Leaving Tac

[DeniseMW]

I hear you though I haven’t logged in for a long time and quit watching AT when it became just Tony and it felt more like a sales pitch. Then he quit supporting the jam clubs which was a huge source of inspiration for me and really broke my heart, especially since he talked a lot about how guitar is a community. The song vault also disappeared and that was another of my favorite features.

I plan to keep my membership another year but the site has lost much of what gave me energy.

[Cadgirl]

Just in case you didn’t know, the Song Vault is still available. http://tacsongs.com/

I agree the song vault was just a nice practice area to work with playing an actual song.

[Turtlefeet]

@cadgirl clicking on that I get a “cannot open page” error (https://app.searchie.io/hub/254V7grV3m/). Do you know of a different or newer web address?

Update: third times the charm…..got it to load! Thanks for posting 😎

[Guitar_Granny]

Thanks for the post for the songs, didn’t know we had that. I bookmarked them so I have those for the future and use them now.

[Marty73]

Have a great acoustic life @Ron-N I am here for life. 😊🧙‍♂️😎

[old_salt]

Even though I just started in December, I did wonder where the songs to learn were. Now I know, I have to go elsewhere. I’m sure the techniques to learn here at TAC will help me but I’m disappointed that I can’t use those techniques with songs picked out to use them with. Maybe that will change.

[jumpinjeff]

You have accurately observed that TAC method is not a song learning platform. I find its value to be in learning how to play guitar, which is different than learning how to play a song. TAC is the Gym, not the Game Field. Without it I would not be able to play the songs that I decide to learn.

Fun seeing you the other day @Ron-N on Michael Watts show! Be well and play constantly with effortless reckless abandon!

[Marty73]

In simple terms, TAC is like “The Karate Kid”… wax on, wax off. 😊🧙‍♂️😎

[OhWowMan]

I’ve only been here since Oct 2021, and I thought about quitting after one year. My auto-renew kicked in before I realized it, and I figured what-the-heck I would give TAC another year. I’ve achieved 409 playing sessions so far, and I play almost every day, with some exceptions. My longest streak is 153 days, but then I went camping in Alaska where cell service is limited and I couldn’t log in…and there went my participation streak!

Frankly, I joined TAC because Tony is a sales and marketing guru, and I fell for his pitch. His TAC informercial was very compelling and motivating. Then after awhile, the inspiration and excitement faded and reality emerged. Is this where I want to be?

Everyone has different expectations, hopes and desires. There’s a lot I like about TAC. I won’t list everything I love about TAC, and I won’t list everything I dislike. Right now the scale is evenly balanced. I’m gonna continue to move forward, keep learning and playing, and see how I feel at my next renewal date. Best wishes to you @Ron-N and I hope you enjoy your guitar journey!

[F350Dually]

OhWowMan, that is exactly where I am in the TAC journey. I too will see how I feel about, or use this membership in March 2024, when my renewal is due.

I’ll never stop learning and playing guitar, it’s a great way to escape reality, even for just a moment. 🎸 BN&PG!

[OhWowMan]

@F350Dually I am coming up on my renewal again in October. I’ve been thinking it over, and I’m still undecided… Should I renew or not? Hmm. There are things I like about TAC, but other aspects not so much.

Unfortunately, I bought the Fretboard Wizard option when I initially signed up, but I haven’t taken the course yet. I do not think that was money well spent. I am under the impression I will not be able to access that course, if I do t renew.

[Loraine]

@OhWowMan You own FBW for life. Even if your membership expires, you’ll still have access to the course.

[OhWowMan]

@Loraine I am not sure that is the case. I expect to learn an active membership is required, to retain entry into that course. I will reach out to Customer Service for confirmation. Because I would very much like to retain Fretboard Wizard and take the course I pre-paid for when I feel I’m ready.

[OhWowMan]

@Loraine You are correct. I was unsure. Thank you! I asked and I did get a prompt reply from Customer Support: “You own FW for life, so even after you end your TAC Membership, you just log in the same way to continue accessing the Fretboard Wizard course.”

🙂

[Loraine]

😄 Good stuff!

[Kitman]

All the best to you @Ron-N amd keep on playing!

[Guitargeezer-Jack]

@Ron-N – seems you got a lot out of TAC. Wish you well with your future guitar journeys. I, for one, was told early on about the TAC life membership (thanks, Mike G.) so my investment ends up being very small over time. TAC even credited my first-year membership payment to offset the lifetime membership! A bargain for anyone thinking about extending their membership PRIOR to auto-renewal.

[Cadgirl]

You talked with Tommy Emanuel!! That is awesome!

