Songwriting can often feel like puzzle-solving. Bridging sections together, making choruses shine, and ensuring songs have emotion and movement sometimes feel like a task akin to cracking the Da Vinci Code.

Possessing a solid grasp of music theory will help, but knowing where to start can be challenging, and finding the time to dedicate to it can be even harder. Recognizing these problems, industry expert and YouTuber Adam Saunders (AKA The Keys Coach) has written two new books that break down music theory into bite-size chunks to make it practical and accessible for all. Ultimately, he hopes they will change people’s perceptions of these valuable tools and remove the headache of understanding them.

Theory for Rock & Pop Musicians, Volumes 1 & 2 are written with contemporary pop, rock, and jazz musicians in mind, providing a cheat code for mastering theory concepts quickly and easily. Published by Trinity College London Press, they bring invaluable concepts to the fore simply and efficiently so that new and experienced players can benefit equally.

The Keys Coach is the perfect musician for the job. Alongside his YouTube videos – which reach his loyal community of 50,000 subscribers and beyond – he’s a university lecturer and the co-founder of the BA Music Performance and Industry program at Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance. In short, he’s spent his entire career breaking down complex ideas to help musicians elevate their game.

The books have been designed to deliver clear concepts suited for all players, regardless of their knowledge base, that can be applied directly to a reader’s playing and songwriting. This will help empower guitarists, bassists, and players of all instruments to immediately break out of their creative ruts and use their newfound knowledge. The books will make them better players and writers.

Music theory can be a stumbling block for musicians wanting to achieve a particular sound or feat – like shredding the Lydian scale like Joe Satriani or using key changes to take their songs to new places. Even with the most basic understanding of music theory in their back pocket, players can feel better equipped to turn that half-finished demo into something to be proud of, and these books come to the aid of those who don’t resonate with traditional learning methods.

Away from songwriting, with theory, players can also deconstruct their favorite songs to understand what makes them so good in the first place. These books can help with that.

The books are structured but flexible, meaning players can pick them up and add to their skill set even in quick-fire doses. Progress can be made whenever suits, at any pace, with even the smallest investments of time and energy reaping the rewards.

In a departure from traditional teaching approaches, which Saunders finds can often deter players from exploring the theoretical side of music, the books are loaded with hands-on learning covering performing, songwriting, and production methodologies. It places its lessons in real-world settings so players can get the most out of them.

Lessons are interactive too, generating instant hits of dopamine and satisfaction for players who can apply their skills to a vast downloadable archive of over 350 audio tracks. Both volumes also come with downloadable answer books so that players can test their knowledge every step of the way.

Beyond their theoretical foundations, the books also develop musicians' listening skills through exercises on recognizing different intervals and chords and the roles they play in songs. By linking theoretical and practical knowledge in this way, Saunders aims to help players gain confidence, creativity, and versatility on their chosen instruments.

The books can be taken to music lessons, but, more excitingly, they can be the secret weapon of self-taught players eager to gain a better grasp of music theory, quickly, easily, and without convoluted jargon. It’s a relaxed, informal way to develop a greater musical understanding.

From ultra-complex djent anthems to streamlined and irresistible pop bangers, music theory tricks can turn average songs into classics. Sabrina Carpenter’s Espresso, for instance, recently described by one music professor as “a finely engineered product of the pop machine,” just scooped two Grammy wins, and much of its magic comes from subtle hacks; ones these books look to instil into learners.

Jimmy Page once famously said: “I believe every guitar player inherently has something unique about their playing. They just have to identify what makes them different and develop it.”

Understanding music theory can help players unlock their identity as musicians by exploring new possibilities, and these volumes by Adam Saunders provide that knowledge in an easily digestible and engaging package.

Theory for Rock & Pop Musicians, Volumes 1 & 2, is available in physical print and digital formats.

Guitar World readers can get an exclusive 20% discount on digital ebook copies, starting at £18.45, using the code RPTHEORY20 at checkout.

Affordable and accessible, they provide the perfect opportunity to learn about the fundamentals of popular music from an industry insider without breaking the bank… or your brain.

Head to Trinity College to order a copy your ebook copies with GW’s exclusive discount and to learn more.

A new book offering a comprehensive view of Steve Vai’s staggering guitar collection has been announced, and a limited run of special-edition Ibanez JEM electric guitars has been produced to mark the occasion.

Wire & Wood: The Guitars of Steve Vai has been a tireless endeavor five years in the making for photographer Michael Mesker and Rufus Publications, and is intended to be “the most expansive creative overview ever assembled of one singular guitarist’s collection of instruments.”

Over 100 guitars have been pictured for the project, which will be released as a two-volume large-format photography book. Across 1,000+ pages, Vai’s beloved instruments have been captured in “exquisite detail” by Mesker.

The photographer is Vai’s long-standing Art Director and has also worked on projects with Tony MacAlpine and Frank Zappa. He is also the Art Director for DiMarzio. Mesker is said to have first marveled at Vai’s practically bottomless guitar vault in late 2002 and was arrested by the history contained within.

The guitars from Vai’s decades of string-bothering are included. Many of the instruments that were first seen in grainy 1980s music videos are now set to be explored in high resolution, bringing their “peculiarities, blemishes, and modifications” to light like never before.

The exhaustive book takes in some of his earliest instruments, including his first Contessa acoustic and his “Sticker Strat”, used while studying at Berklee and later with Frank Zappa. There are also some of his more recognizable instruments, from the Crossroads guitar to the extravagance of his back-breaking Hydra.

What's more, the Ultra Edition of the book will come with an all-new Ibanez JEM 77WFP, which has been treated to a stunning “White Floral Pattern”. However, only 14 will be produced.

Hand-crafted by the Ibanez Japan Custom Shop, the 77WFP is the first JEM model to come out of Japan in five years. It brings together an alder body, a five-piece neck, and a rosewood fretboard completed with a Tree of Life inlay. Hardware specs include pink DiMarzio Evolution pickups, a LoPro Edge tremolo, and a Cliplock strap.

Each guitar comes with a Vai-signed certificate, and a unique name bestowed by the man himself. Notably, Vai himself will be taking one example on the upcoming BEAT tour later this year, during which he will be performing King Crimson’s trio of ‘80s albums alongside Adrian Belew.

For those who can't afford the $25,350 asking price of the Ultra Edition, there are two other tiers to choose from. The Standard Edition comes in at $400, while the hand-signed Deluxe Edition – which is housed in a special slipcase, and comes with 10 framable prints and unique case candy – rises to $699.40.

“I was approached by Rufus Publications back in 2019 with an interest to create a high-end book of 100 of my most unique and used guitars. I knew there was only one guy that could do this job most effectively and that was Michael Mesker, who was eager to do it.

“There isn’t anyone who knows the history of my guitars, nor has the artistic overview of photography and forensic attention to detail as Michael Mesker does,” Vai enthuses. “Mike spent five years compiling this book and photographing the guitars with a quality technique that will blow your mind.

“He scoured the globe to find many of these guitars, as I had given many away or sold them through the years, but he tracked them down and got the shots. The results are stunning and the book is a masterpiece.

“I didn’t realize how diverse, eclectic, and innovative my guitar collection was until I saw this book. Besides the documenting of various models, this book is the penultimate definitive word on the history of the Jem and the guitars that were part of its evolution. It’s magnificent and I’m blown away.”

“There are few guitarists in the same position as Steve – who designed and refined a guitar that accommodated his own personal idiosyncrasies,” adds Mesker. “From the groundbreaking Ibanez JEM (and by extension, the RG) to the popularization of the seven-string, Vai’s impact on the guitar extends beyond just his playing and musical output.

“And from a visual standpoint, so many of Steve’s guitars have become stand-out characters in the canon of rock ’n’ roll.”

The books are available to pre-order now and will be shipped in late March 2025.

Head to Rufus Publications to learn more.

Last year, Steve Vai was reunited with the “Swiss Cheese” guitar he played in the Yankee Rose music video, which was the first guitar to feature a monkey grip. He'd been apart from the guitar for 36 tears.

While the enduring cultural idea of Jimi Hendrix is that of a larger-than-life rock god, complete with burning guitars and legendary sexual and drug-fuelled escapades, that perception ignores a key part of the guitarist’s identity: he was a massive sci-fi nerd.

It’s that semi-forgotten part of Hendrix’s soul that is at the heart of a new comic book. In Titan Comics’ Jimi Hendrix: Purple Haze, the guitarist is reinvented as a space traveler and political figure who is now the biggest rock star in the galaxy, rather than just on Earth.

The graphic novel, which was released in July at the San Diego Comic-Con, follows Hendrix as he travels from world to world in a quest to not only further his music, but to free people from a tyrannical government engaging in a forever war.

The comic was created with the full support of Hendrix’s sister Janie, who is in control of his brand.

“She really wanted to do something that reflected more about her brother than a lot of the things she sees in the media,” says co-author Mellow Brown.

“We want to talk about a lot of his identity as inspiration for some of the songs that a lot of people don’t know. There is some backstory to him as a person that we wanted to reflect; there are so many layers of Jimi that we didn’t see portrayed before.”

To truly capture the psychedelic spirit of the music, artist Tom Mandrake looked at samples of Hendrix’s own visual art. It also was important that the book reflect an era of Hendrix’s career that is often given short shrift, as he moved away from the Experience and into Band of Gypsys – a move that came as Hendrix grappled with accusations that he was a Black man making music for white people.

“There’s a lot of imagery that I see associated with rock music, and it’s not often associated with Black people in rock music,” said DJ BenHa Meen, the book’s other author.

“I wanted to take some of that iconic imagery – things you see on the side of vans, stuff like the old-school airbrush painting, something you would have on a blacklight window, things of that nature that we would see in a sci-fi nature. It’s another setting [where] you really don’t see Black people too [often].”

Ultimately, the book is an effort to re-contextualize Hendrix’s life and work for a new era – one where young artists and musicians making a big impact are rarely holding guitars.

“It’s a reference we make in the book to the river of Black music, and this river is a continuous theme that has been here throughout the history of America,” Meen says.

“We’ve been making the same form of music; we’ve been making blues and protest music since we started in America. The form of it has changed, but the message has always been the same.”

• Jimi Hendrix: Purple Haze will be available August 27 via Titan Comics.

Any successful musician has their share of lessons learned the hard way, but in some ways, the Solo Acoustic Musician has it that much harder – often facing these challenges on their own. 

Fortunately, performer and musician Michael Nichols has your back, drawing on years of playing and gigging experience to create his invaluable Solo Acoustic Musician (SAM) books.

Available in physical and digital formats, the SAM series delves into everything you need to know as an acoustic performer. 

The starting point is Solo Acoustic Musician: A Practical How-To Guide. This book breaks down the sometimes overwhelming challenges facing performers and offers tried and tested techniques for getting gigs, playing to new crowds and building a sustainable career as a musician.

The second installment, Solo Acoustic Musician 2, expands on these words of wisdom by drawing on the input, insight and humor of other experienced musicians, establishing practical tips on singing and guitar technique, networking and dealing with unexpected diversions at live shows.

Solo Acoustic Musician 3: Booking a Gig, takes a deep dive into the process of getting gigs, but goes directly to the source – interviewing managers, owners and agents about how they select and hire the acts that play their venues. 

The fourth installment, Solo Acoustic Musician 4: The Open Mic, tackles one of the most common live performance opportunities: the open mic. It explores Nichols’ own experiences at open mic events, looks at the (until now) unwritten rules of etiquette around such performances, and how to make the most of the occasions, whether it’s getting in front of venue representatives, practicing your live show, or road-testing material. 

The series companion book is a creative tool for songwriters: the Solo Acoustic Musician Songwriter’s Lyric & Tablature Journal.

This custom-made songwriter’s notebook offers a double-page spread of lined pages on the left-hand side for writing lyrics, and blank tablature and chord box layouts on the right for noting music. 

You have a clean, clear layout that is primed and ready to receive song ideas when inspiration strikes… 

Purchase all of the books in the Solo Acoustic Musician series on Amazon – priced at $4.99 for ebook formats and $14.99 for paperback editions, while the journal retails for $9.99.

The Solo Acoustic Musician books are also available at all major online bookstores including Barnes & Noble, Walmart, and many more.

For more information, you can head over to Solo Acoustic Musician.

Johnny Marr is preparing to publish a new book documenting his gear collection throughout his career with The Smiths and beyond. The straightforwardly-titled Marr’s Guitars is essentially a six-string biography and is due on shelves this fall (October 17).

“Guitars have been the obsession of my life,” says Marr. “They've been a mission and sometimes a lifeline. So I'm delighted to have made Marr's Guitars. 

“It's very different to other guitar books and is more of an art book, with stories of songs and sounds. It's been a long time coming and is a labour of love.”

