Original pedals from Jimi Hendrix, Jack White, SRV and many more gathered in new Stompbox coffee table book
The tome features 100 of the most famous and significant effects in history in hi-res detail, with artist interviews, histories, essays and more
We all love effects pedals, right? So, apparently, do the creators behind a massive new illustrated book, Stompbox: 100 Pedals of the World’s Greatest Guitarists, a 500+ page photography and interview coffee table tome displaying the pedals of some of the world’s greatest guitarists.
Among the actual, original pedals showcased include Jimi Hendrix’s Arbiter Fuzz Face, Jack White’s Third Man Bumble Buzz, Stevie Ray Vaughan’s Ibanez TS9 Tube Screamer, Frank Zappa’s Mu-Tron and Alex Lifeson’s Boss CE-1 Chorus Ensemble.
What else? There's Andy Summers’ MXR Phase 90, Eric Johnson’s Dallas-Arbiter Fuzz Face, Adrian Belew’s Foxx Tone Machine, Joe Satriani’s Chandler Tube Driver, Steve Vai’s MXR M-104 Distortion+, Joe Perry’s Klon Centaur, Thurston Moore’s Ludwig Phase II Synthesizer and many, many others.
Stompbox is the creation of photographer Eilon Paz, who captures each of the pedals in hi-res detail, with editing by Guitar World alums Dan Epstein and James Rotondi.
There’s also a foreword by Radiohead’s Ed O’Brien, as well as fresh commentary from the artists themselves, who go deep on the significance of the particular pedals on display.
In addition, Paz and Epstein have also put together a companion book, Vintage & Rarities: 333 Cool, Crazy and Hard to Find Guitar Pedals, in which they gather some of the rarest, weirdest and most iconic stompboxes in existence. Like Stompbox, the book features detailed photographs, this time of “primitive fuzzboxes, one-off prototypes, whimsical boutique creations and elaborate multi-effects units – many of which have never been seen before, even by hardcore collectors.”
Vintage & Rarities also boasts profiles of 25 pedal collectors from around the world, including musicians like Adrian Belew, Henry Kaiser and David Torn and celebrated pedal builders like Oliver Ackermann (Death By Audio), Mike Piera (Analog Man) and Josh Scott (JHS).
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Stompbox and Vintage & Rarities will be released individually (and as a slipcased bundled pair dubbed “the brick”) on November 13, and are available for presale now.
For more information or to pick one (or both) up, head to Stompbox Book.
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Rich is the co-author of the best-selling Nöthin' But a Good Time: The Uncensored History of the '80s Hard Rock Explosion. He is also a recording and performing musician, and a former editor of Guitar World magazine and executive editor of Guitar Aficionado magazine. He has authored several additional books, among them Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck, the companion to the documentary of the same name.
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