Tascam Guitar Trainer

Get Serious About Improving Your Playing
By Learning From Your Guitar Hero

If you've never experienced what a guitar trainer can do, you are probably about to advance your guitar playing by quantum leaps.

The device I'm writing about here is the Tascam Guitar Trainer model CD-GT1, which is a few years old.

Newer models and technologies have come out since then, but the concepts are still the same.

The primary benefit is the ability to take a fast guitar phrase and slow it down to a more reasonable speed so you can: a) learn the notes, b) practice different fingerings and c) build your speed.

It allows anyone with a decent working knowledge of the guitar to learn solos, riffs, chords, chord progressions and rhythms in tiny, easily digestible chunks. MMmmmm...chunks are good.

You can effectively learn from any of your Guitar Heros. Choose any part of the song you want to learn, isolate the difficult parts, even individual chords if you want, and loop them indefinitely until you figure them out!

Tascam and others now make an mp3 version of this device with all the same functionality. I guess I'm still old school with the CDs.

Although Tascam also makes a practice amplifier with the CD-GT1 technology built right into it, I've come up with a very cool way to make a practice amp out of it and have used this method both at home and while on the road, playing my guitar with full array of effects through my car speakers!

Read on and I'll tell you how you can do this.

Features

Multiple inputs/outputs are always welcome on the equipment I purchase. It means lots more applications are possible.

The Tascam Guitar Trainer allows you to plug your guitar directly into the unit using a standard 1/4" guitar cord and has 1/8" Line In, Line Out and headphones jack.

Tascam even makes an optional foot pedal for entering your In and Out points when you want to loop phrases, but its not necessary.

Making A Practice Amp--To Go! So when I want to practice, I'll just plug the Tascam Guitar Trainer into an AC converter (I use a universal one set to 9V, but Tascam sells one too). Don't use batteries, this device will eat them before you can learn one riff. Using an old set of computer speakers, I'll plug the speakers right into the Tascam's Line Out input, plug my electric guitar in and start jamming, with or without CD backing tracks. I've already taken the time to set up a bunch of my tone banks--there's one for heavy metal, one for rock, a clean tone, one with a Leslie speaker effect on it. So depending on what I'm trying to learn or play, I've got all my effects ready to go without setting up huge amps and pedalboards. Plus using the 12v cigarette lighter outlet in my car to power the Tascam Guitar Trainer, I'm able to practice while on the road. If I'm early for an appointment and have some time on my hands, I'll pull over in a nice area like a park or uncrowded parking lot, plug the Tascam and guitar in and start playing through the car speakers. With the windows rolled down, I've gotten a few compliments from people passing by.

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