Why don't guitar mags review more guitars?

[Red Ryder]

I don't mess with magazines for the basic reason of dollars. $10 and up far a rag full of advertisements, and articles and that mirror what I read 40 years. Only the names have changed.

 

[Killerclam]

Because magazines are dead end media?

 

[kuch]

it's because the guitar magazines are sponsored by the guitar companies and they can't really publish "honest" reviews, especially if they're bad,,,,

 

[0SubSeanik0]

I did write to them.No answer

They must be too busy not reviewing guitars.

 

[swarfrat]

I have the hardest time reading Y*utube.

A huge gripe of mine is people would rather ramble unscripted in front of a camera than write down something I can read in 2 minutes or go over and over until I get step 12 right.

YouTube absolutely sucks for most 3D Printing howtos for instance . Yet for guitar reviews... I think it's a vastly better platform

 

[Wildeman]

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

One too many zeros....

 

[Wildeman]

There's some good ones still, Fretboard Journal and Vintage guitar get my money sometimes.

 

[Lucius Paisley]

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.

Do you have a rack for your phone?

 

[Marc Morfei]

When I want gear reviews I search TDPRI. Seriously. I'm guessing (hoping) most of you are not being paid for your opinions?

All the "professional" reviews seem like advertisements. "It's great! I love it!" The main usefulness is if they tell you the features and specs. But you can get that from a Sweetwater ad.

I will say there are a couple YouTube guys that do a fairly good job. If not criticism, at least they try to describe why you might or might not like it.

 

[Brent Hutto]

In all seriousness, I'm surprised to hear there's any such thing as a old fashioned paper magazine about guitars. Surely their numbers of subscribers must be <1% of what they were 25 years ago...

 

[effzee]

I have the hardest time reading Y*utube.

That's exactly l exactly why it's so popular. You don't have to read it.

 

[Brent Hutto]

A huge gripe of mine is people would rather ramble unscripted in front of a camera than write down something I can read in 2 minutes or go over and over until I get step 12 right.

YouTube absolutely sucks for most 3D Printing howtos for instance . Yet for guitar reviews... I think it's a vastly better platform

Before I retired, there were various kinds of elaborate forms and reports and submissions I had to fill out from time to time and they were usually impossible to figure out without reading the instructions. Right about the time I got out, the various agencies had started replacing the usual two-page step by step written instructions with videos of something going blah-blah-blah for 10 minutes telling you how to fill out the forms. Glad that stuff is behind me now, mostly.

 

[uriah1]

Vg is cool since you get reviews of old and new guitars and amps. Some of the original guitar players too.
Last month

 

[Ted Keane]

I read the mags or a book in bed before I sleep.If I did that online,I would stay awake.So youtube is out.

 

[PhoenixBill]

At one time pre-internet I subscribed to maybe a half dozen magazines. Motorcycle mags, astronomy, guitar, even Playboy (for the articles ). Eventually I noticed that I would get my monthly magazine and it would take maybe half an hour to peruse per issue. Take for example a motorcycle magazine: unless you have a GS1150E or are planning to buy one, a review of one isn’t going to sound much different than a K1100. There’s only so much you can say about seating position or handlebars…. Even if I was going to buy one of the bikes that were reviewed, until I actually rode one the review wouldn’t mean much. At least Guitar for the Practicing Musician had song tabs, that was probably the most useful magazine of all of them.

 

[Alter]

Pre Internet there used to be many decent guitar magazines. These days they look like printed advertisement collections.

I used to subscribe to Guitar player and Guitar world many years back, and at some point I saw the latest ones and it was a shock..