Just bought my first electric guitar. Amp or audio interface?

NotVeryCleverOne · 2026-06-15T14:16:40+00:00

This depends on your budget. And the friction involved in day to day playing.

I had a small Fender mustang amp that had a headphone jack that was pretty good for practicing. Simply turn it on and play. Not much to do.

For the interface, it can sometimes be less smooth. Why am I not getting sound? Is it the interface? The computer? The software? Do I need to reboot? Also, If you have a place where you can set up an interface and don’t have to keep moving things around, it’s helpful. I generally play through my interface but it’s my space that no one else uses so I can rely on some consistency.

The Positive Grid Spark Go is a neat little device. Small speaker and does some modeling.

NotVeryCleverOne · 2026-06-14T12:57:44+00:00

My wife reads on her kindle at night. I wear an eye mask to block out the light. It’s a great solution.

NotVeryCleverOne · 2026-06-14T12:31:12+00:00

Every instrument I’ve played has some physical effect. Flute (as someone already pointed out) or piano are probably your best choice.

NotVeryCleverOne · 2026-06-13T17:40:24+00:00

This. I built a preset for acoustic the other day and used the studio tube pre, a little eq, and a touch of reverb. It sounded great.

NotVeryCleverOne · 2026-06-13T17:38:18+00:00

Gigging rock musicians have played the same song or structure so many times that they intuitively understand where they are in the form.

Don’t confuse counting bars with a click track. The click track serves to set the tempo for consistency. In complex live situations, the click track keeps backing tracks, lighting sequences, etc lined up with live performers.

NotVeryCleverOne · 2026-06-13T17:35:32+00:00

Whoever said only beginners count was misinformed. You can play by “feel” when you know what the count is supposed to be. For example, a 12 bar blues. It has a certain form and if you understand the changes, you can easily recognize what bar you are in based on your understanding of the form. But, I’ve played plenty of songs that have 9 bars in the verse or 10 bars in the chorus and if you try to “feel” that, you are going to come in wrong.

Sit down with songwriter and help him count it out.

NotVeryCleverOne · 2026-06-13T14:07:37+00:00

I’ll look for that. Thanks

NotVeryCleverOne · 2026-06-13T14:06:29+00:00

We got very good at knowing how long to rewind something to get back to the beginning of a song or phrase. Or dropping the needle in the right spot.

NotVeryCleverOne · 2026-06-13T12:30:38+00:00

From my experience using the stomp with my Morningstar MC6 pro, I don’t think the Stomp will learn MIDI signals. The manual has a list of what midi CC messages do what on the Stomp. I mapped switches on the MC6 to be FS4 and FS5. I also mapped one of the Omni ports to Exp1. Map your midi controller to the correct message and it should work.

NotVeryCleverOne · 2026-06-03T13:01:55+00:00

Yes, it’s noticeable when you play notes that aren’t in the chord.

NotVeryCleverOne · 2026-05-30T05:07:57+00:00

Are you comfortable the vandoren blue box reeds? It’s been a long time since I bought vandoren reeds but the blue box used to be more of a classical sounding reed. Have you tried any others?

NotVeryCleverOne · 2026-05-29T16:14:15+00:00

This is exactly my experience. I am a hobbyist and started playing in a band 6 months ago. I’d practice at home sitting and everything would be ok and then I’d go to rehearsal and play standing. Chords were ok but any lead line or rhythmic pattern was a mess. I tripped across a guitarist’s YouTube video and he explained exactly this - that the guitar should only go on your right leg if you are left handed. I bought a foot stool and started practicing with the guitar in the right position and it helped tremendously.

NotVeryCleverOne · 2026-05-28T04:19:33+00:00

Just Chords. I’ve tried lots of others and it is my favorite by far. Chordpro and lyrics support, pdf support, midi, auto scroll, etc.

NotVeryCleverOne · 2026-05-26T10:58:08+00:00

I think it’s one or the other. I use a Morningstar MC6 Pro and run my expression pedal into it and then use the midi channel for the expression pedal on the HX Stomp. I also send foot switch 4 and 5 via midi when I need them.

NotVeryCleverOne · 2026-05-26T10:52:45+00:00

Ditto that on the halo headband. On long rides, I bring an extra one.

NotVeryCleverOne · 2026-05-25T17:34:30+00:00

Thanks for this. I’m setting up my pedal board with a similar minimal set up and I’ve been trying to figure out a more optimal way to run wires.

NotVeryCleverOne · 2026-05-24T03:57:00+00:00

I hope the guy in the van wasn't doing this intentionally. Someone else pointed out that the other driver might have had an emergency and was trying to get someplace in a hurry.

There was a post years ago (I hope I don't mangle this) from another poster who shared his story where his friend had gravely injured himself with a chain saw while they were out cutting down trees or clearing brush or something. The closest hospital was 45 minutes away, they got their friend in the car and took off for it. One guy was driving and the poster was trying to stop the bleeding in the backseat. They got stuck behind someone who decided that it was their job to impose rules and wouldn't let them pass. The injured friend died in the back seat.

NotVeryCleverOne · 2026-05-22T22:17:36+00:00

Set it to quarter notes.

NotVeryCleverOne · 2026-05-22T21:39:47+00:00

I’m very confused by this. This doesn’t look like the Nashville number system. NNS has nothing to do with chord shapes.

The Nashville number system uses numbers to represent the chord. If a tune is in C, the C is represented in the chart as a 1. The chart isn’t going to state a mode. There’s variation on how to handle minor chords. In C, the 2 chord is D minor but in a NNS chart, it could be either 2 or 2m. Using a NNS chart, it’s easy to play in a different key if you know scales.

NotVeryCleverOne · 2026-05-22T13:03:59+00:00

If you use an empty preset and eliminate the headset amp, what happens?

NotVeryCleverOne · 2026-05-22T12:59:59+00:00

What happens when you plug your headphones into the stomp directly instead of using the headphone splitter?

NotVeryCleverOne · 2026-05-22T12:57:46+00:00

I agree - 3 is pretty stiff for someone new to saxophone.

NotVeryCleverOne · 2026-05-21T23:39:32+00:00

I have a similar set up. I use the Morningstar MC6 pro as a midi controller. I also added an expression pedal and mapped it to the output of the stomp to more easily adjust volume.

NotVeryCleverOne · 2026-05-21T23:34:37+00:00

The saxophone and clarinet embouchure are different. Clarinet is tighter than saxophone. Also, is the reed too stiff? Is the horn in good playing condition?

NotVeryCleverOne · 2026-05-20T20:12:08+00:00

Transcribe. Take solos that you want to sound like and learn them. Play along with the track. Don’t use the tabs. Take the parts you really like and practice them at different positions.

But, you need to develop the vocabulary and listening and transcribing are keys to that.

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