Just came home for lunch and.....

[Johnny Mac]

Fired up my laptop and bought a Boss RC-50 Loop Station and a Tascam Gt-R1 Trainer/Recorder.  :lol:

Can't wait! I'm missing out on too much guitar playing when I'm at my girlfriends (yes another one) but don't want to dump this lady to play my Feline Lion more so I thought I should compromise with a plan. So this would do the trick. I can wire it all in to the surround sound too if she and her little one like it. Party!

http://www.bossus.com/gear/productdetails.php?ProductId=772&ParentId=251

http://www.tascam.com/products/gt-r1.html

With these guitar trainers. I bought the GT 2 CD version one 5 years back and they're great but mp3 is so much easier. For decent overdrive I just put my HBE Power Screamer in front of the input and bypass the poop ones that are built into it. Plus you get a drum machine, multi effects with amp sims' and multi track recording, or maybe two but the looper can give more scope there. Plus I can really make use of this in rehearsals with multi layered guitar and guitar synth' sounds and record our sessions.

The band, my god how hard is it to make bands work!!! The problems are non stop. Especially when you have a stoned drummer who's always skint. He brought (unannounced) a Jamaican keyboard player to our last rehearsal, with his own agenda. Putting together a cruise ship band. Oh ok I'll just drop everything and play cheesy pop for fat yanks and their dolly birds in the Caribbean shall I! We spent 4 hours rehearsing Sir Duke by Stevie Wonder and it was, well good enough for those sort of gigs i suppose. Anyway, come time to pay, our drummer says he's not paying, he is a guest! Plus the drummer was 8 quid short for his share too. So I'm gonna $%&# him off and tell him to go and put your own band together.

[Ian Price]

a cruise ship band.

'Johnny and the Waves' perhaps?

Good stuff on the loop station - I've always wanted to get one I liked, I wasn't keen on the 2880 superlooper. Would be good to have a quick review of it if you get the time!

[38thBeatle]

Ha Johnny I can just imagine the language at the rehearsal- that guy has a bloody cheeck.

Anyways, I have one of those Tascam jobbies and record most of my gigs so that I can pull my playing apart afterward. Plus the practice facilities are great and I have used it for getting song ideas down.So simple to use and the quality of the recordings is superb.

[Johnny Mac]

Ha Johnny I can just imagine the language at the rehearsal- that guy has a bloody cheeck.

Anyways, I have one of those Tascam jobbies and record most of my gigs so that I can pull my playing apart afterward. Plus the practice facilities are great and I have used it for getting song ideas down.So simple to use and the quality of the recordings is superb.

The bass player is going to have a talk with the drummer this week to get him back on track so to speak. We had it all with an Oasis fanboy most of last year too. We wanted to do build up some jams and ideas around early 70's funk sounds but we kept getting pulled away from it all the time. It was 'Ok lets do this now' and 'this' would be his own stuff which was, well shiteee to put it bluntly. But seeing as we were all supposed to be enjoying ourselves, I just put up with it. Then he knocked me for money. So his gone now but was replaced with another liberty taking freeloader! So no more.  :x

Nice to hear your getting a lot out of your Tascam Steve. The spec sounds perfect for us guitarists. I can't believe I never got one before. Do you record with it from a line out of the in house mixer, or just using the built in microphones? There is so much more to it than my old GT 2 Cd trainer. Can't wait to get my hands on it.  :D

[38thBeatle]

Hi Johnny, I just use the built in mics and try to place it somewhere in the venue where it 1) won't get nicked and 2) will pick up the right amount of signal. Getting the recording level is important but I usually ask the band's manager to operate it and I have explained how it all works. You can produce mp3s or wav files. I use Audacity to edit them but that is just one aspect of it- as you say, there is the practice side of it and I use it for song ideas too. Also, when I give lessons, I record the lesson and burn it to disc for my student so that he gets to review whatever we cover. I haven't bothered with a line out but maybe I should give it a go, hold on though, we only have the vocals and  keys going through the mixer so maybe I wont.

[FELINEGUITARS]

I'm missing out on too much guitar playing when I'm at my girlfriends (yes another one) but don't want to dump this lady to play my Feline Lion more so I thought I should compromise with a plan.

I'd forgotten that you'd done that before

Nice quote to see - not that we advocate breaking up relationships you understand!

[gwEm]

Always thought those loop stations look like a great song writing tool. Good luck with it, and the band!

[gwEm]

... and the new missus!!

[Johnny Mac]

Hi Johnny, I just use the built in mics and try to place it somewhere in the venue where it 1) won't get nicked and 2) will pick up the right amount of signal. Getting the recording level is important but I usually ask the band's manager to operate it and I have explained how it all works. You can produce mp3s or wav files. I use Audacity to edit them but that is just one aspect of it- as you say, there is the practice side of it and I use it for song ideas too. Also, when I give lessons, I record the lesson and burn it to disc for my student so that he gets to review whatever we cover. I haven't bothered with a line out but maybe I should give it a go, hold on though, we only have the vocals and  keys going through the mixer so maybe I wont.

It sounds like a tool and a half! We have tried recording our rehearsals with a zoom recorder but it gets too distorted and would need limiting or compression of some sort. I've never tinkered with it though. The Tascam does have a limiter so that would help.
How does it fair up with the drop the guitar out of the mix on an mp3 and replace with your guitar from the input?
What are the drum machine sounds like?

Look forward to hearing your track  :D

[Johnny Mac]

I'm missing out on too much guitar playing when I'm at my girlfriends (yes another one) but don't want to dump this lady to play my Feline Lion more so I thought I should compromise with a plan.

I'd forgotten that you'd done that before

Nice quote to see - not that we advocate breaking up relationships you understand!

Yes its' not too clever and a bit childish.....or is it? No! I stand by my decision.

[Johnny Mac]

a cruise ship band.

'Johnny and the Waves' perhaps?

Good stuff on the loop station - I've always wanted to get one I liked, I wasn't keen on the 2880 superlooper. Would be good to have a quick review of it if you get the time!

Seasick Johnny more like.

I will give it a go Ian. It looks like I'll have a few evenings with my head in the manual first though. It's got loads of options. I've wanted one for years. Since I saw Steve Lukather demo one in Guitar Techniques ages ago.
Which one did you have?

[Johnny Mac]

lways thought those loop stations look like a great song writing tool. Good luck with it, and the band!

... and the new missus!!

Thanks Gwem  :D

[choucas09]

I've got a Digitech JamMan and I love it dearly, but I've been lusting after an RC-50 ever since I've heard of them. The sky's the limit with those muthas.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rOvc3MwHyDM

[38thBeatle]

The drum machine is OK- not great but usable for practice.The limited over dubs can be done with the wav files though I haven't really touched that an awful lot. Getting the level right is the thing but that isn't too hard.There is a level setting control and the inevitable light that tells you if the signal in is too high.

[Johnny Mac]

Steve those recordings sound great for those built in mics, I'm well impressed! It captures the atmosphere of the live setting really well. That zoom one we are using hasn't got a patch on this.  :o

Your band sounds great Steve, some nice playing and singing!  8)