Customer Reviews

Interactive Fender Bible

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I am a Fender gear junky always interested in finding sound samples, videos etc of vintage Fender Gear. Up until now, I have used YouTube and also "Get That Classic Fender Sound" by Jim Weider. I also own a variety of vintage Fender Amps.

The concept of an interactive book is very cool but I feel this falls way shot of the mark. The book is simply a list of all the fender guitars and amps produced with a very brief description. The description is of no value to a collector and it's not very interesting to the non collector. So don't think you are getting a book with cool gear pix or anything. You are buying a list with a cover.

The DVD is good at times but IMHO, they don't spend nearly enough time or show enough cool Fender gear. I like the section on tweed supers and they do a '52 Tele and a broadcaster demo but they jump around too much and don't use nearly enough amps.

The insult to injusry is that they waste precious DVD time showing some of Fenders weird failures like the electric XII and some other abominations.

If this was a very thorough DVD I would not care but they already exclude so many classic fender amps that the inclusion of the dogs is just a huge annoyance.

I also don't think either guys playing in the DVD is all that inspired. It's fine but they sure don't make me lust after the gear they are playing.

I'd pass on this. You can always watch the DVD once and then return the useless book/DVD combo. One time through is "mildly interesting" but not much more than that.

This is an excellent reference manual for serial numbers, year to year feature changes and the like. It makes dating your guitar easy. It can be indispensible to you if you buy a lot of guitars and need to be sure of a guitars authenticity especially in regards to stock and replacement parts. The DVD is fine but the real value is in the books info. If you are looking for a lot of cool pictures, pass this up, but if you need a great research tool then this is the one for you.

I was amazed and delighted by this book/DVD package. I
really didn't know what to expect and just got it on a
whim, but wow, I was blown away by it. The book is
extremely handy, but the DVD is the really special
part of the thing. First off, the video quality is
stunning, but beyond that, it's like you have been let
in on the most incredible vintage Fender collection
and allowed to check out the stuff up close (which I
guess is exactly what it is!). The performances are
really enjoyable, and are obviously aimed at showing
you how these guitars and amps really sound, live, in
a room, with a minimum of processing and so forth. But
- to get back to the gear - the guitars themselves,
and the amps too, are just phenomenal to see up close,
and to hear. This is stuff the average player will
never, ever get their hands on, and maybe not even
ever get to see "live", so it's a real must-buy for
any Fender fanatic.

I'm a big fan of Dave Hunter's books so I bought this one. The book is a generic listing of Fender models by year (less photos) and The details are common knowledge. It would have been nice to have some new details like which pickups are staggered vs flat, or some info on how neck shapes varied instead of repeating that the stratocaster pickguard carries 3 pickups, 2 volumes and a tone control. Nothing in the book that you can't find in a quick google search. I can't comment on the dvd because I bought it for the book so I'll add another star. I see one reviewer from England gave it five stars. Dave's mom? I HIGHLY recommend Dave Hunter's books, Guitar Effects, and Guitar Amp Handbook. Get them both. They are outstanding works with lots of details and written in Dave's smart and conversational manner.

The best part of this book is the DVD. Carl Verheyen is a master guitarist with exceptional skill and is expert with diverse music. Blues, Jazz and Country seem effortless for him. He gives a great work out to a number of classic Fender amps and guitars. If you are someone without access to the real thing, this will definetly put you in the know. There are some misses. Not enough amps are covered to satisfy me and you would never know that Fender made a bass guitar. Not sure how that got missed. The idea of a DVD to demonstrate classic gear is a sound one. This DVD is well recorded and videoed. It would have been nice to have a note on the recording signal chain for the techies of the guitar world. The book itself is a very ordinary listing of facts and there are better sources for that data.

A nice overview of the history of fender instruments and amplifiers.
Some very unknown and rare specimen are shown.
Also impressive is Carl Verheyen, showing the character of each instrument and amp.
It takes you from the tweed age , through blackface era , till modern age.
Very nice