Your home practice rig?

[Bickster]

Friends,

This question is about playing along to your favorite song.  Over the years the tools available have progressed to an astonishing level.  This is great but my struggle is integrating them with out loss of fidelity.  Currently I use:

1.)  Laptop running Transcribe as a music source/pitch and speed control
2.)  Guitar into Boss GT-10

Here is where the issues begin.  Using a mixer to combine computer headphone out and GT-10 line out yields mush.  I can run a PA so I understand gain stages.  I think my problem is impedance.  My guess is that I need an external soundcard to get true line-level output from the computer.  This equals more crap just to learn a tune.  Is there an easier way?  Thanks!

Bob

[Ritchie200]

I'll take an uneducated stab...  I have an M-Audio interface that allows me to record against a track(s) on my recording software with headphones plugged into the unit.  It has a mix control to blend my guitar or the track(s) being played back.  I'm not sure if Transcribe would recognize the M-Audio as an output source, you would have to check your manual.  Are you looking to mix your playing and your favorite song and send it to a stereo or PA?  Or is this just for personal headphone use?  Recording?

Jim

[Bickster]

Ritchie,

Transcribe takes a MP3 and manipulates it.  It is the source in this mess.  The goal is to use headphones to monitor myself playing along to the transcibe manipulated tune.  Thanks!

Bob

[rafe]

   Tele-74 champ -4ohm PM5 alnico jensen-
mxr dyna-comp......   

[Bickster]

Back in the day I used my superlead and a huge stereo and practiced at volume.  Not a great idea.  Divorce is expensive.

[EL34]

I am not sure this will help but this is how I play along with backing tracks and do it at a level that does not hurt your ears or the dogs ears.

I play the backing tracks in foobar 2000 and that output goes into a mixer channel
I play along to the backing using Guitar rig and that goes into another mixer channel

To balance the guitar sound with the backing track, I just adjust the levels in the mixer.
Some backing tracks are way louder than others, but if you use Replay Gain analysis, it will take all the songs and calculate a gain + or - figure.

In Foobar 2000 you can right click on a group of tunes and have it analyse them as a group.
Foobar 2000 will then write that gain figure to the .mp3 file header
Then when playing back the tracks, Foobar 2000 will read that replay gain figure from the .mp3 file and adjust the playback volume automatically
Now all the backing tracks are balanced volume wise
Foobar 2000 is free and it has a bunch of cool features that Winamp does not, like replay gain analysis

BTW, I have also had to convert backing tracks. Say a track is in E flat because the guitar player tunes 1/2 step down,  like EVH for example
I use Mixcraft to change the key from E flat to E and then I save that as a new .mp3
That way, you don't need to convert on the fly.
Your backing track is now in the key of E and you can just play it like any other .mp3

[Platefire]

Something I've been doing for about 3 years and enjoying it very much. I use a Digitech JamMan but not as a looper but as a single song that automaticly stops at the end. I record my backing tracks on my Tascam Recorder that include an Alisis drum machine, bass guitar, rythem guitar and some lead fills as needed. The tracks are mixed down unto the JamMan
that includes a count in on the front of each song to cue you in at intro. I run the JamMan output into a direct box that goes in one channel of my PA. This works great for practicing and playing live. With the memory card you can put up to 200 songs on it. I have about 50 on it now.

You just cue up your song number on the JamMan using the Digitech FS3X footswitch, hit the play button on the JamMan, you hear a count in and away you go. It's not as great as having a live band with live musicians to interact with but on the other hand, the next best thing. Platefire

[SILVERGUN]

Bickster....just wanted to throw this at you......THE BOSS eband JS-8
I bought this for myself last year after looking for an amp that my wife wouldn't mind looking at in our family room.
This thing actually has a permanent spot on an end table....comes with some decent tracks, ok sounds, you can load your own mp3's, speed up/down, A-B loop, has built in tuner, headphones out, master mix and guitar level controls, and actally sounds pretty good at a low-moderate volume...also has phono style stereo outs that you can run through a receiver/power amp.

I used it recently to get ready for a couple of  reunion shows of an old original band I was in 12 years ago.....loaded the tracks, sat around watching TV, drinking beer and practicing (effortlessly), and wound up being the only guy at the first rehearsal who sounde like he remembered anything.

http://cms.rolandus.com/assets/media/pdf/eband_js-8_brochure.pdf

The beauty is in the simplicity, and the fact that it's one piece of equipment
It's expensive at retail, but I got mine off Eb#y for 200 bucks....still expensive, but I love it!

[Bickster]

That eband thing is cool.  It combines a bunch of the suggestions into one unit.  It is based on the GT-10 which is familiar.  Hopefully the fidelity is maintained to an acceptable level.  Thing is when I get in my truck and listen to a tune I hear a bunch of stuff I didn't hear before.  Thanks.

[duke of earl]

I play totally unplugged in the house. In the garage I use a Gibson Falcon GA-19RVT with no effects.

[EL34]

I am curious why use MP-3s

Not sure what you are asking?
I make my own backing tracks and leave out the lead guitar parts.

The best way to mix them down is to an .mp3

[shortfuse]

I haven't got into the guitar computer software stuff yet.  I use a rack mount Pod XT pro loaded with all the packs you can get which is mounted under the shelf above the computer.  I line out of it to the crate power block (cpb150 which is a great little ss head) line in and it powers a 112 cab with an eminence governor.  All the mp3's are in the computer which run through the stereo so i can play at various volumes using the pod modeler because you can get a cranked up tone at low volumes.  Or i can go into the pod from the computer and I can use headphones when the Mrs. Goes to bed and play as loud as I want but you can only take so much volume in the headphones. 
But when the girls are not home I prefer to plug straight into the Diezel and let it rip.
Someday I will get more high tech and try out some of the computer interface stuff.