What equipment do you use playing backing track?

[The Viking Gangster]

Hello everybody:

The equipment I have to play along with backing tracks is awful. I am seriously thinking about buying something, but I don't know right off hand what.

What do you guys use to have a good play along experience?

Thanks for your help.

 

[László]

Do you mean to create and record a backing track, or to play back a backing track for practicing with your amp?

 

[ozboy]

Good powered monitors capable of playing at the same volume as your guitar. Put everything (monitor speaker, amp) on stands to keep the decibels down but the apparent volume up. The monitors should have reasonably large speakers, for realism benefit. If you are thinking of playing in a band you may prefer pa speakers to monitor speakers.

 

[sergiodeblanc]

Guitar, cable, interface, lappletop, Youtube, and speakers or headphones.

 

[davegixer]

Ipad/Laptop/iPhone/Mac with relative interface and either studio monitors, PC Speakers or headphones. More than adequate for noodling with a backing track. Backing tracks from either youtube or many of the ones i've built up and saved onto Mac.
If I want to crank it up or use pedals/different channels I play the backing track on the Mac and play as normal through the amp with pedals etc. Loud!!

 

[alphasports]

Digitech Trio

 

[tiboy]

I run a old Tascam guitar trainer (fancy mp3) into a pole mounted Behrenger PA set up next to my amp and 412 cab. I'm a solitary living room rock star for a few hours every day.

 

[The Viking Gangster]

Do you mean to create and record a backing track, or to play back a backing track for practicing with your amp?

Hey Les,

Both, i suppose, but I was looking for backing tracks for practicing. Headphone into a computor or amp.

 

[The Viking Gangster]

Thanks everybody for the feedback.

 

[Mikegarveyblues]

Guitar-cable-Line 6 HD500X with my phone plugged into it (As an MP3,player) and headphones or into a little practice amp.

Or, like Sergio, YouTube open on a laptop / PC and my practice amp or the Line 6 unit.

Completely different setup when recording, but for practice / jams then the above is good enough for me.

 

[alantig]

Mac and an amp or modeling software on the Mac. Modeling software is excellent for keeping the volume down for me. Usually.

Or a CD player I have with the ability to pitch shift, tempo shift, and eliminate the center channel. Sometimes I run that into my monitors and practice with an amp. Usually for jamming with a regular CD, but I have some backing tracks on CD.

 

[CVS]

I use a Boss RC 300 or Boss RC 30 to create my own backing tracks (usually consisting of drums, bass, and guitar). Sometimes I will add keyboards and or strings / horns into the track using at this point a Roland GR 55 (I am looking at Electro Harmonix pedals for keys and organ ATM). I then play the track through a solid state guitar amp (with no effects) or through a PA type amp (example - Fishman Loudbox). Then I play my part, usually through a tube amp.

Just wanted to share another method with you.

 

[alantig]

I use a Boss RC 300 or Boss RC 30 to create my own backing tracks (usually consisting of drums, bass, and guitar). Sometimes I will add keyboards and or strings / horns into the track using at this point a Roland GR 55 (I am looking at Electro Harmonix pedals for keys and organ ATM). I then play the track through a solid state guitar amp (with no effects) or through a PA type amp (example - Fishman Loudbox). Then I play my part, usually through a tube amp.

Just wanted to share another method with you.

So, do you do a loop for a verse, another loop for a chorus, etc., or do you layer the parts in and out?

FYI - the EH organ pedals are pretty cool. I spent a fair amount of time w/the B9 and C9 in the store, and I eventually decided the B9 more suited my needs. If I could have pulled some of the sounds from each pedal, that would have been ideal.

 

[CVS]

So, do you do a loop for a verse, another loop for a chorus, etc., or do you layer the parts in and out?

FYI - the EH organ pedals are pretty cool. I spent a fair amount of time w/the B9 and C9 in the store, and I eventually decided the B9 more suited my needs. If I could have pulled some of the sounds from each pedal, that would have been ideal.

