Guitarist

I've been purchasing this high-quality magazine for the past 3 1/2 years and have been mostly thrilled with the quality of its content for the entire duration.

The gear reviews are probably the best in its publication class: the gear they choose to review covers a wide range of user profiles, from boutique to beginner-oriented gear. The lessons and transcriptions cover a good balance of the musical landscape in guitar music and are very well produced. The columns on guitar and amp maintenance are so-so, and unfortunately don't go much beyond the very basics, but the occasional recording and songwriting columns are much more sophisticated.

The artist features are probably the weakest part of the magazine, and take up a solid chunk of the magazine, but it's probably a necessary evil of marketing the publication. Finally, the CD/DVD reviews are idiosyncratically British and overly indulge in glowing reviews for too many mediocre modern Britpop acts and the British version of alternative rock...but then, that's part of the charm of buying a UK publication isn't it?

I've enjoyed the editorial content of the magazine so much that I've been a subscriber for the past two years. Sadly, as good as the editorial content, the business side of the magazine appears to fall far short.

As a consumer, probably the main thing one would care about for a publication that costs $135 annually is consistent and timely delivery. Not only does the publisher seem incapable of delivering the magazine in synch with the time it hits newsstands in the UK, but it consistently arrives later than it hits the newsstands IN THE U.S. In fact, the routine delay is about 25 days after an issue's release.

Even worse, nearly half of all issues simply never arrive, which is a problem I've not encountered with the magazine's sister publications (Guitar Techniques and Total Guitar). After months of communicating with the publisher, I'm advised that this is a widespread problem that has required a change in the delivery method to attempt solving the problem. Kudos for that...however, the attempt to achieve delivery of 2 back issues that never arrived was similarly unsuccessful. Somehow, Guitarist UK issues seem to turn into vaporware when they are mailed...which would suggest that using a courier with tracking might be helpful once a problem has been clearly identified.

Although it has good editorial content, the lackluster business management and fulfillment functions make this an ambivalent recommendation. The Economist manages timely delivery and it costs less. Let's hope Guitarist can pull it together, because it's editorial team deserves a competent business team backing it: 6.5 on a 10-point scale.

Without the delivery problems, it would get a solid 8.0.

This magazine is perfect for people who think that knowing all the gear and buying most of it, helps you to make you a great guitar player.

It's just the opposite: all this gear crap is a filler, a distraction. Trust me, I have been there, and it was a mistake. Get rid of this magazine and learn to play by going to a quality tutor or online.

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