best app or small multi fx unit for practicing?

Chewie5150

Fractal Fanatic
Wondering what apps such as Amplitube , you find sound the best for quick practice sessions? I'm an iphone/ipad user. Also any good apps you'd recommend for learning/practicing scales?

Also interested in small stompbox or multi fx unit like the vox stomplab 2G. thoughts? If only Fractal had a mini version for my living room. Lookin for simple quick solution for couch playing that has decent amp sims/tones.

Cheers
 
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I don't use any apps for practice so somebody else will have to jump in here. That said, I have been teaching guitar for several decades. My suggestion is to take a step back and decide how you approach the guitar neck. There are several approaches that are pretty common. I typically adapt my teaching approach and strive for a balance between what the student wants to learn, and what I know they need to learn in order to progress. Do you visualize the neck in a few playing zones? Or do you orient yourself off the low E string and think in terms of Barre chords?

Also, give some thought to your picking hand. Do you mostly use alternate picking or do you use economy picking? The answer to that will help determine how you approach scales. For example, if you are predominately an economy picker, then you will want to approach your scales using 3 notes per string, so as to take advantage of the economy picking. Likewise, if you are predominately an alternate picker, then the approach to scales should take into account that not all strings will use 3 notes per string.

Once you determine how you pick, then work on 1 scale at a time. Over the years I have had many students that are in a big hurry to learn every scale, (and the modes), Ionian Major, Diminished, Augmented, as well as the Harmonic Minor, Melodic Minor, Natural Minor, etc. So they work on a bunch of scales all at once, and as a result, they make almost NO progress. If you play Ionian Major a bunch of times and then jump to working on a bunch of other scales, you make such slight progress that it really does not show in your playing. I suggest you work the Ionian Major scale until you have really mastered it all over the neck. Then you can modify it (for example flat the 7th (to make Dominant 7) and master that all over the neck. Then take the Dominant 7 scale and modify it (flat the 3rd) to make Minor 7. Continue this process (flat the 5th to make Minor 7b5), then flat the b7 again to make diminished. Then you can tackle some of the different scales such as Chromatic, Aug, Harmonic Minor, etc.

My point is, master each scale before you move on to the next. If you work on a bunch of scales all at the same time, 6 months from now, you will have very little improvement to show for it. But if you really master a scale, the next time you are playing it, you will play it with authority. You may still stumble on other scales, but you will rip on the Major scale. Rinse and repeat, and by next year you will be Yoda. ;)
 
The best app I can think of is a guitar. Har har! Occasionally I'll just Amazing Slow Downer. I always use a metronome. Pencil and paper. That's about it.

Seriously practicing is a personal thing. You're going to spend many, many hours alone with your instrument. It depends on what you're trying to accomplish. Very occasionally, after I'm finished practicing on a song, I'll record it with something like Band In A Box.
 
Good advice John

At OP: Since you mention living room. Why not a small practice amp. I have the original roland microcube-even runs on batteries. Many of the smaller amps like this run on batteries. I like the practice amps with modeling, but that's just me. Boss has a nice for $99...
Most of these type (modeling) have inputs for smartphone\mp3 players\etc to use for backing tracks. Also. headphone outs.
 
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