Tascam MPGT1 Portable MP3 Guitar Trainer User Reviews at zZounds

"Excellent for learning solos." submitted November 8, 2007

By ortmonster<at>gmail.com

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Features

Ease of Use

Quality

Value

Manufacturer Support

The Wow Factor

Musical Background: hobby - novice guitar player

Music Style: rock, metal, pop

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Sound: sounds great. The quality of the mp3 should determine this. Feature: External non usb power supply INCLUDED would be nice. Swappable/expandable memory. 1/4 out would be cool. the buttons and wheel are EASY to learn. Picked it up in 5 mins without touching the manual. Seems a bit odd to use the 'guitar cancel' feature. Maybe I don't have it 100 percent figured out yet, but was only able to REDUCE some guitar sounds, not cancel them. Again, this may be my lack of knowlede of the unit, or how the MP3 files actually 'store' guitar 'tracks'... Its a sturdy little unit. Ease of Use: WAY WAY easy to use. Quality: Sturdy exterior. Looks like it will take a few drops and kicks no problem. Value: Fairy nice. More memory would justify its current price. Manufacturer Support: Havn't needed support. This is my first Tascam product too. The Wow Factor: Kicks butt over the old CD trainer, that seemed slow and laggy. Overall: Suits its description very nicely.

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"Great Practice Tool" submitted March 22, 2010

By a customer from generalinnovations.com

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Musical Background: hobbyist

Music Style: varried

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Sound: The actual guitar sounds are good. The distortions sound natural and the reverb, delay, and modulation effects all sound good. (Even if they are limited in their adjustment). The playback sound is perfect for mp3's at 0 pitch and key adjustment. With pitch correction the playback sound quality suffers. This is not enough to deter me from the advantages of tuning the guitar once and then adjusting the songs to the guitar. Feature: The transposition, tuning, timing, and loop features are what this product is all about. I wish it had the capabiltiy to store the tuning, timing, and pitch adustment on a per-song basis. i.e. I wish I didn't have to retune the unit each time a song comes on that I have already played to and adjusted the tuning. However, that being said, it's not that hard to tune the song to the instrument. Ease of Use: It took me a few hours to get used to the user interface. However, once I got the hang of it I realized it's very consistent. The hard buttons are well chosen, in that you always have access to the transport, guitar sound, volume, and mix fuctions. I do wish the pitch and timing adjustment were also linked to hard buttons, besides having the final settings stick to the song. Quality: The overall build quality seems very good. I plan to put the unit in my gig bag with the formed aluminum case facing out and then fly to Brazil (and lots of other places) while hoping the airline doesn't gate check my bag. Long term, your guess is as good as mine. Tascam has a pretty good history. Value: For me, it's worth it. I just need a headphone amp/FX unit with an MP3 player built in. The tuning feature is the clincher for me. I don't have to stare at the computer screen after work anymore. Just plug in and play. It's not perfect in terms of sound, but it IS perfect as a practice tool. The Wow Factor: It's not as sexy as an iPhone. BTW..."Is there an iPhone app for that?" Overall: I hope to get several years of use out of this. If it doesn't work out I will complain about Tascam and probably not buy anything like this for another 10 years. I don't think I have unrealistic expectations, but I do hope that by having the ability to practice while I'm in my hotel room I'll get to play more with real musicians as well.

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"Best investment of 2007" submitted January 9, 2008

By a customer from hotmail.com

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Musical Background: Hobbyist

Music Style: Funk

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Sound: This is by far the best trainer yet from Tascam. I'm always a little picky about sound so It should get a 10. Feature: This is an all in one solution. The battery last for hours and it's so small can go anywhere. Also bought the leather case from ValetStand which makes it totally portable. Just clip it on your belt and you can walk around no powercords or wires. Ease of Use: If you have an iPod it sould take less than 1 hour to get this down. it is way easy. Quality: The only challenge I've had is forwarding songs to quickly. My bad. It sometimes mixs the songs and have to reset. Just like iPod. Value: For $200 it is the best investment made to date. The leather case from ValetStand ran me another $37 dollars - but well worth the money. Manufacturer Support: Have contact tascam on other products. They always resolve. The Wow Factor: It's small and sleek. Clipping on my belt allows me to Jam walking around so it looks alot better than sitting down in front of the old CD models. Overall: It is the best design on the market to date. I have not used my CD models since this purchase.

5 of 6 people (83.33%) found this review helpful. Did you?

