Guitar Magazines Are DONE! (3 magazines gone in 1 month)

[@Earthshaker1965]

R.I.P. Guitar Player magazine 😢

[@jimmypennell8831]

I got another year subscription recently. I had a subscription back in the day. They always have articles about some douche bag guitar player who sucks and nobody cares about 😅. Not more tabs and lessons. Unless they suck😅

[@alchemysticgoldmind4164]

😢😢😢😢

[@hadleymanmusic]

Dang I got a big box full from the earl 80's

[@joeylodes]

Just scored the last print December 2024 issue on EBay. What a shame. It’ll continue in digital format , but won’t be the same.

[@BillDerBerg]

They started to sukk when Grunge hit the charts

[@TheRootsMan]

"Social Media" and the internet totally overtook the old-school Public Image. The Classic Heyday of magazines, wall posters, vinyl records or the next album, concert tickets, 1980's MTV and VH1, television appearances, music videos and DVD's, the Grammy Awards, hardcover rock biographies and even the thrill of wearing a concert T-Shirt will never be what it once was because technology changed all that from what it once was to what it is today - (which is everything through the internet) - and I miss all that. I genuinely miss how things used to be.

[@artful_dodger59]

Really, really sad for me. I started playing in 1975, and in a non-digital world, Guitar Player was our only outlet for real, focused guitar material. I'd never miss an issue. The writers were seasoned pros like Tommy Tedesco, Jeff Berlin etc ... As a total rock n' roll kid, it was a small highlight every month. Related, the larger-than-life era of Kiss, Stones, Zeppelin et al., is hard to describe to someone who didn't live it. When the Stones came to a city, it was on the news for a week. Everything stopped. The Stones were all there was. The same for Kiss, Zeppelin and most big-label bands. I really miss that. Reading CREEM, I would swear that's going to be me on those pages, getting loaded, a groupy on my lap and a 727 waiting on the runway. A great time to be alive. I'm so glad I saw it. Instead, an uh-oh came along, and I had to get a job as a pressmen. But, Xerox ruined that. Printing went digital. That was a metaphoric portent for the whole world I guess? We are talking about it right now. Digital wrecked a lot of good stuff. RIP Guitar Player.

[@marks9197]

Guitar for the Practicing Musician was my favorite. I can't believe it's been gone since '99.

[@megatherion2695]

I liked that one and Guitar World

[@marcozarattini1854]

i saw Rick Beato just the other day talking about bands and constating there are no more bands on the hit charts of today...World is changing and all changes so fast we can't get used to nothing,no more...I agree with you when you say there's no coming back,it's not a matter of tendecies that come and go and then retourn...the world of music has changed radically with socials and internet so ..let's see what will happen...the important thing is to continue express ourselves by playing music...cheers from Italy Max...good job as always...

[@superblondeDotOrg]

Fuck rick beato and his shitty low quality content creation, he is a sign of the problem. Beato posts stupid ranting complaints about yadda yadda and gets tons of subscribers from being fake-outrage-drama-queen. Or, he posts music which he steals and then complains "bands are blocking me, they're blockers!" Seriously fuck that guy.

[@LeifGrahamsson]

The quality of the writing online is often full of typos and even basic grammar errors compared to print media. Sad times.

[@edreynolds8721]

Oh they do it in print as well. I thought spell check was supposed to prevent that.

[@UTubeHandlesSuck]

That might have been a worthwhile point 30 years ago- have you picked up a print magazine lately? They're just as bad in the spelling/grammar department and far worse on ads. These days a $7 magazine is about the size of a comic book and is 65% advertising.

[@jamesthe-doctor8981]

The problem with spell check and autocorrect is: homonyms. Words, like, “your and you’re” (not to mention, “yore”), “to, too, and two”, and so on.

[@JRoss-zxzx]

It's like the basic literacy requirements were thrown out

[@dennisblevins5723]

No budget for editors and proofreaders or figuring the computer will catch it. Obviously it doesn't.

