# Setting up the the mother of all practice to tracks with great tone rigs



## bluehugh2 (Mar 10, 2006)

So… being somewhat of a Luddite… I am interested in the ways folks set up their practicing technology…
Great guitar tone, playing to tracks (and not) … low volume mix in the room or headphones?Should this be through the computer (NO idea how to do it properly or the tech involved). Or with a dedicated device?
How do YOU do it?
Thanks!


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## bigboki (Apr 16, 2015)

Great idea for a thread, I am also searching for help for this exact setup!

My current setup - always bedroom (literally) playing:
1. for short (5-15mins play):
guitar through regular amp/cab, 
backing tracks: laptop through its own speakers, using Transcribe! for backing tracks to set proper tempo
Good: Fast and uncomplicated 
Bad: Need to power tube amp, wait for warm up. "Should I turn it on for just 5mins of play" When should I turn it off? "Oh brother - as soon as amp warmed up, they are calling me for this stupid meeting"...

2. for longer:
guitar same - through regular amp/cab,
backing tracks: laptop through USB RME Babyface into single (no room for stereo pair) Yorkville studio monitor (powered).
Good: Still Fast enough - but need to connect USB Audio card, turn on monitor etc 
Bad: The same like above but now need to connect audio card, power on monitor...


Experimenting to eliminate Guitar Amp, to use Kingsley Maiden (plus Page DS) into Two Notes Cab-M into Audio Card into monitor.


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## RBlakeney (Mar 12, 2017)

This is a trick, you know that no one here practices!


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## Budda (May 29, 2007)

RBlakeney said:


> This is a trick, you know that no one here practices!


Heh.

my setup is guitar-axefx (doubles as interface)-beyerdynamic 770 headphones. I have a scarlett 2i4 interface that I will be listing soon as I havent fired it up since 2017? Early 2018?. I have budget monitors (Mackie CR4) but I barely ever use them and may sell those too. 

My axefx is selected as my soundcard for input and output on my computer. I can have the tuner on and still get audio playback. On the times I do play along to songs, I just adjust my preset level. Some folks require “amp in the room” I just want to sound great while I play. 

when I was in Sparrows and writing or practicing at home, my setup was this:
Guitar-pedalboard-practice amp (marshall MG30?). Computer audio to small monitors. It was always low volume. I didnt need a great tone, just to make sure I was hitting the right pedals when I needed to.


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## Mark Brown (Jan 4, 2022)

Guitar>Champ>Waza TAE>Scarlett 2i2>PC>Headphones/Monitors

Kids no longer yell at me to turn it down. Other benefits are instant recording options, drum tracks out the wazoo and I can load backing tracks to anything I want. 

It is a good time to be a silent performer.


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## gtrguy (Jul 6, 2006)

For quick and easy practicing when I don’t want to bother anyone (noodling mostly lol) it’s guitar—>PODHD—>headphones

Quality headphones are a must.

If I want to play with tracks I plug the PODHD into my audio interface (or fire up Amplitube) which handles all my PC audio and I can either listen with headphones or through my monitor speakers.

If I’m not concerned about volume I just plug into one of my amps.

Honestly though, most of the time these days I’m just grabbing an acoustic.


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## DaddyDog (Apr 21, 2017)

For practicing the band music:

1. I create a Spotify list of the sets. This has worked very well for me, especially to actually learn the songs. Downside is if we change the key, or do something different with the arrangement. I play the list from iMac into PA.

2. I like to get the guitar and the pedal tone right, along with appropriate boosts. Now is the time to do that, not at rehearsal! So I use the guitars I'm going to gig with, and the pedals I intend to use.

<insert rant of band members who do not do the above, and waste a ton of time at rehearsal>


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## Derek_T (10 mo ago)

Guitar -> Helix -> Audio Technica-M50. 

I do use a Zoom G1xon in the return loop of the Helix as a way to playback songs from the iPhone, have some drum groove... I had the pedal lying around and it's been a great complement to the Helix.

The Helix also serves as an audio interface when I record with Ableton.

I've been working with such a set up for years and I quite like it.


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## Chito (Feb 17, 2006)

I used to practice full blast in the rehearsal studio as I play along with the music. Nowadays, I just sit here infront of the laptop and play either unplugged or into a Fender Mustang Micro. Also, I play clean all the time and not doing any soloing at all so I don't practice those. I just try to learn the song and how it is structured and played. Or if it is a new tune I'm writing, I just play along and figure out how the chord progressions flow and maybe write it down at some point.  
My days of trying to cop solos are long gone.  If I need to solo on one of our songs, I just do it on the fly. LOL I recall in my other band, I never practiced the solos on the original songs. Eventually after playing it over and over, I end up with something that I can repeat each time we play it.


