THE TOP PICTURE SHOWS A BOSE HOME ENTERTAINMENT CENTER. I'M USING ONE OF THE TINY SPEAKERS FROM ONE OF THESE SETS TO PROVIDE SOUND FOR THIS PORTABLE PRACTICE RIG.
THE BOTTOM PICTURE SHOWS THE POCKET POD. IT'S THE ONE WITH THE DIGITAL READOUT AND PRESETS, WORTH THE EXTRA $25 OVER THE MUCH SIMPLER POCKET POD EXPRESS. BUT IF YOU'RE A BEGINNER OR OVERWHELMED BY THE POCKET POD AND IT'S SOMEWHAT COMPLEX SELECTION SYSTEMS, THEN THE EXPRESS IS FOR YOU. KNOBS AND DIALS AND PRETTY EASY TO USE WITH THOSE LINE 6 QUALITY SOUNDS.
Now this post could apply to real working musicians, but they already have the tricks of the trade figured out in terms of in room practice. Depending on the size and $$$ of the band, in room gear could be anything from a bass and a headphone amp to any size amp from tiny practice to a stack.
No, this post is aimed at folks like me. Part-time guitar and bass players. Folks who don't get enought time, it seems, around the hacinenda to devote some quality time to just doing a little relaxing guitar or bass playing, either along with recorded music or by yourself. If you're lucky and are a songwriter of any sort, there's always the possibility the muse could strike and leave you with some great tunes.
So what I'm talking about here is a set of compact gear that can function in a variety of environments, mostly hotel type spots. A lot of the local State and near state seminars I attend by car, which enables me to bring a guitar gig bag with me. And I can pretty much fit what I need in the gig bag to play some guitar in my room.
I'm a drummer, first and foremost, who has been "playing at" guitar and bass and keys now since his early teens, waxing and waning in chops and abilities. I was just always far better at the drums and percussion, but enjoy the limited guitar, bass and keys chops I do have for my own songwriting.
But I want to work on guitar when I know I'm going to have some room time at a seminar. And I'm perfectly capable of sightseeing or hitting bars with friends or watching movies and doing nothing, but it is so rare the time I get a few hours with no real distractions to play the strings.
The other deal is, you don't want to disturb your neighbors at the hotel with your four or six string version of relaxation, which they would define as irritation. I get tired of in ear monitor listening, even though I have some nice monitors and custom molds and I like a small speaker.
But in most hotels, at any time past 7 or 8 p.m, even a Roland Micro Cube bass or guitar amp is going to be TOO MUCH even at it's softest. My solution was to get a single Bose Cube speaker off of ebay (the kind they use with home enertainment centers. I have it hooked up to a small headphobe amplifier
You get down time at the seminars, particularly the long ones, and particularly if you are teaching and not attending all the lectures. My guitar(s) have been to Dallas, South Padre, Alpine, Fort Stockton, Corpus Christi, Austin, San Antonio, Kerrville, Fort Worth and New Orleans on numerous occasions, and even other locales. All over East Texas and West Texas and Central Texas and the Hill Country.
Also, on family trips, this setup will often accompany me for some late-night-family-is-asleep playing. This can also involve when I go fishing, and I'm bank fishing and want to strum a little, or when I find a secluded park or spot that inspires. Throw out some fishing lines with some rod holders stuck in the dirt or tied to trees, pull out a chair and relax in the shade and play some guitar.
USING YOUR COMPUTER AS AMP AND EFFECTS: I could hook it up to the Mac, and that is the ultimate plan now that I have a multi-input interface for it, but usually I step away from the laptop and do it other ways. I carry a mini-disc recorder with me and usually just keep that running hooked up through an out on the rig while I'm playing in case any ideas come out. I can then try to relearn/remember how I played them or sample them into Garageband or Ableton Live later and work from that.
Soon, inevitably, I will be using the Mac instead of the Pocket Pod that I am so fond of. I don't know what programs I'll be using, but regardless, the section on the mini-speaker/amp I devised as a very low volume but hi-fi alternative to in ear practicing that I discuss below will be hooked up to the Mac earphones out jack.
