Legendary Guitars

Legendary Guitarsguides you through the electric guitars of the 1950s and '60s and the culture, styles, and music that shaped them. "Finding ways to use the same guitar people have been using for 50 years, to make sounds no one has heard before, is truly what gets me off." -Jeff Beck Legendary Guitars: An Illustrated Guiderecaps how the greatinstruments created and produced between 1950 and 1969 went on to define the design, looks, and playability of today's electric guitars. Legendary Guitarsdraws direct lines between the mid-century originals and many of today's most highly-prized instruments.Alongside classic originals, you'll see great examples of more recent instruments, showing how today's guitar makers have produced fresh interpretations that draw on the venerable '50s and '60s templates. The guide details everything from highly accurate (and highly priced)vintage remakesandartist modelsto the broader influences and mashup qualities ofmodern retro creations. The 1950s marked the birth of so many now-classic electric guitars: from theGibson Les Pauland theFender Telecaster(as seen with Bill Haley & His Comets and with Little Richard's band) to the Gretsch 6120 and theGibson Flying V(twanged by Duane Eddy and touted by Albert King). Inthe 1960s, players pushed the sound of the electric guitar-bending, distorting, and overloading the instrument to within an inch of its life-all to fire some of the most extraordinary music ever created, not least by Jimi Hendrix with an upside-downFender Stratocaster, Eric Clapton with a psychedelicGibson SG, and George Harrison with a12-string Rickenbacker. The work of more than 50 guitar brands-past and present-is highlighted, including Airline, Ampeg, Antoria, Aria, Baldwin, Bigsby, Burns, Coral, Danelectro, Eko, Epiphone, Fender, Framus, Futurama, Gibson, Goya, Gretsch, Grimshaw, Guild, Guyatone, Hagstrom, Harmony, Hofner, Hopf, Ibanez, Kawai, Kay, Kent, Kustom, La Baye, Magnatone, Messenger, Micro-Frets, Mosrite, National, Rickenbacker, Silvertone, Stratosphere, Supro, Teisco Del Rey, Tokai, Vega, Vox, Wandre, Watkins, and Yamaha. Alongside the eye-poppingguitar photographsis a unique collection ofclassic advertisements,period catalogs, and otherrare memorabilia.Legendary Guitars: An Illustrated Guidealso contains achronological narrative of world eventsthat places these remarkable instruments in the context of two decades of mesmerizing contrasts and revolutionary invention. Legendary Guitarstakes you on an illustrated journey through the guitars and culture that drove the sound of rock 'n' roll, blues, and country, from 1950 to present day.