[@zukiryder05]

Print magazines back in the "heyday" of the 80's were awesome! Physical media allows for ownership of the product. Digital media in all it's greatness lacks that. Textbooks are the same way. Give me a physical book, magazine, cd or vinyl record any day over a pdf, zip file or mp3. I just recently pulled out some of my 80's cd's and have been listening to them on my commute to work. Holy Crap what a difference in quality from the compressed files streamed via bt. I had really forgotten what I was missing.

[@snapfinger1]

The mags featured fab tablature & enclosed DVD instruction. I have the debut July ‘80 issue of Guitar World. JOHNNY WINTER !

[@wasichu66]

I agree with your analysis that times are different, the rock star thing has faded, and the industry has changed enormously. Worth it to remember that back in the day, those magazines were pretty much our only source of info, and yes, bands were the stuff of dreams. These publications were precious because they were the only window into that world, and were cherished as such. Today it is much harder to get people truly passionate, because everything has an expiration date of 24h, and most of the younger generation has the attention span of a senile goldfish, swiping has become the pinnacle of physical and intellectual effort. I do understand how a technical publication on playing is pretty much obsolete... even this dinosaur will look up a YT tutorial or some moving image source these days, before plowing through sheet music or tabs. I would add that because of point 1, even online music journalism is dead. First, the subject matter is just not so interesting anymore. Second, there are essentially no actual journalists left. Whatever posers are "writing" online music stuff (are they even actually writing it..?), have no background and no skills. Most "articles" are three-paragraph four liners without any actual substance whatsoever, just a clickbait title, a handful of generic sentences, mostly gossip, and off to the next article, cuz, ya know, we gotta write ten of these today to generate traffic to the website.

[@younkinjames8571]

I haven't bought a guitar magazine in 25 years...im surprised any magazines exist anymore

[@hadleymanmusic]

Me neither

[@kdrc]

Guitar Player used to have a soft vinyl record inside. That was magic back in the day.

[@robertyoung7027]

The prices of magazine have went from on average $3 to like $8-$12 each.. it's crazy

[@michaelballard4095]

Bidenflation has made it worse

[@DoubleDguitar]

I still have all my GTFPM, GW and GP mags from the early 80s into the 90s. Even the Metal Edges and such like that. Nostalgia, with learning. 🤘🏻

[@j7cc]

Heavy Metal for "F"n, Ever !🤘

[@dekion261]

"Print is dead." Egon Spengler, Ghostbusters 1984

[@stringrip]

"Brave new world..... Man is the victim of his own technology" - Aldous Huxley

[@TheArtofGuitar]

I'm gonna miss seeing them at the bookstore. I learned more from these magazines than I think I'll ever realize, a gem here and another there. Adds up. Sad to see them go. :(

[@vrp_pdx]

I used to write shorts for Metal Edge, Metal Maniacs & others while still in High School (90s). I miss it a lot, those were some glorious days and yes the dream of forming a band and possibly "making it" too. I eventually went on to work for many bands Stuck Mojo, Monster Magnet, KISS and many more and a shot at the band thing in The Peds, Black Smoke Snakes, The Quintessentials ultimately turning my hobby into owning a record store.

[@MikeDeCarlo-d3c]

Im 53 and still have a bunch of guitar magazines from the 80s/90s.. Back then you had to wait a month to get tabs for your favorite metal bands or you had to learn songs by ear. Now you can get any tab you want from your smart phone.. Man have things changed.

[@undermoonlightglow]

Oh-yeah. And tuner apps.

[@Charlie-sr4ec]

I totally agree with you Max!I always thought that with the advent of the internet that one day they unfortunately would be going away.As for me I still like holding and listening to a physical piece of music,reading the liner notes ! The community of standing online for your tickets making new friends at the show!But I'm just an old"DUDE"of 64 who still likes "Hard Rock, JAZZ, BLUES and yes "SHRED!And that is why I subscribe, You do it to the"MAX",CHEERS!!!

[@calbrockocat8728]

The problem with magazines, especially Guitar Mags, suffer from being only ads for big guitar companes. Real information and independent criticism? Not the place to look and they expect you to pay for glorified ads.