Yeah…. I really do miss that ‘free guitar’ thing. That was fun. The TAC program has changed, it doesn’t have the same feel as it did when I started, but…. It progressed and it is better. I think it still has a lot to offer. You have to remember, this is a business. To me the forum is the glue that keeps it together. I still will see a post that is a light bulb moment for me. Just keep in mind, If you start to stray away from picking up that guitar everyday, come back and join us.

[David_Leo]

I echo your sentiments. After 4 years I am ready to end my membership. I too miss the old forums and especially Levi. Good luck on your continued journey. To quote Pete Seeger, “I wish you instruments that stay in tune and people likewise.”

[GerryB56]

Wishing you all the best on your guitar journey. You do raise some points that hit home for me. I’m coming up in a few months on my first anniversary of joining TAC and am very conflicted right now about whether to renew.

TAC has been phenomenal for helping me develop that daily desire to pick up a guitar and make more progress in my learning. The community is very supportive and inspiring. But lately I feel myself being pulled in different directions. There are so many areas of guitar playing that are not really covered here, and I want to explore most of them😆

I took the plunge to invest in Fretboard Wizard and certainly don’t regret that, although I do resent a little that I will lose it when/if I leave. But I think I got enough for my money that I can continue learning all that fascinating theory elsewhere.

I too have discovered so many amazing teachers on YouTube and in other guitar learning programs, enough to keep me busy in this lifetime for sure!

Thanks for offering us your perspective on your TAC experience.

[Loraine]

@GerryB56 You own Fretboard Wizard. If you leave TAC, you can still access Fretboard Wizard- just not the daily challenges and skills courses.

[Cadgirl]

Really? We can still log onto http://www.tonypolecastro.com but only go to the Fretboard Wizard? That is awesome news.

Tony’s Acoustic Challenge – The New Way to Learn Guitar

[Loraine]

😆👍

[jumpinjeff]

Just remember to do the difficult moves you have to be in shape. There is a good volume of instruction out there on how to play songs but there is very little out there on how to get into the shape you need in order to execute the choreography necessary to play what you want to play. TAC is the only place I have found (and I have looked extensively) where that is the focus.

[Fletch]

Hey Ron, take care of yourself…

CU @ https://justmusicgeeks.com maybe…

Be Cool Old Bean… 😎

[Loraine]

@Ron-N Its been a pleasure knowing you. I wish you nothing but the best.

[HowardM]

Ron-N, enjoy your guitar journey, and godspeed to you.

[N-lightMike]

Way back in January Ron said this:

“What I wont miss is the sale pitch that everything leads back to TAC membership. I completely disliked the lack of respect for TAC members that expressed their opinions over the changes. That is some thing I can’t get over completely. Some of you made the transition and are very helpful to new members. I thank all of you for your comments.”

I enjoyed the rest of his post. I can’t respond to him because he is long gone from TAC. And I don’t know who else will read this post or see my comment. I thought about just letting this lie, but I can’t because I was there when allegedly “the lack of respect for TAC members that expressed their opinions over the changes” took place.

I’m sorry, but it was the other way around. I don’t care what you think about the changes, it’s not up to you to decide. You bought a service and you received a very fair return for your money. And that’s why the “complainers” were the ones showing disrespect.

Now, that should be the end of the argument. But since I was there and I know something about business, I can share more details. Tony and Levi started this “business” as a career move to support their families till retirement. Now, they needed to make changes to ensure both the amount of income and the longevity of the income. Now, that having been said, can you find fault with that?

“Yes”, you say, “they took away my forum and the annual Acoustic Life Festival. And the new website doesn’t work very well”.

Ok, so again, it wasn’t “your” forum. So because Tony had helped them so much and been so personal as opposed to being “business like” they felt a great sense of lose. Yeah, I get it. I felt the same sense of lose. But to complain about the new direction was the same as saying “You were wrong to be so successful and help us so much… oh, ok, that wasn’t wrong… wait, it’s because you were so personal and made us feel like you really cared…”.

Oh, so Tony didn’t care? Tony didn’t give you something you couldn’t find anywhere else? Tony didn’t give you an Acoustic Life that you would never have had without TAC? Tony didn’t set you on a guitar journey that could be self-sustaining for the rest of your life?

So, here’s the true story. These complainers were being so selfish that instead of seeing all Tony and Levi had given them and being willing to wish them well in this new direction, all they could see was what they were losing. That’s bad, but it’s not the worst. They actually spoke up about their unfounded complaints and poisoned the minds of others with their wrongful negativity. And they did so determinedly because I was right there trying to set their thinking straight right from the beginning.

Now who showed “lack of respect”? It was respectful to allow them to air their grievances on the part of TAC. Remember, TAC had the “power” to shut them down and stop all those bitter comments. They were actually breaking TAC’s policies, which they as mentors were supposed to defend. Shame on them.

