| Author | Message | ||
| effclef
Advanced Member Username: effclef Post Number: 205 Registered: 1-2004 |
Has anyone in the Club got one? How do you like it? http://www.tascam.com/Products/CD-BT1.html (PDF manual there also) The idea is you can plug in your bass and play along with a CD, and at the same time have the ability to change the CD's tempo WITHOUT changing pitch (up to half speed slower) or change the key if you like. I'd love to hear opinions or if someone can point me to a review, that would be nice. There are lots of songs I'd love to learn basslines for and this might be a way for me to do it. Street price is $150 so I don't want to buy one unless it really does work well. EffClef | ||
| bracheen
Senior Member Username: bracheen Post Number: 507 Registered: 11-2003 |
The product reviews by users on Musician's Friend are not very encouraging. Sam | ||
| senmen
Advanced Member Username: senmen Post Number: 331 Registered: 7-2003 |
Eff, I have this particular Tascam and it is ok for doing your private rehearsal while playing along with a CD. I usually use the device flat, without any of the buildt-in effects. As said, the sound is not like through a big rack, but it is ok for the rehearsal. Great feature is that you can slower the running of the DVD to have learn complicated licks while having the same pitch. It really helped me a lot after having not played bass for a longer time to go especially very deep into the John Entwistle stuff. Many greetings Oliver (Spyderman) | ||
| thg_knobs
Junior Username: thg_knobs Post Number: 21 Registered: 6-2003 |
I just bought one for use with my guitar and find it very helpful in stealing, err, uh, learning licks and solos and such. When tuned down to full 50%, the sound is a bit choppy, but it is still useable. I really only take it to 32% reduction of original speed. One thing you should know about it is that you only have 5 options for speed. 0, -8, -16, -32 and -50%.You do not have variable control of the speed. The tuning function is pretty cool. You can tune the CD to your instrument and play along, which is nice. The lame thing about it is that it touts all these great features: detune, 1/2" speed, effects, but only one thing can be used at a time. Also, the menu system on it kinda sucks. Once you figure out how it works, it is still pretty lame but at least you can manage your way around. Hope this helps a bit. For the price, I think it is worth it. The same thing can be done with ProTools Free but is much more involved and is far less portable. Enjoy! | ||
| jalevinemd
Member Username: jalevinemd Post Number: 71 Registered: 12-2003 |
Andy, I bought the GT-1, for my guitar as well. It's got its pros and cons, like everything in life. Overall, I would recommend it. As Roger said, it is great for learning more complicated licks. Built in effects are nice and I can use them while changing the CD speed. The menu system is completely counter-intuitive. Mine chewed batteries, so buy the AC adapter. It's invaluable for late night jamming when the rest of the house and neighborhood are sleeping. For the price and convenience, there's nothing else like it. I say go ahead! Jonathan | ||
| effclef
Advanced Member Username: effclef Post Number: 206 Registered: 1-2004 |
OK, here are the reviews: http://www.musiciansfriend.com/srs7/sid=040722122528192148197011643412/g=home/product/reviews/base_pid=241110/rpp=10/ Some bad ones, as you say - but these are around the following: - AC adapter not included (9VDC @500mA) $20 - slowing down the song can sound choppy - eats batteries I find it hard to believe you must buy Tascam's adapter (voltage/current/jack size matters, that is all) and I doubt I would ever use batteries anyway. Choppiness worries me, but I wonder how bad it really is. I'd only be USING it on tough rapid lines and most of the stuff I'd like to transcribe may work out fine with just the loop (at full speed) function. Oliver, thanks for the comments here. I can imagine it would help slowing down John's licks! Roger, I downloaded the manual PDF and the first thing I noticed was the speed variation was in steps, and not very fine ones. However, five choices should be good enough. Heck, half the stuff I want to comp is reggae and that usually doesn't need slowing down at all. ;-) Hey, glad to see you are on the board...you have a great knob business going and people are really taking to them for their Alembics. OK on the user interface being less than great. Not a big deal to me, since as you say, you get used to it. I'll primarily be using it to loop and learn. I worried for a long time about studying and sight-reading, which I still want to accomplish, but I think what I would enjoy most in the practicing time that I have would be to learn and enjoy playing whole _songs_, which I currently have not done. This might be the tool to help. And yeah, I know I can do this on a PC/soundcard, but a small portable unit is much more appealing for this purpose. Thanks for the comments, everyone. Keep 'em coming. EffClef | ||
| thg_knobs
Junior Username: thg_knobs Post Number: 22 Registered: 6-2003 |
