Overall Rating: 7.6 out of 10
First, I’d like to thank Acoustic Guitar Magazine for sending me a few issues for me to review. It was appreciated.
Now I’d like to thank Acoustic Guitar Magazine for sending me a really informative magazine.
September 2008. A lesson on how to play Tom Petty, Big Bill Broonzy, and Jack Johnson. A basic theory lesson on diatonic chords, and reviews on Huss and Dalton FS, a Genz Benz Shenandoah Pro LT amp, and on 7 top name dreadnoughts. Oh, did I mention a cross-picking/cross-cultural technique lesson from Italian guitarist Beppe Gambetta?
The lessons on how to play songs by Tom Petty, Big Bill Broonzy, and Jack Johnson were cool. It broke the rhythm guitar into a staff notation and tablature, and has a songbook format underneath, with words and chords. This was not difficult at all, and allowed me to see how some of the more popular guitarists/songwriters did rhythm guitar.
The theory lesson on diatonic chords was extremely basic. However, I believe this lesson should be common knowledge with every guitarist, so even if you consider yourself a more advanced guitarist, you should check this lesson out.
All of the reviews I read were informative, but the review on the dreadnoughts was the one I took the most out of. The magazine looks at guitars from $350-$3000+, and breaks each one down to specific price ranges. The seven dreadnoughts Acoustic Guitar looks at are the Morgan Monroe Creekside MVS-45, the Epiphone DR-500R, the Laprivée D-03, the Taylor DN4, the Breedlove Revival D-M, the Martin D-21 Special, and the Santa Cruz Tony Rice. As I am looking to replace my old Yamaha with a dreadnought, this article was extremely useful.
My favorite thing about this magazine is its integration of music theory into its articles. I believe theory is essential knowledge for any musician, but especially for those with instruments that play chords. Even Acoustic Guitar’s inclusion of roman numerals to label the chords in a small gesture that means a lot in the music world.
And now for the review:
Information: 8 out of 10
Ease of Reading: 8 out of 10
Advertisements: 7 out of 10
Worth (to Read): 7.5 out of 10
Overall Average: 7.6 out of 10
