I started playing guitar when I was 12. I wasn't really even into music at the time, but my friend told me he was taking guitar lessons and I didn't want to be outdone by him. I got my dad to teach me a few chords (G, C, and D), which I spent a few weeks getting down pretty solidly. For Christmas that year I got some beginner-level instructional book, which taught simple melodies and a few additional chords. By summer, I'd learned it all the way through and got another book. When school started again, I decided to take lessons with the same teacher my friend was learning from. I ended up taking 4 years of lessons with her, and I got pretty darn good. I decided not to take lessons this past year, simply because I wanted to get into rock music more, and my teacher was more of a classical/jazz-trained person. I thought I could do alright learning on my own, seeing as my first year of playing was self-taught.

However, I was wrong. I am progressively sucking more and more. It'd be alright if I had some sort of rigid practice schedule to follow, but I do not.

Everyone who is a high-bandwidth subscriber seems to think it helps them a lot, so if you're all about improvement, I suggest high-bandwidth. Whatever you do, don't just sit around the forums all day like me.

GT forum = less time spent practicing = BAD.
GT lessons = instant virtuoso = GOOD.