Thanks for the ice comments, Eff. If you ever need knobs for the Tascam... LOL For what you need to do, the Tascam unit will work wonders. Like I said earlier, you will probably never need to slow anything down the full 50% and the step above that sounds good enough to learn just about anything. I have been using it to learn Steely Dan tracks and it has been great. Let us all know when you get yours and what you think of it. Then we can start a "What I Transcribed Using the Tascam Thing" thread. Later! Roger (Message edited by thg_knobs on July 22, 2004) | ||
| eastcoastepic
Member Username: eastcoastepic Post Number: 82 Registered: 10-2003 |
Andy, I've had mine about 9 months, and will give it a thumbs-up. You wouldn't need it for basic 1-4-5 progressions, but it was a great help for me in learning, for example, the solo parts of "My Generation". I only use it at home with headphones and the AC adapter, getting my parts 'right' before rehearsal. Slowing the tempo and not losing the pitch was a big selling point for me, and I have found it very helpful so far. I bought mine on Ebay new, with AC adapter, for $150. I don't use it every day, but when you need to learn a new or difficult song for rehearsal or gig on short notice, it is a great time saver. Go for it........ Chris | ||
| bob
Advanced Member Username: bob Post Number: 268 Registered: 11-2002 |
Sounds like this thing might work for you, effclef, especially given your interest in a self-contained, portable unit. For those of you interested in working stuff out and willing to use a computer, I've been really impressed with a program called Amazing Slow Downer, which you can find here, for both windows and mac. I happen to have a pretty fast Mac, but have been very impressed with how the sound holds up at low speeds. Very flexible, easy to set up loops, etc. Don't use it very much, but it's a very nice piece of software. | ||
| harald_rost
Member Username: harald_rost Post Number: 64 Registered: 6-2002 |
IMHO it's not a bad toy. I only use it like Oliver for rehearsing at home and working out fast riffs while slowing the speed down. I find the manual not very good and the edit tool could probably be better for easier handling. But all in all I find it o.k. for that price. Harald | ||
| davehouck
Senior Member Username: davehouck Post Number: 741 Registered: 5-2002 |
Bob; thanks for the link. This looks like a nice tool at a very reasonable price. | ||
| effclef
Advanced Member Username: effclef Post Number: 208 Registered: 1-2004 |
Thanks for the comments, everybody. Maybe this weekend I'll try to find a local shop and test drive one. (Of course, if someone wants to tab out King's X's album DOGMAN for me, that would save me a lot of work, heh.) EffClef | ||
| xlrogue6
Member Username: xlrogue6 Post Number: 71 Registered: 8-2002 |
I find the BT1 to be a most useful tool. Yes, things can get a bit choppy if you slow a track down too much, but you're gonna get that with digital audio. Personally, I find the loop function more useful when learning particular licks. The bass enhancement EQ for the CD audio also comes in handy on bass-light tracks. The onboard tuner is as good as any I own--if I was going to use any of my many tuners besides my Peterson digital strobe to set intonation, this would probably be the one. The manual could be better, but after an hour or two(with occasional minor swearing) I had the unit pretty much figured out. Navigating the somewhat Byzantine menus was the hardest part for me, but I could pretty much say that about all of the menu-based editing I've encountered, much of it on way more expensive gear than the BT1. The $20 wall wart didn't seem like a big deal, and shouldn't to anyone who's bought a stomp box, most of which also don't include an adaptor, which, strangely enough, will set you back about $20 if you buy one from the pedal manufacturer. Go figure.... (If you've got a lot of time on your hands, you could probably find a compatible adaptor for $5 or $10. For me, kicking down the $20 was way easier than finding an alternative with the right voltage/current/polarity/plug combination.) The onboard FX seem like they were added just because there was enough processor available to do it. I don't think the design intent was for them to be used for anything beyond personal headphone wanking. For my money, it's unbeatable--wish it played MP3s, but hey, you can't have everything! | ||
| gare
Junior Username: gare Post Number: 14 Registered: 11-2003 |
I'd have to go along with the consensus, its a handy tool. I picked one up last spring to cram/relearn a bunch of material for a cover band I filled in for. The sound is adequate, I find the efx a bit limp. The speed control is handy for liberating the occassional line or two. The manual is sparse, the menus arcane (I hate menus). But it is a good learning/practicng tool. Spring for the power adapter, batteries have a very short life in continual use. Gare | ||
| bigredbass
Advanced Member Username: bigredbass Post Number: 253 Registered: 9-2002 |
I tried the TASCAM at a local store and was horrified how they've chosen to cheapen their quality, they'd have been better off to market it as a TEAC product. I use one of the Raven headphone amps, and while it's built really well, I've yet to find the tone I'm looking for. I really would like to have a small mixer for this kind of thing, but I've yet to run across the right one for me. I really have no use for efx in a headphone mix, and I would really hate to let myself get spoiled by being able to slow fast stuff down to hear it: What would I do live, where it's ALWAYS real time? J o e y | ||
