Using GNX as a rehearsal tool
many have asked me this as it was discussed at the old forum. So now I'm bringing it back in answer to many usage techniques. One of the things we do in our band is record each players part for song rehearsals. Since we change the formats from the original it's harder to concentrate on exact roles when practicing to cd's etc. Here are some suggestions to make your playing very tight, especially if you have transitions between guitarists.
Simply put, just record the band mates tracks individually. There are many ways to do this. Some methods (best) require an outboard mixer and headphone mixer. The key here is to get all rythym backing tracks to perfection. You can mic the drums to the GNX for recording, and feed the bassists direct line to the drummer's headset via headphone amp. Some headphone amps can be found for less than 50 bucks with 4 outputs. Run the gnx headphone or out line to the headphone amp for monitoring. Once the drums are recorded, it's easy. Now the bassist and guitarists can add thier tracks over the drums. If Using Protracks, just arm new tracks for the additional players/vocs/keys etc.
When you are finished, make a copy for each performer on cd or mp3 etc. Cut those individuals parts from the final mix. In other words, a new mix for each player with their part muted from the master copy. MAKE SURE TO USE A LEAD IN.. PTP has a metronome click, and GNX has a pre-roll.
I did all of ours with just the GNX4 and CF card. The cool thing is it allows performers to play and practice as often as possible. As we know time is valuable. It took us a weekend to do 76 songs. It was well worth it. We all have media with our parts removed so we know exactly what to play, and when. This has made our band very tight, for voc's harmonies, harmony guitars, break points, layering..you name it. Me and my other guitarist have GNX4's and copied all songs to CF card. We went beyond that with ours and added the complete wav mix. We can play with or without or parts simply by muting the track on the recorder. Being wav files they are big and required 3 CF cards for all our sets. You can also make full mp3's of those mixes to save from the CF expense. You can add those mp3's to your CF card as well. We never have to be concerned about any member not able to make rehearsal. Our drummer and bassist are good enough at this now that they just email mp3's for new material/orig's. We record our parts on the gnx and send them to those other players that simply burn new practice discs or perform with the PC. Soccer practice, Scouts, no excuses not be as good as you can be !! Since that, our following has doubled. Our musicians are relaxed since they know exactly what to do. It's a great tool !
Simply put, just record the band mates tracks individually. There are many ways to do this. Some methods (best) require an outboard mixer and headphone mixer. The key here is to get all rythym backing tracks to perfection. You can mic the drums to the GNX for recording, and feed the bassists direct line to the drummer's headset via headphone amp. Some headphone amps can be found for less than 50 bucks with 4 outputs. Run the gnx headphone or out line to the headphone amp for monitoring. Once the drums are recorded, it's easy. Now the bassist and guitarists can add thier tracks over the drums. If Using Protracks, just arm new tracks for the additional players/vocs/keys etc.
When you are finished, make a copy for each performer on cd or mp3 etc. Cut those individuals parts from the final mix. In other words, a new mix for each player with their part muted from the master copy. MAKE SURE TO USE A LEAD IN.. PTP has a metronome click, and GNX has a pre-roll.
I did all of ours with just the GNX4 and CF card. The cool thing is it allows performers to play and practice as often as possible. As we know time is valuable. It took us a weekend to do 76 songs. It was well worth it. We all have media with our parts removed so we know exactly what to play, and when. This has made our band very tight, for voc's harmonies, harmony guitars, break points, layering..you name it. Me and my other guitarist have GNX4's and copied all songs to CF card. We went beyond that with ours and added the complete wav mix. We can play with or without or parts simply by muting the track on the recorder. Being wav files they are big and required 3 CF cards for all our sets. You can also make full mp3's of those mixes to save from the CF expense. You can add those mp3's to your CF card as well. We never have to be concerned about any member not able to make rehearsal. Our drummer and bassist are good enough at this now that they just email mp3's for new material/orig's. We record our parts on the gnx and send them to those other players that simply burn new practice discs or perform with the PC. Soccer practice, Scouts, no excuses not be as good as you can be !! Since that, our following has doubled. Our musicians are relaxed since they know exactly what to do. It's a great tool !