Home › Forums › Forum Help And Other Tutorials › Practice Space Set up (with Jam Tracks)???
Tagged: practice space, rig set up, using jam tracks
- This topic has 11 replies, 8 voices, and was last updated 1 year, 2 months ago by JFL.
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January 18, 2023 at 1:16 pm #332549
Hello! How is your practice space set up when using jam tracks? I like to keep a simple set up. Small amp, guitar, a pedal or two. When using AM’s Jam Tracks I have convert the MP3 file to a WAV file and then upload the WAV file to my looper pedal. Not the best but it works. I don’t have an audio interface and would prefer not to add a laptop and interface into the mix – just trying to keep the practice space simple. If I play the jam track on my phone it’s not always loud enough.
Any suggestions? Tips you learned on setting up your practice space? Any suggestions would be appreciated.
THANKS for your time and attention!
MAC -
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January 18, 2023 at 2:18 pm #332551
Hi Mike – One of the interesting things that happened during the Covid lockdowns all around the world is that many famous bands and musicians started making Youtube videos of themselves performing in their own home studios. So we got a rare glimpse of how many of the pros set up their home music studios. Some studios were quite small, obviously mainly for one or two people to do some jamming and recording. At the other end of the spectrum, some studios were the size of a barn….like Darryl Hall’s (of Hall and Oates), where he could invite 20 people to come in and jam together. But most were just for one person to sit and practice, and do some solo recording. The average size was about the size of a small bedroom or office room, not unlike my own. They all had laptops with large screen monitors, audio interfaces (Focusrites, usually), DAWs (I saw Logic Pro, Ableton, and Cubase), several amps and guitars, some mics, often a pedalboard. 7 years ago I started out like you, wanting to just keep it zen-simple, nothing but my loin cloth, rice bowl, and looper. I only wanted to play for myself, and just get better for the sheer joy of playing. But I soon realized I needed feedback from other people to give me inspiration to keep practicing. And also that the only way I would ever have an audience other than my wife, was to learn to make decent videos of me playing, and post them on the forum and/or Youtube. So now, little by little my studio has grown into a typical music studio like I described above.
A while back, some member suggested we should start a thread on the forum where we post photos of our music studios, but it never happened. You can see glimpses of some of our studios during the monthly challenges, but often it’s a kind of limited view. So maybe we should revisit the subject of sharing photos of our studios and equipment.
Sunjamr Steve
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January 18, 2023 at 5:30 pm #332556
I’m also curious about how y’all play a jam track. Do you go through your amp or computer speakers or some other gadget. I know this has been discussed somewhere before, but I’ve never really settled on a good way.
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January 19, 2023 at 7:02 am #332591
Hi Mike and William,
Like Steve, many of us on the forum are set up in some sort of studio space with recording capability. That means having an input device like the Focusrite Scarlet 2i2 that inputs into recording software directly from the guitar or microphone. The recordings play through studio monitor speakers that double as my computer speakers. I even added a subwoofer. I can play backing tracks as mp3 or wav files directly on my computer or upload to my recording software where I can adjust the tempo and make multiple recordings to monitor my progress or work out ideas.
I opted for a very powerful desktop and two large monitors. I can put a video up on one screen and tab or Soundslice on the other.
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January 19, 2023 at 10:56 am #332598
I appreciate the thoughts. The space I have just doesn’t allow to add a computer, interface, mics, speakers etc. Sounds wonderful but just not a viable option. I’ll see if others have ideas. Thanks!
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January 20, 2023 at 1:21 pm #332633
Do you have room for a desk anywhere? I have an alternate music area with all the things I mentioned above, but it’s all just sitting on a standard student desk, and takes up floor space of about 4′ x 4′, including the desk. 3 guitars can hang on the wall next to it. Plus I can use it as a work station for writing documents, emails, and checking into the AM forum.
Sunjamr Steve
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January 21, 2023 at 1:36 am #332657
I have to agree with Steve: you don’t need much space to set up a small recording environment that will be significantly better than your iPhone or your looper pedal.
All you need is a desk, a computer (a laptop will do) and a small interface. You can make do without monitors and use earphones.
But it’s up to you, of course.
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January 19, 2023 at 8:37 am #332594
I have a small Bluetooth speaker that is used when I travel. Cost about $40. That would be a lot louder.
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January 22, 2023 at 7:20 am #332703
When I first started recording guitar I used an iRig digital condenser microphone aimed at an amplifier and connected directly to my iPad. This video/sound method is very much a ‘live take’ way of recording and worked well however, it didn’t allow me to adjust levels or mix backing tracks etc. post recording.
This is now the space and setup I use for recording and editing ActiveMelody video clips, it also serves as my computer room and art studio. This basic setup is definitely not a recording studio with sound deadening material etc but it really is all I need to produce the standard of videos which suits my purpose today.
To record video I use iMovie on an iPad Air.
The heart of the system is a Hewlett Packard PC with a reasonably fast processor to handle video editing.
To record sound on an acoustic guitar I generally use two of the following options :-
Lewitt LCT 140 Air microphone aimed at the guitar
Shure SM57 microphone aimed at an amplifier
Direct from guitar pick-up
These are connected via ¼ Jack or XLR cables to a Focusrite Scarlet 2i2 audio interface and transmitted live into Ableton Live Lite which is my DAW.
I then mix the sound tracks to suit and listen back through the two Rokit RP5 G4 monitors.I sync and assemble the original video and sound tracks using Adobe Premiere Elements. A 19” screen and two Marantz Pro speakers are used to play back and check/finalise the assembled program.
A finished native video clip of approx 3 mins can be in excess of 200mb in file size, but when output to MP4 format and uploaded to YouTube that file size is compressed to a manageable size which can then be loaded onto ActivMelody.So this setup, simple as it is, works well for me and takes up very little space in a multi-purpose room.
Richard
PS: The two pics of Kingfisher and Whitethroat are extras for my sanity …..Attachments:
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January 26, 2023 at 8:02 pm #332869
This is my space. I use a desktop amp, Yamaha THRii. It’s great. It’s got different amp and cab modelers, a few effects, a tuner…
BUT it into my laptop via USB so I can play back backing tracks, lessons, and play along through the headphones. It can also act as an interface for recording.
For me this is the best practice set up.
JFL
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January 26, 2023 at 8:02 pm #332871
This is my space. I use a desktop amp, Yamaha THRii. It’s great. It’s got different amp and cab modelers, a few effects, a tuner…
BUT it into my laptop via USB so I can play back backing tracks, lessons, and play along through the headphones. It can also act as an interface for recording.
For me this is the best practice set up.
JFL
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January 26, 2023 at 8:06 pm #332873
also has Bluetooth so it can play back tracks from your phone, etc…
JFL
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