My Top 5 Guitar Books - Ask Zac 50
Вставка
- Опубліковано 10 лют 2025
- To Support the Channel:
Tip jar: paypal.me/AskZac
Or check out my store at - www.askzac.com
For my 50th episode, I take a look at the guitar reference books that have influenced me the most. I also continue my lick of the week showing some of Joe Walsh's faux steel licks he used in a recent concert with the Eagles on "Peaceful Easy Feeling." Some of the licks Joe used are variations of Bernie Leadon's guitar parts on the original recording.
1. The Guitar Book, by Tom Wheeler
2. The Fender Telecaster by A.R. Duchossoir
3. Fender: The Sound Heard Round The World by Richard Smith
4. The Beauty of the Burst
5. The Blackguard Book: Nacho still has a few copies, but the prices are even higher than I stated in the video. Since my purchase of one a couple years ago, they have risen to $250. You can reach Nacho here: info(at)nachoguitars.com
Honorary mention: Arlen Roth's Complete Electric Guitar
Gear Used:
2014 Crook Custom Vintage Paisley with Adder Neck, and underwound Florance TE60
www.crookcustom...
Pick:
Blue Chip TPR 35 RB
Strings:
Ernie Ball 10,13,15, 24, 32, 42. Nickel-Plated Steel.
Amp:
1967 Deluxe Reverb amp with Celestion V30 speaker
Effects used:
TC Polytune
Mirage compressor pedal
Line 6 Echo Park
9v power via Truetone CS6 #askzac #guitartech #telecaster
Arlen's Guitar Player Magazine column in the 80s was probably the most attractive and interesting of them all. Learned a lot from those lessons...
17:48 Isn't that the lick from 'Beautiful Body' by the Bellamy Brothers?
It might be there too
I remember Arlen Roth's Complete Electric Guitar book really well. My local library had that book, back in the late-'80s.
These are the top 5 guitar books that I own:
The Fender Telecaster by AR Duchossoir ( p.44 shows an 81 Black and Gold, a model I own)
Six Decades of the Fender Telecaster by Tony Bacon
Arlen Roth’s Masters of the Telecaster
The Ultimate Fender Book by Paul Day & Dave Hunter
Fender, The Golden Age, 1946-1970 by Martin Kelly, Terry Foster, and Paul Kelly. (guitars and amps covered)
Howdy Zac. I’ve used the Hot Country book by Lee Hodgson. Foreword by Albert Lee. Since the 90s. I’ve got Arlen Roth’s telecaster book and had a hot licks video where he shows us banjo rolls. I still fall back on my old books. Aloha
My favorite is "The Guitar Handbook" by Ralph Denyer. Arlen Roth's is my second :)
That is a great one in my library also!
So cool to see someone mention this book. "The Guitar Handbook" is a treasure of mine. We took a family vacation to Colorado when I was just starting to play guitar, probably around 1978/79?! My folks turned me loose in a massive book store in Denver where I found this book. Many books and guitars have come and gone but this one is a connection to a time gone by.
Yes...! I'd forgotten about that one. Learned a lot of theory in that one!
Beautiful intro tone.
I've just been re-reading Fender, the Sound Heard 'Round the World for the umpteenth time. The nice thing about getting older is that you forget what you've read so every time you pick up a book you've read it's a new experience. Thanks for the book tips and the licks lessons.
Excellent idea for a segment! My first book was also the Tom Wheeler book! I picked it up in the nineties at a vinyl record shop. It was in a small bin of music books and stereo system magazines! I asked the guy if it was for sale, and he said 'if you buy 3 albums, I'll give it to ya'! I bought the 3 albums I was going to buy anyways and got the book! Tom Wheeler became a guru for me! I also have a few other Wheeler books, The Martin Book, The Fender Book and the Stratocaster Chronicles and the amp book, Soul of Tone. Great books! That Nacho book looks really good too! Never heard of him before now! Cheers!
I checked out the Arlen Roth book from the library back in the 80's when I was first learning to play. I liked it so much I checked it out twice! I still remember him telling the story of how he got his first tele and about copping BB King licks. I wish I'd thought to buy a copy for myself!
