Practice Like The Pros Home Practice Studio >>Its Like Being on A Concert Stage !! Starter Kit1

YAMAHA PLAYALONG1 Details ^top

Practice like the pro’s in your own home studio!!!!

When you combine the audio source (music) with your instrument or voice in your headphones, you will experience a real ‘recording studio’ environment!

Here’s how it works:

• Plug any tape or CD player into the mixer
• Plug in your microphone, instrument, etc.
• Plug in your headphones
• Put in a tape or CD of your music and press play.
• Ideally, use ‘play-a-long’ sources with your instrument removed from the finished recording.
(These CD’s cost about $15.95 to $34.95)
• Adjust the ‘mix’ of the pre•recorded material and your live instrument and /or voice
• Add the reverb effect to your instrument/mic to put yourself in the same place as the pre-recorded material…..and jam!!!

Click here for info from Musicminusone
Click here for more play-a-long CD's

CD's available for these instruments:
Piano
Guitar
Banjo
Flute
Recorder
Oboe
Clarinet
Bassoon
Saxophone
Trumpet
French Horn
Trombone
Tuba
Violin
Viola
Cello
Double Bass
Harp

Playalong1 includes:
Yamaha MG8_2FX  8-channel mixer with effects, EQ, phantom power, …  
Apex HP90 full sized, closed-ear headphones     

Click here for Playalong2 which adds a mic, stand and cable
Click here for PlayalongCD with CD recorder, mic, stand and cable

Yamaha Mixer with Effects at a Breakthrough Price!
Here's compact mixing plus effects, all wrapped up in a new mixer from Yamaha! The MG8/2FX combines 8 inputs with a number of connection options and 16 DSP effects types for a great console for your small group, choir or solo act!

Yamaha MG8/2FX Mixer at a Glance:

Incredibly versatile 8-input, 2-bus mixer
High-quality digital effects built in
Plenty of input options
Four low-noise, high-precision mic preamps with phantom power
Two busses for channel grouping or monitor use
High-quality digital effects built in
Yamaha digital signal processing is widely respected as the finest in the industry. It may be small, but the MG8/2FX is packed with a surprising amount of signal-processing power. Renowned Yamaha multi-effects technology brings you reverbs, delays, choruses, flangers, phasers, distortion, and other effects built in - a total of 16 types in all. In addition, convenience is provided by a footswitch jack which you can connect an optional footswitch for effect on/off switching.

Plenty of input options
The MG8/2FX provides balanced XLR connectors on the two mono inputs and two of the stereo inputs - a total of four XLR connectors, in addition to TRS jack connectors. Two of the stereo channels can accept mono microphone input either via the XLR or TRS jack connectors. The remaining stereo input features both TRS and RCA jack inputs for broad connectivity. The MG8/2FX also offers a separate stereo 2-track input with RCA connectors for independent input of signals from CD players or similar sources.

Four low-noise, high-precision mic preamps with phantom power
Four high-performance preamps in the MG8/2FX will bring out the best in any dynamic or condenser microphone. All the preamps feature switchable phantom power for studio condenser microphones. A single switch turns phantom power on or off for all channels. Plus, the MG8/2FX mono input channels feature insert I/O patch points so you can add compressors or EQ for vocals, a noise gate on a guitar channel, or other signal processing to individual channels as you like. 3-band EQ on each input channel plus a switchable high-pass filter that can be used to cut out unwanted low-frequency noise, add to your tone-shaping power.

Two busses for main plus monitor use
In addition to the main stereo bus, the MG8/2FX features a stereo group bus and outputs that can be used for convenient monitor routing. Stereo and group bus assign switches are located above each channel fader. You could, for example, mix your instrument sources to the stereo buss while creating a separate group for the vocals.

Yamaha MG8/2FX Mixer Features:

8-channel, 2-bus mixer with built-in effects processor
Four low-noise mic preamps
XLR and TRS input connections
3-band channel EQ
16 effect types including reverbs, delays, choruses and more
Convenient 2-bus design for monitor routing
Stereo, control room, record, and headphone outputs
12-segment meters for accurate visual monitoring

MG8/2FX Effects:
1. REVERB HALL 1
2. REVERB HALL 2
3. REVERB ROOM 1
4. REVERB ROOM 2
5. REVERB STAGE 1
6. REVERB STAGE 2
7. REVERB PLATE
8. DRUM AMBIENCE
9. KARAOKE ECHO
10. VOCAL ECHO
11. CHORUS 1
12. CHORUS 2
13. FLANGER
14. PHASER
15. AUTO WAH
16. DISTORTION

Apex HP90 Full Size Headphones - Apex stereo headphones accurately reproduce the wide dynamic range associated with today's digital audio. The headphone speakers have been developed using the latest technology in driver design and materials and offer the frequency response and sound quality traditionally found only in much more expensive models. Three styles of Apex headphones fulfill any needs or preferences.

The bass-enhanced HP90 is a fully-enclosed model ideal for recording where maximum isolation is required. The HP90 features fully adjustable, wide, padded headbands and soft leatherette earpads for exceptional comfort. All Apex headphones combine professional quality and comfort while providing clear, transparent and natural sound reproduction at very affordable prices. The HP series headphones are an outstanding value.

Specifications HP90
Type Closed Ear
Driver Diameter 40mm
Frequency Response 20-20,000Hz
Sensitivity 102dB
Impedance 50 Ohms
Nominal Input Power 20mW
Max. Input Power 200mW
Weight 300g/14oz
Cable Length 3.0m/9.8ft
Connectors 1/8" mini stereo
Adapters Included Gold Plated
1/4" stereo

YAMAHA PLAYALONG1 Playalong_Explained ^top

For years, decades in fact, I practiced scales and etudes trying to hone my playing skills. Sometimes it was great fun, but most of the time just plain hard work, a labor of love .....hardly exhilarating! Then a while back I discovered playalong CD's (they were tapes then). I found that they added a new element of satisfaction to my practice sessions. Lets face it, most of our practice is preparation to play music with others, and these playalongs were like being "part of the band". So often I included them at the end of a practice and invariably came away feeling that I had played some music, as well as having worked on my technical skills. I felt that I had a bit of a reward for my efforts. But there was always a sensation of detachment from the accompaniment, since the sound of the band was coming from my home stereo speakers and the sound I was making wasn't. Sometime years later, unhappy with the separation of soloist to band, I hooked up a microphone and amplified it to blend in with the music playback. It felt better since now the sound was homogenous. Then I decided to input the music tracks(CD player) into a small mixer together with my microphone, add a touch of digital reverb (like in a recording studio), put my headphones on and ......ECSTASY! There was a feeling of power, excitement and the rush that comes from being on stage and interacting with others; Intimacy too. It was definitely the solution I sought. Now everyday I can walk into my practice room and instantly be on stage at a great concert hall. Plus all the band members show up every time! It just doesn't get any better than that.

Carl Watral President
MusiciansBuy.com Inc.

Webmaster's note:
Carl has been a life long musician, having played piano, trumpet, flugelhorn, flute and cello. He has also put his hand to teaching, composing and arranging as well as a few conducting stints as well.