[@joeylodes]

I had hundreds upon hundreds of issues of Guitar Player , Guitar World , and Guitar For The Practicing Musician magazines at home. You’re 100% right. Mostly ads So few years back went through every issue and took out all the lessons, transcriptions, and articles I wanted to keep and tossed the rest. Now I have about 8-9 giant binders full of lessons and transcriptions. So much better than than flipping through ads lol

[@konowd]

You got that right. I knew people at a well known amp company who was told by Guitar World they’d get more write ups if they spent more on ads. The douche that edited it sat on one of my stories that featured this company and that might be one of the reasons. He was also Eddie Van Halen’s buttboy and his ass kissing was shameful.

[@1978garfield]

Even the reviews were pretty much ads. "If you are in the market for (whatever this thing is) do yourself a favor and check out the (product from our advertiser)."

[@weedyguitarstudio1715]

Thanks for the update Max I have a Bunch Of Guitar Magazines I'm 43 always the best they were full of so much great stuff Keep up the good work!!

[@brooklynboy1000]

Guitar Player Magazine had its last print issue. Makes me sad. I guess kids today do not buy them. Only sit on their phone all day

[@westmus]

Printed magazines are like an outdated and slow media format this day and age. Most people, no matter their age, find their news and information on the web. Guitar Max are an modern competitor to guitar magazines. Nothing in this world are static and stays the same forever.

[@ofershragay]

Well you are partly contributing to that... People watch KZbin channels and monthly magazines cannot keep up. I was subscribed to cycle world for years but, not anymore

[@r.v.g.1679]

Anyone remember Guitar for Practicing Musician?

[@kennethcarlin9629]

I used to have a subscription to it in the early 90s. That's mostly how I learned guitar.

[@jackb348]

That was flat out the best guitar magazine in the 80s and early 90s. Accurate transcriptions, great monthly columns and great artist interviews. I discovered Billy Sheehan, Vai, Satriani and Yngwie through this magazine.

[@kennethcarlin9629]

@@jackb348 that's because Wolf Marshall was doing the transcribing until he left.

[@joeylodes]

Best Transcriptions, bar none.

[@alchemysticgoldmind4164]

@@r.v.g.1679 Got tons of yhem

[@BazonBlades]

I was a pretty big magazine reader back in the day. But like most people, the allure of instant access provided by the internet pulled me away from monthly magazines. It's been years since I even looked at a guitar magazine.

[@richiebricker]

Its sad that Guitar Player ended first. In the 80's It was a much needed magazine because for most it was there only way of getting Guitar Tabs, with 3 songs every month along with other lessons by superstars. Guitar world had Tabs too but it was just one song but plenty of extra lessons and "Gear Rundowns". Music is so much easier to read on a peice of paper than on a computer screen. RIP Guitar Player Magazine

[@kennethcarlin9629]

Metal Edge went away for a while and came back. Metal Edge, Circus, Guitar School, Guitar For the Practicing Musician, and Guitar World was how I found out about the musicians and bands. I hate to say it, but KZbin ruined these magazines

[@scottisenberg3018]

I have at least 500 mags from that time

[@metalhead7181]

I used to love going to the store and getting the latest metal magazines, and the latest guitar magazines.The good ole days.🤘

[@CthulhuInc]

the bronze age of music is over, max - we now live in end times - rock is dead; long live rock

[@rEdf196]

In the entertainment world change is always a constant. I saw many changes come and go over the decades, however as of late (since 2010) much has changed for the worst, in my opinion, The exponential bloating of concert ticket prices, those same damn 4 chords, an overall blandness of modern music, The Sum 41 rape by manager story, The recent Sean Diddy Combs arrest rape scandals and ensuing the horror stories of the music industry that's still currently coming out. It really has shaken me to the core. Very disheartening.

[@LeeMcDaidDonegal]

Thankfully I have every copy of all the main Guitar mags scanned into PDF's - Guitar World, GFTPM, Guitar Player, Total Guitar, Guitar Techniques, Guitar Extra!, Guitar Legends, Guitar World Acoustic, Guitarist et al

[@papablue3015]

Yep! I've got stacks from 79ish-2016ish? Don't like computer magazines!

