Book excerpt: The Complete Guitar Handbook is a comprehensive practical guide and reference source to the guitar. Targeted at guitarists of all styles, it presents essential information in way that quickly gets the budding guitarist straight into playing the style they like. Using a compact format, the book is designed to be a highly portable, eminently-thumbable reference source that encourages the reader to explore the world of guitars in the home, the studio or at college. Opening with a Start Here section the book allows the reader to get the most out of the mass of information by providing clear starting points for different levels of skill and interest. The reader is then led through easy-to-follow explanations of learning the basics, and on to exploring a wide range of different playing styles and effects.