4-String Sting
Premier Guitar folks,
First, I love your magazine, subscribe, and
devour it every month. Thank you for making
the best guitar magazine on the market. The
other guys fill their pages with so much fluff and
nonsense, it’s ridiculous. I appreciate your player-minded,
no-nonsense approach. Also, I’m on the
website several times a week, and enjoy the mid-month
extras and updates.
Second, I was disappointed at how much bass
gear, and bass players were highlighted in this
January issue. Sure, as a guitarist, I enjoy a little
bass-oriented reading here and there, but the
bottom line is, bass is a totally different instrument
than guitar. Also, bass players have their
own magazines. I subscribe to PG for articles,
ads, and reviews oriented at expanding my
knowledge and enjoyment of the world of guitar,
not bass. Please do not turn my favorite guitar
magazine into a guitar/bass magazine. Please.
Thanks for hearing me out.
—Faithful reader,
Charlie Shaw
I am writing to let you know how much I used
to enjoy your magazine. I could not wait for
the next issue to show up. I have been a subscriber
for many years. I have been playing guitar
for more than 40 years. I am complaining
about the amount of material you give the bass
guitar in your magazine. Don’t get me wrong,
I appreciate every stringed instrument, but the
January 2013 issue seems to be more than half
dedicated to bass guitar. I am sorry I am not
interested in bass. I enjoy your magazine for
the way it used to be. It was strictly only about
guitars, the 6-string variety. I am thinking
about canceling my subscription. Am I alone
on this complaint?
—Jim Zingaro, Hilton, NY
Hi Charles and Jim:
Thanks for writing us about the bass coverage
in the January 2013 issue of Premier Guitar.
January definitely had more bass stuff than normal,
primarily in the features section. That said,
it does not represent a sea change here. It’s just
that, when there are new albums from legends
like Larry Graham and Victor Wooten—players
who redefined music for both bassists and guitarists—
we feel it’s worth covering.
Please rest assured that your voice and continued
support mean everything to us. We are
committed to bringing you the finest, most
comprehensive guitar coverage in the world—all
the stuff you’ve come to love us for over the years
and more. Guitar-centric stories and videos will
always be our focus: You’ll note that 9 of the 11
January columns and 9 of the 10 regular gear
reviews are guitar oriented—and the ratio of
guitar-to-bass coverage is just as high or higher
among the web-exclusive stories we upload to premierguitar.
com every week.
While we will always remain guitar focused,
we will also continue to cover bass gear and artists
in the ways that the overwhelming majority of
our readers and viewers—most of whom also play
bass and are interested in notable bass gear and
players—have told us they like us to. Occasionally,
an issue of PG might have more bass coverage
than another, but the balance of our coverage will
always be weighted toward guitar, and we will
always do our best to make sure what bass coverage
there is appeals to and has practical value
even to readers who only play bass out of necessity
(e.g., to lay down a foundation for 6-string work
they record at home).
Again, we hope you stick around to see what’s
coming next from PG—because things are only
going to get more awesome in the coming weeks.
Sincerely,
Shawn Hammond
Editor in Chief
Thank you, thank you, thank
you for a bass heavy (no pun
intended) issue. I LOVED IT!
—Don Droege, via Facebook
Your January issue kills it for
bass players. Awesome job.
Thanks.
—Das Siegel, via Facebook
Got my issue in today. Enjoyed
it and great articles on setting
up a bass and setting up height
on Strats and Teles, the wiring
column is always great but
this one should’ve been called
Premier Bass Guitar. Not hating,
just not much info for guitarists
as usual. I’d like to see a new
affordable tube practice amp
issue as well as effects and more
mods. An issue breaking down
vintage effects would be cool as
well as more pedal mods. Insight
to vintage tape and BBD delays
vs. the newer digital versions. If
I could have one request though
it would be an in-depth look
at the Fender Hot Rod Deluxe
with pics, known issues such
as it having linear taper master
volume instead of log, and mods
to make the drive channel actually
useful. It is one of, if not the
biggest-selling tube amp to date,
but has a slew of problems.
—Don Cook, via Facebook
The Real Deal
I’d like to thank you for your
article on Gary Clark Jr. [“Lone
Star Rising,” December 2012].
Never had heard of him before,
but after reading the article I
decided to listen to some of his
music. I’m definitely a fan now.
—John Farmen, via Facebook