Rating: 
Summary: No single book more influential to my love of the instrument
Review: ...than this book.My copy, though tattered, missing it's cover and pretty well trashed, lies in the spot of honor on my bookshelf as the book that gave me more insight and inspired me more than any other. I purchased it used at a pawn shop that I bought one of my first guitars, and even though that guitar is long gone, this book, now over 10 years later is the book I recommend to all MY guitar students. Well done Ralph!
Rating: 
Summary: lives up to its nam
Review: a balanced book. a nice layout for teaching how to play, starts with the basics and takes you right where you need to be to start expressing yourself. denyer takes you beyond just playing with the anatomy of a guitar, as well as a discussion of effects and circuitry. sprinkled with inspiring quotes from zappa, townsend, nugent, and others. i wouldn't give 5 stars cuz there's no mention of jimmy page, stevie ray, david gilmour, or robert johnson. overall, the best "handbook" i've seen for a long while.
Rating: 
Summary: Not worth it.
Review: A mish mash of guitar trivia. Tries to cover it all, falls short of covering anything in any detail. I suppose it beats Reader Digest, and if you love guitars and playing you might find it interesting, but preview first as it is over priced for what it is. It spot lights the authors guitar playing friends and ignores the rest.
Rating:
Summary: Three thumbs up! A wildly popular and comprehensive resource
Review: A wildly popular and comprehensive resource for beginners and experienced guitarists alike, acoustic or electric. With great full-color photos, this new edition surveys recent guitar models and profiles current masters. It includes an expanded guitar music lesson section, and encompasses 10 years of technological change in recording and amplification. Take a quick breeze through the many reader comments about the book - it's all good here baby! CleverJoe gives it three thumbs up!
Rating:
Summary: It's the best guitar book I own!
Review: After years of buying countless guitar books, the first one I had ever purchased, "The Guitar Handbook", is still the best and most worn out. It covers every area of the guitar. History of the guitar, guitar pioneers, beginning chord structures, strumming and picking techniques, advanced theory, extensive chord dictionary, guitar maintenance and repair, there's even a section on amplifiers! This book is a one stop guide to the complete guitar and has been a constant reference for me over the years. I cannot give a higher recommendation!
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Summary: All-round it's wonderful... but I've found an error !!
Review: All-in-all 'The Guitar Handbook' is a wonderful book which has provided me with inumerable hours of rich instruction. It is an invaluable source of reference for every guitarist from the beginner to the experienced player - I'm somewhere in between !! Unfortunately there does appear to be an error on page 127 of the 1988 edition. At the bottom left of the top panel there are two diagrams which are supposed to depict '7+5' chord types. The second of these two shapes has incorrectly labelled chord tones on each string and an incorrectly identified root note. What the shape actually depicts is a '7+5' chord with the tones arranged as follows, begin with the bass (fifth string).. b7th, 3rd, #5th, 1st. I am assuming that there is something of a mix-up here since it would be highly unusual to have a chord with the seventh in the bass anyway !!
Rating:
Summary: This book rocks!
Review: Buy it now. You won't regret it. Unless you play flute. Then I'd buy the Flute handbook. But assuming you're here cause you play guitar, then buy it. Why? Just buy it. Still not sure? Then start playing flute, cause every other guitar player needs this book. You included.
Rating:
Summary: this book is a must for any guitarist.
Review: for a novice guitarist who wants become more advanced, or for an advanced guitarist who just wants to expand their knowledge of intervals, chord progression, triads, or scales and modes. this book has abosolutly everything you need to become very sucsessful playing the guitar.
Rating:
Summary: basic chords & chord theory, basic music elements
Review: good amount of detail, but needs work putting everything together. I like the background on player such as Frank Zappa in sections and little biographies such as Steve Vai. Beginners could be frustrated without patience since you won't learn any songs, but mostly technical stuff and theory.
Rating:
Summary: Absolutely The Best Guitar Book
Review: Having recently purchased a Stratocaster with Marshall amp after years of not playing, I needed a refresher on my chosen instrument. What a wealth of information I found in this fabulously illustrated and organized book. Once I picked this book up I couldn't put it down. It covers about everything you wanted to know that is related to guitar playing. The author gives you a concise bio of 20 different legendary guitar players, a complete background of guitar manufacturing and specs, guitar playing, maintenance and repair, soundstage and recording. You can jump around to whatever chapter interests you and read it in any order you desire. Every single page is filled with information and no paper is wasted in this book. I challenge anyone to show me a guitar book that does a better job. I've looked at a lot of them and this one is in a class by itself.
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