Thanks for the tip on Nacho Guitars. Gonna cop some of their riffs.
Thank you Zak for these guitar enthusiasts videos, really am blessed by them and learn so much!
My pleasure!
Great episode. Would love to get that blue soft cover Fender book. I wish I still had some of the guitar magazines too. I’ve kept a few. I have an old guitar magazine from the 80s that featured an interview with Roy Buchanan and had the centrefold of Nancy, his old tele. What made it more collectable is that the magazine was a misprint and it repeated some of the interview twice. Pretty cool.
I purchased a couple of hard cover books a few years back that I still enjoy....The Ultimate Fender book by Paul Day and Dave Hunter, The Interactive Fender Bible , and The Ultimate Gibson book by Paul Day and Walter Carter. Both books included DVDs with demos of so many of the legendary instruments plugged into great vintage amps. I have to go back and view them soon. Carl Verheyen was playing these great guitars too. Wonderful stuff.
All of Walter Carter’s books are fabulous.
Great episode Zac! I have Arlen Roth s book as well
...also his book on heavy metal guitar! Great playing as well! Love to hear your take on the hellecasters!
It’s been a long time since I’ve bought any guitar or amp related books but I’ve got most of them; we are contemporaries. My first one was the brown cover The Guitar Player Book by Jim Ferguson (editors of Guitar Player magazine). It’s torn to pieces but still have it. I also have The Guitarist’s Book of Knowledge and the Guitar Method by Ed Sale (originally came out in the mid ‘50’s). I started early on reading all those from cover to cover starting with those first two and then going to the American Guitars book and later specialized editions for every brand of gear imaginable: Gibson, Rickenbacker, Gretsch, Guild, Marshall, Fender amps, Martin, Fender Strat book, Gibson Les Paul books, Epiphone books, Fender Tele book, Gruhn’s book, The Blackguard book, the Groove Tubes book on amps, video/ book on amps by Kendrick, Danelectro, G&L, Vox amps. Of course I’ve been subscribed since about 1995-96 uninterrupted to Vintage Guitar Magazine and was subscribed at various times to Guitar Player magazine and Guitar World magazine. I remember unsubscribing from Guitar World when it went too “heavy metal stick” back in the ‘80’s. I was always into vintage and classic stuff even before it became all the rage in the ‘90’s and later. That is how I gained vintage guitar and amp knowledge over 30 years ago.
And don’t get me started with my VHS/DVD collection of guitar courses and info from Homespun, Hot Licks, Star Licks and other independents like Danny Gatton’s first course (I believe you can find it here on UA-cam).
Love your stuff, Zac! Seeing a new video from you is always a treat.
Glad you enjoy it!
I remember guitar player magazine with the little plastic records one had Steve vai one had Hendrix live at winterland red house unreleased. That red house changed my life. 1989? I think also the red Stratocaster book by the same author as the Tele one got it when I works at a music shop as a guitar teacher in 90’ or something and worked out why I wanted an old fender
I've had the blue Tele book for almost 30 yrs now and every once in a while I'll pull it out and read it cover to cover, or sometimes just to research some miniscule detail that only us needs would even care about. Thanks for clueing me in to the Nacho book, it's going on my Christmas list for sure !
Nacho’s book can be gotten now for €250. I just emailed him last week. Plus, that episode with Duke is great.
I find everything Joe Walsh plays is so melodic and clever. Joe caught my ear in High School with James Gang and is still one of my favorite guitar players. The Black Guard book looks awesome, thanks for sharing.
That Tom Wheeler book is great, Zac’s in much better condition than mine! Was a gift from my grandmother when I was 10. Definitely was one of my first sources that gave me a baseline knowledge of guitars and players. It’s fun to go back to, like a time machine especially since many of the players, some of the heroes and greats we know today were just contemporaries when the book was written.