But when the voice of reason, not just mine either, was shared with them, did they show respect and admit that TAC had given them more than they could ever have expected when the signed up? Because they had already said as much before they heard about the changes. So it wasn’t speculation to say they did see what they had received. But now they wouldn’t acknowledge that fact. And secondly, when it was mentioned TAC was their business that was supposed to take care of 2 families for the next several decades, did they acknowledge that Tony and Levi had every right to make these decisions and they had NO right to weigh in on the right or wrong of the decisions? NO!!!

I am so tempted to drop names. But I won’t. Everyone who was there knows who were the bad actors. And I don’t feel they need or deserve any other consequences than those they have already faced. What consequences? TAC was hands down the best guitar learning site on the internet… and now it has improved dramatically!!! They missed out on that.

Now that I’m in my 5th year of TAC, I can tell you I am learning more than I ever learned before. The depth of Tony’s lessons is so incredible. You have to get as good as you “think” the lessons will make you before you can start seeing and learning the things that are on a whole nother level.

I’m gonna tag @jumpinjeff , @Loraine , @Guitargeezer-Jack , @Cadgirl , @DeniseMW , @David_Leo , @GerryB56 , @Turtlefeet , and @OhWowMan

And @old_salt , why can’t you use those techniques with songs, any songs you want to use them in. The only thing stopping you is your own self limiting thoughts.

MG 😀

[Loraine]

@N-lightMike I appreciate your thoughts and opinions on this. It is obviously something you feel strongly about. I know you’re a big supporter and cheerleader of TAC. I’m not quite sure what you’re looking for as a response or by tagging me.

There is a lot more to running a business than just the owners positioning themselves for retirement. It involves a lot to keep an active membership, but customer focus and service are a big part of it, as well as the overall content being marketed. I personally don’t see how the change to the new site was a great benefit. The changes could have easily been made to the old site, which was more user friendly, allowing more forum functionality, and much faster than the current site.

Don’t get me wrong. I think TAC is a wonderful place, but I saw the change as having a change to both the TAC members, as well as to TAC itself. I saw disrespect on both sides of the coin. I let my dislike of the new site be known, and I was shut down by TAC, which I thought was totally unwarranted and rude. I chose to push past that though. I think I receive a fair deal for my annual fee, which I actually converted to a lifetime membership. I believe in the process and teaching style of Tony. I’ve seen many sites that basically teach the same things, but I prefer a Tony’s personality and style.

I think that TAC has become better at changing to meet the needs of the customer, but this has been just recently. I know it takes time to build new lessons and produce them, but TAC also needs to learn to communicate better with with us, esoecially if they hear our concerns and are working on changes. Let us know we’re heard. The new lessons are much more focused on communicating to the beginner, are fun, and I appreciate that. And I like that Tony’s now teaching songs. That was always a missing piece.

The lack of a formal mentorship is unfortunate. That is why I tend to respond to so many forum posts is to force a form of mentorship.

Overall, I think the aesthetics, the inability to go to new comments automatically when going into a thread, the lack of mentorship, the inability to expand the forum topics, but especially the ungodly slowness of the current site are a turnoff to many, and not just the old timers but to newer members as well. There have been many comments regarding this last one especially.

[HowardM]

@Ron-N, good luck on your journey. I wish you the best in your guitar travels. “The only thing that is constant is change,” as I get older (not happy with getting older, lol), I have to accept those changes and focus on why I am here. I don’t take too much personally and miss Levi and Noah, but I am thrilled with Tony’s approach with TAC. TAC gets me up in the morning and is my lunchtime break; I am grateful for that. I wish you the best, my friend; please continue your journey and keep a positive attitude about TAC and all of its outstanding members.

[jamstronghorn]

I am just about to bump up against my two year anniversary and I’m thinking it’s time for a break myself. Is there any way to determine exactly when the auto-renew is going to kick in, so I can bail before I’m charged again? I’m trying to finish Fretboard Wizard before I go.

[N-lightMike]

Yes, @jamstronghorn , it’s the day you joined which is listed in your profile. Also, you bought Fret Wiz and it’s yours even after you leave TAC.

MG 😀

[jamstronghorn]

Mine says “Joined October 2021”, but I don’t think it was actually 10/1/21. But does TAC just treat it as such? And how do I go about accessing FW after I terminate my TAC membership?

[Loraine]

@jamstronghorn If you feel the joined date is incorrect, contact Support using the button at the bottom left. They’re pretty responsive to all questions.

To access Fretboard Wizard after you’ve terminated your subscription to TAC, you would simply log on as normal and access dit that way. You just wouldn’t have access to the lessons.