#1691390 - 01/07/06 02:39 PM
The 2005/2006 Guitar Player & Bass Player Gear Guide
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Nicklab
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Registered: 12/09/03
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Ever since I started reading BP, it's been something of an annual ritual to wait for the Guitar Player & Bass Player Buyer's Guide. This year is no exception. But the first thing that really made me scratch my head was when was the new edition going to come out? A dealer I know who happens to advertise in BP asked the same thing when I saw him a few weeks ago. Where was it?
Today I found out where it is. I happened across the new incarnation of this annual tome at my local Borders book store. It was in the magazine racks as usual. No surprise there. The cover? A little different, and certainly more reminiscent of the way the cover of Guitar Player is now laid out. While that's a little irksome, I think we all know the old adage of "Don't judge a book by it's cover".
I started turning the pages of this new guide in an effort to see what's new, etc that I haven't seen. What I found on those pages was very disappointing. What was there? Lots of pictures. But the information? To say it was sparse would be like saying that the Grand Canyon is a ditch somewhere in Arizona. Now, most of my observations are limited to the bass section, but I think they're pretty valid. Take the Fender electric bass listings. All told, there were about 5 Fender basses profiled in this guide. All were photographed, but the Fender line as a whole was severely neglected. Fender is probably offering somewhere in the neighborhood of 50 different basses, and there are only 5 listed in the Buyer's Guide?! In fact, every instrument was photographed for this guide. But that's not really what I've used the guide for in the past, and I think a lot of other people think the same way. I have always treated the Buyer's Guide as a reference tool that I can use throughout the year for specs, options and list prices. If I want to see images I'll go to the manufacturer's website.
Based on this radical change to the Buyer's Guide, I didn't purchase this year's edition. The new format is nowhere near as useful as it had been in the past, and I'm extremely disappointed.
Also, my apologies if I got the exact name of this publication wrong.
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#1691391 - 01/08/06 08:47 PM
Re: The 2005/2006 Guitar Player & Bass Player Gear Guide
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jeremy c
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Registered: 02/01/01
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Here's a second to Nick's opinion.
I have all of the buyer's guides since the first one.
The latest one has less information and smaller pictures.
In this day of the internet, we need more. Now we can go to manufacturers' web sites. But it's nice to have a magazine like this to use for comparisons.
I also use my old ones to look up information about the many models of basses which show up along with my students.
More info please! And maybe a line saying "this instrument was reviewed in the June '05 issue" or something like that.
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#1691392 - 01/09/06 01:40 PM
Re: The 2005/2006 Guitar Player & Bass Player Gear Guide
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Editor Boy
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Registered: 05/14/01
Posts: 255
Loc: San Mateo,CA,UNITED STATES
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Hi Jeremy and Nick...
Thanks for your comments about this year's Buyer's Guide.
Just so you know OUR thinking on the revamp -- we are well aware, as Jeremy stated, that all the info you'd ever want on a particular product is posted on the various manufacturer Web sites. In a digital society, a print publication can't compete with that. In that light, we also determined that the text-heavy, photo-ite versions of previous Buyer's Guides were doing potential readers a disservice because those guides DID NOT SHOW buyers WHAT a guitar or bass looked like. This tactic absolutely takes into account that buyers tend to be initially attracted to how an instrument looks. We then offer a few basic stats and point the buyer to the manufacturer's Web site for the full info blast. This strategy also involves a synergy between a print publication and the manufacturer's Web sites -- a strategy that we believe maximizes the available information in a thoroughly modern way. A "win/win," so to speak.
Most of the feedback we have received has been positive, as people DO enjoy the pages upon pages of photos, but if we receive significant feedback from readers and manufacturers that they'd prefer the text-heavy versions of old, then we will certainly consider returning to that format for 2007. Our main job, after all, is to excite the guitar and bass community about all the cool tools out there.
Well, that's our view. Thanks for yours. We will absolutely consider all kudos and criticisms as we plan the 2007 version of the guide.
Best,
Mike
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#1691393 - 01/10/06 12:29 PM
Re: The 2005/2006 Guitar Player & Bass Player Gear Guide
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Nicklab
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I can certainly appreciate the standpoint of wanting to get the images out there. People are always attracted to the visual. When I first got the Buyer's Guide in the early 90's I was always curious about what an instrument would look like. But with the advent of the internet we can now look up these instruments online to see what they look like on the manufacturer's dime and server.
It seems that the desire to make the Buyer's Guide more image intensive has hurt it in the respect that it's nowhere near as comprehensive a tool as it used to be. The sheer volume of information on a myriad of manufacturer's instruments was the best part about the past buyer's guides. It seemed like a total picture of what was available in the bass world, whereas this "yearbook style" seems more like a very limited snapshot. The text heavy version gave everyone an almost omniscient ability to see everything that was out there, compare specs between instruments easily and get list pricing. Pictures are all pretty and nice, but having as much information consolidated in the Buyer's guide of old was what drew me to it year after year.
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#1691394 - 01/10/06 09:54 PM
Re: The 2005/2006 Guitar Player & Bass Player Gear Guide
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wraub
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I'll have to agree with Nick and Jeremy.
I have looked forward to (and purchased) the annuals for quite a bit now, but, after seeing this year's on the newsstands, I didn't even buy it.
Looking forward to the next one... 
Peace,
wraub
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#1862716 - 12/27/07 12:57 PM
Re: The 2007/2008 Guitar Player & Bass Player Gear Guide
[Re: wraub]
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Nicklab
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Bumping this up as I saw the new edition of the Buyer's Guide on a newstand a few days ago. And there were some VERY significant ommissions from the product listings.
The listings for Fender line of basses were put together in a very selective fashion. I didn't see any listings for the Ned Steinberger electric upright basses at all. And when I went to check out some Eden amps and cabs in the head and cabinet section, guess what? They weren't listed at all either. These are product lines that I am VERY interested in because I am very likely going to purchase some of the gear made by these manufacturers. But I'm not able to use the Buyer's Guide as a source of info that might help me make an informed purchase.
There were some positive additions to the guide. I won't totally bash it. I liked the fact that most of the listings included retail price and street price. And I liked the fact that the amps and cabinets now have information like weight and driver construction included. But that's were my positive notes end. And needless to say, I left the Buyer's Guide on the shelf.
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