E-ink Readers

b0b · Post by **b0b** » 22 May 2016 7:45 am

I've been using a Kindle Paperwhite on stage, but it's pretty small and, since an OS update a couple of months ago, it turns itself off every 5 minutes if I don't turn the page. Frustrated, I bought an inkBook 8. Besides being larger, it has the added advantage of being a full-blown Android tablet. In other words, it can run apps. Here they are side-by-side:

E-ink is better for chord charts because you can see it in direct sunlight. Both of the tablets have internal lighting for dark rooms.

I just got the inkBook yesterday. So far, I'm very pleased with it. It was easy to xfer my latest songbook (a PDF file) from my computer. The documentation is sketchy, so if you've never used an Android phone or tablet you might get confused. It was less than $200 at Amazon, including the case (a separate item).

Dave Potter · Post by **Dave Potter** » 22 May 2016 10:34 am

I envy you guys who still get on stage.

But I'm curious, b0b - do you just use that inkBook prior to a song, to refresh yourself on the chords, or do you actually refer to it while you play? I don't think I could do that.

b0b · Post by **b0b** » 22 May 2016 10:31 pm

If I don't remember a song very well, I read the chord chart while I play it. The Wilco song pictured above, for example, has a strange structure. It really helps to read along one measure at a time for songs like that.

I also have lyric sheets for when I'm singing. I don't have a great memory for lyrics. Just today I blew the first verse of Your Cheatin' Heart.

Should have had the words in front of me.

When I play bass, my chart will often show the notes of the basic pattern on the bass staff. Even in country music, there are subtle differences in the groove of the original recordings that can really make a song feel "right".