Very good. After day 2 I am already playing Malaguena really well. It's a lot of fun and I started with 0 skill.

Lets be honest, I'm a 37 year old guy who doesn't want
anything to do with music theory or reading music.... These
lessons are perfect for me. They get right on to playing cool
songs, and I have found that since I have started taking the
lessons, that I have more self-esteem (which has always been
a problem for me). Esteban walks you through his coursework
slowly, and actually teaches you to play guitar quickly.
Although his coursework is not for those who believe in the
"start with theory, then learn to read music, then play" his
courses are for the vast majority of people who just want to
learn a whole bunch of cool songs, and a lot of chords so they
can just have fun! I love his DVD's They are great. For those of
you who want to learn all the theory and to read, check out
one of Esteban's theory books.....they are not for me...but one
of my friends wanted to learn theory and he did with Esteban's
method. So, I give it to the guy. Good product.

first of all esteban says the guitar neck is maple wood , when it arrives at my house to my suprise its a cheap plastic, also the body is made out of particle board, with chemical smells coming off it.the paint job has cracks. also the fretboard finish is poorly done it leaves black marks on your fingertips,the case is probly the nicest part of the package. and the dvds only teaches you songs that hardly anybody heard of at all . and to top it off its made in china. also the guitar strap is junk. the guitar ultimately does sound nice wich comes to be a suprise due to the fact of poor guitar craftmanship that was put into the making of the guitar. what i would do to save your money is buy a 150 guitar at a pawn shop and get free lessons of youtube, or howtovillage.com

I did not get the guitar, I did buy the beginner 2 dvd set, with the book and the chord chart. I am pretty much a novice. After 3 days, and sore finger tips I am able to play the first song. Awesome! I think this is more of a journey then one of those "play guitar in 10 minute" things i see all over the Internet. Esteban works you through the song, and with some pausing and a lot of practicing it does work.

I received my guitar and 5 dvd instructional course on jan. 11 2007. it was a gift from a friend. today is jan182009. I love my guitar and have learned so much from this course in the last 2+ years. esteban is a great guitar player and i have a wonderful time practicing. the guitar i received (to me) sounds and looks real good also the instruction on dvd that esteban gives is fairly clean. for someone like me who had no prior musical training,i give this dvd instruction course a 4 star rating. keep practicing and learning,i am going to. jim.

I am making comments regarding the course only. I have no experience with any guitars that might be offered with some of the TV promos. I am speaking only of the course product I received through Amazon.com. I purchased out of curiousity and I am glad I did. While the content is of the most importance, I must comment upon the packaging. The course I received is beautifully packaged in a box holder. It contains two DVDs, a very well designed lesson book, along with chord charts, etc. The material is basic, dealing with open chords, strings, necessary material that any successful student must master. The structure of the course is clear, concise and directed toward teaching the student practical skills. The image /sound quaility of the CD's is first rate. Esteban presents himself as a very effective teacher. His presentation is very clear and builds on a strong foundation. Perhaps one could criticize and say that the course doesn't go deep enough in presenting information. However, if you consider that the course is presented as a beginner's course, I think Esteban is right on the mark.

To call these "instructional" DVDs is certainly a stretch. Yes,
they purport to "instruct." But do they really teach
anything? The answer is no.

Esteban's teaching technique, which he applies to
everything from how to tune the strings through how to play
any of the music he presents, consists entirely of "watch me,
and do what I do." He doesn't explain what he is doing, or
why. There is no explanation of basic music theory. There is
only "monkey see, monkey do."

To be sure, Esteban can play. Perhaps he can even play
well. But the student stands no chance whatsoever of
understanding what he is being taught, or why. He is
shown complex fingerings, hammer-ons, pull-offs, alternate
chord voicings, etc., and simply expected to follow along,
parroting what he sees. To call this teaching is a joke. It is
Esteban-ego on parade. But for the brand-new student, it is a
prescription for disappointment and failure.

The good news is that it is worth every penny you pay for it,
which in the case of this package, is not much. If you think
it will work for you, just because it is cheap, good luck. You
will need it for both the Esteban guitar and lessons.

Do yourself a favor, and make a different choice for both.

I'm a rank beginner. With no previous experience, I can't make a good comparison of available courses. The explanations, video presentation and pace have been fine for me. With a few obvious mistakes in the presentations, quickly corrected (why weren't they edited out?), the course seems to be OK for beginners. I've read some very negative reviews, but they seem to have been written by people who already were past the beginning stages. I go back over some of the material to reinforce what I have already seen. Overall, it works for me.