New Book Highlight the Tools of Hendrix’s Trade
Jimi Hendrix Gear: The Guitars, Amps & Effects that Revolutionized Rock ’n’ Roll
by Michael Heatley, with Harry Shapiro, Foreword by Roger Mayer
Available November 2009
“The Sixties was the decade the guitar hero was invented. At the time of writing the likes of Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, and Pete Townsend are still around today, respected elder statesmen of a rock scene they were influential in creating. Yet they remain in the shadow of a man who blew out of Seattle as a total unknown in 1966 and spent the next five years redefining the art of playing the six-string electric guitar.”
– from the Introduction
How did he do it? So many years later, this is still the question guitar aficionados ask about Jimi Hendrix, whose music was unlike anything heard before or after first strapped on a six-string.
The musical genius that was Jimi Hendrix, however, will always be deeply interconnected to the equipment with which he made his music. And while the music of Jimi Hendrix lives on today, both in its own right and in the work of countless others, the guitars with which he made history have never been definitively cataloged.
A practical reference book like no other, Jimi Hendrix Gear is the first book to focus exclusively on the guitars, amps, and effects Hendrix used, picturing many of his surviving instruments. Aiming to sort fact from fiction, as far as is possible at nearly half a century’s distance, Guitar and Bass editor Michael Heatley examines all of Hendrix’s equipment, providing a nuts-and-bolts analysis of each of his guitars (including serial number, history, and provenance), his amps choices, and his singular use of revolutionary effects from wah-wahs to overdrives to bizarre-o pedals like the Fuzzface. Photos of Hendrix onstage and in the studio combine with memorabilia and reminiscences to create a unique picture of a master musician who simply would not recognize limitations either in his gear or his own ability to use and, sometimes, abuse it.
Examining how Hendrix created his myriad sounds, Jimi Hendrix Gear gives the proper guidance and tools—song by song, album by album, and concert by concert—to any guitarist who wants to take a stab at emulating one of the greatest players of all time. It also serves as a fitting tribute to the man who died too young, but left behind a musical legacy that continues to grow.
About the Author
Michael Heatley is a journalist and musician of 30 years’ standing who writes for Guitar and Bass magazine in Britain and has penned over 100 music books since editing the History of Rock. He has met and interviewed guitarists as diverse as Slash (Guns N’ Roses), Jimmy Page (Led Zeppelin), Brian May (Queen), Mike Oldfield, Steve Miller and Steve Vai. He’s based in the UK.
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