Jump to content
Why become a member? ×

Practising without a cabinet...


Lfalex
 Share

Recommended Posts

Due to numerous considerations, I've mothballed my various combos/heads/cabs, and moved to a practice set-up using (full size) circumaural closed-back headphones.

It works like so;


[color="#FF0000"]Pre-amp[/color] ( Ampeg, Peavey or Hartke VXL) [color="#00FF00"]DI'ed[/color] to a cheap [color="#FF0000"]Mixer[/color], with an [color="#FF0000"]MP3[/color] player providing accompaniment. Headphones are a pair of [color="#0000FF"]Sennheiser HD251s[/color]

It's superb.
Well, I think so.

[u]The pros; (endless!)[/u]
Low power consumption
Much lower colouration than a bass cabinet
No weird sonic interactions with the room you're playing in
No phase errors between cabinet and other loudspeakers you may be using
It takes up less room
It doesn't disturb anyone
It's quite cheap! The cheapest incarnation costs £250 including Preamp, Mixer, Headphones, Cables and a Power supply.

[u]The cons;[/u]
No real bass you can [i]feel[/i]
Risk of deafness if you go too mad with the volume control
Your ears get hot!
You look like a Cyberman when you practice!

It really has helped improve my playing. I used my combo the other day and just went straight back to the headphone rig again. I can't recommend it enough.
Definitely worth it, even if it's only to get used to headphones for an upcoming studio session.
I'd be tempted to go "in-ear" for gigs after this.

Does anyone else play like this at home? What are your experiences? Can anyone else think of some more pros and cons?

Alex.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Greets,

I've used a headphone practice setup virtually from the word go & the only real downside I've found is that the bass responds differently in the cans to when run through a rig. There's a few things that work in the cans (pinched/stopped harmonics, dive-bombs etc) that I've yet to nail.

My setup is due for an upgrade, what "cheap mixer" are you using?

Pete.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

[quote name='Bloodaxe' post='61953' date='Sep 17 2007, 10:41 PM']Greets...
...My setup is due for an upgrade, what "cheap mixer" are you using?

Pete.[/quote]

It's branded "Phonic", and cost me about £80.
It's a "table-top" model, so doesn't fit in a rack, but that's no big deal.
8 channel (4XLRs, and 2 stereo 1/4" jack)
3 band EQ on the first 4 channels
Phantom Power.

It seems very quiet, but can clip a bit too easily on the channel I use for bass if it gets "pushed" by heavy EQ on the instrument itself.
Otherwise, it resolves the differences between instruments very well indeed. Ive tried it with 5 basses so far; an active 5, an active 4, two very different passives and an acoustic (via piezo bridge), all to good effect.

I don't use a compressor ,one [i]may[/i] be next on the list of additions. That, or an Aphex 204 or some similar...

(If you smell Gas, call 0800 9 60 50 40)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I been using a mixer/headphones set-up when I'm trying to learn a bass part from a recording - you can hear the track better, have more control over the EQ and are less prone to distraction. It's also good when I'm trying to learn a new technique - again you're less prone to distraction.

Sometimes though, if I just want to play to relax then nothing beats plugging into a proper amp and annoying the neighbours.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

When you get to 'know' your patches and your headphones it is OK as you know what to expect live with the same settings, and it is usually much better. I use E2cs at the moment and find them a little bass light but turning up the bass to compensate can be a little headache inducing over long periods, so as far as hearing the bass detail goes they work pretty well.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Restore formatting

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

 Share

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...