jamesg1213

Mystic38
Guitar sales have plummeted,  Both Fender and Gibson are in dire straights due to this one single fact. bottom line is, millenials wont pick up an instrument that you actually have to spend time to practice on
 

 
I don't believe that 'fact' is true at all.
 
I've said this several times, but search YouTube for young guitarists  - there are thousands of them. What about the hundreds of young guitar bands you can see on festival bills every summer?
 
I'm 57, have been playing guitar for 40 years, and I've only ever bought 2 brand new 'name' guitars in all that time. When have kids ever been able to buy new Gibsons or Fenders? It's the price of new guitars that's hurting the big two, and the fact that there are now any number of second hand guitars to be bought, plus some great low end new ones, like Squier.

I'm not sure how reliable YouTube videos are in determining how many kids are playing guitar today. If YouTube had been around since the 70's then maybe we'd be able to compare the number of videos then with the number of videos now and draw a conclusion - but since it hasn't, there is no reference available. 
 
Even if the number of kids taking up the guitar dropped by 50% over the last 20 years, there would still be millions of young guitar players in the world and I'm guessing thousands of YouTube videos. But the decline would still be there. 
 
One thing I have noticed is that when you go into a guitar store these days, there are far fewer kids sitting playing their favorite riffs. I remember going into guitar stores in the 80's and the place would be packed out with kids of all kinds - rockers, metal heads, goths, indie kids - all banging away in a giant cacophony of bad playing. When I go in guitar stores now there's a couple of kids dotted around here and there but nothing like how it used to be. 
 
The truth is that there are so many other things competing for the attention of young minds these days. Especially social media. 

I wouldn't hold up YouTube vids as any kind of reliable statistic source, but it's certainly a valid argument against blanket statements like 'millennials don't want to learn an instrument'. Even in a backwater like this bit of SW Scotland I know several young folk who play guitar, violin, piano etc.

From where I sit (actively mentoring students on band instruments for over 20 years), there is a large decline in the study of all musical instruments, not just guitar.  Most of the band programs I am familiar with are something like 60-70% of the participation levels they were a generation ago.  There are many possible explanations for this:

1. The music they listen to just isn't all that interesting, at least not in a way that makes a person want to pick up an instrument and join in.  Most of what is out there is vocal with some pretty mundane instrumental backing.
2. The rap / hiphop stuff has drawn away some potential instrumentalists.  Much of this is in the box production.
3. Students are under increasing time pressure to load up their resumes with highly varied activities in order to be admitted to college and get scholarships.
4. "Rock stars" aren't what they used to be.  There are a few people (Lady Gaga et al) who are able to attract a big following, but mostly those are singles, not bands.
5. There aren't so many jobs playing in successful bands, often because of the use of DAWs and other technology.  Only a few can make a living in the main recording centers (NY, LA, Nashville, etc.)
6. The drugs and groupies aren't as fun as they used to be.

Kids are too busy texting and checking their social disease sites to have time for learning an instrument.

sharke

jamesg1213

Mystic38
Guitar sales have plummeted,  Both Fender and Gibson are in dire straights due to this one single fact. bottom line is, millenials wont pick up an instrument that you actually have to spend time to practice on
 

 
I don't believe that 'fact' is true at all.
 
I've said this several times, but search YouTube for young guitarists  - there are thousands of them. What about the hundreds of young guitar bands you can see on festival bills every summer?
 
I'm 57, have been playing guitar for 40 years, and I've only ever bought 2 brand new 'name' guitars in all that time. When have kids ever been able to buy new Gibsons or Fenders? It's the price of new guitars that's hurting the big two, and the fact that there are now any number of second hand guitars to be bought, plus some great low end new ones, like Squier.

I'm not sure how reliable YouTube videos are in determining how many kids are playing guitar today. If YouTube had been around since the 70's then maybe we'd be able to compare the number of videos then with the number of videos now and draw a conclusion - but since it hasn't, there is no reference available. 
 
Even if the number of kids taking up the guitar dropped by 50% over the last 20 years, there would still be millions of young guitar players in the world and I'm guessing thousands of YouTube videos. But the decline would still be there. 
 
One thing I have noticed is that when you go into a guitar store these days, there are far fewer kids sitting playing their favorite riffs. I remember going into guitar stores in the 80's and the place would be packed out with kids of all kinds - rockers, metal heads, goths, indie kids - all banging away in a giant cacophony of bad playing. When I go in guitar stores now there's a couple of kids dotted around here and there but nothing like how it used to be. 
 
The truth is that there are so many other things competing for the attention of young minds these days. Especially social media. 

Millenials play guitars. They just have different aspirations. The best young guitar player I know is more likely to play Kanye albums than classic rock. For millenials, a guitar is just one of many tools. They are very capable. Think of any challenging guitar rift and there is a kid on youtube playing it better than most of us could. Sales are down because they are thriftier. They are far more apt to get used guitar than go into debt for one.

A fellow guitarist said the other day that Gibson and Fender make some great guitars but they are priced for and aimed at collectors rather than players.
 
Of course it is easy to bash bigger companies but it does seem that Gibson and Fender have forgotten about the typical or aspiring guitarist. I know that they have Epiphone and Squier but they both used to have some lower cost models. I guess the problem is that those models became popular because of the players that used them and now they can command the same high price as what used to be their higher priced siblings. 

I'm just glad I put a guitar in my sons hands at age 10. He's 42 now and he makes a living centered around music. Something I was never able to do.

anydmusic
A fellow guitarist said the other day that Gibson and Fender make some great guitars but they are priced for and aimed at collectors rather than players.
 
Of course it is easy to bash bigger companies but it does seem that Gibson and Fender have forgotten about the typical or aspiring guitarist. I know that they have Epiphone and Squier but they both used to have some lower cost models. I guess the problem is that those models became popular because of the players that used them and now they can command the same high price as what used to be their higher priced siblings. 

Buy used, there are lots of used guitars out there, in great condition, at great prices.  My first 3 instruments were used when I started playing in the 70's.  I didn't buy my first new instrument until I was in college and worked 1/2 a Summer to make enough money to buy it.  
 
 

My first two guitars were new. My first bass was new.
 
All three cheap knockoffs.
 
My second bass was used. Best deal I ever got. 1964 P Bass for $15 dollars. It was a little "hot" and it didn't work. I had to solder some of the leads to the pots.
 
Traded up to new Gibson EB0 then  shortly traded up for a new EB3 then traded up for new Rick 4003.
 
Traded Rick up for my "used" (i.e. three month old) Alembic Series I bass (whoops I let it I have an Alembic Bass ).
 
Every guitar or bass I've purchased, or was gifted by The Lovely Lady, since then has been new.

anydmusic
I know that they have Epiphone and Squier but they both used to have some lower cost models. I guess the problem is that those models became popular because of the players that used them and now they can command the same high price as what used to be their higher priced siblings. 

I bought a new Gibson Sonex in 1981, it was the nearest I could get to a Les Paul. I still have it.