The book will reportedly run the gamut from his teenage pickings, through to iconic Smiths instruments, including his Rickenbacker 330 and Gibson ES-355 and onwards to the development of his widely praised signature model, the Fender Johnny Marr Jaguar.

The entries will be accompanied by shots from music photographer Pat Graham, which we’re told will “showcase the guitars fully and in beautiful micro detail”, alongside Marr’s personal reflections and tales about each instrument.

In addition to Marr’s better-known equipment, one of the more tantalizing aspects of the press release is the mention of various instruments that the guitarist has been gifted or acquired from other notable musicians. 

Among the inclusions is a Stratocaster from Nile Rodgers (we wonder if this was a signature model trade, or something more vintage in flavor), a Hagstrom from Bryan Ferry and a Yamaha acoustic guitar that once belonged to Scottish folk and fingerstyle great, Bert Jansch.

Marr’s Guitars will also detail some of the instruments that the Smiths icon has given away or sent on productive loans, including a Stratocaster that Noel Gallagher used in the creation of Oasis mega-hit Wonderwall and a Gibson Les Paul that went to Radiohead’s Ed O’Brien and subsequently wound up on 2007’s In Rainbows.

We reckon it’s a safe bet it will also feature the nine-pickup Stratocaster from 2021’s Spirit, Power, Soul video.

The guitarist has reportedly been directly involved in all aspects of the book “right down to the finest detail,” or so says Tristan de Lancey, Creative Director at the book’s publisher Thames And Hudson. “The result is nothing short of a careerography expressed through a photographic deep dive into the cherished creative tools of a living legend.”

Which is basically what we’re all about, so count us in. Marr’s book can also be viewed as the latest in an emerging trend in guitarist gear biographies (or ‘tone tomes’ as we’re calling them in group chat). 

James Hetfield recently announced his own book, Messengers: The Guitars Of James Hetfield, which will also be published in October, while Slash arguably set the template with his book The Collection, which was released via Gibson’s in-house publisher last year.

For more information and pre-order details for Marr’s Guitars, keep an eye on Thames and Hudson.

Steve Rosen, a veteran rock journalist and longtime Guitar World contributor, has announced a new book that chronicles his friendship with late electric guitar hero Eddie Van Halen. 

Titled Tonechaser – Understanding Edward: My 26-Year Journey with Edward Van Halen, the hardcover, 580-page tome chronicles the author's close, decades-long friendship with one of the greatest guitarists of all time.

The book was compiled from hours of interviews and discussions over the years, conducted in the guitar legend's Hollywood Hills guesthouse, his 5150 studio, and even in airplanes.

Tonechaser's front and back covers were shot by the legendary Van Halen photographer Neil Zlozower, who also provided interior photographs.

Rosen – who has also authored books on Jeff Beck, Free/Bad Company, Black Sabbath and Randy Rhoads – says that he was initially tapped to write Van Halen's authorized biography in 1985, though that book never came to fruition.

“I chose that title, Tonechaser, because Edward once described himself in that way," Rosen said of the book's title in a press release. "I thought it was such a beautiful, fragile, and poignant word for him to use in his pursuit of the ever-elusive Brown Sound. I also thought it worked on another level in terms of the 'tone' of his life and being a guitar player, bandmember, husband, father and icon.

“I had never heard Edward ever use that phrase anywhere else and, in fact, after interviewing hundreds and hundreds of guitar players, I've never heard one of them ever use that word to describe what they do.”

Tonechaser is available now for $47. To purchase a copy, step right this way. 

Buyers are asked to include their address with their order, and to send their payment as "family and friends."

Joe Satriani is among a slew of artists to be named and – in a roundabout fashion – shamed in Bob Dylan’s rambling new book of music criticism, Philosophy Of The Modern Song.

The legendary songwriter drops Satriani’s name in a discussion regarding the simple genius of Hank Williams’ tune Your Cheatin’ Heart. 

“Each phrase goes hand in hand with the voice,” says Dylan. “[But] if Hank was to sing this song and you had somebody like Joe Satriani playing the answer licks to the vocal, like they do in a lot of blues bands, it just wouldn’t work and would be a waste of a great song.”

Rolling Stone reached out to Satriani for comment and, appropriately, given the title of the book, the guitar god seems quite philosophical about it all.

“Bob Dylan knows my name?” asks Satriani, when he’s informed of the passage. Still he disagrees with Dylan’s assertion. “I think the great Hank Williams and I could have sorted things out and made some great music together.”

Satriani is certainly not alone in coming under fire from Dylan’s pepper-spray critiques, though others have taken it less lightly.

Dylan writes that Elvis Costello’s early work “exhausted people” (though he applauds later song Pump It Up) and has since incurred the wrath of Talking Heads’ drummer Chris Frantz, due to a comment that “Elvis Costello and the Attractions were a better band than any of their contemporaries. Light years better.”

“When I read that, I just thought, ‘Jesus, Bob,’” Frantz tells Rolling Stone. “’I understand you dig Elvis Costello, but did you have to put it that way?’” 

In a post on Facebook, Frantz also previously recommended the songwriting legend “suck a dick” – a comment he alleges Dylan made to a friend in the ’80s, after he approached the rock icon in public.

It will come as no surprise to anyone who’s tackled previous Dylan prose that the book is an unpredictable, eclectic ride through the songwriter’s listening habits. Reading it is an experience that has been compared to listening to Dylan’s Theme Time Radio Hour, a series he opened with a whole playlist of songs about coffee. 

Elsewhere, he examines numerous other six-string and rock icons, discussing Gregg Allman’s Midnight Rider, Peter Green’s Black Magic Woman and even name-checking Ronnie James Dio.

However, reviewers have pointed out that despite the title, The Philosophy Of Modern Song is remarkably light on material from the 21st century. So, we can't help wondering... what would Dylan make of Polyphia?

Iconic Guitar Gear is a new book from Guitar World contributor Greg Prato that details the tools of the trade of famous guitarists – and you can read exclusive excerpts on Steve Vai, Soundgarden’s Kim Thayil and Jeff Beck below.

In total, Iconic Guitar Gear runs to over 300 pages and examines the essential gear choices of 150 guitarists, including Jimi Hendrix, Eddie Van Halen, Randy Rhoads, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Brian May, Tony Iommi, Jimmy Page, John Lennon, Kurt Cobain, Johnny Ramone, The Edge, Gary Moore, Alex Lifeson, Yngwie Malmsteen, Dimebag Darrell, Zakk Wylde and more.

The book also sets its sights on a list of astonishing bass guitar players, too, including Billy Sheehan, Les Claypool and Mike Watt, to name a small sample.

Prato – who has previously penned books including Grunge Is Dead: The Oral History of Seattle Rock Music and MTV Ruled the World: The Early Years of Music Video – has drawn on a huge variety of research for the book, including many interviews with the guitarists themselves, alongside techs, tutors and other tonal authorities. 

Check out our exclusive excerpts on Kim Thayil, Steve Vai and Jeff Beck below and order your copy of Iconic Guitar Gear via Amazon in Kindle, hardcover and paperback formats.

Kim Thayil, Soundgarden on his Guild S-100 Deluxe

“I got [my Guild S-100 Deluxe] when I was 18-years old at a used guitar place [in Chicago]. It was affordable, and I sat there and played songs I’d written on that guitar – and I found it so much easier to play than the Strat copy guitar I’d had. 

“It was much easier to play than my acoustic guitar. And I was looking to buy an electric guitar – I had worked all summer and saved up some money. The Les Pauls were more expensive and the Strats – they were all $500-600 at the time. And this Guild S-100 was like, 250 bucks or something like that. Used. I was like, ‘Hey…I’m getting this. I can afford this, and I can play my songs on it with little difficulty.’

“And as I learned more about guitar playing and more about various factors on the instrument – from action, frets, bridge, the nut, pickups – I came to develop how I play along with my learning of this guitar. So, it kind of got married together in some ways. 

“I learned not to be afraid of the noises or incidental things that you could do as a guitar player – because Hendrix did feedback, the Velvet Underground did feedback. And noise and looseness I learned from the MC5, and noise is incorporated in Pere Ubu.

“My guitar made some weird noises and could do some weird things that my other friends’ guitars couldn’t do. And I thought, ‘I don’t have to avoid those. I don’t have to be scared of those.’ And Daniel Ash comes along, and I’m like, ‘My guitar can do some of those things! I like those things!’ And I stuck with it.

“Because I would play other guitars and it’s like, ‘Eh…the action’s different. The neck’s a little bit too wide. I just can’t do this thing. I can’t bend the strings above the nut. I can’t bend the strings below the bridge. It doesn’t feedback as easily. And its feedback is difficult to control. I don’t want to play this Strat – its feedback is just some weird squeal. I like the feedback I get from my Guild S-100 Deluxe.’ So, I just stayed with it.”

Steve Vai on his Charvel Strat aka “The Green Meanie”

“My first real guitar was a Strat. I loved it, but it didn’t really have the sound that I liked. And when I joined Alcatrazz, I wanted a bigger sound and I needed more options on an instrument. 

“So, I went to see Grover Jackson, and he hooked me up. Besides giving me a couple of his really wonderful Jackson guitars – which I loved, because they were the only ones I could find that had 24 frets and a whammy bar – he gave me a sunburst Charvel. 

“I don’t even know the model or anything. But it was the Super Strat type of thing – with the humbuckers. And once I got it, I was with Alcatrazz and it was great. It had the sound, it had the feel. And at the time, my tech, Patrick Francis – “Elwood” – he was a very colorful guy and he liked doing things to the instrument [Francis would later join ZZ Top as their bassist]. And I told him, ‘Go for it.’

“He had a lot of fun painting it green and putting the stickers on it and all this. At the time, my palm rested on the body of the guitar. And some of those guitars, the tailpiece was kind of high, so the strings were high, so the little pad [that was added to the body of the guitar] helped me to pick more evenly. But that became my main axe. I used that quite a lot on those records after that – Alcatrazz, Dave Roth, Passion and Warfare. And then it was retired.”

Wolf Marshall on Jeff Beck’s Stratocasters and Les Pauls

“Jeff Beck also alternated a lot of Les Pauls – as well as the Strat. The famous Strat that has been stripped down to the wood – you can see when he’s playing with the band on Rough and Ready. And there’s TV performances of that – so you can actually see that guitar. 

“That’s probably the Strat that he had on Beck-Ola, and he just kept playing it. I believe he played it with Beck, Bogert & Appice, and I think he played it into his early phase of fusion – when he started playing with people like Jan Hammer and doing Blow by Blow and that period.

“Also, at that point, he had a certain Les Paul that was put together by Seymour Duncan – which looked black, but it was actually a dark brown oxblood colored Les Paul [spotted on the cover of Blow by Blow]. It’s a conversion from an early ‘50s model – it’s not a Standard – but it has humbucker pickups I believe, and Seymour Duncan did those.

“Then, as you can see from Wired, he had a different Strat – a white Strat. So, I think he alternated between that stripped down one and the white Strat. And I know that white Strats always appealed to… maybe it’s Hendrix, but Jeff is using one again now. When you view current videos of Jeff, you see him with a white Jeff Beck Strat. So, that Strat period probably goes back to 1969/‘70. 

“Plus, he sometimes used the Teles, as well – like if you look at the video for People Get Ready, it shows him with a Tele. A converted Tele… but it’s still a Tele. And I believe that was also a Seymour Duncan thing – he had one model that had a humbucker in it. So, those are the three ‘streams’ that he had.”

• Iconic Guitar Gear is out now.

A new graphic novel and biography of Jimi Hendrix – Hendrix: Electric Requiem – is set to be published on August 22, via Ablaze.

Written and illustrated by Mattia Colombara and Gianluca Maconi, Hendrix: Electric Requiem, opens with Hendrix entering the afterlife and reflecting upon the time he had on Earth.

Aside from this handy storytelling device and a little supposition, though, Electric Requiem largely draws a faithful line between key events in the guitarist’s life: from his difficult childhood through to his first encounter with a guitar and on to his key musical accomplishments, including Woodstock and Monterey Pop.

It also attempts to examine the enduring racism Hendrix faced throughout his life, even at the height of his success. 

We’ve seen a preview and can tell you that it goes beyond the scope of your typical biography, attempting to dissect and visually reference the poetry of Hendrix’s lyrics, as well as his prodigious guitar talent. The artwork also makes the most of the source material, drawing (sometimes, perhaps a little too gratuitously) on the rich, psychedelic imagery of the era. 

Ablaze’s own blurb describes the graphic novel as follows:

“A compelling trip into the mind and world of Jimi Hendrix. Electric Requiem is an exhilarating ride, from Jimi’s difficult beginnings in the South, plagued by racism, through his global stardom and triumph at Woodstock, and the excessive lifestyle of a rockstar. A rockstar who, even with all his experiences, never forgot where he came from.

