<< 1 >>
Rating: 
Summary: A "Must Read" for Serious Buyers
Review: As an "older-boomer-beginner" returning to guitars after a thirty-year absence, I read about this book in the Unofficial Martin Guitar Forum ....This is a very readable book for anyone thinking of purchasing a high quality acoustic guitar that wants to understand much more about what they are buying. This Second Edition contains just enough up-to-date technical and historical background to give you what you need to select a great new or used acoustic guitar. It clarified many things that I found confusing when I first started reading about model sizes, nomenclature, woods, strings, and everything else. I now feel like a very informed buyer, even though I'm not much of a player. I suppose there is a certain slant towards Martin guitars, but I think that is unavoidable given the history of the company. Mr. Sandberg is correct in that no book full of adjectives will help you evaluate either sound or action. You need to go out and play as many guitars as you can. However, this book gives you a great start, and gives you a lot of good reasons to pass over a lot of what is on the lower end of the market today. Highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: FANTASTIC! Don't Buy A Guitar Before You Read This..
Review: Face it - you can't hang-out with guitar people if you have
no idea what nut width is! I decided to get one book
to comprehend the "acoustic guitar', and chose this one.
It is fantastic. It's not necessary to read beginning to end. The author
organized it so well that a quick look up will fill you
in on the spot. I have become knowledgable enough about
guitar construction, woods, parts you name it, that I
can carry on an intelligent conversation with any guitar
head out there. The author is a wonderful writer. He keeps it simple,
very informative, and he has a fun personality which
makes the reading fun. It sounds strange to say but
it's an exhiliarating read too because the information
is vast and very interesting. Anyone planning to buy a guitar in any price range
should read this book first. Making a purchase will
be much easier for you. You'll know so much that
you won't get taken, and you'll know how to know
if you like a guitar or not. If you want the skinny right now without any
blah-blah-blah or difficult to understand
technical terms, here's your book. It will
be something you'll look at for years to come.
Rating:
Summary: FANTASTIC! Don't Buy A Guitar Before You Read This..
Review: Face it - you can't hang-out with guitar people if you have
no idea what nut width is! I decided to get one book
to comprehend the "acoustic guitar', and chose this one.
It is fantastic. It's not necessary to read beginning to end. The author
organized it so well that a quick look up will fill you
in on the spot. I have become knowledgable enough about
guitar construction, woods, parts you name it, that I
can carry on an intelligent conversation with any guitar
head out there. The author is a wonderful writer. He keeps it simple,
very informative, and he has a fun personality which
makes the reading fun. It sounds strange to say but
it's an exhiliarating read too because the information
is vast and very interesting. Anyone planning to buy a guitar in any price range
should read this book first. Making a purchase will
be much easier for you. You'll know so much that
you won't get taken, and you'll know how to know
if you like a guitar or not. If you want the skinny right now without any
blah-blah-blah or difficult to understand
technical terms, here's your book. It will
be something you'll look at for years to come.
Rating: 
Summary: Informative, but highly biased
Review: I've been playing acoustic guitar about ten years now. I got into it for "mental stimulation" and found it did the trick. For many years, I read EVERYTHING I could get my hands on that concerned what makes a good guitar. Learning to play the thing is an entirely different subject. Anyway, of the thousand of pages I've read, I feel this book is still the best guide to acoustic guitars there is. You'll learn A@LOT about the instrument if you read it.
Rating:
Summary: Informative, but highly biased
Review: Larry Sandberg does an adequate job of taking the reader through the "basics" of acoustic guitar design, maintenance and history. However, his obvious bias towards Martin sometimes overpowers the strengths of the book. Anyone who is remotely familiar with American acoustic guitar history knows that Martin has always been a leader in the industry - few would dispute this. But, Sandberg's prose would have us believe that Christian Fredrick Martin brought the holy-grail of guitars down from the mountain with the 10 Commandments! Obviously at odds with Sandberg, some of us feel that Gibson has been at least as influential, if not more so, on guitar design and the buying habits of the 20th century guitar-buying public. What elusive credit Larry gives to Gibson generally arrives in a back-handed fashion, making sure that the reader is left believing that Gibson is always a notch below the "real" leaders, such as Martin (of course), SCGC (Santa Cruz Guitar Co.) and Taylor. Please, Larry: a little less Martin-droning and a bit more objective review. The book is worthy of reading however, if you can seperate the facts from the opinions.
<< 1 >>
| 
