Would You be interested in a modern "STEEL GUITAR MAGAZ

Jeff Metz Jr. · From: York, Pennsylvania, USA

I am just curious as to why there isn't a pedal steel equivalent to say, Guitar player mag, or Guitar World?
Would you purchase a magazine with featured licks, signal flow diagrams, biographies, adverts, etc?
I would!
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Mike Perlowin · From: Los Angeles CA

It's been tried 3 times already, and all 3 attempts ended in failure.
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Douglas Schuch · From: Valencia, Philippines

Jeff, I think it is very viable, but not as a print magazine (those days are dying for nearly all publishers). Instead, it could be done as an online magazine. And, I think to work, you would have to give it away for free, and make the money selling advertising. Now, the potential audience is not that big, and you have to convince advertisers that the money they spend on ads will be earned back in increased sales (that is the concept, after all). So, in short, you will not get rich publishing it. But then, perhaps that was not your idea?

Content (forgive me if I discuss the obvious, as I am a newbie and never saw any of the earlier ones). Here is some things I'd like to see:

Obviously, we'd all like to see interviews with some of the big names playing pedal steel, including perhaps some tab for some signature licks, or recent ideas.

Perhaps interview with builders. Now, there is not that much variation in how steels are built, but it would be a chance for each builder to explain how he feels he differs from the others - his unique solutions. It gives them a chance to pitch their instruments to their buyers. There are so many builders that I know very little about, and many of us can not make it to the steel shows to check them all out.

Being online, of course, you are not limited to just text and photos. You could have sound clips that go with each issue - perhaps a track from a new album featuring steel, along with an interview with that player or band. I know Peewee Charles recently provided links to several songs off the new album by The Western Swing Authority. It would be great if there was also an interview of him, and some discussion of the band, its history, the background on some of these songs. I think it would only increase potential sales.

One other idea comes to mind: our history. There is a lot of steel history in the lives and memories of some of the older members of the community. It will disappear with them if there is not an effort made to preserve it. This would be particularly helpful if, again, a song or two that are no longer available where provided, but that could be difficult to arrange.

Of course, there are other smaller ideas: where to hear live steel (band performances), maybe either a monthly review, or a regular list of informative sites about steel (I occasionally discover new ones, usually from a mention here on the forum).

So, there you go! When is the first issue going to be published?

Doug
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Jack Stoner · From: Kansas City, MO

As Mike has pointed out its been tried several times and ended up in failure. There is not enough people to subscribe and make a specialized publication such as this go.

And, many print media publications have ceased or getting ready to cease publication and go on-line digital only.

But even that would be a limited audience venture.

Darrell Birtcher · Posted 9 Jan 2013 3:56 am

I'd sure like to have something like this. I think a digital only version may be viable. Sign me up!

Ken Byng · From: Southampton, England

Those well-intentioned people who did try running steel guitar publications, including the great Tom Bradshaw, lost money trying to do so. Crying or Very sad

Printing and delivery costs just make it not feasible at the demand levels that steel guitarists would generate. I doubt whether an on-line magazine could generate any more information than what is available on this forum.

We need to make sure that b0b always has enough funding to keep this site going, along with those who run other similar sites around the world.
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Mike Kowalik · From: San Antonio,Texas

A magazine is not needed.....the Forum can be the source for all steel guitar info........
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Jim Cohen · From: Philadelphia, PA

Roger Rettig · From: Naples, FL

The Forum is in effect a kind of 'rolling magazine' in itself. Thanks to the internet we've become accustomed to the instant communication of data - some important, some not-so-important ('Entertainment Tonight'?) - so a magazine which takes weeks to prepare and get to market has less and less relevance.

Tom's publication - sadly only six issues, but they're still, I believe, available right here on the SGF - was in my opinion well and away the best of the three; a high production value and worthy of a place on our shelves even today.

I am only grudgingly being dragged into the present day: I don't want 'downloads' and prefer CDs that I can hold and digest sleeve-notes as I listen, but even I can see that launching any sort of new publication in paper form would be doomed to failure. I've even stopped my subscription to 'Vintage Guitar', although I still get 'Classic Trains' (US railroads of the Golden Era) and 'Classic Bus' (same sort of thing but it's archicve stuff on UK bus fleets), but these two publications are more like retrospective studies of yesteryear and not subject to topicality.

Most steel builders have web-sites as do many top-line players so I fear that we've seen the past of steel guitar being represented by the printed word.
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Jerry Overstreet · From: Louisville Ky

I like print magazines. I still leaf through all my old GP issues and the big stack of steel guitar mags from all 3 publications. Even the Pedal Rod newsletters from Jeff, the ones from Bob Maickel's organization along with bits and pieces of other steel info publications.

Still, it's a big risk for anyone to undertake for the steel guitar community. As stated, past history would indicate a comprehensive work dedicated to steel guitars just doesn't seem to have the support it needs to survive from it's target group. ....and that's a shame.

But yes, I'd give it my wholehearted support if someone was up to the challenge.

