Rating: 
Summary: Tooooo much logic
Review: "Reading" this book like reading "Philosophy" book. It contains so much theory and Logic without much of anything else such as something to use it on or how to apply to "Music". Not much showing you "how to make music" but "how music/guitar works". It just plain dead mind messing. Don't waste money on them. Very disappointed after reading others review and buying them.
Rating: 
Summary: fretboard demystified
Review: As others have mentioned, this is a book unlike others. There are books on music theory, books on riffs and chords, books on technique etc, but this is probably the only good book on the fretboard itself.
The CAGED system introduced here is very useful for moving chord shapes around and more importantly, to move all around the fretboard while soloing.
What more, this CAGED approach can be used for any other scales that you can think of and not just for the ones shown in the book.
All other concepts such as modes etc are introduced with this system. This is unlike other books, where such concepts are usually presented in an abstract and not specifically for guitar.
A highly recommended book for a beginner or an intermediate player or anyone who gets bogged down with all those "helpful" dots on the fretboard. This book can be used for whatever style of music you are interested in as long as its on the guitar ! .
Rating: 
Summary: A bit repetitive, but incredibly useful
Review: Bill Edwards had me impressed very much with his philosophical thought before I ever read any of his Fretboard Logic series. His approach of appealing to both sides of the brain, as well as the study of human intelligence, learning, and everything else involved in the developing stages of one's guitar playing, plays into this series very well.When I finally decided to give this book a shot, I was still quite skeptical. The reviews seemed impossible, and the elusive yet highly praised simplicity of approach was, at the very least, dubitable. However, I was not disappointed in the end. FL is not a book, unlike the title might suggest, with enourmous amounts of text in really fine print, explaining Platonic origins of music and guitar. Rather, it is an approach to the system around which all of guitar is organized. It made me wonder, in the same way I wonder about chess, whether, whoever it was that invented the now-standard tuning for the guitar, planned out all of the possibilities that guitarists have explored over the years and still continue to explore. The approach of the first two volumes, surprisingly enough, is not very musical. It focuses strictly on the guitar, and the elements which the guitar tuning produces. A patient individual willing to learn the guitar, with no musical background, would benefit the most from this section. It asks you to let go of all preconceptions of what music is, of what guitar playing is, and instead, to focus on the instrument itself, and the possibilities that its uniqueness creates. The second part (volume II) builds on the information acquired in the first part, and re-invents basic musical elements, but approaches them from the standpoint of playing them on guitar! A good analogy of this would be learning language before ever discovering a need to speak it: wouldn't it be great not to have to learn it while having to use it, but rather to have learned it beforehand? Guitar is no more than a tool for music expression, and a very well designed one at that - so let us learn the tool first, and then use the tool to create music, without having to think how to apply the tool for the music itself. I find it brilliant. Be forewarned, however: this approach is only for the patient. It is holistic, not reductionist. It's not something that will happen overnight, it is something that needs constant work and dedication. On the bright side of that, very little memorization is required, once some essential elements of music are understood - Mr. Edwards goes through these at the beginning of part II. I also stated that the book is a little repetitive. Perhaps it only seemed that way to me, since I had very significant musical background before taking on this method. It works well to reinforce what has already been shown, and to make sure that the reader understands how what he read before ties into what he will be reading next. It works, and everything is there for a reason. In short, buy this book, learn, and enjoy.
Rating:
Summary: Great system for learning the logic of the Fretboard.
Review: CAGED. That is it in a nutshell. This system teaches you how to take the fundamental chord forms, CAGED, and from these forms develop an understanding of the fretboard in a logical fashion. It builds on this with chords, scales, and leads. I think it is a great system. I have been playing guitar for years and it has helped me get around the fretboard better and identify things more quickly. It takes some practice to learn the material and i am still working on it.
Rating: 
Summary: It's not going to be easy
Review: Do not waste your money if you are not willing to put in a lot of time with this book. I am not that great a player and I am on the second page after 3 months..admittedly I haven't had much time to play..but let this serve as a warning, this book isn't for someone who isn't serious about learning how to play the guitar
Rating:
Summary: So many wasted years
Review: First off let me say that I have played guitar for about 10 years off and on. There were things I just didn't understand. In fact I was just about convinced that you did have to be born with musical talent to improvise to music, either that or I believed that people were actually lying about it. One week with this book and I had far more knowledge than I had with ten years of playing. I didn't become technically better or know more songs, but I had an understanding. A clear consice understanding of what the guitar is. If you are series about playing, and you feel that there is just something that you don't know then this book is for you. I was un-fortunate in running into guitarists who tried to keep what they knew a secret. Trying to make it more complicated than it really was. Now I have the knowledge to realize that in fact what they do is not complicated, and I am sure that those people would feel extrememly embarassed if they were ever in the company of really good musicians. A must buy. The best guitar book I ever bought. Hands down.
Rating:
Summary: A light went on immediately
Review: Fretboard Logic is a Godsend for guitar players like myself who have been playing for awhile and thirst to expand their fretboard knowledge.
A little of the way into this book, a newfound excitement and inspiration has been ignited.
