Portable/commuter guitar practice

[BJG145]

I'm wondering if there's anything small and quiet enough that I could use to get in useful guitar practice on public transport. I tried a PocketStrings, which was hopeless. I was looking at something like a Shredneck, Jamstik, Jammy, or even a Traveler, but that's probably starting to get too large and noisy. Anyone tried any of these, especially a Shredneck or a Jamstik...? I'm thinking of, eg, sweep picking exercises.

[N i g e l]

dont forget the headless brigade like Steinberger [by Gibson] , Ibanez etc.
Jamstick did a 7 fret thing which was small, more of a MIDI thing than stradavarious.

Is it good etiquette to play guitar on a train ?

[shufflebeat]

It's worth bearing in mind that much of guitar playing happens in the mind and can be done very effectively with no kit at all, just running through the motions even with your hands in your pockets, maybe not on the train though.

[Wonks]

Get a job with no commute and spend more time actually playing?

[BJG145]

Get a job with no commute

Doing what exactly? The sugar beet factory isn't advertising any vacancies at the moment.

It's worth bearing in mind that much of guitar playing happens in the mind and can be done very effectively with no kit at all

Don't be absurd. What do you think this is, Tai Chi?

No. Well, I've pulled the trigger on a Jamstik GT I found on Facebook Marketplace. Hopefully it'll turn up tomorrow. A few goes on that and I expect I'll be sweep-picking like Paul Gilbert.

[Wonks]

Doing what exactly? The sugar beet factory isn't advertising any vacancies at the moment.

There are a couple, looking at the Cantley website, but nothing very exciting.

Sailing past it circa summer 1981. (I took the photo).

[Drew Stephenson]

Doing what exactly? The sugar beet factory isn't advertising any vacancies at the moment.

I would say go join my dad working at the mill opposite but they're all volunteers.

[N i g e l]

No. Well, I've pulled the trigger on a Jamstik GT I found on Facebook Marketplace. Hopefully it'll turn up tomorrow. A few goes on that and I expect I'll be sweep-picking like Paul Gilbert.

nice one. Im looking forward to your mini review {& sweet beats uTube Vid}, if you could skip the unboxing bit and do more on the MIDI side of things that would be great...

[BJG145]

Sailing past it circa summer 1981. (I took the photo).

Hah, cool.

(Do you still sail? I was watching the regatta there a few days ago thinking it would be fun to sit on the deck and watch someone pulling ropes.)



(Claim to fame...scene in Yesterday.)

[N i g e l]

(Claim to fame...scene in Yesterday.)

more info required:

*were you behind the net curtains
*Having a ploughmans on the table behind sky mobile woman
*On the cabin crusier
*Mr Patel was looking at you thinking WTF ?
*None of the above

[BJG145]

...not me, just that stretch of river.

(Jack is sitting where I read SOS.)

[Wonks]

Yes, I still sail from time to time, though normally hiring from Hunters Yard in Ludham. But the plan is to move to Norfolk within a couple of years once the wife retires, and get a yacht of my own up there. Crew will be wanted if it all happens!

I noticed Cantley in Yesterday as well. Their locations moved about quite a lot.

[N i g e l]

...not me, just that stretch of river.

(Jack is sitting where I read SOS.)

Id forgotten it was set there.

https://www.visiteastofengland.com/post ... of-england

[BJG145]

I'm looking forward to your mini review {& sweet beats uTube Vid}, if you could skip the unboxing bit and do more on the MIDI side of things that would be great

I don't do unboxing. I just rip stuff open; impetuous. I was going to do a "Long Termers" style review, discuss my thoughts after 6 months. But I'm more of a carpe minute type so I'll tell you what I think of it after half an hour.

* * * * *

There's a couple of these mini-Jamstiks; a five-fret version called the "Jamstik+" (discontinued) and a seven-fret version called variously the "Jamstik GT" (Guitar Trainer) or "Jamstik 7". (These are possibly similar but different iterations; I'm not certain.)

The Jamstik+ apparently has a couple of benefits like bend sensing and a USB rechargeable battery, but I wanted more frets so I went with the GT.

It's quite snug. I like the form factor. I could imagine playing this under the table on greateranglia which is the raison d'etre. But...it didn't take me long to decide that it would be hopeless for practising the things I had in mind to practise; scales/arpeggios/sweep-picking. I think the tech for detecting (and muting) picked strings just isn't there. It might be my poor technique, but I defy you to find a YT video where anyone is playing anything complicated.

And yet...I quite like holding it, although I'd like it to be better than it is. You can strum. I'm now thinking, not so much, can I practice X on this, but, what can I practice on this.

I've since come across some other cool travel instruments like the Lapstick, but, Paddington might not approve. Picking this thing makes a bit of a clunking noise (the strings aren't tuned; it's read optically) but you can strum unobstrusively.

I'll try it on the train for a bit. As a MIDI gadget aficionado I think it deserves a bit more of my time.

[Guest]

I have one of the older Jamstik guitars that I got on a whim, totally hopeless.

