I've been following these "trainers" for a while now.

http://tascam.com/products/trainer/

They're in their 2nd generation so they must be "selling." I was thinking about getting this one......

http://www.amazon.com/Tascam-CD-VT2-Vocal-Instrument-Trainer/dp/B000WE08TW

...but I can't find any of them at my local dealer. I'd have to buy one without even seeing it on the shelf and pray that it works as well as they say.


I called Tascam and questioned do the notes stay "clear" when you start slowing the tempo? They assured me they do, but, of course they're out to sell Trainers.

Have any of you heard one of these units or know anything about them?

Mark

Do you just want to slow down recordings so you can learn parts? If so you can get Audacity recording software for free and it will do this and a lot more.

http://audacity.sourceforge.net/

http://download.cnet.com/Audacity/3000-2170_4-10058117.html

This would sure be easier than the days when I was learning fast horn parts like dixieland clarinet or bebop improvs. I had to take our reel-to-reel tape recorder and if it was recorded at 7 1/2 I could play it back at 3 3/4 to hear it half speed, but an octave lower, or to 1 1/8 (or some such fraction) and it would be twice as slow but two octaves lower.

Mark

I have the original Tascam Guitar Trainer. The one that takes a CD and slows it down. It works . . . BUT . . . not as well as I had hoped. It is OK down to about 2/3 normal speed, but beyond that, the tones begin to sound like they are being passed thru a very heavy chorus effect. For a really fast guitar lick, you need to slow it to half speed or less, but the distortion becomes unnerving for a learning session. I think Scott has the right idea, if you don't mind recording your source material into Audacity first. It would also allow you to split up the song into phrases just several bars long and both loop them and slow them down. An added advantage to Audacity is that it gives you a chance to try that method of learning before you spend any money. Some folks say they can not learn any better with slowed examples than with other methods. Bear in mind that I am not all that good of a guitar player to begin with. I have a feeling the Tascam would work better for me if I were a better guitar player. I assume the same would be true using it as a keyboard trainer.

Good luck !

Regards

Ted

You can do that on the Audya without any additional software, works best with WAV files as MP3 files are compressed. you can change key without affecting speed and change speed without affecting pitch. You can also mute the lead part (vocals or other) on an Audio recording for instant backing tracks. (again MP3 not as good as WAV due to file compression)

Has anyone one heard of "Amazing Slowdowner?" It has a fee. A few years ago it was about $35. I still use it. It will loop the same measure, or as many measures as you'd like. I've had tunes slowed down to 25% of the original speed and it worked fine. With a little time and patience you can get it to start on any precise note you wish to hear and also have it quit on any precise note that you'd like it to repeat over again all day long. If you can't learn the lick with these two programs, get a day job. Ha! Ha!

Has anyone heard of "Best Practice?" It was free when I got it last year, and works just as good as "Amazing Slowdowner.?

Both are great and they both do files off of your Hard Drive or it will work with CDs also. If anyone has used these programs and knows of somethng better (which I believe ain't gonna happen), please by all means tell me about it. However if you haven't used these two program, please don't waste our time. I don't want to hear about the other program.

I try to learn super fast licks by Dexter Gordon, Sonny Rolling and John Coltrane, which some here have commented that these guys play too many notes. If it's guitar licks you want to play on guitar or keyboard, just get with DonM. He plays faster and better guitar licks on the keyboard just as good as John Bonnvillian, Huey Boudreaux and Sonny Robicheaux from New Orleans and these guys were the best of the best. They couild play anything from Country to "Foggy Day In London Town up-tempo as any jazz guitarist you ever heard of. Ask Russ what I'm talking about. I'd be surprised if he hadn't heard of one of these fellows.