The Low End . . . and The High Road
First, I love the magazine. I found it
a couple of years ago, and it is one of
those rare magazines where it is a must
read from cover to cover. But this email
is specifically about Kevin Borden’s
The Low End column. Kevin offers
such an awesome insight into the bass
guitar. He has a real one-in-a-million
perspective and is a thorough professional.
He writes about things that are
very helpful (for example, how a large
part of the tone comes from the neck
of the bass, recommendations on string
gauges to enhance tone on Fender
Precisions, etc.).
A couple of months ago, I emailed
Kevin on some questions and problems
I was having with my Rickenbacker
4001. He responded and offered a lot of
his time over several emails in the course
of a week. I was very appreciative and blown away that he would do this for me.
I thought you should be made aware. I read the magazine from page one forward,
but always have that moment of “YES!!!” when I get to The Low End.
—John Roberts
Marysville, WA
Thanks so much for your email, John! It’s great to know you’re loving the mag and our bass coverage
(which, you’ll be glad to hear, is going to be increasing this year), and that Kevin was such
a help to you. I passed along my your thanks (and mine) for going above and beyond the call of
duty, and Kevin replied: “John was having some major issues and we got real in-depth. I saved
him from selling a loved bass because his non-vintage repair guys couldn’t get the tweaks correct. I
always appreciate feedback from my editors, but hearing a stoked reader—there’s nothing better!”
Beyond Crass
First off, let me say that I truly enjoy
Premier Guitar mag, and I have since issue
number one. That being said, I have to tell
you that I found the Jan. 2011 Last Call
article by John Bohlinger beyond crass.
Perhaps it was an attempt at some type of
“cutting edge” satire or humor, but it stuck
me as demeaning, condescending, and
incredibly disrespectful, not only to the
musicians he mentioned, but to anyone that
suffers from mental illness.
Don’t get me wrong: I totally agree that,
for the most part, musicians (and ALL creative
people) do dance to a different beat (or any
other tired cliché you’d like to use), but the
manner in which Mr. Bohlinger chose to
address it was simply snide and nasty, to say
the least. Then, at the end of the article, he
tries to backpedal out of it with a wink and
some bullshit disclaimer (“To avoid litigation
. . . ”). Give me a break. Why should he, or
anyone for that matter, give a rat’s ass about
what Eric Johnson’s pedalboard looks like, or
the fact that he likes cheap Radio Shack cables?
Leave that to the gear-snob forums.
I’m no thin-skinned wuss, but may I
suggest that, in the future, you rethink
30 PREMIER GUITAR FEBRUARY 2011 www.premierguitar.com
LETTERS
publishing this kind of tripe? It does
NOTHING to benefit our guitar-playing
community. There is already enough nasty
trash-talking out there. We don’t need
Premier Guitar to add to it.
—Geo Jacopec
Glen Allen, Virginia
Last Call author John Bohlinger responds:
“Dear Geo (and any other offended readers):
On one level, ‘My Kind of Crazy’ was
a humorous look at our irrational approach
to capturing sound. Most would agree that
the time, energy, and money we put into gear
defies logic. For example, I drive a $200 car,
but on any given day I have gear worth four
grand in my trunk. Time readers would see
that as crazy, but Premier Guitar’s demographic
sees it as perfectly reasonable. (Both
may see it as a little funny, too.) On a deeper
level, the goal of the column is, through humor
and a bit of medical research, to encourage the
guitar-playing community to accept our own
glitches and try to see that, as I said, ‘faulty
wiring is a blessing and not a curse.’ There’s
no satire here, just a genuine hope that we can
accept ourselves and others and see the beauty
in imperfections—just like the beauty in the
weather checking on my old Martin D-28.”
The Next Big Thing
You guys are way ahead of the curve
by including the ukulele article on Jake
Shimabukuro [“Hawaii Four-O,” January
2011] in your magazine. The ukulele is
the next big thing in the music world! It is
growing in popularity by leaps & bounds!
—Tom Rubin
via email
Thanks, Tom. We figured we’d be nuts not to
cover such a facile and interesting player who’s
influenced by so many guitar greats—especially
since we haven’t started Premier Ukulele yet.
Ha!