So below here's a list of the gear and stuff I carry when I pack a gig bag for a trip, whether family or work. Depending on where I'm going, I might throw either of my tiny my miraculous Roland Micro Cube or the more amazing Markabass Microamp in the larger suitcase or in the car, in case I can play at a little louder volume in our room, like in some condo's in Port A or Rockport0
A DECENT BUT SMALL SPEAKER FOR PLAYING OUT LOUD BUT QUIETLY, AND A POWER SOURCE: Of course, those with laptops have the gear as well when properly outfitted with software and an input for the guitar. But computers suffer from the same drawbacks as early pioneers in the portable practice micro amp field like the Zoom 7010 Zoomfire, a combination effects, headphone amp and small crappy speaker to practice your guitar through at reasonable volume levels.
That same product, but way updated with a teeny bose speaker, a micro amp smaller than a lot of the bass companies are making and some "hep" electronics/effects could sell millions.
At certain hotels, with the proper adapter cable, you can plug your Pocket Pod (see below) into one of the holel clock radios designed to work with MP3 players and ipods off the headphone jack. Some of these units are Bose, so the speakers are good and you can get more volume than you need. Same thing with a rental car with a plug for an ipod or mp3 player. If you were so inclined...
But for while I did use the Zoomfire till I could stand the speaker no more, and then the Line 6 Pocket Pod came out. Fits in the palm of your hand and clips to your guitar strap or amp handle. Or you can clip it to your belt or place it any number of spots. I like it next to the couch where I can see the digital readout.
Tons of effects and tones and amps and speakers and it fits in the palm of your hand. I enjoy the effects section so much that I've never gone on-line to try to add some of the more "classic rock" band settings that apparently abound on the Line 6 website. Most of the settings that come stock with the unit are bands far younger than my taste runs, but nonetheless I've come up with some great ideas using their tones with my ideas.
There are several bass guitar settings as well, so the Pocket Pod works well when I want to get some tone and play bass instead of guitar on a trip or vacation. Again, I could download tons of them, and maybe I will, but I think the next step is going to be with the Mac.
Besides, I hate messing with the factory settings on stuff like that when it works well and as it is, I'm a guy who only wants one or two NICE effects going through a tube amp usually, so it's really simple to use and compact.
What the Pocket Pod doesn't have is he one thing it needs: enough power to drive a small speaker.
So here's what goes in the guitar gig bag pockets. This bag has a large front pocket, two smaller pockets on top of that big pocket, and a pocket at the top of the neck. Some of this is standard gear.
-two sets extra strings
-bunch of picks in bag
-stringwinder/cutter
-two (2) George L guitar cables, strap
-various adapter cables for minidisc recording, out from minidisc to small amp, etc.
-Pocket Pod
-extra AAA batteries for Pocket Pod and AA's for Minidisc or adapters.
-Shure in ear monitors plus extension cable
-Small Bose Cube speaker (3"x3"x3") (from Bose home entertainment system)
-very small old analog Radio Shack stereo amplifier
-mini-disc recorder and cables
-cable to input ipod or cd player into Pocket pod to play along with
-three prong electric cable with three jacks
-usually some instructional dvd to play along to
As you might guess, I run the Pocket Pod headphone out into the Radio Shack amp which puts out enough juice to power the small Bose Cube speaker for some low volume playing. To do it justice, a nice digital micro amp would be very hip, but the tiny Radio Shack amp fits in the gig bag and warms up the sound of the Pocket Pod's digital footprint a bit. I then run the Bose Cube speaker off of the amp. I thought about getting another Cube speaker off of ebay but that would be overkill, as the one speaker handles guitar or bass sound very well. It would be good for playing along with music, but as I said, I usually do that with in-ears.
Again, the small speaker is not to be cool or entertain others, it's to be able to HEAR the tone and sound of the guitar at an ultra quiet level in good sound quality in a small package. Bose makes a strong speaker, but you need enough power to get it performing properly.
Other times, I've taken the Roland Micro Cube guitar amp, which cranks some amazing battery power and has some cool efffects, or I've taken a teeny tiny microbass practice bass amp that cranks and measures 9"x9"9". When we spent spring break at the coast, both this year and last, the bass amp came along and played at very reasonable volumes after all were in bed. Of course, the sound was far improved over the Bose setup, particularly with the bass amp, but surprisingly the Bose Cube got a great practice guitar sound.
