2 comments about The Mandolin Manual: The Art, Craft and Science of the Mandolin and Mandola.

1. The mandolin is not a widely utilized instrument compared with its relatives the guitar and violin, and even less has been written on its construction. Enter Troughton's guide, which covers the making of the mandolin in all its details. While no prior knowledge of woodworking is assumed, readers should be interested in both the instrument itself and woodworking in general in order to gain the most from this survey.



2. I'm about half way done with building a mandolin using this book. I found the instructions to be clear and very complete and so far have not run into any problems that the book did not forewarn. I would highly recommend it.

No comments about Mel Bay's Mandolin Wall Chart.

No comments about 110 Irish Mandolin Tunes, Volume 1.

No comments about Moyer's Superior Method for Mandolin.

No comments about Brazilian Mandolin.

No comments about Corelli's Mandolin.

No comments about Mandolin Hymns.

5 comments about Gibson Guitars: 100 Years of an American Icon.

1. Anyone with an interest in music, whether it be a curiosity over which guitar (The Super 400) that Roy Rogers played, to the very stars themselves, like Little Jimmy Dickens, Emmylou Harris or Cindy Walker, will be delighted with the 314 page history of Gibson USA, GPG's "Gibson GUITARS: 100 Years of an American Icon," by Walter Carter. ISBN # 1-57544-014-8.

   This amazing collaboration of works (every specialist or researcher methodically chronicles each and every era of Gibson's ownership, management, philosophy, stars, and more, epoch by epoch) is jam packed with information on the performers, their instruments, carefully interwoven with a history of the fast changing musical trends of the times. Gibson nearly always lead the way, from the very beginning, and how they did it is clearly, concisely written about here.

   From fans of mandolins, laptops, archtops, dreadnaught acoustics, and the rock and roll heritage of Gibson solid body and semi-hollow electri! ! cs (which in the industry, generates something known as 'THE TONE') will get more than their money's worth from this veritable chronicle of the company's entire history, beginning with the day Orville H. Gibson conceived his first guitar.

   Each and every era is given full coverage, from the artists and their instruments of the 1930's, generation by generation, all the way to fans of rock legends Jimmy Page and Pete Townsend, will find everything they ever wanted in a book on GIBSON, in this work. And, frankly, far from being a Gibson-is-the-only-way ad, this book frankly, if brutally, deals with the steep decline of Gibson under Ecuadorian railroad and beer distributors, in the early 1980's, the loss in quality, and the modern day heros that rescued the legendary manufacturer from certain extinction, to pre-eminent leadership yet again, and perhaps greater status (and quality) than ever known before.

   This an exemplary book, graciously adorned with plenty of pictures of m! ! int condition Vintage (read 1930, 1940 and 1950 - and later! ) Gibson Instruments from various vintage collectors such as George Gruhn. In my opinion, this book rates FIVE (5) stars PLUS, and is a must read for anyone who ever wondered about the music of the 20th century: who created it, and what devices were used in doing it. There are some technical schematics to please the most picky purists.

   If you are interested in any area of American music, you will more than likely find some reference to it in this book. So will your parents, and maybe your grandparents! There is something for everyone in this enjoyable and fascinating story of a modern musical legend.




2. This book, GIBSON GUITARS: 100 YEARS AS AN AMERICAN ICON, by Walter Carter (ISBN 1-57544-014-8) is one powerful book on THE most legendary musical instrument company of our time. To give you an idea how riveting it was, I was up 3 nites until 3 a.m. reading it. I CAN HARDLY SEE I AM SO TIRED, YET SO GEARED UP. This is complex, comprehensive and filled with substantial and very subtle information, on both the instruments and Gibson artists. Gibson builds the best looking, best sounding instruments, bar none. Check out page 234 for a little sample of one of the thousands of nuances every player and collector will cherish. Jimmy Page, no doubt playing Stairway, is on the usual over/under 12/6 SG; BUT, note the regular humbuckers to catch the beautiful ambience of the acoustic side. But when it comes to the lead, he has two double coil flamethrowers, the 496R and 500T's, the best ceramic pickups ever made, under the 6 string neck! This book is powerful, beautiful, and extr! ! emely interesting. THE BOOK on the making of a musical legend. I cannot wait to see what the next 100 years will be like for Gibson, because they are getting better by the day, and they have tricks up their sleeve we can only imagine. EXQUISITE!



