5 comments about Acoustic Guitar Tab White Pages.

1. This is a great selection of songs for the price. The only fatal flaw is that the tabs are TOO detailed. Some people may like to know every single missed note, mistake, or partial strum in the song, but for me, I find that the book sacrifices practicality for the sake of accuracy. I much prefer a little less detailed (and easier to use) tabs like those in Warner Bros. "Greater Guitar White Pages".



2. Very disappointing book. The book is thick as an oversized phone book which makes it hard to keep open. The cover and pages are so thin that they tear very easily. Although there are some accurate tabs, there are also some inaccurate or incomplete. What i dislike the most is the songs that use a capo like "Here Comes The Sun". The song is capoed at the 7th fret, so when the notes that read 7 they instruct you to hit all the 7 notes as open. You basicly have to rewrite the entire tab which is useless to me. There are several songs tabbed that way, although about 2 of them are tabbed the regular way. "Let's Live For Today" Tune Down 1 1/2 steps, "American Woman" is an open G tuning, a lot of BS. On the other hand there are a lot of songs that are good tabs and very useful, just don't expect the entire book to be good. Overall a good book but needs work. Be sure to have some good reading glasses.



3. For the amount of songs included, the book lacks recent quality songs. A lot of the songs were of no interest to me and I rarely use the book. The format was reasonable although I am sure it could be improved. If you can't use the Internet to obtain your tabs, perhaps you would like this large, awkward, small-type, book of old songs.



4. I'm amazed that people have negative things to say about this book. This is one of the best values out there by far. I have played music for 25 years, have perfect pitch, went to music college, and still struggle to hear exactly what is being played at times. It's not always easy to find accurate sheet music either. Most free websites where guitar tab is posted by the authors are usually incredibly inaccurate, even when they say they know for sure that it is correct. Trust me, it's not. I own two of these books now and like them as much today as when I got them. Simple information like finding out the artist is using a capo or an alternate tuning can save you countless hours of wasted time trying to figure out how something is played. Yes, it is like a phone book, hence the title, "White Pages." However I don't find the print to be too small or the pages to be too thin, as another reviewer has reported. And while it is very detailed, so what. Nobody's forcing anyone to play note for note if they don't want to. The chords and rhythms are listed. You can play as generally or as detailed as you want.
   
   The bottom line is that people will gladly spend $30 or more on a half-hour lesson for a teacher to teach them 1 of these songs, but they have problems spending the equivalent or less for a book that has 150 detailed songs with accurate tabs. That's less than .20 a song! You still with me? I use these books for only a handful of songs I wanted to learn, and still, it cost less than that 1 guitar lesson. If you're still questioning yourself whether you should buy it or not, stop beating yourself up. Buy it already! It's worth every penny.



5. This has to be the most poorly edited collection available.
   There is ABSOLUTELY no doubt in my mind that the editor was neither a music fan nor an acoustic guitar player but rather some lackey assigned the project who just looked up some playlists on the internet and copied some Hal Leonard Tabs into this collection. Why do I make this assumption?
   1) Many of these songs are not even acoustic guitar songs, the note-for-note transcriptions must be completely rearranged to be adapted as solo acoustic guitar arrangments (in the cases where the songs can even be rearranged for acoustic guitar).
   Just a few examples to this point:
   Yngwie Malmsteen's "Black Star"
   Firehouse "Don't Treat Me Bad"
   Peter Frampton "Show Me the Way"
   Ozzy and Lita Ford "Close My Eyes Forever"
   Triumph "Fight the Good Fight"
   2) This book does not contain acoustic guitar standards that one might expect.
   a) Not a single Led Zeppelin song.
   b) No STP, Pink Floyd, REM, Bon Jovi,Hendrix,Phish, Radiohead, Talking Heads, Sting or Rush
   c) Just 1 song each by popular acoustic artists such as Bob Dylan, Tom Petty, Neil Young, Eagles and the Grateful Dead. 2 by James Taylor.
   d) very few Windham Hill players represented.
   e) Zero classical guitar arrangements (unless "Dust in the Wind" is your idea of classical-style guitar)
   Truth be told, there may be enough transcriptions of songs you will enjoy to make the book worth the $30 price tag; but certainly, this was a MISSED OPPORTUNITY for Hal Leonard to compile a definitive collection of the best acoustic songs.

5 comments about The Guitar Grimoire: A Compendium of Formulas for Guitar Scales and Modes.

