Tascam MP-GT1 vs. Amazing SlowDowner

[StevieStingray]

Yes, I realize I'm a bassist posting in the guitar side [hopefully this doesn't ruffle too many feathers], but I have a question about a product geared towards guitarists...

Is anyone familiar with the Tascam MP-GT1?

I need something for practicing, learning songs, etc.

Currently I hook up to my iMac and use:
- GarageBand
- Amazing SlowDowner

The latter does a great job of slowing pitch and tempo without much sound quality loss, but I don't like being tethered to the computer.

I'd especially like to hear from anyone who uses BOTH the MP-GT1 and the Amazing SlowDowner

Is the MP-GT1's sound quality [especially when changing tempo/speed] is on par with the Amazing SlowDowner?

I've done a ton of research, and heard a lot of great things about:
Cafe Walter (great sound but need to hook up iPod)
Korg PX4D (lots of bells and whistles, but apparently the sound quality nose dives when slowing a tune)
Tascam CD-BT1mkII (but if I understand correctly, it plays CDs only; not MP3s burned to CD)

It would be ideal to have ONE device that sounded great (including in slow mode) and stored MP3s.

Does this describe the Tascam MP-GT1? If so, I think I'll wait til Tascam comes out with a bass version of the MP-GT1... It is gonna happen right?

 

[lumberjack]

Hey man,

Welcome to the forums. Doesn't matter if your a bass player posting here. A lot of us 6 stringers go to the bass side, too.

I've been doing some research on the Tascam MP3 trainer, too. I'm not sure how well it works......looping, slowing down music etc. But I think I'm going to pull the trigger and pick one up. The place where I think I'm going to pick it up has a very good return policy, so there is no harm in trying it out.

That's the great thing about the tascam You don't have to be around a computer to use it. Just use your computer to transfer your MP3's to the Tascam and you can use it anywhere. The Tascam can hold over 200 songs but I'm not sure what file size they are talking about. Probably 4MB per song. I've got all my music ripped already so transfering the songs I want over to the Tascam is simple. I don't think you need to wait for a bass version. All you are doing is basically slowing down the music. I would assume you can plug a bass into it.

Scott

 

[Spudmurphy]

I've had on long term borrow (Thanks OLPlayer) the Tascam CDGT2.

It does a great job at slowing down and looping the track. There are some fair effects built in too and if you realise that it is a trainer and not a substitute for a rack full off effects then you will do no wrong in getting one.

Good post by the way - haven't seen much mention of this kind of device on the forum.

 

[robelinda2]

i borrowed one off a student of mine, i thought it was ok enough, but not awesome. I'm around a computer much of my time, so i use Windows Media Player to slow things down, its not as god as the slower downer, but i dont need it to be, i just need to slow the song down enough to learn the licks properly.

Tascam would win out out the two you mention.

 

[StevieStingray]

the one knock i've heard against the MP-GT1 is that it can be finicky regarding sampling rate [not bit rate]

in fact, it only plays MP3s with a sample rate of 44.1 kHz

i checked the 2000 or so MP3s i have in iTunes, and i'd say 99% have a sample rate of 44.1, so it's probably not an issue

nonetheless, i have heard complaints of users getting "Non-supported" errors, even after trying all sorts of file types/bit rates combined with a 44.1 sample rate

thanks for the feedback so far... much appreciated

 

[lumberjack]

the one knock i've heard against the MP-GT1 is that it can be finicky regarding sampling rate [not bit rate]

Ohh, I see where you're coming from, but I was refering to the size of the MP3 files themselves. Tascam says you can put 200 songs on the device. But that's probably using a bitrate of 128kbps when ripping songs. All of my CD's have been ripped at a bitrate of 256kbps, so I'd probably only get about 80 songs on it.

 

[Headstock]

I concur this is an awesome thread topic, and those that do pursue the MP3 version of the trainer... could you please update this post with your experience ? Much appreciated.

Also any of our Forum dealers here carry/ stock these ?

 

[SteveB]

I have the CD version of the Tascam (Cd-GT1).

I'm not terribly impressed with the slow-down feature.. it's kinda noisy to me as I hear audible breaks in the sample as it plays back slower.

But I really just use mine to jam along and I don't use that slow down feature much.

Maybe an MP3 would be easier to transform and still have it sound decent, but if it's the same algorithm they use on the CD machine, I'd call it 'skippable'.

 

[lumberjack]

I'm actually glad Stevie started this thread, too. It's good to get info before making the purchase. Thanks for your opinions so far.

 

[puppyonacid]

I only have the Amazing Slow Downer but I think it's amazing value for money. Only cost me something like £13 because of the exchange rate. And the quality is awesome. You can loop sections and ask the slow downer to speed them up by a percentage defined by you each time the loop is played back. You can also say when to speed it up. Like every other time or every third time and so on. Plus it'll alter pitch as well so you can learn all ur favey EVH tunes or tackle those DT tunes that have alternate tunings. Yea you are tied to ur PC but mine is in my practice room anyway so it's no biggy for me. I use it along side PowerTabs and Cubase so I can figure out stuff that I cant get music for so much more quickly these days.

