Guitar World Acoustic (GWA) is the companion magazine to
Guitar World and
Bass Player magazines. Published bi-monthly, its 100 or so pages are best designed for guitar players of intermediate abilities and up, although it has enough material in it to be of interest to people who are informed fans of acoustic guitar. Individual issues are $4.95 and a six-month subscription costs $21.97. This is an excellent though sometimes imperfect magazine and I can highly recommend it to players and fans. *
A short editorial and editor’s note lead into five or six pages of short profiles of guitarists, usually focusing on new albums or concert tours. Next are more detailed articles (occasionally in interview) format on various guitarists, including the cover artist. Recent players on the cover have included Yes guitarist Steve Howe, Fleetwood Mac’s Lindsey Buckingham, Eric Clapton, etc. Most attention is given to rock and pop guitarists, although one sees more than the occasional jazz, blues or country player. Typically, these articles discuss in good detail the player’s guitars, picking style and techniques, amp, mic and effect preferences, etc. These are very useful for performing guitarists who are trying to copy the artist’s sounds.
For me, the guts of the magazine are the transcriptions. There are usually five or six note-for-note transcriptions of all the guitar parts (and sometimes bass) in tablature format (standard is almost never used). One slight problem is that, unlike Guitar One, GWA and GW do not provide a one-page guide to tab format and markings, although must guitarist should be as aware of these as they are of reading tab. Each song is also provided in “EZ” format, which just includes the important chord changes and lyrics and assumes you know the tunes.
In addition, there is often a detailed article that breaks down one or two songs in detail, provides an acoustic transcription that incorporates other instrument parts besides guitar, and gives detailed picking and technique instructions. Often, the article includes a close examination of a particular artist’s playing style.
The transcribed songs are usually half-and-half oldies and newer stuff, going across a broad range of pop/rock music and across a variety of styles and difficulty levels. Recent transcriptions have included Steve Howe’s very challenging “The Clap” (from “The Yes Album”), Led Zeppelin’s “Rock and Roll”, the Rolling Stone’s “It’s Only Rock and Roll”, and various deck by people like Uncle Cracker and the abominable Sheryl Crow.
Other features include short guest columns that provide technique and sound information and record and DVD reviews. In addition, there are excellent guitar and gear reviews, written by very knowledgeable reviewers that contain detailed technical information. These articles are of extreme interest to people in the market for guitars, amps, and effects boxes and provide important background on construction, sound, playability, etc.
The remainder of the magazine is advertising, very important to both manufacturers and players alike.
For $4.95, GWA is a great buy for acoustic and electric players alike. It’s almost worth the money just to get the song transcriptions—fake books cost about $0.30 a song, GWA’s about $.63 (at eight songs an issues) but GWA’s are more current and easier to read, plus have the tab. One of my few complaints about the magazine is that it contains almost no criticism: every artist is treated as a god with very little downside coverage. In addition, the guitar and effect reviews are almost always favorable, which makes one wonder if there is any bad gear out there. These flaws aside, GWA is well worth the money and is important reading for guitarists who take their hobby or trade seriously.
*Note: the writer is an amateur guitarist of forty years' experience who plays his acoustic songs through a 1950 Martin D-28 and a 1948 Gibson Super 400.
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