JamPlay VS Justinguitar: Side-by-Side Comparison

JamPlay and Justinguitar have a lot in common in terms of their educational structure. They both use videos and courses to teach guitar through an instructor. In the case of Justinguitar it's one teacher - Justin Sandercoe - while JamPlay uses over 30 and are publishing new courses on a fairly regular basis, often with brand new instructors.

The question this article is meant to answer is simply this: Which one is more ideal for me?

To get an answer, we'll compare the two programs in side-by-side tables in the following categories:

• Skill level, depth, and challenge
• Structure, design, and user experience
• Video player quality
• Supplemental content
• Song lessons section

We'll use a simple grading system going through these five categories to give you a feel for both JamPlay and Justinguitar. You'll be able to easily see weaknesses, strengths, and similarities between the two programs. If you want to look at other options, you can checkout Guitar Chalk's online guitar lesson recommendations.

In terms of pure musical variety and diversity, JamPlay scores a little better than Justinguitar. This is primarily because Justinguitar is limited to one instructor - Justin Sandercoe - while JamPlay is routinely recruiting new teachers and perspectives to create courses for their program.

While both websites do a good job organizing their courses, we actually find Justinguitar's courses and video ordering to be a little easier to follow. JamPlay will have multiple courses for one topic, so there can be a little bit of confusion figuring out where to go next.

Video Player Quality and Features

Since Justinguitar uses YouTube as its video host, it's a little more limited than JamPlay's video player (we're not sure what backend they're using). JamPlay has more videos shot in HD and has the section looping feature. Their videos also tend to look better when blow up to full screen.

Supplemental Material

Supplemental material includes anything provided outside of the video. This includes text content, printable documents, diagrams, and similar add-ons. JamPlay is particularly good in this area, as they almost always provide a ton of supplemental content with their videos. They'll even include downloadable Guitar Pro files, which are really handy.

While Sandercoe does offer a modest amount of supplemental content, it's not enough to compete with JamPlay, though most programs don't do as well as JamPlay in this category.

Song Lessons Section

On multiple occasions now, JamPlay has said that their song lesson section is no longer a priority, based on feedback from their members. I'd suspect it's more an issue of them getting out-gunned by other competitors, including Justinguitar. And while Sandercoe hasn't published as many song lessons as JamPlay, he's close. And what's more, it's clearly a priority for him, and a part of his site that he cares about. If song lessons are something you want to focus on, Justinguitar is a better place to start.

Concluding our JamPlay VS Justinguitar Comparison

It's hard to find much negative to say about either Justinguitar or JamPlay. Both have done a great job with production, organization, and presentation of their video content. While talking about strengths, it's important to emphasize that we think both can work in almost any situation, regardless of skill level or musical genre of interest.

But, if we must give a short assessment of both, here's how they'd break down:

• Justinguitar: Better for song lessons and beginner content
• JamPlay: Better for intermediate material and specialized study

Questions about the Programs

Do you have questions about Justinguitar, JamPlay, or our review and comparison process? If so, leave them in the comments section below and we'll help out as best we can. See you there.