You can always go to the Customer Service Cosmos Forum and post a question there.

Or, you can email the Webmaster@andreasguitaruniverse.com

Or, you can call ArtistWorks at 1-800-326-5596.

You can easily search the forums. When you are in the forums, a "Find Content" search option appears in the right navigation bar. Enter your search term into this "Find Content", then click "Search". Any forum thread or message with in the forums your search term will be found, and you can go straight there by clicking on the result.

As you will see in the Terms of Service, membership to the Andreas Guitar Universe is a 3 month RECURRING subscription. That means on the 90th day your membership will AUTOMATICALLY RENEW for $60. You will see a charge from Andreas Guitar Universe on your credit card statement.

If you want to change your membership or cancel it, just go to your Student Page and click on EDIT and then Account Settings.

You can find students two ways. Just click on their name in the Who's Online box OR just do a search in the Find Student Search box on the right nav panel.

Click on your name in the Who's Online box and get to your Student Page. You can click on the tab that says "EDIT" then click on Privacy Settings. You can make yourself Visible or Invisible on Instant Messenger as well as Who's Online.

Go to My AGU on the right nav panel and click on My Student Page. You'll see a tab called "Billing Information" at the top of the window that you can click on to change your settings. The Edit tab allows you to change your password and Personal information you're sharing on your Student Page.

When you sign on you'll see the status of your video submission in the right navigation panel under My AGU.

When Andreas has responded to your video, the status will change under My AGU and you'll see your Master Class appear under the appropriate category on the left nav panel.

Who's online is everyone that is signed on and opted to be visible to other members of the site. The people listed on chat are members that have opened chat and want to be visible to other users.

Your membership is a 3 month subscription that will automatically renew in 90 days from the day you join. If you want to look at your account, go to your Student Page and look under Subscriptions for more information.

Our system allows 50 MB files to be uploaded for submission to Andreas and for your StudentPage.
You'll find more information on specifics under the Uploading Student Video FAQ.

webmaster@andreasguitaruniverse.com

You can always contact the webmaster@andreasguitaruniverse.com. It is monitored regularly and we answer as quickly as we can. Also, leave a note in the Shout Box or post something in the Forum.

Our mailing address is:
ArtistWorks, Inc
1297 Leaning Oak Drive
Napa, CA 94558
1-800-326-5596

Although AGU reserves the right to raise the enrollment fee, we feel the current price of $60 for 3 months is reasonable and a great value. We do not expect to raise the price in the near future, but would make an announcement with adequate notice before it changes. You can cancel your account at any time by going to your Student Page, we don't make it difficult. We want happy guitarists and customers.

The AGU allows you to get direct feedback from Andreas and the Guitar Universe. You'll first need to upload a video so we can see what you are doing. You can use any camera or webcam, as long as you can eventually get the video into one of the formats we "understand." For now, we are allowing .mov (for Mac computer users), or .wmv (for Windows computer users). Since it ultimately gets converted to Adobe Flash anyway, you can go ahead and convert it yourself and send it as a .flv file if you like. There is more information at the Submit Videos page. Click on the SUBMIT VIDEOS button in the top left tab of the Menu bar.

The video will go into AGU's "queue" (a holding area). Andreas will review your video and post a video or written response in the FEEDBACK CENTER department under Master Classes on the Left Nav Panel. Your video, paired with Andreas' response, will appear within the category you chose when you submitted your video (i.e. Guitar Basics, Jazz Basics, Jazz Advanced, Gypsy Guitar or Tunes)

First, be sure the file size is no bigger than 50 MB
Then be sure the file is either appended with ".mov" or ".wmv". Also be sure your file name does not have any spaces in it.
Any more problems? email info@andreasguitaruniverse.com
We'll help you as quickly as possible.

Your video submission should not be much longer than 2 minutes. The content should be based on the material that Andreas has covered in the Video Lessons and indicative of the level you want him to review and respond with Feedback. TUNES are naturally a bit longer, but please avoid extended solos for critique. Andreas wants to review every video submitted to him, so keeping your submission to about 2 minutes gives everyone the chance to hear from him.

However, if you would like to "Showcase" a longer video or solo/improv, post it on your Student Page for everyone to comment on and enjoy!

Your video upload should not take more than a minute or two if you have kept it to 50MB and it is around 2 or 3 minutes in length. If you feel like your upload has stalled, it might be wise to simply stop the Upload and try again. The easiest way to do this is to simply click on your browser's "reload" button. That will clear the upload form and allow you to try again. You should verify that your file is OK, it shouldn't be longer than around 50 MB. Also, make sure the file type is .mov, .wmv, or .flv which are our supported file types. Finally, be sure you haven't put any spaces or special characters in the file name. If you continue to have problems, we monitor the webmaster email regularly. Please email us at webmaster@andreasguitaruniverse.com

How to create a .mov video using iMovie 9 (the latest version).

