Is It True The Electric Guitar Is Dying?

The Electric Guitar Is Dying… Is It Really On Death Row?

A recent article in the Washington Post published an article in which is suggested that the electric guitar is dying. GMI obviously was interested in this article and we had a look as to what was on the web. There has been a huge amount of response on the web in articles, republishing of the article, vlog responses and Twitter posts.

We’ve put together this large article which gives you an oversight across a wide range of the articles and video commentary about this worrying trend. Have a read of the articles and more importantly, view the videos below and find out what other guitar players and musicians have to say. If you have strong feelings about this, please leave a comment below.

Why Does The Electric Guitar Need A Hero?

Why Does The Electric Guitar Need A Hero? Why Does The Electric Guitar Need A Hero? Embed Embed Heard on All Things Considered Denise Guerra Gibson and Fender, two of the biggest companies making guitars are in debt. One reason is declining sales in electric guitars and the waning popularity of guitar heroes in popular culture. MICHEL MARTIN, HOST: This weekend, we asked you to hit us up on Twitter and let us know your favorite road trip songs. We’ll get to those in a few minutes. Read More…

Okay, so let’s go on to the next article for you to get a flavour of what is being said.

Electric guitar needs a hero – Winnipeg Free Press

“They don’t have guitar heroes like you and I did.” Nirvana was huge when the Black Keys’ Dan Auerbach, 38, was growing up. “And everybody wanted a guitar,” he says. “This is not surprising. It has to do with what’s in the Top 20.” Living Colour’s …The Conversation AULancasterOnline Read More…

 

Do we have enough guitar players who are influencing and helping to inspire the next generation?

Redefining the rock god – the new breed of electric guitar heroes

You missed out an important reference to guys like Dan Auerbach and the black keys and what effect the continuing rise of the vintage and alternative market has on companies like Gibson and fender versus companies like Eastwood that focus on reproductions of vintage alternative guitars Read More…

For those of you who are interested in facts and figures we included the following article. Guitar sales are down, no one can deny that and the figures are big.

Global Music Production Equipment Market 2017-2021 – Key vendors are Fender Musical Instruments, Gibson Brands, Kawai Musical Instruments, Roland, Steinway & Sons & Yamaha – Research and Markets | Business Wire

DUBLIN- Research and Markets has announced the addition of the “Global Music Production Equipment Market 2017-2021” report to their offering. The analysts forecast the global music production equipment market to grow at a CAGR of 1.83% during the period 2017-2021. Global Music Production Equipment Market 2017-2021, has been prepared based on an in-depth market analysis with inputs from industry experts. The report covers the market landscape and its growth prospects over the coming years. The report also includes a discussion of the key vendors operating in this market. Read More…

The following is an article from which we’ve included the video below.

Is The Electric Guitar Dying A Slow Death? – NewsChannel5.com

An article in The Washington Post suggesting that the electric guitar is dying a slow and secret death has the Nashville guitar community and music fans around the world talking, wondering if the electric guitar is dying or thriving. “I would say that … Read More…

Here is an alternative article which will help bring some balance to the whole debate.

Rumors Of The Electric Guitar’s Demise Have Been Greatly Exaggerated

At. All. And there are a whole lot more boutique guitar shops across the land doing equally well. So no, Washington Post, the electric guitar is not dying a slow death. Newspapers, on the other hand … Oh God, you who gave free will to your creation … Rumors Of The Electric Guitar’s Demise Have Been Greatly Exaggerated

 

The Reaction From Youtube To The Article

The following videos discuss the article. In the first of many well considered video responses, Luthier’s Workbench looks at the problem in a cool and collected way.

The following video package comes from American TV station Channel 5 which suggests that there are many reasons for the lack of sales. Over saturation, a burgeoning second hand market and the lack of guitar used in popular music can all be to blame. A contributor to the article George Gruhn was taken aback by the response to the Washington Posts article.

Here is what one guitarist thinks of the article which was one of many vlogs on Youtube and other video website. The author gives a range of good reasons why electric guitar sales have taken such a big slump.

In the next of our video vlogs, the reasons given for the decline of the guitar are taken apart one by one. Very interesting commentary by a musician who obviously is passionate about his art.

Next Level Guitar takes a philosophical point of view and yet again makes some great points well worth listening to.

Some really fantastic points made in the following video which also brings out the whole matter of Guitar Hero which was released in 2006 and coincided with guitar popularity being at an all time high. Well worth a watch in our opinion.

Levoy Clay rages against the post that has taken the world by storm.

here is the video mentioned in the last video by Tyler Larsen from Music Is Win who makes his reaction to the article.

okay, we hope you got a lot from all of the above. Now onto other areas.

The View On Twitter About Whether The Electric Guitar Is Dying

There were many Tweets about this article, however, we felt that we would just give you a flavour with a couple of them. The video commentaries above go into a great amount of detail in their own right.

Wanted a guitar hero : guitar sales falling.Fender, Gibson in debt.Clapton's selling off guitars @washingtonpost https://t.co/RDUPMqkwUo

— BobbyDuggal (@bobbyduggal) July 2, 2017

I'm bringing it back. #kidshredder style. https://t.co/RIZvOGQnes

— Marcky Di Giacomo (@DigiacomoMarcky) July 3, 2017

Final Thoughts On The Electric Guitar Is Dying Article

Well it’s over to you. We would love to know what your thoughts are on the comments, articles, vlogs and commentaries that surround the whole question of whether the electric guitar is dying. If you feel that the comments above are valid we’d like to hear your thoughts. If you don’t agree, we’d also love to hear from you.

Make sure to come back to the GMI – Guitar & Music Institute regularly for more of these in depth roundups of the issues facing today’s guitar players.

Images from .the, npr.org, winnipegfreepress.com, theconversation.com, businesswire.com, datechguyblog.com