[@kylef5474]

I loved all guitar magazines & still do. Hit boxes & boxes of them. I’m keeping them until they fall apart

[@Voxguitarsrock]

I dont remember the last time I bought a guitar magazine so this news shouldn't suprise me, but its still upsetting. 😢

[@googleboy7]

Hi Max, I made a recent discovery. I have long believed that one reason people sing in the shower is that the hard surfaces in a bathroom provide a natural acoustic reverb. Yesterday, I thumped my heal against the floor of my fiberglass shower stall. It sounded pretty good so I did it a few more times, setting off our 125 pound Rhodesian Ridgeback. Hmmmm. This got me to thinkin' it did. So, a little later I grabbed my acoustic guitar and sat on the edge of the stall. It sounded great as a kick bass. In fact the music sounded empty without it. I have an electronic "Porch Board" , but it takes time to set up and I don't also get reverb from it. Anyway, I just thought I'd pass this along in case anyone in your audience would like to try it. Shalom/gw

[@Rikamortis6stringer]

I have noticed this trend over the last several years. Not so much that these other magazines are shutting down but that less and less people are getting magazines. Guitar world seems to be the only one that's been able to keep its head above water. I blame it on the internet and social media. They always seem to be pushing their digital magazine or digital stories. I like to hold a magazine in my hand rather than reading on my little phone. I have stacks and stacks and stacks of guitar world. I did guitar player for a bit and guitar for the practicing musician but nowhere near as much as Guitar world. The internet has really driven down the cells because people can get it right on their phone or they can individualize and get the story that they're looking for. In other words you're not getting all the fluff and advertisements You can get those more specifically to what you're looking for. But you're right I saw this one come in a mile away but I have been playing guitar since 1982. Thanks for the video Max another good one. I don't know if there's anything we can do about it but let's try to keep guitar world going at least. Peace 👍

[@tomcarl8021]

I had a subscription to Guitar Player in the nineties. Sad to see it gone. I remember being very impressed by the writing because it takes a measure of writing skill to actually describe music, particularly in pages with lessons. It wasn't just what to do to learn the lessons, but how to sound when playing, and that takes good vocabulary skills and imagination. To give the reader a sense of how, say, BB King sounds, is not easy to convey.

[@rickthelearner5631]

The last Guitar Player I bought was in 2018. No wonder I don't find them anymore. I'm devastated.

[@TradBowBruce]

Same thing is happening to drum magazines. They say they can't get the advertising. :(

[@WillThibodeau]

I've got boxes of Hit Parader,Metal Edge from early 80s and more

[@BasilLewis-ie2tk]

Evolution ftw. We now watch you guys on yt. I'm 42 btw.

[@19sickboy71]

Here it is..I'd love to buy a magazine..seen a few I wouldn't mind buying but looked at price..$20. U.S.D.?? Not worth it, they don't last like a good book. I miss mag posters and articles but untill they go back to 80s or even 90s prices ..I'm not interested

[@alanserjeant4947]

They ARE at those prices. Wages are much higher now than back then. (It is now 2024 FFS) Of course if you are not working (or can't) it is not a good situation. But nothing is the same price now as it was THIRTY or FORTY years ago.

[@centralscrutinizer8571]

@@alanserjeant4947 because the value of your dollar has been in free fall since 1913, but that's a discussion for another venue.

[@superblondeDotOrg]

$20 for a mag is dirty cheap when minimum wage is over $15. The mags were more expensive on a relative basis in the 80s when minimum wage was $3 and the mag was $8!

[@BillVerdon]

Same

[@19sickboy71]

@@alanserjeant4947 I get that. Obviously things cost more. But I'm not paying 20+ bucks for one...its just a magazine. If we were talking 10bucks for a newspaper I'd say the same. It'sjust not worth it when I can get the same stories via internet for basically free. There needs to be a reasonable compromise. I don't want to see mags disappear but times are changing. Sad days.

