ADA Depot - A Forum To Support Users of ADA Amplification Gear
Miscellaneous => Discussions => Topic started by: El Chiguete on November 25, 2013, 03:00:48 PM
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So what do you use to practice listening to music? I'm talking for moderate levels to play along songs or dvd concerts. Do you use a home theater, power power speakers, studio monitors, what???
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3 things:
Living room: good old fashioned hifi equipment (Big speakers, tubedriven CD player, recordplayer)
Studio: Studio monitors
Car: carstereo
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I usually practice with some crappy computer speakers (sub+satellites) when learning or practicing. My iTunes has all the songs, so it's easy to just select what I need and create a playlist, then just go through it a hundred times until I no longer have to think.
thinking is highly overrated
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Good headphones or powered studio monitors are going to get you the most detailed/accurate sound reproduction.
If you're listening off of anything other than a record, a Superaudio CD or a DVD, it can be kind of a waste, as so much gets lost in the compression.
If you're trying to figure out something really layered or complex, like Dream Theater or something, the extra detail can help.
You'd be amazed at what you hear when put things through a decent set of monitors...
It can kinda ruin a song though, as it can expose poor mixing or cheesy effects that sounded okay on less detailed speakers.
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Rodney,you're absolutly right.I bought some good studio monitors last year and you can hear alot more details.Ideal to do some guitar practice,especially when you wanna do some cover songs.
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I also use the iTunes and a good pair of headhones. I have my Rocktron Pro Gap preamp/ADA Microcab rack connected to my Mac Mini, and use the combination of Audacity and iTunes to play with. I like using this setup because I can make it as loud as I want...sometimes a good loud environment gets the juices flowing so to speak.
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This isn't in the realm of speakers, but I did find a playback tool a while back that I really like.
It's software called Riffstation ( www.riffstation.com)
It allows for pretty darn good isolation of the guitar, slows the speed considerably and can even make decent guesses as to the correct chords.
It's only about $50 US, and they have a free demo.
I have been using it a lot to figure out some Joe Stump lines. ;D
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For room practicing at home i use Musical Fidelity 3.2 series hi-fi system and JM Lab speakers along with 60 watt 1 x 12" (it's a Solton AA Craaft speaker) Melodija Mengeš combo with very wide variety of preamps and pedals; i never settle down on just one distortion unit - one day is preamp and other day is pedal. I must say Behringer UM 300 and Harley Benton HM-100 works perfectly well and beats up original Boss MT-2 with a quarter of price. :) I bought that two pedals just for fun maybe (both of them costs 50 eur) but now i see they are very nice quality and much better than i have expected. :) Btw, i'm pretty much impressed with my new 4x12" 400 watt Behringer.
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For a quick listen/learn a song I generally play it through my QUAD ESL 63's via either VLC on the computer if I've ripped the wave file from my CDs' or, a CD player (Nakamitchi for properly mastered (red book std) or a CDC for burnt CDs') or Nakamitchi cassette (yeah I still like tape). I typically just use my acoustic (I hand built from scratch doing a guitar building course) as it easy. If I want to play electric I have a second MP2 racked up with a TC M-One XL which I monitor (cab sim outs) through Behringer Truths. I don't monitor the "live" guitar through the QUADs as it might damage them. I have it all connected up via a Behringer Eurorack desk. I don't use MP3s or Apples crappy formats (except AIFs) if I can possibly avoid them. The QUADs are sooo articulate you can really hear how bad compressed files sound. Not that CD 44.1khz 16 bit is a great format, going to 24bit (eg 48khz 24bit) really improves the dynamic range as the least significant bit is -144db where a 16bit LSB is quite audible.
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Along the lines of a tool to help learn songs from - - I use my iPHONE and an app called iLIFT - - it allows me to grab the songs from my iTunes library and inport them. Then I can adjust the pitch to match my guitar ( Eb ), this is a great feature as now I no longer need different tuned guitars based on different songs. Bands like Metalica, ACDC or Quiet Riot who's recordings end up being inbetween tunings now can be adjusted spot on.
I play through my phone into just about anything that will take it ( direct to a mixing board, headphones, Computer speakers ) it's all about learning.
For those who work with a singer that needs to find a vocal range they sounds good in, this adjustment of pitch is.....key :)
Like most tools out there, it also allows ya to set up loops.
Speed can be controlled too....
Anyway - it's a great tool. One of a million out there ::)
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Well ok, but and if you guys want not only to practice to learn the guitar parts but actually try to match the tone on the amp, effect, etc and practice playing the song live?
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I used to bother a bit, I'd select a patch that approximated e.g. dirty patch for US west coast rock etc (see my old rhythm patch in the MP2 patches) and sometimes try to match the delay if it was important. These days I don't bother too much, the 3 sounds I'm using seem to cover most things. Also I don't generally learn solos, I just play my own and generally never the same thing twice. The only one I spent time learning was Highway Star (purple), I even ran up 10 patches in my harmoniser to cover the second guitar part but I couldn't change the patches fast enough (so I just went with a minor 3rd), I would have had to sequence it and I'm not fond of playing with sequences etc as they are so rigid (and to me that's not music).
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Hey looking at your signature makes me do a thread on the Digitech IPS 33, can you please post your feedback of it?
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No worries, I'll post in the rack gear section :thumb-up:
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In regards to really matching tones, I'd have to say that the AxeFX II and the Kemper are gonna be your best bets for getting a matching sound that would also hold up live.
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When I have to practice songs for my cover bands, I use either an MP3 player loaded up with my band play list or a CD player running into a Korg Pandora PX-3 headphone amp (for digital transposing only) into Mackie 1402 VLZ Pro mixer into a pair of Mackie MR5 powered monitors. You can hear how the music will be slightly out of tune sometimes and I can adjust the digital transposer to "tune" the music to standard pitch or can adjust the music to key that my singers sing in.
I run my guitar into a Zoom G9.2tt effects processor (effects in front of MP-1 preamp & MIDI controller), an ADA Depot 3TM mod MP-1 preamp, Rocktron Intellifex (delay/chorus/reverb) into a Digital Music Corporation System Mix Plus which I run into the mixer in full stereo. If I want to do acoustic guitar playing, I'll use my Ibanez Prestige RG-2020AX guitar through a Fishman Aura Spectrum DI box into the mixer as well.
Guitar George
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I practice along to my smartphone playing through a Yamaha THR10X.
I think that at home it's imperative to practice along with a track of some type, whether it be the original recording or simply a backing track.
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I can get pretty close to the tone with any of my MP's.