“Skillfully written by Mattia Colombara and illustrated by Gianluca Maconi, this gripping tale of music, personal demons and thirst for glory is a must-have for any Jimi Hendrix fan.”

If you’re interested in getting hold of a copy, Hendrix: Electric Requiem has a suggested retail price of $24.99. 

You can preorder over on Amazon, or head to Ablaze Publishing for more information.

Faber is due to publish a new biography of Bill Frisell, Beautiful Dreamer: The Guitarist Who Changed The Sound of American Music, by UK music journalist and writer Philip Watson.

Due out May 24, the book tracks Frisell’s continued evolution across a career spanning more than 45 years: from his days at Berklee through to his time as a jazz guitarist in New York’s Downtown scene into the genre-spanning blend of folk and Americana that he tapped-into throughout the '90s and beyond.

The author, Philip Watson – known for his work in titles like Esquire, The Guardian, Q and The Wire – has not done things by halves. The writer has made the most of extensive access to Frisell and his family to get firsthand insight into the guitar great’s formative experiences, life stories and musical approach. 

In addition, Beautiful Dreamer incorporates ‘listening’ interviews from many of the guitarist’s big name fans and collaborators – among them Gus Van Sant, Paul Simon, Van Dyke Parks and Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon – each of whom offer their own reflections and comments on Frisell’s key works. 

Clocking in at over 450 pages, it looks set to become the definitive document of one of North America’s living guitar legends. Guitar World has had a sneak preview and can tell you it is beautifully written and addictively constructed. We suspect the only reason fans will want to put it down is to pick up their guitars.

Bill Frisell, Beautiful Dreamer: The Guitarist Who Changed The Sound of American Music is due out on May 24 (US) and March 17 (UK) in hardback and ebook.

Head to Faber’s official site for more information.

Today, singer/songwriter Melissa Etheridge announced her first ever graphic novel, Heartstrings.

Each chapter of Etheridge's book – which is set for a June release via Z2 Comics – will focus on one of the acoustic or electric guitars in her massive collection. In an even cooler move though, Heartstrings will come available in an ultra-limited "platinum edition" that includes an autographed, custom-designed Epiphone DR-100 acoustic guitar.

Limited to just 100 units, at $999 each, the guitar is adorned with a beautiful paint job that mirrors Heartstrings's cover art. 

“As many of my fans know, my relationship is to my guitars is beyond special and these instruments hold a very significant place in my life," Etheridge said in a statement. "I am so excited to share all these stories and images from my entire collection and have them all be a part of this incredible graphic novel.” 

Etheridge's stories were assisted in their journey to paper by Frank Marraffino, music journalist Steve Hochman and artist Manuela Pertega.

Aside from the custom Epiphone, the platinum edition of Heartstrings also includes an autographed, oversized slipcase edition of the book and a set of prints. The graphic novel will also come in deluxe and super deluxe editions.

The autographed, fancily-finished DR-100, meanwhile, features a select spruce top, mahogany body and neck, and rosewood fretboard, as per the standard DR-100.

To preorder Heartstrings – in soft or hardcover formats – stop by Z2 Comics.

Unless you’ve been living in a social media black hole for the past few years, you’ve probably heard the name Chibson USA. The brand, which professes to be “More Than Just A Shell Company”, has built a cult following on social media – over 200k followers on Instagram – thanks to its ingenious ad campaigns.

From its Placebo Pedal that does absolutely nothing to its Push/Pull guitar body extensions, and from its Clipper Capo Deluxe nail clipper that promises “Ultimate Toe’n” to its literal J Bass, Chibson USA is one of those accounts that, from a guitar perspective, is a must-follow.

Now, the brand is branching out by establishing an official website, and ushering in the fresh era of expansion with an all-new activity book.

The 48-page book – which has already been endorsed by Joe Bonamassa, Marty Schwartz, Rhett Shull and Gibson’s Mark Agnesi – promises a wealth of activities that bring Chibson’s social media gags to life.

It’s no ordinary activity pack, though. Yes, there are a bunch of classic games such as word searches, connect the dots, mazes, coloring pages and more, but they come with a very distinct Chibson twist.

Fancy drawing your favorite YouTuber? Now you can. Fancy dressing your favorite YouTuber? You can do that, too. You can also partake in some challenging guitar-related connect the dots to draw control knobs and soundholes – see, we told you it was challenging.

Plus, Chibson USA promises it’s made from “86% real paper”, which is always a bonus. The book is available directly from the Chibson USA website, or from music chain Sam Ash, which is currently stocking the book in all 46 of its US locations.

But wait, there’s more! Not only is Chibson USA launching a website and releasing an activity book, the brand has also set its sights on releasing even more content in the near future that will complement its social media presence.

“We are looking to develop the Chibson brand even further into the digital space,” said Jason USA, company founder and CEO. “The website will serve as a portal for fans to get access to new and limited Chibson products, Chibson news, archives, and more.

“We have a lot planned for 2022,” he continued, “including the release of our first-ever Chibson USA-produced, feature-length documentary and we intend to release it via chibson.com.”

The Chibson USA activity book is available now for $12.50.

To find out more, head over to Chibson USA.

Looking for the ultimate instructional on how to master the art of the guitar solo?

Look no further. 

A new book from CEM Publishing, titled, appropriately, Guitar Solo, is the largest and most comprehensive study of the form.

How comprehensive? Try 1,100 pages, all filled with tabs, notes, lessons, tips, tricks and much, much more. 

Guitar Solo is geared toward every level of player, from beginner to advanced, covers a range of techniques – from chords to challenging arpeggios – and spans a variety of styles, from rock, blues and pop to heavy metal and shred. 

What’s more, there’s notes and tabs in various keys for pentatonic, diatonic, modes, triads, chord progressions, cadences and inversions, as well as 16th-note-runs, power chords, arpeggios, shred, drop-D notes with keys and must-know exercises. 

You also get illustrations and graphics for additional support and explanation, and even some – but not too much – music theory. Because according to the publishers, “it's the practice that counts.”

And despite its size, Guitar Solo is incredibly easy to follow and utilize as a learning tool. The essentials are straight to the point and distinctly illustrated, and the text is in both German and English. The layout, meanwhile, is engagingly designed and presented in a manner that motivates learning. 

Most of all, Guitar Solo is written from personal experience with the best know-how, lots of instructions and decisive insider tips.

​​But don’t just take our word for it – heed the advice of one of the fastest guitar players in the world, Michael Angelo Batio, who calls Guitar Solo “the most comprehensive book on guitar that has ever been written." 

And Batio should know. 

Pick up a copy at Thomann US or Thomann UK.

British photographer Ross Halfin has teamed up with music journalist Pete Makowski for a new book on Ritchie Blackmore, which collects together hundreds of pictures from the guitarist’s early 80s period with Rainbow, and beyond.

The book – simply titled Ritchie Blackmore – features also features a foreword from Def Leppard guitarist Phil Collen alongside contributions from Billy Corgan and fellow photographer Colin Hart.

Halfin first met and started shooting images of Blackmore in 1980. At that point, the guitarist had left Deep Purple and established his new band Rainbow who were enjoying a new commercial breakthrough following their 1979 cover of Russ Ballard’s Since You’ve Been Gone.

“Around this time I met writer Peter Makowski who Geoff Barton (the features editor at Sounds) introduced us with the prophetic words, ‘You two will be bad for each other,’” recalls Halfin.

“Never has a truer word been spoken. Now the one thing I knew about Pete was he knew Blackmore - and I don’t mean ‘knew’ him in a music industry sense - he really did know Ritchie and was a friend of his and as Pete said one day, ‘Let’s go and do Blackmore’. 

“I actually can’t remember where I finally met him but I was pleasantly surprised. Ritchie, who I expected to be off and aloof, was completely the opposite. Once I’d met him he was funny, liked a drink and was fantastic company. Pete and I for the period around this book – I suppose you could say were in his inner circle. We travelled with him, we hung out with him. 

“As you can see from some of the pictures in this book, Ritchie once you knew him was very accessible and as a photographer I could shoot with him more or less anything I wanted.”

The 304-page “deluxe hardback” book will be strictly limited to 400 copies. 350 copies will be available for £199 (approximately $272), while 50 large format A3 (equivalent to ledger size) editions will be available for £599 (approximately $821). 

However, if you can’t stretch to that right now, perhaps you can help to persuade Blackmore's hometown that the guitar legend is worthy of a blue plaque.

The book Ritchie Blackmore will go on pre-sale at 3PM GMT on September 29 from Rufus Publications and will ship in mid-December.

Earlier this year, Joe Satriani announced that he was temporarily hanging up his electric guitar in favor of his sketchpad in order to create an epic, sci-fi-themed comic book series, Crystal Planet.

Now, after the release of the first two installments, the third issue is now available to be ordered, with the five-part graphic novel series rapidly reaching the halfway point in its limited run.

Created in partnership with fellow guitarist Ned Evett, Crystal Planet is described by Satch as “a vivid space odyssey” that follows the main protagonist – the aptly named Satchel Walker – on his journey to end an intergalactic conflict through the power of music. Rad.

Now, the blurb for issue three, without giving away too much, teases that Walker, armed with his father’s old guitar, is on a collision course to uncovering “revelations about his past that will likely cost him his future” while the threat of his enemies looms. Hooked yet?

Of the upcoming issue, Satriani says, “Everybody loves vintage guitars. What about guitars from the future? Satchel’s got one that can destroy incomprehensible enemies and restore order to the universe with a sound that he alone can configure from it. Guitars are cool.”

If you’re wondering how one of the finest guitar players in history got into the art of comic book writing, it all began back in 2013 when Satch and Evett made an animated video for Lies and Truth, which turned out to be a hit among fans.

Satriani explains, “[It] got us thinking we could expand the clip into a Crystal Planet sci-fi epic. Ned and I formed Satchtoons, a company focused on creating animated content, and we got to work on scripts and demos for the Crystal Planet pilot. Seven years later, thanks to Llexi Leon and Heavy Metal, here we are with our first comic book series!"

The third issue of Crystal Planet is available to preorder now ahead of its November release. If you need to grab issue one or issue two in order to get up to speed, those are also available now in limited quantities.

Faber has announced it will publish a new biography of Eddie Van Halen, titled Eruption, this September.

The book has been written by the author Paul Brannigan, a seasoned music journalist for the likes of Kerrang!, Rolling Stone, Mojo, alongside our sister titles Classic Rock and Metal Hammer. 

Brannigan has form in rock bios, having previously penned This Is a Call: The Life and Times of Dave Grohl and co-authored Metallica histories Birth School Metallica Death and Into the Black.

The book aims to tell the full story of Van Halen’s remarkable life, from his birth in Amsterdam and subsequent move to California aged six, which planted him at the heart of '60s counterculture; to redefining the sound and possibilities of rock music with his eponymous group. 

Brannigan reportedly also details the downsides, too, including the band fallouts, addiction and illness that sadly dogged Van Halen’s later years. 

Eruption: The Eddie Van Halen Story by Paul Brannigan is published by Faber on September 23, 2021.

Rufus Publications has revealed the latest addition to its collection of electric guitar star-based books, Randy Rhoads by Ross Halfin – an extensive collection of photos and features that seeks to celebrate the life and legacy of the late Ozzy Osbourne guitarist.

Rhoads joined forces with Osbourne at the end of 1979, and played a pivotal part in both helping the former Black Sabbath frontman launch the next stage of his career and redefining the metal scene of the early ‘80s.

In 1982, the Quiet Riot guitarist tragically passed away at the age of 25 following a plane crash incident.

According to Rufus Publications, “Randy Rhoads by Ross Halfin celebrates his time with Randy and Ozzy Osbourne both onstage and off with hundreds of beautiful, largely unseen images from those early years.”

The generously sized feature-packed book measures 240mm by 340mm, and boasts 280 pages of celebratory content, as well as an introduction written by Osbourne and an epilogue penned by Rhoads fan Tom Morello.

“It’s weird, I only knew Randy for a couple of years, but it felt much longer. I felt like I knew him for my whole life,” said Osbourne. “I still think about him a lot, and I do wonder what he would be doing now.

“I owe him a huge amount – he was the beginning of me. He wasn’t just my guitarist, he was my friend,” continues the Black Sabbath legend.

Upon its release, the book will be available in three editions: the standard book, which features the volume and a cloth slim case, as well a Deluxe Signed Leather Edition and Super Deluxe Edition. While both sport the signatures of Ozzy Osbourne and Ross Halfin, the former features a blue leather cover and white leather slip case.

The latter edition boasts a larger 297mm by 420mm measurement, and flashes a blue leather cover, blue slipcase and outer presentation box with three numbered giclee prints.

