Gibson Electric Steel Guitars: 1935-1967 Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I've been collecting guitars and playing dobro, lap, non-pedal and pedal steel for 30 years. This book is a great resource for collectors and players. I consider it almost an art book with the great pictures in here.
Pros:
The information contained in the book cannot be found anywhere else.
The photos are a treat and are very artistic.
Detailed photos of Charlie Christian pickup variations was very interesting.
Loved the articles on the players.
The sections on tuning machine variances cannot be found elsewhere.
Production totals and dating information is great.
Did not address Better, Best, Worse, Worst, Collectable, Non-Collectable aspects of instruments.
Cons:
Did not have photos of all HG acoustic models.
Did not have photos of Roy Smeck Radio Grande, possibly the greatest brazilian rosewood guitar ever built.
Did not have photos, nor mention, of Roy Smeck DN with slotted headstock and neck mutes (I have one.)
Layout progresses along a timeline, not model line. I think long running models, like the EH-100, EH-150 and the Console Grande should have been in chapters of their own, with all the progressive changes shown one right after the other.
Did not address Better, Best, Worse, Worst, Collectable, Non-Collectable aspects of instruments.
I'd recommend this book to anybody interested in collecting instruments, playing lap style or wanting to expand their knowledge of what's out there.
It's a great addition to any library.


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This book recounts the story of all the electric steel guitars - or electric "Hawaiian" guitars, as they were called during most of their tenure - that were built by Gibson between 1935 and 1967. Hawaiian guitars were the most popular form of electric guitars until the 1950s, and they contributed to some crucial developments in pickups and amplification in addition to lending their voice to the earliest solid body electrics. Aesthetically, the early postwar instruments are also amongst the coolest designs ever produced by Gibson. *Over 450 illustrations, including a wealth of color pictures, catalog reproductions, and patent drawings * A comprehensive section on dating instruments as well as detailed shipping totals for the 1935-1967 period.

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