The updated version includes profiles of more than 20 contemporary pedal builders.
Montclair, NJ (December 4, 2013) -- Guitar Effects Pedals: The Practical Handbook opens up the world of effects pedals, vintage and new alike, for the guitarist. Dave Hunter explores the complexities of the booming pedal market. He starts with the earliest guitar effects – tube amp overdrive, spring reverb, manual vibrato, and tremolo – and takes the reader through to the latest Mastortions, Tremvelopes, Giggities, and Euphorias.
Meeting the great pedal designers, Hunter asks some searching questions. What were Jimi Hendrix’s pedal secrets? Is ‘true bypass’ a good thing or not? Can your choice of battery make a difference to your sound? Are vintage components really better? Why does veteran pedal guru Roger Mayer not think much of the modern ‘boutique’ pedal designs? How did the Big Muff Pi and the Voodoo Lab Proctavia get their intriguing names?
Most electric guitarists consider effects pedals central to their sound, whether they want to enhance the natural qualities of the instrument and amp or create something more wild and colorful. Guitar Effects Pedals: The Practical Handbook gives them everything to understand and enjoy their pedals – old and new, simple and sophisticated. The book explores the history of different effects pedals, what each type of effect does and how it does it, and the best ways in which to use and combine effects. Included are exclusive author interviews with a dozen leading pedal makers and designers, plus a cover-mounted CD with nearly 100 recorded sound samples of effects pedals, both popular and obscure. This updated edition includes the addition of profiles of more than 20 other contemporary makers, 50 percent more manufacturer interviews, and revisions to the original text.
This is the only book on the market that includes all of these important elements in the examination of effects pedals – a comprehensive history of the art; profiles on both vintage and contemporary (including “boutique”) units; and expert advice on all aspects of using these tools. For any serious player interested in honing the perfect tone the right way, this is the go-to reference.
For more information:
Backbeat Books
Starting with simple blues-based riffs over basic chord sequences, the book leads the reader rapidly to advanced harmony and improvisation.
Montclair, NJ (September 17, 2013) -- The Jazz Guitar Handbook is a thorough step-by-step guide to mastering one of the most creative and challenging types of music on the guitar. Starting with simple blues-based riffs over basic chord sequences, the book leads the reader rapidly to advanced harmony and improvisation. Along the way it teaches all the scales, chords, and theory guitar players need to make their way in jazz. The Jazz Guitar Handbook covers a wide range of styles, including jazzy blues, swing, bebop, modal, jazz-funk, Gypsy, and more.
Highlights:
- An illustrated history of jazz guitars and guitarists
- More than 100 exercises and musical examples in notation and tab
- All the essential scales and chords
- The fundamentals of modern jazz harmony and improvisation
- Advice on choosing a guitar for jazz
- A 96-track CD of exercises, scales, chords, and backing tracks
Easy to use and useful for players at various levels, this volume is a must-have reference for players looking to expand their jazz skill set. "I would recommend this to any jazz guitar teacher looking for a book to use with serious students, it will provide both an excellent road map of sequential subject matter to cover, as well as a lot of the material that you would normally have to write by hand," says Doug Perkins of the Jazz Guitar Society.
For more information:
Backbeat Books