My $0.02:
For background, I only started really working on the guitar late last year, although I have been strumming around on one for years. Since the beginning of the year, I have learned "Deep Ellum" and "Down and Out" from Volume 2, and am currently working on "I Believe" from Volume 1.
For me, I like the count through of each lick with the visible tab that you get with volume 2. Makes learning and memorizing the licks a lot easier.
Also, the licks (examples) are all split into their own separate videos, which makes looping them while learning a lick easier.
Also, I think Griff has polished his presentation a bit for volume 2. One of the things that I love about Griff's teaching is that he always explains where the notes "come from" (combining boxes, major vs minor, chord tones, etc.) and why they work in a given lick. The theory guy in me really appreciates that. It seems to me that in Volume 2, he does a better job of explaining where the lick comes from at the start of the lick, then teaching the lick. In Volume 1, or at least in "I Believe", there are a couple of times where he seems a little more ADHD in his approach. He gives you the first 3 notes of the lick, explains that the 3rd note comes from combining the major and minor sounds out of box 1 and 2, plays a flurry of 30 notes showing how the combined boxes can sound, and now here is your 4th note in your lick. My ADHD brain keeps trying to chase the rabbit of playing his flurry and then I lose track of where I was in the lick.
For me, I have found that for Volume 1, I have to watch the video several times for a lick, then go to the tab and really learn the notes, then go back to the video to polish it. I didn't find that as necessary with Volume 2 because of the tab being visible on the count-through. (Of course, the songs I have done from Volume 2 are also MUCH easier than "I Believe", so that could also have something to do with it!
)
That being said, I think I will like playing the songs from Volume 1 more because, as Griff said, they are more traditional. I enjoy listening to that "Blues Mambo" sound, but at this point, I'm not sure that's a style I'm ready to reach for.
If you're trying to decide between them, just go ahead and get both. You won't regret it! And you know you're going to eventually anyway...
