Tony Bacon

This new version of Tony Bacon's story of the Fender Telecaster shows how the world's first commercially successful solid body electric guitar still attracts musicians more than 60 years since its birth in California. Today, it is more popular than ever, and for many guitarists, it has overtaken the Stratocaster as the Fender to own and play. The Telecaster is...

Is the sunburst Gibson Les Paul Standard really the greatest electric guitar ever made? This book aims to answer that question, even if so many players and collectors have already sounded a loud Yes! Famously played by Eric Clapton and Jimmy Page, this fabulous instrument, known simply as the Burst, has become a legend. Through a series of interviews with...

In California in the early 50s, the Fender company introduced the world's first electric bass guitar. They couldn't have known it then, but the Precision Bass would start a revolution in the sound of popular music. This book explains how that revolution happened and how its reverberations are still felt today. The two-guitars-bass-and-drums lineup that would define pop music found...

The Gibson 335 Guitar Book tells the story of Gibson's ES-335 and related models, as played by B.B. King, Alvin Lee, and Eric Clapton, among other virtuosos. It's full of great guitars, cool players, and fascinating historical detail. The book traces the story from Gibson's first thinline models to the company's signature instruments and modern re-creations of today. It is...

Gretsch electric guitars have a style all their own - a glitzy, wacky, retro charm that over the years has drawn players from all kinds of popular music, from timeless stars to unknown teens. The Beatles, Chet Atkins, Duane Eddy, and Brian Setzer all made their mark with Gretsch, and new bands continually discover and fall in love with the...

Tony Bacon's definitive guide to Gibson's most famous guitar moves into its latest and most complete version yet with this new and thoroughly revised edition. Now with 16 extra pages and 45 new pictures, this timely and retitled update of 50 Years Of The Gibson Les Paul (2002) tells the story of one of the greatest musical instruments of the...

To many vintage guitar fans, it seems inconceivable that Gibson dumped the Sunburst Les Paul in 1960 and, during the following year, introduced a completely new design, the one that we know now as the SG (solid guitar). At the time, however, it made good business sense. Sales of the Les Paul were faltering, and Gibson decided to blow a...

Electric Guitars Design and Invention delves into the intentional artistry behind electric guitars. These instruments don't occur by chance; their appearance, sound, and playability are the results of meticulous design. Today's guitar designers often draw inspiration from the exceptional instruments created in the '50s and '60s. Why did the Telecaster, the Les Paul, the Stratocaster, and the ES-335 become so...

Ibanez is the most important Japanese guitar brand, and this new book tells the story of its electric guitars, tracking the fortunes of this impressive brand. At first, the guitars were cheap and basic, and in the 1970s Ibanez was best known for its copies of leading Gibson instruments, including Les Pauls, SGs, and Explorers. As the Japanese music industry...

When The Byrds recorded their hit version of Dylan's "Mr Tambourine Man", they popularised a new sound in pop music: the electric 12-string guitar. There was even a suitable line in the lyric: 'In the jingle-jangle morning'. Electric 12-string has been aptly described as a jangling sound ever since. Rickenbacker is the guitar maker who brought the electric 12-string to...

With guitars you've never seen in your life, this collection is a must-have for any guitar enthusiast or beginner. Not only is this volume the go-to place for classic guitar styles, bass guitars are a featured item in the catalogue. From Fender to Gibson and everything in between, this book highlights some of the most popular guitars of recent years...

Legendary Guitars: An Illustrated Guide is a road map to the electric guitars of the 1950s and '60s and the culture, styles, and music that shaped them. The book illustrates how the great instruments created and produced between 1950 and 1969 went on to define the design, looks, and playability of today's electric guitars. Legendary Guitars draws direct lines between...

In 1982, Fender revived an old guitar-string name for its new line of Japanese-made electric guitars. Thirty years later, Squier is almost as important to the company as the main Fender brand. This book tells the story of the millions of guitars produced with the Squier name in the years between that inauspicious birth and its glorious 30th anniversary. The...