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Rating: 
Summary: Exceptional guitar pornography...
Review: 'Beauty of the Burst' is hardly a deserving title. Given the reputation in collector/enthusiast circles this book has, it should be re-titled 'Bible of the Burst'.
A picture tells a thousand words. Importantly, whilst there is significant text examining the technical aspects of the 'Bursts, the real emphasis in BOTB is upon glorious photographs of these mythical guitars. This is an honest representation of these much-debated guitars, as beauty is surely in the eye of the beholder (and the buyer), and BOTB, whilst classifying figure differences, etc. by no means attempts to define 'THE' 'Burst above all others. Indeed, these photgraphs indicate just how varied the guitars from '58-'60 were...
Simply put, the Old Testament and the New Testament of 'Burst documentation rolled into one.
Rating:
Summary: Educational tool for the collector...
Review: ...or wanna-be collector like me. The photographs are indescribable... lush, color-saturated but detailed enough to serve as authorative historical documentation of each individual instrument. I didn't realize Iwanade had included so much textual discussion in this book! He provides a glossary of terms frequently encountered in the esoteric world of 58-60 Les Paul sunbursts, as well as high-level information on the science of the finishing process, wood patterns (now I can tell birds-eye maple from blister), and the famous Paul tone as derived from the famous PAF pick-ups. This book is an indispensable tool for the serious collector or the amateur dreamer. All it's missing is a centerfold.
Rating:
Summary: Great for an addict like me.
Review: I admit it, I am addicted to *properly photographed guitars*. A book like this is the perfect fix. Iwanade's book is the ultimate reference to these very special guitars. If you, like me, have G.A.S. (Guitar Acquisition Syndrome), this book might just get you through a tough weekend where you might have purchased yet another guitar. Darn, I should have read it again this weekend... I could have saved a bunch!
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Summary: For any Les Paul enthusiast this book is pure eye candy.
Review: I have seen this book in a Dallas guitar shop. It was the Japanese version but the pictures speak in all languages. Beautiful full color pictures of the front, back, sides, and headstock of vintage late 50's Les Paul Standards. Each guitar is featured in a two page layout accompanied with extensive liner notes pertaining to each guitar. This book is a must for Les Paul fanatics.
Rating:
Summary: Educational tool for the collector...
Review: If you have ever stopped dead in your tracks at the sight of a flame top Les Paul, unable to move until you had taken in its breathtaking beauty, prepare to kiss two full days goodbye. Iwanade has succeeded in presenting more mouthwatering photos of these treasures of the fifties than a Les Paul nut can handle. After the first fifty pages you are on Sunburst overload. Your senses are so befuddled that you feel $30,000 isn't that much money, after all. These guitars vary in condition from scum city (just about all of the guitars from Slash's collection) to so mint that you become convinced that someone has secretly invented the time machine. Another variable is the tops. Iwanade presents Pauls ranging from almost plain to neurotically curled. To those blind to the overt power and sexuality of a vintage Les Paul, I would suggest a book documenting the development of the Fender Jaguar. But for those who would sell an internal organ for a piece of vintage history like this, there isn't a better book on the market.
Rating:
Summary: Mouthwateringly Good
Review: If you have ever stopped dead in your tracks at the sight of a flame top Les Paul, unable to move until you had taken in its breathtaking beauty, prepare to kiss two full days goodbye. Iwanade has succeeded in presenting more mouthwatering photos of these treasures of the fifties than a Les Paul nut can handle. After the first fifty pages you are on Sunburst overload. Your senses are so befuddled that you feel $30,000 isn't that much money, after all. These guitars vary in condition from scum city (just about all of the guitars from Slash's collection) to so mint that you become convinced that someone has secretly invented the time machine. Another variable is the tops. Iwanade presents Pauls ranging from almost plain to neurotically curled. To those blind to the overt power and sexuality of a vintage Les Paul, I would suggest a book documenting the development of the Fender Jaguar. But for those who would sell an internal organ for a piece of vintage history like this, there isn't a better book on the market.
Rating:
Summary: Best of its Kind
Review: This book is a one trick pony, but it nails its subject matter cold. If you know anything about the vintage guitar market you already know that the Gibson Les Pauls made between 1958 and 1960 are some of the most valuable and highly sought after instruments ever made. The people that collect them are absolute freaks when it comes to amassing encyclopedic knowledge of every minute detail that relates in any way to the construction and performance of these guitars. This book is tailor made for those 'Burst-a-holics. The book is also a terrific coffee table book for any guitar collector, or enthusiast who shares the love and interest of high end collectors for this celebrated model but doesn't have a few million dollars in spare cash kicking around the house to build a collection of 'bursts. The photographs are magnificent and the book on the whole does a marvelous job of entertaining and informing. It's like buying a multi-million dollar guitar collection for the price of the book. You don't get to play them and hold them, but you sure can look at them and learn all there is to know about why they play and sound the way they do. Functional sculpture . . . that's what a vintage Les Paul really is and this book does both the art and the craft of the historic '58-'60 Les Pauls justice.
Rating:
Summary: Best of its Kind
Review: This book is a one trick pony, but it nails its subject matter cold. If you know anything about the vintage guitar market you already know that the Gibson Les Pauls made between 1958 and 1960 are some of the most valuable and highly sought after instruments ever made. The people that collect them are absolute freaks when it comes to amassing encyclopedic knowledge of every minute detail that relates in any way to the construction and performance of these guitars. This book is tailor made for those 'Burst-a-holics. The book is also a terrific coffee table book for any guitar collector, or enthusiast who shares the love and interest of high end collectors for this celebrated model but doesn't have a few million dollars in spare cash kicking around the house to build a collection of 'bursts. The photographs are magnificent and the book on the whole does a marvelous job of entertaining and informing. It's like buying a multi-million dollar guitar collection for the price of the book. You don't get to play them and hold them, but you sure can look at them and learn all there is to know about why they play and sound the way they do. Functional sculpture . . . that's what a vintage Les Paul really is and this book does both the art and the craft of the historic '58-'60 Les Pauls justice.
Rating:
Summary: Look no further
Review: This is hands down the best book on 58'-60' 'Bursts there is. Tons of info, gobs of gorgeous photos...you name it...its' all here and then some. Price is also fair, for what you get...quite alot. This book completly documents 50 or so sunbursts with a front shot, back, close-up front and back head stock shot, and an angled shot of the top that best highlights the flame. All specs are recorded on each example (nut width, weight,etc,) If you have any other Burst books (Vic Dapras'and a couple other come to mind)you must get this one. Its' as good as it gets(so far)
Rating:
Summary: A labor of love for a classic electric guitar
Review: What I admire most about this outstanding book is that the author takes a back seat to the guitars themselves; and lets face it, long after we're gone these fantastic instruments will be valued and treasured. This book could only have been created by someone who really loves the old Les Paul, and turning the pages makes me love them too. I only wish the page size was maybe 4 or 5 times as big! This is a very special book, and I appreciate the intelligence of the author in presenting these guitars in the way that he has.
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