1. In iMove, choose the "Share" menu
2. Choose "Export using QuickTime ..."
3. Name your file (please don't use spaces or special characters)
4. At the bottom, there are two "pop-up" menus.
Export: Choose "Movie to Quicktime Movie"
Use: Choose "Broadband- Medium"

5. Click "Save"

Now here's more information than you need, so ignore the rest if you like. If you use the above approach, this is the set of settings you'll have:

Video
Compressor: H.264
Quality: High
Frame rate 15
Key frame rate: 75
Bitrate: 220 Kbit/sec
Frame reordering: yes
Encoding mode: multi-pass
Dimensions 320 x 240

Audio
Format: AAC
Sample Rate 32,000 kHz
(recommended)
Channels: Stereo (L,R)
Bit rate 80 kbps

This gives you a sense of a nice set of settings for AGU videos.

Here's some quick guidance that should make it easier for you to upload videos.

This feature is for you to share your creativity and talent with fellow guitarists at the AGU. Entertain us!
Maximum size to submit is 50MB and the name of your file can NOT contain any spaces.
IF your video is less than 10 seconds long the icon below the player will not display properly
The "Frame grab" that is on the player initially is taken from the 10th second into the video. So if you want to control what goes there, place a nice image at the 10 second spot
If you use a Mac, create an .mov file (you can use iMovie).
If you use a Windows computer, create an .wmv (you can use Windows Movie Maker).
You can also send an .flv file (Adobe Flash video).
Make sure you have good light when you make your video.
If you have a movie or video in a different format, you will need to convert it to either .mov or .wmv before you upload it. Watch this space for more information about this.
We are working on expanding the kinds of videos we will accept.
Once you upload your video, you and the other AGU students can watch it on your "My Student Page".
Be mindful of the AGU Terms of Service. Do not upload copyrighted material and no profanity or vulgarity etc.
Keep AGU a friendly place! Please do not upload anything offensive to the AGU community. Use your common sense please!
AGU reserves the right to remove any videos it deems inappropriate.

More questions? info@andreasguitaruniverse.com

Right now we only support "flv", "mov" and "wmv" files..m4v is coming!

In the meantime, you can only use these file formats. IF you are using one of them and you're still getting the bad file name error, be sure you do not have any spaces in the file name. Go back and check -- many Mac users are accustomed to being able to put spaces in their file names. Eliminate any characters other than letters, just to be safe. If you continue to have problems, please email the webmaster, we monitor that email regularly.
webmaster@andreasguitaruniverse.com

First click on your name in the Who's Online box. Click User Info on the top tab. Then you will see 3 underlined options, Account Settings, Personal Information and Privacy Settings. Click each one and they will open up a template that will allow you to change your information.

Click UPLOAD VIDEOS to share fun sessions or just hanging out. AGU encourages discretion with these videos and reminds you that students of all ages are here.

Click MANAGE MY PICTURES to add, remove or edit photos to your Student Page. To ADD a photo, click the Manage Photos link and Choose a file, then click UPLOAD. The photo will show up on your Image Gallery where you can then give it a title or delete it. **Be sure to click the SUBMIT button at the bottom so that photos show up on your page.

More questions? write to webmaster@andreasguitaruniverse.com. We're here to help!

After you have listened to a Track, you can see it on your computer screen, just click "Download." The file will go wherever your normal Internet browser downloads go. If you have a "helper" application specified for MP3 files (such as iTunes), iTunes will be automatically launched and with your new file ready to play

Go to "My Student Page", then click the "User Info" tab, then click the "Privacy Settings" tab. You can remove them from the Chat Blocked Users List, and you will then be able to receive chat invitations from them again.

Just click on the "Chat" item found on the top navigation bar, located to the right of "Tours".

We have designed our chat system to work on as many different kinds of browsers as possible. The browser you are using may have strict rules about "Pop up" windows, and it may misperceive the incoming Chat window as an unsolicited "Popup" window. On some browsers, you may see a little notice that says something like "AGU Chat has sent a Popup window. Do you want to accept it?" If so, say yes.

After you accept a Chat invitation, a little notification is placed telling you that "Chat is starting". It also says "if the Chat window doesn't appear click here." Do so.

