GUITAR IDENTIFICATION

by A.R DUCHOSSOIR
Published by Hal Leonard Publishing Corp. (see note below for ordering details). ISBN 0-88188-387-5

Covering guitars by Fender, Gibson, Gretsch and Martin, this book could single-handedly halve the volume of mail received by guitar manufacturers, distributors and magazines alike! We're all of us inundated with letters from anxious owners of vintage guitars asking us to help date their instruments, and if this superb 48pp. book was turned to first, most of that mail would be unnecessary.

M. Duchossoir (author of the incomparable Gibson Electrics books) has once again compiled a remarkable work, this time detailing guitars made by these aforementioned 'big four' American names. With 150 illustrations, copious serial number listings, tell-tale constructional differences and so on, these facts are provided to help owners date their models, and go to make this book required reading - even for those of us who aren't lucky enough to own a vintage Fender, Gibson, Gretsch or Martin. Having said all that (as the author points out in his foreword), the guitar dating process mustn't be regarded as an exact science. Most of the guitar makers in question were hopelessly vague when they were making their products and it's almost impossible to get closer than within 2-3 years of a precise manufacturing date in some cases. The data here can often only be taken as a general guide. Nonetheless, this is an invaluable work and one that we can wholeheartedly recommend to any reader interested in dating his or her 'big four' guitar.

We're not sure if this book is generally available in the UK - in fact we were given our review copy by the only stockist that we know of, Chandler Guitars. IT readers wanting their own copies should, we suggest, contact Chandler Guitars at (Contact Details).

THE COMPLETE GUIDE TO SYNTHESIZERS, SEQUENCERS & DRUM MACHINES

by Dean Friedman
Published by Amsco Publications (Distributed by Music Sales, 78 Newman St. London W1P 3LA). ISBN 0.8256.2410.X. Price £9.95

Had this book been published six months ago, it would have received a much more favourable review than we can give it today. The trouble stems from the infinitely superior competition provided by Virgin Books' Keyfax - a far more detailed, generally useful and better researched work. And we're not just saying that because Keyfax is by IT contributor Julian Colbeck either!

As with so many of Music Sales' huge catalogue of titles, this one is yet another American originated work and, while some attempt has been made to cater for British readers (if only by the inclusion of British distributors' names and addresses), it is so obviously aimed at the U.S. player that Brits might well ask why Music Sales have bothered importing it - particularly when home-grown synth products like the Oscar and Greengate have been omitted.

Where Keyfax details nearly all the electronic keyboards currently on the market (both synths and non-synths), Friedman's book not only covers less, but does so far less exhaustively in its product details, and is inferior in its 'review' quality too. Friedman's views are sketchy and rather bland. His book also also lacks Keyfax's invaluable 'extra' sections on useful topics, although he does cover (some) drum machines, which Colbeck doesn't. More importantly, the U.S. book lacks a section on non-synth keyboards, and they're too important a species to ignore.

Neither book is completely up to date (keyboards changing so fast these days) but Keyfax, offering 208 A5 pages at £5.99, is far better value than Dean Friedman's 111 pages in large format. At £9.95 it's hard to see how the import will sell - unless, of course, it's to potential buyers who've missed Keyfax altogether. Not for us, we're afraid!

THE SOUND OF ROCK - A HISTORY OF MARSHALL VALVE GUITAR AMPLIFIERS

by Mike Doyle
Published by New Musical Services Ltd. ISBN 0 86175 330 5

This is an unashamed 'fan' book - and why not? No British manufacturer has contributed as much to Rock music as Marshall, and it's high time that Jim Marshall and his team received their share of the published enthusiasm that has previously been reserved for guitar makers like Gibson, Fender, Martin et al.

This 67 page book details Marshall's products since their humble beginnings back in Jim's shop in Hanwell during 1962, up until the 1982 cut-off point, which was when Mike Doyle finished this excellent book. In addition to covering every single amp carrying the time-honoured Marshall legend made during that period, Mike's book also carries some fascinating photos of both artists and products (successful and perhaps not so successful) and is an invaluable aid to dating Marshall amps, in addition to providing some frequently fascinating reading. As a bonus, the book contains an interview with Steve Grindrod (Marshall's chief development engineer) on the great valve-vs-transistor controversy - and Steve has some very pertinent comments to make on this topic. It also features a revealing 'in his own words' story by Jim Marshall personally, again making for fascinating reading.

Well illustrated and fairly priced, our only possible criticism is that Marshall have grown so much bigger since this book was written that an up-date is now called for. Nonetheless, if you recognise the essential contribution that amps in general and Marshall amps in particular have made to Rock music, then this is a title that you mustn't miss.

THE DIGITAL DELAY HANDBOOK

by Craig Anderton
Published by Amsco Publications (distributed by Music Sales, address as above). ISBN: 0.8256.2414.2. Price: £7.95

Craig Anderton is no stranger to writing about musical instruments (especially on the electronics side), being a regular contributor to Guitar Player and having previously written Electronic Projects for Musicians, Home Recording For Musicians and Guitar Gadgets. This time, Craig has turned his attention to the question of how to get the best out of a digital delay. This might sound like an unnecessary title, but it isn't - few owners of these devices realise just how versatile they can be.

Sensibly, Craig avoids dealing with any one make of DDL, concentrating instead on the things that you can do with any halfway decent one. Naturally, specs, and facilities will vary from one make to another, but even a bog-standard model will do a lot more than many expect, and Craig's chapters (Understanding DDL Controls, Short Delay Line Applications, Echo Applications, Special Effects plus a highly valuable seven more) makes this the definitive work on the subject and one which no DDL owner should consider being without.

Covering guitar, drum, keyboard and recording uses and many more, this is an essential work, worth every penny of its very reasonable £7.95 cover price. If you either own or think you would like to own a DDL, then treat yourself to a copy of this book as well - you'll get your money's worth many times over!

OBTAINING REVIEWED TITLES: Any reader experiencing difficulty obtaining copies of books reviewed in IT should quote the ISBN number to any reputable bookseller, who should be able to supply any reviewed title if given this info.