The Guitar of Preston Reed-Expanding The Realm Of Acoustic Playing

While not for beginners or the faint of heart, this DVD should prove a godsend to intermediate and advanced players looking to develop their acoustic chops in the New Acoustic (read: post-Michael Hedges) direction as exemplified by Reed, Billy McLaughlin, Andy McKee, et al. Much like the Hot Licks Adrian Legg instructional vids, which I bought on VHS way back when, this DVD presents viewers with entire compositions (three of 'em)to master rather than just tossing off a number of licks to learn without any context. Great way to add three very cool tunes and a whole arsenal of techniques to your bag. Incidentally, my copy shipped without the tab booklet, which the seller was unable to locate, but this wasn't a problem- Reed's demonstrations are clear and lucid, and he does a good job of breaking complex passages up and explicating the role of each hand. Very easy to follow, if not to actually play!

Great video with good demonstrations of this style and a good way to learn 3 of Prestons songs. This is a little advanced for the typical intermediate level guitarist but with some work this style can be learned. The reason for not giving it 5 stars is the terrible little booklet of tablature. A pdf file of the tunes should also be included on the DVD as some other suppliers of guitar learning DVDs are now doing.

As a previous reviewer experienced, mine came with no tab booklet even though on the back it says "Tab enclosed." So just be aware there's a good chance you won't get tabs when you buy this although the video shows you very clearly what he's doing so you can pause and practice.

Excellent progressive style instructional video in the art of two handed tapping and playing in piano mode by one of the first innovators of the art!

Preston Reed is an amazing acoustic guitarist. Just watching him play his pieces in this video is worth the price of the video, and it's a good thing because the instructional aspect is somewhat lacking. Reed obviously isn't comfortable in front of a camera. Watching him try to explain what he was doing was sometimes quite an ordeal. I'm not knocking the guy. Some people can teach and some can't. It reminds me of when I was studying computer science. Some of these instructors are absolute geniuses at programming and systems analysis, but put them in front of a classroom and they stink. The same is true with musicians, I suppose. Between the tablature and the slowed down versions of his playing different parts of the various pieces you can almost grasp what is going on. If you're really into Preston Reed you'll probably enjoy this video. If you're just trying to learn another approach to acoustic guitar you might want to shop around.

There was no book to accompany the DVD. When I called the help/support line, the rude tech said that he only helped people that purchased the download. Then the tech hung up on me. This made me very unhappy.Therefore, I’m having a hard time working with the DVD.

Very talented fellow who has limited ability to teach. He will start to show you something and then break off and play his piece. You have to go frame by frame to pull off what he is trying to tell you. I have played finger picking guitar style for 40 years and I have never had this much trouble with a teaching tape. Just be aware of this before you purchase it. The instructor is not going to break down the piece easily for you.

I have received nothing to be satisfied with! The first copy you sent did not work at all. I returned it to you and you posted another copy to me. It did not work either!! It seem as if no recording had been burned onto either CD.I have since received a refund from you. I would have liked to have a working copy, but I believe you are now investigating the problem.