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Digital Music Player for Practice - Recommendations?

tpaul

tpaul

Supporting Member
Mar 19, 2011
4,669
10,312
Vermont
#1
OK, I like to play along with songs as a practice method (and for fun). I'm looking for a recommendation for how best to download, store and play the songs.

What I've been doing is to buy CDs and rip them to my laptop, then copy the files I want to a Walkman digital music player in MP3 format (or whatever). Alternately I might buy a song through Amazon, download it and then transfer it to the Walkman.

I then play the Walkman through a little headphone amp.

The problem is that the process is cumbersome and also, my new laptop no longer has a CD player; and the Walkman is an older model and no longer wants to interface with my laptop. Yes, I'm a dinosaur when it comes to this stuff, but obviously it's time for an upgrade.

What would be great would be a digital music player that I can download songs to directly from online sources, and cut out all the middle process. I've also considered subscribing to an online music service like Tidal, but I'd like to be able to download songs and I'm not sure they will allow that.

My laptop and phone are not really mine, they are provided by my employer, so I don't want to have to load them up with a lot of personal music files if I can help it.

Suggestions? I'm sure this has been solved in various ways. Looking for a simple, reliable solution that just works.
 
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#2
I use a SanDisk Clip Sport 32mb mp3 player for my digital media. It has a USB port for charging which connects to your computer and it can be used as any other external storage device to transfer files between your computer and the Clip Sport. It also has an earphone jack which you can plug in to amps' aux in or into your preamp pedal if it is equipped with an aux in. Playback can be either thru the amps' speaker or headphones. Unfortunately the supply has become quite limited, so you may have to do some searching. They are available in 16mb and 32mb versions. I did see a couple of refurbished ones and used ones on Amazon. But really, any portable mp3 player with USB port and an earphone jack should work for you quite well.
 
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#5
Yeah, I was hoping to avoid having to go to Apple products. As for using my phone, as I mentioned above, it's a company phone issued by my employer. I don't want to load it up with music files.

There must be a non-Apple product that works like an ipod. I guess I'll need to do some research.
 
#12
I don’t know about Tidal (although I should), but if you subscribe to Spotify you can save a huge amount albums and self created playlists (one for each band!) to the device, so that you’re not relying on internet connectivity to play tunes. I have it on a IPad mini, (WiFi only), and I use it to listen to music and podcasts in my car, traveling, hiking,(Bluetooth headphones) at the beach, and practicing. The only downside compared to file-based playlists is that I can’t manipulate tempo and pitch the way you can with MP3s. I don’t usually miss that, however, and there are workarounds. I’m a bit of a Luddite, too… I still have multiple turntables, CD players and unwieldy media collections to match. But Spotify is really great for musicians. The first thing I do when I get hired to sub for a group I’ve never played with is make a playlist. Even the last three or four original bands I’ve subbed for are on Spotify, which saves a tremendous amount of time, money, and trouble vs. “the old days”.
Before getting myself the IPad, I kept Spotify on a super cheap android tablet, which I broke… I don’t keep it on my phone, because the music downloads take up 6-8 GB of space. If you’re not completely nuts (like me) you might be able to fit it on your phone. For a obsessive music lover and musician, it’s a great investment.
 
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#13
I use a tc electronics bh250. I plug the headphone output of my computer into the aux-in of the TC bass amp. Then plug my bass into the input of the TC. I then listen to the mix of my bass and the audio coming out of the computer through headphones plugged into the headphone jack of the TC to play along with what I select on Spotify or any other source.

If you stream songs out of YouTube you can vary the tempo without changing the pitch of the playback.
 
#14
Tascam had a gb-10 guitar/bass trainer that you could put music on and also has the slow-down and pitch changer functions. It can be found used on many places. Has a USB interface and also an SD card.

Otherwise, why not buy a cheap used phone that you could load music to over wifi? Apps like Amazing Slow-Downer are really handy for playing along (looping, pitch and time changes) and figuring out songs. It has a WiFi import function that lets you get music directly from your laptop. Put it in WiFi import mode, open up a browser on the laptop, select your songs on the laptop and then it transfers the mp3 to the phone. If you use something like the NUX Mighty Plug you can have your music AND bass in your headphones.
 
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#16
tpaul said:
OK, I like to play along with songs as a practice method (and for fun). I'm looking for a recommendation for how best to download, store and play the songs.

What I've been doing is to buy CDs and rip them to my laptop, then copy the files I want to a Walkman digital music player in MP3 format (or whatever). Alternately I might buy a song through Amazon, download it and then transfer it to the Walkman.

I then play the Walkman through a little headphone amp.

The problem is that the process is cumbersome and also, my new laptop no longer has a CD player; and the Walkman is an older model and no longer wants to interface with my laptop. Yes, I'm a dinosaur when it comes to this stuff, but obviously it's time for an upgrade.

What would be great would be a digital music player that I can download songs to directly from online sources, and cut out all the middle process. I've also considered subscribing to an online music service like Tidal, but I'd like to be able to download songs and I'm not sure they will allow that.

My laptop and phone are not really mine, they are provided by my employer, so I don't want to have to load them up with a lot of personal music files if I can help it.

Suggestions? I'm sure this has been solved in various ways. Looking for a simple, reliable solution that just works.
Click to expand...
Spotify, youtube music, Amazon music, youtube standard. In other words, your phone is probably the best source for playing music.
 
#17
If you’re looking for a basic digital music player (ie a non-Apple iPod) that has a speaker, there are LOTS of options on Amazon.

For instance, this model from Avantree, which is a combination radio, Bluetooth speaker, and MP3 player that reads from an SD card.

Unfortunately there are no real options for something that can get songs from the Internet unless you use a phone, tablet or computer. But this just means one manual step for transferring files from your computer to the SD card. As noted, you can usually use an older phone with WiFi only (so it’s like an iPod Touch).

Another option might be the Invalid Link Removed. This is a practice trainer that lets you play along to files that you download to it either by SD card or USB. It can do varispeed playback to learn phrases and use an optional foot switch to control quick “rewind” to repeat a section, plus you can record your playing into it in a sort of overdub.
 
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#18
I think get your own android tablet or ipad, as has been suggested. You can then use whatever program or service you want to store and playback music, which you can send to a bluetooth speaker or use headphones or send via the headphone jack to your own headphone amp or stereo or whatever you have.

Plus you can get an adaptor to plug in your bass. It opens the door to all sorts of other things you might find useful, from sheet music to recording tools. And it would be way more user friendly and an all in one solution than getting an old MP3 player or ipod.
 
#19
Most modern "practice" and combo amps have an 1/8" Aux. input with a volume control that you can plug a source into and "mix" in your backing tracks (newer ones have Bluetooth as well). Most of the headphone pods do as well... depends on what type of bass tone you are looking for. I have an old Apple iPod Nano that I use if I need backing tracks, it works with 1/8" stereo jack or Bluetooth (it's mainly for the gym, but I use it to practice sometimes, or connect it to the PA when we need background music during breaks).

Lots of options out there...
 
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