30 years of Guitar Player magazine

[Eric Lee Iverson]

I have a huge collection of Guitar Player magazines dating back to the mid 70s up through 2010 or so, for sale cheap.  Actually I just want to find a good home for them, so they're yours free if you want to come pick them up.  Most of them are in good condition.  A few have missing pages that I tore out, but the vast majority are intact.

If interested, please text me at (646) 966-0597.

[murphybridget]

I’m interested in your collection of Guitar Player magazines.

[Winston Psmith]

I've been clearing out decades of Guitar Player and Electronic Musician magazines, myself. It's been quite a project, going back through old issues, looking to see if there's anything I want to hang on to?

 

Best of luck, @Eric Lee Iverson! I'm right there with you!

[Caevan O’Shite]

I WOULD have been VERY interested, if my vision wasn't failing...

I once had very nearly every issue of GP from August '83 through to April or May '06, in stacks in order, and I was very good at remembering and quickly finding a given article, interview or feature to refer to. I would have been a great Librarian/Archivist/Curator.

Then we had a house fire...

[Ivan May]

I own a lot of old Guitar Player magazine. I mostly liked looking at the glamour shots of all the famous musicians and their guitars, and I also enjoyed reading about what gear they used (Fenders, Marshall amps, etc.)

 

I'm so glad I haven't trashed all of my copies, I'd miss 'em too much!!

[Larryz]

@Eric Lee Iverson, WELCOME ABOARD!!! Your OP is a great way of introducing yourself! Hope it is helpful for those looking for lost articles! 😎👍

[surfergirl]

My grandpa has them going back to the 80s, he finally canceled about a year after they were sold. He didn't like them anymore, I couldn't tell the difference. I liked them for gear reviews, especially the  pedals review issue. 

[Anderton]

I used to have most of Guitar Player, and every single Keyboard, Electronic Musician, and EQ magazines. Moving multiple times took its toll, and one day I realized I didn't read them often enough to keep them around. There are times I wish I had, particularly EQ, but with limited time left on this planet I figure it's better spent living in the present.

 

I must admit I do miss the days when every month a magazine showed up that was full of surprises and interesting articles. And the reviews were written by people who knew what they were talking about, not "user reviews" on the web from people who never read the manual  

 

[Caevan O’Shite]

2 hours ago, Anderton said:

I used to have most of Guitar Player, and every single Keyboard, Electronic Musician, and EQ magazines. Moving multiple times took its toll, and one day I realized I didn't read them often enough to keep them around. There are times I wish I had, particularly EQ, but with limited time left on this planet I figure it's better spent living in the present.

 

I must admit I do miss the days when every month a magazine showed up that was full of surprises and interesting articles. And the reviews were written by people who knew what they were talking about, not "user reviews" on the web from people who never read the manual  

 

I loved getting GP each month, starting back in High School. As you said above, "every month... surprises and interesting articles." I felt like the Eds were friends and family in a way. I was saddened to learn of Tom Wheeler's passing. I dug your contributions to the magazine, Craig. Thank you.

I loved having stacks of GP that I could zip through to find specific articles, column entries and interviews to reference from memory. An analog database with a wealth of information.

The first issue I bought, the Summer I was working for a farm to buy my first halfway decent guitar, a Peavey T-15 with a 23-1/2" scale:

[surfergirl]

When they where sold it felt different, does that make sense? My favorite issue was the pedal review issue and one time sent an email to reviewer about a pedal and I got a reply the next day. Over the next couple of years I emailed him about several other pedals and always a reply. Eventually all of that staff was replaced, and it wasn't the same after that. It was like going from being like my local music store, where I felt at home, to being GC.

[Caevan O’Shite]

9 minutes ago, surfergirl said:

When they where sold it felt different, does that make sense?

It does, and it did.

 

10 minutes ago, surfergirl said:

It was like going from being like my local music store, where I felt at home, to being GC.

A astute observation.

[Anderton]

True story: I won't get into why I left, but several years later the organization that published GP, KB, EQ, etc. wanted me back on board to see if I could help reverse EM's downward slide and write for the other mags. The publisher said he could get two kids just out of college for the same amount of money I was asking for. I said "That's right, and you'd have the expertise of two kids just out of college." I thought that ended the discussion.

 

However, the remaining people in the organization, particularly Mike Molenda (thanks Mike), lobbied for me. I did end up going back for a while. But that exchange gives you a good idea of how things were handled after Crockett, Wheeler, Darter, et al were no longer there.

 

Every time the company was sold and changed hands, the Corporate Overlords would look at their spreadsheets and decide I should be let go. Every time, the staff said "you probably don't want to do that..."

 

Four publications that continue to be successful are Sound on Sound, Recording, Tape Op, and Premier Guitar. And why are they successful?

 

Spoiler alert: They're privately owned.

[Anderton]

Here's one more Corporate Overlords story. Mix Magazine had a successful side venture called Mix Bookshelf. It employed several people, so it cost some money to keep going, but it always turned a profit and was part of the Mix brand.

 

When Mix was bought, I was asked to dinner with some of the Corporate Overlords. They said they were going to close Mix Bookshelf. I couldn't understand why - it employed people and made money. The answer was "we could make more money by investing in something else."

 

I said "Well, you could make even more money by investing in cocaine and hookers." I don't think they liked me after that.

[Sharkman]

5 hours ago, Anderton said:

 

 

I said "Well, you could make even more money by investing in cocaine and hookers." I don't think they liked me after that.

Oddly enough, I have never used or spent so much as a penny for either cocaine or hookers.  I am such a cheapskate.

[Caevan O’Shite]

6 hours ago, Sharkman said:

Oddly enough, I have never used or spent so much as a penny for either cocaine or hookers.  I am such a cheapskate.

Would that John Entwistle had been such a cheapskate; I wish that it was so...