The only bad aspect is that the display is flat when it would be helpful if it was vertical.
Model Year: 2007
Price: $159.00 (new)
Where Obtained: Sam Ash
Everybody else seems to have covered the features section pretty thoroughly. I'm new to the bass, andthis machine has allowed me to go beyond scale and chord practice and actually start learning some songs. I love it. It does everything the advertisement say it does.
The only change I would make would be to have the top (where the display window and controls are located), flip up to vertical so it would display horizontally. Then, I could see the controls without having to stand and peer down onto the display/controls.
Ocean TB70 (a wonderful instrument). I'm just learning, so style would fall under "whatever sound I can achieve." It makes no noise other than what I tell it to. As for the rest, I'm not experienced enough yet to have an opinion.
. Yes and Yes.
. No
. No prior experience.
Unknown. The construction is sturdy. I already dropped it 3' onto a hardwood floor with no damage.
This is an amazing little practice tool that I use multiple times a week to learn new songs for rehearsals and to keep fresh on our full set list. I love my CD-BT1 and would replace it immediately if anything happened to it. MP3 playback would be a great addition, but you can always burn your MP3s to CD-R. Highly recommended!
Price: $150.00 (new)
Where Obtained: Musician's Friend
It's basic function is to allow you to play along with tracks from a CD, but it also allows you to change keys without changing tempo, change tempo without changing keys, boost the bass part or quiet the bass part. It also has a built-in tuner and metronome. There are a variety of effects that you can run your bass through. It requires headphones or external speakers. It runs off batteries or AC, but the AC adapter (sold separately) is highly recommended as it eats batteries. This is the ultimate practice tool for bass.
Sound quality is good enough to get the job done, but nothing spectacular. The bass sound lacks the warm tone of playing through an amp, and the effects are less than stellar. I don't consider this a problem since this is a practice device and not intended for recording or live performance.
When CD playback is tempo-shifted or pitch-shifted the sound can get kinda gnarly as soon as you move beyond the slightest settings.
There is a LOT of functionality in this very small unit, so many of the controls do double duty or send you to hunt through the very small LCD menu. The controls are not intuitive and require frequent look-ups in the (well-written) manual. Once you learn how to do the things you need to do, the controls are not difficult to use.
Many of the complaints I have seen about this item are the result of people not having read the manual.
Input and output jacks are plastic, which makes me nervous. Device is lightweight and could be easily pulled off of a desk or tabletop by a tug on an instrument cable. I have had mine for a year and a half with no problems.
I love it! The price is low, the number of features is high, and it's so easy to
use. I don't think I've ever bought a better piece of gear in my life. My only
minor complaint is the lack of a backlight in the LCD.
Model Year: 2005
Price: $2500.00 NOK (new)
Where Obtained: Local music store
I got the Mk.II model. It's the same as the Mk.1, but with a metronome and
some other minor tweaks. The features are well described in the other
reviews, so I won't bother with that. It's all good, except for the lack of a
display backlight. Not a big deal, but a little annoying.
I use it for practice and for learning songs off CDs. I use it with my
StingRay5 and Listerud basses, and a pair of Sennheiser HD595 headphones.
The sound quality is as expected for such a unit. It's not fantastic, and it's
not poor. It's just as good as it needs to be. Some effects are included, and
some of these are quite fun. Noise level is low, so it's comfortable to use for
an extended time.
It's dead simple to use. After spending an hour or so fiddeling around with
the controls, it all felt very natural. The controls are intuitive and well
thought out. I'm particulary like that you have to EQ presets that can be
changed independantly.
It's plastic, but it's not meant for a life on the road. This is a practice tool,
not a performance tool. It's as solid as it needs to be.
