TASCAM (booth 6491) is pleased to introduce the CD-GT1 Portable CD Guitar Trainer at Winter NAMM 2002. The CD-GT1 (MSRP $219.00) is an affordable CD player with a built-in guitar and vocal effects and is the perfect tool for beginning guitarists, vocalists or other musicians looking to improve their performance capabilities. "The CD-GT1 is much more than a portable CD player with a guitar input, it is the perfect tool for musicians looking for a quick and easy way to learn new material and improve their chops," says Jace Nuzback, TASCAM product specialist. "The key to its power as a training tool is its ability to slow down CDs without changing pitch, allowing musicians to easily learn new material."

Offering the ability to play along with any standard audio CD, the CD-GT1's Slow Speed Audition function slows down the playback speed (tempo) of the disc by up to 50% without affecting the pitch. Similar to the old technique of manually spinning an LP record to learn licks, this feature is invaluable for beginning guitarists to quickly learn the chops of their favorite performers. Likewise, the unit's onboard pitch control makes it easy for musicians to adapt the playback content to their own style. The CD-GT1's seamless in-out looping capabilities also facilitate the unit's capability as a learning tool.

Designed for performance, the CD-GT1 includes handy tools like a footswitch input that can be used to start and stop CDs as well as switch effects, a line input to use its effects to jam along with other audio sources such as cassette decks, and a chromatic tuner. With its built-in modeling effects for guitar and vocals, CD-GT1 users can also emulate the tone and feel of the recording they are "jamming" with or learning.