Frequently Asked Questions

Shipping

When will my package arrive?

If you live in the United States and paid $8.95 for 3 to 5 day delivery, expect your order within three business days of when it was shipped (this does not include weekends). We normally ship three times a week. If you suspect that your package is lost or delayed please notify us.

If you live in Canada it should only take four to seven days but may take up to two weeks. All orders shipped to Canada are shipped First-Class Mail International. If your package has been delayed please check with your local delivery person, post office or customs.

If you live in another country most packages are shipped First-Class International and should arrive within 2 weeks. In some cases orders are delayed as long as 30 days.

If you order takes longer than 2 weeks you should talk to your local post office. Chances are, your package is awaiting pickup in customs.

If you order is delayed more than 30 days please send an e-mail message to us explaining the problem. We're unable to trace orders until 30 days after shipment.

My package should have arrived by now.

Read the previous information about "When will my package arrive?" If it has taken longer than specified, please send an e-mail message to us explaining the problem.

Almost all delayed shipments are problems concerning the postal system. It's not your fault that the package was delayed and usually it's not our fault either. Please be patient, we'll work it out. You will receive your package. We assume full responsibility for the delivery of all lessons. However, we're at the mercy of the postal system. The Post Office won't even allow us to file an insurance claim until one month after the package was mailed.

Customer Service Issues - Problems, Solutions, Packing Errors, Defective Products

Lost or missing tablature

There is a message at the beginning of most of our DVDs that explains the tablature can be found on the DVD. Choose to explore the disk instead of to play the disk and click-on the file labeled tab.htm. It will explain how to print a copy of the tab.

If the tab is missing from a recently purchased lesson please send us an e-mail or call our customer service number: (800) 243-338. Tell us the first and last name of the person that ordered the lesson, the zip code or postal code and what was missing from the package. We'll send it to you immediately at no charge.

If you misplaced or lost the tab send $2 per tab booklet to Metal Method. You can only purchase tab by mail. Please send check or money order to: Metal Method, PO Box 940046, Simi Valley, CA 93094.

We don't accept credit card payment for booklets unless you place an order for other merchandise. If you would like us to include tab with your order, send an e-mail message explaining what tab booklets you're missing. We'll charge your credit card an additional $2 per booklet ordered.

I need to download a copy of the TablEdit program.

We no longer sell the registered version of TablEdit and have been in the process of removing TablEdit files from our programs since early 2007. You can still download the demonstration version to play along with the animated tab. The demo version doesn't print tab and you can't save edited files. Still, it's perfect for working with our lesson exercises: http://www.metalmethod.com/guitar-tab-player.htm

I'm unable to place an order online because your online store is having a problem with my credit card.

This is probably our most frustrating customer service problem. This happens at least once a week. In every case there is a problem with the customer's card or the manner in which they're placing the order. The problems range from incorrect expiration date to a misspelling in the credit card billing address or insufficient funds with an ATM card. There also is a chance that our processing bank is unable to process cards through the bank that issued your credit card - not all Visas and Master Cards are alike.

If you have encountered this problem please understand one thing - this has nothing to do with Metal Method. The transaction is taking place between your credit card company and our processing bank. Our bank has certain criteria that must be met to process a transaction. They don't share this information with us. If your credit card company is unable to complete the transaction there is absolutely nothing we're able to do about it. We recommend to place your order using PayPal or Google Checkout.

If you're unable to place the order online our operators won't have any more luck placing the order than you have had. The reason for this is, they also place the order online.

Try placing the order again later. If you continue to receive the error message please contact your credit card company. Their phone number is on the back of the credit card. They should be able to solve this problem quickly. If they find that there's not a problem with your card they may inform you that the transaction took place. This isn't true, it indicates that our bank had a problem completing the transaction. Please click here for more information concerning this problem.

Please remember, the bottom line on this one is, we have absolutely nothing to do with this process so please don't be irritated with our lack of assistance in this matter. We really do want your transaction to process correctly for obvious reasons. Your credit card company should be able to help you with this one.

I'm having a problem playing a lesson DVD and believe it to be defective.

If the screen is blank try pressing the menu button on your remote.

Usually, the DVD isn't defective. You're probably experiencing a compatibility issue. Even though your player will play movies without a problem it may not recognize some features from our interactive DVDs.

Some DVD player manufacturers have chosen to only adhere to part of the current DVD specification list. This is adequate to view a movie from beginning to end but not adequate to play, repeat and interact with an extensive menu system. Just because your player can play a movie from beginning to end is quite different than being able to access as many as 200 chapters from one of our DVDs.

