Gibson's Learn & Master Guitar Boxed Dvd/CD Set Legacy Of Learning Paperback – Box set, November 1, 2010

I purchased what I thought was a used set of this series of lessons only to find 3 dvd's in a manilla envelope. What I received was the first 6 lessons. The seller did refund my purchase and let me keep the dvd's. Also be advised there are two versions of this program one is the standard and the other is the expanded version. The picture may not indicate this clearly and you may see the expanded edition and receive the standard edition. The std. edition is 10 dvd's and 5 jam cdsAfter two unsuccessful efforts to buy this set of lessons used and finding the market flooded with bogus merchandise containing a mere three dvd's, I ordered a NEW set of 10 dvd's and 5 jam cd's from AMAZON. The lesson I learned is do not buy this used under any circumstances unless you know who you are buying it and it does indeed contain all the dvd's, cd's and the book in a BOXED SET.Now onto the reality of learning how to play the guitar properly: This lesson series will fill that requirement and in order to learn and master the guitar it will require considerable time on your part via this set of lessons. It is like having a personal instructor that you can go back and replay the dvd's over and over. You will not learn how to play the guitar in a few days or weeks. It will be a slow process but you will be rewarded for your efforts. I am only on lesson #2 and I am putting in about a half hour per day. I may be slower than most people and the fact that I am also having to learn how to read music may also be slowing me down. The instructor gives you plenty of encouragement and tells you a realistic time frame it will take to master each step and to not get discouraged. Have fun and work at your pace on this lesson series. It is in my opinion better than having a personal teacher with questionable credentials. Mr. Krenz knows his stuff and how to teach with dvd's and the lesson materials. It is worth the price v. a private instructor.Gibson has put together a very credible lesson series for the beginner who wants to learn how to do more than strum a few chords. Again, don't mess with a used set of this material unless you know who you are dealing with and what materials will be sent to you if you do buy this as a used set. Two efforts on my part resulted in two disputed charges on my credit card. The upside of this experience was that AMEX and Amazon resolved the dispute quickly and in my favor.

This is a great program! I recently bought my first acoustic guitar andafter doing extensive research, I decided to go with this course. Steve Krenz does an amazing job of presenting the course in an organized, easy to learn and personal manner. I am 3 weeks into the course and have enjoyed every minute of it.Here are some things that are good to know about this course:First of all, make sure that you purchase the set with the bonus workshops which includes 10 lesson dvd's, 10 bonus workshop dvd's and 5 play along cd's. The bonus workshops consist of additional practice exercises and songs and are meant to go along with the lessons. The pictures on this site can be deceiving, so make sure that you read the details in order to ensure that you are getting the bonus workshops.If you are patient and want to save a considerable amount of money, you can buy the original Learn & Master Guitar course which is the same exact thing as the Gibson L&M course shown here. I contacted Steve Kranz (he is surprisingly very accessible) and theonly difference is that the Gibson edition is filmed in HD, he is holding Gibson guitars and occasionally there is a Gibson rep doing a little promo on a Gibson product. I bought my set here used for $80, but have also seen them as low as low as $50 on eBay and Craigslist.Once you buy the course, you will find that there is an additional workshop book available for free in a pdf on the resources page that can be used along with the workshop dvd's. You can view it on your IPad, tablet or laptop, but if you're like me and like to write notes, Steve gives you permission to print it out. I printed mine in a spiral notebook. I priced around and found the best price at Staples.com for $22 and the quality is excellent. Kinkos, Office Max and Office Depot were all outrageously priced in the $80range.The course website is extremely helpful. There is a forum in which any question can be answered, rather it be from other students or Steve. He also gives a live course with a special guest and free give aways once a week on Ustream in which is pretty cool. You can also watch past episodes.If you sign up for Steve's newsletter, you will receive weekly tips that go along with the course.This course is literally the most organized and comprehensive program that is worth every penny!

After purchasing this 15-disc standard edition I discovered apparently this may no longer be available new and as it has been replaced by a 25-disc edition for just a little more $. After investing ~ $70 (including shipping) for this pre-owned version I discovered the new version was available over the holidays for $19 more ($89) plus shipping). In any case so far I've been satisfied with the quality and content. Using DVDs makes it easier to pause, back up or advance than online or youtube videos and of course internet access and wifi are unnecessary. I also believe the downloadable (.pdf) workshop manual includes all the exercises covered by the additional 10 workshop dvds. As noted by other purchasers the .pdf includes over a hundred pages which can be time-consuming and somewhat expensive to print a hard copy...especially if you want it in color. Steve Krenz is a good teacher and offers a lot of encouragement.