GREAT list, Zac......a couple I would add for your viewers' consideration are by Tony Bacon, Six Decades of the Fender Telecaster and Squier Electrics. My favorite guitar book however, has only passing reference to Fender guitars....and that is Andy Babiuk's Beatles Gear. As a Beatles fan since PRIOR to Feb. 9, 1964 (I heard a few songs BEFORE the Ed Sullivan show) the guitars and amps The Beatles used always fascinated me. If memory serves, this book has one pic of Paul with an Esquire, and George with his Rosewood Tele and Rocky (Strat) but it's a terrific book about most things "Beatle". One error (that I'm aware of) is that it states John Lennon used a Tweed Fender Deluxe amp early on, when it's been established it was actually a Tweed Fender Vibrolux. Otherwise, Beatles Gear is an interesting and thorough book."
Thanks again, Zac.
Arlen Roth Hot Licks on VHS!! I had that in the 90s!!
Great choices. Tom Wheeler’s Guitar Book was probably the first one of its kind I bought. Still fun to browse through. Nacho’s book is such a visual feast and full of good info too. I’ve got an early copy with my Tele’s serial number embossed on the slipcase. ☺️ And Richard Smith’s Fender book is a goldmine. I bought the first edition, which had just come out, in San Francisco while on a business trip and stayed up half the night in my hotel room reading it.
My sister gave me Tom Wheeler’s Guitar Book for my birthday in 1975! Still on my bookshelf.
Also still have all my Guitar Player Magazines from ‘75 through ‘78. Such great stuff, the lost generation of jazz and early players like Joe Pass, Tal Farlow, Wes, Eldin, JJ ...etc. teenage guitar players should be learning about instead of these new kids 😂😂
Can't wait for the Arlen interview!!!
Another great video. Now there are more books I need to get. Thanks for the info.
Zen Guitar by Philip Sudo is my all- time fave. Me and several friends passed it around like a grimoire lol. Ah, those were the days
I bought my copy of the Tom Wheeler guitar book in 1979. I still have it.
Great book picks and lick lesson, Zac !
I started subscribing to GP in '73 (xmas gift) thru '76 so i was familiar with Tom's contribution to the magazine.
Took a break from playing for a couple of years, back at it in '81. First book i bought was American Guitars which i loved.
Trip to a local music store which had The Guitar Book. Had to have it, Loved the "Chord chart and Chord builder' bit at the end.
After that in no particular order
Fuzz & Feedback, Classic Guitar Music From The '60s by Tony Bacon. What can i say ? I was 7 when The Beatles first played on Ed Sullivan.
The History Of Marshall, The Illustrated Story Of The Sound Of Rock by Michael Doyle. Not a guitar book per se but...
AMPS!! The Other Half Of Rock And Roll by Richie Fliegler. again,,,,ok, he didn't cover Peavey but his interviews with cats like Randall Smith are great. Covers alot of ground.
Lots more here but for 5, i'll stop here :)
.
Arlen Roth's Masters of the Telecaster is a really great book as well. I've had a copy for years along with his guide to slide guitar.
“1001 Guitars to dream of playing before you die” is a good book for dipping in and out of.
The Guitar Pickup Handbook by Dave Hunter is in my top five. I learned so much about the history of electric guitar pickups from this book. It comes with a cool sound sample CD.
The only book I didn’t know about was the ‘’black guard’’ book by Nacho but it’s very tempting to get! I didn’t know about his guitar company. Great video,Zac!nice fun licks too
Great episode and great licks. Thanks.
These fabulous AZ videos on UA-cam are such an interesting and welcome break from the banality of ‘Covid Era TV’ here in U.K.
I too, bought the same books in pretty much the same order - plus Ralph Denyer’s excellent book.
I was fortunate enough to be friends with Tom Wheeler - and have him feature in our Telecaster film. Same with Richard R Smith ... both of them wonderful Fender historians.
Thank you Zac for another excellent production ... please keep doing what you’re doing.
I love your DVD's. They are so well done, and I hope they figure out a way to make them available for streaming. I too have the Denyer Book. I had to limit things, or I would have had an hour long episode.
Ask Zac Thanks Zac - I’m glad you’ve enjoyed them ...
I bought one of those Gibson L-5S Sunbursts in 1975... remember that book too!
Love your Channel Zac really well done man!!!
Thanks a ton!