I like EH pedals, but not sure which 2 out of the 3 organ / keyboard pedals I will buy. I may start out with just one. Apparently GC stocks them, so I plan to demo. The EH booth at NAMM offered no demo ops. I did ask about where to put them if you have a pedal box and they told me "towards the guitar input". I was told "maybe" a compressor can be in front of their pedal(s), but in general the fewer the pedals the better. I did not ask about true bypass capability, although I will ask on Sunday.

I will go back to NAMM on Sunday , so if there is anything you (or any other forum member) wants me to follow up on, just let me know on Saturday & I will do my best when I go back on Sunday.

 

[CVS]

So, do you do a loop for a verse, another loop for a chorus, etc., or do you layer the parts in and out?

Sorry to answer in reverse order, with respect to backing tracks, I use the the Boss RC 30 for what I would term basic backing tracks (example - 12 bar or 8 bar blues backing tracks. Another example - Tom Petty -Learning to Fly - OK admittedly, there is one part in the middle of the song where they hold the G chord - which I have ignored in my track.).

I use the RC 300 for more "sophisticated" backing tracks where typically there are multiple parts to a song (example a verse (Track 1) - a chorus (Track 2) - and a bridge (Track 3)). The RC 300 allows up to 3 separate tracks. The RC 30 - max 2 tracks

There is a lot more behind why I am doing what I am doing, so happy to discuss via PM or even over the phone.

 

[Jazzedout]

Laptop, Eleven Rack, Studio Monitors or headphones

 

[alantig]

I like EH pedals, but not sure which 2 out of the 3 organ / keyboard pedals I will buy. I may start out with just one. Apparently GC stocks them, so I plan to demo. The EH booth at NAMM offered no demo ops. I did ask about where to put them if you have a pedal box and they told me "towards the guitar input". I was told "maybe" a compressor can be in front of their pedal(s), but in general the fewer the pedals the better. I did not ask about true bypass capability, although I will ask on Sunday.

I will go back to NAMM on Sunday , so if there is anything you (or any other forum member) wants me to follow up on, just let me know on Saturday & I will do my best when I go back on Sunday.

Yeah - I highly recommend spending time w/the B9 and C9 before you buy. I think they made some slight tweaks to the attack on the C9 - the knob seemed to things a little bit differently. They were both very good pedals, there were just a couple sounds on the B9 that I wanted more than the ones on the C9.

I'm running mine at the beginning of the chain. Bent or whammied notes seem to throw it a bit, so I can imagine that some effects would really screw it up. I haven't yet tried running the plain organ signal out - just the blend so far. But I am pretty happy with it. One of the cooler pedals I've picked up in the last three years or so.

 

[CVS]

Yeah - I highly recommend spending time w/the B9 and C9 before you buy. I think they made some slight tweaks to the attack on the C9 - the knob seemed to things a little bit differently. They were both very good pedals, there were just a couple sounds on the B9 that I wanted more than the ones on the C9.

I'm running mine at the beginning of the chain. Bent or whammied notes seem to throw it a bit, so I can imagine that some effects would really screw it up. I haven't yet tried running the plain organ signal out - just the blend so far. But I am pretty happy with it. One of the cooler pedals I've picked up in the last three years or so.

Thanks for the feedback. I was really hoping that I could try out all 3 pedals at NAMM, but the EH booth is very small and there was no room to demo them. I guess I will have to go to the local GC to demo one. Based on the videos that I have seen to date I am leaning towards the B9 & the K9.

 

[mmarshburn]

I don't really jam to other artists music much. Usually I am just learning songs and playing without music or with some sort of drum machine.

I do, however, produce play along tracks of my own music and intentionally leave out specific parts I intend to play. I run it from my computer into my stereo system.

 

[IKnowALittle]

Guitar, cable, interface, lappletop, Youtube, and speakers or headphones.

Guitar?? Damn, I knew I was missing something .