SOUND ON SOUND

[Forum Admin]

Dave, we know you are well-meaning and your response comes from your passion and enjoyment of the NFTD column.

[Hugh Robjohns]

My apologies to all concerned if I have given offence.

Gladly accepted, but not necessary -- I'd like to think we are virtual friends who can exchange honestly held views without taking offence.

I do however feel a bit "picked on" since others have been, shall we say, "less polite" than myself?

Sorry -- I'm not 'picking on you', but the fact is that you are the one wielding the stirring stick. If you look back through the entire thread you will notice that you were the first to post an SOS-bashing comment, complaining about the magazine losing it's 'pepp' and becoming very 'samey'. Almost everyone else just said how much they enjoyed and will miss the column.

And then dbfs comes on with his view that 'the mag has lost its appeal' and you're straight back on it with comments about "...this will NOT 'rest in peace' " and "I ... will poke this with a pointy stick at every opportunity..."

So, in contrast to your assertion that 'others have been less polite', that's clearly not the case...

But enough; let's draw a line here. The loss of the Deadlines column is very unfortunate, but not something that was planned or under SOS's control..

Rest assured that the whole SOS team will continue to work very hard to maintain the editorial standards for which we are so well known and respected, and to keep up the appeal of the mag to so many tens of thousands who read it every month and who don't find it samey. :-)

H

[ef37a]

Ok Hugh, points taken but what I meant was I did not call anyone a "fool"!

I shall put my stick down and moderate my comments in the future!

Dave.

[Hugh Robjohns]

:D :thumbup:

[dbfs]

Hi Guys,

Just a note to say that I do not wish to bash the mag. It is a valuable resource to many. Over the years my favourite parts became things like Paul White's Leader and Paul Farrer's Notes from the Deadline because of the personal human element to them. Don't get me wrong, I do like reading the odd gear review, but it's the everyday stuff that I enjoy the most.

[Hugh Robjohns]

Thanks for the clarification.

Er, Paul Whites leader was my first read for many many years and now not so for many years and not really at all now.

Past ten? years, Sounding 0rf was my first port of call, not for yonks though…

I remember reading Notes From… for a fair ol’ while at first I suppose and not so now & for even longer… felt it had run its course, for me anyway.

It’s not about wot someone, an individual, likes or doesn’t…

I get nowt much out of it but still buy it?

That’s wot it’s about, innit.

Off the top of me ‘ead, I dunno, Room for improvement? Or same ol’ story…





I think the mag needs to evolve maybe, the web and mag combine more…

[jamedia.uk]

The problem is nature does not like a vacuum and when there is no answer from the horses mouth you get speculation from the other end.

So perhaps the air needs clearing from the horses mouth on the "boring reasons" for unilaterally stopping the column before the speculation takes over. Especially as some of it has already hit the wrong target.

As some one who wrote a monthly column for nearly a decade in a (different trade) magazine I know that some times it becomes a chore and you just don't want to write it any more.

[John Egan]

Hi All,

Just for the record, I'm a guitarist with an interest in recording from way back. I've been a subscriber to a number of guitar magazines ever since they became available. Most of them dumbed down substantially in the 1980s and I stopped subscribing, except to Guitar and Bass, which didn't.

Sound on Sound still is my favourite music mag read and has been for the fifteen(ish) years I've been a subscriber. Yes, I enjoyed Paul Farrer's column and I expressed my appreciation in an earlier post, but my favourite reads are the technical articles, which mostly pass miles over my head, but exert a sort of "rabbit with a weasel" fascination - as in, I know they are significant and helpful, but am not sure how to deal with them. One day, maybe.

But the mag still keeps me coming back for more. Long may it continue.

Regards, John

[Sam Spoons]

I had a sub for a good while then let it lapse as I wasn't reading the mag (not a fault of the mag but due to other factors). I didn't stop being involved in these forums though and restored my digital sub last year as I wanted to support the mag even though I didn't read it cover to cover as I used to do. The new pdf version may well be the push I need to get back to reading the mag more fully again.

[Dynamic Mike]

I'll miss Notes From The Deadline, it was one of the few columns you could share with people who wouldn't ordinarily be interested in the rest of the magazine.

I tend to buy the mag now only when I know I'll have time to read it (which is probably every other month) or if there's something I'm specifically interested in buying.

I think the mag has become a bit boring & predictable over the last few years, but I wonder whether that isn't because music tech in general has become evolutionary rather than revolutionary. I think it must be a real problem for the people writing the reviews, as often it's only the personal touches & writing styles that keep the articles interesting. New products & software aside how do they know where to begin? Do you pitch a review of Cubase 9 to someone with Cubase 8.5 or to someone who's never used Cubase & wonders if it might be the DAW for them? Seems to me either way you risk excluding half your potential audience.

Having said that, I read this month's mag from cover to cover...