I've been self-teaching guitar for a little over a month now. I have a Peavy Mantis that I got for my 17th birthday (I'm 37 now) that I never learned to play properly and has been sitting in its case for over 15 years. I know, I know.... Anyway, I've become re-motivated to learn and have been hitting it pretty hard for the past month or so.

My original intent was to get guitar instruction software - I choose Jamorama which isn't bad, I think - and do this for a few months to see if I stick with it. At this point I'm certain I'll stick with it, so I'm contemplating lessons. The problem is, lessons will cost me about $100 per month and I just can't afford it. I suppose I could afford it, but it would be a stretch. So, I thought I would continue with Jamorama, go through the absolute beginner's guide here, and some of the beginner songs over at GuitarNoise.com.

Now the question - am I going to be doing myself a disservice by self-instruction? Is this a reasonable plan? Are black guitars really louder?

-Kirk