Hit&Run Posted July 9, 2008 Share Posted July 9, 2008 [quote name='bassfunk' post='235904' date='Jul 9 2008, 05:18 PM']I bought a couple of editions of a Bass Magazine that came with a cd and was U.K based (can't remember the name) but it had loads of transcriptions and tutorials in it and was supposed to be every 3 months but it seemed to just disappear it was a few years ago now but it was really good anyone remember it? How many issues did they do?[/quote] Were they 'Total Guitar' Bass Specials? I've got 3 of them somewhere, and they all came with cover CDs (which is a very good idea). I know Flea and Rob Trujillo were both cover stars. I think they got Roger Newell in to help out with it, which would help make it familiar to old 'Bassist' readers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Dubya Posted July 9, 2008 Share Posted July 9, 2008 [quote name='geilerbass' post='235813' date='Jul 9 2008, 03:58 PM']I miss Bassist. I have every issue. And I haven't bought another bass mag since Bassist stopped. Even though I won a free year's subscription to UK Bass Guitar Magazine at college, I didn't cash it in. I really don't think the others cut it.[/quote] It was a great help to me starting out and no other magazine since has filled the gap. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZMech Posted July 9, 2008 Share Posted July 9, 2008 [quote name='bnt' post='235908' date='Jul 9 2008, 05:25 PM']Why haven't I heard of this before? Their list of writers and contributors is jaw-dropping.[/quote] I'm don't know. I can't really remember how I found it but i think i've almost all of every episode Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Machines Posted July 9, 2008 Share Posted July 9, 2008 I do look forward to BGM - but It does sometimes lack in content. Personally I just like the reviews - i'd be happy if it was 80 pages of bass reviews. Interviews I do read, but don't particularly get in a sweat over. I think they do a good job with it though. The American one is just 100 pages of adverts, i don't bother with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Born 2B Mild Posted July 9, 2008 Share Posted July 9, 2008 [quote name='Zach' post='235882' date='Jul 9 2008, 04:57 PM']I dont bother with proper bass magazines, I do read www.bass-musician-magazine.com though[/quote] It's new to me too ...but thanks to this post, I'm now a (free) subscriber. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EntropicLqd Posted July 9, 2008 Share Posted July 9, 2008 [quote name='Hit&Run' post='235960' date='Jul 9 2008, 06:19 PM']Were they 'Total Guitar' Bass Specials? I've got 3 of them somewhere, and they all came with cover CDs (which is a very good idea). ...[/quote] The "Total Guitar Bass Specials" were fantastic. I only managed to get 2 out of the 4 that they did; but they were outstanding. And the cover CD with the different lines on was superb. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bassfunk Posted July 10, 2008 Share Posted July 10, 2008 [quote name='Hit&Run' post='235960' date='Jul 9 2008, 06:19 PM']Were they 'Total Guitar' Bass Specials? I've got 3 of them somewhere, and they all came with cover CDs (which is a very good idea). I know Flea and Rob Trujillo were both cover stars. I think they got Roger Newell in to help out with it, which would help make it familiar to old 'Bassist' readers.[/quote] Yeah that was the one. I might see if I can dig them out tonight. I have the Rob Trujillo and Flea editions but missed any others. I'd love to get the others. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peted Posted July 10, 2008 Share Posted July 10, 2008 I probably only buy about 3 bass-related magazines a year. I prefer the UK Bass Guitar Magazine because the RRP prices are in Pounds Sterling I get my fill of gear chat and interactions with great players from the people on basschat.co.uk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
6stringbassist Posted July 10, 2008 Share Posted July 10, 2008 [quote name='Machines' post='236003' date='Jul 9 2008, 07:19 PM']I do look forward to BGM - but It does sometimes lack in content. Personally I just like the reviews - i'd be happy if it was 80 pages of bass reviews. Interviews I do read, but don't particularly get in a sweat over. I think they do a good job with it though. The American one is just 100 pages of adverts, i don't bother with it.[/quote] There are ads sure, that's where a lot of the revenue comes from. But the interviews, reviews and features far out number the ads. The UK magazine just seems a bit too amateurish. I've never heard of most of the people they interview, and 98% of those I have heard of I don't particularly want to read about. