Product Description

History's most influential rock group continues to impact and inspire countless musicians today, and there is keen interest in the tools that John, Paul, George, and Ringo used in their quest for musical perfection. This updated edition analyses all the gear and how the trend-setting Beatles played it to sculpt and unforgettable range of sounds. Year by year, it examines in fine detail specific instruments, amplifiers, and other equipment used by each artist - from the pre-Beatle days in 1956-57 Liverpool, throughout the global Beatlemania of the '60s, to the group's disbanding in 1970. Much of this chronicle is told through the reminiscences of The Beatles' colleagues, including musicians they toured with in the very early days, road manager Neil Aspinall, roadie and confidant Mal Evans, manager Brian Epstein, instrument manufacturers and sellers, and many others. Author Andy Babiuk performed years of painstaking research, interviewing more than 400 sources - including Fred Gretsch of Gretsch Guitar Co., William Ludwig of Ludwig Drum Co., John Hall, owner of Rickenbacker Guitar Co., Christian Benker, owner of Hofner Bass, and Dick Denney of Vox Amplifiers. Other research included discussions with George Martin at Abbey Road Studios, plus Ginger Baker, The Beach Boys, Ravi Shankar, Tony Sheridan, and others.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #118930 in Books
• Published on: 2002-10-03
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 256 pages

About the Author
Andy Babiuk is a staff consultant for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. He also advises auction houses on music-related memorabilia, and worked on the John Lennon commemorative project for the Epiphone Casino and the Gibson J-160E limited edition guitars. An avid guitar collector, Babiuk works at the House of Guitars in Rochester, NY and is guitarist for The Chesterfield Kings.

Customer Reviews

A brilliant book for all Beatles nerds everywhere!
Lewisohn's 'Sessions' gave us a great insight into the Beatles recording history, but too much was left unanswered. Not any longer because Andy Babiuk's book does much to fill in the gaps. Here is the definitive guide to how the Beatles got their sound. All the instruments used, some dating back to the mid fifties, have been tracked down & photographed with relevant details given. The photographs are perfect eye candy for anyone who loves old music gear and the text is well written with attention to detail. It is laid out in chronological order which is effective & has it's merits, though my only quibble would be the lack of a definitive chapter on HOW the Beatles were recorded. By this I mean the types of microphones, mixing desks & tape machines they used. These details can be found, though you have to do some sifting through the pages to get what you want about the studio gear itself. However, this is a superb book and essential reading for anyone who takes the Beatles music seriously.

Who Cares if You Don't Play These Things!
For too many years, I have watched the Beatles play their beloved instruments, and always wondered what the guitars and Ringo's set of drums felt like? Were the guitars heavy? Could Ringo really "tune" up his drums? This book is magic. Even if you do not play an instrument, or never tried, this book answers all questions and has gorgeous photos of the instruments. The text is enjoyable and it made me appreciate the music even more!
There are so many books, but you must have this one!

Great pictures!
I liked this book mainly because of the new pictures it contains. I have read lots of Beatles books and I found a lot of pictures in here that I have never seen before.
It also gives a fresh spin on some well-known stories, for example, the story about The Beatles logo... that is something I have never read before, and it is very interesting to see their first attempt!
Although it doesn't go into detail about why they wrote the songs (it focuses more on the instruments) it does give a good overview of the band's history from start to finish.
I would recommend this book even if you aren't interested in the instruments - there is still plenty to read.