About Strum Magazine

Guitars sound different depending on who is holding them, which is most of what Strum Magazine is about. The site covers guitar and string instruments, the players using them, and the records they end up on: acoustic and electric, pedal chains and amp settings, mandolins and lap steels, and the tone people spend years chasing. A player who owns one instrument is served as seriously as a collector with a wall of them.

Reviews and hands-on writing dominate, and gear is judged after it has been played, not unboxed. An amp is described at bedroom volume and at stage volume, a pickup by what it does to the low strings, a set of strings by how they sound in week three. Specification sheets copied from a manufacturer are not a review, and endorsement deals are disclosed wherever they exist. Prices are current at the time of writing and stated in dollars.

Music takes in the songs and genres that string instruments built, from delta blues through bluegrass to whatever came out of a Seattle basement. Guitars covers the instruments and everything attached to them: pickups, pedals, amps, strings, setup and repair. Artists profiles players through their technique and their tone. Reviews handles gear and records with an argued verdict. Music News reports releases, tours and instrument launches, while Business News tracks builders, retailers and a vintage market where prices behave strangely.