Randy Rhoads by Ross Halfin will be available to preorder on May 12, and ships at the end of August.

Head over to Rufus Publications for more info.

It's not the first time Rufus Publications has teamed up with revered rock photographer Ross Halfin for a book, having recently released the Eddie Van Halen photo book.

Peter Green was known to be an exceptionally private man, but the legendary blues-rock electric guitar player and Fleetwood Mac founder, who passed away in July 2020 at the age of 73, spent the last four years of his life working on a detailed book about his life.

Now that book, a massive, illustrated effort titled The Albatross Man, is being released via Rufus Publications.

The 450-page coffee table book boasts personal pictures, Fleetwood Mac notes and essays and an array of photos, many previously unpublished. There are also written contributions from Kirk Hammett, Bernie Marsden, producer Mike Vernon and many others.

Even more intriguing is the fact that there is a music element to the project, including a newly discovered Green vocal take of Need Your Love So Bad, recorded in the mid ‘60s in his mother’s attic on a tape recorder. That take formed the basis of a new version of the song, with David Gilmour on guitars and production by Laurie Latham.

Additionally, a new recording of Man of the World, with Kirk Hammett playing Greeny, is included. Man of the World also features Mick Fleetwood on drums and Bob Rock handling bass and production.

Hammett talked about his contribution in a recent interview, saying "It gets a little uppity in the end, and what I did was I just modernized the whole song, modernized it with modern tones, kind of like a more modern arrangement. I've made the uppity part heavy and dynamic.”

According to Rufus, The Albatross Man began when the company’s Mark Smith started traveling to Canvey Island on a regular basis to talk to Green about his life, look through his personal archive and discuss his love for fishing, drawing and listening to a wide range of music. During this time, a book of rare images, memorabilia, lyrics and notes from Green’s Fleetwood Mac days was assembled, with the guitarist having complete control over the direction and details.

The Albatross Man will ship in October, on what would have been Green’s 75th birthday, in three editions.

The Ultra Limited Personally Signed Peter Green version (£2,000; approx. $2,775) is offered in a run of 50 numbered copies, in a leather-bound case and clamshell box, with two single-sided 7-inch vinyl singles (also on CD) and hand-drawn Green art. Each book is personally signed by Green, and also includes a Peter Green T-shirt. 

There’s also a Deluxe Man of the World edition, limited to 500 numbered copies and signed by Kirk Hammett, for £295 (approx. $410), and a Standard Edition for £95 (approx. $130).

The Albatross Man is available for preorder beginning April 28. For more information. head to Rufus Publications.

If you think Steve Vai’s legendary 10-hour and 30-hour guitar practice regimens were excessive, that amount of time is kid’s stuff compared to the intense training Anthony Garone outlines in the new Failure to Fracture.

The new book chronicles Garone’s 22-year journey to master the electric guitar parts to King Crimson’s Fracture, a song once described by composer Robert Fripp as “impossible to play.”

The 11-minute instrumental, which hails from Crimson’s 1974 opus, Starless and Bible Black, is famous for a section roughly three minutes in where Fripp begins a nonstop barrage of notes called a “moto perpetuo” – an Italian term for “perpetual motion.”

According to Garone, Fripp’s moto perpetuo “requires intense right-hand string-skipping, and picking capabilities only a handful of guitarists around the world possess”.

Garone was a 16-year-old who practiced guitar six or more hours every day when his father challenged him to learn Fracture. He recalls not understanding why he could play other technical pieces of music, but not this one. 

Over the years, Garone published blog posts and videos about his efforts, and kept working at it until he had a breakthrough after enrolling in a week-long guitar instruction course led by Fripp in rural Mexico in 2015.

There, Garone learned the mechanics of Fripp’s right-hand technique, and realized that in order to properly play Fracture he would have to “relearn how to play guitar, sit, stand, and breathe”.

Garone went so far as to retrain himself on the instrument, playing a single open string for two hours a day across several weeks. In 2016, he was finally able to play small pieces of Fracture, and documented his progress on his Make Weird Music YouTube channel in a series called Failure to Fracture.

The new book follows Garone’s long guitar journey, ending with video performances of both Fracture and its “sequel” composition FraKctured.

As for whether he nailed it? 

Well, just ask Fripp himself, who commented in a recent video, “Anthony has spent 22 years failing to play Fracture. Actually, he’s done a pretty good job. Anthony’s failure is so well-achieved in my book, it’s a success.”

Failure to Fracture is released May 18 and is available for preorder here.

Dave Grohl is releasing a new book, entitled The Storyteller: Tales of Life and Music. 

Published by Simon & Schuster Ltd in the UK, it will see the Foo Fighters frontman share “a collection of memories of a life lived loud”, from “hilarious childhood mishaps, touching family moments, leaving home to see the world at eighteen, spectacular stories about Nirvana” and more.

“There is a common thread that runs throughout everything that I do: storytelling,” Grohl explains. “Whether in song, documentary film or on the page, I have always felt compelled to share moments from my life. This inclination is a huge part of what excites me creatively but also as a human being.”

You can listen to an audio extract from the book – featuring Grohl's narration – below.

Grohl continues: “In March 2020, realizing that my day job with the Foo Fighters was going to go on hold, I started an Instagram account, and decided to focus all of my creative energy on writing some of my stories down, something I love doing but I’ve never really had the time for. 

“I soon found that the reward I felt every time I posted a story was the same as the feeling I get when playing a song to an audience, so I kept on writing. The response from readers was as soul-filling as any applause in an arena. 

“So, I took stock of all the experiences I’ve had in my life – incredible, difficult, funny and emotional – and decided it was time to finally put them into words. Now with the amazing people at Simon & Schuster I’m excited and honored to announce The Storyteller, a collection of memories of a life lived loud.”

In the extract above, Grohl adds: “This certainly doesn’t mean that I’m quitting my day job, but it does give me a place to shed a little light on what it’s like to be a kid from Springfield, Virginia, walking through life while living out the crazy dreams I had as young musician.

“From hitting the road with Scream at 18 years old, to my time in Nirvana and the Foo Fighters, jamming with Iggy Pop or playing at the Academy Awards or dancing with AC/DC and the Preservation Hall Jazz Band, drumming for Tom Petty or meeting Sir Paul McCartney at Royal Albert Hall, bedtime stories with Joan Jett or a chance meeting with Little Richard, to flying halfway around the world for one epic night with my daughters… the list goes on.

“I look forward to focusing the lens through which I see these memories a little sharper for you with much excitement,” he concludes.

The Storyteller: Tales of Life and Music is available now for pre-order. For more info, head to Dave Grohl Storyteller.

We don’t know what type of sound effects your childhood “Speak-and-Spell” style educational book came equipped with, but it most likely wasn’t Megadeth electric guitar riffs.

Which makes LeapFrog Tad's Get Ready for School Book quite possibly the greatest – or at least loudest – children’s educational tool we’ve ever seen. 

As shown in this video from Gear Gods, flip to the page with a picture of a guitar next to the letter G, press down on the image and – voila! –  the intro riff from Megadeth’s 1990 thrash-terpiece, Holy Wars… The Punishment Due comes blasting out of the tinny little speaker.

In our estimation, it's a much better, and definitely more metal, way to teach kids the alphabet than that “C is for Cookie…” jam.

You can pick up LeapFrog Tad's Get Ready for School Book on Amazon.

And for more on Megadeth leader Dave Mustaine’s new Gibson guitar (that’s two “G”s!) head here.

Renowned rock photographer Ross Halfin has teamed up with Rufus Publications for a new photo book, Edward Van Halen by Ross Halfin.

The 320-page tome features shots of the electric guitar great selected by Halfin from his personal archives, including hundreds of unseen photos spanning from Van Halen’s first trip to the UK through to the Sammy Hagar era.

There’s also a career overview essay from journalist Mark Blake and an introduction from EVH friend and Black Sabbath legend Tony Iommi, who writes in the intro, "Sabbath were making the Cross Purposes album, and we were doing a song called Evil Eye. I suggested Eddie have a go. He played it with us and started doing all the guitar parts and solos. I still have a recording of it somewhere, which we may put out at some point in the future. “

The standard edition of the book comes in a cloth-bound slipcase for £89 (approx. $125), while a special run of 250 numbered and signed by Halfin and featuring a 3D lenticular cover, aluminum guitar-shaped slipcase and limited-edition contact prints retails for £275 (approx. $380).

The book measures 240mm x 345mm and is printed on 170gsm art paper, and will be available in June.

Edward Van Halen by Ross Halfin is available for preorder.

Police electric guitar great Andy Summers has announced a new book of short stories, the cheekily titled Fretted and Moaning.

The collection of short stories – 45 in all –will be published by Rocket 88 books later this year. You can check out a trailer for Fretted and Moaning above.

Summers has written short stories beginning with his days with the Police, but the new hardcopy book marks the first time they have been collected in one place for publishing.

"The 45 stories in Fretted and Moaning are as smart, funny and wry as the author and his music," reads a statement on AndySummersBook.com.

"Each one involves a guitar and guitarist in some way, and introduces a cast of characters who may be familiar to readers who’ve followed Andy’s career over the past five decades or more.

“Not that any of them are about real persons, living or dead, you understand. Every tale has at its heart someone whose hopes, dreams, loves, hates, failure, success and circumstances are revealed in uncanny, funny and often unexpected ways."

Fretted and Moaning will be released in two editions, one signed and including an exclusive art print of an Andy Summers original guitar photograph.

The book will be available to preorder from March. In the meantime, you can register for an early-bird discount at AndySummersBook.com.

With a whopping 17 studio albums under his belt, it's safe to say Joe Satriani has conquered the guitar world. His boundary-pushing lead lines have inspired guitarists the world over for decades, his legacy couldn't be any more concrete.

But Satch has never been one to rest on his laurels. Now, the shredder turns his sights to the comic book world – or more accurately, looks to transport his fans to a whole new world: Crystal Planet.

Created by Joe Satriani and fellow guitarist Ned Evett and published by Incendium and Heavy Metal Magazine under the new music-focused OPUS imprint, Crystal Planet is “a vivid space odyssey where Satchel Walker, a man out of time, finds himself caught between desperate factions as they battle for resources in the perilous orbit of a dying star.

“In a bold and brutal saga of sentient storms and Wingsuit armies, it’s music, and more importantly the power and emotion that music can conjure, which could bring an end to the conflict, restore harmony to the timestream, and reveal Walker’s true place in the universe.”

The comic will begin as a five-issue series, with the first print edition of each issue released as a prestige format limited-edition collectible comic book, featuring cardstock covers, specialty foil treatments, glossy pages, and individual numbering.

“Funny how things get their start,” Satriani says. “July 1994 I’m on tour with Deep Purple and I’m warming up with my guitar backstage in a bull’s isolation cell at the Plaza de Toros in Gijón, Spain. Then and there I start writing the opening riff to a song that will become Crystal Planet and a few years later it's the title track for my '98 album release. 

Fast-forward to 2013, friend and fellow guitarist Ned Evett makes an animated sci-fi video for my song Lies and Truths using artwork from my Joe’s Art 2013 book. We projected that video on a 30-foot screen every night of the Unstoppable Momentum Tour. 

“It was a hit with the fans which got us thinking we could expand the clip into a Crystal Planet sci-fi epic. Ned and I formed Satchtoons, a company focused on creating animated content, and we got to work on scripts and demos for the Crystal Planet pilot. Seven years later, thanks to Llexi Leon and Heavy Metal, here we are with our first comic book series!”

Says Llexi Leon, Founder and Director of Incendium, “Crystal Planet is a thrilling rollercoaster through space and time, it’s Mad Max vs TRON – with guitars!”

Each initial printing of the comic will be available for $19.98, limited to only 1998 copies. The first issue is available to order now, shipping in March 2021.

The Crystal Planet world will eventually extend beyond the printed page into toys and collectibles: a Joe Satriani action figure – featuring Satch in a Tri-Diver suit from the comics with his signature Crystal Planet Ibanez guitar – is already available for pre-order.

For more information on the brand-new world of Crystal Planet, head over to Incendium.

Though deeply rooted in the evolution of the six-string, it would be fair to say surf guitar may very well be one of the more neglected styles among modern players. 

Thankfully, that could very well change with the arrival of what author Martin Schmidt describes as “the first specialist book on the genre,” packing everything you need to know about the techniques and gear to nail the sound into its 132 pages. 

“I love those sparkling, reverberated tones,” says Schmidt – also the guitarist in German surf trio the Razorblades, who are currently promoting their latest release, Howlin’ at the Copycats. “They’re almost clean yet seem to have as much power as distorted sounds – aggressive and very beautiful at the same time.” 