I like adding some guitar playing, just by myself, on vacation or when at a seminar or lecture. Sometimes I've had some great song ideas come to me, but the idea is to relax and take it easy. Back in the real old days, I sat in the back of my truck at the beach at South Padre, watching my surf rods in their holders, while picking on a cheap Mexican acoustic guitar that the salt couldn't hurt much.
Those of you who record regularly on your computer, as well as use programs for various sounds and effects, more power to ya.
I'd rather hook my minidisc up to an out and just record on the fly and see what happens. It ain't low tech, but I guess it's old school tech, none the less.
And it's been years since I've claimed to be anything other than old school.
No, this post is aimed at folks like me. Part-time guitar and bass players. Folks who don't get enought time, it seems, around the hacinenda to devote some quality time to just doing a little relaxing guitar or bass playing, either along with recorded music or by yourself. If you're lucky and are a songwriter of any sort, there's always the possibility the muse could strike and leave you with some great tunes.
So what I'm talking about here is a set of compact gear that can function in a variety of environments, mostly hotel type spots. A lot of the local State and near state seminars I attend by car, which enables me to bring a guitar gig bag with me. And I can pretty much fit what I need in the gig bag to play some guitar in my room.
I'm a drummer, first and foremost, who has been "playing at" guitar and bass and keys now since his early teens, waxing and waning in chops and abilities. I was just always far better at the drums and percussion, but enjoy the limited guitar, bass and keys chops I do have for my own songwriting.
But I want to work on guitar when I know I'm going to have some room time at a seminar. And I'm perfectly capable of sightseeing or hitting bars with friends or watching movies and doing nothing, but it is so rare the time I get a few hours with no real distractions to play the strings.
The other deal is, you don't want to disturb your neighbors at the hotel with your four or six string version of relaxation, which they would define as irritation. I get tired of in ear monitor listening, even though I have some nice monitors and custom molds and I like a small speaker.
But in most hotels, at any time past 7 or 8 p.m, even a Roland Micro Cube bass or guitar amp is going to be TOO MUCH even at it's softest. My solution was to get a single Bose Cube speaker off of ebay (the kind they use with home enertainment centers. I have it hooked up to a small headphobe amplifier
You get down time at the seminars, particularly the long ones, and particularly if you are teaching and not attending all the lectures. My guitar(s) have been to Dallas, South Padre, Alpine, Fort Stockton, Corpus Christi, Austin, San Antonio, Kerrville, Fort Worth and New Orleans on numerous occasions, and even other locales. All over East Texas and West Texas and Central Texas and the Hill Country.
Also, on family trips, this setup will often accompany me for some late-night-family-is-asleep playing. This can also involve when I go fishing, and I'm bank fishing and want to strum a little, or when I find a secluded park or spot that inspires. Throw out some fishing lines with some rod holders stuck in the dirt or tied to trees, pull out a chair and relax in the shade and play some guitar.
USING YOUR COMPUTER AS AMP AND EFFECTS: I could hook it up to the Mac, and that is the ultimate plan now that I have a multi-input interface for it, but usually I step away from the laptop and do it other ways. I carry a mini-disc recorder with me and usually just keep that running hooked up through an out on the rig while I'm playing in case any ideas come out. I can then try to relearn/remember how I played them or sample them into Garageband or Ableton Live later and work from that.
Soon, inevitably, I will be using the Mac instead of the Pocket Pod that I am so fond of. I don't know what programs I'll be using, but regardless, the section on the mini-speaker/amp I devised as a very low volume but hi-fi alternative to in ear practicing that I discuss below will be hooked up to the Mac earphones out jack.
So below here's a list of the gear and stuff I carry when I pack a gig bag for a trip, whether family or work. Depending on where I'm going, I might throw either of my tiny my miraculous Roland Micro Cube or the more amazing Markabass Microamp in the larger suitcase or in the car, in case I can play at a little louder volume in our room, like in some condo's in Port A or Rockport0
A DECENT BUT SMALL SPEAKER FOR PLAYING OUT LOUD BUT QUIETLY, AND A POWER SOURCE: Of course, those with laptops have the gear as well when properly outfitted with software and an input for the guitar. But computers suffer from the same drawbacks as early pioneers in the portable practice micro amp field like the Zoom 7010 Zoomfire, a combination effects, headphone amp and small crappy speaker to practice your guitar through at reasonable volume levels.
