Traveling Rig

I have been learning songs lately and I travel a lot as a passenger in a car or truck. I wanted to find a way to practice while traveling without bring all of my gear and without having to buy any new gear. Here is what I came up with.

My first thought: Ultra-Light, Pocket Pod, iPod Touch, Amazing Slow Downer, Head Phones

My second thought: Ultra-Light, DR-1, Pocket Pod (optional), Head Phones

My third thought: Ultra-Light, BR-600, Head Phones

Traveler Ultra-Light: My main concern here was finding a guitar that would not interfere with the driver. This guitar has no headstock so I won't be banging the driver in the head while I play in the passenger seat. The two other pluses for me are the 24.75 scale neck which plays like a real guitar and the very compact size when packed in its case. I've had three other travel guitars, a Yamaha APXT1 (had a nice neck), the Dean Avalanche J 3/4 (which was small but had to tune up otherwise the strings would be too loose), and the Martin LXMe (which was actually great but scale was too short). When practicing it is really important to practice on a regular scale neck because it just doesn't translate when you learn on a really short scale guitar

Line 6 Pocket Pod: I use the Pocket Pod for some really nice effects. Plus it has an input for your mp3 player if you want to play along with it. The Pocket Pod is very easy to use. For quick and dirty you just choose your sound by band or style of music. It does come with pc/mac software that will allow you to create your own sounds and upload them to the Pocket Pod or you can tweak the presets and make your own sound right on the Pocket Pod itself and save it in the user area. I only wish it had some basic drum tracks. Now that would be perfect. But then I would want it to also be able to record. Now THAT would be perfect.

Apple iPod Touch & Amazing Slow Downer: Since I carry the Touch around with me all of the time anyway and that is where my music is I looked for an app that could slow down a song without losing the original pitch and change the key of a song without changing the original speed. I saw a few applications and settled on the $14.99 Amazing Slow Downer. This is the one thing I did buy and it was expensive for an Touch app. The awkward part is that Apple doesn't allow any other application to play music so you have to import that songs you want to use into the Amazing Slow Downer app as opposed to using the library that is already on the Touch. It is easy to import songs, but a hassle none the less. So I plug my iPod Touch into the line-in of the Pocket Pod I have an awesome travel rig.

Tascam DR-1: I remembered that I had the DR-1 and thought I could make my travel rig a little better/lighter by using it instead of the iPod Touch and software. I got the DR-1 a while back to handle recording my inspirations. I was previously using a smaller digital recorder and before that a recorder with the microtapes. The DR-1 sound quality tops them all. The convenient features on the DR-1 makes this a no brainer for me. It has the ability to import an mp3 or wav file which I can use as a backing track. It has the ability to change the speed, change the key, and loop a section of a song. This is helpful when learning solos or trying to figure out a piece. The only thing missing that a guitarist might want is drum tracks and guitar effects. You CAN have this if you buy the Tascam GT-R1 which is almost the same as the DR-1 but with drum tracks and guitar effect. The GT-R1 came out after I purchased the DR-1 and I was very disappointed, but not disappointed enough to shell out $399 for the new recorder. To make up the difference I have to load backing tracks onto the DR-1 to be my drum tracks, and I have to use my Pocket Pod for effects. If effects aren't that important then I can forgo the Pocket Pod when using the DR-1 and have an even lighter travel rig.

Boss BR-600: This recorder is phenomenal for the price and what it can do. It is slim and easy to drop in a back pack or even a decent sized purse (hobo bag). It has a tuner, a trainer, backing drum tracks, guitar effects, and 8 tracks to record on. This is my most comprehensive mobile solution. Though this solution is likely the largest in size it is perfect because everything I need is in one device instead of two or three devices. I would say the DR-1 is the least complicated to use and most portable solution, but it lacks guitar effects and recording multiple tracks might not produce the best finished product. I have to remember I'm just trying to practice on the go. The BR-600 is about 2.5 times the size of the DR-1, but it has guitar effects, multiple tracks, and editing capabilities for a fully functioning practice and studio space. The question is I am really going to be using all of the recording feature when practicing on the go. I still think the DR-1 is going to be the best portable solution. If I were going on a trip the BR-600 would likely be my choice.

Head Phones: Well I gotta have head phones to listen to my music either through the Pocket Pod or through my DR-1. I use the over the ear kind that can fold up, though I could use my ear bud head phones and get even more compact.