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Books and Reference Material

Tony Bacon Interview

icontexto-webdev-social-bookmark-09facebook481Any guitarist who has walked the aisles of the nearest Barnes & Noble or roamed the guitar related entries at Amazon.com has seen the name Tony Bacon.

For the past couple of decades Tony has been linked to well-researched tomes on Gibsons, Fenders, Gretsch’s and thousands of pages about cool, historic, unique and downright weird guitars.

Digging in deep to offer readers accurate and interesting information on the world’s most famous and obscure guitars is not an easy road.
One must pore over old magazines, interview guitar industry experts, get some quality time with top celebrity guitarists, then check and double-check every fact, and then present the material that’s grammatically correct, aesthetically pleasing, and presentable in a form to successfully meet the market. It’s damn hard work, but at the end of the day must be very satisfying, and Tony Bacon by all accounts should be delighted.

Read the interview here

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Books and Reference Material General

Nice George Gruhn interview..

icontexto-webdev-social-bookmark-09facebook481A nice interview has recently been posted with George Gruhn.

The world of guitars has a select few gurus who have reached a place where they offer a foundation of expertise. In the world of vintage guitars, the name that always comes to mind is George Gruhn. Certainly, there are others with vintage guitar expertise and backgrounds that we can consult for enlightenment. But, if you want the highest level of credibility, you turn to George.

Gruhn’s expertise is highlighted in the books he co-authored with Walter Carter, including Gruhn’s Guide to Vintage Guitars, along with follow-up editions on Acoustic Guitars and Other Fretted Instruments: A Photographic History, and Electric Guitars and Basses: A Photographic History. George has also written numerous articles for guitar magazines, as well as publishes his own Gruhn Newsletter. He has also been a featured columnist for Pickin’, Frets, Bluegrass Unlimited, Guitar Player and Vintage Guitar Magazine.

read the interview

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Books and Reference Material

How to Buy a Vintage Guitar

icontexto-webdev-social-bookmark-09tipdrop logofacebook481I found this interesting video on sale whilst browsing on Amazon yesterday.

How to Buy a Vintage Guitar [VHS]

This buyer’s guide teaches how to appraise, critique, determine originality and playability, recognize counterfeits and predict future investment values. Using both electric and acoustic guitars as teaching tools, George examines finish, hardware, fret type, inlays, bindings, peg head shapes, more.

As I’m sure you know, George Gruhn is one of the most well known experts in vintage guitars and this video will be packed with tips and hints built up from his life times experience in guitar collecting and dealing.

It’s an American tape, so foreign buyers should check they can play it in their own countries.

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Books and Reference Material

A Desktop Reference of Hip Vintage Guitar Amps

This book by Gerald Weber looks like an interesting reference…

A Desktop Reference of Hip Vintage Guitar Amps (Book)

If you have questions about guitar amplifiers-how to fix them, how to restore them, or how to hot-rod them-this book has the answer.

This book is written for the guitarist or collector who desires a common sense approach to understanding the essence of vintage tube amps and vintage tube tone.

Not written for engineers, it does not contain engineering formulas, polar mathematic equations, or abbreviations that are assumed you should know.

Gerald Weber, a regular columnist for Vintage Guitar magazine, shares the knowledge he has accumulated over the years of repairing and building his line of Kendrick amps.

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Books and Reference Material

New Fender Guitars Book

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A friend of a friend has a new book about to be published about Fender’s golden period, 1946-1970.

Fender: The Golden Age

Here are the details, from Amazon:

Fender: The Golden Age

Leo Fender’s guitars have arguably had the greatest influence on modern music than any other make of guitar. Over 250 guitars in every model, style and finish are lovingly photographed and detailed, from the greatest to the rarest – Strats, Teles and the infamous Marauder. This title includes hundreds of never-before-seen images from recently unearthed archives and specially commissioned shoots around the world. Working with a worldwide network of collectors each model has been photographed specially for the book and alongside these exceptionally rare guitars are reproductions of Fender ephemera – the largest collection anyone will have ever seen. Tracing the history and influence of the company with a level of detail no other book can rival. These vintage guitars are among the most loved and collectible instruments in the world.

