PunkKitty
Horny bag of electric meat
From The Washington Post: Why my guitar gently weeps
The death of the electric guitar
- Thread starter PunkKitty
- Start date
DFB
Kick Henry Jackassowski
Flamencology
You don't deserve koa.
Too slow.
parrotheada1a
Resident Pitmaster
I know what you mean. There is a ton of stuff out there that has little or no twang, and more distortion. Clean toned Teles.... mebbe those have gone buhbye. Even some artists like Martina McBride count Pat Benatar as a major influence. She plays Pat's tunes in her shows with Pat's blessing.
Dexter Inferno
Serious error
Rock is dead again I guess. And they're still wrong.
mongooz
.
well....when all the kids are busy on their smart phones, tablets.....etc. they don't have time for playing instruments.....especially that it can take months of practice to get to the level of being able to pick up songs and learn and play them. lots of kids just don't have the patience for it.
rickenvox
Animal Psychic
Ummm . . . not lining up how attending/working at a concert series gives more information that nationwide sales figures. Pretty sure all guitar bands will use guitars. Not so sure every teenager wants to be a guitarist any longer. The industry (guitar/amp manufacturers, retailers) was supported by people who would never play concerts. If Gibson only sold to people on successful bands they would have gone out of business decades ago.
el diablo
I'll take an A for $1000, Alex.
Not every teenager wanted to a guitarist, ever. Who's trumpeting the impending death of the french horn? Marimbas? Drums? Piano? No one. I bet acoustic sales are getting a bounce due to the popularity of bands like Mumford and Sons, as well as solo acts. Wait 5 years and electrics might well be up.
Flamencology
You don't deserve koa.
No, but guitars were far more popular and cheaper.
rickenvox
Animal Psychic
OK, if we had access to numbers I'm sure it would show how silly the comparison is. How many marimbas do you imagine even get sold in 1 year in the US, and how many guitars? The threat to companies/corporations is when they grow with a bubble (in this case baby boomers) that expands and then contracts. Tower Records went out of business in a similar way, but not from it's customers getting too old. Rather newer technology making the popularity of physical music media plummet. Stock holders expect corporations to follow a consistent path of growth. Just doing well every year, but no growth, can spell the doom of a big corporation like Guitar Center. Privately owned companies can grow at their own pace (Trader Joe's) or not grow at all and just make a modest profit every year until Mom and Pop retire. Big companies are also not particularly good at shrinking when sales shrink. Macy's has been doing it lately, shutting down locations, laying off staff, constantly having sales and promotions. But everyone is assuming they're going to fold. There are no Guitar Centers for marimbas. I don't even know if the biggest marimba manufacturers are private or corporations. Either way they're geared towards consistent sales (exponentially less than the guitar industry) driven by school bands, orchestras, and a few latin jazz and indie rock bands. No bubbles in popularity, probably no big stock holder pressure for constant growth.
Yes I focused on marimba, could have been french horn. Drums are tied with guitars to the popularity of rock music and the (mostly false) hope of young teens that they will be in successful bands. The piano industry is tied not only to hopeful musicians, but have a furniture type appeal for homes, and an assumed valuable part of a child's education for wealthy families.
Now I want to see musical instruments sales numbers. Must be googleable I would think (?).
surfsteve
Pendejo
Rock imitating Kevin DuBrow.
wok
Unholy Meat Obelisk
That's how it's always been. Most kids aren't interested in picking up an instrument. I still see lots of kids picking up an instrument though.