Why don't guitar mags review more guitars?

[Ted Keane]

I get a couple of guitar mags now.I stopped some because there isn't anything I want to read.But Premier Guitar,Guitar Player are paid for,so I read them.They review 1 maybe 2 guitars per issue.Why?There are so many guitars being made,and I'd like to read about them instead of bands.If I wanted to read about bands,I'd get something like Rolling Stone.They review a bunch of pedals in guitar mags,but not guitars.Why?

 

[Si G X]

Because guitar companies don't bother sending them guitars to review I would imagine.

 

[uriah1]

Vg still reviews about 4 a month. Probably some of the reviews may be sponsored.

 

[0SubSeanik0]

Why guess? Write to them directly. Post their answer(s) here, and let's discuss further.

 

[Killing Floor]

Mags got replaced by innernets tubes in the 1990s.
Just saying if a builder wants a product to be reviewed and reach the maximum number of eyes a printed medium is not a good investment for marketing in the past 25 years or so.

 

[notmyusualuserid]

Why guess? Write to them directly. Post their answer(s) here, and let's discuss further.

Because in my experience they won't reply, or if they do, it'll be an anodyne equivocation.

 

[Buzzgrowl]

Because they hesitate to describe the cons, but only go with the pros. If they are too critical, they loose ad revenue. But if they are not crtical, readership finds them insincere. The outcome is less reviews.

 

[mfguitar]

I cannot say I agree. I just looked at a recent GP and they had 4 instrument reviews and a few historical looks. Overall not bad for a magazine. If I want a subjective review I can usually find more than one review on Youtube and that makes more sense to me. I have dropped all magazine subscriptions because I think there are better ways to deliver content.

 

[arnie5150]

I would love to see them review cheap guitars!

 

[effzee]

YouTube. Full stop.

 

[loopfinding]

aside from it being a bit of a waste of money for companies (just not reaching as many people as youtube reviews), video is just better suited to reviews and demos than writing. you can see/hear it for yourself. writing can't really do that, and internet forums are a great demonstration of how corrupted/meaningless subjective descriptors of guitar stuff has gotten.

OTOH, paper suits interviews and tabs just fine. guitar mags talk to players on a technical or semi-technical level, which is something you don't get from music mags aimed at laypeople.

 

[marshman]

I actually find myself less interested in guitars and more in amps these days. I have most of the guitars I want, and those I don't have yet are 'vintage reproduction' type stuff...Explorers and such. But for some reason I am a sucker for a good amp review. Realistically, with Fender, Marshall M/B, Peavey, Orange, Vox doing the bulk of the heavy lifting and a handful of smaller brands like Blackstar chipping in and a few real boutique units showing up occasionally (and most of those are some sort of vintage repro, as well) one a month is probably all we're gonna get.

I'm curious about pedals, but since I don't actually play any, it's mostly academic.

But I'm not sure I want to read about another $4K Les Paul or Strat clone for the third time this year.

 

[badscrew_projects]

There are guitar mags that exist still?!

 

[421JAM]

I gave up on guitar magazines because I felt they had become too gear review focused, and usually the reviews were way too favorable to the manufacturers who buy the most ad space. The reviews were almost totally worthless.

 

[Ted Keane]

Why guess? Write to them directly. Post their answer(s) here, and let's discuss further.

I did write to them.No answer

 

[BelindasShadow]

YouTube. Full stop.

I have the hardest time reading Y*utube.

 

[Ted Keane]

I would love to see them review cheap guitars!

Me too.They said in the mags that an affordable guitar is around $1000.That's nuts.

 

[GeneB]

My new downsized bathroom doesn't have room for a magazine rack. I let all my subscriptions expire and use an old android phone on wi-fi only as a substitute.

 

[BorderRadio]

When I was a kid, guitar mags were the only source for gear review and tabs, with some technique and band interviews I enjoyed. Then ads started sucking up the space, and the issues got thinner. The reviews were always bad, now that I think about it. Crowd sourcing is slightly better these days: searching forums for the model I want, reading why users buy it, and exactly why they think it sucks and/or is great. Those clues are more revealing than some sponsored review.

 

[Chester P Squier]

I would love to see them review cheap guitars!

I have seen YouTubes of Darrel Braun reviewing cheap guitars. He really likes Squier.