Following on from a thread earlier in the week...
I thought it might be interesting to compile a list of ways in which the guitar magazines (TG, Guitarist, Guitar Techniques etc) could be improved. Where as that last thread turned into a list of (justified) criticisms, maybe this one could offer something more constructive...
Who knows, maybe they're reading this forum
So - two (very) little suggestions to start the ball rolling...
1 - Review scores
Seeing as nothing ever seems to score less than 3 stars, why not make the rating system out of 3 stars, with stars awarded for things which lift a product over and above a basic 'it works and didn't blow up'... We can assume that guitars can be strummed, and amps make things louder, so why not make the grading system solely reflect the features/facets which elevate a product above its peers.
(As an aside, as a video gamer, do you think a Metacritic-type system would work for guitar products? Can of worms alert...)
2 - Pros and cons
Is a minor issue this, but I get fecked off when so many high-quality products have "pricey" written in the cons section. Of course it's pricey, it's a boutique, hand-wired amp/pedal etc... Is the price relative to other, similar products though?
Comments
Categories to score in: what they do now (sound, build quality etc) but also add maintainability, ease of finding spare parts, durability, ease of use (which could include not only dialling in a decent sound, but are the connectors in a convenient place, do the handles help or hinder lifting, can one man lift/carry it, etc).
I like the "competition for this product" boxes ... could also add "If you liked that [product] then try this [product]"
Seriously: If you value it, take/fetch it yourself
I generally wonder how many people actually give a crap about how solid an amps chassis is?
Lets be fair, no one is going to give a magazine a product to review if they are going to give it a poor review..
Have an SRV special edition every other month and rotate the free month between Joe Bonamassa and John Mayer.
Give more 5 star reviews and increase the adverts by 500%.
Whilst they're at it may as well add a few pages to the classifieds as they are so useful in this day and age.
Printed guitar magazines are dead in the water. Maybe not dead quite yet but certainly floundering - as is all print media. Sadly I don't think there is anything that can be done to reverse the trend - they are expensive to produce and distribute, are out of date as soon as they are printed and are full of adverts for Guthrie Govan's whatevva! Whether you like it or not, the future lies in social media like youtube channels and that clumsy PGS Tonereport thing - and fan forums.
I know there will people who think that this is a terrible thing and will vow to buy the printed article, but there are still folk who drive Morris Oxfords and eat tripe and onions - doesn't make it right!
Many guitars have a re-sale value. Some you'll never want to sell.
Stockist of: Earvana & Graphtech nuts, Faber Tonepros & Gotoh hardware, Fatcat bridges. Highwood Saddles.
Pickups from BKP, Oil City & Monty's pickups.
Expert guitar repairs and upgrades - fretwork our speciality! www.felineguitars.com. Facebook too!
Many guitars have a re-sale value. Some you'll never want to sell.
Stockist of: Earvana & Graphtech nuts, Faber Tonepros & Gotoh hardware, Fatcat bridges. Highwood Saddles.
Pickups from BKP, Oil City & Monty's pickups.
Expert guitar repairs and upgrades - fretwork our speciality! www.felineguitars.com. Facebook too!
Simple as that, they need to make the interviews more in-depth. I'll sit at my PC all day watching youtube videos of product demos, or checking out the spec of a new piece of kit, but I won't sit and read page after page of an article. With a magazine, i'll put it down halfway through a piece and come back to it later. Of course, I can do that with a web-based article too...point being that I won't with an online piece, even though I can. I'll just distracted by something else on the net and forget to come back to the article I started.
Seriously: If you value it, take/fetch it yourself
I like guitar magazines because of the fact any schmo can write a guitar review. Heck, even I can rant on about how awesome something is with very limited experience and my poor use of english which is why I tend not to read online reviews, I tend to watch the videos of stuff so I can hear how it sounds instead.
I understand reviewers having to play the game to get advertisers etc etc but if a product is poor, then a product does deserve poor reviews. Some may even say that they would purposfully not review something because it was poor..