That same product, but way updated with a teeny bose speaker, a micro amp smaller than a lot of the bass companies are making and some "hep" electronics/effects could sell millions.
At certain hotels, with the proper adapter cable, you can plug your Pocket Pod (see below) into one of the holel clock radios designed to work with MP3 players and ipods off the headphone jack. Some of these units are Bose, so the speakers are good and you can get more volume than you need. Same thing with a rental car with a plug for an ipod or mp3 player. If you were so inclined...
But for while I did use the Zoomfire till I could stand the speaker no more, and then the Line 6 Pocket Pod came out. Fits in the palm of your hand and clips to your guitar strap or amp handle. Or you can clip it to your belt or place it any number of spots. I like it next to the couch where I can see the digital readout.
Tons of effects and tones and amps and speakers and it fits in the palm of your hand. I enjoy the effects section so much that I've never gone on-line to try to add some of the more "classic rock" band settings that apparently abound on the Line 6 website. Most of the settings that come stock with the unit are bands far younger than my taste runs, but nonetheless I've come up with some great ideas using their tones with my ideas.
There are several bass guitar settings as well, so the Pocket Pod works well when I want to get some tone and play bass instead of guitar on a trip or vacation. Again, I could download tons of them, and maybe I will, but I think the next step is going to be with the Mac.
Besides, I hate messing with the factory settings on stuff like that when it works well and as it is, I'm a guy who only wants one or two NICE effects going through a tube amp usually, so it's really simple to use and compact.
What the Pocket Pod doesn't have is he one thing it needs: enough power to drive a small speaker.
So here's what goes in the guitar gig bag pockets. This bag has a large front pocket, two smaller pockets on top of that big pocket, and a pocket at the top of the neck. Some of this is standard gear.
-two sets extra strings
-bunch of picks in bag
-stringwinder/cutter
-two (2) George L guitar cables, strap
-various adapter cables for minidisc recording, out from minidisc to small amp, etc.
-Pocket Pod
-extra AAA batteries for Pocket Pod and AA's for Minidisc or adapters.
-Shure in ear monitors plus extension cable
-Small Bose Cube speaker (3"x3"x3") (from Bose home entertainment system)
-very small old analog Radio Shack stereo amplifier
-mini-disc recorder and cables
-cable to input ipod or cd player into Pocket pod to play along with
-three prong electric cable with three jacks
-usually some instructional dvd to play along to
As you might guess, I run the Pocket Pod headphone out into the Radio Shack amp which puts out enough juice to power the small Bose Cube speaker for some low volume playing. To do it justice, a nice digital micro amp would be very hip, but the tiny Radio Shack amp fits in the gig bag and warms up the sound of the Pocket Pod's digital footprint a bit. I then run the Bose Cube speaker off of the amp. I thought about getting another Cube speaker off of ebay but that would be overkill, as the one speaker handles guitar or bass sound very well. It would be good for playing along with music, but as I said, I usually do that with in-ears.
Again, the small speaker is not to be cool or entertain others, it's to be able to HEAR the tone and sound of the guitar at an ultra quiet level in good sound quality in a small package. Bose makes a strong speaker, but you need enough power to get it performing properly.
Other times, I've taken the Roland Micro Cube guitar amp, which cranks some amazing battery power and has some cool efffects, or I've taken a teeny tiny microbass practice bass amp that cranks and measures 9"x9"9". When we spent spring break at the coast, both this year and last, the bass amp came along and played at very reasonable volumes after all were in bed. Of course, the sound was far improved over the Bose setup, particularly with the bass amp, but surprisingly the Bose Cube got a great practice guitar sound.
I like adding some guitar playing, just by myself, on vacation or when at a seminar or lecture. Sometimes I've had some great song ideas come to me, but the idea is to relax and take it easy. Back in the real old days, I sat in the back of my truck at the beach at South Padre, watching my surf rods in their holders, while picking on a cheap Mexican acoustic guitar that the salt couldn't hurt much.
Those of you who record regularly on your computer, as well as use programs for various sounds and effects, more power to ya.
I'd rather hook my minidisc up to an out and just record on the fly and see what happens. It ain't low tech, but I guess it's old school tech, none the less.
And it's been years since I've claimed to be anything other than old school.
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