Guitar Player vs. Guitar World

[marnold***]

For those of you who subscribe to either or both magazines, I have a question. How does Guitar Player compare to Guitar World? A number of years ago I subscribed to GW. I kind of got fed up with it and switched to GuitarOne which I loved until they killed it. My remaining subscription got handed over to GW which I've been receiving since. My complaint remains the same: too much fluff. It seems geared for a demographic about 20 years younger than I. Is Guitar Player better in that regard? I bought the issue with George Lynch in it that Robert pointed out to me and enjoyed it. I got a cheapy subscription flier for GP in the mail and was considering taking them up on it.

I also subscribe to Premier Guitar which I like tremendously. It seems more "age appropriate" to me. My only problem with them is that it seems that the majority of the gear they review is boutique-caliber stuff that I'll never be able to afford in several lifetimes.

Thoughts?

[player***]

Not into the boutique stuff either.did the one you dislike have better or more gear in it that did appeal to you?

[scgmhawk]

I get both GW and GP. I like them both. I agree that GW is definitely geared more towards metal and a young demographic but I like their tabs and lessons. GP is different in that it covers a variety of genres (jazz, blues, rock, etc). I actually just got their $12 subscription offer in the mail and sent it in. Beats paying $6.50 at the newsstand! I think it's a really good mag, and for $12 you can't go wrong.

FYI -- I also signed up for a free 1 year subscription to Premier Guitar (thanks to hearing about it on this forum). I'm not familiar with the mag but you can't beat the price.

[hubberjub***]

Guitar World always struck me as the guitar industry's version of Tiger Beat. If I needed help figuring out what was cool to wear on stage I'd go for GW. Guitar Player just has so much more variety, and though their reviews tend to be more toward the high end instruments they seem much more critical of the gear. I'm sure they aren't telling the whole story because they don't want to lose advertisers but they are better than the GW reviews which are very similar to the reviews in the Musicians Friend catalogs. Besides, most of the gear "reviewed" in GW is very common and can be found at most guitar stores, but it's not always easy to find a store that has Alembic guitars and Cornford amplifiers for example.

[Robert****]

Go with Guitar Player. You'll probably enjoy it more. I think the mag has improved over the last year or so. Better reviews, better interviews. One that bugs me is that the repeatedly review 4-5000 + dollar guitars. Like anyone can afford those. Otherwise it's a great mag.

[sunvalleylaw]

GP is the first and only guitar mag I have subscribed to. I like the variety, and it has more tips and lessons than I really have time to pursue. But I am collecting them so I can go back and try. I got in on the killer deal Spud found for us a year or so ago. Since that time, they have reviewed some really expensive stuff, but have also done an issue reviewing a bunch of less expensive guitars. I also like the "ebay find" column, where the author describes something he bought on ebay. In short, I like it.

[marnold***]

Not into the boutique stuff either.did the one you dislike have better or more gear in it that did appeal to you?

Yeah, Guitar World did seem to have more reviews of things that the average person might be able to own. Almost everything they review they give an "award" though. I like that GW took the instructional columns from G1, but I thought the ones in G1 were better. The other big thing in GW's favor as scgmhawk said is the tabs. Unfortunately, I'll have about one song per every other issue that I'd want to learn. Well, I'd like to learn "Through the Fire and Flames" from the current issue, but it'd take me until 2075 to learn it. The "Tiger Beat" thing is close to what I was referring to too.

[Spudman***]

I used to read both GP and GW and G1 too. For a while GP lost my interest and I quit reading any of them all together. Then GP got back to what they used to be in the 70s and early 80s which I can totally relate to. Quality interviews and articles. They made a significant improvement. They leave all the other mags in the dust in my opinion. So now I only read Guitar Player.

[birv2]

+1 for Guitar Player. I had a subscription to G1 and then started getting GW when that died. GP is definitely aimed at a "more mature" demographic, but I fit in that category so that works for me.

