Reference

TASCAM: 30 Years of Recording Evolution is an informative, archival book devoted to the company's groundbreaking product line and the people who created it. Recalling the company's perennial leadership role in the music and pro audio industries (firsts include the 1/2-inch 8-track recorder, the Portastudio and the digital DA-88) with a glimpse towards the future, this book warmly portrays key past and present employees by re-visiting the landmark products they've built together since 1974. Quotes from respected musicians and producers who have trusted TASCAM gear for seminal recordings - including Bo Diddley, Jim Keltner and Alan Parsons - are sprinkled throughout this timeline-based book. Learn how TASCAM products changed the way musicians captured their ideas and empowered a new generation of songwriters and engineers. Wow! The first classic piece of TASCAM gear I had was the first 4-track Portastudio. That thing allowed me to put so many classic P-Funk song ideas down that I can't even count 'em. - Bootsy Collins, Bassist/Songwriter

This gorgeous, premium book tells the story of how Bob Taylor and Kurt Listug took a small San Diego guitar-building company and transformed it into an industry leader that produces more than 70,000 high-quality guitars a year. Features dozens of full-color photos of many rare guitars, including instruments Bob Taylor built before the company's founding, standard production models (including the acoustic bass and the new nylon string series), custom-built instruments, and special celebrity models.

A wild insider's ride with one of music's most notorious journalists. Here are 15 music profiles, guaranteed to keep you on the edge of your seat: Leiber & Stoller, the white fathers of R&B and rock and roll, who possess what is perhaps the last great untold story of the music biz. They created the American songbook of the '50s and '60s, led by Elvis, the Coasters, and the Drifters. Doc Pomus, the only white blues singer in America making records in the 1940s. Half of the hit songwriting team of Pomus-Shuman during the Brill Building era, Doc had the biggest heart in the music business. A sad, comic-tragic romance with the Ronettes' Ronnie Spector, dubbed an oldie once she left her teens.

Why have guitarists bought over seven million Boss compact effects? Read this book and you'll understand! The Boss Book includes: the story in complete detail of every Boss compact effect ever made; super color photos, design history, trivia, tricks and secrets; candid interviews with the Boss founder and design engineers; essays on musical trends and famous players; and much more. As a bonus, the accompanying CD features 72 guitar sounds with control settings and detailed equipment set-ups so you can take your guitar playing to another dimension! I've used Boss pedals since their inception ... For me, Boss has always stood for simplicity, reliability and great sounding, very high-quality effects. - Jeff Skunk Baxter (Doobie Bros., Steely Dan)

Revised and updated to cover the Clash's induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the band members' post-Clash careers, The Clash: Return of the Last Gang in Town now includes the first full account of Joe Strummer's Wilderness Years, his triumphant comeback with the Mescaleros, and his sudden and tragic early death. Extensively revised and updated from both its 1995 and 2001 incarnations, The Clash traces the band members' progress from dispiriting rehearsals in damp London basements to packed American stadiums. A fascinatingly detailed account of the first band to take punk's radical politics to the masses and survive for a decade against all the odds, it also offers an intriguing investigation into the gap between rock mythology and rock reality.

The Ludwig Book by Rob Cook is the definitive business and historical guide to this legendary drum manufacturer. Includes dozens of interviews, a 64-page color section, a dating guide including every catalogued Ludwig snare drum and outfit, and a handy CD-ROM. Interview sections include the top executives from Ludwig's heyday in the 1960s: Karl Dustman, Frank Baxpehler and Dick Schory, as well as todays leaders: William F. Ludwig III, Todd Trent and Jim Catalano. There are also special segments on Ludwig Electronics, Phase II, and detailed sections about the gear used by famous drummers such as John Bonham and Ringo Starr.

An essential item for the instrument builder, The Luthier's Handbook explores the secrets and science behind making good-sounding acoustic stringed instruments. Renowned author Roger H. Siminoff brings to the table more than four decades of luthiery experience and shares the time-tested philosophies, tips and technology of the craft. As the ideal complement to other books on building instruments, this text describes the structural and acoustical attributes of air chambers; what to listen for when tap-tuning; selecting a good piece of wood; placement of the braces and tone bars and how to tune them; how to select the right strings; what to consider in bridge design concepts; and much more. Includes a free String Gauge Calculator for determining the right set of strings.

This is a startlingly fresh account of the life of one of the greatest 20th-century Americans, composer and songwriter George Gershwin. Joan Peyser examines Gershwin's character, his complex relationship with brother and collaborator Ira, and his several romantic affairs. This 2007 edition includes newly discovered information in a new author's introduction.

The symphonic orchestra is intriguingly considered in essays by 23 leading music authors and thinkers. Topics include historical beginnings, the role of the conductor, the orchestral audience, the nature of the repertoire, and how recordings have affected the modern orchestra. With a new editor's introduction for this 2006 edition and a glossary of terms.

Pat Metheny is one of the most critically acclaimed, commercially successful, and musically significant artists of the last 50 years. He has not only revolutionized his instrument, but also changed the face of jazz itself. In 2007, composer, arranger, and performer Richard Niles wrote and produced a three-part series of in-depth interviews for the BBC titled Pat Metheny - Bright Size Life. This book is comprised of these never-before-printed interviews and discussions with Metheny, whom Niles has known and worked with since 1974. In this series of intimate, in-depth interviews, Metheny reveals why he was driven toward music with a stratospheric drive and dedication uncovers the inner workings of his creative mind, showing step by step how he set and achieved each of his own demanding goals describes his methodology as a guitarist, improviser, and composer demonstrates his concepts and methodologies on the guitar. Niles has transcribed these unique musical performances for the book. Some of Metheny's closest colleagues, including Lyle Mays, Gary Burton, Jack DeJohnette, John Patitucci, Metheny's brother Mike, and the late Michael Brecker, have contributed to the book, which also includes numerous photographs and a discography.