Martin_D Posted January 29, 2018 Share Posted January 29, 2018 I’m in need of a little set up for home so I can practice quietly without using an amp so I don’t annoy my neighbours or more importantly, the wife. I have a Vox Amplug that I’m using at the moment but it’s not great. I get a lot of a white noise when I’m not playing and generally the sound isn’t great. What else is out there that would be suitable which I should look at without breaking the bank? I need something with an aux input so I can play to songs. Any suggestions? Ta muchly Martin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ped Posted January 29, 2018 Share Posted January 29, 2018 I’ll beat everyone else to it by suggesting the Zoom B1on. I got mine here for £25. It does everything. Sounds fantastic, battery lasts ages - previously I had a Vox which was terrible, a Pandora that I liked but it went pop and a DI pedal with headphone output. The zoom is by far the best of them all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin_D Posted January 29, 2018 Author Share Posted January 29, 2018 2 minutes ago, ped said: I’ll beat everyone else to it by suggesting the Zoom B1on. I got mine here for £25. It does everything. Sounds fantastic, battery lasts ages - previously I had a Vox which was terrible, a Pandora that I liked but it went pop and a DI pedal with headphone output. The zoom is by far the best of them all. Thanks for the quick reply. I’ll have a look at that then. And I can plug my headphones/aux connected to iPad/iPhone straight into it? thanks Martin 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ped Posted January 29, 2018 Share Posted January 29, 2018 Yes you can. Also it has a built in looper and drum patterns. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dannybuoy Posted January 29, 2018 Share Posted January 29, 2018 Another option if you have an iPad / iPhone is to get an iRig or similar. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ped Posted January 29, 2018 Share Posted January 29, 2018 Just now, dannybuoy said: Another option if you have an iPad / iPhone is to get an iRig or similar. Forgot to add them to my ‘tried, gave up’ list. Tried the HD2 from IK and it had latency that was really off putting. Then I tried the original iRig belonging to a friend, it was noisy and latent. I know some like them but unless it’s just me who suffers from latency issues, I really don’t know how people stand it. Suppose it might be ok live but really noticeable through headphones. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin_D Posted January 29, 2018 Author Share Posted January 29, 2018 (edited) Is it the B1 you have ped or is it the B1on version? The latter is cheap enough new at £45 Edit - just reread your post lol Edited January 29, 2018 by Martin_D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ped Posted January 29, 2018 Share Posted January 29, 2018 Yeah the B1on, little one without the volume pedal. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin_D Posted January 29, 2018 Author Share Posted January 29, 2018 Gotcha. Looks ideal for me - thanks mate 👍 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dannybuoy Posted January 29, 2018 Share Posted January 29, 2018 I have a Line 6 Sonic Port, and have managed to get the latency down so it’s not an issue (and I’m sensitive to it like you). Most audio apps have latency settings in the menus but they usually adjust have fairly generic descriptions like high, medium and low. I discovered a trick however where you can drop it as low as 64 samples (1.5ms at 44.1kHz) if you run Audiobus with your chosen app inside it! You adjust the latency within Audiobus then everything gets locked to that setting. The Zoom is much less faffing about though, but the iOS route is worth considering if you hadn’t thought of it before, especially since you’ll be able to record with it. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Krow Posted January 29, 2018 Share Posted January 29, 2018 (edited) 53 minutes ago, Martin_D said: I have a Vox Amplug that I’m using at the moment but it’s not great. I get a lot of a white noise when I’m not playing and generally the sound isn’t great. 35 minutes ago, ped said: ... previously I had a Vox which was terrible, Haha! - I knew there was a reason I much prefer the headphone out on my B3n to my Vox Amplug. But after the reviews above, looks like I'd better relist it then on Fleabay and with a low starting price! Edited January 29, 2018 by Al Krow 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ped Posted January 29, 2018 Share Posted January 29, 2018 1 minute ago, Al Krow said: Haha! - I knew there was a reason I much prefer the headphone out on my B3n to my Vox Amplug. But after the reviews above, looks like I'd better relist it then and with a low starting price! Its a shame because I like the form factor - plugging right into the bass is a neat idea (as are the Vox Amphone headphones) but the unit is seriously hissy and poor build quality, too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fretmeister Posted January 30, 2018 Share Posted January 30, 2018 Line 6 Sonic Port and your iPhone. You get the mobile POD software with it, but it's also compatible with Amplitube - even the free version. Then you can import songs from your iTunes and play along. Really useful stuff indeed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Krow Posted January 30, 2018 Share Posted January 30, 2018 11 hours ago, dannybuoy said: Another option if you have an iPad / iPhone is to get an iRig or similar. Feedback from folk who've used an iRig has been uniformly negative about it's quality. Mine never left the packaging as one of my kids 'swiped' my iPad (and I moved the iRig on for next to nothing a couple of weeks back given the comments I'd received about its usefulness). And now the same feedback for the Vox Amplug... Hah! This forum is rapidly depreciating my entire back catalogue of shi*t 