[@williamhiles7404]

I'm 75 years old and a former performing guitarist. Guess what? The era of the guitar is over. And I'm fine with it. I made mine. Now I play for fun, and I will not teach. And I can't wait until all the '50s Gibson Les Paul's that were sucked up by collectors, most of whom don't play or are mediocre at best, and bought them for $200,000 or more, find that their value becomes a small fraction of that. Good bye and good luck. LedHed Pb 207.20 🎶 🎸 🎹

[@AngelMartinez-qs3cf]

Hi Max, I don't know how old you are but back in the day, the 70's and maybe the 80's there was a great monthly publication called "Circus Magazine". It was great. Anybody who was anybody in that magazine. Every month I would always be excited on the next issue. They had all those classic rock bands, i.e., KISS, BTO, Sabbath, Aerosmith, AC/DC, Van Halen. Thank you for posting this and letting us know about those magazines! Shame!

[@willcarr9401]

I still have a few copies of circus magazine I completely forgot about ...I remember one I had with Tony Iommi on the cover.

[@ocljtc]

The only guitar magazines I have left are Guitar Shop Magazine which I collected in the 90s. I tried to buy every single issue but I am missing about three. That became my all-time favorite guitar mag.

[@clutch2827]

Hadn't even heard of two of them and I've been playing since 86

[@19sickboy71]

KZbin is the new Magazine.

[@alchemysticgoldmind4164]

True

[@BillVerdon]

Exactly what I think!

[@PolishHammer]

I was there, I saw it, I had that dream, and I miss it but at least I got to be there.

[@cranp4764]

It isn’t just guitar magazines - Total Film published its final magazine out of the blue after nearly 30 years this month. Us subscribers are being offered their other entertainment magazine SFX instead for the remainder of our subscription. People who make up that cross-section of society who care about both the arts/entertainment and physical media are dwindling. Most are happy enough to read about something on social media and then move on. Those of us with fond memories of reading our favourite movie magazine from cover to cover are being left behind, and it’s obviously the same with music fans too.

[@markeggins890]

Still a few good Blu ray boutique labels out there.

[@benpowersguitar]

Wow. Read some of the them since the late '80s. They used to be a young players main resource, at last for a lot of us. An era past.

[@marlan3rd]

Very interesting topic and series of observations. It seems that everything is going to the internet with physical forms such as CD's being outdated along with DVD's but what is even more chilling is the possibility of AI replacing rock stars and even actors, which is just a matter of time.

[@richsmith9063]

Yeah the Rock Star Icons definitely brought joy.....

[@undermoonlightglow]

I have spent a fortune on guitar mags but not in a long while have I purchased one. Seeing Guitar Player go hurts a little bit. Oh, the memories..👍

[@TheDistortionPrinciple]

The guitar magazines started putting less tabs and lessons and more ads put in and also increased the price. Gee.... I wonder why it didn't last

[@stringrip]

Less tabs is also because of copyright issues.

[@grahamnunn8998]

In the UK, Guitar Player has been going up and up in price and is now £9.99. I have been buying it since 1982 and have only missed a couple of issues (yes, I still have them). I have notice they often run the same articles as Guitarist (buying since issue 1, see above!) and share many of the same writers. I think the the emphasis on teaching in Guitar Techniques and Total Guitar has been overtaken by online lessons. Mike Varney help launched the careers of so many musicians through his Spotlight column, many of whom I am sure you are a fan of, Max!

[@timwood6115]

Like the others, I haven't bought a guitar magazine in a long time. My teen-age years and early guitar years were in the 1970s. Guitar Player was king and was essential reading. Guitar Player was not only a pioneering guitar magazine, but helped launch the field of magazines catering to specific interests. I have an on-line membership at a public library and I can read some guitar magazines there essentially for free. But I still recall the fun of getting the monthly surprise in the mailbox, or going to the store and seeing a new copy of a guitar magazine in the magazine section. I was in print journalism in small daily newspapers for 18 years. Newspaper are shrinking with small-circulation newspapers closing frequently. When I was the editor of the newspaper in the town where I still live, I supervised 10 people. Now, the staff is four people - total, including the editor. I dropped subscribing to the print edition years ago and now just skim the online version.

[@kc0lif]

i remember those magazines some had guitar tabs & stuff where you learn songs. articles on guitarists where nice.