1. This book is the best. Ive never been able to open a book that has every scale possible. Ive seen reviews on this book here on amazon, and alot of people say theirs a con cause the book does specify a Root note in the scales, If you just pay attenention to waht mode your in, and notice the roman numeral, your good. This book does requir some theory to understand what this book has to offer. This book makes it very easy to understand the concept on chords, and how and why their named the way they are. The formulas they teach you (which are very easy to understand) will prepare you for a college class, thats how great this book is, and the biggest plus is, its never been more easy to learn and understand, THis book breaks scale/chord theory down as easy as it can be broken down. This book is a music for all musicians, so what are you waiting for? BUY IT!!! I did, and im was a better musician within a week.



2. I purchased this book along with the companion dvd, "Scales and Modes". The book is rather confusing and droll. I would rather shoot myself then watch that video again. Not only was it basically a rote reading of the book, but the format was terrible. Throughout the entire thing the author wears a monks robe that hides his face, he continually makes these idiotic gestures like he's a magician, the whole audio is done with some annoying special effect on his voice and the content was just not that eye-opening. I have "A Modern Method for Guitar", volumes 1,2 and 3 by William Leavitt of Berklee music. I have found them to be far more valuable. Not only do you learn to sight read, but you also gain better theory and much of the same information offered by Cad-man in a much more mature presentation style. Sorry, Adam. You're obviously a knowledgeable and talented player, but teaching (or video production) does not seem to be your forte.



3. I bought this book with the expectation that it would explain how to play all of the scales and modes. The book is actually more of a reference, just shoving all the scales at you and saying "Here, that's all of them".
   
   First, the "How to use this book" section at the beginning just explains what's on the pages, not actually how to use the book. At the beginning of each new scale section (27ish in all), there is a title page that shows diagrams of the scale and modes of that scale. Most of the book's 209 pages are just fretboard diagrams, in sweeping style, and worth almost nothing unless you want to look up the sweeping pattern for a G dorian #4 scale at the 6th fret, or something similar. I believe it would be ridiculous to sit down and try to play through this book; there's just too much information in it. The first 15 pages are an excellent quick rundown of necessary music theory, which is explained quite well, but after that, there is not a hint of teaching or explanation.
   
   The short version: If you want an excellent scales reference, or you need to know how to play a D bebop dorian scale at the 4th fret, this book is for you. If you're looking for some kind of method on scales, or how they are used over chords, look elsewhere.



4. Should you buy this book? te answer is yes
   when i receivedmy book i thought it was just going to be another one of those darn guitar books that starts you off in a extremely weird place and makes no sense,but i was ever so wrong when i opened the pages of this book i felt the power of knoweledge that was present in this book. Inside it explains everything that you need to know about making scales finding them out and playing them. this book also has many different scales and shows you how to play them by charts. Inside this book also has a "graph" which allows you to map modes and keys.



5. Do guitar players really think that it's worth 20 bucks to have this guy show you the same pattern or idea printed over and over again in every single key? Or is it just cool to have a thick book with nice fonts and cool looking little charts (even though they're totally redundant)? I don't get why these books are so popular. They're short on ideas and long on wasting paper. It's like the old chord dictionaries that show you a million voicings but don't teach you a damned thing about how to use them, or how voice leading works, or how the notes interact with each other in an actual progression.
   
   If you want a better scale book, there are dozens of better ones on the market that will actually teach you not only patterns but how to apply them, how to use them to make music, etc. Check out Don Mock's Guitar Secrets Revealed books, Ted Greene's Single Note Soloing Books, or even Guthrie Govan's books are much, much better than this. Want free resources? Look up scalculator on google, or look up "modes of melodic minor", or "modes of harmonic minor", or "exotic scales", or "CAGED patterns". You'll have more than you can work on in a lifetime in 2-3 clicks.
   
   Kadmon seems like he's trying to hide the real concepts and expects you to look on page 164 to learn the Ab version of the same pattern you learned in F, instead of telling you to just move your hands up a minor third -- which makes sense since he sells more books when an insecure guitar player thinks he needs to be shown everything over and over again. He gets richer, guitar students get frustrated and overwhelmed (and poor). Do yourself a favor and spend your 20 bucks on a better book than this.

3 comments about Hal Leonard Guitar Method Book 1: Book/CD Pack (Hal Leonard Guitar Method Books).

