Although rock 'n roll is America's all-time leading cultural export, half of the classic rock sound – hard-hitting, skintight, audacious, and vibrant – was born across the pond. Musician, journalist, and writer Dave Hunter's The British Amp Invasion: How Marshall, Hiwatt, Vox, and More Changed the Sound of Music charts the forty-plus year confluence of British industrial ingenuity and popular culture that grew a minor “also-ran” offshore industry into a true world leader. Art inspired engineering, engineering influenced art, and, as both evolved at breakneck speed, the finest amplifiers in the world were devised and refined on the British Isles. The symbiotic relationship born of this partnership produced the most powerful music ever known to mankind – a sound that still resonates today in the most literal sense possible. Hunter's original account provides a ground-level perspective of the simultaneous development of an adolescent audio industry and a nascent musical style, documenting their twin struggle to find their footing and stride forward. Rich with behind-the-scenes accounts and high-resolution images of the era's greatest (and highly collectible) amplifiers, many of which have never been told or seen before, this book is a welcome addition to the libraries of audio aficionados, guitarists, bassists, and other musicians, classic rock fans, collectors of vintage gear, and anyone with an eye for fine photography and an ear for compelling histories.

(Book). The sound of rock, blues, country and jazz is not just the sound of electric guitars. It's the sound of electric guitars through amplifiers. For the first time, Guitar Rigs examines the great guitar/amp combinations that have created more than 50 years of fantastic music. Each section includes a full history of guitar and amps and details the construction, components, performance, qualities and drawbacks of each combination. Guitar Rigs is not just a celebration of the collectable treasures of the guitar and amp world. Along the way it evaluates many more instruments, amps and effects, offering alternatives for those trying to conjure great sounds from less-exalted equipment. And it comes with a CD that demonstrates these and many more combinations so you hear them for yourself.

(Book). There's a huge amount of hype and mythology surrounding tube amplifiers in the guitar world. For years, experts have argued over the tiny details of exactly how they do what they do, and how their various components interact. What's undeniable is that, far more than being just a "loudness booster," the unique combination of tubes, capacitors, resistors, and transformers in these amps can contribute enormously to the quality of sound derived from any electric guitar. In this thorough and authoritative book, Dave Hunter cuts through the marketing hyperbole, and the blind faith, and supplies all the information you need to choose the right amp, and get the best from it. The book also features exclusively conducted, in-depth interviews with leading figures in the tube amp-building world including Ken Fischer, Mark Sampson, and Michael Zaite and even provides full instructions on how to construct your own high-quality tube guitar amp from scratch.

Guitarists love amps—really love them. Amplifiers may look dull to the rest of the world, but to guitarists they are full of mystique, romance, and rockin' sound. And while there are many strong-selling electric guitar histories available, here's the first illustrated history of the electric guitar’s best friend, the amp. World-famous guitar and amp historian Dave Hunter tells the story of 60 of the greatest amps ever built, including classics from Fender, Marshall, Vox, the bizarre EchoSonic that created Elvis' sound, and the ultimate esoteric $75,000+ Dumble amps. The story is illustrated with hundreds of technical photos, rare machines, catalogs, memorabilia, and the amps of the stars, from Jimi Hendrix to Stevie Ray Vaughan to Eric Clapton. This is a book guitarists will drool over.

And so Marshall's tone obsession began, with Jim constantly improving his amp designs, listening to players' needs, and inventing new ways to satisfy them. Since the '60s, his amps have attracted some of the greatest guitarists in rock history, from Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, and Jimmy Page to Billy Gibbons, Eddie Van Halen, Slash, and Zakk Wylde."

THE BRITISH AMP INVASION: HOW MARSHALL HIWATT VOX AND MORE CHANGED THE SOUND OF MUSI

Gorgeously illustrated and authoritatively written, Fender 75 Years is the officially licensed celebration of the legendary brand's landmark anniversary, covering all of Fender's iconic guitars, amps, and basses.

Celebrate of the history and significance of both the Fender Telecaster and Stratocaster for the company's 75th anniversary in this combined edition of Dave Hunter's two best-selling books! The Fender Telecaster, created in Les Fender's Fullerton, California, workshop and introduced in 1950, is a working-class hero and the ultimate blue-collar guitar. It wasn't meant to be elegant, pretty, or sophisticated. Designed to be a utilitarian musical instrument, it has lived up to that destiny. In the hands of players from Muddy Waters to James Burton, Bruce Springsteen to Joe Strummer, the Telecaster has made the music of working people—country, blues, punk, rock 'n' roll, and even jazz. Fender’s Stratocaster is arguably the number-one instrument icon of the guitar world. When introduced in 1954, its offset space-age lines, contoured body, and three-pickup configuration set the music world on its ear—it was truly unlike any guitar that had come before. In the hands of the world’s most beloved players, such as Buddy Holly, Eric Clapton, Ike Turner, and, yes, Jimi Hendrix, the Stratocaster has since become a popular instrument of choice among rock, blues, jazz, and country players and, not coincidentally, is also one of the most copied electric guitars of all time. In this authoritatively written, painstakingly curated, and gloriously presented combined edition to celebrate Fender's 75th anniversary, author Dave Hunter covers both of the guitar’s histories from concept, design, and model launch through its numerous variations and right up to the present. The story is richly illustrated with archival images, musicians in action, studio shots, memorabilia, and profiles of over 50 Tele and Strat slingers through the ages. With its unprecedented level of detail and stunning visuals, Fender Telecaster and Stratocaster is the only book tribute worthy of the world’s two greatest guitars.

An audio-visual guide to Stratocasters, Telecasters and more. The Totally Interactive Fender Bible is a two-part set, comprising a DVD on which author Dave Hunter and former XTC guitarist Dave Gregory demonstrate a litany of vintage and modern Fender guitars and amplifiers and a reference book full of information about and pictures of the complete Fender range. The DVD also includes a host of special features and music files that will show you how to get the best out of Teles, Strats, Jazzmasters, Mustangs and more.

'Absolutely hilarious' - Neil Gaiman 'One of the funniest musical commentators that you will ever read . . . loud and thoroughly engrossing' - Alan Moore 'A man on a righteous mission to persuade people to "lay down your souls to the gods rock and roll".' - The Sunday Times 'As funny and preposterous as this mighty music deserve' - John Higgs The history of heavy metal brings brings us extraordinary stories of larger-than-life characters living to excess, from the household names of Ozzy Osbourne, Lemmy, Bruce Dickinson and Metallica (SIT DOWN, LARS!), to the brutal notoriety of the underground Norwegian black metal scene and the New Wave Of British Heavy Metal. It is the story of a worldwide network of rabid fans escaping everyday mundanity through music, of cut-throat corporate arseholes ripping off those fans and the bands they worship to line their pockets. The expansive pantheon of heavy metal musicians includes junkies, Satanists and murderers, born-again Christians and teetotallers, stadium-touring billionaires and toilet-circuit journeymen. Award-winning comedian and life-long heavy metal obsessive Andrew O'Neill has performed his History of Heavy Metal comedy show to a huge range of audiences, from the teenage metalheads of Download festival to the broadsheet-reading theatre-goers of the Edinburgh Fringe. Now, in his first book, he takes us on his own very personal and hilarious journey through the history of the music, the subculture, and the characters who shaped this most misunderstood genre of music.