If I had to design a guitar practice tool for myself then it would most definitely be a lot like the RU10 Jam Tuner.
In one package small enough to fit in a guitar case you get a chromatic tuner, metronome, rhythm machine and mini-amp with guitar and line input for your backing tracks.
It's ideal for those short practice sessions when you want to get started fast.
The unit is powered by a 9V battery and has headphone and loudspeaker output. You can also control the volume of the metronome, rhythms, and amplifier. Here's a quick tour of the features...
Tuner
The chromatic tuner displays a tuning needle and also has LEDs you can use in low light conditions. It captures your instrument through either a jack connector or a built-in mic for acoustic guitars.Metronome and Rhythms
The metronome can play varied time signatures and is controlled easily with a simple up-down button to select the tempo. As well as the metronome you can also select from 20 preset rhythm patterns using realistic drum sounds.Mini-Amp
The mini-amp is a feature that should be especially appreciated by electric guitarists. It provides gain and distortion controls for your guitar so you can jam along to the rhythms without a separate amp.Finally, you can also plug-in an external audio source, so you can jam along to your favourite tracks from your portable music player.
The Ibanez RU10 is a very well thought out practice tool. It has everything you need to get in tune, practice in time, and even jam along to your favourite audio tracks. I know of no other product offering all these features in a single device, it is a complete solution for portable practice of acoustic or electric guitar.
Resources
Similar products: Boss Dr. Beat Metronome
, Vox Amp Plug
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4 comments:
Can't get a clean sound?
According to the manual: Use the GAIN control to adjust the amount of distortion. By turning clockwise all the way till it clicks, you will be able to turn off the built-in distortion effect.
Gary, did you try this?
Hi, thanks for the tip. I did eventually discover this, just shows you it's worth reading manuals sometimes.
Hi, I would like to ask you, I´m bass player and I want to buy RU 10 and use it also as a small amplifier with headphones for practising. Is it possible? Thank you for answering:-) Hana
Hi Hanika - The RU 10 should work fine with a bass. The sound might not be that great, but that's what you might expect from a headphone practice amp.
Another option to consider is the Vox AmPlug. They have a version designed for bass guitar. It has a jack input so you could plug in a metronome. The guitar AmPlug has a nice sound.
Hope that helps.
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