1. I'm a teacher of guitar. Although I use this book regularly, I suggest you don't buy from Amazon! I bought 5 of these from Amazon and just realized many pages are missing and many are duplicated. The book is useless! Because of the Amazon return policy, I'm stuck. I sugest you go to your local music store to buy this or examine it carefully if you buy from Amazon!



2. I used this book while taking a class. It was helpful to have instruction along with the book but I am a slow learner. The book was easy to use for practicing what we learned in class.



3. I'm a guitar teacher who was forced to use this book so the store I worked at could sell as many copies as possible. There is really nothing useful here.
   This book is only good for getting students to quit.

No comments about 2009 Official Vintage Guitar Magazine Price Guide.

5 comments about John Denver Anthology for Easy Guitar.

1. I just started playing the guitar a few months ago, and thought `if I could just learn a few John Denver songs I would be successful.' I got this book and now, in just a few weeks, I know even more then a few. I do wish the book would lay flat, or that the songs that had three pages would fold out, it's hard to flip pages in the middle of songs, but that's the way it goes.



2. This book is great for me at my level. I have loads of fun singing these songs and performing for my wife and kids. This book has brought me a lot of joy.



3. Although not new to playing guitar, I am no expert either. As a keen John Denver fan this anthology certainly works for me and has given me a lot of pleasure. Some of the numbers (about half) will need to be transposed (or Capo'd) to be able to play along with the man himself - but then again some of us can't sing along in the same key anyway; so maybe the key supplied is better in some cases. The clear and fairly simple presentation is well worth the money.



4. Great Anthology of most Denver fans favorites, easy chords, simple arrangements are very easy to play for beginner to intermediate guitar players, probably way too easy for accomplished players. Even able to use the book for keyboard fake book. All in all a worthwhile addition to my collection of guitar song books.



5. I found this to be a real super guide to the words and chords of many of John Denver's songs. I really recommend it.

5 comments about The Guitar Handbook.

1. Thank you Amazon for making this dream a reality,I have been searching for about two years for this book when a Friend told me to contact Amazon and buy this book from you. I must say i was very nervous as this was my first internet purchase but Amazon was so profesional in delivering my book that i can't wait to order again. Thank you again



2. Getting a book like this, I'm used to getting a primer in guitar theory. Not only do we get that (separated into three levels: Rhythm, Melodic, and Harmonic) in lessons that don't discriminate by genre, but also a full guitar maintenance guide, and helpful information concerning recording and performing live. Most of the book is very rock-centric, and I would have liked a little more attention focused on classical style just for variation. But I'm a rock fan anyway, so it worked perfectly.
   
   The main reason I bought it is because the advanced guitar classes at Loyola New Orleans (my alma mater) used it as a textbook. I can see why!



3. My son was happy to get it for Christmas and feels he will use it a lot.



4. As a beginner at the guitar, I have found this to be a useful guide. It covers construction and care of acoustic and electric guitars, as well as information on how to read music, music theory, and playing the guitar.



5. I found this to be the best overall guitar book on the market. It gives extensive background information, as well as having extensive scales, chord charts, fret layout, etc.
   
   This is my third purchase of this book. I always seem to either give it away or lend it to a fellow guitarist and end up never getting it back.
   
   Highly recommended for the serious guitar beginner.

5 comments about Acoustic Guitar Songs for Dummies (For Dummies).

1. While the book has some interesting insights as to the styles, history, and instructional hints, the biggest item this book lacks is no guitar chord diagrams. This is clearly a HUGE oversight, as this being an easy, dummy type book, should make it so for the average Joe reader. The letter name of the chord is listed, but you have to refer to another book to show you how to finger it. I'll probably return mine (or sell it).



2. I have not had a chance to look too much at the book yet, but the first time I opened it up I was shocked and offended. I just glanced at a page and saw profanity in the lyrics of a song. I feel that this is totally unnecessary. I have heard the song in question on the radio and no profanities were in the lyrics. I percieve this book as being for all ages and this type of language is totally uncalled for.



3. After years of wanting, I finally purchased an acoustic guitar. Naturally I wanted a quality book to start playing. I chose this book for its full transcription of the songs. I play piano and have experienced the full song transcription versus the "easy piano" sheet music. This book doesn't simply include just the chords or just the voice, it's the full guitar track in both notes and tab. The book does show the chords unlike the other review says (2nd to last page). It also include notes on each song to help you understand how the artist plays it. Highly recommended!