About the Author:

Martin Kelly is the joint MD of highly acclaimed British independent record label Heavenly Recordings home of the Magic Numbers, Doves and Cherry Ghost. Paul Kelly is an award winning film maker (director of Finisterre and This Is Tomorrow) and designer. He is taking all the photographs in this book. He lives in London.

Terry Foster is one of the world’s leading authorities and collectors of Fender guitars. He lives in America.

Here is the link to Amazon.com, if you are outside UK:

Fender: The Golden Age 1946-1970

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Books and Reference Material General

The New Guitar Collecting Amazon Store

icontexto-webdev-social-bookmark-09tipdrop logofacebook481Time for a little shameless self-promotion.

We have set up our own store within Amazon, for all the guitar related stuff we can think of.

The thinking behind it is that we hope to create a starting point for anybody searching for books about guitar collecting, tab books and sheet music, CDs and DVDs by relevent and maybe hard to find guitarists, such as Steve Vai, Joe Satriani, and Michael Landau.

We will be adding to the shop very regularly, but you can also use it as a starting point to search within Amazon for anything else.

We aren’t trying to hide the fact that we also earn a commission on anything that gets bought through the shop links, so by earning a little  cash this way it allows us to keep running the website and keep the rest of our advertising as low key as possible. I hope our readers can appreciate this point, we will never engage in spam or “in your face” promotional techniques.

We hope you like the shop, and please feel free to give us any suggestions on how it could be improved.

Visit the Guitar Collecting Amazon Store

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Books and Reference Material General

Free Guitar Collecting Ebook!

icontexto-webdev-social-bookmark-09facebook48125 Cool Signature GuitarsWe have put together a free ebook for all our visitors as a thankyou for your support over the last few months.

“25 Cool Signature Guitars” is almost 50 pages long and is available for free download by filling in your name and email address on the right.

We are also giving you permission to copy, give away and redistribute our book as many times as you like, just so long as you don’t alter it in any way. If you have your own guitar website please feel free to offer it as a giveaway too.

We hope you like the book, it’s not a definitive guide of signature guitars, but a just a personal view of some guitars that we think are either well known,  interesting in some way, or just cool!

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New Guitar Collecting Magazine Launching

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Guitar Aficionado magazine and GuitarAficionado.com from Future U.S., the publishers of Guitar World,  is a new upscale men’s, niche lifestyle publication for music enthusiasts who collect, play and invest in new and vintage guitars.

According to Guitar Aficionado, readers know that guitars are among some of the best-performing, tangible asset investments available today. Traditionally, the value of collectible guitars has increased exponentially over the last 10 to 20 years.

An online brochure is available here

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Books and Reference Material

Neptune Bound: The Ultimate Danelectro Guitar Guide



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Neptune Bound: The Ultimate Danelectro Guitar Guide

Neptune Bound: The Ultimate Danelectro Guitar Guide

You may have never heard of a Danelectro guitar.

But Jimmy Page and Eric Clapton certainly have.

The unorthodox instruments — known for their unique design and prized for their clear, bell-like tone — belong in the arsenal of every rock guitarist from Aerosmith to ZZ Top.

And with the publication of “Neptune Bound,” Doug Tulloch has established himself as the world’s foremost expert on the classic instrument, a passion that has put him in the company of some of rock’s greatest guitarists.

“Neptune Bound” is a 437-page tome full of all things Danelectro. It is subtitled “The Ultimate Danelectro Guitar Guide.”

The Danelectro was the creation of Nathan Daniel and was produced in America from 1954 to 1969. Danelectros are recognized for their inexpensive but durable construction. Today the American versions begin selling at $300 and can go up to as much as $5,000 if they are celebrity-owned. For the last 10 years, they have been made in Korea.