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## Kerry Brown (Mar 31, 2014)

Depends what instrument I'm playing. Bass goes through a EHX Battalion, into a Focusrite 2i2 into a PC running Reaper with many different plugins, AKG headphones plugged into the 2i2 headphone jack. Electric guitar usually the same setup with the pass through engaged on the Battalion. Acoustic/electric guitar through a LR Baggs Venue DI into the 2i2. Vocals through a Sennheiser mic, into a Behringer mixer, into the 2i2. I mostly play along with the originals of our band setlist on YouTube or backing tracks from Youtube or Soundcloud. The bonus is I'm always setup for recording when inspiration hits. The weak point is the very old AKG headphones which I really should replace but never seem to get around to it.


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## BlueRocker (Jan 5, 2020)

I have a Boss RC-3 looper in the effects loop of my amp (along with a Beat buddy mini). Laptop USB is connected to the Boss looper so I can directly load .wav files into one of the 99 memory locations. This is handy as I have a Jazz book that came with tracks on CD (I had to find my DVD drive to rip it onto the laptop). I also connect the 1/8" phones output of the laptop to the aux input of the RC-3 if I want to use a YouTube jam track or something. Use the Beat Buddy alone if I just want to noodle in time with something.


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## Grab n Go (May 1, 2013)

I've been using the Positive Grid Spark quite a bit. I plug in a guitar, flip a switch and it automatically connects to my phone via Bluetooth. I stream the metronome and any other media from my phone.

When the weather's nice, I use the Mustang Micro outside. Again, it connects to my phone easily and I only have to worry about the headphone cable.

I still like to print out lesson stuff and charts. I have a few binders worth.

I'll fire up the bigger amps to maintain a connection and for fun. But for learning purposes, it's easier if I can connect it to my phone.


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## tdotrob (Feb 24, 2019)

I use guitar into interface, run Presonus studio pro and a track of guitar using tonehub so I have any mix ready tone I want for the mood and at any volume, one track with EZ drummer 3 to play along to. For EZ drummer three I have a pile of drum tracks to pick from. I see where the riffs are taking me and then pick drum tracks based on the vibe I’m feeling and then play along to them.


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## mnfrancis (May 24, 2010)

Kids and wife out of the house > guitar > cable > Fender Vibrolux reverb at 6 = Jam time


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## jdto (Sep 30, 2015)

Guitar -> Pedalboard -> Amp ->(Sometimes) Attenuator
Backing Track or Recording of the song (if we play it in the same key as the recording) through monitors
Otherwise, I'll use Ultimate Guitar's Pro Tab version and transpose it to the key I want and play along with that. I want to learn how to do my own basic drum tracks.


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## mrmatt1972 (Apr 3, 2008)

I use my normal interface and IK amplitube 5 for any volume I need or headphones practice but it doesnt play well with others, I can’t seem to have YouTube playing while Amplitube is running. I’d love some help with that issue. I could download tracks WAVs or MP3s and put this in Reaper to play song with (Amplitube works as a stand alone or an instrument in my DAW) but that is more work than I want to do.


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## Always12AM (Sep 2, 2018)

My least favourite amp which is a Vox AC15HW, sits in the middle of the room. A couple of mic’s a couple of feet off. Going into mic preamps set neutral going into the computer. It just happens to be the best sounding and mechanically quiet amp I own for recording. And it weighs as much as a Samoan, so it’s a nice amp to leave in one place as the work horse.

At 15 watts 3/10 volume is more than enough. Want more gain? Guitar volume knob is the ticket.

Dave Cobb the resident producer at RCA studios in Nashville (Stapleton, colter wall, Jason isbell etc) never turns amps especially tweed amps past 3).

Tech related notes:

In the daw: both mic’s mono hard panned left or right in different directions.

(Sir George Martin of the Beatles swore by this)

Preamps hardware / software:
I cut some treble from the ribbon and add a bit of low end.

I leave the condenser neutral.

I add a compressor to both barely interacting with the raw signal.

From there you can move the mic’s most importantly to where they pick up the least about of hum and to where they sound the most natural (real life).

I then ad room style reverb to the condenser as it’s more bass oriented and I want to simulate some space from the amp. (Capitol records wrecking room era techniques.. except they fed sound into a concrete closet and then record that echo and mix it in).

I add a medium plate reverb to the ribbon as it has more highs and less lows and adds more detail to the reverb. I mix it to taste.

(This replaced the old school technique but works well with the room technique

Once this is all done, I’ll use the actual DAW software visual EQ to remove whatever I’m not liking about either. And then SAVE ALL SETTINGS.

I do the same thing with drums and bass and acoustic guitar and vocals. Start with moving the hardware before farting around with the digital end.

Some argue that hard panning all sources left or right in mono is the best way to start out. I agree. You can always fart around later.

vocals, I use one mic and create two channels. One that’s crystal clear and lots of headroom and one that’s a little darker and has more bass.

I try to say to myself with my eyes closed “what type of room am I looking to create using sound and how can I make these sources sound as much as possible like I’m hearing them with my human ears prior to playing with EQ and compression”.


