I'm a somewhat IT illiterate guitar player. I would like to be able to jam along to the songs/backing tracks on this site. What is the best way to do that/is it possible to do that?? I thought I would be able to open garage band up and do it that way but had no luck. Please forgive the naive question. :) But any help would be appreciated. It still beats rewinding the cassette tape back and forth. lol
Is it possible to jam along to guitartricks on the computer
Hi all,
I'm a somewhat IT illiterate guitar player. I would like to be able to jam along to the songs/backing tracks on this site. What is the best way to do that/is it possible to do that?? I thought I would be able to open garage band up and do it that way but had no luck. Please forgive the naive question. :) But any help would be appreciated. It still beats rewinding the cassette tape back and forth. lol
I'm a somewhat IT illiterate guitar player. I would like to be able to jam along to the songs/backing tracks on this site. What is the best way to do that/is it possible to do that?? I thought I would be able to open garage band up and do it that way but had no luck. Please forgive the naive question. :) But any help would be appreciated. It still beats rewinding the cassette tape back and forth. lol
# 1
# 2
Hi Patty,
Just click the Jam Station icon in the upper right corner of the home page, second icon, and you're good to go!
Have fun!!
Just click the Jam Station icon in the upper right corner of the home page, second icon, and you're good to go!
Have fun!!
[FONT=Book Antiqua][FONT=Arial][FONT=Tahoma]Neal
GT Channel Host[/FONT][/FONT][/FONT]
http://www.guitartricks.com/channel/
GT Channel Host[/FONT][/FONT][/FONT]
http://www.guitartricks.com/channel/
# 3
Originally Posted by: Neal WalterHi Patty,
Just click the Jam Station icon in the upper right corner of the home page, second icon, and you're good to go!
Have fun!!
I guess I have to clarify, if all you're having trouble with is getting the player to go, then Neal is right. I took Patty's meaning to be that the goal was to be able to hear both the Jam Tracks and the guitar at the same time on the computer, particularly with the mention of trying to do it with Garage Band. If that's the case, then you'll have to set something up like what I suggested in my first post. But if you just want to jam along with an acoustic or an electric and amp, while listing to the Jam Tracks on the computer, then yeah, its not complicated at all. Sorry for the confusion!
# 4
Hi Patty... got your message, so looks like I was right initially after all, and you're looking for how to get the Jam Tracks and your guitar going on the computer at the same time.
First, you're going to need some sort of interface to get your guitar into the computer. In rare cases you can plug your guitar into an audio input jack on the computer using a simple adapter, but this is probably not a likely option. Instead, you'll want a USB interface like this one from Peavey
This gets the guitar signal into your computer, and then you use software to add tone & effects to your guitar. The Peavey X Port comes with amp-simulation software, but I've never used it... it was just one of the cheaper options. Another option is to get an effects unit that has a USB out, so that you can send a processed signal into your computer. These are more pricey.
Once you're able to play your guitar through your computer, you now need to be able to hear both the guitar, and the Jam Tracks audio at the same time. There are so many possibilities, I won't go into them, but simply tell you how my system works:
I have a Mac Book Pro, and use Line 6's "Guitar Port" which plugs into the computer via USB. I then plug the guitar into the Guitar Port, which has a nice big volume knob on it. My headphones are also plugged into the Guitar Port. Next, I had to set the preferences for the computer's audio out to go to the Guitar Port. I think I only had to do this once, and now it seems to do it whenever I plug the Guitar Port in. Now, if I play any audio on the computer, I hear it through the headphones plugged into the Guitar Port. I use the software that came with the Guitar Port to select effect patches for the guitar and can jam along... in your case I'd set the guitar sound, then go open the GT Jam Tracks player, hit play, and be able to jam along.
One nice feature with the Line 6 software is that it allows me to import a backing track (there's tons of free ones on-line) and then play that track right in the Line 6 software. It also allows me to balance the guitar and backing track volume, as well as the over-all volume.
Take a look on-line at the USB options and see what appeals to you. For what its worth, I practice with my electric three ways:
-through the computer with Line 6 Guitar Port
-through my BOSS DR880 which has built in guitar effects.
-using my Laney Lionheart amp and just having the backing track play through a stereo, or not use any backing tracks at all.
With the other two options, its hard sometimes to get a satisfying tone using the computer, but its still fun & useful!
First, you're going to need some sort of interface to get your guitar into the computer. In rare cases you can plug your guitar into an audio input jack on the computer using a simple adapter, but this is probably not a likely option. Instead, you'll want a USB interface like this one from Peavey
This gets the guitar signal into your computer, and then you use software to add tone & effects to your guitar. The Peavey X Port comes with amp-simulation software, but I've never used it... it was just one of the cheaper options. Another option is to get an effects unit that has a USB out, so that you can send a processed signal into your computer. These are more pricey.
Once you're able to play your guitar through your computer, you now need to be able to hear both the guitar, and the Jam Tracks audio at the same time. There are so many possibilities, I won't go into them, but simply tell you how my system works:
I have a Mac Book Pro, and use Line 6's "Guitar Port" which plugs into the computer via USB. I then plug the guitar into the Guitar Port, which has a nice big volume knob on it. My headphones are also plugged into the Guitar Port. Next, I had to set the preferences for the computer's audio out to go to the Guitar Port. I think I only had to do this once, and now it seems to do it whenever I plug the Guitar Port in. Now, if I play any audio on the computer, I hear it through the headphones plugged into the Guitar Port. I use the software that came with the Guitar Port to select effect patches for the guitar and can jam along... in your case I'd set the guitar sound, then go open the GT Jam Tracks player, hit play, and be able to jam along.
One nice feature with the Line 6 software is that it allows me to import a backing track (there's tons of free ones on-line) and then play that track right in the Line 6 software. It also allows me to balance the guitar and backing track volume, as well as the over-all volume.
Take a look on-line at the USB options and see what appeals to you. For what its worth, I practice with my electric three ways:
-through the computer with Line 6 Guitar Port
-through my BOSS DR880 which has built in guitar effects.
-using my Laney Lionheart amp and just having the backing track play through a stereo, or not use any backing tracks at all.
With the other two options, its hard sometimes to get a satisfying tone using the computer, but its still fun & useful!
# 5
thanks for all the help!!
And thanks to Neil also. I wasn't aware of the jam feature, so that helped too. I'm a newb. lol
Thanks again,
Pat
And thanks to Neil also. I wasn't aware of the jam feature, so that helped too. I'm a newb. lol
Thanks again,
Pat
# 6
hope u worked it out
# 7