CrowBear Schmitt · From: Ariege, - PairO'knees, - France

The Mother Ship here as well as all the resources on the Net are overwhelming & useful
nope, i'm not interested in a mag

Ray Thomas · From: Goldsboro North Carolina

Bob might set up a section entitled ??????, just thinking out loud, although probably much of the info wanted is already on the forum, just takes a little digging.
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Len Amaral · From: Rehoboth,MA 02769

For myself, the Forum allows me to pick up tips in a unique way to improve my approach to playing. Consider the "old school" way that steel players would not share information as they came about it the hard way and would keep it to themselves. Case in point, when I first wanted to learn I boulght a Mark I build it yourself kit for $150.00 from guitar player magazine and asked a local player for some help and few tips. His response "I don't give out that information"

What a change 35 years, computors and a community of great people can make. I wish we did have a steel magazine with interviews, product reviews and advertisments to view. I use to get Guitar Player Magazine for years but the format
is shred and over the top rock and no longer interests me. Oh well, it is what it is!

Lenny

Daniel McKee · From: Corinth Mississippi

I would be interested in seeing a steel magazine.I realize the forum is a great source of information but I like magazines so I would for sure like to see something like this.Like someone mentioned above this has been tried several times and just never really made it.

Richard Sinkler · From: aka: Rusty Strings -- Missoula, Montana

I had to buy a laptop with WiFi so I could read the forum in the bathroom. Magazines are much easier, believe me.
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Don Sulesky · From: Citrus County, FL, Orig. from MA & NH

I think in today's world the Forum is the best thing going as more info can be hashed around than you could fill in a magazine.
I have all the old issues from Tom Bradshaw.
They were (are) the best there ever was) and all 42 issues of Guitar World, but I would not buy any new proposed mag today because the last one tried didn't even get off the ground and those who put their money down, lost it.
Today's new players want everything now and don't like to wait.
Case in point I teach steel and they want to skip over the basics and just learn songs.
I ask them "how would you play along with your friends if you won't bother to learn the chords"? I get a blank stare.
New players today should try and listen to the older Nashville players, many who have past away.
Bobbe Seymour's latest Newsletter says it all.
Many have no idea who they are. Very sad. Sad

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Joey Ace · From: Hamilton, Ontario, Canada

I hope everyone's aware of the "new old stock" Steel Guitarist mags available in the Forum Store.

http://www.steelguitarshopper.com/categories/Books-%26-Magazines/

All six issues for $20 is a fantastic bargain.

Sadly, I agree that a new mag would fail. We've been thru that at least three times.

Ransom Beers · Posted 12 Jan 2013 6:26 am

plus ya cain't wipe yer butt on a laptop

Richard Sinkler · From: aka: Rusty Strings -- Missoula, Montana

Frank Freniere · From: The First Coast

If you're hankerin' (or jonesin') for something tangible and of value, let's not forget the monthly PSGA Newsletter.

Larry Whaley · From: Ohio, USA

Granted, the forum is a great source of information, but it does little to help a beginner.
For ex; I am still trying to figure out chords with knee levers. Pedals are covered, but knee levers are not. LKLR, LKLL, etc.... I know there are associated chords, but what are they?
Most forum info is over the head of the beginner (such as myself)so charts with where the chords are for knee levers (or something to that effect) would benefit the beginner.

Donny Hinson · From: Glen Burnie, Md. U.S.A.

It's simply a question of numbers. There's not enough steel players to make a print magazine profitable. Numbers sorta go against a web-zine, too, as there's far more free info on the 'net than any single web site could come up with. Just like there's stuff on the web that doesn't interest me, there would also be stuff in a web-zine that wouldn't interest me.

It would be foolish to pay for a little entertainment, knowledge, or instruction when so much more is out there for free. Neutral

Bob Blair · From: Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

Tom Bradshaw's excellent magazine did not survive. That was a sad loss for us, and I'm sure it was a difficult time for Tom. But what happened with the next two efforts was not just failure - the people who tried to appear to have been hurt very badly. It was disastrous. I found it heart-wrenching to watch, but I can't imagine what it was like for the people involved. Ultimately they were unable to continue delivering the product, and that led to all kinds of hard feelings. But the reality was, to my mind, it just wasn't a viable proposition. You can't continue to put out a quality product with just volunteer writers and advertisers that can't, because they are very small in the scheme of the World, afford to pay. All I can say to anyone who thinks this would be a good project to undertake is don't do it. Really. Don't even think about it.

Dave Hopping · From: Aurora, Colorado

In the best of all possible worlds I'd love to see it and I'd subscribe in a heartbeat,but marketplace reality is what it is,and what I wouldn't like to see is marketplace reality taking another shot at one of us.+1 on what Roger,Crowbear,and others say about the SGF.It's Liberty Hall and Australian SGF'ers can tell you the rest of the quote : Winking

Louie Hallford · From: denison tx

Without a doubt,no one that I know of,has made a greater effort than Tom Bradshaw to promote steel guitar (in print)with his outstanding Steel Guitarist magazine. Not only that, but his producing many 33 rpm records of many of the greats,some now gone ,some still alive. I personally feel his cost vastly exceeded the returns from the sell of a few hundred LP's which are classic and very professionally done. Many, if not most, are probably still available through the SteelGuitar forum.

If you want to save a piece of history I reccomend them. Our forum Boss ,Bob no doubt has a good supply on his shelves

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