The Music Paper (June/July 1997)
Considered to be the most romantic instrument on the planet (at least according to Chet Atkins and a few million others), the guitar is also a symbol. That symbol represents a great many things: love, rebellion, cool, sex and brother/sisterhood are just a few that come to mind. When I was in high school, the girls always loved the guitar players cause they were, or appeared to be, cool (the guys usually hated them for that very same reason, and because the girls loved them). Even the typical nerd looked halfway hip holding that most halloweed hunk of wood.
Great Guitars is a very beautiful coffeetable book that brings the creme de la creme of those said hunks of (mostly) wood directly into your living room. The book begins with a chapter on the history of the guitar and its impact on the late 20th century. Sounds pretty good, huh? Well, that is just the beginning. The following chapters detail specific instruments, with each description accompanied by absolutely gorgeous photos of the guitars. From five-course Italian and French guitars to Rickenbacker's 360-12 to Gibson, Martin, D'Angelico, Gretsch, Stromberg, Fender and more. Great Guitars touches on the innovations and art that made them all so famous.
There have been some very fine books published about the guitar, most of them dealing with only one specific maker. Great Guitars has the very spice of life: variety (wait until you see the dust jacket).
If you can't afford to own the pieces showcased in this book, owning Great Guitars is the next best thing.
Robert Shaw is a crafts and music curator, and an accomplished guitarist, which explains this book, a must-read -- and drool-over -- for anyone who loves guitars. In a lengthy, fascinating introduction, Shaw offers a tour of the instrument's development, technology and construction, and the ways musicians have used it. Dozens of photographs of famous guitarists with their favourite instruments, and -- here's where guitar-lovers get hooked -- nearly 50 stunning, full-color photos of historical instruments and contemporary work by the world's foremost luthiers.