Customer Reviews

The Stratocaster Chronicles: Celebrating 50 Years of the Fender Strat

5 star:		(32)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This by far the best book I own in respect to the Stratocaster and its history. This hardcover, coffee table book is great from front cover to back cover. Carefully binded and in Matte black cover with color printings, The Stratocaster Chronicles is a must for guitar fans, strat players or not.

There is not one of the 264 pages that doesn't include a great picture, from the first strats, to rare prototypes, to newer models, custom shops and stars' models.

The book includes many excerpts with key memebers of the Fender factory in 1950's, including the man himself, Leo Fender, along with Bill Carson, Freddie Tavares and many others. The author dove into his archives to present the most accurate history of the Strat to date, from its inception, the two horns, the origin of the famous peghead and all the details of the most loved guitar.

Rare pictures from the early 50's tell the tale along with narration from the author and dozens of interviews. This book includes an Audio CD with fragments of interviews with Leo Fender, plus 50 different sounds the Strat has become famous for, in the styles from player like Eric Clapton, Hendrix, Knopfler and Malmsteen, you can even learn to make your Strat sound like a Koto, from Japan!

In all, just the pictures in this book are worth the price, the history, interviews and Cd are a great plus. Celebrate the 50th anniversary of the instrument that shaped modern music with this great book.

Tom Wheeler has done it again !
This will become the "Bible" by which all others books
pertaining to Fender's most famous work of art, the Fender Stratocaster, will be judged.

A must have book for 'Strat lovers everywhere!

This book is well written, illustrated, and printed. An excellent tribute to a musical marvel: the Stratocaster. If you play one, this book will give you lots of insight into how and why it works and where it came from.

I have been anxiously awaiting the release of this nearly as much as the 50th anniversary Stratocasters themselves. Full of beautiful photos and tidbits not present in previous stratocaster books, this is destined to be a classic in your library. The CD by Greg Koch is a fun item with Greg duplicating the sounds and styles of many classic Strat Heroes.

This is one of the best books I've seen on the top of the Stratocaster ever. There's lots of great stories about the creation of the instrument, a very detailed outline of the evolution of the instrument, covering such variations as the 1980 era Strat (the one with the not quite right headstock and the gold plated knobs), the Elite and Standard models of 84-85, and so on.

There's lots of photos of various Strats (some of these may be familiar to those who read Guitar Player during the mid 90's, as at least three of them were published in the magazine during that era), detailing all sorts of variations in different instruments.

There's lots of quotes from various guitarists who've been associated with the instrument over the years from the likes of Eric Clapton and Jeff Beck to prog rock cult guitar hero Steve Hillage. These guitarists are also pictured with their treasured axes. Actually, one of my favorite photos in the book show various guitarists, including Hal Lindes (who was then the rhythm guitarist with Dire Straits), David Gilmour, Steve Howe, and Bruce Adamson (of Big Country fame) and Hank Marvin (Hank is unknown to most Americans, but he played in the band The Shadows, who were immensely popular in Englaand in the early 60's...he actually owned the very first Strat that ever got imported to England).

I mean, this is just the ultimate book on the Stratocaster. If you think these guitars are the epitome of great guitars, you HAVE to have this book! End of discussion!!!!

I bought this book at the end of 2004 as a complementary purchase of my 50th anniversary stratocaster. I am simply impressed by the incredible work that Tom Wheler has done with the help of Fender. This book, is proof that Leo Fender's Stratocaster needs to be considered one of the greatest inventions of the 20th century. The books is both full of details about the guitar and those who made music with it and light to read. The pictures are simply a joy to look at and the CD recreates stratocaster sounds as a complementary treat to the reading. Truly a most have for music and guitar fans.

If you are a fan of just about any kind of music, you've heard a Fender Strat. This book covers all the details of one of the music world's most iconic images, the Fender Stratocaster. This is another book that I can't seem to put down. This book will make you want to run out and buy a Strat even if you can't play. I am just really learning the guitar after first picking one up over twenty-eight years ago. Buying this book really helped my decision to buy my first Strat, and it probably won't be my last.

This is a must-have book if you are a collector, musician, or a fan of Strat-playing musicians.

WOW. I don't have a coffee table, but if I did, this book would be sitting on it. Very high quality paper, printing, and photos. LOTS of photos of Strats and artists who play them. I have new respect for my Strat now that I've read this book.

This is a very well researched and well written book. All of Tom Wheeler's guitar and amp books are terrific. I also have the companion Fender Amp book which is a "must have" for enthusiasts and collectors.

Incredible book. The whole story of the Fender Strat and Fender Musical Co., beautiful pictures and a deep analisys on different versions of who designed what!!! A lot of people have different versions of the story but at the end the picture is so much clearer. I tell you, this book is only for hardcore strat fans or collectors. 100% Recommended!!