Hopefully I can convince you that this is a more a post about problem solving than guitar gear geekery. I wrote a comment on Janek Gwizdala’s substack post a while back and thought it would be a good topic to flesh out into my first blog post.
A little context:
After participating in two of Lucas Michailidis’ month long morning practice sessions on Zoom I’ve (finally) gotten into the habit of picking up the guitar first thing in the morning. Lucas’ method of cycling small chunks of material (called Interleaved Practice) has proven to be a very effective learning strategy. This daily consistency been great for my playing, so it’s something that I want to keep up wherever I am.
Therefore, I needed a practice rig that was:
a) Portable - ie. small/light, and no mains power required (I'm outside/away from my house a lot)
b) Headphone output. I live with 2 housemates in a very quiet and reverberant area. This rules out practicing my acoustic in the early hours of the morning.
c) No distractions (ie. no smartphone/computer/internet required). Although there are many great practice tools made for these devices, I’m much more focused away from any ‘device’.
I ended up snagging a Boss GT-1 on FB Marketplace for a measly $150, and it was just what the doctor ordered. The GT-1 is AA battery powered, has an aux input, a headphone out, a (simple but functional) looper, a good sounding freeze, and tons of other great and very configurable sounds.
I’ve augmented this little practice rig with a standalone MP3 player (for transcribing and jamming along to Aebersold play alongs). I have also added a Zoom H1 recorder i bought a few years ago to record and review my playing. I listen to it all with a pair of Philips SHP9500 headphones. I also grabbed a hard copy practice diary to keep track of what i'm working on, and a little A5 manuscript for notation.
For such a small (and cheap) unit, the GT-1 is quite capable for live use. I recently used it at an open mic (plugged directly into the PA, and it was a nice quick setup and teardown. I’ve used it on both electric and acoustic guitars successfully. Sure, there are plenty of sounds it can’t make (i’m still gassing hard for a Line6 Helix), but it satisfies me in the meantime.
It also sounds great for recording direct as a USB interface. I used it for the lead guitar (and the rhythm guitar’s ‘organ’ tone!) on my composition ‘Peasant in Flight’:
I’m also planning to use it in front of my newly acquired HIWATT, as there is no reverb/overdrive/effects on this beast (It’s 28 bloody kilos! You have to suffer for great tone)
That’s enough gear talk for now, i’ll be back soon to talk about some new projects i’ve got on the go.