Since returning from my long hiatus from the bass a couple of months ago, the only thing I have used is the BT1MKII. I don't have an amp setup here at the moment. I use it through Headphones and also through this little carrying case that Tascam sells that has small speakers built into it (only 1w though. lol). I have a set of powered Samson Resolv 65a 100w apiece studio monitors that I am going to use with it on the way to me now. I'm hoping they arrive today! I also use the lineout in it to go into my PC for simple recording. :)
For me, this thing is an awesiome piece of equipment for the price. I'd definitely recommend it to anyone looking for a device like this. ;)
Model Year: 2005
Price: $149.00 (new)
Where Obtained: www.samedaymusic.com
The CD features are very cool and useful. The ability to alter the speed of a CD without changing the pitch and the ability to alter the pitch without changing the speed are very cool. The Bass Boost features do work, but I find the Bass Cut the most useful for playing along to songs once you've learned them. ;)
I haven't really played around with the effects or the EQ much, so I really can't comment on them. The cheap, built-in tuner is handy though. :)
I'd recommend these to anyone looking for a unit that offers these types of features. ;)
The sound quality is pretty good for a unit of this size and number of features. I have no negatives about it at all.
I haven't played with it too much, but it seems easy enough.
Hard to say. I haven't thrown it around at all. Heh heh... It's made of hard plastic. I'd say if you don't abuse it too much, it'll remain working fine.
The concept of a bass trainer is amazing, and the product delivers. Give this thing a try to practice difficult lines or just play along with your favorite CD.
Model Year: 2003
Price: $150.00 (new)
Where Obtained: Musician's Friend
Great features. I got the optional AC power block, which is a god-send. This thing slows/speeds CD music without changing pitch, changes pitches without changing speed, or a combination of both. The bass-booster feature lets you hear the bass lines more clearly, which I love. I use it mainly as a headphone amp, plugging my bass directly into it and listening via headphones.
Easy to use everything. Just a few clicks with the D-pad and you're set up.
It's built pretty well, but isn't designed to take everyday or on-stage abuse. If you use it for what it's designed, it should last for years.
I didn't really think I would use this for much more than a headphone amp, but I've found it VERY helpful recently as, at church, we did a song in C that's originally in Bb on the CD. I just popped in the CD, changed the pitch up 2 (2 half steps), and played along. It was a great way to learn that song. I've also done the same thing a couple times for the other band I'm in. I got what I consider a great deal off ebay as I got the AC adaptor with it, too! Although I haven't used the effects, I wouldn't think this would replace or substitute an actual effect unit when playing live.
Price: $115.00
Where Obtained: Ebay
For reference visit the Tascam page:
CD-BT1
This is an easy to use piece that has been VERY helpful for me. The buttons and getting started are self explanatory. So far I've played around with pitch changing, speed changing, the tuner, the bass boost/enhance/cut (which pretty effectively cuts out the bass line so you can lay down the bass), and a little with the looping feature. I haven't done much with the effects available. At first it was tough to understand the nomenclature as most everything is abreviated on the LCD although once you understand what they're getting at this isn't a problem.
My bass sounds pretty good and I've done nothing with the effects. One of the features is that you can turn up the "master" volume (Output) and/or your bass (Input) and/or you can dally with the "mix" your bass volume vs. the CD volume. That's pretty helpful as my bass wasn't putting out the volume at first. When you start changing the CD pitch and/or speed the sound quality deteriorates a bit, but not to the point of uselessness.
I got this, plugged it in, plugged in my bass, and began dinking with it. It took longer to run around the house to find a CD I wanted to play to!! I wasn't sure of the abreviations they use for some of the functions and it took a few minutes to figure out how to select options, but, again, once I figured that out, no problem. I haven't worked with the effects so I'll reserve comment on those for later.
I was a little reluctant when first opening the CD door because I wasn't sure how far it opened. Everything else seems to be fine.
IF SOMETHING HAPPENS TO THIS UNIT I WILL REPLACE IT
AS FAST AS I CAN. IT HAS BEEN ONE OF THE BEST BUYS
I HAVE MADE,
Model Year: 2003
Price: $149.00 (new)
Where Obtained: ONLINE
IS AC POWERED AND BATTERY POWERED. AC POWER UNIT IS
$29.00 SOLD SEPERATLY. YOU CAN LISTEN TO YOURSELF THUR HEADPHONES OR THUR YOUR AMP, OR THUR YOUR STEREO SYSTEM.
THE TONE IS GREAT, BETTER THAN I THOUGHT IS WOULD BE.
THIS IS A TOOL FOR LEARNING AND PRACTISING, IT'S NOT
REALLY FOR LIVE PLAYING. THE BEST PART TO ME IS THAT IT MAKES YOUR PLAYING SOUND LIKE ANOTHER TRACK BEING LAID DOWN ON TOP OF THE MUSIC, NOT LIKE YOUR JUST PLAYING ALONG WITH A RECORD.
