Sound:
I'm a professional keyboardist who makes a good part of his living from music. I must, as all musicians, practice to keep my skill level up to par. Unfortunately I'm married to someone who can't stand listening to me during the many hours of daily practice and/or gig preparation I put in. So this product was right on time for me. As for the sound: Due to my situation as outlined above, I practice with headphones so that no one else can hear me but me. This product is only going to sound as good as the headphones/speakers you use it with so DON'T SKIMP!!! Spend the money on a good quality output device! It will be well worth it in the end! I use a pair of Sennheiser HD-280 Closed Back Headphones with my CD-VT1mkII and it sounds GREAT through these.
Feature:
This product does not come with a power supply. If I'm going to spend the money on your product Mr. Tascam, then the least you could do is include a complimentary power supply. This product runs on batteries too, but don't waste your time. Batteries won't last much more than an hour in this thing, so spend the money on the power supply. It costs about $20, and if you are the type who will be seriously putting your time in using this machine like I do, then look at the power supply as a necessity, not just an accessory, because it really is. Though, I'm a musician, I chose the VOCAL trainer because I felt that if I could remove the vocals out of the way, I could hear straight music and thus learn my parts better. It doesn't remove the vocals totally, but this actually works out great for me because the vocals are actually so far in the background I can hear the music I need to hear, AND I can still reference necessary vocal cues at the same time. Again this is a VOCAL trainer, but it's great for my practice sessions as a musician because it has a built in metronome so my wife doesn't have to put up with that constant ticking that she used to have to. Also, I'm really digging the fact that I can "remove" the vocals as needed and then slow down the CD and learn those really fast & difficult solo runs that I otherwise would have a hard time picking up and I can speed it up gradually until I can play along with it at the correct tempo - and all in complete privacy! Overall, I'm really happy with this machine, but it loses points in this area because I feel the power supply accessory should be included.
Ease of Use:
If you can run a CD player, you can run this machine. Of course you think of tuning an instrument, but whoever heard of "tuning" a CD player to an instrument? I think this is a most useful feature and have used it with great success when trying to learn songs that are not in tune with A-440. Sure, I can do this on my synth too, but in cases where I may be learning something on a standard piano, this feature is invaluable. The learning curve for me wasn't much at all, I went through all the features the first day I got it. I don't have much need for the manual now, but I keep it handy anyway because I'm just that way.
Quality:
The appearance of this product is good, I saw no cosmetic blemishes and there were no loose parts. So far, this product has been very reliable. I haven't had a lick of trouble out of it yet, but I do use it quite a bit so of course I know it's going to wear out eventually. I don't take my machine out on the road a lot, though occasions do pop up where I have to take it out of my house. When those occasions arise, I'm always very careful with this machine. All I can say for now is that I haven't had any trouble out of it whatsoever, so for now it gets a 10 in this area.
Value:
I would say that this product is worth it's selling price. Honestly, I haven't ever seen anything like it up until now. I just think that the power supply should be included in the purchase price. So, for this I must take a point. I can understand having to pay for a REPLACEMENT power supply.
Manufacturer Support:
I haven't had to deal with Tascam yet. So, I can't comment or rate this area.
The Wow Factor:
Sex appeal for me in a product is not so much how it looks (of course no one wants something that "looks" like a piece of junk either) but rather how well I will be able to use it for my given application. So for what I do, it really is just a very practical addition to my set-up.
Overall:
I would definitely replace this if something ever happened to mine. Now that I know what it is, I can't see me not ever having it or at least something like it again. I know it certainly has made my home life a lot better because now all the wife can complain about is hearing the keys of my instrument clicking. Well hello! I think I've more than made a compromise with her as far as that is concerned! But more importantly, and professionally speaking, I have a piece of gear that is helping me to become even better at my craft and to be even better prepared for my projects as they come up.
5 of 7 people
(71.43%) found this review helpful. Did you?
Sound:
50% slowdown sound is barely usable
Feature:
Features would be great if they worked.
The controls for looping are badly designed.
Ease of Use:
It doesn't work.
Quality:
Doesn't work. For the first 6 months it would only perform one function at a time. That is, if you slowed it down, you couldn't loop, or else it would skip all over the track. Now it just skips all over the track even on a straight play.
Also the lid broke on mine & my friend's within 2 weeks.
Value:
If it worked, it would be fine. Since it doesn't, I'd pay $20 or $30 to limp along with another one.
Manufacturer Support:
Wouldn't tell me if there was a fix available for these problems. Then gave me 3 local dealers who had never heard of the product.
zZounds has verified that this customer bought this product from us.
Feature:
Need to come with a power supply.
Ease of Use:
Very user friendly
Quality:
Well made and very easy to use.
Value:
Well worth the selling price.
Manufacturer Support:
Have had product for several months and experienced no problems. On that basis alone it deserves a 10.
Overall:
Should this wear ut I would buy another to replace it.
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