Even if your DVD fails on more than one player it still can be a compatibility issue. Is it failing in the same manner? Is it failing exactly in the same place? If not, this is probably a compatibility issue, not a defective DVD. Some people test the DVDs on several incompatible devices such as Play Station, X Box, and Computers with outdated software players.

For our overseas customers - Our DVDs are region free (also called region 0) and recorded using the NTSC standard. Although they're authored in NTSC, they're also compatible with PAL (European) players that have been manufactured in the last three years. If your player doesn't recognize the region, you're experiencing a compatibility issue.

We've shipped several thousand DVDs and so far there have been very few defective DVDs returned. We've had several DVDs returned that didn't play properly on a customer's player, all but a few were free of defects when we tested them.

There have been a few problems reported such as audio out of sync, digital noise, or won't play near the end of the DVD. These problems are rare but do occur. So far, all of these errors have been compatibility issues not a defective DVD. See if this type of error occurs on another player at the exact same place.

If you exerience a problem with more than one of our DVDs chances are almost 100% that you're dealing with a compatibility issue. If most of the DVDs play but you're having a problem with only one it still may be a compatibility issue. The reason for this is, the programs were created using different authoring methods.

First, try the DVD on another home player that is a different make or model. You can even take the DVD into a store that sells players. Please try the DVD on another player before asking for a replacement. Even if you are experiencing a compatibility issue we'll refund your money.

If the problem occurs when playing the DVD on a computer DVD ROM drive you may need to upgrade your player software or download a different player. We recommend to download and install the free, open source player VLC. I find it to be better than Windows Media Player and Quicktime for accurately playing these files. VLC allows you to slow the video down to make learning easy. You can loop exercises to play endlessly. Record and slow down YouTube videos, and much more. Here are some additional instructions for VLC: INSTRUCTIONS

Free VLC media player for Windows:
http://www.videolan.org/vlc/download-windows.html

Free VLC media player for Mac:
http://www.videolan.org/vlc/download-macosx.html

Sony Play Stations and X Boxes are often incompatible with our DVDs. DVD players manufactured before 2000 may be incompatible too.

If we're unable to resolve the problem to your satisfaction please return the DVD to us. Include a description of the error and the exact location on the DVD where it occured. Even if it's not defective, we'll gladly refund your money or exchange the DVD for another product of your choice.

I'm unable to access the DVD on-disk files

If you've experienced a technical problem with any of the on-disk files, chances are, you're using Microsoft's Internet Explorer. So many hackers target Internet Explorer that certain security updates have been designed to disable Web page interactive functions. To solve this problem, download the free browser "Firefox" at firefox.com. It's more secure than Internet Explorer and doesn't disable Web page interactive functions.

I just received my order and there's a problem.

Please contact customer service by e-mail or phone and explain the exact nature of the problem and we'll correct it immediately. If it was a packing error or some other mistake that is obviously our fault we'll correct it free of charge. If you ordered the wrong lesson just return the package and we'll exchange it for you at no cost.

What if I'm unhappy with a lesson?

We offer a 100% money back guarantee on all DVDs. Sorry, we don't accept returns on software downloads because you can't return a download. Read all about it here: Our Guarantee

My credit card appears to have been charged many times

When you attempt to place an order and it fails, temporary charges are applied to your card. They will disappear in a few days; the number of days depends on your bank's policy.

Online credit card processing is a two-step operation. First, your credit card company is notified to make funds available for the transaction. These funds are "on hold" until the transaction is completed. If there is a problem with the transaction the funds are still available and appear to be a charge to your credit card. Each time you attempt a transaction the charge appears to have been made to your credit card.

Secondly, your order is processed and these "on hold" funds are transferred to our account. The funds are only transferred when an error free order takes place.

If this error free order doesn't take place, the "on hold" funds will revert to your account within two or three days. You'll never see this transaction on the monthly billing statement. Your credit card company can explain all of this to you.

How to Contact Us

You can find all contact information here: Contact Us

When you contact us through a voice or e-mail message please tell us enough information to help us resolve the problem. Give us the first and last name of the person that placed the order. Leave us the order number if possible. Be sure to include an e-mail address if you have one and a phone number. Clearly state what you need from us. That way, if we reach an answering machine we can probably help you find a solution to the problem without playing "phone tag."