LEARNING TO WORK THE UNIT ONLY TOOK A HOUR OR SO. ONCE
YOU GET INTO IT-IT'S EASY. THE THING THAT REALLY SURPRISE ME WAS THE TONE OF MY BASS, IT SOUNDED GREAT.
I have learned that this unit is very heat senitive,
so be careful when using around any tuners or amp's.
It does come with a 1 year war. But be careful. Well
it's 6 months later and I had to have my unit replaced.
It was real easy working with this company, I made one phone call, sent the unit back and they sent me a new one. It took about 3-4 wk's.
I would buy this again if lost. I like the effects but mostly I like the loop option. You can really focus on the hard parts or fast riffs that you just need to slow down...I have gotten my ear sharpend even more with this tool. Now I dont have to slow it down my ear is great as I can now hear those 16th notes good. In that alone the tascam is responsible for my bass growth. Great tool one of my best buys of the year.
Model Year: 2004
Price: $149.00 (new)
Where Obtained: Active Musician
Its Battery powered for on the road (like the time I jammed in my car through the stereo with my cousin rapping while riding...is that an offense) Also it had AC power thats pretty convienent because the life of the battery wont last you a session. Has a loop which is down right cool because I can loop a beat and jam to it for hours. It has a line in a headphone out and a bass in and foot pedal jack. Also has switches for passive or active bass.
The tone that I get from my bass on the BT1 is excellent never really have had sound problems whatsoever. For the money you wont find a better sounding piece of equipment with the features it has. I have run it through the amp...the home stereo and the car....I like the effects however theres only 2 that fit my musical needs however its a very nice option.
Very easy to use its a CD player for crying out loud...You may experience diffifulty with the tuning option and you should read up on the manual to know the range setting of the equipment. Great sound...easy to find buttons and very easy to understand.
Very tough piece however I wouldnt take my chances at dropping it again. I have left it on for days at a time and still no problems whatsoever. Right now I dont have continuous play I dont know if its a button I pushed or if its malfunctioning...Anyone know about this holla back at me.
Model Year: 2004
Price: $149.00 (new)
Where Obtained: Local Music Store
Excellent piece of equipment to have, it does exactly what it advertises!
Good sound for something so small, I run mine through a PA. Works Great
Easy to use, just read the manual.
Had it for almost 7 months now held up pretty good so far
This is a very nice unit. It does exactly what it advertises and I really like it. The only drawback is short battery life, but an AC adapter fixes that problem. It is a great training tool. It also can be used to connect to a stereo, computer or just with head phones for quiet playing.
Model Year: 2004
Price: $135.00 (new)
Where Obtained: Ebay
CD player that allows you to slow music without changing pitch. Also enhance or cut bass. Plug in and play along.
I'd say the sound is average to very good, not sure what to compere to. I definitely am not complaining! It is cool to play through a regular stereo or make a recording on my computer. I do not get any extra buzzing or anything.
Easy to operate, just read the instructions. This thing is very versatile. Has about 15 preset effects, you can program custom effects and will store 5 effects for quick retrieval.
Not a heavy-duty unit. It is a CD player that sits on the table.
I would definitely recommend this piece of equipment to anyone who likes to jam to CDs. This little piece of equipment lets you put your own basslines into your favorite music. Can't beat that for the price.
Model Year: 2004
Price: $149.00 (new)
Where Obtained: Sam Ash Online
The CD-BT1 is both AC and battery powered. The menu bottuns are very intuitive and the lay out is easy to learn. It has input for a bass, a line in, and a foot switch. It has output for headphones and a line out that can go to your amp or PC.
This little piece of gear provides outstanding sound. You can play your favorite CDs and totally mute the recording's bassline, thus allowing you to play - and even record to your PC - the song with your own bassline. It has effects integrated which aid you in finding your own sound.
The CD-BT1 is very easy to use. It took about two minutes to get it up and running. In no time at all I was jamming to my favorite tunes.
Don't know yet, I just acquired it about eight hours ago. But I have not put it down since I received it.
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