Most of all, the author cites his love for the instrumental concepts behind its more famous spangle-jangles, “where you can carry the whole song through your guitar” and effectively “replace the voice” – contrary to other genres, which he feels are, to some extent, less guitar-driven. 

The spiral-bound paperback examines the tremolo and muted picking styles employed by original surf hero Dick Dale – repopularized in the '90s, thanks to its inclusion in Quentin Tarantino’s masterpiece, Pulp Fiction – as well as those inimitable and often extreme whammy bar techniques.

There’s plenty of insight into the scales most associated with these sounds, predominantly minor/major pentatonics and modes such as Dorian and Mixolydian (“another Dick Dale trick is to play Phrygian dominant – the harmonic minor scale from its fifth note – over a major chord to add a Spanish or Eastern feel,” Schmidt says).

And as for his gear recommendations, expect a lot of classic Fender designs. “Fender Stratocasters, Jazzmasters and Jaguars are very typical for this kind of rock, usually plugged into Sixties amps like the Showman, Bandmaster and Bassman,” Schmidt says. He also recommends the Catalinbread Topanga and Surfy Industries Spring Reverb pedals for just the right kind of ambience.

“I hope to get more people into surf music by explaining all the details of the style with tabs,” says Schmidt – clearly someone as passionate as it gets when it comes to those choppy, seaweed-drenched melodies.

“It often gets a bit mystified, so I wanted to break it all down like you would learn a basic 12-bar blues. There’s no reason you can’t approach surf guitar the same way.”

• The Surf Guitar Book is available to order now. 

Tom Morello has announced the release of a new photo book, Whatever It Takes, which captures the electric guitar player’s “life as a guitarist, songwriter, singer and political activist.”

According to publisher Genesis Publications, the hardback photo book documents Morello’s “late start in learning the guitar and early bands, through to forming Rage Against the Machine, his transition into working with the melodic vocals of Chris Cornell in Audioslave, his solo work and collaborations, and on to Prophets of Rage.

“Throughout the book Morello reflects on how his 'calling' of activism drives his work. He recounts the protests and controversies that he has encountered in his mission to use his guitar as a means to share ideas worth fighting for.”

In addition to first-person commentary, the book features photos of Morello and his guitars, as well as handwritten notes, set lists and other images from his archives.

“This is a book about a lifelong mission,” Morello said. “A mission that more often can be felt rather than articulated. There are clues to the nature of the mission in the guitar riffs, the crazy solos, the lyrics, and in the shared sweat and solidarity of friends and comrades onstage and off.”

He continued, “I dug deep into my garage and photo albums to find pictures that I hadn't seen in many years. Some of the photos show history in the making. Some are historically rocking. And some are historically embarrassing.”

Whatever It Takes will be published on October 13 and is available for preorder here.

The book is also offered as a limited edition, signed bookset, housed in a Solander box and including an exclusive seven-inch vinyl and a Little Red Songbook, a booklet of songs and chord charts from the Nightwatchman.

To order the limited edition, head to Genesis Publications.

A new comprehensive book chronicling Frank Zappa’s guitars and other equipment will be released on November 29.

Titled Zappa Gear: The Unique Guitars, Amplifiers, Effects Units, Keyboards and Studio Equipment, the tome was written by Mick Ekers, with a foreword from Dweezil Zappa.

In addition to covering guitars, amps and more – everything from Zappa’s Marshalls and Gibson SGs to his wah-wah pedals and Synclavier – in incredible detail, Zappa Gear discusses some of the inventors, engineers and entrepreneurs without whom the musician’s particular, often modified equipment wouldn’t have existed. 

The book also includes over 180 photographs of Frank’s guitars and gear taken by the author at Zappa's UMRK studio in Los Angeles. 

Zappa Gear will also be joined by a second tome, The Hot Rats Book, by Bill Gubbins and Ahmet Zappa, due December 15.

The deluxe, commemorative offering celebrates the 50th anniversary of Zappa’s Hot Rats albums and boasts never before-seen photos from Gubbins, the only photographer to document the album sessions, as well as an interview between Gubbins and Ahmet Zappa. 

Both Zappa Gear and The Hot Rats Books were produced and written with the full cooperation of the Zappa Family Trust. 

Said Ahmet, "These books provide another way for fans to connect with Frank Zappa. They give a fascinating window into Frank's mind and the ideas he came up with throughout his career."

‘Big Balls’ - the new unofficial AC/DC photo book features rare and unseen images of AC/DC, starting with the band’s first UK tour in 1976.

Shot by photographers Dick Barnatt, Michael Putland, Fin Costello and George Bodnar, the pictures span the ’76 tour and AC/DC’s legendary performance at Monsters Of Rock, Donington in 1981.

The book itself is 288 pages, and will be limited to a run of 750 individually numbered copies. The coffee table book is covered in a fabric slipcase, and each copy is signed by former AC/DC bass player, Mark Evans.

The full retail price will be £199 ($252), but is being offered at a pre-sale discounted price of £175 ($222). Copies ordered during the pre-sale period (starting Wednesday 5th June) will also be bundled with a ‘No Wuckin’ Furries’ t-shirt.

To pre-order your copy, click here.

Meanwhile, check out some exclusive shots from Dick Barnatt below.

Hal Leonard has released Rick Nielsen's Cheap Licks, a new instructional package.

In the new book and video offering, the Cheap Trick guitarist shares some of his favorite licks, riffs and influences—from Chuck Berry and Duane Eddy to B.B. King and Jimi Hendrix—and covers pentatonic scales, hammer-on/pull-off licks, double stops, country-style licks, early rock 'n' roll, 6th licks, sus chords, chromatics, octaves and more.

The package also includes videos of Nielsen at home with his famous guitar collection, plus performance demos of all the music examples in the book.

Video demos featured in the book can be accessed online for download or streaming. A code can be found on the first page of the book.

Rick Nielsen's Cheap Licks is available now for $19.99. 

For more information, head to HalLeonard.com.

Award-winning music photographer Jérôme Brunet has selected his favorite photos from the last 20 years in Into The Light, a retrospective coffee table book featuring a foreword by rock legend Steve Miller. Featured artists include B.B. King, Eric Clapton, Slash, Tom Petty, Bruce Springsteen, Santana, Aretha Franklin, James Brown, U2, The Who, Pink Floyd and the Rolling Stones. Signed books are available only at IntoTheLight.photo.

How long have you been shooting pictures of musicians?

I’ve been shooting music for over 20 years now. I started in music long before before I picked up a camera. My mother was classically trained pianist and singer and got me playing the cello at age four. I played for ten years and then switched over to the guitar after hearing Led Zeppelin's first album in high school.  

The pictures seem to have a real intimacy. Were most shot from the stage? From the pit? Were you on assignment?

I would say 80 percent were shot professionally in the pit and later, as I created more contacts with the bands, from the stage. I was seldom ever on assignment as I always chose to shoot musicians I admired, which has been the only rule I’ve followed thought out my career!

Your pictures are very vivid and very alive—it's like you hear and feel the music. Is that your goal?

The goal is soul!

Do you usually know when you've nailed a picture just as you've taken it? 

Sometimes you feel a special energy in the performance and think to yourself, man did I get that? Other times you only realize it after the fact. 

Your book is filled with hundreds of great images. Why did you choose B.B. King for the cover? And why that particular image?

Although my B.B. King shot has gone on to win multiple awards and has been published internationally, the most amazing thing is how the image has gone on to take of life of its own, and seeing people from around the world react so fondly to it that they’d be willing to get it tattooed!

Your images cover a wide array of performers but you seem to have a special affinity for the blues and for guitarists. Is that accurate?

Yes! Led Zeppelin's Jimmy Page was such a huge early influence on me in high school that I immediately researched where it all came from, which inevitably led me back to Robert Johnson and all the blues greats like John Lee Hooker, Muddy Waters and Howlin’ Wolf. Legends like Santana, Clapton, Beck, Gibbons, Iommi, Gilmour and Vaughan came very quickly after that!

Below, Brunet shares some of his favorite guitar-oriented images with us.

Steve Vai has announced the release of Vaideology: Basic Music Theory for Guitar Players, via Hal Leonard. The guitarist’s first music theory book, Vaideology is geared toward both beginners and advanced players, and takes a deep dive into the basics of music theory and music theory fundamentals, incorporating practical exercises, diagrams, tips, practice methods and various ways of looking at music.

Topics covered in Vaideology include: Academic vs. Experiential Learning; Notes on the Neck; Music Notation; Reading & Writing Music; Scales; Intervals; Key Signatures; Circle of 5ths; Chords and Chord Scales; Rhythm Basics; Time Signatures; Guitar Harmonics; Modes and more.

Said Vai: “One of the questions that I’m usually asked by aspiring guitar players is, how much music theory do I really need to know, and is it necessary? My answer is usually, ‘You don’t need to understand music theory at all to be an effective player, but it will always help to at least understand the basics.’ So, I wrote a book that I believe contains the basics of music theory that can aid the student to be musically literate, and perhaps much more.”

He continued: “Since as far back as I can remember remembering, I always had a deep fascination with the written language of music. On paper, it looked like beautiful art to me.  It felt like a warm, safe place (a bizarre analogy, I know). It was this mysterious language that I instinctively knew could unlock my musical expressions. To be able to write a composition for a large group of people by starting with a blank piece of score paper, with its infinite possibilities for inventiveness, was absolutely spellbinding to me. I always had an intense desire to understand it fully and master it completely. Although I’m still a work in progress—because the evolution of music theory is infinite—I so much enjoy being able to use what I do know, and I still continue to study it.”

Additionally, Vai has collaborated with pianist Miho Arai on Piano Reductions Vol. 2. Said Vai, “I had seen video clips that Miho had made of her performing some of my songs on solo piano from her home on an electric keyboard, and I was blown away. I contacted her and asked if she would be interested in recording this record. Based on the fact that she had my Vai logo tattooed on her neck, I assumed she would be interested in this project, and she was!

“I choose the songs and over a 3-4 year period we would go into Ocean Way studios and record a few tracks at a time. It was obvious to me that she is a completely thoroughly trained musician and piano virtuoso. Her command of the instrument is stunning, and she took these songs and found all the little golden nuggets within them. She is an inspired player and I feel great appreciation for the way she respected, arranged and performed these tracks.” 

The complete track list for Piano Reductions Vol. 2 is: “Burning Rain,” “Lotus Feet,” “Lucky Charms,” “Whispering A Prayer,” “The Silent Within,” “The Moon and I,” “For The Love of God,” “Blood and Glory,” “Creamsicle Sunset,” “Dying For Your Love,” “Feathers” and “The Story of Light."

For more information on Vaideology: Basic Music Theory for Guitar Players and Piano Reductions Vol. 2, head over to Vai.com. 

Longtime Guitar World writers and editors Alan Paul and Andy Aledort have collaborated on Texas Flood: The Inside Story of Stevie Ray Vaughan. St. Martin’s Press will release this definitive biography of the guitar legend on August 13, 2019. This is the first time the cover has been seen. 

Texas Flood will provide the unadulterated facts about Stevie Ray Vaughan from those who knew him best and were with him throughout every stage of his life and career: his brother Jimmie, his Double Trouble bandmates Tommy Shannon, Chris Layton and Reese Wynans, and many other friends, lovers, family members, fellow musicians, crew members and managers. The book also includes insights from Vaughan himself; Aledort interviewed him four times.

All material in the book comes from first hand interviews by the authors. Paul and Aledort interviewed over 100 people, including Vaughan guitar heroes like Buddy Guy, B.B. King and Eric Clapton and peers like Billy Gibbons, Joe Perry, Eric Johnson and Warren Haynes. Texas Flood also includes over 170 photos, many never before seen from the private collections of the Vaughan family, Layton and Shannon.

In the summer of 1990, a clean and sober Stevie Ray Vaughan seemed poised for a new, limitless chapter of his life and career just a few years after his severe addiction to cocaine and alcohol almost killed him. His last album, In Step, had been his most successful, both critically and commercially. He had completed Family Style, his first collaboration with big brother Jimmie, his first and greatest musical hero, and looked forward to the album’s release. His tumultuous marriage was over and he was deeply in love with a supportive, creative woman.

Instead, it all came screeching to a sudden, tragic end when Vaughan was killed in a helicopter crash on August 27, 1990, following a dynamic performance with Eric Clapton, leaving an endless stream of What ifs. He was just 35 years old. In the ensuing 28 years, Vaughan’s legend and acclaim have only grown; he is an international musical icon. Despite the cinematic scope of Vaughan’s life and death, there has never been a truly proper accounting of his story. Until now.

Preorder the book now at Barnes and Noble or visit the St. Martin’s Press website for more information.

