own mags, but I always looked forward to reading them - I still have shed loads of them and have debated selling them - Yet part says I should re-read some again - Fun finding out about products we never saw over here back then - World is now so much smaller so many such items are now available over here in one guise or another

Total Guitar used to outsell Guitarist 2:1. However, I'd guess as it was aimed younger it's it's readership will have been hurt even worse. 

Matt_McG said:

I also get grumpy about the whole 'blues lawyer' focus of guitar mags. Moaned vocally about it elsewhere. I could give less than two sh&ts about playing like any of the 60s British blues guys, or their followers, whose music _still_ dominates UK guitar magazines 50 years after their prime.

I think there's a ton of guitar based music they could be covering:

• Country: specifically people who aren't Albert Lee or Brad Paisley
• Metal: there's the odd bit of it, but really, not much, and there's so many sub-genres and odd little niches that'd be interesting to read more about.
• Prog/Djent/whatever: ditto. And I don't just mean in the sense of an occasional review of a 7 or 8 string guitar. I mean, "what are these guys doing with drop tunings and extended range guitars?"
• Radiohead: so, they've covered Ed O'Brien's signature guitar, but, the playing of bands like that never appears in the techniques sections. A lot of what they do is really interesting, in terms of chord voicing, or use of arpeggiated lines, alongside sequence or synthesised stuff.
• Shit indie: there's tons of guitar wielding bands that get played on Radio 1. It's a mistake to think it's all dance music. I may personally think is lazy, derivative, and not very good. But, they have an audience, and maybe some of them are doing cool/interesting things that I'd like to be exposed to.
• Soul/RnB/hip hop: these genres aren't devoid of guitar. Check Mark Lettieri demoing the kind of interesting muted faux-sequenced licks he gets asked to do on hip hop sessions in his interview with Tim and Pete. And there's guitar all over neo-soul records from D'Angelo or the like. Ditto modern gospel derived styles. I want to know about 'black music' that didn't end with 'Live at the Regal'.

I don't actually like a lot of the stuff above (although I really like some of it). I rarely listen to metal or country, and the indie music my 17 year old niece likes is just not very good, imho. But ... it's guitar based music, that might have interesting things happening in it that I might want to learn about, or which might appeal to readers who aren't me.

When I stared buying guitar magazines in around 1988, there was a mix of 'old people' music (Clapton, etc) and new music, e.g. the latest big haired shred guys out of LA. The balance seems much less mixed now.


Matt

Just to illustrate the point:
As far as I've ever worked out I've seen one item on Roddy Byers ( of The Specials ) in TG many years ago. There was an item on reggae in Guitarist that was so factually inaccurate that was pretty much the reason I stopped buying it. Guitar World, by contrast,  did a feature and lesson on Bob Marley years ago that was in depth and I still have my copy.
I'm not expecting ska and reggae features every month or even every year but the Specials, Aswads of this world had hits, even Bob Marley had a British guitarist in his band. Pretty much household names with loads of guitar, appeal to a middle aged demographic and they can't even stretch that far. Good luck waiting on Snarky Puppy or D'Angelo. 

guitars4you

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ - I forgot about Total Guitar and yes the audit figures came out higher than Guitarist - not sure of the current status regarding this - recall the readership was far younger and less 'boutique'

Nunogilberto

thegummy said:

Nunogilberto said:

PRS Monthly. 

A near £7 a month coffee table publication for white boy blooze purists and boutique gear types.

I also used to dislike the way they would do group tests featuring Gibson LPs and Epi LPs etc, which would almost always involve unfavourable comparisons between the two when it came to the lower priced guitar, rather than judging it on its own merit.

In a way, the fact they're even comparing them is a plus for the Epiphone. I doubt food mags compare big Macs to steak dinners.

There is that, but it was usually along the lines of:

"The Epi's pickups almost seem lifeless in comparison..."

"It has a generic feeling neck"

"lower quality parts"

"it's fine if you can't afford the Gibson, as long as you know it'll never be a Gibson..."

darthed1981

Nunogilberto said:

"it's fine if you can't afford the Gibson, as long as you know it'll never be a Gibson..."

Translation to what they actually mean when they say that: -

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U8Kum8OUTuk

Funkfingers

I bought Issue 430 in the mistaken belief that it was one of those occasional special editions, dedicated (mostly) to the subject suggested by the cover photograph.

HarrySeven said:

Some guitars from the past

Unless your ever-expanding collection of random schtuff now includes Doc's DeLorean from Back To The Future, all guitars that you encounter will, by definition, be from the past.

Issue 430 does mine the magazine's own past. For example, former editor, Neville Marten, makes a guest appearance in one article. Mag Will Eat Itself, perhaps?

If the magazine is sticking to its usual modus operandi, Marsden, Howe, Rothery or Bonnamassa has an album and/or tour to plug. 

Quick question for those who currently subscribe to Guitarist magazine. When did they last give a guitar, amp or pedal a negative review? 

Skipped said:

I have learned nothing that I did not already know

Magazine readers of a certain age probably ought to know as much about gear as the magazine contributors.

The law of diminishing returns dictates that novelty will decrease. Instead, we get the same "received wisdom" potted histories getting trotted out time and time again. 

Chalky

I finally stopped my Guitarist subscription last November and as I have a big pile of old issues next to the loo, I haven't noticed.  A 5 year old article can seem as fresh as a 5 minute old article in the world of Guitarist.  Far more interested in watching TPS, Guitar Paradiso, and numerous other Youtube channels. 

I no longer need the written word about guitars. It is simply ineffective compared to its Youtube replacement.

SNAKEBITE

I hate online magazines, I prefer the tactile nature of print.

I'll buy Total Guitar, although I keep saying I'll stop, but never do. It just appeals to me, although the artists featured are becoming less and less relevant as I get older.

To come up with something new every month is impossible, it's the nature of the beast, it's limited.

However I do think they could be a bit more imaginative sometimes.

Jalapeno

Phil_aka_Pip said:

Jalapeno said:

 Future Publishing have never really understood the implications of the Internet

they are "Future" whereas the internet is old hat. it was invented back in the 1970s.

Ironic innit ?

impmann

Funkfingers said:

HarrySeven said:

Some guitars from the past

Unless your ever-expanding collection of random schtuff now includes Doc's DeLorean from Back To The Future, all guitars that you encounter will, by definition, be from the past.


 

I disagree... there have been innovations and truly new things. The Moog guitar, Gus guitars etc whilst they aren't new now they *were* new approaches to the instrument when launched.
The whole point of new things is we can't predict them coming along - I'm sure there will be new designs, new concepts and new ways of approaching playing the guitar and music in general. The smug may say that by the time they are written about they are from the past, but not even the internet moves fast enough for that to be any different. Frankly, I'd like to see stuff that is focussed in the *NOW* not on stuff that 1) nobody will ever be able to buy (1950s Gibson Les Pauls), 2) stuff that has been written about time and time again and 3) misses the point of why we want to read about them (interviews that are directionless).

jpfamps

You think Guitarist is bad you should try reading Clarinet & Saxophone.

That last issue had an article on John Coltrane  (he died in the 60's!), the works of Brahms (!!), yet another article about the Selmer Mk VI (yawn, as if saxophone manufacture hasn't evolved since the 70's.

Absolutely nothing about all the exciting new clarinet or saxophone bands.

Talk about living in the past!!