"Guitar Player" magazine to end print issues!

[2HBStrat]

As a subscriber I just got an email from the publishers of "Guitar Player" magazine announcing the end of the printed version of their magazine. This saddens me. "Guitar Player" magazine was the first magazine devoted to playing the guitar. I didn't know anyone personally my age who played the guitar back in the day so having a magazine about guitars made me feel less alone regarding something that I loved. I'll miss it. Online just isn't the same.

They gave me the option of filling the rest of my subscription with their sister magazine "Guitar World" or a cash refund. Since I am also a subscriber to "Guitar World" I guess I'll have to get the cash refund.

Have a Nice Day!

 

[Buell]

Those 2 mags and Guitar for the Practicing Musician taught me so much. I still have stacks of old issues tucked away.

 

[brookdalebill]

Kinda sad.
I LOVED GP.
My first issue was Sept. 73.
I subscribed till I moved to Canada, in 1992.
I voraciously read every issue, cover to cover.
It was a great publication, all along, IMO.

 

[Killing Floor]

I just assumed that happened in the late 90s. No?

 

[Dostradamas]

They had a great run

I remember passing the rack waiting for a new issue to appear.

I learned tons from magazines and the rabbit trails I found within

 

[Stringlover]

I remember when bass player magazine did the same.

 

[Ted Keane]

I always like to read that.Now it's just Premire Guitar,and Acoustic Guitar.But Acoustic guitar is too expensive,only comes out 6 times a year,and is too thin of a mag.For the money they charge they should be a bigger issues.

 

[Robert H.]

Wow! The world just continues to move to digital.

 

[sammy1974]

A few memorable covers

 

[johnny k]

what are we going to read on the can ?

 

[Jumbotronic]

I suppose the writing has been on the wall for a while now, but this is a shame. I still have all my old issues from the 80s and 90s. When I wasn't a subscriber, I would go to public libraries and scour issues. Kids nowadays probably couldn't relate, but Guitar Player was pretty much the only way of finding information about gear, guitar-oriented bands, technique, whatever. There was Guitar World too, of course, but that was more of a fanzine in my opinion. Guitar Player had like actual good interviews, real journalism, even honest reviews for a while. Robert Fripp even had a column! I can trace quite a number of my personal quirks to tiny bits of information I got out of that mag that made a big impression on me.

I sure sound old now!

 

[canteytoque]

End of an era. Excellent columnists, especially Jas Obrecht. I read the occasional issue in the 70s and then regularly for a few years in the 1990s after moving to Madrid. I had to order it special and go get it from a book store, and I'd eagerly read it in the subway on the way home from work. Heh, on one such trip, I remember thumbing through an issue and noticing that a woman standing next to me was looking at it. On the next page, there was a colorful photo of a bare-chested Paul Stanley in costume and makeup, and the woman stepped away.

Some of those 90s issues were highly informative. I remember one article that showed a whole mess of interesting blues turnarounds, and there was another about using fourths as unresolved chords to keep the tension going. Before that, there were other interesting columnists: Stefan Grossman, John Renbourn and Rik Emmett, who surprised me with an article about "discriminating taste." That's all I remember, but there was a lot more.

 

[Unodostres]

In the era of seeing 9 year old kids on youtube playing the most complex of guitar pieces, it's inevitable. Growing up in that time and studying tabliture from a paper magazine of how to play "welcome to the jungle", or whatever tasty treats they had each month, this kinda had to happen. What they have now to learn on is much better. I'm an older coot (51), and I love that I can get on youtube for really nice lessons for any song I wanna learn.

 

[BelairPlayer]

I used to really look forward to those. Here’s what I think really killed them: their yearly planning meetings must have gone a bit like this:
January: Winter Namm preview
February: Pink Floyd/David Gilmore rehash
March: Classic Rock
April: Low Watt Amp Shootout
May: Hendrix issue
June: Telecaster, Stratocaster or Les Paul Tribute
July: Summer Namm
August: Blues Greats
September: Progressive Rock
October: Guitar Giants of the Seventies
November: Country Shredders
December: Christmas Gear Wishlist

Repeat ad nauseum.

 

[Texicaster]

Bummer!

I thought the past few years they had really upped their game leaning more towards Fretboard Journal type exposes, less lessons and fluff. Great cover stories and plenty of page turning articles and reviews.

Sure a faint shadow of the early 1970's when it was serious guitar instruction and articles/interviews but I thought the best of the current crop on guitar rags by far!

 

[Lost_N_Austin]

What should we do with our back issues? I have quite a few years of magazines but not very many years left. I'd like to figure out how to keep these out of the landfill. I'd like to stay out of the landfill.

Lost_N_Austin

 

[beep.click]

Look, if you can’t do it online with your cell phone these days, it’s obviously not worth doing. Right?

I invite you to extrapolate that to its logical conclusions…

 

[Shaolin Wolf]

What should we do with our back issues? I have quite a few years of magazines but not very many years left. I'd like to figure out how to keep these out of the landfill. I'd like to stay out of the landfill.

Lost_N_Austin

10 years ago I had like 20 years of GPs that I couldn't take with me in a move to a smaller place. I have a good friend who teaches guitar for a living who was willing to take them. He lets his students look through and borrow them, as there is so much good stuff there to reference. I still have full access to the collection if I need it (I haven't in the last 10 years.) So no landfill and they're being put to good use.

 

[Vibroluxer]

what are we going to read on the can ?

This, of course:

Uncle Johns Bathroom Reader

.

 

[johnny k]

This, of course:

Uncle Johns Bathroom Reader

.

Is it any good ? i might want to try to score a copy !