Do you wish "Wood & Steel" came out more often? Would you pay to subscribe?

[jjrpilot-admin]

I personally LOVE Taylor's "Wood & Steel" magazine, and if they came out with it monthly, I'd gladly pay for a subscription.  I love the articles on wood, and guitar design etc...especially the pictures.  The tips and interviews with the different artists are always interesting.

I just wondered how you all felt about the publication... 

[Edward]

Dunno if this puts me in the minority, but I said "no" to paying extra.  It's a great mag that I like reading, to be sure.  And I do enjoy seeing it in the mailbox.  But I doublt I'd shell out for it unless it was at a giveaway price.  Great pics and some fun stuff in there, but it really does feel like a large ad.  Not that I resent that ...'cause it's free (with the price of admission, of course ).

And FWIW, I think Wood and Steel was yet another one of Bob and Co's brilliant moves.  Including the mag subscription with purchase not only feeds owners' interest in their guitars and future projects, but it also includes owners comments/questions as if we're lending a voice that really is being heard.  Companies pay big bucks to marketing analysts and focus groups to figure out how to keep/grow their customer  base: Taylor done figured it out by catering to the customer.  Hahaha, go figure!

Edward

[Gary0319]

Dunno if this puts me in the minority, but I said "no" to paying extra.  It's a great mag that I like reading, to be sure.  And I do enjoy seeing it in the mailbox.  But I doublt I'd shell out for it unless it was at a giveaway price.  Great pics and some fun stuff in there, but it really does feel like a large ad.  Not that I resent that ...'cause it's free (with the price of admission, of course ).

And FWIW, I think Wood and Steel was yet another one of Bob and Co's brilliant moves.  Including the mag subscription with purchase not only feeds owners' interest in their guitars and future projects, but it also includes owners comments/questions as if we're lending a voice that really is being heard.  Companies pay big bucks to marketing analysts and focus groups to figure out how to keep/grow their customer  base: Taylor done figured it out by catering to the customer.  Hahaha, go figure!

Edward

+1, I'll agree.

Great publication and I enjoy reading it, but it's still an corporate marketing publication. Free is fine, but I would  not pay for it.

Gary

[S MS Picker]

I really enjoyed the W&S.The first issue came out about the time I bought my first Taylor.For years,I kept the complete collection,often using them for reference.I wasn't the only one that liked them,as soon as they started enclosing them in a plastic bag(how many remember that time?),my copies weren't late anymore.Several never arrived.Guess the bag wasn't easily replaced. Anyway they all got really,really wet August,2005.I rarely look at them now,the website is my choice.
Pay for monthly,no. That's how I paid for my first Taylor guitar.
Steve

[DennisG]

Yes, I wish it came out far more often, as long as they had actual information to fill it with.  But I sure wish they'd change the name.

[michaelw]

Wood & Steel comes out quarterly & the format has changed from the original 'fold-out mini newspaper' design to a
stapled 'magazine-style' (still on newsprint-type stock, which i believe used a good percentage of recycled paper), to
the current version (semi-gloss finish, color on nearly every page, FSC certified paper, eco-friendly ink & printing process

there are other large scale builders that offer their publications every 6 months & there are some that
do not offer anything on a regular basis, other than for new product roll-outs or yearly guitar catalogs

Taylor does not require one to maintain a 'membership' of any kind to receive W & S &
if one registers their guitar (new or previously owned), they can receive W & S, although
i'm not sure exactly how that works in areas that are outside of the US & North America

i believe that even for W & S to become a bi-monthly publication, much less than monthly, it would
likely require a tremendous increase in the amount of resources used in order to make it happen -
my take on it is that i feel that Taylor is doing what is best for them overall (including media & events)
while continuing to providing great customer service & standing beside their instruments & products

they do a great job & i think that it'd be a huge undertaking to roll out a Taylor 'magazine' -
imho, it would be nice & i would pay for a 'subscription', but i'm happy with it the way it is

hopefully there will be more media, as i think a DVD of their 2012 line, with performances, would be cool

[Cindy]

I love the publication and prefer having a hard copy rather than viewing the PDF online. I also like the fact that they don't have any advertising in it other than Taylor items. I'd pay for it although like Michael said, it would involve a lot more work to publish monthly or bi-monthly. I'm still waiting for my copy to arrive via snail mail.

[DMBfan41]

I enjoy W&S thoroughly for the reader/owner input, answered questions, and even the lessons and playing tips.  In order to see a more frequent publication, it would need to still have substantive material.  I've subscribed to several mags in the past that could have better been served being a quarterly mag because the monthly was just chock full of ads and junk.  I like the idea of getting the W&S free simply because I'm an owner.  Just another reward of owning a fine instrument.  Whether I'd pay for it or not, most likely yes for now.

[dkoloff]

i enjoy the W & S very much but I am not sure I need a paid subscription for a company advertisement.

[cjd-player]

Would I like to see it more often?  Yes.  My favorite part is the "Ask Bob" section - actually his responses.  I also like the articles about wood sourcing and the factory, and some of the playing "lesson" type stuff.  But all-in-all, it's 90% marketing and I would not pay extra for it.   Plus, I figure I did pay for it when I bought my guitars. It just wasn't itemized on the invoices.

[ataylor]

Quarterly is perfect for the W&S issues -- anything else can and should be published via Taylor's website and their e-newsletters.

[Gutch]

Quarterly Wood & Steel is like getting your favorite special meal only once in a while - More often and it loses its uniqueness and begins to become mundane.  I'd say keeping it quarterly is just fine with me.

[Ed422]

I'd kind of rather they kept the info online and saved the paper, to be honest.  I used to like it more than I do now.  It seems like it used to be informational and now it is just sales pitch.

Ed

[michaelw]

there have been some guitar guides & catalogs phased into some of the issues,
along with LTD models, but i would think that just about anyone that is interested
in Taylors would like to know what is new & changes that are 'around the corner' -
by integrating everything in one 'place, so to speak, rather than having separate
LTD brochures, annual catalogs (the last one 'guitar life' was in 07) & a third
periodical (that might then be a bi-annual) it makes sense as a format, to me

with the changes that will be made to their websites, other web pages,
their official forum roll-out & Winter NAMM in a few days.  i think it'll be fun

i can see how it could be viewed as advertising & to me when ads come to mind, either
in the paper, radio or tv commercials, some of it may be of interest, but much of it is not -
here, this is information that i'm interested in & i like to know 'what, when & where'

i appreciate Brian S for taking the time to stop by, sharing a preview of the 2012s
with us (he covered pretty much the entire line) & for responding to questions -
this comes across to me as a very friendly, generous & accommodating gesture,
something that i believe is quite a rarity these days ... thank you so much B

i would like to think that we choose to be here because we're interested in Taylors & in sharing
information, pics, our experiences & other interests, i hope that we're able to catch up with
'old friends', to meet new ones, get to know each other better & have an absolute blast here

have a good one, all

[mcookoc]

after reading some of the posts i agree it would be hard to find enough interesting articles to keep a magazine on one particular guitar to fill a monthly publication. i would imagine taylor has a tough time keeping up with a quarterly issue. therefore i change my vote to no, i think it is great just the way it is. it sure is a great publication and fun to read.