For 30 years, Guitar World magazine has served as North America's leading publication for rock guitarists – and with more than 325 issues under its belt, the world's bestselling guitar magazine is showing no signs of slowing down. In this extraordinary book, the complete history of Guitar World is chronicled – from July 1980, when the very first issue, which featured Johnny Winter on its cover, took the guitar-playing community by storm, to issues from 2010 featuring the likes of Jimi Hendrix, John Mayer, Keith Richards, and many other guitar icons. Frank Zappa, Eddie Van Halen, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Kurt Cobain, Jimmy Page, and Eric Clapton are just some of the artists who have sat down with Guitar World over the years: the full transcripts of these legendary, revealing interviews are here. This lavishly illustrated edition takes you behind the scenes of such monumental events as Nirvana's Unplugged performance, Stevie Ray Vaughan's funeral, and the making of Led Zeppelin IV, and includes Guitar World's great dual interviews: Jimmy Page and Jeff Beck, Tony Iommi and James Hetfield, Steve Vai and Joe Satriani, and more. Rock music has gone through many changes since 1980 – bands have come and gone, musical styles have shifted dramatically, heroes have fallen – and through it all, Guitar World has been there, reporting on the events of the day and interviewing the musicians who keep the genre alive. It's all here, in The Complete History of Guitar World.

For nearly a decade, “Dear Guitar Hero” – where everyday fans get a chance to ask their hero a question – has remained one of Guitar World magazine's most popular departments. Now the best of these interviews with rock's most inspiring six-string icons are presented here in one volume. Dear Guitar Hero features interviews with a broad range of celebrity guitarists, from such rock legends as Jimmy Page, Eddie Van Halen, Ace Frehley, and Billy Gibbons to such superstar shredders as Steve Vai, Joe Satriani, and Paul Gilbert to such heroes of the modern rock world as Dave Grohl, Jerry Cantrell, and Warren Haynes. Through the years, Guitar World readers have proven themselves to be fearless when asking questions of their guitar idols, often touching on subjects others would be reluctant to broach. Whether it's the truth behind the Allman Brothers' legendary At Fillmore East album cover photo and the illegal substance in Duane Allman's hand, what Ritchie Blackmore meant when he referred to Eric Clapton as “not a very good guitar player ” or Dave Mustaine's true feelings about Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich, Dear Guitar Hero features revealing conversations with many of the most legendary figures in rock guitar history.

Frank Zappa was an unremitting musical innovator and experimenter, always looking for ways to exploit the latest advances in technology. His working life coincided with the explosive development of music technology that ran from the 1960s through the following three decades. Without such inventions as the Marshall amplifier, the Gibson SG, the wah-wah pedal, and the Synclavier – much of it modified to his requirements and used in ways for which they had never been designed – Zappa's “air sculptures ” as his music has been described, would have had a significantly different shape and texture. Lavishly illustrated – including over 180 unique photographs of Frank Zappa's guitars and equipment taken by the author at his UMRK studio in LA and featuring a foreword by Dweezil Zappa – Zappa Gear offers an unprecedented inside look at the machinery behind the legendary music. In addition to a detailed presentation of the equipment, Zappa Gear also introduces some of the pioneering inventors, engineers, and entrepreneurs without whom the instruments would not exist. Zappa Gear is an official Frank Zappa book produced and written with the full cooperation and endorsement of Gail Zappa and the Zappa Family Trust.

A new series from Guitar World magazine! These books feature many articles organized in a logical manner to create a history of the artist or band. Covers their start to current day activities. Some titles include transcriptions of solos or riffs. Metallica, Van Halen, S.R. Vaughn and Kiss!

Since electric guitars were first introduced in the 1920s, no other guitar manufacturer has been more prolific in producing professional quality models than Gibson. Gibson Electrics - The Classic Years documents the release of instruments from the 1930s to the mid-60s - a highly creative period in which the electric guitar "came of age". The book describes in detail all the models that have made history and furthered Gibson's great reputation, and features over 500 illustrations (100 in color) and much previously-unpublished material.

An owner's guide for acoustic guitarists at all levels, this book features numerous tips on auditioning and buying an acoustic guitar, choosing new strings, maintenance and tuning, and much more. Also included are chapters on the instrument's family, history, and production, as well as an index, a glossary, the unique Interactive Tipcodes, and a complete set of chord diagrams.