Alan Paul is the author of the New York Times bestseller One Way Out: The Inside History of the Allman Brothers Band. Andy Aledort is one of the world’s most renowned guitar journalists and instructors, and has toured and recorded with Jimi Hendrix bandmates Mitch Mitchell and Buddy Miles, with Stevie Ray Vaughan’s band Double Trouble, and with Dickey Betts of the Allman Brothers Band. 

Through most of his 40-plus years as guitarist for the iconic British heavy metal band Judas Priest, Ken “K.K.” Downing lived the rock star life.

Now the metal legend is telling his story in a new autobiography, Heavy Duty: Days and Nights in Judas Priest.

Together with writer Mark Eglinton, Downing takes readers on a visceral journey from his impoverished childhood to the biggest stages in the world. In a vivid and often emotional recounting, the guitarist discusses all the highs and lows of his career with Judas Priest, from album cycles and touring to the inner-band battles with an up-and-coming Iron Maiden. Downing also pulls no punches in describing the events that led up to his departure from Priest following the band’s acclaimed 2008 double album, Nostradamus.

Heavy Duty: Days and Nights in Judas Priest will be released on September 18 by Da Capo Press.

Guitar World recently spoke with Downing about his new book, the legacy of Judas Priest and much more in this exclusive new interview.

What made you decide to write a book at this stage of your career?

So many people have been asking me about it and one day I just felt like it was the right time. I worked with Mark Eglinton, who’d recently done a biography with Rex Brown from Pantera. It was a chronological tour of my life. Mark would call me up and put up scenarios and then ask me what I remembered about them. It was quite a journey, to be fair, opening those locked doors and closets. It was also kind of emotional at times, going back through my life.

Judas Priest songs like “Living After Midnight,” “You’ve Got Another Thing Comin’ ” and “Painkiller” are iconic. Did you have any clue how special they would become when you were writing them?

I often think about that. When Pink Floyd was writing Dark Side of the Moon, they had no clue what they were creating. They were just doing the best they could at the time. That’s what we had always done. We worked hard and were very prolific just grinding away. In the beginning, I’d often say we may not be the best band, but if we stuck together and kept working away, one day we could achieve exactly what we wanted.

In the book, you mention about how, in the early days, Rob Halford was really starting to come into his own as a vocalist, and how everyone in the band had to stay on their game so another band wouldn’t come in and scoop him up.

I felt that we needed to have the right band members to stay the course. When Rob came on board, he was very outgoing and a flamboyant showman. I thought, This guy’s got such a great voice. He’s always going to sing and always going to put on a show, and I was right about that!

You also discuss how satisfied you were with the Priest album, Nostradamus. Can you elaborate on that?

As a heavy metal musician, you always fear that there are people in the world who don’t classify you as “bona fide” or “credible.” Through Nostradamus, we were able to do what we do naturally and interpret it with other instruments. I accept that it’s not every fan’s cup of tea, but as a musical work, it’s on par with what classical performers and composers could do. Even the classical parts were created on the guitar. Considering it’s a long piece, it came together very quickly. It was different and fun to be able to write like that.

After the Nostradamus tour, the band wanted to record an EP. How much of a factor did that play in your decision to leave Judas Priest?

The EP was a big thing for me. The thing that annoyed me about it was that in the twelve months before I left, Rob had released two albums (Winter Songs and Made of Metal). Then we went on tour, and afterwards they wanted me to do an EP. I said, “Fuck no! I’m not doing it. Judas Priest is not an EP band!” After the epic Nostradamus, I wasn’t going to potentially end my career with a fucking EP. 

Two-part question: do you think it’s time for Priest to get inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame? And would you be open to a reunion at the ceremony if and when it happens?

It’s a big enough thing that I think they would want me to go along and play a few songs. I’m not exactly sure how it would work. It was a pity we didn’t make it this year, because obviously time’s not exactly on our side. But I can’t think of a band that has a bigger musical legacy than Priest—a lot albums and a lot of material over a lot of years. 

Are there any other projects you’re currently working on?

I’ve recently started putting my music room back together. I’m going to get stuck in there during the winter months and see what comes out in the spring. We’ll see where it goes musically for me.

Is there a message you’d like readers to take away from the book?

Part of the story is the fact that a lot of people have it rough and tough growing up. It’s the working class and that’s something many people can relate to. We all got into the music we know and love probably because of that reason. Life was tough and we lived it through music. It was our escapism. Then you have friends and partners and can, at times, get to an unhappy place, to the point where you have to either give up the job or the job will give you up. In the end, it’s the life story of a guy who did the best he could. 

When all is said and done, how would you like Judas Priest to be remembered?

As a band who was innovative and true in the style of the archetypal heavy metal band. A band that did a lot of things in their own way. Hopefully, we did a lot of good by bringing people together. I’ve always felt that music is religion, and I really believe it’s a great benefit to the world. Music brings people together.

As a guitar player, I can also tell you this: I’ve recently seen a young girl dressed in black gear, who was probably no more than eleven years old, playing “Painkiller” and knowing it! So, there’s hope for humanity! [laughs]. All of those people will help keep the legacy of Priest alive, in a good way. That’s my hope and dream.

Original Whitesnake guitarist Bernie Marsden has developed one of the most unique and expansive private guitar collections in the world, which is displayed in the new book, Bernie Marsden—Tales of Tone and Volume (Rufus Publications).

In a press release for the book, Rufus Publications stated:

“Bernie Marsden is one of the UK’s foremost rock and blues guitarists, famous for his time in professional bands since 1972 and a founder member of Whitesnake. 

“But, there is a lot more to this man, from his first band UFO to treading the boards of the National Theatre in London, on stage with Ringo Starr in Monaco, playing the Beacon Theatre in New York with the Allman Brothers Band, writing and playing with Joe Bonamassa and Motorhead. 

“Over the last two years the collection has been extensively photographed by Melvyn May and the Rufus team using a special “light painting” technique to reveal them in all their glory, from the unseen wonders of the world famous “The Beast” to the intricate detail on his much signed and cherished Martin Coletti. Every guitar comes with its own story, from how it was acquired to where and when it was played, you will be able to see the very guitar he used during the writing and recording of some rock classics, many anecdotes of some pretty famous people encountering his guitars on the road and in the studio.

“The images have been assembled into this beautiful, 340-page full-color luxury book, available in three stunning editions. Accompanying the book will be a CD of original guitar backing tracks written just for this project. The CD will contain a backing track for the user, plus lead guitar from a vintage guitar seen in the book. The two high end editions also ship with a genuine piece of an original Fifties Lifton guitar case, taken from Bernie’s collection and carefully cut down to include with each copy.

“As Bernie says, ‘I love guitars and I’ve seen and collected many books on the subject, the time and effort spent creating these images and the finished book makes this an extraordinary project by any standard. I’m really proud of what has been created here. I’m bound to say it, but, if you are a guitar collector, a player, or simply an official guitar nerd you are going to love this book and the photographs of ‘The Beast’ took my breath away.’ "

For more details on Bernie Marsden—Tales of Tone and Volume, including pre-order information, go to RufusPublications.com.

Reel Art Press have released a new video teaser promoting the upcoming illustrated Led Zeppelin book, Led Zeppelin by Led Zeppelin. The official 400-page tome will be released in conjunction with the band to celebrate Zeppelin’s 50th anniversary.

According to Reel Art Press, “Led Zeppelin by Led Zeppelin is the first and only official illustrated book to be produced in collaboration with the members of the band. Celebrating 50 years since their formation, it covers the group’s unparalleled musical career and features photographs of Jimmy Page, Robert Plant, John Paul Jones and John Bonham on and offstage, in candid moments and in the recording studio. This definitive 400-page volume includes previously unpublished photos, artwork from the Led Zeppelin archives and contributions from photographers around the world.

Led Zeppelin by Led Zeppelin will be published in October by Reel Art Press. You can pre-order the book here.

Additionally, Led Zeppelin will release a deluxe reissue of The Song Remains the Same on September 7. The new version was remastered with supervision from Jimmy Page.

The deluxe edition of The Song Remains the Same follows the band's recent reissue of How the West Was Won, and closes out the reissue series of their catalog, which began in 2014.

The Song Remains the Same will be released in multiple formats from Atlantic/Swan Song, including the full album's debut in hi-res 5.1 surround sound on Blu-ray. The Super Deluxe Boxed Set will be the most exquisite and elaborate release in the reissue series, recreating the intricate embossing of the set's original issue, and will also mark the first time the full -length film and soundtrack have been available in the same package. On the 4-LP set, Page made a change to the track sequence, allowing the epic, 29-minute version of "Dazed And Confused" to be featured in its entirety on one side of vinyl for the first time.

You can pre-order The Song Remains the Same here. 

The world occasionally produces one of those rare thinkers whose name becomes iconic. Thomas Edison lit up the world; Albert Einstein altered the study of physics; Walt Disney reimagined entertainment; and Leo Fender designed the Telecaster and the Strat. Need we say more?

In a new book, Leo's wife, Phyllis Fender, provides a memory-packed look into the world of this quiet genius. Leo Fender: The Quiet Giant Heard Around the World was co-written by Randall Bell, who grew up in Fender's neighborhood and whose father was the head of the R&D department at Fender's company.

"This short yet captivating book is required reading for any true Fender aficionado," says Vintage Guitar Magazine's Vaughn Skow. "While much has been written about the work of Clarence Leonidas 'Leo' Fender, precious little has been written about Leo Fender the man. This book is a game changer.”

Fender grew up in Fullerton, California, where his interest in electronics lead him to open a radio repair shop in 1938. It wasn't long before musicians and band leaders turned to him for help in repairing their equipment. And the rest, as they say, is history. Fender's revolutionary guitar, the Stratocaster, has been the preference of Jimi Hendrix, Stevie Ray Vaughan, David Gilmour, Eric Clapton, George Harrison, Eric Johnson, Jimmie Vaughan, Rory Gallagher and Jeff Beck, to name just a handful.

Fender was a shy, unassuming inventor who was nearly deaf and had one glass eye. In 1946 he founded Fender Electric Instrument Manufacturing Company—the launch pad for his most iconic designs—and later on, G&L Musical Instruments.

Fender's game-changing contributions to the music world have been widely recognized. He was presented with the Country Music Association Pioneer Award in 1981; was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame, the Rock Walk of Fame and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. His accomplishments were also acknowledged with a Technical Grammy Award in 2009. Fender died in 1991.

"When other companies made electric guitars, that is all they did," says the Rolling Stones' Keith Richards. "Leo had the whole concept in mind. He made an amplifier to match. It is, after all electric. This left the other guys with half an egg. So simple, so complete whether you prefer a Stratocaster or a Telecaster. If you used a Fender amp, you had the whole deal. Sturdy, reliable and beautifully made, they remain the standard that others strived to reach, let alone the bass!"

Phyllis Fender volunteers at the Fullerton Museum, where she shares with visitors stories about her life with Leo. She also serves as Honorary Chairman of G&L. Twenty-two years ago, two different doctors told Phyllis she had six months to live. Today, both of those doctors are dead, and she's here to tell this remarkable story.

LEO FENDER: The Quiet Giant Heard Around the World
Leadership Institute Press, November 2017

UYJBHJBackbeat Books has announced a new tome by amp expert Dave Hunter. The British Amp Invasion: How Marshall, Hiwatt, Vox and More Changed the Sound of Musicchronicles how what seemed at first like a minor also-ran offshore industry turned quickly into a true world leader.

The book features backstage histories, compelling behind-the-scenes stories and liberal use of period imagery. British guitarists were primed to make some of the most influential music the world would ever know, but they needed a voice to do it—and British-made amplifiers gave them that voice.

Many early notable American amps were designed for jazz, country and dance-hall music, but the seminal British amps of the late Fifties onward were designed to hit the ground running for rock and roll. And as that music gradually dropped its "roll" through the course of the Sixties, these were the first amps that truly rocked.

Not only did British-made amps by Vox, Marshall, Hiwatt, Orange, Watkins, Selmer, Sound City and others power the groundbreaking music of the major British guitar heroes—including all three Beatles guitarists, the Kinks, Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, Jimmy Page, Pete Townshend, Peter Green and Yankee expatriate Jimi Hendrix, among countless others—they quickly became the premier choice for American arena stars, too.

In one short decade, as musical styles swung from British beat to British Invasion to British blues to heavy metal, British amps were ruling the day. Players who wanted that sound simply did not play anything else. This book charts the confluence of British industrial ingenuity and pop culture as it evolved at breakneck speed and examines the symbiotic relationship that was born of this partnership.

Art inspired industry as industry influenced art, and together they produced the most powerful music ever known to mankind—a sound that still resonates today.

Dave Hunter is a writer and musician who has worked extensively in the U.K. and the U.S. He is the author of The Guitar Amp Handbook, Guitar Effects Pedals, Amped, The Fender Telecaster, The Gibson Les Paul, The Guitar Pickup Handbook and several other titles. Hunter is also a regular contributor to Guitar Player and Vintage Guitar and is a contributing essayist to the United States Library of Congress National Recording Preservation Board’s Permanent Archive.

