Jeebus Posted October 10, 2003 Share Posted October 10, 2003 What magazine do y'all rely on for your gear news/reviews, and tutorials? Check out my comments in this thread for my feelings towards keyboard mag. I figured I'd start a new thread for just this topic, since the Fantom thread was starting to get off topic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimmieWannaB Posted October 11, 2003 Share Posted October 11, 2003 I'm still depending on Keyboard Magazine. My number one source for reviews has become this forum. Just about everything I've bought in the last year has come up for discussion at one time or another. If I can't find an old thread, I create one. I don't buy more than one piece of major gear and then one or two pieces of software a year so between the forum and Keyboard, I'm more than covered. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RABid Posted October 11, 2003 Share Posted October 11, 2003 1. Keyboard Mag for the most part. It goes up and down, but at this time it seems to be improving again. Some good articles lately. I have subscribed on and off since it was launched at the end of the 70s. 2. Electronic Musician. Recently moved up from number 3 on my favorites list. The only thing SoS has over it is Anderton, and more editorial space. 3. Sound On Sound. It was great a few years ago. Now I just read it mostly for the Sonar tips and tricks. Otherwise it is like getting a catalog. Nothing but shallow reviews. 4. Remix. I considered dropping this one but it is cheap. Sometimes very good, sometimes a total waste of paper. 5. Computer Music. I list it last because it is expensive and I dropped my subscription. Otherwise it would be number 2 right behind Keyboard Mag. Many complain because it is too elementary, but that can be good. There are still a lot of simple things about making music on computers that I do not know. At least this magazine wants to teach young readers. Robert This post edited for speling. My Sweetwater Gear Exchange Page Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
henryrobinett Posted October 11, 2003 Share Posted October 11, 2003 TapeOp. All the best, Henry Robinett Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bleen Posted October 11, 2003 Share Posted October 11, 2003 Originally posted by henryrobinett: TapeOp.Right on, Henry! TapeOp roolz! I'm also partial to EM, Modern Drummer, Keyboard, SoS, and sometimes EQ. recording/mix guy don gunn.com myspace.com/dongunnmusic Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Veracohr Posted October 11, 2003 Share Posted October 11, 2003 EQ "And then you have these thoughts in the back of your mind like 'Why am I doing this? Or is this a figment of my imagination?'" http://www.veracohr.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aeon Posted October 11, 2003 Share Posted October 11, 2003 Robert said: 3. Sound On Sound. It was great a few years ago. Now I just read it mostly for the Sonar tips and tricks. Otherwise it is like getting a catalog. Nothing but shallow reviews.Robert, are we speaking of the same Sound On Sound? Do you consider deep, 10+ page reviews shallow? Do you think the Secrets Of Synthesis series has been worthless? What about their recent articles about studio mic'ing, music publishing or cable-making? With all due respect, I think you are way off base with that comment. cheers, aeon Go tell someone you love that you love them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RABid Posted October 11, 2003 Share Posted October 11, 2003 Originally posted by aeon: Robert said: 3. Sound On Sound. It was great a few years ago. Now I just read it mostly for the Sonar tips and tricks. Otherwise it is like getting a catalog. Nothing but shallow reviews.Robert, are we speaking of the same Sound On Sound? Do you consider deep, 10+ page reviews shallow? Do you think the Secrets Of Synthesis series has been worthless? What about their recent articles about studio mic'ing, music publishing or cable-making? With all due respect, I think you are way off base with that comment. cheers, aeonMy SoS comments may have been just a bit harsh as a rebuttle so Jeebies continuing efforts to trash Keyboard Mag and everyone involved. Just to double check I grabbed the closest SoS to me (Feburary 2003). The longest review is 6 pages. Many reviews are 2 pages and some even one page. This includes the large pictures of which SoS makes such good use. A lot of the reviews could be written by someone who read a brochure and then spent 30 minutes playing an instrument in the music store. For every review that seems to be written by a player, there are two that seem to be written by a technical writer. You are correct about the Synth Secrets series. I did imply in my post that magazines should not ignore new readers. Young synth programmers need series like this to coax them beyond presets and ROMplers. It is good that someone is teaching them that VAs can do more then filter sweeps. Hopefully the series will grow and evolve into advanced programming or give more coverage to synthesis methods that were not common 20 years ago. But, that is a continuing problem for all magazines. How do you keep long term experienced readers interested without ignoring the needs of new readers? I can tell an improvement in SoS over the past two years. A big improvement. Robert This post edited for speling. My Sweetwater Gear Exchange Page Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monkey Mouse Posted October 11, 2003 Share Posted October 11, 2003 I read EM, Keyboard, EQ, and Remix, all of which are useful to me in a lot of ways. I am going to subscribe to SoS soon, wh36 Ger I remember to hit the website... Live 6, Battery 3, Project 5, Atmosphere, Albino 2, Minimoog V, Oddity, Nord 2X, Proteus 2K ***I can't play for sh*t, but I can sequence like a muthaf*ck*r*** Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeebus Posted October 11, 2003 Author Share Posted October 11, 2003 Originally posted by Rabid: My SoS comments may have been just a bit harsh as a rebuttle so Jeebies continuing efforts to trash Keyboard Mag and everyone involved. If you see someone's honest, critical and uncensored feelings about a product as "trashing", then it's fairly easy to understand why you prefer Keyboard mag over SOS. