History – noun : A chronological record of significant events (as affecting a nation or institution) often including an explanation of their causes.

Since the beginning of time, history has been recorded in one way or another. The mountains and valleys on earth tell the story of earth’s history and hold clues to things that happened in places where there were no people to record the events. Archeologists study the ruins of lost cities, and attempt to piece together the history of the lost civilizations, in much the same way astronomers study the stars for clues to the origins of the universe.

While most people think of history as being a long term event, in reality it can be broken down in an infinite number of smaller sections. Take for example the history of a nation, a city, or even a single person, just to name a few. For this review, we are going to look at history of two companies that have arguably been the driving force in the history and evolution of electric guitars and amplifiers. This is about the histories of these companies, but even more so, it is a definitive chronological history of the electric guitars and amplifiers these companies developed over the last several decades. I recently received two books from Jawbone Press for review. These books are “The Fender Interactive Bible”, and “The Gibson Interactive Bible”.

Jawbone Press began its company history in 2007 making it a relatively new publishing company in the market. However, Jawbone is made up of publishing industry veterans who were responsible for many of the great books from Thunder Bay, and BackBeat books, a company we have reviewed several books for in the past. With this kind of experience being the driving force for Jawbone Press, they have already put out an impressive array of books focusing on many facets of the music industry.

A trend that I see in the Jawbone Press product line is the use of interactive media with their books. Many of their books come with an included CD-Rom that has very in depth video coverage of the topics covered in the books. These books are their “Interactive Bible” series, and add the element of a visual and audio experience. While there are quite a few books in this series so far, the “Interactive Fender Bible”, and the “Interactive Gibson Bible” are the first two books in this series which are each dedicated to a single company.



Both books have hard covers and a spiral like binding which allows them to lay completely flat on a table or desk when open to any page. This is an extremely handy feature since this is more of a reference book that you may be looking at while you are holding a guitar, or doing other research on the Internet. The pages are made of a heavy grade paper and overall these books seem well made and durable enough to last for many years of heavy use.

Both books are where compiled and written by Dave hunter and Carl Verheyen.

Dave Hunter is a musician, writer, and former editor of the British “The Guitar Magazine”. He has contributed to numerous publication and TV and radio documentaries, and is a leading reviewers of guitar amplification. His best selling books include the “Guitar Amp handbook”, “Guitar Effects”, “Play Acoustic”, and “The Totally Interactive Guitar Bible”.

Carl Verheven is one of the worlds most accomplished guitarists. In a career spanning more than 25 years he has worked with figures as diverse as the Bee Gees, Stanley Clarke, Little Richard, Christina Aguilera, Glenn Frey, and Cher, as well as being Supertramp’s lead guitarist since 1985. In addition he performs and records with his own band. As well as playing, Carl writes widely and lectures extensively on music around the world.

I have found that books that are written about guitars or guitar manufacturer’s often do not go in depth, but rather focus on just a few of the most popular and sought after models. This is where I really appreciate the layout and thought that went into the “Fender Interactive Bible”, and the “Gibson Interactive Bible”. These books choose just one company, and cover virtually every model of guitar and amplifier that made it to market since the inception of the company.

What you will find in the pages of the Interactive Fender and Gibson Bible’s is a year by year historical account of when each guitar or amplifier model was introduced, and what features where standard on the model when it was brought to market. This makes it a great book for the collector who may be considering buying a guitar or amplifier, but wants to make sure it has not been altered or modified over the years by previous owners. For others who may want to dig deeper, it will allow research into when a particular feature was introduced or offered on a specific guitar.

The books themselves are divided into two main sections that make it easy to find exactly the model you may be looking for. First is the A-Z section lists models in alphabetical order with a reference to all years that model was produced. The second section consists of the chronological order that that these guitars were produced, and offers more information on the standard features of these models. Furthermore, the back of the book has an index that makes it very easy to cross reference the models to finds exactly the information you are looking for. Most people will likely use the A-Z section and/or index to find the model year and more in depth information on a specific model.

To give you an example of the information contained in the chronological section, I opened the book to a random page and selected the first guitar I saw. Here is what it looks like:

1994
EDS-1275 Centennial (May 1194 guitar of the month): Ebony finish, serial number is raised numerals on tailpiece, numeral 1 of serial number formed by row of diamonds, letter i of logo dotted by inlaid diamond, gold medallion on back of peghead, gold plated hardware, limited run of no more than 101 serial numbered from 1894-1994, package includes 16 x 20-inch framed photograph and gold signet ring.

This example should give you a excellent idea of the information offered in these books. Now just multiply this example by the hundreds of models over the years, and you should get the picture. Speaking of pictures, I should also mention that these are not guitar picture books. In fact, there are no pictures of guitars to speak of in the entire book. These books also do not cover the bass, or acoustic guitar models, or any other instruments that these companies may have offered throughout the years. They are designed to be an exhaustive listing of features and models of electric guitars and amplifiers only, and the information offered is extremely valuable and in depth for both the collector, and the guitar aficionado.

One of the features I really enjoyed where the historical text boxes throughout the book that covered significant events in the histories of these companies. As you go through the book by year, you will find these fact segments coinciding with the year you may be looking at. They are not extremely in depth, but there is enough great information to keep you interested, and I must admit that while I know quite a bit about these companies, I did learn a few things in these segments. I kind of wish there had been more, but on the other hand there are several books on the market that are dedicated to information like this.

As I mentioned earlier, these books come with a CD-ROM. This makes up for the lack of pictures in the book by actually giving you video segments of the authors showing and talking about some of the guitar models, as well as playing some of these guitars through amplifiers that were prevalent to the time period of the guitar being showcased. The video is well done, and gives a great audio-visual account of both rare, and some very popular guitar models throughout the years. Another great aspect of having this video footage is that you get the unique opportunity to see and hear the authors in their element as guitar players, thus giving the interactive element that is missing from most books. Below you can watch some clips from these video accounts. You can also find more at Jawbone Press’s YouTube page.



The only potential downside that I can see with these books is one that will manifest itself in later years. As these two companies release new models in coming years, these books will become outdated except for the early models they already cover. What would have been really cool is if these books could have been made like a spiral binder, and then every few years, an update could be offered of the newest models which could be added to the book, thus keeping your book up to date long into the future. I do not work in the book industry, so the cost of doing this may have put this idea out of reach, but it would have been a feature that would have caught my attention.

Pro’s- Very in depth and complete coverage of guitar models for the Fender and Gibson brands.
Con’s- Does not cover bass guitars. No pictures of the guitars in book
Street Price- $27.95 Each

Closing Thoughts

I remember as a young man how I actually enjoyed history classes in school. I have found that I have drifted away from that aspect of my life as an adult, but I still enjoy researching the history of musical instruments when I have the time. The Interactive Fender and Gibson Bibles are great resources for those who would like to know the history of their Fender and Gibson guitars. It is also a perfect companion for the collector who frequents auctions or buys on E-Bay, and would like to make sure that the collector’s item they are buying includes all original features and parts. The wealth of data complied in these book is well worth the price. Both the Interactive Fender and Gibson Bibles would make a great addition to any guitar player’s reference library, or even a great coffee table book for the studio or guitar enthusiast. I highly recomend that you check them out.

Gary Allen

Copyright © 2008 Allen & Halberg Publishing, Inc.
All Rights Reserved
GuitarGearHeads.com® is a Registered Trademark of Allen & Halberg Publishing, Inc.