BASS GUITAR MAGAZINE - Sensible Suggestions Thread

[Geek99]

i really liked Making Music, I guess it folded a long time ago.

Is this the online BGM? I've never seen it on shelves. I'd rather buy a UK mag than one of the US ones

[OldGit]

Here's what I suggested on the other thread:

They have had readers letters but the editing was terrible - actually it seemed to be missing entirely with rambling emails prented verbatim... even mine...

I'd like to see a few things revisited

- a valve amp head review that says something about how the things sound . The last one just listed the features and valves - well derrr we can all read the websites. What are the real differences between these things?

- How about European players? There's loads of great players in our very own EU that seems to get no space whilst the US ones come around on a fairly regular basis.

- The UK luthier scene. It's like the UK motor industry is actually in the hands of successful small manufacturers and the F1, etc racing construction scene. In the UK you can get a brilliant hand made bass for the same price as a production line Musicman ..
One luthier per issue and you'd have enough for at least year.. Why review another Fender (Ford) when you can review a GB (Koenigsegg) and get an insight into the mind and incredible skills of the guy that built it. Leave the Fenders to the guitar mags and their little bits of "bass for guitarists ..."

- "bass notes" style last page where real players have a soapbox.

- The history of individual basses owned by celeb bass players...

- performance questions
- band relationship stuff
- marketing questions
- how about getting a music psychologist from thr orchestral side of things in to talk about team work?
- What about features on preventing back ache (a recent discussion topic on here), RSI, bleeding wrists, finger failure and Alexander Technique for bass players? Ear plugs come up fairly regularly but there's a lot more that a Young/beginner bassist can do to ensure their playing life is not cut short by induced premature physical decay.

How about "what can I get for £300 to get me going. What do I need and how do I get it from eBay?

[silverfoxnik]

Some good suggestions here!

+1 on a bit more content about 'music' as opposed to 'gear'.

Can't help but think that, whatever improvements, new sections are made etc, unless the standard of interviewing & writing improves it just won't get better.

Perhaps there could be a guest reviewer from Basschat writing in BGM every couple of months? Looking at some of the reviews on here, they're just as good.

[MacDaddy]

2nd hand values. I seem to remember a Gear Guide in one of the Guitar mags years ago. It was quite comprehensive, even featuring effects.

[BigRedX]

As I said in the other thread an in-depth look at UK manufacturers/luthiers is essential.

There's a lot to cover: ACG, Eccleshall, Enfield, Fretking (Green Label), GB, Gus, Jaydee, Jim Fleeting, John Birch, Lodestone, Manson, Overwater, Rim, Sei, Shuker, Simon Lee, Status, Street Guitars, Wal (when they re-launch), Zoot. That's 20 and I'm sure I've probably missed at least one that needs to be in this list. At one per issue that's enough to last almost 2 years!

For me the main attraction to any musical instrument magazine is reviews of equipment that isn't easily available so I can decide if it might be worth making the effort to track it down and try it for myself. That doesn't mean expensive gear, just things that aren't on display in nearly every music store where anyone can easily check it out. The exception to this would be instruments that provide exceptional value for money such as the Squier Vintage Modified series from a couple of years ago. So if you can say that for instance a £200 bass is on par with what you would normally expect for 1 1/2 times that price then it's worth including.

Bass players... If they've got something to say and the interviewer can make it an interesting article then I'll read it. Personally I have eclectic tastes in music that I don't expect to see covered in the musical instrument press, and I'm more interested in the whole song rather than just the bass line, so bass players who are also writers have more to tell me, but so long as the article is informative and articulate I'll enjoy it even if the music isn't what I'd normally listen to.

The tuition and song tabs are of little interest to me personally. If I want to learn a particular song I'll listen to the track and work it out for myself. I also think that there's little point in capturing every nuance of the original performance unless all you're going to go is play along with track by yourself. Because the bassline lies the melody and the rhythm together, if the other musicians you play with make changes to either, all of a sudden much of what you've painstakingly worked out is no longer appropriate.

What would be more useful would be articles about how to make money out of playing bass. Teaching, Covers Bands, Tribute Bands, Depping etc. There's plenty of people on these forums who do all of this stuff on a regular basis and some of them make a full time living out of it. Lets find out how! Also a hard-hitting up-to-date look the business side for originals bands Pro and cons of all the different organisations and what they should be able to do for you. Do you even need to go the traditional record company route these days?

Food for thought I hope.

[OldGit]

Also a "Agony Aunt/uncle" column for tekkie questions.
Common things like how the effects chain should be arranged and other things we cover in the WIKI here, and on the BC tech forum.
These things are sometimes included as side bars but a few questions per issue, reproduced on the website, could make for a valuable resource

[acidbass]

[quote name='deaver' post='452370' date='Apr 2 2009, 01:03 PM']Improve the proofing. I could do a small amount for free, we're at the outer limits of my philanthropy here though.[/quote]

+1. I'm a real stickler for proper spelling and grammar, and would definitely give you a hand with it if need be.

I don't read BGM that often, but some other suggestions from me for any good bass mag IMO would include:

- A GOOD contents section
- More gear reviews (some just don't have enough)
- Reviews of pedals, cables, tuners etc as well as amps and basses
- Transcriptions of popular tunes
- Bassists Wanted/Available

...and would have less of:

- interviews with left-field players
- transcriptions of left-field tunes

The reason why I've included the above two points is that I think any mainstream bass mag should include mostly mainstream coverage. An interview with MeShell Swallow once in a while is great, but when I read a magazine filled full of interviews of bassists I've never even heard of, it does put me off buying the next one somewhat.