[@elimarsilvanikock7818]

Sad that magazines are disappearing, thank you digital world to Mess up many good things

[@dw7704]

I used to buy guitar magazines a lot, especially when I taught. But after that I sold most of them. Just the hassle of storing them or if you moved, etc. I kept a few, but I had read and re-read them so often, it wasn’t as interesting anymore. I have bought a few here and there. Was thinking of picking up GP’s final issue, simply because it’s the last, but have not seen it anywhere. So in a way I will miss them, but it hasn’t been a big part of my life for many years. As I type this I do have a couple of old issues within reach, was planning on reading them later.

[@bogse]

This is very good news since there has been way too many guitar magazines. 1-3 i is just fine with better quality. Now they have been like half of the pages are advertizes. Great development!

[@Justin-td4bb]

Also the era when magazines and music journalists, intentionally or unintentionally, used to spoon feed and pretty much dictate what bands to like. They literally created heroes. though I did love all the guitar magazines and terrorizer, kerang, rock sound and so on. I also love that we can search out our own flavour of music more autonomously nowadays.

[@dougiedrever7168]

i started learning guitar in 84, about the same time as guitarist started and it was a good mag back then, but where i come from things werent that easy back then, i mean going to a gig in edinburgh was a three day holiday with the best part of two days travelling, so getting the magazines was important just to find out what was new, kerrang,sounds and melody maker got you the band stuff but getting american guitar mags was like gold dust, i bought a lot of gear over the years based on reviews in magazines and always preferred a hard copy that i can hold in my hand the same as a book, unfortunately things change, we lost our newsagents when the big stores start selling papers , same as a lot of your high street local shops, they got done over by the supermarkets, so access to the magazines went back to what it was, but then guitarist did change with the gear it reviewed, so if it wasnt a fender, gibson or prs or high end amp it was never featured and not having 10 plus k a month to spend on the latest gear it just became a waste of money, and before anyone bitches about getting a subscription, could afford to buy the magazines once a month but paying for an year in advance was too much

[@ricrodgers6450]

It's sad. Heartbreaking. Guitar mags kept me and my friends outta trouble. We learned so much. I'm speechless. Smh

[@JeffBisCamp]

Awesome !! 🤘😎🤘🌴☀️🔥🎸🔥🎸🔥🎸

[@renevillalba]

Nostalgia hits hard

[@rickyork7089]

I enjoyed the magazines. I would check out what guitarist was playing what guitar or what new guitar was coming out and read the articles about my fav bands.

[@7tardis7]

Back in the day you also you could order guitar players vinyl and cassettes from these magazines! I first bought Steve Vai flexable way before anyone got it at a store. Also I got Racer X/varney stuff and Rising Force and Stach first album. All sold out of guitar player magazine before they were in the stores..

[@No1414body]

Saw this happen in automotive magazines several years ago. But with the availability of apps like KZbin and guitar tabs why spend 10 to 20 dollars for a guitar magazine every month gone are the days of the free tabs in guitar for the practicing musician. Any song you hear is within a fewmstroks of the keyboard

[@Eric-v6w5u]

I remember as a kid in the 80s / I bought rock mag Circus, hit parade, metal edge, guitar world, AS a 80s rock metal fan ,I remember Doug marks metal method, when u could order his guitar lessons.

[@philipatoz]

I have a vast vinyl LP collection, countless CDs, own many copies of Guitar Player, DownBeat, Musician, Guitar World, Acoustic Guitar, International Musician, Trouser Press, etc, going back to the mid-70s. But, face it, guitar fanaticism is a passion followed more and more by us dinosaurs who dig music from the past, and more and more obscure stuff from the present. KZbin has brought guitar interest to a growing group of today's youth and stoked the still-burning fires of the Boomers and the generations after them. But the drop-off isn't surprising, considering what it being marketed to the masses. Look at all the ______'s Got Talent, etc shows - few of these are doing anything beyond showcasing singers, most of who can't even play an instrument. Radio is a horrible wasteland! The masses simply aren't buying guitar-oriented music anymore. Kids aren't even learning guitar or an instrument. Grunge was the last great rock movement. Local venues have dried up - local kids don't have a place to gig. The guitar generation has gotten older, married, has kids and responsibilities - they don't buy music much - but they do stream stuff. HOWEVER, many youth are now discovering the great stuff of the past. There's hope, but everything has its cycle: Big band music was killed by country western, early rock combos, the decline of dance venues, disco battled (and LOST) the marketing battles which rock survived, but for awhile. Etc. But for those who truly love guitar, blues, jazz, rock (and it's vast genres), they'll always love it. Growing up in the '70s, I remember thinking rock would never go away as a popular movement, but the marketing guys and accountants ruined it, mostly per rap and crummy pop singers using AutoTune - least IMHO! But kids who aren't exposed to anything but "music" on the radio or modern talent-show schlock - they are having their very fickle tastes influenced by horrible, throwaway garbage. They don't recognize quality music because most haven't been exposed to it. So sad, and I do hope it changes.

