Review #32: The Devil Is In It by John Stubbings

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“The Devil Is In It” by John Stubbings is an incredible historical look at the acoustic guitar: its players, its builders, and how it is woven into the history of the United States and Europe.  This is an extremely valuable read for guitarists of all stripes.

• You will learn about the evolution of the acoustic guitar from its earliest forms through to modern luthier-built masterpieces. 
• You will hear the stories behind many famous and not-so-famous guitar builders and how they tie into the greater history of society.  
• You will learn about the musical movements of the past several hundred years, and in doing so you will make new musical connections and you will fill gaps in your musical knowledge. 
• You will undoubtedly be inspired to play and learn more guitar.

This is good stuff to know.

I’m honored to sit down today with the author himself.  Welcome, John Stubbings!

Note: The University of Texas Press sent me the book for free.

My own books:

Fingerstyle Blues Guitar: An In-Depth Study of the 12-Bar Blues in E Major – Books 1 and 2 are available in paperback or eBook through Amazon [https://a.co/d/g7Udsso (Book 1) and https://a.co/d/aDbh4H0 (Book 2)]. The first priority of these books is to quickly get you playing a solo instrumental 12-bar blues, & then to build on it until you can freely improvise or “jam.” You should be up and running by the end of the third chapter, and each following chapter will add icing on the cake.

Arranging for Fingerstyle Guitar: go to http://joemcmurray.com/checkout/ to purchase a pdf of my eBook.

Arranging for Fingerstyle Ukulele, will be published by Mel Bay in 2026.

My music is available on all streaming platforms at https://open.spotify.com/artist/5dcokTG6C598OhTslHH5uo?si=hrQb7FViSZewDRSgECw9Ew:

Pins on the Map: my third fingerstyle guitar album was released on January 19, 2024. Watch the first single, “Open Road,” on YouTube here: https://youtu.be/uPBh8sZQsT4?si=EM_wAwnHFqU1VC9C.

Riding the Wave and Acoustic Oasis: my first two fingerstyle guitar albums.