Guitar: The Shape of Sound

The 100 most iconic guitars from around the globe, from early modern beginnings to cutting-edge electric models

The guitar is the iconic instrument at the heart of all popular music. From Delta blues on acoustics to electric rock & roll, and all that came in its wake, the guitar has proven the most versatile and emotive conduit for musical expression and experimentation.

Across more than 300 years, master guitar-makers have striven continually for new sculptural and aural peaks, yet the guitar's immediacy and intimacy endures, however loud the volume controls on the amplifiers are turned.

With 100 of the finest and most innovative models of guitar from the 17th century to the present day alongside the players who changed the face of popular music, Guitar includes fascinating stories behind iconic models from an eclectic mix of brands, including Alden, D'Angelico, Fender, Gibson, Gretsch, Ibanez, Kay, Martin, Millimetric Instruments, Mosrite, Greg Smallman, and Stauffer.

The book also includes a wealth of fascinating and lesser known information about enigmatic performers including the Beatles, Woody Guthrie, Jimi Hendrix, Robert Johnson, Pat Metheny, Joni Mitchell, St Vincent, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Jimi Hendrix, and Neil Young. A delight for design enthusiasts and music aficionados alike, Guilfoyle's latest book charts the development of this pillar of popular music and the charismatic performers who have used the guitar to transform our lives.

About the Author:

Ultan Guilfoyle is an award-winning producer, director, and writer, whose films include Sketches of Frank Gehry (2006) and Making Space, Five Women Architects (2015). His books include The Motorcycle, Design, Art, Desire (Phaidon, 2020).