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aceuggy Posted July 10, 2008 Share Posted July 10, 2008 (edited) I checked out both BGM and the American mag when I first started to play bass, I now subscribe to BGM but I haven't even looked the other one since. That tells you which one I prefer I think! Edited July 10, 2008 by aceuggy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimBobTTD Posted July 10, 2008 Share Posted July 10, 2008 What I'd like to see is "Guitar Buyer" for bass, and perhaps "Guitar and Bass" with more than an afterthought of bass stuff in. But "Bass Buyer" would be the ultimate for me. I would love to subscribe to a bass mag, but I'm yet to find one which isn't 80-85% boring. "Bass Guitar Magazine" was, I found in my trial subsciption, quite good but too thin, too dry and simply not good enough to continue buying. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hamster Posted July 10, 2008 Share Posted July 10, 2008 Agree with most comments above. Too many ads in the USA mags. BGM is more home grown, but reviewers should praise/criticise where due. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZMech Posted July 10, 2008 Share Posted July 10, 2008 [quote name='Born 2B Mild' post='236020' date='Jul 9 2008, 07:41 PM']It's new to me too ...but thanks to this post, I'm now a (free) subscriber.[/quote] Well it's always good to share. There's even an article by my on the london bass solo night recently, as I was bored one night and had nothing to do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marcus Posted July 13, 2008 Author Share Posted July 13, 2008 Thanks for the contribution to the thread...... good debate IMHO - Bass Player it too high brow and aimed at the pro player. (it's only recently they started to include Tab in their transcriptions) From a journalistic perspective I can see why it has it's followers BGM seems a little more broader in it's appeal with plenty content for the hobbyist...... there has been some decent product reviews and profiles but from my point of view plenty of interesting ground not yet covered. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doddy Posted July 13, 2008 Share Posted July 13, 2008 I'm not a huge fan of BGM-I feel that it features too many players from 'minor league'(for want of a better phrase) rock/indie bands for my liking,and has a very strange review policy(i.e letting Stuart Clayton review a GB bass-unbiased? Hardly!) It is also often full of mistakes. I think that Bass Player is a far superior magazine.The interviews are generally better and cover a more diverse range of styles,the gear reviews are better,and the lessons are more in depth(although Janek's column in BGM is great). They also feature more Upright players,which can only be a good thing. And for what it's worth,Bass Player were putting Tab in their Transcriptions when I started reading it in '96. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuart Clayton Posted July 14, 2008 Share Posted July 14, 2008 Hi guys, Although I have absolutely nothing to do with the running of the magazine, it's content, or anything like that, I thought I'd make a few brief points: In retrospect, I totally agree - I shouldn't have reviewed the GB bass. Believe me, I wish I hadn't. I agree with what some of you are saying regarding interviews, in many cases they are a little light on serious bass content for my liking. But then we can only print what the interviewee has to say. I hasten to add that I rarely do interviews, and if I do i focus it around the artist's new album, important moments in their career, what gear they use, their thoughts on various bass-related topics etc etc. Sometimes however, you really do have to nudge them in the right direction! On the review side, the powers that be have made a serious effort in the last 6 months to get the newest gear into the mag. We've had some great stuff to look at recently - The Warwick Hellborg rig - which we then gave away in a competition, the Streamline bass, two new MusicMan basses (for next issue I think) etc etc. If it's new, we get it and review it. If it's brand new, and not in the mag, it's because we tried to get it, and the company didn't send one in time! Regarding reviews, I have never seen a piece of equipment that has been so bad it warrants a truly dreadful review. Most gear these days is well-built and entirely FIT FOR THE PURPOSE IT WAS CREATED FOR. Like I say, MOST gear is good - there have been some bad reviews in the past. In fact, the D'Alegria review in the current issue is far from being a good review. On the transcription side, we've been trying to arrange transcriptions for every issue for over a year now. We have plenty of them done, but in almost every case the licensing is slowing it down. Hopefully that will happen at some point. Incidentally, I love the US Bass Player mag as well, and have all but a few issues. But if you compare the more recent issues with those from say ten years ago, you'll notice that the content has halved, and the advertising now forms the majority of the mag. The current issue of Bass Player is so light on content that it took me less than half an hour to read. Best, Stuart Clayton Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blamelouis Posted July 14, 2008 Share Posted July 14, 2008 Well i must be in the minority here cos i prefer Bass Guitar (UK) its a better read than that yank w*** ! BGM could be better but then so could everything from FC Barcelona to Jeff Berlin. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Brooks Posted July 14, 2008 Share Posted July 14, 2008 [quote name='Marcus' post='238770' date='Jul 13 2008, 09:33 PM']Thanks for the contribution to the thread...... good debate IMHO - Bass Player it too high brow and aimed at the pro player. (it's only recently they started to include Tab in their transcriptions) From a journalistic perspective I can see why it has it's followers BGM seems a little more broader in it's appeal with plenty content for the hobbyist...... there has been some decent product reviews and profiles but from my point of view plenty of interesting ground not yet covered.[/quote] Hi Marcus, Can you give us an idea of what you would like to see referring to "interesting ground not yet covered." Cheers, Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigBeefChief Posted July 14, 2008 Share Posted July 14, 2008 [quote name='Stuart Clayton' post='238929' date='Jul 14 2008, 09:20 AM']Regarding reviews, I have never seen a piece of equipment that has been so bad it warrants a truly dreadful review. Most gear these days is well-built and entirely FIT FOR THE PURPOSE IT WAS CREATED FOR. Like I say, MOST gear is good[/quote] Then the bar has been raised and the reviews should reflect this. Reviews have to be relative to modern manufacturing standards. Perhaps "FIT FOR PURPOSE" isn't good enough any more? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bassket_case Posted July 14, 2008 Share Posted July 14, 2008 [quote name='Stuart Clayton' post='238929' date='Jul 14 2008, 09:20 AM']In retrospect, I totally agree - I shouldn't have reviewed the GB bass. Believe me, I wish I hadn't.[/quote] Why? I thought that GB was stunning! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuart Clayton Posted July 14, 2008 Share Posted July 14, 2008 [quote name='bassket_case' post='238997' date='Jul 14 2008, 10:58 AM']Why? I thought that GB was stunning![/quote] It certainly was stunning. It's just not good practice for me to have reviewed it as I endorse them. Stu Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuart Clayton Posted July 14, 2008 Share Posted July 14, 2008 [quote name='BigBeefChief' post='238978' date='Jul 14 2008, 10:35 AM']Then the bar has been raised and the reviews should reflect this. Reviews have to be relative to modern manufacturing standards. Perhaps "FIT FOR PURPOSE" isn't good enough any more?[/quote] The bar has indeed been raised and the reviews DO reflect this. See the D'Alegria review in the current issue. Stu Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bassket_case Posted July 14, 2008 Share Posted July 14, 2008 [quote name='Stuart Clayton' post='239005' date='Jul 14 2008, 11:11 AM']It certainly was stunning. It's just not good practice for me to have reviewed it as I endorse them. Stu[/quote] Ah. I see - hmm. Tricky. The GB is good though right? I've heard amazing things about them - I'd love to own one of those but I can't imagine me having the money any time soon! I've just read the D'Alegria review. Ouch. Just a comment about the mag - could we see an upright bass section soon.. or a shootout of electric upright basses? I know nothing about them and would be intrigued to see something as there doesn't seem to be a lot of information out there. I can't recall ever reading a review or article about them in a bass mag? (Apart from that cardboard box one!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mybass Posted July 14, 2008 Share Posted July 14, 2008 [quote name='Zach' post='235882' date='Jul 9 2008, 04:57 PM']I dont bother with proper bass magazines, I do read www.bass-musician-magazine.com though[/quote] Thanks for putting this link in, I'd never seen this site before. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toasted Posted July 14, 2008 Share Posted July 14, 2008 [quote name='Born 2B Mild' post='235724' date='Jul 9 2008, 02:17 PM']I do like being exposed to bass players I've never heard of if they have touched the walls, but Charlotte who????[/quote] Lakland endorsed. First airtime given by John Peel RIP Produced by Ian Broudie Mainstage Glastonbury this year, Lollapolloza, Leeds and Reading, T in the park Oasis support at City of Manchester gigs Foo Fighters / Stereophonics / Taking Back Sunday / Angels and Airwaves support slots and year long US tour On Conan O'Brien's show 5 top 25 singles Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.