Have you checked out Geddy Lee’s Big Beautiful Book of Bass? Amazing! Can’t wait for the Arlen Roth interview! Thanks Zac
Yes I have. Fantastic work!
CONGRATS ON YOUR 50th EPISODE!! Speaking of books, I have been enjoying the Pedal Crush book that came out a few months ago. Super nerdy about all things pedals.
Hope the Carr amp is treating you well, and I need to check that book out.
@@AskZac It is! I will bring it the next time we get together.
@@jaysmith418 counting on it!
The Blackguard is the book!
“The Complete Guitarist” by Richard Chapman, forward by Les Paul, was gifted me by my lovely wife close to 25 years ago. It’s a comprehensive book covering the history of the instrument, a visual approach to learning, amplifications and effects, soloing and improvisation techniques, classic styles, etc. It is not telecaster specific but is still an excellent book! The emphasis is definitely on learning and playing.
That is a great book too, Brent
I've got a first edition of the Beauty of the Burst. Bought it in Tokyo when I lived there. Still has the poster and everything. Living inn my closet...
I still have a first edition of the Tom Wheeler book American Guitars. I would also like to nominate the following for your consideration.
1. What I consider an essential for guitar techs, Dan Erlewines' Guitar Player Repair Guide. It covers everything from setups to re-frets, neck resets and repairing Gibson broken head stocks. Dan used to write the guitar repair column in Guitar Player back in its golden period in the 80s and early 90s. Much of the information in this book is taken from his column.
2. Along the same line, Adrien Leggs' Customizing Your Electric Guitar. This one is more of a modders guide as opposed to a repair manual.
3. George Gruhn and Walter Carters' Electric Guitars and Basses, A Photographic History. Beautiful coffee table book covering from 1947 to 1990. Georgeous color photography of classic guitars.
4. The accompanying book to the above, George Gruhn and Walter Carters' Acoustic Guitars And Other Fretted Instruments, A Photographic history.
These are all great books and reasonably priced.
Dan's book is essential
Cool post, lovely licks 🎙😎🎸✅
I keep telling him he needs to break into the session market in Nashville. He has wonderful tone and sound and chops and he’s got contacts 😉
@@vayabroder729 he definitely has the ability 🙂👍
Thanks for listening
Another great vid...now to go out and look for that Telecaster book and the one about Fender...........the hunting begins ! ! !
Awesome as always Zac and great intro piece!
Glad you liked it!
I’ve had the A.R. Duchossior book since the early’90’s. I also love “The Fender Telecaster” by Dave Hunter. I had Barnes and Noble special order that one for me.
I bought the 1st edition of the guitar book in 1977 or 78. I still have somewhere. I wore out the pages reading it.
Have all of these Zac. When I was first getting into electric guitar I got Ralph Denyer's "The Guitar Handbook". I think that's a great overview resource too.
I agree, Grant.
Ralph Denyer gets my vote too!
And me!
Another good Fender book: The Golden Age of Fender 1946-1970 by Martin Kelly, Terry Foster, Paul Kelly (available on Amazon, or Half Price Books sometimes.)
I've got a blue chip pick on the way after hearing about them from you and five watt world. I'm looking forward to trying it out 😃
Intro sounded great Zac. Great episode.
I'm honestly surprised that there is no mention of John Sprung's Fender Amp Book. If your not familiar, you really need to check it out. I've got a Hardbound copy in Tweed, signed by John himself. It might still be available in Soft Cover.
Christian Rubenbauer
Probably because the topic is guitar books, not amps.
Good book though.
I have that book, and it is great. Like Christian indicated below, I had to limit the scope, or have an hour long episode.
Thanks Zac. Gonna check out some books. I have been doing odd jobs lately to make some extra bread since playing gigs is not an option where I live in New Mexico. While laying carpet, I cut my left index finger deep to the bone with the darn carpet knife. I won't be playing any guitar this week. I guess reading books will kinda scratch the itch for a few days till super glue will stop me from bleeding all over my guitars.
I hope your hand heals quickly!
Nice licks - can we have some more in future videos ?
For sure!