[@jameshartwell4345]

I loved the magazines. But all they ended up being was mostly ads.

[@erwocoolis9451]

I used to own a single guitar magazine where Dave Mustaine explained how to do guitar leads in two voices. Very useful, i always do that like him. It was the only guitar mag i ever had. It was from the early 90s. I recently threw it away when i moved to another town. Although beeing a lifelong metal guitarist i never felt the need to buy guitar magazines.

[@BillAltman]

I was in Metal Edge circa 98!

[@emann2007]

"Guitar Techniques" magazine also had a digital download version. I thought that would continue but it has been discontinued also.

[@BonkeyMucket]

I am sad to learn about Guitar Player magazine. I haven't read one in years, so I guess that's why. I could be more people are watching KZbin like I do. There is a lot of great guitar stuff on here and it reaches us faster. In the old days, Guitar Player was my guitar porn. I liked seeing all the new gear there, because I only had a couple of mom and pop shops around me at the time. They didn't have Marshalls in any of those stores. Things are changing. I don't go out to shows anymore, and the record stores are gone. I still like seeing where it's all going though. It's fascinating to me.

[@lexzbuddy]

the internet is way better than magazines ever where. I am in my 50s and would have loved to have access to everything there is these days.

[@fader_dragon]

Had a subscription to Guitar For The Practicing Musician magazine back in the 90s and looked forward to every issue. Can't remember the last time I thumbed through, let alone purchased, a print magazine. Tried a digital subscription to Guitar Player a couple years ago but it seemed kinda pointless? Anything I want to learn about re: guitar is already online somewhere.

[@oscarosorio521]

Metal Edge was not a guitar magazine

[@shawnmartin6263]

This is also a lesson on how disposable digital media is, I had an online subscription to Guitar Techniques magazine and the notice that accompanied the last online issue said “If you change devices or delete the app, then you will not be able to access the app or any of your issues again. Unfortunately this is beyond our control.” Lesson learned, hold onto your physical media.

[@PutItAway101]

I still use jokes I stole from guitar magazines back in the day, my favourite was some metal singer described as sounding like a '72 Nova dragging a muffler.

[@BillDerBerg]

I used to collect Guitar magazines GP, GW, IMRW etc from the 1970s to the very early 90s and they were generally only good for one thing besides the pictures and that were the advertisements... because the interviews with guitarists were rife with false information and shill for products that they didn't even use for their recordings but only briefly endorsed them.

[@AllenPlaysGuitar]

I subscribed to Guitar World last year. More than half of the time the magazines never arrived to my door. Despite multiple interactions with customer support the mags never arrived and I sadly had to request a refund. Real bummer. I wonder what's going on over at GW.

[@PipeCat1965]

I used to be a huge GP fan. I have a pile somewhere.

[@LicksoftheLegend]

The major issues with these magazines is they just can’t keep up with KZbin. By the time the magazine is published hundreds of KZbinrs have reviewed the gear they’re just writing about, the tabs have all been on the internet for decades and the cover stories again have already been covered weeks or even months in advanced on social media platforms.

[@ericwilhoit9766]

Hey Max, maybe I missed something, but can’t the magazines just transfer their physical mags to online digital? The only difference would be not holding a magazine in your hand, right? Maybe you mentioned that & I just didn’t hear that part or something. Anyway thanx for the info brotha!

[@mrpbody44]

Started playing in 1975 and Guitar Player was great. They started rehashing the same tired old interviews in about 2000. I don't think I bought a guitar magazine since 2014 when my ex girlfriend was on the cover of one of them.