4. I love this book. It contains many popular acoustic songs in tab, so you can play the songs as accurately as possible. It is hard to find this many songs in tab in one resource. I plan to buy more of these books as they become available.
   
   The two reviewers who gave this book 2 stars are morons. One reviewer complained about the lack of chord diagrams. Books with chord diagrams are rarely correct and besides, don't you want to learn the instrument? The other reviewer complained about 'offensive' lyrics. Most music is not written with children in mind.



5. Don't be lured by this title - this book is not for the faint of heart. I picked up this book because I'm a beginner acoustic guitar player. This is not a fake book or a "beginner's" guitar book. The songs are very well transcribed and no detail is left out. One major gripe is the chord chart at the end is very basic and doesn't include half of the chords used throughout this somewhat advanced guitar book. Good book for an intermediate player but not for a beginner.....which the "Dummies" title often suggests.

5 comments about The Soul of Tone: Celebrating 60 Years of Fender Amps (Book & CD).

1. I think that Amazon needs to stop bothering me to write these reviews. Even though they know that my knowledge in this field is considered by many to be the final word in all things amplified. And even though the last review that they finally got me to write was disputed by the latest Russian experts, absurdly claiming that my "thoughts on atom/electron sequencing can only be pulled out of a wizard's sleeve". Enough said. This claim is not only false but void of any reliable rebuilding process. Finally, the review...
   
   I didn't start with Fender amps. I learned the hard way, which is why I know what I'm talking about. So thanks and praise to Leo for coming up with great ideas -- so good that all people even Russians can do now is to try and copy it. That's how good it is. I've experimented a lot, tried all sorts of amps, but I don't change there things 'round no more. I found what I'm looking for.



2. Buy this book - treasure it - read it thoroughly over and over again - you will learn so much.
   Listen to the CD by Greg Koch - amazing!
   If you love Fender - and their history, you CANNOT do better than buy this beautifully produced book.
   Tom Wheeler is an authority - along with Richard R. Smith, they are the world leaders when it comes to anything Fender.
   This is a book for life - fantastic illustrations - and a wonderful companion to The Stratocaster Chronicles.
   Obviously written with intelligence and insight - this is THE reference on the subject - and what a subject!
   Fender made/makes the finest sounding guitar amplifiers in the world.
   I've got 3 different models here in my study that range from 45 to 50 years old - and still going strong as ever, being played in the bedroom - or pubs and clubs....they sound fabulous.
   Tom Wheeler knows what he's talking about - a writer of the very highest integrity. I highly recommend this wonderful book.
   Bob Hewitt UK [...]



3. If you are a fan of the Fender sound, and curious about the origins of Leo Fender, the Fender company and the legendary Fender guitar amplifiers then this book is for you. Its the first coffee table sized book I've ever had that is more than wonderful photos. Its a book I enjoy reading a great deal. There is a lot of detail, enough to keep a amplifier technician, or someone who doesn't care about the details of how they get the sound happy. There are lots of delicious quotes and images about those that prefer to use the Fender amp in their performances. Examples are Dick Dale, Buddy Guy, B. B. King, to Keith Richards. If those names aren't familiar to you, well it might not be a book for you. This is a book about influences and origins. Its not afraid to expose the mystery behind the curtain, but also to expose the inconsistencies of the Fender company.
   
   Then there is the disc that provide you with the ability to hear and compare the sound of a wide variety of amplifiers under very similar conditions. This provides those seeking to develop a tone all their own through a Fender guitar amplifier. It doesn't denigrate other vendors, and has comments and interviews by many of the other legends and current boutique makers in the guitar amplification arena.
   
   If you want to know about Fender amplification, this might be the only book you ever need.



4. I've been playing for 37 years. Great tone has always been a never ending quest. Some gear sounds thin, some tinny, or boomy, too fuzzy, or brittle, even dull. But some appliances produce sounds that are awesome. This book is about several of those savage appliances--vintage Fender amps. This book and its 2 accompanying CDs are wonderful; I've learned so much and I've been very entertained.
   
   Great read.



5. ..for tone enthusiasts. Great photos, great amps & great stories. Don't miss it, it'a a real very very sounding book!

5 comments about Gruhn's Guide to Vintage Guitars : An Identification Guide for American Fretted Instruments (2nd Ed).

