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Guitars
Celebrate the world’s most seductive instrument. An obsessive, full-color book in the irresistible format of Shoes and Handbags—which together have over 700,000 copies in print—guitarS delivers a feast of 500 guitars in vibrant color, plus players, makers, legends, myths, and more.
Here are guitars that made history, that changed the course of music, that inspired new generations of players and listeners. Here are milestones in the guitar's search for its true self—Torres's classical, the amazing Gibson L-5—and experiments that ushered in a new world of sound—Rickenbacker's "Frying Pan" and Les Paul's "Log." Plus B. B. King's Lucille, Willie Nelson's Trigger, Eric Clapton's Brownie, the J-160E that John Lennon played during his 1968 "bed-in" with Yoko, Jimi Hendrix's hand-painted Flying V in full psychedelic regalia. And the far-out Gittler—no body, no neck, no peghead, yet every inch a guitar.
Also here are profiles of famous builders, including C. F. Martin, Orville Gibson, Leo Fender—the Henry Ford of guitars—and the mad genius Lloyd Loar. And individual luthiers, like Linda Manzer (her Pikasso II has 42 tunable strings), the maverick Ken Parker, and old-world artisan John D'Angelico, staring at skyscrapers from his Lower East Side shop and creating the ultimate art deco masterpiece, "The New Yorker."
Marrying visual pleasure with layers of information, Guitars captures the soul, the significance, history, magic, and the raw mojo of this most beloved of instruments.
Here are guitars that made history, that changed the course of music, that inspired new generations of players and listeners. Here are milestones in the guitar's search for its true self—Torres's classical, the amazing Gibson L-5—and experiments that ushered in a new world of sound—Rickenbacker's "Frying Pan" and Les Paul's "Log." Plus B. B. King's Lucille, Willie Nelson's Trigger, Eric Clapton's Brownie, the J-160E that John Lennon played during his 1968 "bed-in" with Yoko, Jimi Hendrix's hand-painted Flying V in full psychedelic regalia. And the far-out Gittler—no body, no neck, no peghead, yet every inch a guitar.
Also here are profiles of famous builders, including C. F. Martin, Orville Gibson, Leo Fender—the Henry Ford of guitars—and the mad genius Lloyd Loar. And individual luthiers, like Linda Manzer (her Pikasso II has 42 tunable strings), the maverick Ken Parker, and old-world artisan John D'Angelico, staring at skyscrapers from his Lower East Side shop and creating the ultimate art deco masterpiece, "The New Yorker."
Marrying visual pleasure with layers of information, Guitars captures the soul, the significance, history, magic, and the raw mojo of this most beloved of instruments.
528 pages, Paperback
First published May 5, 2008
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
May 18, 2023
A mini Wikipedia.
March 26, 2014
Overall, this Twas fairly good for an adult picture book (that sounds a bit more risque than I had planned). I did appreciate the blurbs (which reminds me, I've only owned one fish in my life and his name was Blurby... Blurbs was a good fish, a valiant one, but he lost the good fight. Thank you for your concern it's been a tough decade plus without him.) about guitar greats here and there and some history of the guitar. I think next time though, I want a pop-up book that I can flip each page and strum each guitar. That'd be the tits right there. Am I allowed to say tits in a review? Bc if not, I just did twice.
I will say a lovely effect that this book had on me was that it made me want to play guitar more. Something I delightfully want to do once I escape the hell season of work I'm in right now. Like I hope someone know's CPR bc I'm dying here.
And a quick shout out to my friend Sheaden who sent me this book... the man just always knows the things that I love so much. Especially when he combines the two of music AND books. Dream man!
I will say a lovely effect that this book had on me was that it made me want to play guitar more. Something I delightfully want to do once I escape the hell season of work I'm in right now. Like I hope someone know's CPR bc I'm dying here.
And a quick shout out to my friend Sheaden who sent me this book... the man just always knows the things that I love so much. Especially when he combines the two of music AND books. Dream man!
May 1, 2011
A very good summary and reference tool for a history of guitars. Of course the book could be 5 times thicker and drop far more names of famous players but its a good start
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May 20, 2011greatest book i have ever read!!!!!!!!!!!!
July 3, 2012
Mini book of guitar porn! Excellent.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews