Guitarport review/demo

[Chihlidog]

I'll be doing this in parts. The sound isnt great. My camera doesnt like to pick up bottom end so the sound is a little misrepresented. But it will give you an idea, hopefully, of all the little toys the GuitarPort comes with.

If there is something specific you want to see/hear, say the word. Specific head & amp combo, specific sound, etc, I will do my best. Here ya go.

GPdemo1.flv video by chihlidog - Photobucket

[Mark Wein]

Cool! I'll check it out a little later on when I'm done teaching...

[dfunk]

I have the toneport which looks similar to the guitarport. I actually got it about 2 years ago but started playing with it earler this month and haven't touched my amp since. There are tons of cool stuff in there!

[Chihlidog]

OK, part 2 I start messing with some of the "pedals" on the interface. My camera battery had enough so I had to cut this one short. Forgive the sound, I forgot to cut the highs so it's WAY too bright on the vid. It sounded nice and full in person. :o .

And once again, anyone that wants to see something specific just let me know. I'm putting these up mainly for people that want a better idea of what the thing does or what it sounds like. I am running through all the basics first but I will get into the rifftracker softare. Probably this weekend.

EDIT: It didnt work. I am reuploading and it is going slow this time so be patient. Its a smaller file so not sure why it is taking so long.

OK finally, here it is.

GPdemo2.flv video by chihlidog - Photobucket

[hobo]

I'll be doing this in parts. The sound isnt great. My camera doesnt like to pick up bottom end so the sound is a little misrepresented. But it will give you an idea, hopefully, of all the little toys the GuitarPort comes with.

If there is something specific you want to see/hear, say the word. Specific head & amp combo, specific sound, etc, I will do my best. Here ya go.

GPdemo1.flv video by chihlidog - Photobucket (http://s141.photobucket.com/albums/r70/chihlidog/?action=view&current=GPdemo1.flv)


this may sound a little dumb, but are stomp boxes "whatever they call them these days" obsolete and now do you have to have a computer when you play the guitar :HB:

[Chihlidog]

this may sound a little dumb, but are stomp boxes "whatever they call them these days" obsolete and now do you have to have a computer when you play the guitar :HB:

No. Quite the opposite. Most people (and I'd agree) would say that the modeling stuff is a poor to mediocre substitute for a real rig.

The nice thing about a guitarport is that it gives you a million options, especially if youre a bedroom player. I love my 5150 but playing it in the house isnt usually an option. I can jam all night on the guitarport and nobody minds. I can also record riffs very easily and get other sounds to jam and practice with. TO buy all of the things that a GP will simulate would cost an exorbitant amount of money.

The 5150 was used for gigging with my former band. It's probably too much power even for that. A 2x12 combo or even a decent 1x12 and some pedals is still the way to go for real rock and roll but again, anything over 5 watts is just too much for home use.

[Chihlidog]

Yep. Makes all kinds of sense.

Is it the rifftracker, or the XT?

I got the one with Rifftracker, but that hasnt even come into the video yet. It is a completely separate program that is used with the GP. I will be doing a demo of that sometime later this week.

[Phil513]

I got the one with Rifftracker, but that hasnt even come into the video yet. It is a completely separate program that is used with the GP. I will be doing a demo of that sometime later this week.

I look forward to it! Cause of you i was reading about it on MF, so i want to compare with its ease versus having to program drum stuff out on my Alesis.

[jayhitz]

Very cool Chihli, thanks. I'm thinking I want one, about 90% sure so far, so these really help me out a lot.

Appreciate you taking the time!

[Chihlidog]

Very cool Chihli, thanks. I'm thinking I want one, about 90% sure so far, so these really help me out a lot.

Appreciate you taking the time!

No problem at all. If I can make something clearer or answer anyhting just let me know. It really would make me feel like less of an idiot if there was something specific I was demonstrating. But I enjoy making these, the guitar port is a nifty little device.

Phil, I can pretty much tell you that yuo will want to stick with your drum machine. The recording software is called "RiffTracker" and I believe aptly named. You wanna record a rriff, loops it, and solo over it, the software is perfect.

You wanna do something with a lot of changes, you're basically screwed. You cant. However, let me re-iterate that with Reaper, a basic GuitarPort (without rifftracker) and a drum machine, you would have almost no limits to the variety of music you could make. Vocals would be the only issue.

[jayhitz]

Chihli, do you think it is still very useful/worth the price for someone who doesn't have any internet hookup? I don't have any available at home. But I don't have any effects, and rarely play anywhere other than at home or occasionally the next door neighbor's house.

I like what I've seen, am just wondering if I was going to spend the $, if it would be my best bet for something that inexpensive, or if I should be thinking about other things too.

[Chihlidog]

Chihli, do you think it is still very useful/worth the price for someone who doesn't have any internet hookup? I don't have any available at home. But I don't have any effects, and rarely play anywhere other than at home or occasionally the next door neighbor's house.

I like what I've seen, am just wondering if I was going to spend the $, if it would be my best bet for something that inexpensive, or if I should be thinking about other things too.

The only thing that you need an internet connection for is updating it. However, that in itself is a good thing to do. Could you take your PC somewhere once to get all the updates? If so, then you wouldnt need to hook it up again unless you want the GP online stuff, which you dont need and costs extra anyway. I dont find it very useful.

[jayhitz]

The only thing that you need an internet connection for is updating it. However, that in itself is a good thing to do. Could you take your PC somewhere once to get all the updates? If so, then you wouldnt need to hook it up again unless you want the GP online stuff, which you dont need and costs extra anyway. I dont find it very useful.

Thanks for the info, updating it occasionally would be no problem at all. I knew the online stuff cost a little more, just wondering if you used it a lot and how much difference in usefulness (if that's a word:-)) it would make. So you have answered my question! Thanks again!

[Chihlidog]

Thanks for the info, updating it occasionally would be no problem at all. I knew the online stuff cost a little more, just wondering if you used it a lot and how much difference in usefulness (if that's a word:-)) it would make. So you have answered my question! Thanks again!

Yeah, the online stuff is just basically tracks of famous songs and downloadable "tones" that are supposed to sound like famous people. It was fun for the free month that came with the GP but I wouldnt pay for it. It's just a distraction.

Like I said, with a GP, Reaper and some drum software, you really couldnt be any more set for PC recording except for vocals. To me vocals arent a big deal since I cant sing so I guess I dont think too much about them. But you can get reaper pretty much for free and there is also this for free (thanks stinkymommasboy)

http://www.supercoldmilk.com/drumtrack/index.htm

[jayhitz]

Yeah, the online stuff is just basically tracks of famous songs and downloadable "tones" that are supposed to sound like famous people. It was fun for the free month that came with the GP but I wouldnt pay for it. It's just a distraction.

Like I said, with a GP, Reaper and some drum software, you really couldnt be any more set for PC recording except for vocals. To me vocals arent a big deal since I cant sing so I guess I dont think too much about them. But you can get reaper pretty much for free and there is also this for free (thanks stinkymommasboy)

http://www.supercoldmilk.com/drumtrack/index.htm

Thanks. I've got Reaper, but just now learning how to use it. Just playing with backing tracks so far, but do want to eventually learn how to do drums, etc. Can't sing at all, so don't have to worry about vocals.

Really appreciate all the advice! And I'm pretty sure the Guitarport is still at the top of my wish list.

[Chihlidog]

Thanks. I've got Reaper, but just now learning how to use it. Just playing with backing tracks so far, but do want to eventually learn how to do drums, etc. Can't sing at all, so don't have to worry about vocals.

Really appreciate all the advice! And I'm pretty sure the Guitarport is still at the top of my wish list.

One last suggestion. Really good speakers. When you're playing your PC guitar sometimes you wanna crank it, ya know? The GP wouldnt be nearly as satisfying for me if I didnt have a really loud really boomin stereo system hooked up to my PC top pay it through.

[jayhitz]

One last suggestion. Really good speakers. When you're playing your PC guitar sometimes you wanna crank it, ya know? The GP wouldnt be nearly as satisfying for me if I didnt have a really loud really boomin stereo system hooked up to my PC top pay it through.

Already got that covered too. But thanks!

[jayhitz]

Think I'm going to go ahead and order this soon, depending on the difference betwixt my paycheck and my electric bill. If not, probably will in a couple of weeks.

Looking forward to it! Thanks for the advice, Chihli!

[Chihlidog]

Think I'm going to go ahead and order this soon, depending on the difference betwixt my paycheck and my electric bill. If not, probably will in a couple of weeks.

Looking forward to it! Thanks for the advice, Chihli!

I hope you like it as much as I like mine. With Reaper and some drum software you're gonna be like a kid in a candy store, I think! AOK

[Eminence_Front]

Hey Chihli.


When doing demo's on "PC" based apps, check out "Camtasia"./


It's a desktop DVR basically that records all your on screen actions. Then you can edit it just like a standard AVI file, and record your own voice-overs, transitions, etc.

Keeps you from having to use your cam to do stuff like the above.


Google "Camtasia Studio"