Poll: Do you think that gear reviews in magazines are honest?

[Mark Wein]

Oops...I screwed up the first one... ;D

Are they impartial or are they geared towards making advertisers happy? I was just looking through a magazine "shootout" of about 20 distortion pedals and there wasn't a single negative comment that I could find...

[Procreatur]

i think you hit the nail on the head. i've never found really negative reviews of any product in a guitar magazine. they may give a pro/con chart, but the cons complain about missing features or prices, not the fact the pedal has a terrible sound, or some high end fizz, etc. then again, hearing is highly subjective, and i never get the feeling its been put through its paces, and the review is based upon the "honeymoon" of demo/ownership.

[Mark Wein]

i think you hit the nail on the head. i've never found really negative reviews of any product in a guitar magazine. they may give a pro/con chart, but the cons complain about missing features or prices, not the fact the pedal has a terrible sound, or some high end fizz, etc. then again, hearing is highly subjective, and i never get the feeling its been put through its paces, and the review is based upon the "honeymoon" of demo/ownership.


I've always been pretty picky and biased about my equipment so I used to figure that it was just me not agreeing with the reviewer, but it seems like there is never a definitive "This is crap" review of gear that obviously deserves it....within the reviewers world there should be a better and worse value system even if it doesn't agree with the readers values. I never get a sense of that when I read these magazines...

[Procreatur]

it's almost like using the H-C reviews section to determine whether a product is what you're looking for in a way. the people there seem to love a product immediately, own it for a week and post a review that equals 10's across the board. i automatically remove 2 points from the average on any product i research there. magazine reviews don't really carry any weight either for me. you're probably way more picky than i am, you've been at it a lot longer, and get to do it for a living. not to mention you have some killer pieces in every category. i'm just a bedroom/occasional player with very little motivation to play for others/gig/make money/etc. i am rather fond of great tones though, and i think i have a pretty good ear.

its tough to get out there and play a bunch of stuff for me. i'm new to the area i'm in, hate playing inside stores, and they don't have the correct setup of instrument>pedal>amp i want to play to determine if i want something. its exaggerated by GC's prevalence as well. they don't carry anything like the boutique stuff i want to audition, so its wading through the used market for me, buying and selling when i see fit, and hoping i get along with the gear. i bought the DD sight unseen, but i'd heard great things about it. never thought a pedal could sound that good. DKH led me to buy a metal muff with his trower clip though, i'm eagerly awaiting that to interface with my strat.

[Mark Wein]

it's almost like using the H-C reviews section to determine whether a product is what you're looking for in a way. the people there seem to love a product immediately, own it for a week and post a review that equals 10's across the board. i automatically remove 2 points from the average on any product i research there. magazine reviews don't really carry any weight either for me. you're probably way more picky than i am, you've been at it a lot longer, and get to do it for a living. not to mention you have some killer pieces in every category. i'm just a bedroom/occasional player with very little motivation to play for others/gig/make money/etc. i am rather fond of great tones though, and i think i have a pretty good ear.

I have almost no faith in the HC reviews other than to see if many people had the same quality control problems. I have read some of the silliest comments in there and you don't know what that persons experience with other gear is like.

If you were shopping for a PRS, would you rather have my opinion or someone like Baimun or RobChappers opinion of a guitar? I am not a fan of the aesthetic, so nothing that I say about those guitars is really going to be very useful to you as a shopper. The other guys are more tuned into what makes those guitars great. A professional reviewer should be able to give an unbiased review on the products strengths and weaknesses...




its tough to get out there and play a bunch of stuff for me. i'm new to the area i'm in, hate playing inside stores, and they don't have the correct setup of instrument>pedal>amp i want to play to determine if i want something. its exaggerated by GC's prevalence as well. they don't carry anything like the boutique stuff i want to audition, so its wading through the used market for me, buying and selling when i see fit, and hoping i get along with the gear. i bought the DD sight unseen, but i'd heard great things about it. never thought a pedal could sound that good. DKH led me to buy a metal muff with his trower clip though, i'm eagerly awaiting that to interface with my strat.


I am lucky that a store called "Tone Merchants" is around the corner from my studio...

http://tonemerchants.com/

They carry a ton of boutique gear and they are mostly "appointment only" during the week so I can bring my whole live rig in and try a piece of gear in relative privacy...I've ordered both my Suhrs through there and I've bought a ton of pedals there as well.

I hate trying anything at GC for the obvious reasons.

What is nice about GJ is that you know what guys around there have similar tastes or own a piece of gear that you are interested in so you can get something of a real review from someone you "know"...

[Dalron]

...they may give a pro/con chart, but the cons complain about missing features or prices, not the fact the pedal has a terrible sound, or some high end fizz,...


Interesting timing on that comment. I was reading the latest couple of issues of a guitar magazine and three times on reviews I read the con, "the only con was that I had to return it." Other cons weren't anymore critical.

