Guitar Player Repair Guide: How to Set Up, Maintain and Repair Electrics and Acoustics

This is not a book for luthiers, and it doesn't pretend to be. Dan has unrivalled skills in guitar making and repair as anyone who has shopped with Stewart-Macdonald can attest and his skill and entusiasm comes across in this book but don't buy it if you expect it to help you with a guitar build

It's aimed at guitar players wanting to get more out of their instrument with a knowledgable setup - this can make or break the guitar experience - and players wanting to perform the more frequent repair jobs.

In terms of describing how to set up various types of guitar, it's one of the best I've seen.

A very useful book, now sold in it's 3rd edition with the DVD.

A book for all guitar owners, with valuable guidance on basic and advanced guitar maintenance and repair (0/0 people found this helpful)

A very nice book, like being advised about what to do with your guitar by a good friend, who happens to be a guitar expert. I like the book so much I bought another Dan Erlewine book recently!

Every Guitar Players Bible (10/10 people found this helpful)

Since I bought this book I have learned so much, not only how to make my own guitar play great but also to help other players understand how their guitar should play. I am amazed at how many people pay out hundreds of pounds yet pay little if no attention to their guitar once purchased. I was totally amazed at the results of a proper set-up, from the ease of the action to the way that the guitar now keeps tune for so much longer. I have been a player now for 20 odd years but I had been in the dark for the last 19 and with this book I now look at my guitars in a totally diferent light. I highly recommend this book to all competent guitarists with a modicum of DIY skills, it is absolutely a must!

Good - but not that good. (39/40 people found this helpful)

Ive been playing guitars for 10 years now. In the last 4 years, ive attempted my own setups based on the manufacturers guidelines and advice from internet resources. I read the previous reviews of this book and thought that this would be a setup "bible". However, in my opinion, there is very little ground-breaking information in this book. Much of this a guitar player should know (and could know with a little reasearch)in order to keep their insturment in check and in tune.

I would like to say that this book is aimed at beginners but I think its very advanced if that was its aim. In several places it suggests investing in very expensive tools (e.g. precision straightedges). I understood that some of this book was to eliminate expensive setup costs?? In some places this book is more of a huge advertisement for the stew-mac guitar shop in the US. If you are considering to undertake mods/repairs with the aid of this book - be prepared to spend money on tools such as a bench router, a dremmel router, straightedges etc etc.

I cant say the book is useless as it HAS taught me a lot. However, there is nothing fundamentally new here. If youre reasonably able to setup your guitar at the moment - dont expect this book to surprise you too much as you'll be doing much of it already. It will however add depth to your knowledge on the "why" of what youre doing. Its a bit of a tease really - all the "juicy" bits are skipped over briefly.

Good bits - The Pro Setups section is useful, if youre interested on how some great blues (and ONLY blues) players set up their guitars. The nut section is also good but Ive found all these methods available on the internet.

Bad bits - The Floyd Rose installation chapter was very very dissappointing. It does NOT give you the necessary dimensions of the top/bottom cavitys and does NOT give sufficient guidance on routing . It merely suggests that you buy the templates and bits - and hey presto - its done. The templates and bits cost £200 total by the way !! A more detailed section on routing for beginners would have made this book more worthwhile.

Note to the author: Most guitar players are not carpenters. We do not have workshops with special tools and money to spend on expensive apparatus. Perhaps a furture edition will take conisgance of this??

All you'll need to know (6/6 people found this helpful)

The book covers it all, it even covers the stuff you don't need to know. Each task is broken down into detailed paragraphs which take you through each step, leaving you with no questions. The pictures are clear and of a decent size. If this book was half the size or even a third it would be worth the money.
You do need some specific tools as you can imagine but it gives you enough info to improvise. I was a complete amateur and had no idea about how to sort out my guitar. This book has given me a great reference for fututre repairs.
Whether this book will give you the confidence to take a file and knife to your significant other (your guitar!) is another thing. But it provides you with a deep insight into how your guitar works. fantastic product!

Guitar Player Repair Guide: How to Set Up, Maintain and Repair Electrics and Acoustics

Dan Erlewine

Reader Reviews:

Does What it Says on the Tin (0/0 people found this helpful)

A book for all guitar owners, with valuable guidance on basic and advanced guitar maintenance and repair (0/0 people found this helpful)

Every Guitar Players Bible (10/10 people found this helpful)

Good - but not that good. (39/40 people found this helpful)

All you'll need to know (6/6 people found this helpful)

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