The slow secret death of the electric guitar

[custom55]

https://pilotonline.com/entertainment/music/the-slow-secret-death-of-the-electric-guitar-and-why/article_04ccc8ca-b36f-548d-950f-d538eeb36e98.html Edited June 27, 2017 by custom55

[The Analog Grownup]

I don't worry, it'll come back around.

[HemiBeers]

https://pilotonline....38eeb36e98.html

There's alot of truth in that article. There's not as many younger kids that want to put the time and effort into getting really good. And modern 'new' music de-emphasizes the guitar and solos.

 

That Gibson idea of the self-tuning guitar is f***ing stupid. Go buy a $20 tuner if you're tone deaf.

Edited June 27, 2017 by HemiBeers

[ReRushed]

No worries here. It might actually end up being a good thing.

[Ancient Ways]

50% click bait 50% truth. Guitar sales will flatten but not die a slow, secret death. Some companies will obviously not survive it and there may be consolidation. I don't see the guitar tuner built into Gibsons to be an issue. We don't insist piano players become experts at tuning pianos so why insist on it with guitar players? Playing in tune consistently is the number one way the ear develops, not tuning your guitar every day. I can't wait for the next wave of popular guitar oriented music. We had the chuck berry era, the blues hero era, aor era, punk era, metal era, hair rock era, grunge era, etc.... There's still great young bands playing guitar now. Just not in top 40.

[thirteen]

We don't insist piano players become experts at tuning pianos so why insist on it with guitar players?

I have watched a piano tuner at work. Looked a lot more complicated than tuning up my Strat if I'm honest.

 

 

There's not as many younger kids that want to put the time and effort into getting really good.

Instant gratification. Sadly it's the way of the world now.

[Presto-digitation]

I don't worry, it'll come back around.

 

Yup. If the oboe is still around I don't worry about the guitar.

[Ancient Ways]

We don't insist piano players become experts at tuning pianos so why insist on it with guitar players?

I have watched a piano tuner at work. Looked a lot more complicated than tuning up my Strat if I'm honest.

 

 

There's not as many younger kids that want to put the time and effort into getting really good.

Instant gratification. Sadly it's the way of the world now.

Agreed on the piano and strat

 

[Lucas]

Bullshit

 

There are more guitar heroes now than there have been since the boom of the 1980s .. And the generalization that younger people lack interest is just not accurate .. Music, like most art, goes in cycles, with certain generations tiring of what is current and digging back thru old styles that might now seem fresh ( ie The Stray Cats in the 80s, The Struts today, etc )

 

There are videos on youtube that kids make that blow my mind - guitar and drums especially ..

 

I think that with each generation of guitar heroes, the bar gets set higher, which is also something to consider

 

And with eBay and all the other markets that make it easy to sell used gear, that would account for some of the drop-off with the sales of new instruments ....

Edited June 28, 2017 by Lucas

[Crimsonmistymemory]

The Universe is cyclic by nature and history always repeats itself...

[Xanadoood]

EDM has taken over. It's the go to music for millennials. Guitar heroes are a thing of the past.

 

And when you think about it, what else is there to innovate on the guitar? From Hendrix to VH to Vai to Malmsteen.. what haven't we seen?

[Lucas]

EDM has taken over. It's the go to music for millennials. Guitar heroes are a thing of the past.

 

And when you think about it, what else is there to innovate on the guitar? From Hendrix to VH to Vai to Malmsteen.. what haven't we seen?

 

I disagree, and even if some kids are into EDM, there are some talented young people performing ...

 

But I see kids doing things on the rock and roll instruments better than ever before - which does lead to your next point ..

 

Does a hero have to be innovative ?? ... I think having your own style that fits within a previously taken road is enough .. Was SRV all that innovative when compared to EVH ??

 

I see the problem more with the difficultly making money playing music and the lack of backing from record companies ( who ? ) - this is what drove the music business ..

 

There are great guitar heroes making music, and it is up to the fans to support them - in fact, the problem may not lie with the kids or the artists, but with the people who are needed to drive the business

Edited June 28, 2017 by Lucas

[Your_Lion]

I don't worry, it'll come back around.

Yeah, didn't some company pass up on signing the Beatles because "Guitar music is dead"...what followed was the start of probably the greatest era of guitar music

[The Analog Grownup]

I don't worry, it'll come back around.

 

Yup. If the oboe is still around I don't worry about the guitar.

 

Exactly. Just like the violin is an essential instrument, so is the electric guitar. It will never go away. Heck, you still have Claves. What good are those?

[HemiBeers]

I don't worry, it'll come back around.

 

Yup. If the oboe is still around I don't worry about the guitar.

 

Exactly. Just like the violin is an essential instrument, so is the electric guitar. It will never go away. Heck, you still have Claves. What good are those?