'Never bite the hand that feeds you', couldn't be more aptly applied to magazines that do reviews (of any product).

[Mark Wein]

...they may give a pro/con chart, but the cons complain about missing features or prices, not the fact the pedal has a terrible sound, or some high end fizz,...


Interesting timing on that comment. I was reading the latest couple of issues of a guitar magazine and three times on reviews I read the con, "the only con was that I had to return it." Other cons weren't anymore critical.

'Never bite the hand that feeds you', couldn't be more aptly applied to magazines that do reviews (of any product).


It makes sense from a business point of view but its a bummer from where the consumer stands...there's a guy on HC that writes gear reviews for a couple of magazines...maybe I can get him to come over and join the conversation...he's a pretty "no-BS" kind of guy...

[Denverdave]

No one can be entirely neutral, given that everyone has their own personal tastes and preferences in equipment. But that being said, guitar magazines that rely on revenue from advertisers really cannot be brutally honest about that advertisers product. They could hint around the edges that it may not be their best product ever, but real negativity - if it is warranted - rarely ever arises. Part of that could also be that most every guitar, amp, or pedal does have a good side to at least some of the guitar playing/buying public and the reviewers job (in part) is to find that and point it out.

But the only way you can get a true neutral review is to be in the position that Consumer Reports magazine is in. They have no advertisers and allow no one to quote their reviews in paid advertising. Too bad they don't do musical instrument tests... :-\

[Mark Wein]

No one can be entirely neutral, given that everyone has their own personal tastes and preferences in equipment. But that being said, guitar magazines that rely on revenue from advertisers really cannot be brutally honest about that advertisers product. They could hint around the edges that it may not be their best product ever, but real negativity - if it is warranted - rarely ever arises. Part of that could also be that most every guitar, amp, or pedal does have a good side to at least some of the guitar playing/buying public and the reviewers job (in part) is to find that and point it out.

But the only way you can get a true neutral review is to be in the position that Consumer Reports magazine is in. They have no advertisers and allow no one to quote their reviews in paid advertising. Too bad they don't do musical instrument tests... :-\


True...I just wish they would be a little more "real world" or qualitative in their comparisons. I would be a terrible reviewer because my personal tastes are too well defined but someone who writes for a magazine should be able to be fair and have his "point of view" at the same time....

[Phil513]

I dont fully trust them, no. I take some of the specification info, and general stuff to mind, but i dont think magazines will take the chance on fully pissing off the advertiser.


Most music stuff, unless its a mixer board or something, needs to have a hands on test drive before purchasing.

[Mark Wein]

I dont fully trust them, no. I take some of the specification info, and general stuff to mind, but i dont think magazines will take the chance on fully pissing off the advertiser.


Most music stuff, unless its a mixer board or something, needs to have a hands on test drive before purchasing.


I agree...I've bought a few keyboards and non-essentials sight unseen but anything else I pretty much try out in person.

So far from the poll it seems like no one trusts "the man" ;D

[Jake S.]

Thats why you gotta stick it to the man with rock n' roll! ;D

[mosiddiqi]

I remember several years ago a British guitar mag publishing a less than glowing review of the Mesa Quad pre-amp. The response was a long letter in the next issue from Mesa disputing some of the points made about build quality. However, when it came to the sound, which the reviewer found "sterile" and "lifeless"...this was judged very much a matter of taste, and that's the tough part I guess.

Incidentally, I actually had a Quad some years later and loved it!..

[Mark Wein]

I remember several years ago a British guitar mag publishing a less than glowing review of the Mesa Quad pre-amp. The response was a long letter in the next issue from Mesa disputing some of the points made about build quality. However, when it came to the sound, which the reviewer found "sterile" and "lifeless"...this was judged very much a matter of taste, and that's the tough part I guess.

Incidentally, I actually had a Quad some years later and loved it!..


There you go! Ultimately its about taste provided the build quality is solid...

I had a studio preamp many years ago that I could never get along with.

[mosiddiqi]

..my perception is that magazine reviews used to be a lot more inclined to be negative some years ago...nowadays I think it's difficult to see a negative review unless the manufacturer is new...also there's a definite difference in emphasis when making a negative comment about a major brand..i.e "Gibson could have done a better job with the fret dressing"..versus "No-name's fret dressing shows really poor quality control"....

As others have noted, the moral is ALWAYS try things out yourself and learn to trust your ears and sense of what's right for you.

[hobo]

Oops...I screwed up the first one... ;D

Are they impartial or are they geared towards making advertisers happy? I was just looking through a magazine "shootout" of about 20 distortion pedals and there wasn't a single negative comment that I could find...


I think in all magazines that talk about new gear is to do one thing, that is to sell their product. Any harsh words (negative) in a review in a popular magazine would kill that product overnight. I think you see the word "con", so in a way it leaves room for improvement of the product and not to put the product off the market. :) Just my opinion