Really small practice speaker ideas?

[Pbassred]

I don't own a home practice amp, and anyway why would i want to practice with a different amp with different controls etc? I have a Littlemark Tube 800 and a Barefaced super 12T (4 ohm). Its too loud for a 5 piece soul band, never mind an office. So I'm thinking, what about making a cab with a 4 - 6inch 32ohm driver. Or make a power soak l-pad - but its a lot of power to dissipate.

How bad could that be?

[Guest bassman7755]

In what way does just turning the volume down not work for you (and I mean that as a serious question) ?. Power soaking / attenuation padding the output of a solid state amp really makes no sense, and could even be damaging for a class D design, your always better off reducing the power stage input level (which is what your master volume control is for ...).

Edited January 4, 2016 by bassman7755

[mcnach]

[quote name='bassman7755' timestamp='1451901173' post='2944321']
In what way does just turning the volume down not work for you (and I mean that as a serious question) ?. Power soaking / attenuation padding the output of a solid state amp really makes no sense, and could even be damaging for a class D design, your always better off reducing the power stage input level (which is what your master volume control is for ...).
[/quote]

That's what I thought too. Between the gain and the volume control you can make the LMT800 quite controllable at apartment neighbour-friendly volumes, so I find it hard to imagine it's too loud for a band.
This is meant as a serious question. I'm sure the OP knows the controls on his amp... just curious as to what I'm missing.

[Truckstop]

GAS methinks!

Have a look at the Phil Jones Bass stuff, plenty of tiny amps suitable for small room practice. MarkBass also have a 6" combo which will probably sound closer to your big rig if you're concerned about that sort of thing.

If you're on a budget, I think the Fender Rumble (V3) 25 is an 8" combo?

[Happy Jack]

Have you tried using the Tuner Out as a headphone socket?

[chris_b]

Don't confuse the purpose of a gig with practising.

On a gig you need to project to a lot of people in a probably difficult room alongside a bunch of noisy band members. When you practice you only need to hear what you are playing enough to familiarise yourself with the part. The tone really isn't important at that point.

If I practice I'll usually play the bass unplugged. I need to get my ideas into my fingers. I don't have to wow myself with my tone.

[stevie]

Sounds like an idea to me. I can't see the point of practice amps now that we have compact heads - and you don't always want your full-size bass cab in the house, do you? You could easily knock together your own box or adapt something to take a small speaker that will be perfect for practice purposes.

But - do make sure you use a PA speaker and not a hi-fi or guitar speaker. An eight is probably ideal for the purpose, and a Celestion like this one is good value for what you want: http://www.lean-business.co.uk/eshop/celestion-tf-0818-8ohm-8-pa-speaker-p-111.html?zenid=90fc09d0f86925de2d2c7b66abc87b2b. About 15 litres would work well and will sit under your Markbass head nicely. Tune to 80Hz with a 70mm port, 60mm long and Bob's your uncle.

[cheddatom]

a stupid idea no doubt, but the "15 litre" number is very round... Does it have to be square and made of wood? Or could I buy a 15 litre bin, cut a hole in for the speaker, and another for the port? IE Is the shape as important as the volume?

[stevie]

Plus or minus ten percent would not be a problem. It might sound like it, but I didn't pluck the figure from thin air: 15 litres is actually about right for that driver. A greater variation would be possible if you are prepared to mess about with the vent tuning a bit.

It depends what you mean by 'bin'. A bread bin, rubbish bin? Any kind of box would do at a pinch as long as it is airtight and doesn't vibrate. No, the shape isn't really critical to performance but wood is normally preferred because it's cheap, easy to work with and resistant to vibration. Unlike a bread bin.

[cheddatom]

There are loads of 15 Ltr plastic and metal bins, so just wondered if that was a cheap and easy option

[Alec]

[quote name='chris_b' timestamp='1451986773' post='2945168']
If I practice I'll usually play the bass unplugged. I need to get my ideas into my fingers. I don't have to wow myself with my tone.
[/quote]
+1 It may not be flattering, but "practise hard, play easy"!