Of course guitar will never go away, it's simply not as prevalent as it used to be. You can't deny the financial scoreboard of the music industry. Record companies have gone bust. Guitar Center, Gibson and Fender are deep in debt (per the article). Why? Because no one is paying for music or buying as many instruments. I can't remember the last 'new' rock band that I got excited about...they all are sounding like derivatives of other bands. Even if some band caught my interest, they probably go bust after 2-3 albums after realizing they can't make money.

 

Also, in terms of gear sales it's really easy to get a decent 10-20 year old guitar for cheap on Craigslist. Guitars don't wear out if you take care of them. So buying new is pretty much an impulse buy. Even if you want new, the cheaper 'squire' or 'epiphone' level guitars are fine for the basement diddler...and there's no profit margin in selling those.

 

When I drive by my local Guitar Center they have large posters in the windows of the classic 'guitar heros'. Old guy, old guy, dead guy, old guy. I think we're facing a time similar to pre-rock n roll where the old big band and jazzers started to fade away.

[EagleMoon]

There are so few instrumentalists coming up to replace the older ones who are retiring or dying off. I can't think of any new original guitarist that has made impression in music in the past 5 years.

[Xanadoood]

I don't worry, it'll come back around.

 

Yup. If the oboe is still around I don't worry about the guitar.

 

Exactly. Just like the violin is an essential instrument, so is the electric guitar. It will never go away. Heck, you still have Claves. What good are those?

Of course guitar will never go away, it's simply not as prevalent as it used to be. You can't deny the financial scoreboard of the music industry. Record companies have gone bust. Guitar Center, Gibson and Fender are deep in debt (per the article). Why? Because no one is paying for music or buying as many instruments. I can't remember the last 'new' rock band that I got excited about...they all are sounding like derivatives of other bands. Even if some band caught my interest, they probably go bust after 2-3 albums after realizing they can't make money.

 

Also, in terms of gear sales it's really easy to get a decent 10-20 year old guitar for cheap on Craigslist. Guitars don't wear out if you take care of them. So buying new is pretty much an impulse buy. Even if you want new, the cheaper 'squire' or 'epiphone' level guitars are fine for the basement diddler...and there's no profit margin in selling those.

 

When I drive by my local Guitar Center they have large posters in the windows of the classic 'guitar heros'. Old guy, old guy, dead guy, old guy. I think we're facing a time similar to pre-rock n roll where the old big band and jazzers started to fade away.

 

That's a good point about big band guys. My dad was a jazzer big band wedding guy back in the 50s/ early 60s.. business was good up until the Beatles arrived. The shift was noticeable.. big band just wasn't cool anymore.

[fraroc]

I think this is just another "rock is dead/is not dead" debate under the guise of the instrument itself.

[Your_Lion]

There are so few instrumentalists coming up to replace the older ones who are retiring or dying off. I can't think of any new original guitarist that has made impression in music in the past 5 years.

That's because I haven't been discovered yet ;)... :(

[EagleMoon]

There are so few instrumentalists coming up to replace the older ones who are retiring or dying off. I can't think of any new original guitarist that has made impression in music in the past 5 years.

That's because I haven't been discovered yet ;)... :(

 

So get off your butt and get out there. :P

[Oracle]

This article is so full of shit. Such a shame that journalism has sunken to sensationalism. Oh no, guitar sales over the course of 10 years went from 1.5 million to ONLY 1 million? Gosh, how will Fender and Gibson recover from such a devastating blow? And this "guitar hero" stuff is really a crock of bull as well. What defines a "guitar hero", anyway? It's too ambiguous of a way to describe the differences between a good and a bad player. Music in the modern age is subjectively good or bad; you can't have concrete barriers separating between good and bad.

 

Another thing I don't get is why people feel the need to lay into my generation for creating EDM. If I remember correctly, most parents of the mid 20th century didn't exactly approve of the music most of their kids listened to for a variety of reasons. Generational gaps like that are unique to the time period they're most prevalent in. The shift from electric guitar to electronic instrumentation in such a short amount of time is, to me at least, an amazing advancement in how technology has helped bring about more creativity in my generation. From what I see, millennials, almost by nature, are not the most creative people. I don't know why, but I suspect the millennial mindset has a lot to do with it. That doesn't mean that all millennials who are musicians - such as myself - can't be creative or appreciate the work that goes into making art of any kind. I think it's just another case of "You damn kids, get off my lawn" syndrome that is prevalent among the older population, which is totally fine. If you don't want to make the effort to discover new music that might interest you, then the onus is on you, not anybody else. And it's certainly not the onus of the supposed lack of "guitar heroes".

[Lucas]

I think it's just another case of "You damn kids, get off my lawn" syndrome that is prevalent among the older population, which is totally fine. If you don't want to make the effort to discover new music that might interest you, then the onus is on you, not anybody else. And it's certainly not the onus of the supposed lack of "guitar heroes".