Within the United States you can use our toll-free number: (800) 243-3388. Outside the U.S. please send and e-mail message that includes your phone number and the best time to contact you. We normally return calls within 24 hours Monday through Friday. We're a small company and occasionally get "caught up" working on other projects. Even so, we should return your call within 48 hours. If you're in a hurry please send an e-mail message.

Your customer service department hasn't responded to my phone message.

We respond to messages from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Monday, Wednesday, and Friday Pacific Standard Time.

Are we able to leave a voice message if you're unavailable? If not, chances are that we've tried to get in touch with you.

Did you clearly pronounce your first and last name and include a phone number? Sometimes we can't understand a customer's name, or they forget to leave their phone number, or they say the phone number so fast that we can't understand what they're saying.

For fastest response send an e-mail message because we often respond to e-mail messages several times a day.

It's also possible that we left a message with someone that didn't relay the message to you.

When you leave a message please tell us what the call is concerning. We're often able to answer the question on your voice mail system.

No one is responding to my e-mail messages.

We normally respond to every e-mail message we receive within 48 hours, Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. If we haven't responded to your message within that period one of two things probably happened:

1. We didn't receive your message. The Internet isn't perfect; just because you sent an e-mail message doesn't mean we received it.

2. We received your message but you didn't receive our response. You probably have a SPAM filter in place to filter unwanted messages. Your SPAM filter deleted our message before you received it.

About the Lessons

Do the lessons really work?

If the lessons didn't work we would've been out of business years ago. The best place to learn about the effectiveness of our lessons is on the Metal Method Message Exchange. You can post your question there and many students will respond: Message Exchange

Can I use an acoustic guitar?

An acoustic guitar works fine to get you started but the course is more fun with an electric. Although most of the course can be learned on an acoustic guitar some sounds can only be produced by an electric guitar.

I'm left handed. Will I be able to learn from the course?

You shouldn't have any problem following the material. When you're watching the playing examples it will be as if you're looking in a mirror.

At which course level should I begin?

Please read the individual lesson descriptions carefully. You should be able to easily decide on the right Stage for you. When you're choosing between two Stages, choose the more advanced of the two. You can always go back and get the previous Stage at a later date.

If you're an intermediate or advanced player the first few lessons will be too basic for you. The Complete Guitar Lessons is designed to be studied in its entirety, but you may not find enough new informaition in the beginner Stages to make the purchase worthwhile. Still, when you purchase the entire package you're actually getting one and a third DVDs for free.

Many advanced players start on the advanced levels then decide to purchase the rest of the lessons including Stage 1 and 2. They're often satisfied with this decision because we try to include something in each lesson that will appeal to all levels of playing ability.

Am I too old to learn?

No. Please check out our bulletin board. This is a great subject to discuss with other students similar to yourself. You'll also find that it's a subject that has been covered many times. Check out previous conversations on the board.

Will the course work for beginners?

You don't need any previous experience. The lessons start with the basics and will take you where you want to go. There's no need for private instructions but you will find the course helpful if you are studying with an instructor.

Is this only for metal guitarists?

The Complete Guitar Lessons is perfect for all forms of rock guitar. The company was founded in the early 80's. What was considered metal back then is classic rock today.

How do I receive a TablEdit file to play along with animated tab at any speed?

TablEdit files are available free of charge to everyone that purchased the lesson from us. Send an e-mail message to us and include the name of the person that ordered the lesson, the zip code that we shipped it to and the name of the lesson that you purchased. We now only have files for Classic Guitar Licks and SRV Style.

Is Tab available for the introduction to Speed Kills or Prog (the song Michael plays at the beginning of Speed Kills Revisited)?

The introduction to Speed Kills is a song called No Boundaries, it is taught in Speed Lives, tab is included with the lesson. Tab for the song Prog isn't currently available.

Unable to Find the Answer Here

Other Questions

If your question is of general interest (other guitarists might be interested in this topic) please sign on to our bulletin board - Metal Method Forum - and select the "Search" function. Thousands of questions have been answered and discussed in depth here.

Join our Metal Method Forum. It doesn't cost anything. There's probably no place better to discuss your questions than right there. For example, you wonder if a particular lesson is right for you. What better way to receive an answer than from someone else that is currently studying that lesson?

If your question is not of general interest, for example, a problem with your order, send us your question via e-mail. The e-mail address is listed on the contact page of this web site. If this particular problem is very specific to your situation we'll do our best to help you. If your question is of general interest you'll be directed to post it on the Message Exchange. Questions of general interest are answered there to help other students in the same situation and to open the topic up for discussion between teachers and students.