I read everything and feel I can learn stuff even reading about death metal bands, though that's not my taste in music. I do agree about the reviews of those mucho expensive guitars in GP -- maybe they think us "mature" people have more money!

Though they did have the sub-$50 mfx shootout in one of the summer issues.

I have the digital subscription to Premier Guitar and have been enjoying that.
They seem to do a lot with mods and how gear works, which I really enjoy, since they're not trying to sell anything.

Bob

[just strum]

I only get GP, but I ditto everything SVL has already noted.

[player***]

GP is the first and only guitar mag I have subscribed to. I like the variety, and it has more tips and lessons than I really have time to pursue. But I am collecting them so I can go back and try. I got in on the killer deal Spud found for us a year or so ago. Since that time, they have reviewed some really expensive stuff, but have also done an issue reviewing a bunch of less expensive guitars. I also like the "ebay find" column, where the author describes something he bought on ebay. In short, I like it.

sounds like from the popular vote GP gets it then don't it?
why change a good thing especially if you like it already.
my opinion milage may vary

[tot_Ou_tard]

I have a subscription to GP

(thanks goes again to Spud for alerting us to that great deal)

But I've read several copies of GW. Guitar Player is a much, much better magazine. Deeper & with more breadth.

[wingsdad]

I subscribed to GP waaaaaaaaaaaaaaay back when it started in the 70's. I don't subscribe now to it, but seem to pick it up at stupid newstand prices almost every month. It's still very much like it was 30 years ago. I might even subscribe again.

I really liked G1, didn't subscribe, but picked up the issues that ween't laden in metal & have a bunch of the cd's tht came with it b4 they killed it. GW, same thing. I agree, it's aimed at younger demo. Still, I just picked up the latest '300th Issue' that hit the stands, with cd/video. But I'd never subscribe. It stinks they killed GW Acoustic, too...I liked that even more, and more than Acoustic Guitar mag, because that tends to be 'boutiqueish' (?) and too high-brow for me.

Any of the gear reviews in these mags are for 'perspective'; they're basically 'paid for' by the advertisers. Take them with a grain of salt.

[scgmhawk]

My first issue of Premier Guitar arrived yesterday. If you go to their website, you can get 1 year FREE. I read a little and it seems to be pretty good, and definitely seems to delve into the tech side way more than the others which I want to learn about.

[Big K]

currently subscribe to Guitar Player & Vintage Guitar....

[bigoldron]

I agree with the "Tiger Beat" analogy of GW. It does have some good tabs, but I do like to read about something besides metal. GP has enough metal to satisfy any 'head, but also covers all other genres. I thought it was a radical step to have Brad Paisley as the cover article, but upon reading about him, he's as big a gearhead as there is.

They've recently featured John Fogerty and Allan Holdsworth as cover stories, which I really enjoyed. And, I also enjoy the Ebay bargain hunter article. Yeah, they do tend to do most of their equipment reviews on high end stuff, but, hey, it never hurts to dream. I guess I'll have to start saving up for one of those $25,000 EVH Frankenstein's.

Hey, for $12, you can't beat the subscription price. :

[deeaa*]

GP is the first and only guitar mag I have subscribed to. I like the variety, and it has more tips and lessons than I really have time to pursue. But I am collecting them so I can go back and try.

You know, this made me giggle to myself...I have like a dozen or so GP's lying around here, I suppose I have saved them because they each had a nice lesson or tab on them. But, in 25 years or so I think I can still easily count with my fingers the exercises or tabs I actually did from any magazine...still I keep them round just in case I sometimes would actually try one :-)

[Tig***]

Cool thread resurrection.

GW is still flashy. The best thing they do are the gear review videos, but those are available online. GP is more about and for real working players.

Premier Guitar has become the best overall. They still review the high priced gear, but now most reviews are of more accessibly priced gear.

[Eric***]

Hmm. This thread has made me consider getting a subscription, something I never thought I would do. Anyone have any good places to find a good price on a subscription to Premier Guitar or Guitar Player?