Are Electric Guitars Dying A Slow Death?

[Mincer]

Re: Are Electric Guitars Dying A Slow Death?

Yes, but at what cost? At what cost?

The price is too high for me. So I just do what I do. It is strange, weird, and not many people 'get' it, but I have a blast.

[zionstrat]

Re: Are Electric Guitars Dying A Slow Death?

I love this thread!

By profession, I plan software products that can meet user needs for decades, however the only way to stay relevant is to regularly upgrade product, messaging and business development to meet current user needs.

From that perspective, much of the music industry (classic labels are a good example) have been behind the curve for 30+ years and many classic brands (Gibson) are struggling to remain relevant in the big picture-

In the same direction, it was clear that everything would change when no cost sampling opened the door to stealing everything from drum groves to modeled amps, guitars and FX chains.

It doesn't matter how this happened, the point is any 12 year old, with a loop production package can put together songs that are readily accepted by music audiences.

And that is the point- As much as we may argue about how we got here, the level of quality or the decrease in musicianship, most of the general public, the average listener, are happy with some version of the final products that are available practically everywhere.

But that doesn't mean the game is over- remember the collapse of the family farm 15 years ago? Have you noticed all of the boutique, green, specialist farms that grew up to fill the void? Customer driven and value ad are not buzz words- It's the way that products and industries become (or remain) relevant.

So if you want to remain a relevant electric guitarist, rethink everything you know from the customer perspective-

Here's a great example- Listen, really listen to the following-

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Fi4T-yR8tM

• Sampled, grove based pop
• Compressed, volume optimized,
• it's pretty much the opposite of Boston 1976

And then consider the space and room this guitarist has maximized-

• Arpeggios, clean, crunch
• He gets it all into this tight little indie song.
• I bet he is loving what he is doing.

Now put the Boston/Led Zep or Metalica history aside for a minute-

If your audience is pop rock and you are a guitarist, doesn't this song fill a similar niche to Blood and Roses from 1986?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vqML7WbOun8

As always, it takes a lot of talent and luck to make money in music. But if you rethink potential audiences and your role, I think we all can remain very relevant.

What do you guys think? Is customer-centrist too much of a 'sell out' for you?

[Vasshu the humanoid typhoon]

Re: Are Electric Guitars Dying A Slow Death?

Times are changing....
It is a niche thing.
Acoustics are plentyful these days...so the guitar is just going back to what it was.

I don't even listen to much guitar oriented music anymore!
All the Zappa's and alikes are gone...what is the point?

[Darg1911]

Re: Are Electric Guitars Dying A Slow Death?

It's why I don't pile on the criticizing of players who actually are doing their part to keep the instrument relevant. Insert you favorite whipping boy (or girl) here ____

[Vasshu the humanoid typhoon]

Re: Are Electric Guitars Dying A Slow Death?

Guthrie Govan...instant sleep pill....mebbe he uses da klun?

[treyhaislip]

Re: Are Electric Guitars Dying A Slow Death?

Guthrie Govan...instant sleep pill....mebbe he uses da klun?

[Vasshu the humanoid typhoon]

Re: Are Electric Guitars Dying A Slow Death?

Yeah really....haha he puts me to sleep instantly.

[treyhaislip]

Re: Are Electric Guitars Dying A Slow Death?

Yeah really....haha he puts me to sleep instantly.

His playing or his talking?

[Vasshu the humanoid typhoon]

Re: Are Electric Guitars Dying A Slow Death?

...Oh he talks as well.....mindboggeling...
Haha nah he is just not my cup of tea!

[wmachine]

Re: Are Electric Guitars Dying A Slow Death?

I never buy new guitars. There's millions of great used guitars for half the price! That might be why new guitar sales are down.

56 posts into this thread before some mentioned this. Guitars are generally not a consumable like cars and cell phones, for example. So what is the concern about new sales being down? How much are they really down world-wide? This death of guitars is greatly exaggerated......by those that can only think in consumer-istic measures.

Well. There is always the underground.

Yes, but without even being that obscure, guitars can still flourish in the mainstream without being "featured" in the most promoted Pop music of the moment.

Well, there are probably less clarinet players than, say 90 years ago. Popular music has changed. I think you are right about country, though, as much as I can't stand it (unless you are talking about Chet Atkins/Albert Lee/Dixie Dregs country). It is the only popular music that still has guitar. It also attracts women, too.

Okay, this is a response that puts it all in perspective. Clarinet dead? No. I played a bassoon years ago. Just recently I saw a new one on sale (granted a high quality one) for $28,000.00. But it did have a $100 mail in rebate, so I guess the death bell tolls there too.
So past its peak in popularity? Probably, but even that's debatable.
Dying? Hell no.

[treyhaislip]

Re: Are Electric Guitars Dying A Slow Death?

...Oh he talks as well.....mindboggeling...
Haha nah he is just not my cup of tea!

To each his/her own...I don't care for his music but I appreciate his amazing guitar playing.

[Vasshu the humanoid typhoon]

Re: Are Electric Guitars Dying A Slow Death?

Loads of other who plays fantastic(and far more interesting stuff), dunno why this guitarplaying world suffers from so much tunnel vision?

[Obsessive Compulsive]

Re: Are Electric Guitars Dying A Slow Death?

I don't know...Wham! never used electric guitar as far as I can remember. Neither did Whitney Houston, ABBA, Janet Jackson, Elton John, or Milli Vanilli (the real as well the fake one)...so...no, electric guitar isn't dying. Did Bee Gees play guitar?

[BriGuy1968]

Re: Are Electric Guitars Dying A Slow Death?

I don't know...Wham! never used electric guitar as far as I can remember. Neither did Whitney Houston, ABBA, Janet Jackson, Elton John, or Milli Vanilli (the real as well the fake one)...so...no, electric guitar isn't dying. Did Bee Gees play guitar?

Yes, The Bee Gees played guitar... or at least one of them did!

Whitney Houston and Janet Jackson are strictly vocalists, usually backed up live by a large band that nobody notices, but you can bet there's an electric guitar in there somewhere. ABBA was more of a folk/pop thing and I'm sure was probably more prone to use acoustic guitar.

Elton John... Saturday Night's All Right for Fighting comes immediately to mind, and I can hear some others in my memory that I can't quite identify yet (and I'm not really in the mood to dig into identifying them at the moment). Despite being a piano guy, Elton didn't mind using electric guitar one iota.

As for Wham! and Milli Vanilli... who f***ing cares?

Of course you can find bands that didn't utilize electric guitar, but there were also plenty of 70s and 80s pop bands that did... in fact I'd go as far as to say MOST of them. Today's rock is pretty much limited to metal, and that's sort of what people think of when considering how a guitar might be used for modern music, but at that time electric guitars were common in every popular genre. The electric guitar is actually an extremely versatile instrument that is good for sooooo much more than just metal! [emoji12]

[beaubrummels]

Re: Are Electric Guitars Dying A Slow Death?

Not being popular is not the same as dying. It just means now we can get all the fakes, phonies and wannabes out of the picture while the true lifelong guitar players continue on.