Customer Reviews

Guitar Method: Stevie Ray Vaughan [VHS]

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

 

 

I have three of the MVP tapes, each bought through different sources. (This SRV tape, the more SRV tape, and the Brian Setzer tape). Each one is among the poorest quality recordings I have ever seen. One of the tapes actually rolls throughout, and manually setting the tracking on the VCR doesn't help. The sound quality is terrible as well. This seems to be a common complaint so -- I actually bought mine from different vendors just to see if someone had a stock of decent tapes. No luck!

Curt Mitchel is definitely talented. Sure, he could dress more to the liking of a particular tapes target audience (instead of like we're all Metallica fans) but that is a non-issue to me. He plays lots of different styles and does so well enough to be a good instructor.

However... he actually does very little instruction. He plays a riff at full speed, then plays it again at half speed (with a close up on the fret board). Then its off to the next riff. I knew this going in, so I wasn't that put out by it. I mean, thats how other guitar player's teach each other.

You will get a few side notes here and there about rig setup (types of strings, type of amp and effects) and a little about picking style. But thats about it. Its just riff after riff, and you're lucky if you're told what songs the riff belongs to. (Probably due to copyright concerns -- these tapes aren't licensed by SRV's estate).

The tablature is, as others have stated, unreadable. It looks like it has been reduced by a photocopier down to the equivalant of a 6 point font, and the photocopier seemed to run out of ink, so you really can't make much out of it. They could totally fix this by posting the tab on their web site, but they will not. They won't give it away there because its copyrighted.

I can't say I got nothing out of these tapes... I can play a few SRV riffs now, and that's cool. But its so frustrating to only get a fraction of what Curt could have taught me if the production value was higher, and some more forethought put into the whole effort. All in all, these tapes are a waste of money. Get some tablature off the Internet... you'll learn it faster and easier if you have ever heard the song you're trying to play.

Right down to the amateur production, this tape stinks. The video is so poor and jumpy you'll need to take a handful of Gravol just so you don't get sea sick from watching it. The Audio quality sounds like the microphone was left in the box. As for Mr. Mitchell's playing, well he's OK, but forget about learning anything off this tape, It's too fuzzy to see anything and the riff's go by like lightning, even in the half speed sections. If you aren't VERY familiar with Stevie Rays songs, you won't have a clue what Curt is playing because he never tells you. Mr. Mitchell jumps from one riff to another without identifying the material he's trying to get across. There is one half size sheet of TAB supplied that you'll need a microscope to read, even if you have 20/20 vision. If you want to get a good insight into how Stevie achieves his spectacular musicianship,then take your money and buy a DVD of Stevie Ray live at the Mocambo, you'll see way more of Stevies technique and get a great video to boot.

The presentation of this video is terrible. You would think that Mr. Mitchell could've dressed up a little and made himself look presentable. His playing is good...not great. He gets some of the bazillion riffs he plays downright wrong (I've seen Stevie play...and Mitchell is way off.) The tab that comes with the video....forget it. I couldn't even read it, the songs are not labeled, and the pages aren't even attached together.

I honestly can't describe how angry I was when I viewed this "Basement" tape. Not only is the quality of this video awful, but the presentation is less than impressive. I agree wholeheartedly with the previous review that recommended buying the Austin City Limits tape. At least that's worth listening to. This is just plain pathetic.

There is some interesting information here and the guy on the tape really is trying to break it down to you but the quality of the tape is very poor and I only got one page with it of which made little sense and gave a few common blues chords which were a little bit useful but almost nothing was written out with explanations. From what I hear other srv teaching tapes are far better, and I as a beginner on my acoustic did far better with Keith Wyatt than anything else.

Curt Mitchell has the SRV playing style down cold (You'll realize this when you hear the opening riff to "Testify"). As an instructional method though, this tape leaves a lot to desire. The information about SRV's playing style isn't all that informative. Additionally, the tapes breakdown of "Crossfire" is pretty complex & unfortunately the chart included with the tape isn't terribly helpful. Honestly, do yourself a favor & get the "Live at Austin City Limit Tapes," & " Live at El Mocombo." These tapes are high quality & give the you the real deal...

I got this DVD as a gift. I put it in the DVD and it was all ads for the different Guitar method DVDs. So many I couldn't even find the part it was bought for. Then finally.... Curt Mitchell plays a riff full speed then half speed. No instruction. Its a waste unless maybe your already at Stevie's level. It should say on the case what level of experience its for.

And because it doesn't, its a rip off. I will never ever buy any Guitar method product. I will also tell family & friends.

I bought this video not expecting much. I know of few people who can come close to emulating Stevie Ray's style. Curt Mitchell comes very close both in sound quality and playing. I was a bit disappointed in the amount of content for the money, but what content was there was well done. I learned allot.