Customer Reviews

Best of Stevie Ray Vaughan

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I normally don't write reviews but felt the need to chime in here.

The negative ratings by the two Americans don't have anything to do with the quality of the product reviewed here.

They are just frustrated with the fact that they didn't bother to look before they leapt.

It states clearly that SRV's guitar parts are broken down here by an instructor and it says nowhere that this is a concert or that SRV is doing the teaching.

So forget these dumbhead reviews.

I have the other DVD in the SRV series by Greg Koch and I couldn't believe how well he nails SRV's style and, more importantly, how well he can convey his wisdom to the student of Stevie Ray's style.

THERE SIMPLY IS NO BETTER INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIAL ON SRV THAN THESE TWO DVD'S!!

If you have any interest in learning blues guitar and SRV in particular than you can't get anything better than this.

'SRV isn't in this video'?? Hellooo???

This dvd is an INSTRUCTIONAL DVD and should be evaluated and reviewed as such.

The session is hosted by Greg Koch, who has a well earned reputation in the guitarworld as a wonderful instructor and great player.

In his demonstrations and explainations, Koch clearly shows that he possesses the necessary in-depth understanding of the guitar style of Stevie Ray Vaughan, aswell as the ability to communicate this knowledge in an easy to understand, relaxed way.

I've seen a lot of instructional dvd's. This one ranks in the top ten of my personal list of valuable instructionals.

I bought this dvd and the other one by Greg Koch (Guitar Signature Licks: Stevie Ray Vaughan's Greatest Hits) because I'm a guitar teacher myself, but was not well versed in the art of blues guitar playing.

These dvd's hyped up my learning curve incredibly. It's a speed course for anyone who wants quick insight in how SRV did what he did.

Koch presents all materials in a way that makes it very easy to take what you need and incorporate it into your own playing immediately. Highly recommended, 5 stars.

As a gigging guitarist of 40 years experience who keeps a reference library of books, vids, and DVDs that encompasses styles from Django and Joe Pass to Merle Travis to John Scofield and Jimi, I can enthusiastically recommend Greg Koch's clear, accurate, and informative "guide to SRV's style and repertoire". Koch is obviously intelligent and talented, and clearly enjoys communicating his jones for Stevie Ray's music and technique. One caveat (and this does not dock the DVD a star in it's value rating of 5, since it is really quite trivial): Koch's personality is an acquired taste. There's a sort of lame 70s goofball Steve Martin impression going on there once in a while that is a bit offputting. This does not, however, spill over into Koch's instructional content. Thank god. An excellent instructional DVD, Greg. Five stars.

Please don't bother to pay homage to what a few of these idiots have said about this DVD.

I.E. "....I'm very disappointed b/c Stevie isn't teaching on the DVD; ... dude I thought this was a SRV instructional video..." then I suggest you go and re-learn some of the basic facts about modern DVD technology.
Although DVD technology was implemented as early as mid 1992, the consortium of DVD technological companies didn't agree on a specific DVD standard until early 1995, and thus the trickle of DVD media being mass released wasn't until much later in 1997.

How would SRV have been on the DVD unless it was re-mastered from a reel to reel, or VHS style recording??

-Enough of that-

Anyway, Greg Koch is by far the best "blues" instructor I have seen. By proxy, he nails the SRV style instructional video. I have heard, and seen many SRV fanatics, live and on a personal level, Greg takes the cake not only with his playing, but his tone and knowledge of musical styles. His ability to teach, analyze, and slow down the music makes it digestible for any intermediate or better player.

Saying this, don't expect to nail SRV's songs overnight b/c of a DVD lesson. It takes years of playing, years of listening, and an overall blues ear and style to be ready to play and understand his (SRV's) music, even with the aide of these lessons.

Thanks for the great work and "...keep em' coming" Greg!!

Greg has an interesting and whitty approach to his music instruction. The insights along with manageable explanations are a true testament to his overall knowledge of the signature style of SRV. His self effacing approach is a refreshing welcome and his professionalism is not to be confused with those who seek their fame in type of venue. We would like to see a full length edition of Tin Pan Alley in the next series...

This instructional video is fun to watch and will have you playing the licks in short order if you are an intermediate level or better guitar player. Koch is hilarious and an excellent instructor who has obviously closely analyzed and feels comfortable with the material. He is also a versatile player. The only other comments I can think of are that it would be nice to have the tabs to go along with the video and that SRV wannabes should know that the songs are not covered note for note from start to finish. Only the "signature licks", i.e. key rhythm parts, leads, intros, bridges, etc. are covered in detail. The "filler" parts are treated lightly or not at all. This should not trouble intermediate or better players.

Well, I've seen a lot of great reviews on these two dvd's. But this is my review:
Greg Koch is one of the greatest SRV replicas I have ever seen! On some of the licks, it's actually almost like hearing SRV himself!
Well God bless you, Greg!
But these dvds are more like a preformance than a lesson.
You will not learn a note unless you are a professional guitar player!
Let it be said that learning Stevie's stuff is a BIG challenge in itself.
But Greg could have broken down some of the licks instead of just performing them and slow it down only once...
Greg has a good sence of humor though, and like I said; Great performance! You are an awsome guitar player! I just wish I could say guitar TEACHER as well..
PS: I'm sure he's a great teacher. But the dvds..

i thought this was good and most importantly it stresses the feel and intensity of the style. unlike a bb king style smooth and sweet this really gives you the feel of playing angry blues. i mean like beat your guitar style, sweat dripping from your forehead and cramps in your hand. unfortunatly though it doesn't have tabs to follow along because as good as greg is, he just doesn't really show you note for note in slow motion the way some of the other dvd's out there do. but then again, you really need to feel this music on your own because the penatonic scales are simple enough so there's nothing fancy going on. as i was copying his notes by slowing down the dvd, i realized i already played like that in regards to the notes just not as intense and the reverse bends trills were the difference. tabs would be nice though and some dvds email you the tabs to print out. you can always find them easy enough at a songster.com or other free sites for the intros that need to be note for note. all in all though its worth having. i own both of the srv dvd's and they are both the same pretty much.

Although he is a very good guitar player, my biggest complaint is that he doesn't explain enough how to play it. He basically goes through it once and then plays it at more or less full speed. I'm at least an intermediate guitar player and I have trouble following along with him. The close ups aren't really close ups and you can't really tell what he is doing or what strings/ frets he is playing. It is helpful to see someone playing the songs as far as the learning process goes so I do like that, but again as I said he just doesn't explain enough of it in detail or take much time. To me it feels as though it is a very rushed lesson. Don't have time to actually learn it. While I'm figuring out one part he's already two parts ahead. I know it's a DVD but it would have helped to at least include TAB for the parts that he is teaching.

Greg Koch is an entertaining, almost cartoonish, guitar clinician who delivers a good overview of Stevie Ray Vaughn's recorded songs. This doesn't break down every little aspect of every song, but it does offer a comprehensive look at most of the signature parts.