Beatles Gear: All the Fab Four's Instruments from Stage to Studio -the Ultimate Edition Hardcover – Illustrated, 12 Jan. 2016

I have the 2002 (revised) original edition and held off buying this new one for some time since I thought that it would inevitably be fundamentally the same. I am, however, a huge fan of the Beatles and play guitar live too and so am perpetually interested in learning more. I became aware that things had moved on in the Beatles world since the first book appeared and I was pleased to find that the new version reflects this. So we have for example (some of) the story of the 2014 reappearance of John Lennon’s stolen Gibson J-160E and the revelation of the renewed mystery of his earlier Gallotone. Otherwise the story has been expanded upon, more information has been included and existing information updated. Of course the Beatles are still so culturally significant that things don’t end there. Discoveries are still being made after this new edition’s publication, such as the 2019 unveiling of George Harrison’s restored Futurama, which I had the honour to play briefly.Quite a lot of the increased length of the book (doubled from 256 to 512 pages) is due to a larger typeface and more and bigger photographs. This is actually a good thing since overall legibility is increased. There is also a lot more content and of course it’s not just guitars but drums, basses, microphones, keyboards, amplifiers and even guitar straps. The Beatles Gear remains essential reading for anyone interested in popular music.

This is a fantastic book for anyone interested in the Beatles and/or musical instruments. It is incredibly detailed and subjects every instrument played by the group to detailed scrutiny and includes a vast array of accompanying photos, original era advertising and background info. It is not, however, just a technical manual and for most instruments the author provides a backstory (when it was bought, when it was lost (a surprising number of Beatles guitars seemed to be stolen, misplaced, or (literally) fell off the back of a lorry).

My husband bought this for my birthday (I've already got the earlier edition) - me being a Beatle AND guitar nut! It is a mighty tome, lavishly illustrated and incredibly researched, and I'm savouring it slowly from the start, trying not to peek at all the wonderful photos. Just seeing some of the early music shop catalogues has taken me right back to my teenage years when I used to send off for them in the vain hope of somehow acquiring a guitar .... hardly a realistic prospect on my pocketmoney!!I'm happy that I grew up with The Beatles and this superb book is the icing on the cake.

This book is GIGANTIC ! The illustrations of the Fab 4's gear are absolutely beautiful. The accompanying info is excellent, and the photographs are the best I've seen of The Beatles .I'd say this is the best ever book of this type I've ever seen !. Andy Babiuk is to be congratulated on this obviouslabour of love. It is a hardback,..weighs a ton,..and is built to last ! BUY WITH CONFIDENCE !.

This book discusses in detail The Beatles’ musical equipment that was instrumental in their creation of some of the finest music ever. Excellent book.

As I already owned the original version, I thought twice about buying this version, but having now read the updated version, I'm so glad I did. There are so many new bits and pieces to keep even the most fervent Beatles maniac happy.Utterly fascinating.

Many new photos of the band that I’d never seen....beautiful outlay, well worth the money .

for any hardcore Beatles fan the devil is in the detail and this is an incredible work and plainly has been exhaustively researched. The book is balanced with factual references and brimming with excellent clear photographs its a fantastic book.