| effclef
Advanced Member Username: effclef Post Number: 212 Registered: 1-2004 |
Disappointment! Calamity! Gnashing of teeth! Picked one up at a local dealer this afternoon, and on trying it, I am sorry to say I might have a defective one. First sign was new (additional) tape holding the machine in the bag. After unpacking, unplugging, and trying it out, I find that someone has highlighted the OUTPUT heading of the manual in yellow... CD functions work fine. As for the slowdown feature, -8 and -16 are not too bad, but you get lots of DSP artifacts going any slower. But -8 and -16 seems slow enough for me for now. However, it doesn't seem to amplify my bass enough to be worthwhile playing along with a CD! It makes me think someone zorched the input stage. I tried with my bass, and also a friend's today, same effect. I've got the input maxed and it's barely loud enough to practice with, having the CD off. If I try to practice with the CD, I need to set the MIX level to like -3, and max out the input level, or nearly so. Switching my (active) bass to the passive input doesn't do anything worthwhile, just increases distortion. In the active setting, there is some distortion, especially on a strong attack note. Effects settings do work, but they sound wimpy. With no effects, the sound of the bass is weak, and fairly thin. Someone, please tell me their Tascam does better than this! I am going to pop back to the dealer, probably tomorrow, and ask for a refund - or at least an exchange, since this was obviously an opened package. (Did you have to cut the blister pack open? Mine just popped open at the "dots" without resistance.) If the bass input were up to snuff - so I can mix my bass at the same level as the original CD's bass - then I would keep it. EffClef | ||
| effclef
Advanced Member Username: effclef Post Number: 213 Registered: 1-2004 |
OK, dealer couldn't find the second one they should have had in stock, so they are getting one in this week for me. I am going to try to give it a shot IN THE STORE and it better be an unopened package this time. I guess my question is this: with an active bass, in the active mode input, can you mix such that your bass is as loud, or louder than the CD, without distortion? I am talking about with the EQ set flat, mix level at like 0, and input and output wheels at reasonable levels. CD Bass Boost (not Enhance) probably ON, as that seemed to really assist in picking the bass line out of the mix. Played alone (no CD), does the bass input sound loud and clear? EffClef | ||
| xlrogue6
Member Username: xlrogue6 Post Number: 72 Registered: 8-2002 |
My Rogues produce plenty of clean level through mine--sounds like the one you got was someone else's problem child already. | ||
| effclef
Advanced Member Username: effclef Post Number: 214 Registered: 1-2004 |
Thanks, XL - I hope you're right. I would think that in a quiet room, you should hear the bass you're playing just fine, with plenty of tone. This one sounded weak and fairly thin. The effects (like autowah) seemed to track OK, which makes me think that it wasn't the input stage itself, but some later stage where the bass signal + DSP are mixed with the CD. What level do you set the input, output, and MIX settings to, with your Rogue? I am already thinking that cabling up headphones, AC adapter, and instrument is going to be a little cumbersome. Perhaps mounting the unit on a mic stand would help. The footswitch is a good idea but if the replacement unit works properly, I'm already thinking of opening up the unit to rewire the footswitch to the I/O (loop) button instead of the CUE button, which is what I think I would use much more often. I wish Tascam had also assigned the <<>> buttons such that a single press was search, and hold was skip tracks. I see myself backing up and skipping ahead much more often. Let me know what your levels are set to, that would help a lot. (Let me know if you use the EQ also.) Thanks! EffClef | ||
| xlrogue6
Member Username: xlrogue6 Post Number: 74 Registered: 8-2002 |
Input and output levels are both right around "5" with the level switch in the "active" position.(In most circumstances I run my basses into "passive" rather than "active" inputsbecause I usually like the sound better that way. The BT1 broke up a little too easily set to passive.) Mix setting is factory default--never needed to adjust it. Headphone selection undoubtedly makes a difference. I'm using AKG K55s, which are somewhat bass heavy, which of course is why I bought them. I run the BT1 EQ flat. Minor experimentation with the EQ and FX sections during my learning curve phase yielded a verdict of "never mind"--YMMV. | ||
| effclef
Advanced Member Username: effclef Post Number: 215 Registered: 1-2004 |
Thanks, XL. It sure sounds like this one is defective. I'll make sure I can try it out in the store. My headphones are not the best but where the CD audio bass sounds fine, I would expect the instrument-bass to sound just as loud. EffClef |