You can also simply click "Chat" on the top navigation bar (to the right of "Tours"). This will bring the chat window to the top. Bear in mind that the person inviting you to Chat may have changed their mind or logged off, in which case the chat will not begin because the invitee is no longer there.

If the large AGU window is blocking the little Chat window, sometimes it is hard to find the Chat window. You can always click on the "Chat" item on the top navigation bar.

Also known as "Instant Messaging", chat is a feature that allows students to communicate with each other in real time. A special window called "Chat" is opened, and in it you can type text messages to members of the AGU community.

You can "opt out" of chat simply by changing your privacy settings. But Andreas strongly encourages you not to do that. Why? Because he has found that being part of this supportive guitar community can greatly accelerate your guitar playing progress. And every person at the AGU wants to learn to play guitar better. The whole community is friendly and respectful, and you should not need to worry about anonymous bad Internet behavior here. You can make new online friends from all over the world. You are safe here, and interaction is key. That said, if you still prefer not to participate in chat, go to your "My Student Page", then go to the "User Info" tab, then the "Privacy Settings" tab. Once there, you can manage your "visibility".

Once you have chatted with a fellow AGU student, they "stick" to your Buddy List. Anytime you and your Buddy List friend have your Chat windows open, you bypass the invitation exchange and can simply start typing. In other words, your Chat Buddy List is an "open channel" to all of those on your Buddy List. (Simply remove the person from your Buddy List if you prefer to reinstate the "invitation" for that person.)

You can select your individual buddies by clicking on their "tab" on your Buddy List.

Yes, you can have several chat conversations going at once. Each of your "Buddy List" friends are on an individual "tab". You will see "ready to chat" on the tab of any of your buddies that is online and who has their Chat window open. Click on their "tab" and start typing. If you are chatting with one person, and a another of your buddies sends you some chat text, you will see an indication on their "tab."

There is a little 'x' to the right of the names in your Buddy List. If you want to remove someone, simply click on the 'x'. They will be instantly removed. You can remove anyone at any time. You can add them back simply by chatting with them again (using the "Who's Online" list).

Just invite them to a Chat! Once you have chatted with them, they are automatically added to your Buddy List.

The Buddy List is your list of AGU friends, and it is found on the left side of the Chat window. You can always see your Chat window by clicking on "Chat" on the top navigation bar (to the right of "Tours"). Your Buddy List makes it easy to keep track of your friends at the AGU. Any person with whom you have chatted "sticks" to your Buddy List until you 'x' them away. Over time, you will build a list of your favorite AGU friends, and you will know instantly which of them are online by looking at your Buddy List. When the "Who's Online" list gets long, it may be hard to find your friends on Who's Online list.

On the right navigation column (labeled "AGU community"), there is a list of "Who's Online." Any person who is available for chat will have a little yellow chat icon beside their name. You can click on the chat icon beside the user name of the person with who you wish to chat. When you do, an invitation is issued to that person. Let's say you are "Bob" and you see that PatriciaB is online, and you are interested in chatting with her. When you issue an invitation, "PatriciaB gets this message:

Incoming Chat Invitation
Bob would like to chat.

Accept the chat invitation
Decline the chat invitation
Decline and block all invitations from

Simply click on "Accept" to accept the chat invitation. The "Chat" window should come forward.

It is automatic. When you login to the AGU, you are automatically able to use the chat system. You can see other AGU students in the "Who's Online" list (on the right navigation column). The little yellow chat "icon" tells you that they are available to chat.

HOW TO CONTACT ANOTHER STUDENT OR TEACHER?
You can send email to anyone in this community by going to his/her personal pages. When you sign into your account, you will see "Who's Online" on your right side bar. By clicking on any one of those students (who is also online at the same time you are online) in the Who's Online window, you can visit his/her personal pages. Once you are in another student's personal pages, you can click on "Contact" tab to initiate an email with personal message to that student.

WHEN TO CONTACT ANOTHER USER?
Before sending a personal message to anyone, you may want to take a moment to assess the quality of that message, give enough consideration to the privacy of the recipient of that message and evaluate whether this message is appropriate for the forum setup or personal message exchanges. As this community operates on a "honor" system, the ambient quality of this community is upheld by every individual in this community, that means everyone of us.

WHAT DOES HAPPEN WHEN YOU SEND PERSONAL MESSAGE?
When you send a personal message, you message is delivered to the email address registered by the recipient. Every student in this site has registered an email address at the time of signing in. If it is a valid email address, your email message will reach the intended student. The target recipient can read your message as a part of an email body, but he/she can't reply to that email. He/she has to sign in to this site to contact you through your personal pages as the way you did in the first place.