“The Danelectro is a no-frills instrument,” Tulloch says. “They’re light and comfortable, which makes it a user-friendly guitar.

They were sold out of the Sears catalog which gave young musicians the opportunity to start out with something that didn’t mean spending a lot of money. Over the years they began to get more rare and expensive.

“Chances are that if you grew up in the 1950s or ’60s you knew someone who owned a Danelectro,” Tulloch says. “People reflect fondly on the instruments. They were a decent guitar for the money. They play as well as any other guitar.”

Danelectros are constructed of Masonite around a pine frame with a poplar neck. One of the guitar’s more notable features is pickups that were originally set in lipstick tube casings. And while most modern guitarists will first reach for Fenders or Gibsons, the performance that can be derived from a Danelectro has made it a studio favorite for many players through the years, including Page and Clapton.

In 1991, Tulloch opened City Guitar, an Acushnet Avenue business that dealt in used and vintage guitars, amplifiers and accessories. He was able to build a collection of Danelectros that eventually grew to 150 guitars. His interest in the instrument also allowed him to provide them for rockers such as Joe Perry and Brad Whitford of Aerosmith, Gregg Allman, Dean DeLeo of Stone Temple Pilots and Warren Haynes of Gov’t Mule.

“I started collecting Danelectros when no one else was,” Tulloch points out. “I was selling more popular guitars such as Fenders and Gretsches which allowed me to fund my addiction to Danelectros. Since no one was collecting them when I started, I was able to build my collection for cheap.”

Tulloch closed City Guitar in 1996, but not before establishing himself as the expert source on Danelectros.

“People play Danelectros all across the planet,” he says. “I’ve been in touch with people from Sweden to Singapore. And now this is the book that solidifies the subject. This is the definitive book on Danelectros.”

The book, designed by artist Matt Charros, took three years of persistent dedication. It is being sold in England, Japan, and Australia. It is available in America here:

Neptune Bound: The Ultimate Danelectro Guitar Guide

When Tulloch sells the 200th copy of the book, he’s going to raffle off one of his prized Danelectros — a silvertone amp-in-case model valued at $800.

Today Tulloch still buys and sells guitars as well as doing repair work. He occasionally writes articles for magazines such as Vintage Guitar and Japanese Guitar. The majority of the articles are about Danelectros.

“My life is all about guitars,” he says. “I’ve surrounded myself with my passion.”

By www.southcoasttoday.com

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Books and Reference Material

SUPER SWEDE- Hagstrom Guitars 50 Yrs

icontexto-webdev-social-bookmark-09Great new hardbound 193 page book about the collectable Swedish Guitars, Hagström

Superswede: Hagstrom Guitars 50 Years

superswede hagstromHagström guitars hold a place in musicians´ hearts. Many of the world´s greatest played Hagström instruments, from ABBA to Zappa. Other international star users are Jimi Hendrix and Elvis Presley.

Musicians of a younger generation have also discovered these Swedish quality instruments, for example The Cardigans and Sahara Hotnights.

This richly illustrated book – more than 400 photos – displays not only the guitars and basses made in the Älvdalen main factory between 1958 and 1981, but also Hagström instruments sold under other brand names, and instruments built in the Falun and Oslo factories, and by Bjärton.

The close to 200,000 Hagström guitars made are a symbol of Swedish musical, cultural, and industrial history and a fine example of Swedish design.

Author Mikael Jansson is a journalist and musician, and in 2006 published a book (in Swedish) about the Hagstrom company history, “Musik for miljoner”.

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Books and Reference Material

The Stratocaster Chronicles: Celebrating 50 Years of the Fender Strat

I found an interesting book on the Fender Stratocaster, by Tom Wheeler of Guitar Player Magazine.

