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I'm letting my Bass Player subscription lapse.

#81
Munjibunga said:
I have 30 years of BP and I just don't feel the need for it anymore. I can get everything I need right here at TB. Well, not everything.
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I went about 20 years without it after reading it for 6 or 7 years; my buddy just gifted me a subscription a couple of months ago. I stopped getting it when I let my career stop me from playing bass, this was just when they were starting to put full transcriptions in. It's a shame because I could have used all of those transcriptions for learning earlier on.

I found reading the last couple of issues enjoyable enough; it certainly has informational value and it's cheap enough to subscribe even if it wasn't a gift!
 
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#83
Me too! I keep getting the postcard, but haven't gotten around to renewing, but with TB, Bass Gear Mag, No Treble, etc - who the heck needs BP anymore? I had quit a few years ago, then for some reason renewed again - not sure why - it got pretty thin for a while there - no content! So, like on Shark Tank - I'M OUT!
 
#87
Not to beat a dead horse, but I really did used to look forward to the affordable gear reviews. I bought a lot of basses after being GASed by BP magainze. I loved the budget bass shootouts, 5 Strings under $700 shootouts, stuff like that. Amps, too.

While I know there wer a couple of people interested in $3,000 - $4,000 basses, those review were complete wasted space to me. And they were doing that every single month. I can't remember the last time I saw something affordable before I quit.

I don't understand how they offered subscriptions for pennies to new subscribers, but no breaks to people who subscribed for 20 years. What's up with that? I just realized too that since I quit, I never got a single piece of mail asking if I'd like to come back. Ya think it would be good business to ask if I'd want to resubscribe at a discount. I probably would have, too. I was on shaky ground when I first let it go. A reminder of what I was doing along w a discount probably would have hooked me.

Not sure what they're thinking there. I'm seeing a Titanic situation... oh whelp.
 
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#88
Well it's about time! I even stopped taking in the magazine around the early 90's. Seems to me, like they began to get repetitive. Like they just flipped around all the articles every month with the same Bassist all the time. I was enjoying it when they started hosting hometown Bassist from different states. But No! More I couldn't take it.
 
#89
Joe Nerve said:
Not to beat a dead horse, but I really did used to look forward to the affordable gear reviews. I bought a lot of basses after being GASed by BP magainze. I loved the budget bass shootouts, 5 Strings under $700 shootouts, stuff like that. Amps, too.

While I know there wer a couple of people interested in $3,000 - $4,000 basses, those review were complete wasted space to me. And they were doing that every single month. I can't remember the last time I saw something affordable before I quit.

I don't understand how they offered subscriptions for pennies to new subscribers, but no breaks to people who subscribed for 20 years. What's up with that? I just realized too that since I quit, I never got a single piece of mail asking if I'd like to come back. Ya think it would be good business to ask if I'd want to resubscribe at a discount. I probably would have, too. I was on shaky ground when I first let it go. A reminder of what I was doing along w a discount probably would have hooked me.

Not sure what they're thinking there. I'm seeing a Titanic situation... oh whelp.
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After replying in that thread I did recheck the few BP mag that I have and ... to my surprise I saw your face in the "Introduce yourself" section of the MArch 2005 BP mag. It was Juan Alderete of Mars Volta on the cover.
 
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#91
I just let mine go a couple months ago but then on FB or something on Valentines Day I got an offer for a year at $10 so I took it. I do like when they review things I am interested in although it is seldom. I have also found out about many things I would not have know about with out it like there is life outside of Fender and Gibson.
 
#93
two fingers said:
Mine with Billy Sheehan on the cover says "PREMIER ISSUE" at the top. I'll see if I can find it and post a pic later.

Edit:Found a pic online.
View attachment 1058683
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You're right that that one was the first official issue of BP as a regular publication. However, IIRC there were two 'special issues' of Guitar Player preceding this one named Bass Player as well - testing the waters if there was a market. I vividly remember buying the first issue and being blown away with the amount of inspiration it gave. Pre internet and living in the north of Sweden, Bass Player was a real god send for a teen just getting into bass. Geddy was on the cover and there was a story on Jaco - oh the memories. :) :) Those early year issues of Bass Player had a lot to do with sparking my life long love for the instrument.
 
