Electric Guitar Handbook - Softcover

"The Electric Guitar Handbook" is ideal for electric guitarists who want to improve the technical aspects of their playing and so widen their sonic palette. It is exclusively a guide to buying and setting up what you need to create the sound you want, and is not a how-to-play book. It covers buying the right electric guitar, amplification, accessories and effects, and offers a solid grounding in the fundamentals of mastering these effects. The book covers the basics of putting a band together, gigging, getting started in the music industry and recording. A brief history of the electric guitar covers classics like the Fender Stratocaster and cutting edge newcomers like the Parker Fly. The final chapter profiles 35 electric guitar legends from Chet Atkins to Buckethead, Jimi Hendrix to Steve Vai, listing their gear and recommended recordings.

Author Alan Ratcliffe has been playing guitar for 22 years, and worked as a luthier for 15 years, during which time he was authorised to repair Gibson, Fender, Martin and Ibanez guitars, and install Fishman transducers. Deeply interested in guitar technology, he has been using guitar synthesizers for 10 years. He runs workshops on these and other hi-tech items such as piezo bridges, and has earned a Graph Tech GHOST endorsement. Alan is a qualified recording engineer and a fanatical home recording enthusiast. He spent six years in the music retail industry, handling repairs, sales and orders for a major musical equipment importer and retailer. He now writes a popular series of articles for their website, covering a wide variety of topics from guitar maintenance and home recording to drum tuning and buyer's guides. Consultant Mark Greenwood has been playing and studying the guitar for 20 years and has been in working bands for most of that time. He plays all styles of music and teaches both classical and electric guitar to a wide range of age groups and abilities. He owns a recording studio where he has engineered, mixed and produced many artists and bands. For a seven-year period he worked in a guitar store in central London, learning a great deal about guitars (and how to set them up), amplifiers, effects processors and accessories.