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coyote Posted October 11, 2003 Share Posted October 11, 2003 I don't read gear magazines. I do read Keyboard, for the articles which give me info about actual playing. Sometimes I am interested in the gear, but not generally. I wanna know how to get the most from the gear I have - I don't want some marketing hack telling me why I should spend another $4K this month. I used to think I was Libertarian. Until I saw their platform; now I know I'm no more Libertarian than I am RepubliCrat or neoCON or Liberal or Socialist. This ain't no track meet; this is football. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philip OKeefe Posted October 11, 2003 Share Posted October 11, 2003 I subscribe to EQ, PAR and TapeOp... and read Keyboard and SOS on a fairly regular basis. Oh, and Guitar Player, and once in a while, Mix. I used to read EM but it's largely lost its appeal to me. Occasionally someone will bring in a copy of Home Recording or Recording, but they tend to be a little to "hobby" oriented for my tastes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erlic Posted October 13, 2003 Share Posted October 13, 2003 Primarily I read Keyboard Magazine, and Electronic musician. If I need further help or details, I read the keyboard form, since there are people here who have either used the product, or now something of the product allowing you some form of general direction in making your decision. _____________ Erlic Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
orangefunk Posted October 13, 2003 Share Posted October 13, 2003 I've always thought Keyboards reviews were really shallow, like they were afraid of upsetting the potential advertisers. SOS on the other hand are usually very honest.. Keyboard was always better for theory articles or interviews of rock dinosaurs that you thought had died years ago.. One of the things I used to find funny was how Keyboard were a bit behind the times when it came to cutting edge artists... took them quite a while to latch onto the rise of electronic dance music. They seemed to be more interested in the keybioard player in Chicago, Patrick Moraz or Tom Coster... but then a few guys here would probably prefer that anyways Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marino Posted October 13, 2003 Share Posted October 13, 2003 Keyboard Electronic Musician Sound On Sound (not always) To me, the quality, completeness and independence of Keyboard has declined slowly but steadily in the last 10 years. EM, on the other hand, is slowly losing that home-made feel and becoming more and more state of the art. However, it completely lacks the 'player' part. SOS is generally very good, just a bit dry and impersonal maybe (British style... ), but usually in-depth and complete. Now, please tell me about that Tape-Op magazine... I've never seen it in Italy. Is it from the USA? Is it mostly devoted to recording, as the name suggests? Info, please! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Griffinator Posted October 13, 2003 Share Posted October 13, 2003 I like SoS. Something about buying a magazine and getting lots of articles, instead of lots of full-page ads. A bunch of loud, obnoxious music I USED to make with friends. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philip OKeefe Posted October 13, 2003 Share Posted October 13, 2003 http://www.tapeop.com Subscriptions are free in the USA - not sure about overseas though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bitdump Posted October 13, 2003 Share Posted October 13, 2003 Tape Op is technically still free overseas, you have to shipping, been meaning to do that as it is the only mag I find somewhat interesting as a read. But they are all good sources of tid bits of info, SOS gets a nod for having old issues on line, good research tool. Ahh yeah, thinking about that, see what SOS mentioned. All in all though after 15 years of read trade mags they are pretty much the same after the first two years of reading them. Might get Surround Sound Professional or what ever the heck tht rag is called, 5.1 seems to be moving in some direction, might have to pay attention a bit more at this point. Names to Remember: Charles Stepney & Emory Cook Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djwayne Posted October 13, 2003 Share Posted October 13, 2003 Intersting thread,I just subscribed to Tape Op. I've been reading Mix occassionally for years, and check into Mixonline quite often. Sound on Sound and Surround Pro, online versions recently. I used to get Keyboard, and Guitar Player years ago but haven't read either lately. I was finding myself drooling over all the cool gear I couldn't afford, and had to stop. You'd have to be a millionaire to keep up with the cool gear they keep coming up with. Living' in the shadow, of someone else's dream.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