The Stratocaster Chronicles: Celebrating 50 Years of the Fender Strat

stratocaster chronicles

The world’s most famous guitar has a golden anniversary in 2004 and this official, authorised book/CD package offers the best photos, quotes, facts and sounds to properly celebrate this achievement. From Buddy Holly to Jimi Hendrix to today’s hottest players, the Fender Stratocaster defines rock ‘n’ roll for generations of fans and players. A foreword by Eric Clapton. Exclusive photos from the world’s greatest guitar collection. A CD with musical examples of famous Strat sounds and styles – even spoken excerpts from the author’s interviews with the Strat’s beloved inventor, Leo Fender.

And in the words of one Amazon reviewer, “The best Fender Strat book yet”

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Books and Reference Material

The Steve Howe Guitar Collection

Great video clip from 1988 of Steve Howe, best known for his playing with Yes and Asia, talking about part of his extensive guitar collection.

Steve is a well known and respected guitar collector, having had a book published about his collection in 1993.The book is pretty rare now, but is available here;

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Books and Reference Material

Guitar Books Roundup pt 1

guitarguideThe Official Vintage Guitar Magazine Price Guide 2009 (Official Vintage Guitar Magazine Price Guide)

This year’s price guide; The bible of the vintage guitar collecting industry.

 

 

 

gruhnsGruhn’s Guide to Vintage Guitars: An Identification Guide for American Fretted Instruments

For collectors, dealers and players, this updated guide provides specifications, serial numbers, and more for determining the originality of vintage American acoustic and electric fretted instruments. Detailing thousands of models of major manufacturers, the book now includes expanded coverage of Martin, Guild, Mosrite, Dobro, Gibson banjos, Fender amps and Gibson amps, plus updates on the latest models from Fender, Gibson, Rickenbacker and others since 1990.

 

warmansWarmans Vintage Guitar Field Guide (Warman’s Field Guides)

Another guitar identification and price guide. A nice companion book to the Vintage Guitar Magazine price guide.

 

 

 

 

bluebookBlue Book of Electric Guitars

The guitar industry’s most comprehensive publication on electric guitar information and pricing has been dramatically improved! The new 11th Edition Blue Book of Electric Guitars is now over 1,150 pages, identifies over 1,200 guitar manufacturers, trademarks, and luthiers, and features hundreds of new images. Written by Zachary R. Fjestad and edited by S.P. Fjestad, the fully revised 11th Edition Blue Book of Electric Guitars keeps the reader up-to-date on new and vintage pricing, technical information on electric instruments, and serialization on most major trademarks. This edition lists the current and discontinued electric companies, contains a thoroughly revised Trademark Index with contact information, and features hundreds of black and white photos depicting popular makes and models.

gibsonclassicGibson Electrics: The Classic Years

Since the inception of the first “electrical” guitars in the 1920s, no other manufacturer has produced a greater variety of professional quality models than Gibson. This book presents a documented account of the instruments released during a highly creative period from the 1930s up to the mid-60s, which saw the coming of age of the electric guitar. It describes all the models that have made history and contributed to establishing the reputation of Gibson. This edition features over 500 illustrations, including 100 in color, and previously unpublished material.

tedTed McCarty’s Golden Era 1948-1966

Gibson Guitars: Ted McCarty’s Golden Era is a long overdue book that covers the world’s greatest period of guitar manufacturing. As CEO of Gibson Guitars from 1948 to 1966, Ted McCarty presided over the production of nearly one million instruments and amplifiers. 1950s Gibson Les Paul Standards, Flying Vs, Explorers, and ES-335s are considered to be some of the most valuable fretted instruments in the world. This book is Ted McCarty’s first and only complete biography, and a book that gives us a glimpse into a golden era of his factory and his loyal employees who made some of the world’s most desirable guitars. It features over 100 photographs, some from Ted’s personal archives and never before published. “Ted McCarty was the architect of a Golden period in Gibson’s history. During his 18-year tenure, he helped to reestablish the company’s historic leadership in the industry through a number of musical innovations that still resonate today.” Gibson Chairman and CEO Henry E. Juszkiewicz

