When does the Fretboard Journal come out?
The magazine is quarterly and a new issue is released approximately every three months. We serve each subscription around number of issues we send, not a calendar year.

A “one-year” subscription will get you four issues. You can always tell which issue is the current issue by looking at the top of this website. We update the current issue’s cover the minute it has mailed to subscribers.

Our magazine is, by design, meant to be evergreen. We hope you’ll refer to them for years to come.

What types of music do you cover?
This is a magazine for any fretted instrument fanatic. We cover, quite simply, everything. Acoustic and electric. We’ve done stories on bluegrass legends, rock & rollers, folk artists and jazz greats. We even ran a story on the late Charlie Nothing, who created art guitars out of old car parts. One reader called the magazine the “National Geographic of guitar magazines,” and we thought that was a nice description. Like National Public Radio, we try to seek out some of the lesser-heard stories of the music world, along with the legends we all know about.

We think having diverse content crammed into each issue is what makes the magazine interesting and entertaining.

When are you going to do a story on (insert name here)?
If you have a favorite artist or builder who we haven’t covered yet, by all means, feel free to let us know.

That said, we work hard to make sure that every issue of the Journal features a wide array of artists and styles and builders and story types. Rest assured that if we haven’t covered one of the big names yet, we’re probably working on it.

Generally speaking, we strive to get stories that haven’t been told to death and to get unique angles that shine a new light on our subjects. That’s what makes the Fretboard Journal so valuable. Often times we’re just waiting for the right photo shoot, writer or moment in time to run a story.

Why should I subscribe?
By subscribing, you’re getting the magazines delivered straight to your door, at a discount. You’re also supporting our magazine: subscribers keep this magazine afloat and contribute far more to our bottom line than store copies. With our unique format, the more subscribers we have, the fewer ads we need to run in each issue.

How are the magazines shipped?
We know many of our readers like collecting our print edition. With that in mind, we mail all issues in a protective plastic cover with an insert so they can’t be easily folded. It may not be bullet (or waterproof), but it works great for nearly all of our readers. If you ever have a problem, just reach out to us.

Why does this magazine cost more than others?
Our magazine is unique in its format and really like no other “guitar magazine” available today. It looks and feels more like a coffee table book than a typical periodical, and costs us nearly as much as a book to produce! We’re reader-supported and limit the advertising in each issue … with some magazines, you get 50 pages of editorial and 50 pages of advertising.

With our magazine, you get at least 100 pages of editorial in each issue and just a handful of ads. It’s all printed on thick art-quality paper, too. We think you’ll love it.