Great new books for guitarists!
Hal Leonard Books has published two cool new books for guitar enthusiasts: The Fender Archives by Tom Wheeler (£27.43), with a foreword by the legendary picker James Burton; and Brian May’s Red Special £15.99) by Brian May himself, along with our old pal Simon Bradley. The Fender Archives is part history, part archive, part scrapbook and part treasure chest, telling the story of an American icon through its rich past.
The Fender Archives looks at the company from the inside; handwritten letters, production totals, personal logbooks, in-house memos, Leo Fender’s drawing-board sketches, financial reports-such documents are freed here from long confinement in cardboard boxes and filing cabinets, dusted off, and promoted from background to spotlight. It sheds new light on the inspirations for revolutionary instruments and amplifiers, their sometimes-difficult births and growing pains, the environment into which they were unleashed upon the world, and the motivations and personalities of key players. Featured are rare and previously unseen photographs and documents from Fender’s rich history as well as posters, and other items housed in folders bound within the book.
“Tom has compiled a captivating collection of artifacts that is guaranteed to satisfy the most passionate Fender fanatic,” said Richard McDonald, executive vice president of the Fender brand. And who are we to argue?
Brian May’s Red Special tells the story of how Brian and his father Harold built the rock star’s iconic guitar. Says Brian: “I designed an instrument from scratch, with the intention that it would have a capability beyond anything that was out there, more tunable, with a greater range of pitches and sounds, with a better tremolo, and with a capability of feeding back through the air in a ‘good’ way.”I n Brian May’s Red Special, readers will discover everything they ever wished to know about the Queen axe hero’s unique instrument. This is accompanied by original diagrams, sketches and notes dating from the building of the guitar, as well as a great selection of photographs including Brian on stage with his guitar, close-ups and x-rays. “There is more to the Red Special than the technical aspects, though; there’s the human side, too,” says co-author, Simon Bradley. “The guitar represents a link to a part of Brian he’s kept private up to now: the home life of his earliest years, his relationship with his parents, and how that all dovetailed into the very genesis of Queen - and the birth of That Guitar”. Brian May’s Red Special includes rare and previously unseen photographs; a must-read for any Queen fan. Visit www.halleonard books.com for more on both these great guitar tomes.