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#94
HamOnTheCob said:
It's hard to keep up with social media, forums, websites, and YouTube. Playboy doesn't have nude photos any more. If that doesn't tell you everything you need to know about print media, you've got your head in the sand. LoL
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I read that they're just gone back to nudes in Playboy... That experiment was a fail.

As for me, I too gave up my BP subscription years ago. I think I subscribed to the digital edition one year, but that tells you how little thought I've given the magazine lately. I can't even remember if I had/still have a digital sub. I know the paper version stopped coming several years ago. Too many ads, not enough content. And the gear reviews are a joke. When is the last time they reviewed something without gushing all over it?

@two fingers - thanks for the walk down memory lane w/ the pic of the first BP cover. I met Billy Sheehan at a clinic back in '88 or '89. He wasn't the nicest guy you'd ever want to meet. Very down to earth. It was crazy too watching him rip it up from the 2nd or 3rd row during the clinic.

As a Spector junkie, I'd like to dig up the BP review of the NS2A (it's listed on the 1st cover).

Lastly, you're both right. Geddy was on the first BP "special edition" cover, while Billy Sheehan was on the 1st issue (Premier Issue). See here for more info (bottom of page).
 
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#95
waynobass said:
Don't we need constant affirmation that "it's all about the groove"? And info on the latest offerings from FMIC, their main sponsor?

Nope.
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Actually their main sponsor seems to be Warwick these days. I subscribed off and on from the beginning, and came back to BP in the summer of 2014. I didn't see any Fender ads, and no reviews of Fender products, until the Flea Jazz bass was released last year. Tons of Warwick ads, however. I have seen more Fender ads lately, since the release of the American Elite and American Pro models, and they did review the Flea Jazz and the American Elite Jazz IV.

@Joe Nerve makes a good point about the product reviews being for high end items, they have leaned in that direction a lot more since I started subscribing again, there are more issues than not with only $3000+ basses.

I recently re-subscribed, but I have noticed that I read the mag very quickly and don't really give it much thought afterwards unless there is a particularly compelling review or interview, and that seems to be rare. But I also understand that it's a matter what I find interesting, personally.

But, my subscription will be up in June of 2018. I might let it lapse at that point.
 
#96
I just re-upped for the bargain 2 year sub. It has definitely taken a hit in page count and in word count, but the columns and transcriptions are still interesting. Herrara's review of the B|Amp in the current issue is just fine. I know way more about after reading that than the thread here.

To each their own.
 
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#97
Also, I far prefer reviews of expensive and thus hard to find basses. If I want to know what the latest classic vibe Squire plays and sounds like I just try one out at GC. Can't say the same for the more expensive and rare instruments and amps that get reviewed.

The B|Amp being an excellent case in point.
 
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#98
That publication died a LONG time ago. Their reviews became a joke, and their interviews became laughable.

I let my subscription lapse years ago. I was there from the very beginning with that little Bass Player pullout in Guitar Player magazine.

I just got to the point where I really did not care... in fact when I moved two years ago, they all went into my recycling bin!
 
#100
japhy4529 said:
I read that they're just gone back to nudes in Playboy... That experiment was a fail.

As for me, I too gave up my BP subscription years ago. I think I subscribed to the digital edition one year, but that tells you how little thought I've given the magazine lately. I can't even remember if I had/still have a digital sub. I know the paper version stopped coming several years ago. Too many ads, not enough content. And the gear reviews are a joke. When is the last time they reviewed something without gushing all over it?

@two fingers - thanks for the walk down memory lane w/ the pic of the first BP cover. I met Billy Sheehan at a clinic back in '88 or '89. He wasn't the nicest guy you'd ever want to meet. Very down to earth. It was crazy too watching him rip it up from the 2nd or 3rd row during the clinic.

As a Spector junkie, I'd like to dig up the BP review of the NS2A (it's listed on the 1st cover).

Lastly, you're both right. Geddy was on the first BP "special edition" cover, while Billy Sheehan was on the 1st issue (Premier Issue). See here for more info (bottom of page).
Click to expand...
Maybe BP should go to nudes.
 

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