I had that Arlen Roth book, I wish I knew where it ended up...
Thanks Zac I was introduced to Duke Levine's music by watching your video great find great player thanks!!!!
Cool!
The Guitar Handbook by Ralph Denyer is a great book. It's been very helpful to me.
I have that one too. Great book
Great episode Zac, thank you! Joe Walsh is certainly one of the greatest!
Couldn't agree more!
CME was demoing one of the guitars from their vault that is featured in the “Japanese” burst book.
That intro is awesome
"This is for Maniacs Only" LOL!!! Your next T-Shirt Design!
Yes, I think that would be cool.
Holy cow! Amazon has "The Fender Telecaster" for $400.00, and there's just one copy! Good thing the other ones are accessible!
Love all these tele-communications. And just think, you never need an ice pick if you have a telecaster.
It's a hit at parties!!!
I know you are a Tele guy but as a Strat player I love Curves, Contours and Body Horns
Thank you again...
Always welcome
Zach, this has probably been asked before, but have you tried the Players series? Any thoughts on the more standard made in Mexico telecasters?
Mainly played the Road Worn's
I'm glad you didn't forget the name of Astroworld!
Thanks for the video. What Duke Levine CD do you recommend for someone that is not too familiar with his music?
The Fade out is on Spotify. Also Beneath the Blue, and Country Soul Guitar
Most expensive episode ever.. I am a bibliophile though.. had the tom wheeler and tele book, not that Roth book (I have almost all the others) and had the fender book on my radar for a while.. so that’s two sold.. burst book is out of print..and I’d love that nacho book but it’d super hard to find now :-( - Thanks Zac from the UK
Glad to add to your reading list!
Thanks for this Zac, as always very informative....I have Guitar Player mags back into the 1980's so I am very familiar with Arlen and Tom. I have been a rock player all my life but always loved the "chicken picken' of you country players. I have always wanted to learn it, any chance of a video on how a beginner should get started/approach it? Thanks.
A chicken picking intro video?
well this episode gave me a peaceful easy feeling
Man...they all seem to don’t they?! “Well hello friends”....
Agreed the Gibson book rules 100% !
Uuhhhhh!!! I had to do that stretch on my '65 Mustang! Too long on my Tele!
Wow 😯 nice guitar intro
Thanks! 😃
I lived in kingsville too! Galvans!
When did you live there?
Ask Zac in the Late 90s. My mom is originally from there. I remember the old Getsch music store on Kleberg. Always thought I’d find a vintage Strat there.
@@right2armbears685 Mainly Takamine and Ovations back in the 80s and early 90s
There’s a brand new copy of Nacho’s book for sale on Reverb right now with a listed price of $695. 🙄
Cool shirt
Hey Zac, do you have a copy of Chord Chemistry by Ted Greene? It's a fantastic learning tool. Love the videos! Stay well.
Not yet!
@@AskZac Yeah it's a great book. I first came across you when I saw the video you did on true tone lounge with JD Simo. I loved that big Gibson and the planky sound it produced. It was an ES something.....hahaha. Your guitar knowledge and playing is fantastic. Keep up the great work and stay well.
Nacho is now charging $230 for the Blackguard book btw.
Yes, he has raised his prices again. Still an amazing book.
Ask Zac you think it’s still worth it, on the fence of getting one with my guitar this fall?
I subscribe to Vintage Guitar. I discover new players each month and find 'em on you tube....kind of a hobby. BTW, that G- sus chord is decidedly 'un-country.' If you play that around those Nashville types you'll NEVER get the call.
I learned by teaching myself out of “Guitar For The Practicing Musician”. When it went out of print, the world lost, p,sin and simple.
Btw, the Nacho book is $300 USD direct from the man himself now.
It keeps going higher!!!
Some of those books are seriously expensive. Check Bookfnder.com
Since this original post. I've taken possession of a signed Blackguard book and the newer Pinceaster set.
Mickey Baker’s Jazz Guitar Course; volume one...
Learn & Master Guitar by Legacy Learning Systems.
I don't know if you'd ever care to talk about your experience with Brad Paisley and his Dr. Z amps.