Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)Why is easy so hard? What is it about electrical engineers that they have to stuff their bells and whistles full of more bells and whistles? And with on-board computing, this practice of `mine is more ginormous than yours' is out of control. I know MDs and PhDs who have a variety of handheld devices that absorb months of their lives in a frustrating learning curve.
For a long time I recorded my own personal jams on a stereo recorder that I got for 5 bucks at a yard sale. Two mics against the amp and all I had to do was press record. But my friend who lives in the far off land of New Jersey wanted to hear my stuff so I had to do the laborious transfer from analog to digital...hassle-o-rama dude. So I wanted something that would basically do the same thing: hit record, play, listen...but that was digital so I could bring it to the PC and email it off. Kinda like the PC cameras that they have where you shoot, bring it to the PC and send it off. No such luck. Everything was multi-track onboard technology with the dot matrix window and the 2 million options and a headache in a box.
I'd like to say that there was no learning curve with the Backtrack (w/mic) but I can't. The hardest part was just figuring out what to push if you just wanted to, uh, what do you call it...?...oh yeah, RECORD. This thing is designed to record when you play and stop when you don't. Which I don't get. I can push a button.
I did figure out which two buttons to push to immediately and continuously record. Once you bring it to a PC it opens like a flash drive and it has everything you recorded. Cool. The only other problem is that to set the levels you have to download the software that allows for you to set the parameters. The software is, thankfully, on the recorder so there's no separate CD that can get lost. However, you then have to set the parameters (like record volume) at the PC. This was not a big problem with me because I'm a one man show. But if you have a full band and your running back and forth to the PC to get correct volume, well, that would--I think the technical word is--suck. On the other hand...had they put the record level interface on the unit I woulda complained that the unit interface was too complicated. So I take it all back. I like that parameter setting is on a large well-lit PC monitor, rather than the unit. Never satisfied.
My suggestions to Line 6 are:
*Make it even simpler. Make it so you can push a button which says record and that will, uh, record with no fuss.
*Make it so the software has a "do you want an icon on the desktop?" option, like every other application in the Universe. I had to search to find the software once it was downloaded.
*Make the writing larger. Why is it that manufacturers have all the words that you'll use to operate the machine in .0006 font, but the name of the company is in 48 point font?
I did have to call Line 6 for technical help. It turns out that my awesomely loud jams had stuck the thing in record mode and I couldn't get it to turn off. After ~ 5 minutes of wait time being told that I was "the next in line" I got a rep who told me that there is a button in a hole that uses a paper clip to get at. Nice enough guy and I appreciated it.
I like the Line 6 stuff--I have an amp of theirs as well. Their products are pretty simple and inexpensive and clean looking and functional. I give the Backtrack w/mic five stars partially because they have succeeded, maybe not perfectly, but well enough to beat the crap out the competition. Simplicity in a box. That's what we all want.
Click Here to see more reviews about: Line 6 BackTrack + Mic Guitar Riff Recorder
Get 29% OFF
Click here for more information about Line 6 BackTrack + Mic Guitar Riff Recorder
0 comments:
Post a Comment