LETTERS
Columnist Kudos
Big thanks to Rich Eckhardt for his column,
America’s Toughest Tour [Shifting Gear, July
2009]. Thanks to Toby Keith, Rich, and the rest
of the band for doing their part to support
the troops. I am retired from the Air National
Guard. I did a short tour of duty in Iraq in 2006.
Work shifts permitting, I tried to go to every
USO concert that was available. As you stated
in your column that you were embarrassed by
the response that you received, you have to
have some idea of how much it means to get
a piece of home brought to you while forward
deployed. We know that you guys risk your lives,
too, by coming out to Iraq and Afghanistan.
Stewart Anderson
We’re proud of Rich, too! And glad that he
could share this unique experience with our
readers. Thanks to you, Stewart, for your service.
It’s an Analog Thing
I was excited when the offer to get your magazine in a digital format for free was made available. I decided to let my print subscription run
out and continue reading your magazine online
where I would save both trees and money. But
I couldn’t. There’s just something about having
your magazine in my hands—flipping and dog-ear’ing the pages, rolling it up in my back pocket
and reading it wherever I am—that makes all
the difference. It’s like playing through modeled
amps and effects through a computer vs. actually stomping on pedals and playing through
organic, analog tubes and speakers. The digital
format offers a lot of compelling bang for your
buck, but for my buck I’d much rather keep it
real. But huge kudos to you for offering both!
And for free! You’re tops.
Dan Coplan
We’re thrilled you think so, Dan. Thanks for
the organic, analog pat on the back!
Ugly, Ugly,
Ugly.
Did anybody really
sign off on that
cover? If PG was
trying to design a
cover to match the
Moderne, then I
commend you on
a job well done.
Everything from
the typography
to color, from
the graphic to the fonts...
hideous. PG has always been a great source
of information for a wide range of players and
enthusiasts. I don’t want to see the design get
left on the wayside though. Musicians are artists,
and as such, we appreciate good design and
aesthetics. Keep up the superior content and
refocus on the design, layout, and of course the
cover. And in parting, please watch those gut-
ters! I’ve broken every spine of PG!
Ryan Souders
Thanks, Ryan, for your feedback. We knew
we were taking a risk with our first illustrated cover for the June, 2009 issue [Moderne
Mythology]; some really dug it, others not
so much. We appreciate good design, too,
but we’re going to keep trying to test the
boundaries (we promise to keep an eye on
those gutters, though). Interesting story
about who signed off on that cover; it turns
out to be something of a mystery. While
it obviously exists, we’ve been unable to
determine whether any original galley
proofs of the Moderne cover were ever
actually produced...
Vintage, Schmintage
As a musician of more years than I care to
remember, more than a few of my musician
friends and I are of the opinion, especially
after attending the many guitar shows that
go through the Philadelphia area, that we
will NEVER EVER spend the kind of money
that these smug, hoity-toity venders put
on these OLD guitars. Notice I didn’t say
vintage (implying their immense tagged
prices). #1: You can’t take a $20,000 Strat
or a $10,000 Les Paul Jr. to a gig for the
obvious reasons. #2: Do they really sound
many thousands of dollars better than
what’s available today for a few thousand
dollars tops?? We think not, for thousands
of reasons. #3: Do you really feel good
when you hand over a small fortune to
some schlub for a relic you can’t use in
public for fear of trouble? Real world working musicians would mostly agree. Vintage,
schmintage. Cool to look at but mostly useless for the intention it was built: PLAYING
IT IN PUBLIC. Musicians aren’t stupid, more
so in this tough economy.
Sal Alfieri
We sent Contributing Editor Adam Moore
to the Chicago Guitar Show to find out if
there’s any hope for working musicians who
are jonesing for vintage gear, and the news
isn’t entirely discouraging. Check out “After
the Fall: the State of the Vintage Guitar
Market” on page 96 of this issue.
Corrections
The Greven 00HB in the photo in July 2009
“On Track” was incorrectly captioned as a
Collings 01.
Keep those
comments
coming!
Keep those comments coming! Please send your suggestions, gripes, comments and
good words directly to
info@premierguitar.com. You can also send snail mail to
Premier Guitar PO Box 127, Mt. Vernon, IA 52314. Please remember
to include your full name. Selected letters may be edited for clarity.