'newbie' gear Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dannybuoy Posted January 30, 2018 Share Posted January 30, 2018 (edited) Uniformly? Plenty of happy users on the various iOS threads here and Talkbass. I assume you're talking about the older cheaper iRig versions that just route the bass through to the phone's built in mic input. The newer HD models have a built in audio interface so quality is miles better. I've not tried an iRig HD but do know it is similarly classed to the Sonic Port which I do have - which when combined with a decent amp sim app sounds better (IMHO) than the ones on offer in the Zoom B1on. The free Garageband app has Ampeg models in it which sound great. The Zoom does win on a few other factors though, you can add it to your pedalboard for one, you won't have to further invest in apps to get your sounds, and it'll still be useful if you ever decide to ditch Apple. The headphone output wasn't loud enough for me though and the master volume control is buried within a menu which I found a pain. Edited January 30, 2018 by dannybuoy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DangerDan Posted January 30, 2018 Share Posted January 30, 2018 I think the zoom b3n is a perfect practice rig, looper, drum machine, loads of effects and headphone out and aux in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markdavid Posted January 30, 2018 Share Posted January 30, 2018 Not much to add other than the Vox Amplug sucks balls, flimsy construction, sound is overly midrangy with little treble detail and if you are near other electrical appliances they seem to pick up noise from them. Electro Harmonix do a headphone amp that looks great except no line in socket...how can you have a headphone amp where you cant plug in an external audio source. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Krow Posted January 30, 2018 Share Posted January 30, 2018 4 hours ago, DangerDan said: I think the zoom b3n is a perfect practice rig, looper, drum machine, loads of effects and headphone out and aux in. +1 The B3n is a LOT of kit for the money. 1 hour ago, markdavid said: Not much to add other than the Vox Amplug sucks balls, flimsy construction, sound is overly midrangy with little treble detail and if you are near other electrical appliances they seem to pick up noise from them. Electro Harmonix do a headphone amp that looks great except no line in socket...how can you have a headphone amp where you cant plug in an external audio source. I sense the price of the Amplug I have for sale falling by the hour! Faster even than the career prospects of the KPMG partner who signed off the Carillion accounts...time to take it off the FS section with its £25 price tag (they're about £38 new incl. delivery) and put it on eBay with a £0.95 starting price, or a bit more if I'm feeling brave 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Krow Posted January 30, 2018 Share Posted January 30, 2018 (edited) 6 hours ago, dannybuoy said: Uniformly? Plenty of happy users on the various iOS threads here and Talkbass. I assume you're talking about the older cheaper iRig versions that just route the bass through to the phone's built in mic input. The newer HD models have a built in audio interface so quality is miles better. The Zoom does win on a few other factors though, you can add it to your pedalboard for one, you won't have to further invest in apps to get your sounds, and it'll still be useful if you ever decide to ditch Apple. The headphone output wasn't loud enough for me though and the master volume control is buried within a menu which I found a pain. Yup - it was the older cheaper iRig (2013 model in my case). In terms of the headphone volume on the B3n, you could also just set up a dedicated clean patch with the volume set higher, which seems to do the trick with little hassle in terms of accessing. Edited January 30, 2018 by Al Krow Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Briton Posted January 30, 2018 Share Posted January 30, 2018 (edited) ? Edited June 23, 2018 by Briton Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lemmywinks Posted January 30, 2018 Share Posted January 30, 2018 I just use a little Behringer USB powered mixer, no seperate power supply and no seperate aux inputs as it plays music over the USB cable too. Use it with my laptop and Windows tablet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markdavid Posted January 31, 2018 Share Posted January 31, 2018 On 30/01/2018 at 16:56, Al Krow said: +1 The B3n is a LOT of kit for the money. I sense the price of the Amplug I have for sale falling by the hour! Faster even than the career prospects of the KPMG partner who signed off the Carillion accounts...time to take it off the FS section with its £25 price tag (they're about £38 new incl. delivery) and put it on eBay with a £0.95 starting price, or a bit more if I'm feeling brave Yeah the Amplug is awful, poorly built and sounds like s*@t 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin_D Posted February 8, 2018 Author Share Posted February 8, 2018 Well I’m glad I got the b1on guys. It’s heads above the amplug.. no nasty hissing noise just pure tone! Thanks for the recommendation 🙂 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Krow Posted February 10, 2018 Share Posted February 10, 2018 (edited) On 30/01/2018 at 15:33, markdavid said: Not much to add other than the Vox Amplug sucks balls, flimsy construction, sound is overly midrangy with little treble detail and if you are near other electrical appliances they seem to pick up noise from them. On 31/01/2018 at 21:13, markdavid said: Yeah the Amplug is awful, poorly built and sounds like s*@t I think it's important you come off the fence on this one. Edited February 10, 2018 by Al Krow Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dannybuoy Posted February 10, 2018 Share Posted February 10, 2018 Anyone want to buy a Vox Amplug? 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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