TASCAM GB-10 Guitar/Bass Trainer/Recorder  

Cuts the speed in half...was hoping it would slow it down even more.

The sound quality at the slower speeds is lacking and Tascam needs to update the software so it can use more of the programming that is available for music today, ie mp4, aac, etc. Just using mp3 and wma limits this device. At least use the same format that itunes uses since it is a popular music program.

See above remarks

Glad I made the purchase.  This little tool makes learning songs so much easier.

Appears light in weight, but sturdy

Nice number of features for the money.

I like the compact feature of this little tool, but don't let the size fool you.  It added features such as special effects, looping, speed control, tuning and most importantly the ease of copying songs to and from the recorder makes this one amazing little tool.

First and foremost is the recording abililty. When you need to get an idea down and you need to get it down....NOW. Just flip this little baby on and hit record. I think it it's effects are just fine for laying down seroius ideas.

Good quality. I've only dropped it once so far. If this one can take a beating like the MP-GT1 took, I'd recommend this to any guitar or bass player. There is nothing like being able to play along to a song at the speed that you want without affecting the pitch and also loop small sections that need extra practice.

It was cheaper then the MP-GT1 was when I bought the GB-10

The flow of the features is much more out front than it used to be. You used to have to dig down into directories to get to certain features. With the main (most used) features out front, it's easier to navigate.

The abililty to store so much more is the best, though.

I really appreciate the ability of the Tascam GB-10 Guitar & Bass Trainer/Recorder to maintain (closely enough for me) pitch when slowing down the playback. I purchased this unit over the CD version so I could avoid the expense and time of burning CDs. The panel is well thought out and easy to read. Although the USB cable supplied with the unit works fine, I would have preferred it to be a little longer. The built-in tuner is a  nice feature.  The 2 GB SD chip holds plenty of mp3s for my purposes, and navigating the directories to find the songs is easy as long as there is adequate lighting to read the display. I had some concern early on when attempting to play files which I had converted from video format, as they would not play. The message that was displayed ("...not supported") when I attempted to play them was helpful in figuirng out why. After checking the manual I realized that the default sample rate of my conversison software (48 kHz) did not match that of the unit. After converting again at 44.1 kHz, they played flawlessly. There is some noise coming from my setup when played through my amp which sounds like EMF leakage into the system. I'm not sure if it's the fault of the GB-10 or my patch cord but I can live with it. It is a practice tool after all, so I'm not sweating the small stuff. I'll probably invest in the AC Adapter (sold separately) and, since I'm using it to learn bass guitar parts, I'll invest in some headphones with better bass frequency response at some point.

It is designed well and well-constructed. Cosmetically it is pleasing.

I was prepared to pay the price listed on the website. I appreciated the unexpected disount upon checkout.

I purchased the unit on the recommendation of my bass guitar instructor. I'm glad I did.

This is a great tool for learning guitar parts or just practicing songs.  Everything works as advertised.  Loading and editing files via computer is fast and easy.  The playback speed, key / pitch fine tune, looping, etc. all work well and are similar to the Tascam CD trainers.  The menus and user interface are very easy to use.

A few negatives:

- The built-in amp sounds aren't that good.  They sound very similar to previous Tascam models.  I was hoping they had improved this by now.  If you are used to POD or similar direct sounds, you will be disappointed with this.  It also takes a few button pushes to select saved sounds, which is less convenient than the CD trainers.

- The amp/effects section is very noisy.  There is a lot of hiss and it's worse than previous Tascam models.  It sounds much better to run a POD or something similar into this unit and bypass the internal effects.

- I miss the "CD Effects" from previous models.  The center "voice cancel" feature was very useful for isolating instrument parts.

- Some mp3 files don't show the file name or song title when playing them.  The file name is visible when browsing folders though.

Overall, this is a great practice tool and I would recommend it.  It saves a lot of time not having to burn CD's.