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Books and Reference Material

Another Great Guitar Book

This book…

Totally Guitar

Has a wealth of great guitar information. Over 600 pages of guitar history, playing styles, pictures, and some information on rarely seen makes and models of guitars from all eras. As the Amazon reviews quite rightly say:

This book is a real bargain…not only is it excellent value at (rrp £20 – cheaper bought on Amazon), it is also full of fascinating and useful information. Chapters are;

Sound and Construction
Essential ingredients that determine the sonic characteristics and playing feel of the world’s most popular guitars.

Amps and effects
A look under the hood of the gear that shapes your sound.

Maintenance
A guide to care, cleaning, set-up, repair and minor customisation of your guitar.

Play Guitar
Take a taste of the ten most popular guitar styles – to find new inspiration for your own playing, or an entirely new direction.

  • Acoustic
  • Rock and Pop
  • Blues
  • Country
  • Rock’n’Roll
  • Metal
  • Latin
  • African
  • Classical
  • Jazz

Guitar Manufacturers
A unique illustrated directory with all the inside info on the great electric guitars and the stories of their development for 130 leading brands.

Glossary
A detailed, comprehensive and fully illustrated guide to the language of guitar.

If you have an interest in guitars then there will be plenty in this book to entertain you. The maintenance section is particularly useful – with everything you need to start maintaining your own guitar rather than paying someone else to do it! I actually discovered that I had been stringing my guitar incorrectly for the last 10 years – I would tie up the slack straight onto the tuning head, which it describes as bad practice. That is just one example of many tips and tricks the section includes. It goes into real depth, covering many different types of guitar and setup.

The Play Guitar section is excellent too, covering a wide variety of styles and including useful and concise information to get you started playing in a new style, or rounding off your existing abilities.

The sound and construction, amps and effects and guitar manufacturers are for those who want to know more than just how to play. To me, all of the information there is very interesting and is well laid out and described – generally in chronological order.

Having said that, not everyone is interested in the detail. If you’re not then this book should still be of use (and great value!) as the first two sections discussed above really make this book great value for money. The informative sections are a bonus for those interested.

Whether a newbie or an experienced, knowledgeable, player I think there will be something in here for you. I would recommend this book to any guitar player as a great reference and really interesting read.

My own copy of this book gets referred to on an almost daily basis, it’s well worth the low price!

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Books and Reference Material

A book worth investigating…

Just been reading about the updated version of Phil Taylor’s book about David Gilmour’s iconic black Stratocaster…

“The Black Strat” is the first and only accurate and knowledgeable account of David Gilmour’s favourite Stratocaster guitar. Written by Phil Taylor – David’s personal guitar technician since 1974 – to coincide with the release of the long awaited and much requested Fender ‘David Gilmour Signature Strat’: an instrument replicating the look, set-up, sound and feel of David’s famous guitar as it is today. The chronological story begins with David Gilmour joining Pink Floyd early in 1968, his guitar at that time, his subsequent instruments leading to the purchase of the Black Strat in 1970, and the other guitars that have come and gone. This book details all of the changes and modifications made to the Black Strat, its use on Pink Floyd tours and iconic albums, David’s solo projects, and various guest appearances throughout the years. 

About the Author

Phil Taylor (London) has been working for Pink Floyd continuously since he was 22 years of age. In 1974 he was employed by Pink Floyd to take care of the band’s personal equipment used on stage and in the studio. He has worked on every Pink Floyd and David Gilmour project for over three decades.

This book is a great gift or alternative for those of us who can’t afford the two and a half grand for the new Fender  signature replica!

Take a closer look at the book in the link..

Pink Floyd: the Black Strat: A History of David Gilmour’s Black Fender Stratocaster