MusicRadar Verdict
This is a brilliant read. There´s plenty of great pictures, it's packed with iinteresting archive material and it´s bang-up-to-date, too.
Pros
- +
Well written. Lots of lovely pictures. Good reference material.
Cons
- -
You’ll fall in love with Gretsch guitars. You have been warned!
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If the words White Falcon, Duo Jet, Corvette and Hot Rod are enough to get you all hot under the collar, then you´re gonna love Tony Bacon´s new book. Stuffed with pictures of some of the coolest guitars ever made, plus a load of useful reference material, this is an essential purchase for all you fans of Gretsch guitars.
There´s a real focus on the artists who played the guitars over the past 50 years: Chet Atkins, Bo Diddley, Steve Marriott of the Small Faces, The Cult´s Billy Duffy and the greatest Gretsch maniac of them all, Stray Cats´ Brian Setzer, are all featured here alongside many others.
But the real stars are the guitars. Gretsch has produced some real works of six-string art since their earliest days. If you don´t fall in love with at least one of their beautiful models, well, you´re dead already.
50 Years of Gretsch Electrics is a right riveting read. There´s plenty of eye-candy, interesting archive material and we love the rock history accompanying the descriptions of each model. It´s bang-up-to-date, too, with information on the current Gretsch guitar range. While not quite as exhaustive as Jay Scott´s The Guitars of the Fred Gretsch Company, Tony Scott has produced a colourful, easy-to-read book that will appeal to Gretsch acionados and novices alike. File under quality guitar porn.
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