The Electric Guitar Sourcebook: How to Find the Sounds You Like

by Dave Hunter

(Book). Why does an electric archtop sound so different from a solidbody guitar when they have the same strings and pickups? Why does Eric Clapton use a vibrato Stratocaster with the vibrato arm removed and the mechanism blocked off with a piece of wood? Why does a strings-though-body guitar sound brighter than an instrument with the strings anchored at the bridge? The sound of an electric guitar is the sum of many parts. Every component, from the wood in the neck to the metal in the tuners and everything in between including the amount of air in the body affects the overall tone of an instrument. In this book, Dave Hunter looks at the development of the electric guitar since the earliest instruments in the late 1930s, and how, since then, guitar makers and players have sought to define and refine all the elements that create a guitar's tone. This book analysis of the different components that make up a guitar and how each affects the sound of an instrument * chapter-by-chapter breakdown of the main body types, their characteristics, and their strengths and weaknesses * in-depth specifications of over 70 guitars * interviews with significant people in the guitar-making world * accompanying online audio with examples of many of the guitar sounds described in the book. By looking at all the variables involved, this book will set you, the player, on the road to achieving that sound you've always wanted.

Genres: Music

207 pages, Paperback

First published February 27, 2006

Reviews

[Jake Rowley · Rating 4 out of 5]

There are only so many unique adjectives you can use to describe a guitar's tone, and by the time you've got through 60+ guitars being described variously as "hot", "lithe", "sizzly", "blurry", "grainy", "creamy", "throaty" and "spanky", you do start to lose track of what any of these words actually mean. It's also slightly odd that there's a big picture of a Gibson Firebird on the front cover yet the guitar is mentioned maybe once in passing. Still, I learned a lot reading this book, and its writing style is very engaging and readable despite being about the nitty gritty, technical aspects of the instrument.

[William Dearth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Covers a lot of history on not only vintage guitars, but all of the peripherals as well. Very informative and entertaining.