I hope you have better luck.

[N i g e l]

I'll try it on the train for a bit. As a MIDI gadget aficionado I think it deserves a bit more of my time.

Interesting.
Maybe you could use it for composing to your phone DAW on the train and swap some home composing time for practising- or some similar switcharoo scenario.

It sounds "non silent" on uTube!
Are the strings tuned ? I found playing EADGBE guitar thu a pitch shifter takes a bit of getting used to.

[BJG145]

It sounds "non silent" on uTube!

...yes, I think you're right; too noisy for bus/train.

Are the strings tuned?

No, they're untuned and damped.

totally hopeless.

Yes, it's going back on eBay. It's not suitable for my purposes and I find it practically unplayable. As far as I can see it's useless either as a practice aid or musical instrument.

Next...

[Guest]

totally hopeless.

Yes, it's going back on eBay. It's not suitable for my purposes and I find it practically unplayable. As far as I can see it's useless either as a practice aid or musical instrument.

Next...

That's a shame, I was hoping for you that they had improved a little.

[BJG145]

Since I've recently been wondering about using guitar to add some live synth strings, I thought I'd kill two birds with one stone, and this morning I retrieved a different gadget from storage; the Artiphon Instrument 1. (Terrible name.)



It's compact enough to play on the train and can be completely silent. It probably won't help my guitar playing, but it's a worthy instrument in its own right; well designed, rugged and expressive.

It's difficult to find anything on YouTube except reviews and Artiphon's own product demos, which tend to major on posturing rather than performance. But I think this thing has untapped potential, and after leaving it to gather dust for the the last few years I'm looking forward to spending some time on it.

[tea for two]

Sailing past it circa summer 1981. (I took the photo).

I not quite sure why Wonky, this photo rekindles some nostalgia, maybe because I remember how light hearted friendships were at that age.

[tea for two]

the Artiphon Instrument 1. (Terrible name.)



It's compact enough to play on the train and can be completely silent. It probably won't help my guitar playing, but it's a worthy instrument in its own right; well designed, rugged and expressive.

Re Jamstik

Yes, it's going back on eBay. It's not suitable for my purposes and I find it practically unplayable. As far as I can see it's useless either as a practice aid or musical instrument.

Next...

As there seems to be nothing on the market to meet the requirements of travelling silent geetarr practicing,
is there a window for yourself to get together with SoS and the contacts SoS has,
to design such an instrument as an Indiegogo.
(I imagine it would be quite the hit).

The tech could probably be brought over for Violin, Viola, would be appreciated by Classical musicians.

(I have an Electric Violin but it's not quiet).

[BJG145]

Self-portrait on the bus to work this morning...



It works. This is now my new favourite commuter gadget for a while.

There's one design flaw, which is that the sockets for USB and headphones are in exactly the wrong place. You can't hold it comfortably on your lap, and it obstructs the hand position...



But I'll get some leads with angle jacks to help with that.

* * * * *

You can plug the Artiphon into a computer as a MIDI controller, or a mobile app. This has various instruments you can click through; guitar, violin, keys, drums. These presets combine the instrument's settings in an intelligent way. Eg the violin will have the right sound and string tuning with a "fretless" approach, where pitch varies within a fret. The drums, likewise, are configured in a sensible and playable way with a different sound on each fret, and suitable interaction between these, so that a closed hat will stop an open hat, but not a ride.

As well as the 'factory' instrument presets, there are some user-definable ones where you can combine the options however you want. This would enable you to make a fretless guitar, for instance. You can also adjust the sensitivity for things like hammer-ons and aftertouch.



The raised rubber "strings" can be set to respond to touch, or played by a set of thick rubber tabs which can be plucked, strummed or pressed. It might be possible to use a pick with these, but it would have to be a pretty chunky one, and I find it easier using fingers.

The Artiphon can respond to pressure on the strings, pressure on the strummable tabs, and also tilt, so performances can be quite expressive.

The spacing is fairly wide - the strings are about 9mm apart and placed equally at about 29mm the whole length of the fretboard. This makes barre chords and three-notes-per-string scales a bit of a challenge for me, though it might feel more natural if you're used to classical guitar. Overall though, it's a reasonable compromise for the different playing styles available.

Another nice feature, and one I've not seen on any other MIDI controller without its own sound engine, is the built-in speakers. These help to add a comfortable, balanced weight to the instrument. They can be turned up quite loud (Artiphon aimed to make it comparable to an acoustic guitar). It's cool having the sounds play directly from the instrument, and it's also handy having the volume control under your fingers even if you're using headphones.

This morning I found myself strumming open chords quite easily, then I turned it to a touch-sensitive mode to practice scales and arpeggios. I think maybe I'm going to find this helps aspects of my guitar playing after all.

https://artiphon.com/pages/instrument1

[Folderol]

Sounds (literally) like you got a winner there

[Stratman57]

I'm left handed, so I was wondering can you set it up to be played left handed?

Regards, Simon.