 

I posted this thread a while back - it touches on what you wrote Oracle

 

http://www.therushforum.com/index.php?/topic/102268-music-lovers-who-reject-new-music/page__hl__%2Bmusic+%2Blovers+%2Bmusic

 

I had a recent conversation with the friend I mentioned in the thread, and all I can say is that the rejection of new music goes deeper than one might first think ..

 

Again, he brought up the BS of "They don't write songs like that anymore" .. When I asked him what his Top 5 albums of the past year were, he snickered and said that he hasn't bought or listened to anything new in 20 years ... When I asked him "Then how do you know that there is nothing good ?" he was silent ..

Edited June 30, 2017 by Lucas

[EagleMoon]

I think it's just another case of "You damn kids, get off my lawn" syndrome that is prevalent among the older population, which is totally fine. If you don't want to make the effort to discover new music that might interest you, then the onus is on you, not anybody else. And it's certainly not the onus of the supposed lack of "guitar heroes".

 

I posted this thread a while back - it touches on what you wrote Oracle

 

http://www.therushforum.com/index.php?/topic/102268-music-lovers-who-reject-new-music/page__hl__%2Bmusic+%2Blovers+%2Bmusic

 

I had a recent conversation with the friend I mentioned in the thread, and all I can say is that the rejection of new music goes deeper than one might first think ..

 

Again, he brought up the BS of "They don't write songs like that anymore" .. When I asked him what his Top 5 albums of the past year were, he snickered and said that he hasn't bought or listened to anything new in 20 years ... When I asked him "Then how do you know that there is nothing good ?" he was silent ..

 

I remember that thread. I don't think he had much of a basis for comparison if he hasn't heard it. Music is much less guitar driven now than it was in the 70's-90's. Especially what's popular. All you have to do is turn on any top 40 radio to hear that

[Xanadoood]

I think it's just another case of "You damn kids, get off my lawn" syndrome that is prevalent among the older population, which is totally fine. If you don't want to make the effort to discover new music that might interest you, then the onus is on you, not anybody else. And it's certainly not the onus of the supposed lack of "guitar heroes".

 

I posted this thread a while back - it touches on what you wrote Oracle

 

http://www.therushforum.com/index.php?/topic/102268-music-lovers-who-reject-new-music/page__hl__%2Bmusic+%2Blovers+%2Bmusic

 

I had a recent conversation with the friend I mentioned in the thread, and all I can say is that the rejection of new music goes deeper than one might first think ..

 

Again, he brought up the BS of "They don't write songs like that anymore" .. When I asked him what his Top 5 albums of the past year were, he snickered and said that he hasn't bought or listened to anything new in 20 years ... When I asked him "Then how do you know that there is nothing good ?" he was silent ..

 

I remember that thread. I don't think he had much of a basis for comparison if he hasn't heard it. Music is much less guitar driven now than it was in the 70's-90's. Especially what's popular. All you have to do is turn on any top 40 radio to hear that

 

It's not the driving force behind what's popular or cool, like it was back in the day. I've worked with my share of younger folks, and although they may have " rock " music in their musical rotation, it's not the go to music. From my personal experience, EDM is what the kids are into these days.

[Xanadoood]

I think it's just another case of "You damn kids, get off my lawn" syndrome that is prevalent among the older population, which is totally fine. If you don't want to make the effort to discover new music that might interest you, then the onus is on you, not anybody else. And it's certainly not the onus of the supposed lack of "guitar heroes".

 

I posted this thread a while back - it touches on what you wrote Oracle

 

http://www.therushforum.com/index.php?/topic/102268-music-lovers-who-reject-new-music/page__hl__%2Bmusic+%2Blovers+%2Bmusic

 

I had a recent conversation with the friend I mentioned in the thread, and all I can say is that the rejection of new music goes deeper than one might first think ..

 

Again, he brought up the BS of "They don't write songs like that anymore" .. When I asked him what his Top 5 albums of the past year were, he snickered and said that he hasn't bought or listened to anything new in 20 years ... When I asked him "Then how do you know that there is nothing good ?" he was silent ..

 

I remember that thread. I don't think he had much of a basis for comparison if he hasn't heard it. Music is much less guitar driven now than it was in the 70's-90's. Especially what's popular. All you have to do is turn on any top 40 radio to hear that

 

It's not the driving force behind what's popular or cool, like it was back in the day. I've worked with my share of younger folks, and although they may have " rock " music in their musical rotation, it's not the go to music. From my personal experience, EDM is what the kids are into these days. I may be reaching here, and I haven't been to a frat house since the early 90s..walk into a frat party now.. what's playing? Most likely not rock music.