#16
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Personally, I’m quite comfortable with tone, content and cost of “Wood and Steel”. The technique is nothing new, and over my life similar magazines have gotten me drooling over stereos, cars, boats, you name it. So what’s wrong with a little dream? Enjoy the seduction!
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”Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet” |
#17
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Not only is W&S enjoyable reading/gazing for those of us who already own Taylors, I would guess many also spend a lot of time on living room coffee tables.
Pretty sharp way to market their guitars in their customers’ homes! |
#18
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I don't see it as a big deal, it's just post-sale reinforcement.
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Some Acoustic Videos |
#19
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I too worked in Marketing and Advertising in a different industry. If I learned anything, I learned there is more than one way to self promote and no approach is necessarily right or wrong. It depends on what image you wish to convey and to whom. One person's obnoxious is another person's elite. We chose to elevate the customer and his needs with our product. It worked very well because our competitors had become complacent and were too reliant on their name. It took about five years of hard work and together with a great product, we unseated our largest competitors. Once we had accomplished that, we let our customers do our bragging for us.
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Nothing bothers me unless I let it. Martin D18 Gibson J45 Gibson J15 Fender Copperburst Telecaster Squier CV 50 Stratocaster Squier CV 50 Telecaster Last edited by rokdog49; 01-20-2019 at 07:55 AM. |
#20
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I get it delivered free every month so it's ok by me. Especially the Ask Bob section.
Yep, it's self promotion and self praise but that's its main purpose, same as publications from other manufacturers, whether guitar, automobile, etc. It's a sales tool that I enjoy. |
#21
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I had about 34 years of marketing
...in television, and I don't remember ever creating a promo wherein I told our viewers "y'know...we're really not as good as we claim to be..."
"Wood and Steel" is a marketing vehicle. That doesn't make it evil, but it also doesn't make it a vehicle that one can expect to let all sides vent on.
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2014 Gibson J-29 Rosewood 2018 Taylor GS Mini 2012 Taylor 314ce 2015 Martin GPCPA5 2016 Taylor 214ce-Nylon 2015 Ventura VWDONAT |
#22
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I could see this forum not being a fan. It's about Taylor guitars and features Bob Taylor. Neither are particularly on guitar forums.
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#23
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I think you're probably right. Lead the readers to the river, but let them do the drinking.
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2018 Guild F-512 Sunburst -- 2007 Guild F412 Ice Tea burst 2002 Guild JF30-12 Whiskeyburst -- 2011 Guild F-50R Sunburst 2011 Guild GAD D125-12 NT -- 1972 Epiphone FT-160 12-string 2012 Epiphone Dot CH -- 2010 Epiphone Les Paul Standard trans amber 2013 Yamaha Motif XS7 Cougar's Soundcloud page |
#24
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Wade Hampton: “Wood & Steel” is guitar porn, pure and simple."
Yes, and I am an addict. I look forward to each issue, and when I'm done, it's put out in the waiting room at my office.
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I wish I was nearly as good as my guitars are: 1977 Alvarez Yairi DY 57 / 2002 Martin DC-1E/ 2010 The Loar LH-700-VS/ 2012 Taylor Mini GS / 2015 Taylor 150e / 2015 Taylor 324ce SEB / 2018 Taylor 214e DLX / 2020 Taylor AD12e / 2021 Gibson J-185ce / 2022 Martin 000-15M ... and some electrics and such. |
#25
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If Taylor is paying the freight, they can say whatever they want as long as they keep things interesting and entertaining enough to keep readership. What bothers me infinitely more is the independent magazine whose “reviews” refuse to say anything even mildly critical of an advertiser’s wares. These reviews are pretty much useless because all you’re going to get is usually a rehash of the company’s own marketing materials. Basically, you end up with a picture book.
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Regards, Jim Larrivée L-05 Mahogany Gibson Les Paul Traditional Fender Stratocaster Epiphone Les Paul Standard |
#26
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I got put on Taylor's mailing list in 1996 when I bought my only Taylor and only acoustic guitar, a 412. I have received Wood and Steel ever since. Of course it is a marketing tool. I do agree with the OP; it is a little heavy on self-praise.
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I don't have a bunch of guitars because they all sound just like me. 1984 Carvin LB-40 bass 1986 Carvin DC-125 two humbucker 1996 Taylor 412 La Patrie Concert 2012 American Standard Telecaster 1981 Carvin DC 100 Harley Benton LP JR DC Bushman Delta Frost & Suzuki harmonicas Artley flute Six-plus decade old vocal apparatus |
#27
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Bob Taylor once told a reader that "no, there's no difference in tone in minis with different laminated B/S" -- thereby undercutting a vast belief system. After that, I decided to cut "Wood and Steel" some slack.
Sure, W&S is promoting a certain Taylor lifestyle, but so is almost every car commercial. Does Subaru have a copyright on the word "Love" by now? What does Mazda have to do with swimming with humpback whales? |
#28
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The conservation efforts are laudable, but I generally suffer from "green fatigue". It gets a little old when companies toot their own horn too loudly about how environmentally conscious they are. But I just skip those articles and look at the pretty guitar porn. Quote:
That's a neat trick Dru - getting a quarterly publication every month! At this point, Wood & Steel is the only guitar "magazine" that I still get. |
#29
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Second, yes, I agree that "Wood & Steel" is a little over the top on the self aggrandizement, hype scale. I own a couple of Taylor guitars and have owned others (now gone), so I am on their list. I no longer spend much time on the magazine. I look through "Wood & Steel" to see if there is anything new to learn, but the last few copies got recycled within minutes. I suppose if I had not read so much about the new V bracing on the AGF I might have been more interested in their pitch about it in W&S. I am not at all surprised that W&S is self-serving for Taylor, but like the OP, I have a poor reaction to the over-the-top self-praise. - Glenn
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#30
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