felix. Posted October 13, 2003 Share Posted October 13, 2003 Keyboard, EM, and Remix. Oh, and I like both the articles and the ads. I like SOS, but it's pretty expensive, even if you get the US version. When I was buying it, I was buying the UK mag, and I really liked seeing the ads because it gave me a feel for how things are different over there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobT Posted October 13, 2003 Share Posted October 13, 2003 Keyboard, TapeOp and once and awhile EQ, Mix, SoS and MusicTech when they have an article/series that I'm interested in. RobT Famous Musical Quotes: "I would rather play Chiquita Banana and have my swimming pool than play Bach and starve" - Xavier Cugat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gulliver Posted October 13, 2003 Share Posted October 13, 2003 Keyboard & EQ. I like both of 'em. I am back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guestuserguestuser.com Posted October 13, 2003 Share Posted October 13, 2003 Regular keyboard mags have lost my interest. I think we need a new category of magazine: soft porn for the keyboard playing male. Nude model layouts interspersed with articles about keyboards. And the occasional racy story involving hot models and keyboard nerds. PLAYBOARD Entertainment for keyboard playing men Then we could all justify our subscriptions by saying "I buy it for the articles. Really." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Postman Posted October 13, 2003 Share Posted October 13, 2003 Originally posted by Griffinator: I like SoS. Something about buying a magazine and getting lots of articles, instead of lots of full-page ads.I have bad news for you. They just started selling ads. I don't mind it myself. I kind of like reading keyboard ads. I subscribe to both Keyboard and SOS. I have no plans to cancel either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimmieWannaB Posted October 14, 2003 Share Posted October 14, 2003 I think we need a new category of magazine: soft porn for the keyboard playing male. Nude model layouts interspersed with articles about keyboards. And the occasional racy story involving hot models and keyboard nerds. PLAYBOARD Entertainment for keyboard playing men Then we could all justify our subscriptions by saying "I buy it for the articles. Really." Let's not forget the Playboard Forum with all its outlandish fantasies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Griffinator Posted October 14, 2003 Share Posted October 14, 2003 Originally posted by Postman: Originally posted by Griffinator: I like SoS. Something about buying a magazine and getting lots of articles, instead of lots of full-page ads.I have bad news for you. They just started selling ads. I don't mind it myself. I kind of like reading keyboard ads. I subscribe to both Keyboard and SOS. I have no plans to cancel either.Indeed, that is bad news, because the last couple months I found it impossible to justify the $10 because there just wasn't enough good reading. Now there'll be less. If they want to keep my business, they'd better start scaling that price back. A bunch of loud, obnoxious music I USED to make with friends. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Magpel Posted October 14, 2003 Share Posted October 14, 2003 I get EQ, don't love it. Like what I've seen of SoS, like what I've seen of Mix. I used to be a devotee of Guitar Player, but that was long ago. Check out the Sweet Clementines CD at bandcamp Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M Peasley Posted October 14, 2003 Share Posted October 14, 2003 Keyboard and EM. I'll look over EQ and MIX and Computer Music at the bookstore and maybe buy one occasionally. Keyboard used to be pretty funny - I miss that. It's far more predictable now, too. But you can't get the interviews anywhere else that I know of. I'd spring for a bound collection of Keyboard interviews if they'd put one out. I appreciate Keyboard's refusal to abandon or write off a musical genre just 'cause it's not on the peak of the popularity curve. EM really helped me obtain my basic grasp of the world of MIDI/digi/sampling/DPS, etc., for which I'm very grateful. I still dig into back issues for technical brush-ups and to read old reviews of gear I'm thinking of buying used and on the cheap. SoS is a cool, good-looking publication, with a lot to offer. I personally find that breezy, chipper "Brit" manner a little offputting, but then I also find the cutesy, pun and cliche-ridden style of EM and increasingly, Keyboard, also a drag. Computer Music is a bit too beginner-oriented for me, but that's not a criticism, really. M Peasley Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Klopmeyer Posted October 14, 2003 Share Posted October 14, 2003 I honestly think that for different people, at different levels of proficiency and levels of professionalism and areas of primary interest, each magazine brings something good to a specific market. And each has its faults. I'm hardly a typical case, since it's been my business for over a decade to stay closely in tune with all of the music gear (and peripheral industry) mags. But from my view, it's nice to have the variety so you can choose what's best for you in terms of content and delivery. - Jeff Marketing Communications for MI/Pro Audio My solo music and stuff They Stole My Crayon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philip OKeefe Posted October 14, 2003 Share Posted October 14, 2003 Hey weasel boy... this is a musician's forum - better ditch that tie. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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