Backing track, cell phone and Amplifier
Fri, 04/22/2022 - 06:17
Hi,
I am relatively new at this, and an old guy so please treat me gently. I have searched Google and youtube but cannot find the overall package of how do I get backing tracks on a cell phone, run the backing track via the cell phone into the Aux input on my Fender Champ 20? Is this easy or am I missing something? Obviously, I am looking for free backing tracks (if there are any?) and how to run them through the Amplifier.
Any help for this old guy would be deeply appreciated.
Inky:
I'm also a "Mr. Analog" senior citizen, and unfortunately the AARP Magazine seldom contains tips for blues harmonica players, but:
1. Others will have better ideas about backing tracks. I simply load David's backing tracks into my Apple Music app on my laptop and then transfer them to my iPhone's music library if I want to play them from the phone. The only other backing tracks I use are guitar, banjo or ukulele tracks I record myself on the iPhone's memo app.
2. Using a cell phone through an aux input on an amp: Watch out. I learned the hard way years ago running my phone into my Roland Cube 30 to play a backing track at an open mic performance in a small club. I hadn't tested it at home, and didn't realize that the aux input in the Cube 30 does NOT go through the amp's volume control. It plays whatever is plugged in at full volume, with the volume controlled only by the phone itself. And I had the phone volume up to max to be able to hear the phone earlier in the day. Some of the folks in the audience didn't fully recover their hearing for a week. So double-check your own amp (don't know about the Fender Champ 20) to see whether or not the amp's volume control actually contols the aux input. If not, yoiu might want to invest in a small 2-channel mixer to control input from devices like a phone and a mic into the amp. Or just always remember to turn the phone's volume down before plugging it into the amp, and then adjusting it upward.
Given that my iPhone appears to be surgicaly grafted to my head (or at least so my wife claims) I'll be interested in others' ideas about using a phone for backing tracks.