3. Gibson has unleashed a propaganda piece on an unsuspecting audience of guitar freaks. By having their in-house historian write it and by publishing it themselves, Gibson has ensured that they retain complete editorial control over all of the content. Here's an example of the hypebole that is present throughout the book: in reference to the oncoming wave of solid body electrics Walter Carter writes, "...Gibson would lead rather than follow the pack as the electric guitar era began to take shape." I think Leo Fender would take exception to that statement if he were still around. The book features lots of well-known players with a Gibson in their hands. The captions border on outright fraud. "Jimi Hendrix reached new guitar heights with an SG Custom." Gee, I thought that 99% of his playing was on a Fender Stratocaster. "Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards plays a custom single-pickup L-55." Maybe he does in that picture, but any casual Stones fan will tell you that Keef plays a Tele. There are countless other examples of this type of misreprensentation. As much as I dislike that lame marketing approach, I completely despise the self-congratulatory chapter on the trio of Harvard guys who bought the company in 1986. I personally think they have done more to damage the image of Gibson in the eyes of players than Norlin ever did. They even went so far as to include a staged photo of Juszkiewicz between rounds in a boxing match with the caption: "Berryman and Zebrowski revive Juszkiewicz after a tough round in a negotiations course at Harvard business school." It's almost too much to stomach.
   
   Having said all of that, the book is not completely without merit though. If you are a diehard Gibson fan and already own Duchossoir's essential book "Gibson Electrics - The Classic Years," then this book may make a nice, if somewhat trivial, addition to your collection of guitar books.



4. This book delivers an intricate history of one of the most well-known and respected musical instrument manufacturers in the world today. Gibson Guitars: 100 Years of an American Icon is comprised of a series of articles edited together by Walter Carter. The articles chronicle the entire span if the company from Orville Gibson's humble beginnings to the goliath manufacturer the company is today. This article setup is helpful in dividing the detailed account into multiple segments, each specific to a certain time period, person or instrument. It also provides the reader with an ever changing smorgasbord of authorial voice. All of the different sections are jam packed with full color photographs and illustrations, each with their own explanatory caption.
   
   The articles are grouped into seven main categories named for the company's owner(s) during a specific period of time. This makes the book a powerful reference for those wishing to study Gibson at specific points in the history of the company. It also allows the different segments to include and elaborate on Gibson's influence toward specific musical styles of the last century.
   
   However, with the exception of the Les Paul, it seems that those wanting to study particular Gibson instruments in detail will find that the book falls a little short. While it does mention and describe some of the classic instruments the company is responsible for, it does not go into any sort of depth with regard to guitar specifics and some of the lesser-known and rarer models are not even mentioned at all.
   
   Overall, this is a well-rounded account of the Gibson company and its history, but those seeking a reference book of all the fine instruments Gibson is responsible for might be a little disappointed.



5. If you know nothing about guitars and want some nice pictures (courtesy of George Gruhn), then this might be the one for you...if you can find a copy (not cuz they are sold out, but because Gibson won't release any more of them)...This book was obviously written while the author was employed at Gibson, and heavily edited by them too...there are rare pictures of rockers (who usually played other guitars) with Gibsons strapped on...the text is slanted towards Gibson throughout, I mean, it is about Gibson and published by them too..constantly making it seem like musical instrument makers are indentured servants and the companies are having this fierce war with each other, and to survive and try just to break even...and the author is constantly bashing management techniques, even Gibsons', which is irrelevant and unimportant...its way too dramatic...music and its instruments can speak for themselves...

2 comments about Best of Bluegrass: 10 Must-Know Songs Arranged for Fiddle, Mandolin, Banjo, Guitar, Dobro and Bass.

1. Bluegrass harmonies can be complex at times - especially trying to get a group to play together. This pack is very helpful. The transcriptions are from original master recordings (which are also on the accompanying CD). There's even banjo TAB!



2. I bought this book to get arrangements for my bluegrass band. The tag line for this book is '...Arranged for Fiddle, Mandolin, Banjo, Buitar, Dobro and Bass'. I was very dissapointed to find that for most of the songs, there weren't any arrangement for Dobro at all - which makes it quite useless in my band setting.
   
   The CD contains the original recordings of the songs.

No comments about Old-Time Country Mandolin.