software

seriously, everything i read about the guitarport seems like worthless propaganda.

Whats the low-down on it? Does it really help you play better? Whats the coolest thing you can do with it? What does it do that is completely worthless? I am looking for something to jam with in my room and I want it to actually help me get better.

what do you get with subscribing to the online thing? what do you get without?

It's a practice and recording tool IMO. It's computer based (meaning useless without one), provides a few different amp and effect models, and provides simple recording capability. I don't see how any kind of amp or amp modeler can quot;help you play betterquot;, with the exception of making practice more fun/rewarding so that you do it more often. It has a built-in tuner and metronome, plus some pretty cool models. You can also jam along with CDs and mp3s if you like, though you'll need a decent PC speaker setup to really get the full effect.

There are lessons available online, as well as a tonebank too. I don't use them personally, I just use it as a recording tool.

If you check the link in my sig, all the guitars are recorded through a guitar port

yeh i'm kinda interested in the lessons and playing with mp3s.... is there something that makes playing with mp3s through guitarport easier than sitting here with my guitar plugged into my amp and playing to winamp?

I'm a Tube Amp Snob And I love the guitar port. Great for recording or practice. The online subscription?... Is O.K. but mostly a novilty. $8 bucks a month starts to add up. When you try to cancel they give you a hard time.


Originally Posted by FretFire

I don't see how any kind of amp or amp modeler can quot;help you play betterquot;, with the exception of making practice more fun/rewarding so that you do it more often.

I mean that as, I want it to actually do something for my playing, not just be a new toy to mess with

i.e. the online lessons, etc

guitarport rocks!!! You get a ton of stuff for a small amount of money. It's fun and it sounds good. I never use the online lessons or any of that crap. It's just fun to plug into and play through.

I haven#8217;t played around with any of the online lessons. There are also some free tones available (basically, someone else#8217;s knob tweaks to the models. Other than providing a way to give you relatively good tone at bedroom volumes while practicing it#8217;s not going to make you any better than you would get through practicing through any other amp or modeler.

For a little extra dough the RiffTracker software isn#8217;t bad, and affords you the opportunity to play to real drum tracks and record ideas on a riff by riff basis. It#8217;s great for writing and layering multiple guitar parts.

Ive had mine since it came out.. it takes a good bit of tweaking and experimenting to get a good tone. I love it so far, i have a 4.1 klipsch speaker set and that really helps. So far i only use the recto with the tube screamer to get all my sounds. It models it quite nicely i think, i can get any distorted metallica tones, cleans are ok but they dont have that punch and feel that you get with a tube amp.

Not a bad bit of kit, but if you purely want somehting to improve you playing, then the money would be better spent on lessons.

While I have some issues with any system that ties you forever to your PC, the TonePort seems to me to be a bulked up version of all of the GuitarPorts useful bits -- useful in/out interface modelling for guitar, bass and mics, while getting rid of the less useful educational stuff.

The recording software of either is probably best left to those who neither desire nor can afford anything else.

i like it....some of the amp models sound really nice (i like the cleans more than the gain tones) and i like to be able to experiment with the effects and other ways of altering the sound, i think its more a center for more creativity than actually becoming a better player (though that may be a result of have a good pallet for creativity anyways). I had the online thing for a while and about half of the lessons were pretty cool.....they dont get too extensive, but i like that, cause they just teach you some common licks/techniques of all the famous artists, not so much any extensive theory type stuff

i'd give it a thumbs up


Originally Posted by ForbesNot a bad bit of kit, but if you purely want somehting to improve you playing, then the money would be better spent on lessons.

already started back up again anyways


Originally Posted by kmcguitarsThe online subscription?... Is O.K. but mostly a novilty. $8 bucks a month starts to add up.

Actually, I think GP.com is what makes the Guitar Port worthwhile. I'm not all that keen on the limited models relative to the POD. I like the lessons, backing tracks, etc., and find 'em pretty useful though some of the content might be from genres that aren't my fave.

OTOH, since GP.com works with the POD (incl the XTL), it might be worthwhile to get a used POD instead of a GP unless you're really strapped for cash.