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 Cover of the December 2024 issue, featuringGibson Les Paul Junior | |
| Editor | Jamie Dickson |
|---|---|
| Categories | Music |
| Frequency | Monthly |
| Publisher | Future plc |
| Total circulation (2024) | 14,000 |
| Founded | 1984 |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Based in | Bath |
| Language | English |
| Website | www |
| ISSN | 0953-7023 |
| OCLC | 44012331 |
Guitarist is a British monthly music-making magazine published byFuture plc. First published in 1984, It is the longest-established European guitar-player magazine, and is currently the biggest-selling guitar magazine in theUK. The current editor Jamie Dickson, has had the position since late 2013. Each issue covers three areas: reviews, interview and technique. This may include reviews of newly released guitars, amplifiers and other equipment; interviews with famous and up-and-coming guitar players; and features on the guitar industry, news articles, playing technique withtablature.Guitarist's slogan was previously "The Guitar Player's Bible", before changing in 2012 to "The Guitar Magazine".
A prominent feature ofGuitarist is the detailed gear reviews section, which is produced by some of the most respected and experienced guitar writers in the world, including Dave Burrluck, Neville Marten and Mick Taylor. The segment hosts guitar equipment reviews of both major and boutique manufacturers from around the world. As well aselectric guitars andacoustic guitars, the magazine also reviewsguitar amplifiers,effects pedals,electric basses and various pro-audio and recording equipment applicable to guitar players.
Gear reviews within the magazine comprise two distinct elements. First Play reviews are located near the front of the magazine and generally focus on high-end products. These reviews place an emphasis on the high-quality, artisticphotography the magazine prides itself on, but often do not contain the same level of detail as reviews elsewhere inGuitarist.
The second type of review featured in the magazine are the Feature Reviews, located in the back half of each issue. These reviews are highly detailed, and may include behind-the-scenes interviews or an exploration of theinstrument's history.
Where applicable, all the gear reviewed inGuitarist is accompanied by a video demonstration of that product, produced by the magazine's in-house team and often featuring the reviewer. These videos are either a simple demonstration of the product's features, or a short piece of original music created using the product. Occasionally, the magazine includes a talking-head discussion about the featured guitar between members of theGuitarist team, with example performances interspersed throughout. These video demos were previously accessed via theGuitarist CD/DVD, or the onlineGuitarist Vault download archive. From 2014, however, the video demos have been available as a private YouTube playlist, accessed via a direct link printed in each issue.
In addition to gear reviews, each issue also features an in-depth Q&A section, where reader's technical queries and problems are answered by Guitarist's experts, as well as a long-term test section, where members of theGuitarist team take recently reviewed products on a six-month trial to see how they feature in the real world.
Guitarist has focused primarily onblues,folk andclassic rock andmetal when it comes to interviews and features. While that remains its core, in recent years, the title has broadened its scope to include artists from a wide array of guitar-focused genres, includingalternative rock,modern metal,progressive rock,jazz,country,shred guitar and many others.
Artist interviews inGuitarist are focused on famous or otherwise noteworthy guitar players, and generally have a greater focus on guitars than a typical music magazine. Discussions of the artist's playing style, gear choices and general attitude to the guitar are commonplace. Occasionally, the artist will demonstrate a performance on a guitar, which is then available to view on theGuitarist YouTube channel. Recent artists who have been featured inGuitarist include:Joe Perry,Jimmy Page,Marc Ford,Joe Bonamassa,Charlie Hunter,Jackson Browne,Guthrie Govan,Jim Campilongo,Eric Johnson andSteve Vai.
In addition to artist interviews,Guitarist regularly includes feature stories on a specific guitarist, guitar or musical genre. Past examples of these features include histories of:Brian May's guitar, 'The Red Special',David Gilmour's guitar, 'BlackStratocaster', variousblues legends,slide guitar, theFender Stratocaster, and theGibsonLes Paul.
Guitarist has previously included a large technique section at the rear of the magazine with columns reflecting a wide array of different guitar styles, however, this has in recent years been reduced to a single regular column, the long-running Blues Headlines with long-timeGuitar Techniques andGuitarist contributor Richard Barrett.
Though the magazine now features fewer monthly technique columns, 'style files' have been introduced to the technique section. These style files are often focused on an artist interview or history feature, and are designed to allow the reader to learn the playing style of the artist or genre featured therein. An example of this is the 'Aces' feature, which covers various famous electric guitar players. The feature comprises a history of the artist's life and contribution to guitar music, which is then followed by a style file encapsulating his key innovations and stylistic techniques.
All tuition content in the magazine is accompanied bytablature of each lesson or example, as well as video and audio content, including backing tracks, to make learning easier.
Every monthGuitarist produces pro-level video demos of all of the products reviewed in the magazine that month, as well as video interviews and features with top guitar artists, and audio examples for the Blues Headlines tuition column, and video and audio examples to accompany any other tuition featured in the magazine that month (these regularly include 'play in the style of' columns, as well as video masterclasses with famous guitar players such as Joe Bonamassa).
These videos are available to watch online via the private YouTube playlist link featured in the magazine each month, or if you purchase the iPad version of the magazine, all video and audio content is embedded to watch offline.
Since late-2011,Guitarist has been available to purchase in digital forms - initially only onAppleiPad, but later onAndroid devices,iPhones and theKindle Fire.
Originally, a bespokeGuitarist Deluxe edition of the magazine was produced for the iPad. Launching to coincide with the introduction ofApple Newsstand, it was a fully enhanced digital edition of the magazine, with fully interactive audio and video content, pages specifically designed to be read on the iPad, and various other multimedia features. This was discontinued in late 2012, and the magazine moved to its current page-turner format.
On Android, Kindle and Zinio devices, the digital edition ofGuitarist is a simple digital facsimile of the print product, however, the iOS Newsstand version is enhanced with embedded video and audio content, as well as image galleries.
In addition to the regular magazine,Guitarist produces a number of one-off and semi-regular editions. These have included100 Great Guitar Players,100 Great Guitars,The Guitarist Guide To Effects andThe Guitarist Guide To Home Recording.
In late 2013,Guitarist launched a quarterly sister-title, namedGuitarist Presents Acoustic. As the name suggest, this title provides the same mix of gear reviews, interviews and playing tuition as the primary title, but covers only acoustic guitars and guitar players.
Guitarist was purchased byFuture Publishing fromMusic Maker Publications in 1997, and became part of the company's Music Making portfolio, which included guitar titlesTotal Guitar andGuitar Techniques, as well asRhythm,Future Music,Computer Music and others. From 2008 onward, Future madeGuitarist part of theirMusicRadar website, along with all of the company's other music making website. In January 2020,GuitarWorld.com became the new online home forGuitarist, along with sister titlesTotal Guitar,Guitar Techniques andBass Player.[1]
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