I now feel that I have been blessed with the how and why of it all- in a nutshell.
Not useless excercises and cliche licks in tablature.
This book is bound to turn on many a light.
Also recommended- "Zen Guitar" by Phillip Sudo.
Rating:
Summary: Like a Rosetta stone for the guitar.
Review: Fretboard Logic SE is a great book that manages to distill a vast amount of information into a very concise and usable form. In a way, it's like a Rosetta Stone for the guitar. As I read the book, I "felt the light go on" over and over as bits and pieces I'd picked up over the years clicked into place and I began to understand how they related together. It covers a method called the CAGED system, which uses barre forms of the C, A, G, E, and D chords (thus the name). These chords are movable as a block to anywhere on the neck, the benefit being that you always know how to find a chord near where your hand is currently on the neck. Building on the CAGED system are various major and pentatonic scale forms, so that you can easily play runs - which are the basis for solo, riffs and improvising. It gives sensible explanations of music theory and how it pertains to playing the guitar. Building upon this he shows how to form the common chord types - (major, minor, sevenths, etc) in any key. It's opened up the guitar for me. I've only been playing my acoustic guitar a couple months, and I can sit and watch a guitarist on TV now and understand what I see him doing. I may see his hand on the fretboard and notice that his hand is making an E form, moved to the 8th fret. Sometimes I can make out that it's a 7th by hearing it. That's something I can reproduce immediately or later. Or I can (slowly) improvise along with a song I hear by using the pentatonic scales I've learned. I can hear and see the chord progressions from I to IV to V and back. You'll still need lots of practice to toughen and strengthen your fingers and hands and to make them quick and limber, but Fretboard Logic SE is a great book to start with or to brush up with if your more advanced. It will save you a great deal of frustration and make your learning quicker and more productive.
Rating:
Summary: Like a Rosetta stone for the guitar.
Review: Fretboard Logic SE is a great book that manages to distill a vast amount of information into a very concise and usable form. In a way, it's like a Rosetta Stone for the guitar. As I read the book, I "felt the light go on" over and over as bits and pieces I'd picked up over the years clicked into place and I began to understand how they related together. It covers a method called the CAGED system, which uses barre forms of the C, A, G, E, and D chords (thus the name). These chords are movable as a block to anywhere on the neck, the benefit being that you always know how to find a chord near where your hand is currently on the neck. Building on the CAGED system are various major and pentatonic scale forms, so that you can easily play runs - which are the basis for solo, riffs and improvising. It gives sensible explanations of music theory and how it pertains to playing the guitar. Building upon this he shows how to form the common chord types - (major, minor, sevenths, etc) in any key. It's opened up the guitar for me. I've only been playing my acoustic guitar a couple months, and I can sit and watch a guitarist on TV now and understand what I see him doing. I may see his hand on the fretboard and notice that his hand is making an E form, moved to the 8th fret. Sometimes I can make out that it's a 7th by hearing it. That's something I can reproduce immediately or later. Or I can (slowly) improvise along with a song I hear by using the pentatonic scales I've learned. I can hear and see the chord progressions from I to IV to V and back. You'll still need lots of practice to toughen and strengthen your fingers and hands and to make them quick and limber, but Fretboard Logic SE is a great book to start with or to brush up with if your more advanced. It will save you a great deal of frustration and make your learning quicker and more productive.
Rating:
Summary: A lot of good ideas but not for people with small hands
Review: Fretboard Logic SE is a valuable book and you'll understand a great deal more about the logic of the guitar's tuning and fret system within the first few pages but if you have small hands and/or short fingers you may find some of the alternate fingerings and barres required in this system to literally be beyond your reach. People with long fingers and/or average to larger than average hands will no doubt have an easier time of it. Example: The standard way of learning an open G chord requires playing it with the index, middle and ring fingers (think 1st, 2nd and 3rd fingers) with the fourth finger (pinkie) along for the ride and possibly available to change the voicing within the chord or to maybe add a ninth ("A" above G). In the Fretboard Logic way of doing things the standard open G chord is played with the middle, ring and pinkie fingers (2-3-4) so as to leave the index available to "barre" in the moveable form as you go up the fretboard. This requires spanning the space of a full open fret with your index finger at the same time you are using fingers 2-3-4 to fret the E, A and E strings. I can't draw a picture here so it's best to pick up a guitar if you have one or draw yourself a picture of a fretboard to help visualize. Basically, if you can make that reach back with your index finger across a full fret while fingering with 2, 3 and 4 then this system should be fully workable for you. If you can't do it (and I can only manage it with difficulty), you'll still get a lot out of the book and increase your knowledge but portions of the system may well be "literally out of reach". The CAGED system of moveable chords/positions really is rather brilliant. Even if you don't buy the book, borrow a copy from your local library or from a friend. There's nothing wrong with adding to your knowledge. If the system was totally workable for everyone I'd have rated it five stars. As it is, with limits on people (most women, children, young teens and some men) with smaller than average hands, I can only go three. (Too bad Amazon doesn't have a way to go three and half.)
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