NAMM: CD Trainer Now Available to Bassists

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TASCAM adds the Bass Trainer to its line of portable CD training gear. Unveiled at the Summer NAMM show in Nashville, the CD-BT1 Portable CD Bass Trainer is the a workshop and jamming tool for bassists wanting to learn the licks of their favorite bass players. The CD-BT1 has all the training features of the CD-GT1: Slow Speed Audition, Looping, Pitch Shift and even a built-in tuner.

Offering the ability to play along with any standard audio CD, the CD-GT1's Slow Speed Audition function slows down the playback speed (tempo) of the disc by up to 50% without affecting the pitch. Similar to the old technique of manually spinning an LP record to learn licks, this feature is invaluable for beginning bassists to quickly learn the chops of their favorite performers. Likewise, the unit's onboard pitch control makes it easy for musicians to adapt the playback content to their own style. The CD-GT1's seamless in-out looping capabilities also facilitate the unit's capability as a learning tool.

Designed for performance, the CD-BT1 includes handy tools like a footswitch input that can be used to start and stop CDs as well as switch effects, a line input to use its effects to jam along with other audio sources such as cassette decks, and a chromatic tuner. With its built-in modeling effects for bass and vocals, CD-BT1 users can also emulate the tone and feel of the recording they are "jamming" with or learning.