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"If you are serious about learning guitar, then buy one of these and take your guitar everywhere" submitted September 24, 2007

By a customer from aol.com

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The Wow Factor

Musical Background: hobbyist

Music Style: rock/metal/blues

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Sound: sounds are great. pre-sets work well and with a bit of fiddling can produce even better sounds. Feature: Would have liked a soft case for it. slows down sections really well keeping them in tune. i would like to be able to add my own FX but as i said before, the ones onboard do the job well. Ease of Use: simple as. Quality: very well made. like the metal surround, helps when the unit gets pushed around lol. a cover for the usb port would help too, to keep muck out of there. Value: the only mp3 based one so its very good Overall: this should outlast my ability ;)

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"Hold out buying until TASCAM does redesign with updated memory & battery features." submitted January 8, 2010

By a customer from copper.net

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Musical Background: Active Musician

Music Style: Blues/Rock/Jazz

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Sound: Sound is good, depends more on what you play it through Feature: This thing was nearly obsolete when it was introduced into the market. It needs to have ability to expand and/or switch out memory with cards. It also needs to have a replaceable rechargable lithium battery. I don't want to have to toss the whole thing out and buy a new one when it will no longer hold a charge. Finally, it needs to have an AC Charger included in the box. Ease of Use: Pretty easy to use. Quality: As noted already, make it so the battery can be replaced. Value: There may not be other similar products on the market (yet), but that does not mean it is a good value. Fix the memory issue, go to a replaceable lithium ion battery, and add an AC Charger to the box, and my rating will go up to a 10! Manufacturer Support: No comments The Wow Factor: Fix the memory issue, go to a replaceable lithium ion battery, and add an AC Charger to the box, I'd buy one before sundown. Overall: Technoligically obsolete since it was introduced. It needs expandable memory with cards, a replaceable lithium ion battery, and an AC Charger in the box. I'll stick with my CD Trainer until either TASCAM updates the design, or a competitor like BOSS or ZOOM comes out with a similar better product.

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Tascam MPGT1 MP3 Trainer Customer Review submitted July 2, 2007

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Sound

Features

Ease of Use

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Manufacturer Support

Musical Background: Intermediate Guitar Hobbyist

Music Style: Blues

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Sound: Digital MP3 As good as the file and your headphones. Feature: Effects are amazing. I can always find one that sounds like the song I am trying to play. I have barely messed with the custom settings, just using the presets. Ease of Use: Read the manual, OK. Quality: The ON-OFF switch is a little wierd, you have to hold it in and move it. Battery could last longer. Value: It is uniquie - only MP3 Guitar trainer. Price seems reasonable compared to other MP3 players, plus it has lots more it can do. Manufacturer Support: I was to dumb to figure out the ON-OFF switch, but I emailed support and they got me the right answer the next day. The Wow Factor: None compared to IPOD. Overall: I expect it to last a long time. I would definately replace it if lost. It has fundementally improved my guitar playing. The ability to slow down music to figure it out and practice it before having to blaze through it has opened new doors for my guitar playing. Loop feature is invaluable.

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"Better than the previous TASCAM CD-GT1mkII But..." submitted February 19, 2008

By a customer from yahoo.com

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Features

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Musical Background: Hobbyist

Music Style: Rock Jazz Latin

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Sound: The sound coming out of it is comparable to that of my iPod. Feature: The effects are good enough. It would be nice to have the power supply included, and even the carrying case. Biggest problem is I actually own more than 240 MP3s that I would Like to Jam to. I like that it is compact and portable, but so is my iPod. I mean I don't see myself walking down the street while playing my guitar, let alone jammin' while driving. Ease of Use: Pretty easy to use Quality: Looks pretty sturdy, but I would drop just to verify this... Value: I thought $200 was a bit steep, and that's without the power supply or a case. So I won't buy one since I am extremely happy with my new setup (mTrax from terrasofta.com) Manufacturer Support: Do not know The Wow Factor: No I don't want it. I tried my friend's just to see how far Tascam had come along since the days of the CD-GT1mkII, which I had bought and quickly sold, at a loss of course, on Ebay. I think my friend will sell his MPGT1, look for it on Ebay, now that I showed him the software I am using, mTrax from www.terrasofta.com. For $30, I think mTrax is a much better value. One thing mTrax does not have is guitar effects. I play along with my guitar amp. You can also plug your guitar into your Line6 POD (or similar) and then your POD into you Laptop. Overall: Nice little gadget. I guess I am not the gadget type, especially since my experience with the TASCAM CD-GT1mkII.

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