1. This book was very limited as far as various makes of guitars. It didn't have any price guides on any of the things listed.
   I would think that would be the main information anyone owning a vintage guitar or other musical equipment would be most interested in. This book was useless to us. I wish we could return it. Thank goodness we ordered "The Offical Vintage guitar Magazine Price Guide 2003" It included everything any collector would want to know!!!



2. You can get all information quick and without doubt !! I had the first edition, but this second edition is a lot more complete and updated !!!



3. This is a vast improvement over the older version of Gruhn's Guide to Vintage Guitars. I would like the next version to include vintage Sunn amps, heads and cabinets, as well.



4. I bought this second edition hoping to find more information than I found in the old edition, but beyond expanding the breadth of models, the book is still not extremely helpful. Its basic setup is to use a one-line description of a change that occurs to a guitar model and note the year that this happened in. That's fine of course, but it sure would be helpful if the lines referred to illustrations or pictures. the result is an extremely dry text summary - and it doesn't even really go far enough. for example, the area on Fender Stratocasters lists every model throughout the 20th century, yet the initial list entries of changes seem to stop in the 70s, and while it does make mention of the shoulder on the control cavity routing changing in 1959, it doesn't mention changes in pickup routing in 1970 or so, nor the addition of a ground screw shoulder in the control cavity in 1979-81. it mentions how many patent numbers are on the headstock during which year, but no mention of what they are nor illustration of where they are placed. no mention of logo design changes.
   the list of fender serial numbers is sort of accurate, but the lowest and highest numbers per year listed are just plain wrong. they might look in Duchossoir's book for more information!
   I think it might help people to have more information on Norlin-era Gibsons as well, explaining which were made in Kalamazoo and which in Nashville and how to tell... one thing i noticed was that they say how the reintroduction of Les Paul Standard/Deluxe models had 4 piece pancake bodies, but in my experience I've seen more very early 70s whose bodies were two pieces of mahogany with a maple top and had (3-piece) mahogany necks prior to 1975 when they became maple, and some even had bodies that were one piece of mahogany.
   also since people on ebay seem to be making so much money peddling parts of old guitars, it might be nice for someone to take on the description of how to correctly identify potentiometers, capacitors, even knobs, pickup covers and tuners!
   all of these suggestions would make this a very useful guide! but - especially pictures.... describing how a screw position changes on a pickguard from one year to another is not nearly as comprehensible as an illustration!



5. I am a collector of vintage stringed instruments. I purchased George Gruhn's first volume in 1991, which was called the "Guide to Vintage Guitars". As I used it, I found that it corraborated, expanded and corrected the many other sources I use. The 2nd edition is greatly expanded, and now includes "American Fretted Instruments". It continues to be the most usable, informative and authoritative guide to vintage stringed instruments I am aware of. This is my "go to" guide. All other sources are used for additional detail and corraboration. A must have reference for anyone interested in vintage stringed instruments.

5 comments about Beyond Basics Fingerstyle Guitar (The Ultimate Beginner Series).

1. It is a good book on fingerstyle guitar. When I bought it some months ago I was able to play arpeggios and some picking patterns. The first lessons are easy to follow but the last ones are hard. You will need time to get some patterns.
   
   I agree with some reviewers. All the studies sound very nice but not all studies sound as the "professional" ones.
   
   However, my main complain is the lessons are written twice. I mean, the book has the complete partiture in a sheet but the previous sheets are the same partiture divided into bars. The author try to explain how to play every bar but sometimes it is just an unnecessary introduction. I'd prefer another kind of previous exercises (some lessons require them) and/or references to the main partiture. I did read before, it seems as if the author or publisher need to use more pages in the books.



2. I picked up guitar a few years ago and have been struggling finding a good book that would allow me to teach myself at my own pace and at the same time leave me feeling like I was accomplishing something. This book shows really nice melodic chord changes that will have you feeling good about your playing almost immediately!!! I recommend it for any beginner-intermediate guitarist who is looking for a book to help them FEEL and HEAR the guitar in a new light!!!



3. Excellent choice to learn how to fingerpick and play songs, step by step and very well done, Mark Has many other books but I would start with this one for easing into guitar playing!!



4. Im not a good guitarist but after going thru this book found that im able to follow the style and the CD was a great help. Mark H. did a good arrangement and this book serves for an intermediate guitarist.



5. With many reviews saying how "basic" this book is, I thought it was a beginner's book. I should have looked inside first. If you are a real beginner look at the first pages before you decide. It is not for "beginners."