Available at Backwingstore.com; MSRP$19.99

The British Amp Invasion: How Marshall, Hiwatt, Vox and More Changed the Sound of Music
Author: Dave Hunter
Publisher: Backbeat Books
Series: FAQ
Format: Softcover
Page Count: 400
Dimensions: 6 x 9 inches
ISBN: 9781617136399

The Apple Corporation has, in celebration of the groundbreaking film's upcoming 50th anniversary, announced a comic book adaptation of Yellow Submarine. The comic book, which will be distributed by Titan Comics, is slated for release in 2018.

"We're thrilled to be publishing The Beatles: Yellow Submarine for the 50th anniversary of this fantastic movie," Titan publishing director Chris Teather told The Hollywood Reporter. "We can't wait for Beatles fans to experience this official adaptation."

Bill Morrison, the incoming editor of MAD Magazine, wrote and illustrated The Beatles: Yellow Submarine. The comic book, like the film, will follow the Fab Four as they battle the Blue Meanies while journeying in the titular vessel.

Ohio-based effects pedal company EarthQuaker Devices launches EarthQuaker Comics with the release of Octo Skull, its first foray into the world of comic books.

Octo Skull is an epic fantasy adventure set in a magical and unforgiving universe with characters and locations inspired by the company’s colorful and inventive line of musical effects pedals. Legendary barbarian warrior Octo Skull is on a quest through the haunted Ghost Echo canyon to the murky Depths to defend the world from demonic invasion at the hands of the merciless Hoof Reaper.

Octo Skull is written and drawn by EarthQuaker Devices staff artist Matt Horak (The Covenant, Space Stepdad, Dr. Crowe), with colors by Chris O’Halloran (Star Wars Rebels, Star Trek: Waypoint), and letters by Crank! (Rick and Morty, Battlepug).

The five page online prologue launches at EarthQuakerDevices.com on September 1st with new pages premiering every Tuesday and Thursday, and will feature an exclusive soundtrack with original music by EarthQuaker Devices artists. Details for the print edition to follow.

View EarthQuaker comics and sign up to be alerted when new pages are posted at http://www.earthquakerdevices.com/Comics

Dark Horse Comics and thrash-punk titans Slayer have joined forces to deliver a new comic series, titled Repentless.

With full participation from the band, and taking inspiration from Slayer’s recent Repentless music videos (filmed in support of their latest album, Repentless), disciple Jon Schnepp (Metalocalypse) will pen the three-issue comic series with interior bloodlines drawn by Guiu Vilanova (Twilight Zone, Conan the Avenger, Weird Detective). Glenn Fabry’s covers reign in blood while postmortem Eric Powell (The Goon, Hillbilly) will illustrate the variant cover for the first issue.

“I think of the songs I write as stories,” Slayer’s Kerry King told Rolling Stone in an exclusive interview. “And if nothing else, they are certainly visual.”

Slayer: Repentless #1 (of 3) will be on comic stands in December 2016. You can preorder it at your local comic shop.

Few rock bands were as successful as the Scorpions by the mid-Eighties—headlining arenas/stadiums worldwide, scoring two mega-selling albums (the Platinum-certified Blackout and the triple-Platinum-certified Love at First Sting) and two hit singles/videos (“No One Like You” and ‘Rock You Like a Hurricane”).

But what quite a few newcomers to the band didn't realize was that the Scorpions had been regularly recording music since 1972, and that throughout the remainder of the decade, featured two guitarists (Michael Schenker and Uli Jon Roth) at separate points that are considered legendary among the heavy metal masses.

And while such albums as Lonesome Crow, Fly to the Rainbow, In Trance, Virgin Killer, Taken by Force, Tokyo Tapes and Lovedrive did not come close to obtaining the commercial success of the aforementioned Eighties-era efforts, they inspired and influenced countless renowned musicians.

German Metal Machine: Scorpions in the '70s by Greg Prato is the first book to focus solely on this period of the band. Interviews include such former members as Michael Schenker, Uli Jon Roth, Francis Buchholz and Herman Rarebell, longtime Scorpions producer Dieter Dierks, plus members of other bands that are major admirers, including KK Downing (Judas Priest), Billy Corgan (Smashing Pumpkins), Joe Satriani, Tom Hamilton (Aerosmith), David Ellefson (Megadeth), Alex Skolnick (Testament) and Eddie Trunk (That Metal Show), among many others, while Kirk Hammett (Metallica) provides a foreword.

And while the Scorpions penned their share of classic tunes during the Seventies ("Speedy’s Coming," "Virgin Killer," "We’ll Burn the Sky,"), arguably the greatest composition was penned entirely by Roth, "The Sails of Charon,” off their aforementioned 1977 album, Taken by Force—a tune that has been publicly heralded by Kirk Hammett over the years, and served as a virtual blueprint for the style that Yngwie Malmsteen would eventually adopt as his own. In this exclusive excerpt from the book, you get the inside story behind "Charon” (You can purchase the paperback and Kindle download here and iBook download here.

Chapter 7: The Sails of Charon

The greatest guitar song of the entire "Scorpions/Uli era"?

KARL SANDERS [Nile singer/guitarist]: "The Sails of Charon." Holy fucking shit. Dude, I'm still working on some of those licks…and that's 30 years ago since I first heard that shit.

TOM HUNTING [Exodus drummer]: I can hum every note of every guitar solo in "The Sails of Charon," and I'm a fuckin' drummer! So there's a huge impact.

HERMAN RAREBELL [Scorpions drummer (1977-1995)]: I love that song. I remember this was just about a few months after I joined the Scorpions, Uli invited me over to his apartment in Hanover, and he played me the song—the riff—and I said, "Wow. This is a killer song." One of my all-time favorites. So we rehearsed it, and for me, it felt great, because it had the influence of Led Zeppelin on it, and I am a big Led Zeppelin fan. So for me, this song was made for me. And you can hear it on the drumming. That song is probably one of the best Scorpions songs. In fact, I jammed with Uli two years ago at a festival in France—we jammed on the song. We made a long version—I think a 10-minute version of it.

FRANCIS BUCHHOLZ [Scorpions bassist (1973-1992)]: That is an Uli Roth song. I like playing it, because it's interesting to play on the bass. To me, it's an outstanding composition. I still play it - when I did a tour with Uli Roth in America a couple of years ago. Uli still plays it, and I like playing it. It's good to play, but it's nothing for the radio.

ULI JON ROTH [Scorpions guitarist (1973-1978)]: It didn't happen all in one day. I remember coming up with the intro theme first, but I don't quite remember how that riff came to me. All I know is I had a little flat in Langenhagen at that time, and it was upstairs. And one day, it just happened. I do clearly remember writing the lyrics, and also the guitar solo.

Which, at that time, I thought was a new departure—technically challenging, but also, there was musical meaning in it. But on the whole, that's what I remember. Then we recorded it again as a demo. We did a demo recording prior to the album in a little town in Westphalia, and this is where we recorded the backing track. But the guitar solo was the last thing that I did for that one. And I also played the bass on that one.

KK DOWNING [Judas Priest guitarist (1969-2011)]: From that song alone, you can see all the signs of all the qualities that Uli had, and would go on to do some fantastic stuff. It was a very unique piece. I didn't actually discover it until quite some time after—until later on, for some reason. Now when I go back and listen to it and analyze it, it sticks in my mind that Uli had great capabilities.

He must have had some professional musical schooling. I don't know if he can play the piano or whether he did from an early age, but he certainly got it from somewhere, that's for sure. Because it wasn't really around—not to my knowledge—from other guitar players. And I was listening to everyone that came along. But in the rock world, Uli was certainly the first one that came up with those elements of playing.

CHARLIE BENANTE [Anthrax drummer]: I remember first being on tour and being in the band, I would always bring out my cassettes—my mix tapes. And that song was always played in the dressing room. It's one of those songs that as a guitar player, you want to learn—you want to figure it out. And Uli Jon Roth back then I thought was way ahead of it.

HANK SHERMANN [Mercyful Fate guitarist]: I remember when 'Taken by Force' was released. The solos in "The Sails of Charon" were like, "Whoa! My goodness!" Even to this day, if you think about it, every guitar player in the world has that solo as a really high standout. And the phenomenal thing is it was performed in 1977 - with a lot of classical stuff to it. I had the pleasure of trying to challenge myself and covering that song - it took me about 30 years before I said, "OK, I'll give it a try and see how good I can perform it."

LIPS [Anvil singer/guitarist]: No one had ever heard those notes played on guitar before that point. No one. Certainly on violins and cellos and orchestration, but never on an electric guitar.

PAUL GILBERT [Mr. Big & Racer X guitarist]: That song is intimidating! Every time I hear the solo, I think, "I should really figure out that solo." But I'm scared of it - because Uli plays it so beautifully. It's got such great vibrato and the composition is amazing and his tone is amazing. He half-invented Yngwie with that solo.

And it was really different - I can't think of anybody who had that classical/Phrygian, dominant/Baroque elements to their music. I know that in Emerson, Lake & Palmer, you hear them doing some classical stuff. But it wasn't as "Bach." Their stuff was more like, Mussorgsky's "Pictures at an Exhibition." So they were sort of in the Romantic era. They did Aaron Copland's "Hoedown." But the part that the Scorpions did, I didn't hear anybody doing that kind of thing.

CHRIS CAFFERY [Savatage & Trans-Siberian Orchestra guitarist]: I'd have to say that everybody's favorite old Scorpions song as a guitar player is "The Sails of Charon." That song is the one that you heard and you were like, "What the heck is this?!" Because it was trippy, it was different. The funny thing is if you ever look at the old interviews that Yngwie Malmsteen did, he never credited Uli - until recently. He used to say, "Oh, I did not know who Uli Roth was." And it's like, "Bullshit you didn't! You stole everything you ever did from him and Blackmore!" [Laughs]

I don't think he wanted to let people know about Uli, because if you took Uli and you studied him and you played it over and over and got faster and faster, then you had Yngwie. Yngwie knew that. And that was the funny thing about that. That's where that came from. And if you read his old interviews, people even asked him, "What about Uli Roth?" "Oh, I'm not very familiar with him." It wasn't until recently that he was like, "Oh yeah, Uli, definitely."

KK DOWNING: If there's one guy that could do what Yngwie could do—before Yngwie could do it—it would have been Uli.

JOE STUMP [Solo guitarist]: It had the "evil riff" in the beginning, and then, it's a very interesting track, because the guitar solo was the first thing you hear in the track. And the first time I heard the guitar solo, I was like, "Holy shit." It reminds me of the first time I heard the early Yngwie stuff or Al Di Meola's Elegant Gypsy when I was a kid. It really grabbed me. Just his tone and his vibrato, and the amount of technique he was playing with. And plus, I was always drawn to players that used those kind of dark-sounding European tonalities.

JAMES BYRD [Solo guitarist]: That was the first time I heard anybody playing diminished arpeggios and harmonic modes in a rock context. I had been listening to Al Di Meola and figuring out his stuff, but it wasn't rock or metal. It had a powerful sound to it that was different from anything that was around. It immediately caught my ear. "The Sails of Charon" was the guitar solo that everybody had to try to learn how to play back in the day.

ALEX SKOLNICK [Testament guitarist]: There were a few songs at that time that really captured a Middle Eastern sound. The technical name of that scale is the harmonic minor scale. It was pretty new to rock, as far as I know. It snuck in a few times. Like, the Beatles song, "Girl," they snuck that in there. Then there was surf music—"Miserlou" had it. But just to hear hard rock with virtuosic guitar playing with that mode, it was a very cool thing. So, to me, "The Sails of Charon" really captured that. Ritchie Blackmore's "The Gates of Babylon" is another one.

CHRIS CAFFERY: That Middle Eastern metal—it was heavy. A soundtrack for a metal monster movie about pyramids would be that song! It had that sound. I don't think anybody had really done that. Blackmore had gotten into the stuff with "The Gates of Babylon"—he was on that edge of that. But "The Sails of Charon," that was that type of song, nobody had really done that - that "Middle Eastern metal sort of vibe" yet—until that song.

JIM MATHEOS [Fates Warning guitarist]: That's one of the ones when I listened to it, I was like, "What the hell is this guy doing?" And I remember spending hours…days trying to learn that song. I still think even right now I couldn't cop it very well.