Just my 2 pennies.

 

[greeny]

I have the CD version of the Tascam (the CD GT1 mk2).

I bought this a month ago and I wish I had bought it a year ago when I started playing. The best features are the transport controls, looping and cueing. It cues up to the place you started from automatically which is brilliant for learning tracks. And you can cue it up with a footswitch.

The slowing down function works Ok but inevitably there are artifacts. The guitar part is slowed down whilst remaining at the correct pitch but the rest of the backing is (understandaby) all over the place.

I have no experiance with teh bass version the MP3 version or the Amazing SlowDowner so can't really compare.

 

[wildshovel]

It's not well documented, but...

Music files for the TASCAM MP-GT1 mp3 trainer must have the following characteristics:


* mp3 format
* 44100 kHz
* 128-320 bps, fixed (as opposed to variable) bit rate
* stereo or joint stereo
* ID3v1 tags that use only the ISO-8859-1 character set (no UNICODE).


In Windows and Vista, I've had luck using the free program Switch to covert audio files, and the free program EasyTag to set the ID3 tags correctly.


Hope this is useful to someone. It took me quite a bit of trial and error to figure this stuff out.

-WS

 

[Grand Wazoo]

Yes, I realize I'm a bassist posting in the guitar side [hopefully this doesn't ruffle too many feathers], but I have a question about a product geared towards guitarists...

Is anyone familiar with the Tascam MP-GT1?

I need something for practicing, learning songs, etc.

Currently I hook up to my iMac and use:
- GarageBand
- Amazing SlowDowner

The latter does a great job of slowing pitch and tempo without much sound quality loss, but I don't like being tethered to the computer.

I'd especially like to hear from anyone who uses BOTH the MP-GT1 and the Amazing SlowDowner

Is the MP-GT1's sound quality [especially when changing tempo/speed] is on par with the Amazing SlowDowner?

I've done a ton of research, and heard a lot of great things about:
Cafe Walter (great sound but need to hook up iPod)
Korg PX4D (lots of bells and whistles, but apparently the sound quality nose dives when slowing a tune)
Tascam CD-BT1mkII (but if I understand correctly, it plays CDs only; not MP3s burned to CD)

It would be ideal to have ONE device that sounded great (including in slow mode) and stored MP3s.

Does this describe the Tascam MP-GT1? If so, I think I'll wait til Tascam comes out with a bass version of the MP-GT1... It is gonna happen right?

Hello there I have the very thing, and I mentioned it in this thread

http://www.ernieball.com/forums/general-music-discussion/34911-i-got-me-cool-toy-tascam-mp-bt1.html

 

[simon074]

I've used the Boss Micro BR since it came out. I've been very happy with it.

 

[TonyEVH5150]

I've got the Tascam MP-GT1. I love it. It does a great job overall. Very easy to make loops and change the pitch. I haven't used thw slow-down feature yet. Just haven't gotten that far with it.

The built in effects are decent. I can dial in a tone that is close to my own. My fave so far has been Distortion with a little delay.

It also has a built in tuner and metronome.

 

[TonyEVH5150]

I sat down and tried out the tempo/slow-down feature on my MP-GT1. Works fairly well. The key changes signiifcantly when you take the tempo way down (say below -5). Again, the great thing is, you can adjust the key of the song to fit if you need to slow the song down beyond that.

It is very particular about what file format it will work with. MP3 with no DMCA protected media. So any downloaded music for iTunes, etc., would have to be burned to disc and then ripped as an MP3.

Again, the feature I use the most is the key change. Most of the stuff I listen to/play shifts from normal tuning to 1/2 step down. One little tweak of the center knob, and I'm set.

Loops are very easy to set on this. Push the loop button, set the beginning with the I/O button, and push again to set the end of the loop.

 

[Shadowbox]

I own the MP-GT1. It's great. It's THE tool I use outside of ProTools and Reason.

 

[Mick]

If you want something good sounding that slows down I can give you the number of my former drummer

 

[The Devil]

The Tascam MP-GT1 is great, and a big step forward from the CD version (which I also had and thought was good).

I was using it recently to learn harmony parts to a Paul Gilbert track, took it down as slow as it would go, all the notes were clear as day.

Also great for learning songs by bands who tune down to Eb and you're in E. No messing with your guitar cos you can just change it on the player.

I got the MP-GT1 as soon as it was out, I use it at home to practice with, (don't wanna wake the kids up), when I'm doing some lessons when someone wants to learn a tricky piece and especially while I'm demonstrating at guitar shows/ instore demo's. I play my backing tracks off it when demo-ing and it fits in my gig bag so I can practice in the hotel room or any where.

The good news is I'm sure they do a bass version, don't know if the guitar one would be the right one to get for you low down types.

 

[GWDavis28]

I got one for Christmas last year, I really like it a lot. I took it to one of my lessons because my guitar teacher has the CD version and she was recommending it. I took the player out and we were using it, she had one a week later and had turned a number of of students on to it.

I wish Tascam would do a software/firmware update, it has a tendancy to hang every now and then.

Glenn |B)