[@joefaber1381]

Paper reading material is dwindling not because of a lack of interest, but because of the publishing corporations cranking the price of these products sky high. This, all to pad the corporations wallets.

[@jonlvstad2861]

Nope. It's been a downward spiral for years. Prices rising is due to increased production costs, paper prices and a huge reduction in ad spending (everything ends up at Google and other online entities) and a general change in reading behaviour (and thus less subscriptions and off the shelf purchases). Been in the publishing business for decades, seen this firsthand...

[@declanludick3022]

I liked Guitar Techniques, it really helped because lessons in my country as almost unaffordable. Unfortunately and fortunately, all the info can be accessed online for free. Magazines also became to expensive.

[@Powerslave214]

Most, if not all, of the magazines mentioned here are published by New Bay media. I can understand consolidating resources in today's climate, unfortunately many companies that used to buy advertisements simply aren't doing so anymore. In today's publishing climate, it is extremely hard to put out a quality magazine without ads. I just renewed my subscription to Premiere Guitar magazine, which I think has some of the best content of all the magazines that are still around.

[@SonicReels]

I miss all the magazines.

[@TheJeffbarrett]

Guitar World had the most tabs. I used to get Progressive Rock from the UK which was always awesome.

[@bobowrathsovine.]

I never subscribed or bought Guitar Player magazine because unlike Guitar For The Practicing Musician and Guitar World it didn't have complete transcriptions of songs and back from say 1988-2003 I only could either make up my own riffs or learn covers I had no understanding of any theory to make my own solos or even the ability to learn music theory from words on a page

[@PAINFOOL13]

I had a subscription to "Guitar Player" for years, sad news 😢

[@jime6688]

This is just another sign of things changing so much as to make life a lot less interesting. An average weekend for me in high school and then more regularly in college was to go to Hastings(our local entertainment store that sold video, music and books)spend two or three hours perusing stuff then picking and adding to my collection of physical media. That and/or going to the mall was a good day. Got out, had fresh air and you got to commune with people. It’s not really like that now ANYWHERE anymore and what is out there is just not even close to what it was. On the band front. I tried so hard to get things going with people over the years and perhaps I would’ve had some luck if I’d been born in the 60’s instead of the 70’s, but I could not get anyone interested in my small little town of trying for rock stardom. NOW, I haul a guitar and practice amp to our apartment lobby after wife goes to sleep and play for no one but myself in the wee hours so as not to wake her up. The music has become such a solitary thing and it shouldn’t be.

[@sole__doubt]

I think inflation has really hurt magazines too. Most people are having a hard time finding an $15 to spend on a magazine they dont really need since they can use the internet for free.

[@ScottysAnimals]

I had a subscription to metal edge back in the day. The takeover of extreme Glam by the late 80s and early 90s made those magazines embarrassing. At a certain point there was little visual difference between metal edge and Cosmo

[@Lowend_Chug]

I loved Guitar Magazines back in the day. Still have mine from all those years back. It is a neat aspect of the music industry that has died a slow death like so many other aspects of the music industry……🤘

[@samuraidjinn]

I personally like magazines in general, but when "X" magazine becomes hard to find or super expensive for 6 issues a year, it is tough to handle. Now, a lot of magazines are pushing digital formats for marginal differences in price. If I were to buy a digital version of a print magazine, I personally would want it 40-50% of the print price

[@edwinstovall3334]

66 year old boomer here, and I'm saddened to learn of the demise of Guitar Player Magazine. This guitar publication had started up not hugely long before I started playing and was recommended to me by a high school music teacher I took guitar classes with. Much of the mag was useful, much wasn't -- mostly because I was a kid with little in the way of resources. I still play to this day, although it's been decades since I last played before an audience. It's also been years since I last read GP; I'm sorry to see it go, but that's the 21st Century for ya.

[@onsesejoo2605]

I don't play guitar but I used to buy them as they have had better interviews than especially the British magazines that are supposed to be writing about pop and rock but have mostly been forums for the journos to try an outwit each other. Those decision making guys come from different world of universities, seminars and stuff like that, with completely different understanding what life is and is about. Some of them have never been in a single live gig in their life. There are some tubers in that vein as well. ;P