STEVE "ZETRO" SOUZA [Exodus singer]: I started out as a guitar player before I became a vocalist, and I remember we are all at guitar class, and I was like [sings melody of the opening guitar riff of "Charon"], and we were all trying to figure it out. The whole song, the riff definitely stands out. The guitar work was up and above what usually a band is about. At that period of time, the guitar work wasn't all that in the forefront. Priest was very good at guitar work in the Seventies. I think AC/DC had great riffs, but not guitar work. Who's going to come up with a song like [again sings "Charon" riff]? Just that whole progression there, to write that and create a song that is genius and ballsy.

You're setting the bar completely on another level…again, we're not in 2015. We're in 1977, and everybody's used to "verse, chorus, verse, chorus." And here, you've got guys that are writing and arranging music that's not going with the way songs are written - the way rock songs have been written. That's why, to me, heavy metal takes everything to another level, because the changes are unlike any other type of music, whatsoever. And I think especially in "The Sails of Charon," Klaus comes in and sings [sings vocal melody], and you've created a song out of the greatest riff, and it worked. You pulled it off. That's what caught me. What was heavier than that? Who played a rhythm heavier than that at that time? Nobody. They were the heaviest band in the world.

LIPS: It's one of those songs that you listen to for the rest of your life. And you can tell right away, it was so "thick in detail guitar." You're going, "This is going to take me the rest of my life to figure out what he played here, because it's so beyond my scope of playing"—at the time. It's like, "Holy shit. It's going to take many years to decipher this."

And it has, and it still bewilders me how he found that, and how deep his inspiration was to hear those notes, to look for them, to play them. I think it's environment, early influence - those kind of things, how do you quantify that? To me, it was like a golden grail. The first time hearing that, you're going, "My God. What is that?" It's something beyond your scope and it sounds so good to your ears, you're going, "Wow!"

But I think it's more appreciated by somebody who plays, rather than somebody who is just listening to music. Somebody listening to music goes, "Oh. That's very nice." They're not realizing, "Oh my God. How did he figure that out? Where the hell did you get that order of notes from? How do you do that? And what are the spaces and the structure of those scales?" It's so beyond the blues scale. That's how it stuck me—I'd never heard those modes and notes in rock history.

BILLY CORGAN [Smashing Pumpkins singer/guitarist]: It does sort of usher in the Satriani's and the Vai's. It really is this other level of guitar playing, in a way that almost dominates the track, but doesn't kill it. And when you look at when Uli did it, he's so ahead of the curve on where guitar is going. I mean, yeah, there are great guitar players, but it's this other level of virtuosity that sort of works within the song—in a way that doesn't kill it.

Which is pretty strange, because usually up to that point, it's like guys would do "guitar showpieces," like Alvin Lee or something—"I'm Going Home." It's like a bullshit piece so the guy can take off on the guitar. Somehow, Uli elevates the song with his playing, but in a way that makes the song distinctive and still pop, which is very, very strange. And then, all those crazy modes that he's playing…that's pure Uli right there. It makes sense to him.

EDDIE TRUNK ['That Metal Show' co-host & 'Eddie Trunk Live' host]: Uli Jon Roth's guitar playing is unbelievable, and it's got that great riff. But then it's got this super melodic, incredible guitar playing through it. It's a little of everything—it's heavy, it's melodic. His solo right over that opening riff is just so great. It's not a particularly long song—it's not like it's a twelve-minute epic or whatever—but it feels that way, because it's got so many different styles to it and directions within it.

TRAVIS STEVER [Coheed and Cambria guitarist]: It's pretty fucking amazing—doing that so ahead of its time. That's the part that sticks out—they were doing things ahead of their time. They always were. Guitar-wise, especially.

Ordering Information:

You can purchase the paperback and Kindle download here, a Nook download here and iBook download here.

Tony Bacon's new book, The Gretsch Electric Guitar Book: 60 Years of White Falcons, 6120s, Jets, Gents and More, is available now at the Guitar World Online Store for $29.99.

Gretsch 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 Falcons, Gents, 6120s, Jets and the rest.

The Gretsch Electric Guitar Book comes right up to the present, including Gretsch's alliance to the powerful Fender company, a move that has done wonders for the reliability and playability of the modern Gretsch axe.

Every great model is here, but the book also tells the story of the lesser-known guitars and the projects that almost never happened. There are archival and fresh interviews with Gretsch personnel over the years and with many leading Gretsch players, including Chet Atkins, Billy Duffy, Duane Eddy and Brian Setzer.

In the tradition of Tony Bacon's best-selling series of guitar books, his updated and revised story of Gretsch is three great volumes in one: a compendium of luscious pictures of the coolest guitars; a gripping story from early exploits to the most recent developments; and a detailed collector's guide to every production electric Gretsch model ever made.

Head to the Guitar World Online Store now!

The latest Backbeat Books release, The Taylor Guitar Book, tells the complete story of one of the most important guitar manufacturers in the history of the instrument.

From its beginnings as one of the first modern small-shop steel-string guitar brands in North America to its position as an undisputed market leader, the Taylor company provides a unique tale of innovation and entrepreneurship.

Famous for the easy playability of its guitars, Taylor not only successfully introduced non-traditional design elements (such as bolt-on necks) to the instruments, but also pioneered high-tech manufacturing techniques, including the use of computer-controlled CNC machinery, laser cutting, and modern finishes. In the process, the company influenced virtually every other maker of guitars during the last 40 years. Taylor has set new standards in consistency and quality control, even building its own cases and electronics.

Taylor guitars are played by artist as diverse as Neil Young, Prince, Leo Kottke, Jason Mraz, Zac Brown, Taylor Swift and Lindsey Buckingham, and the company has manufacturing facilities in the U.S. and Mexico. Now in its fifth decade, Taylor continues to innovate with hits most recent effort focused on environmentally friendly manufacturing and the use of sustainable woods

The Taylor Guitar Book is full of photos repenting Taylor's entire history alongside a narrative of the company's path to success, a detailed reference listing of current and past models and fresh insights from key members of the Taylor team.

Founded in 1974, Growing from a small custom shop to the only new brand to have challenged the traditional Big Three of American acoustic guitars (Gibson, Guild and Martin), Taylor has effectively changed the marketplace for acoustic steel-string guitars and influenced every other maker of acoustic stringed instruments.

The Taylor Guitar Book | $29.99 (US) | Inventory #HL 00120795 | ISBN: 9781480394513 | 8.5" x 11.0" | 160 pages

About the Author

Teja Gerken is a guitarist, journalist, educator, and video producer based in the San Francisco Bay Area. Prior to co-founding the roots music learning website Peghead Nation in 2014, he held the position of gear editor and senior editor at Acoustic Guitar for more than 15 years. He also has written extensively for Fretboard Journal, Guitar Player, Premier Guitar and InTune, as well as Germany's Gitarre & Bass and Akustik Gitarre magazines. He has contributed to several books, and his writing-related travels have taken him to every major guitar manufacturer dozens of luthiers in the U.S. and several abroad.

PRS guitars appeal to a growing number of musicians, from Carlos Santana to Al Di Meola, from Zach Myers to Mark Tremonti.

The PRS Electric Guitar Book: A Complete History of Paul Reed Smith Electrics examines every part of PRS Guitars' history, with an in-depth story, beautiful photographs and detailed collector's information. Paul Reed Smith set up his first PRS factory in 1985 in Maryland and has devised guitars from the regular Custom and McCarty models, through the outrageously decorated Dragon specials and the controversial Singlecut, and on to recent achievements such as the Mira, Dave Grissom DGT, JA-15 and the S2 models.

Dozens of guitars are pictured, along with players, ads, catalogs and memorabilia. A detailed reference section helps musicians and collectors identify and date PRS instruments, making this revised and updated edition of The PRS Electric Guitar Book a must for all guitar fans.

$29.99 | Pages: 160

Head to the Guitar World Online Store now!

The Radiohead Guitar Tab Anthology is available now at the Guitar World Online Store.

The book, which is published by Hal Leonard, features nearly 20 top tunes from Radiohead, transcribed note for note with tab.

Songs include:

• Airbag
• Bodysnatchers
• Creep
• Go to Sleep
• I Might Be Wrong
• In Limbo
• Just
• Knives Out
• Let Down
• Little by Little
• My Iron Lung
• Optimistic
• Paranoid Android
• Street Spirit (Fade Out)
• Subterranean Homesick Alien
• There There
• 2 + 2 = 5
• Weird Fishes/Arpeggi

For more information, head to the Guitar World Online Store.

Take a deep breath and jump into the guitar adventure that is Jeff Beck.

Jeff Beck: A Step-by-Step Breakdown of His Guitar Styles and Techniques is an exclusive book/CD pack that features in-depth analysis of the songs and solos that highlight Beck's career, from the Yardbirds to his landmark jazz-fusion albums of the Seventies to the present day.

Ten songs are analyzed, including:

• Beck's Bolero
• Big Block
• Cause We've Ended as Lovers
• A Day in the Life
• El Becko
• Freeway Jam
• Goodbye Pork Pie Hat
• Led Boots
• Over Under Sideways Down
• Rock My Plimsoul

This book/CD package is available now at the Guitar World Online Store for $22.99.

As every guitarist knows, it's all about tone. But getting that magical tone can sometimes be a black art.

How to Hot Rod Your Fender Amp is the first guidebook explaining how you can get the best sound possible out of your Fender amp with simple to advanced modifications.

Covering both old and new Fender amps with how-to photos and schematics, these tips include essential and fundamental pointers like selecting tubes, capacitors, pots, and other electronic equipment, as well as biasing and setting up your amp.

Author Jeffrey Falla modified his first amp at age 13 and soon after built his first amp with parts salvaged from old jukeboxes. Today, he builds ToneTron amps for select clientele and still gigs regularly.

This 184-page book is available now at the Guitar World Online Store for $27.99.

For nearly a decade, Dear Guitar Hero — where everyday fans get a chance to ask their hero a question — has remained one of Guitar World magazine’s most popular departments.

Now the best of these interviews with rock’s most inspiring six-string icons are presented in one volume, Guitar World Presents Dear Guitar Hero: The World's Most Celebrated Guitarists Answer Their Fans' Most Burning Questions (Backbeat Press). It's available now at the Guitar World Online Store.

The 256-page paperback book features interviews with a broad range of celebrity guitarists, from rock legends like Jimmy Page, Eddie Van Halen, Ace Frehley and Billy Gibbons to superstar shredders like Steve Vai, Joe Satriani and Paul Gilbert to heroes of the modern rock world like Dave Grohl, Jerry Cantrell and Warren Haynes.

Through the years, Guitar World readers have proven themselves to be fearless when asking questions of their guitar idols, often touching on subjects others would be reluctant to broach. Whether it’s the truth behind the Allman Brothers’ legendary At Fillmore East album cover photo and the illegal substance in Duane Allman’s hand, what Ritchie Blackmore meant when he referred to Eric Clapton as “not a very good guitar player” or Dave Mustaine’s true feelings about Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich, Dear Guitar Hero features revealing conversations with many of the most legendary figures in rock guitar history.

Guitar World Presents Dear Guitar Hero: The World's Most Celebrated Guitarists Answer Their Fans' Most Burning Questionsis available now at the Guitar World Online Store.

Guitar Aficionado announces the launch of a new book for guitar fans — Guitar Aficionado — The Collections: The Most Famous, Rare, and Valuable Guitars in the World.

In this spectacular full-color deluxe volume, Guitar Aficionado presents the world's most epic guitars and the people who own them.

All the instruments are photographed in meticulous detail and accompanied by descriptions and recollections in the artists' own words. These magnificent photos and stories are presented in a large coffee table style book, measuring 14 inches by 10 inches by 5 inches (weight: 5.2 pounds).

You'll discover the iconic, historic and often priceless instruments of:

• Jimmy Page
• Eddie Van Halen
• Stevie Ray Vaughan
• Rick Nielsen
• Billy Gibbons
• Jeff Beck
• Joe Bonamassa
• Duane Allman
• Carlos Santana
• John Lennon
• Lindsey Buckingham

... and many more!

Guitar Aficionado — The Collections also features special chapters devoted to the iconic, historic and often priceless instruments employed by the likes of Eddie Van Halen, Billy Gibbons, Tony Iommi, Ace Frehley, Peter Frampton, John Lennon and many other artists who changed not only the face of music, but of popular culture itself.

With gorgeous color photography and rare and exclusive images throughout, this book is a must-have for any fan!

This book is available now at our online store!

Andy Babiuk has announced Beatles Gear: The Ultimate Edition, an updated version of his classic 2001 study, Beatles Gear.

The new edition is twice the size of the original tome and features 625 additional photographs.

It is set for a November 10 release via Backbeat Books.

Among the new photographs in Beatles Gear: The Ultimate Edition are pics of John Lennon’s original 1962 J-160E Gibson acoustic guitar. Babiuk was instrumental in authenticating the guitar, which was lost for more than 50 years. The Gibson will be sold at auction in Beverly Hills, California, in early November.