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## RBlakeney (Mar 12, 2017)

even though none of us practice, I am just using my fm3 in my Mac. My practicing consists of writing songs in logic. at some point in the near future I’ll likely get an oxbox, tube expander or some thing of that nature, so that I can use my amps to do this with also, so I can justify having 10 or 12 or however many of em I have around currently.


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## Moosehead (Jan 6, 2011)

Being a meat and potato guy (and beers) I keep things super simple. 
Mac into P.A. head (Phonic 740) for backing tracks and guitar into pedals into amp (jcm 800). High input and fairly loud when home alone or attenuated and lower volume when people are home. 

Also recently bought a Hx stomp but not really digging it through the cheap p.a. Eleven rack sounds pretty good through the p.a. though so i tend to use that atm. Stomp sounds a bit better through a powered speaker (yorkville e160p) but still trying to find the right fit for it. I hate headphones so don't usually go that route unless I absolutely have to.

Sometimes I plug into the vox ac4 into 2x12 70's greenbacks, sounds great but not much quieter. 1/4 volume sounds too compressed so the lowest i go is 1w on the built in attenuator.


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## Delores Streisand (Nov 4, 2018)

bluehugh2 said:


> So… being somewhat of a Luddite… I am interested in the ways folks set up their practicing technology…
> Great guitar tone, playing to tracks (and not) … low volume mix in the room or headphones?Should this be through the computer (NO idea how to do it properly or the tech involved). Or with a dedicated device?
> How do YOU do it?
> Thanks!


Electric guitar, into…. nothing.

In 35+ years of playing, I‘m not sure I’ve ever practiced other than with that setup. I’ve always found that ”great tone” when playing by yourself never translates into a band setting anyway. I work on my “tone” when playing with others so that it fits within the context of the band. For practicing? I’ve never felt the need for amplification (or modelling).


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## AJ6stringsting (Mar 12, 2006)

I plug this .....









Into one of these Crate Power Blocks,










Hit the Play button on my Tascam CD-GT2 and play along with CD's of Pantera, Yes, Ozzy, Rush, Led Zeppelin or the Jimi Hendrix Experience .


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## Mooh (Mar 7, 2007)

My at home electric practice is pretty old school compared to most of you. The iMac plays through either one of the Denon bookshelf stereo or the Yamaha Stagepas PA, and right now the Denon powers the PA speakers. Several other pairs of speakers (Klipsch, Yamaha, Advent) are available but I generally don't change them often. I use backing tracks of my own (or music I'm composing) made with Garageband, others from CDs I've had forever loaded on the computer, and some from YouTube. Guitars are simply plugged into the Laney Cub amp(s), with or without FX. So basically the only mixing required is to adjust the relative volumes. Though I don't need to be quiet, as I generally wait until the house is empty, I don't practice loud anymore. If I'm recording, I mic everything because I like "air" or "room" (for lack of better adjectives) in the mix, so nothing really changes with the set-up except the added mic and its placement.

Otherwise I play acoustic unplugged, or just an electric into an amp, exactly like I did as a kid except my gear is better.

That's it.


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## Festus McCorkindale (Dec 17, 2017)

mnfrancis said:


> Kids and wife out of the house > guitar > cable > Fender Vibrolux reverb at 6 = Jam time


We need a separate thread about how to get spouse and children to leave the house😀


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## RBlakeney (Mar 12, 2017)

Festus McCorkindale said:


> We need a separate thread about how to get spouse and children to leave the house😀


Don't use the attenuator. May lead from temporary leave to permanent leave depending on how often you do this.


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## Budda (May 29, 2007)

Moosehead said:


> Being a meat and potato guy (and beers) I keep things super simple.
> Mac into P.A. head (Phonic 740) for backing tracks and guitar into pedals into amp (jcm 800). High input and fairly loud when home alone or attenuated and lower volume when people are home.
> 
> Also recently bought a Hx stomp but not really digging it through the cheap p.a. Eleven rack sounds pretty good through the p.a. though so i tend to use that atm. Stomp sounds a bit better through a powered speaker (yorkville e160p) but still trying to find the right fit for it. I hate headphones so don't usually go that route unless I absolutely have to.
> ...


Update to firmware 3.5?


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## Kerry Brown (Mar 31, 2014)

Delores Streisand said:


> I’ve always found that ”great tone” when playing by yourself never translates into a band setting anyway. I work on my “tone” when playing with others so that it fits within the context of the band.


This! I've spent hours finding just the right tone at home only to get to a band practice and it is shite. I no longer worry much about tone while practicing. I concentrate on getting the song right and worry about tone when I'm with the band.


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## Derek_T (10 mo ago)

Moosehead said:


> Also recently bought a Hx stomp but not really digging it through the cheap p.a


Sometimes it can be a bit tricky to dial in a good tone with the Helix / HX.
I'd recommend looking at Johnathan Cordy on YT he has a lot of videos on dialing in different tone.

His videos are quite good and straight to the point.


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