I'm never gonna do a gig ... but

[pecodk]

10 hours ago, Gottastopbuyinggear said:

This.  From experience IK Multimedia Amplitube or Line6 Pod Farm are excellent, and I know there are lots more. You can get great sound through headphones if you need to practice quietly, or maybe add studio monitors if you’re not worried about volume.  

Out of interest why will you never gig? If you simply don’t want to then great, but don’t rule it out just because you’re only just starting to play. 

I'm 50 years old and just starting out. I always wanted to play the bass. Grew up hearing Motown, Bootsy, Parliament, George Clinton, Temptations, Mark King, Marcus etc. So I decided to buy a decent used bass (Ken Smith) and now I need the rest of the gear so I can start playing. So considering my age I don't expect to do gigs - just for my wife (not that she will like it) behind closed doors (and maybe annoy my neighbours by playing loud (if I go for an Amp+cab)). Hopefully I'll get a little funky before I turn 60. If so I'm a happy camper - gigs or not

Edited November 10, 2018 by pecodk

[grandad]

On 10/11/2018 at 14:41, pecodk said:

I'm 50 years old and just starting out. I always wanted to play the bass. Grew up hearing Motown, Bootzy, Parliament, George Clinton, Temptations, Mark King, Marcus etc. So I decided to buy a decent used bass (Ken Smith) and now I need the rest of the gear so I can start playing. So considering my age I don't expect to do gigs - just for my wife (not that she will like it) behind closed doors (and maybe annoy my neighbours by playing loud (if I go for an Amp+cab)). Hopefully I'll get a little funky before I turn 60. If so I'm a happy camper - gigs or not

Don't kid yourself, that's what I did, started out in my early fifties. It was just for a bit of fun with my elder brother and an old chum. Got a singer and drummer. We did the whole weekend warrior thing recapturing our teens, pubs and clubs and then weddings and functions. After about 15 years we got old and tired.

We now run a music club at Quarry Bank community centre and do a couple of charity gigs a year. I also play with an amateur Jazz quartet practicing weekly and gigging maybe once a month.

So you never know what's around the corner. Just have a great time and beware the GAS.

Edited November 11, 2018 by grandad
grammar

[MikanHannille]

As for amp sim. You can go Zoom b3/b3n. Or even go helix lt  or a full helix if you want to splurge. But def b3/b3n is good enough!

[Skybone]

You don't have to go down the full blown Helix route, there are plenty of other options available, at far more wallet friendly prices. The old Zoom B3 will be available second hand as it's now been superseded by the B3n. The B1on & B1Xon are even better priced.

Something like a Line6 PODxt will be another great buy, there is a bass version available, but I'd recommend getting the "standard" guitar oriented one & buying the Bass Expansion Pack. If you want to spend a bit more, then try to find a Line6 POD HD Desktop. Again, you will need to buy the HD Bass Pack, but again, it's well worth it. I use the HD500x, which is a floor board, not ideal for home use, but great for using in a band situation (managed to get a great deal on a used HD Desktop from the For Sale board on here, and it's great for using at home if you want to get some "amplified" sounds).

There are also the Boss GT6B & GT10B boards, but I don't know much about them.

[Dem Jolie-blues]

Well I tried,  James Jamerson,  legendary  bass player on most of THE motown hits would spin in his grave, (died@47), if he thought you were copying him with a commodore 64, sigh

[pecodk]

8 hours ago, Dem Jolie-blues said:

Well I tried,  James Jamerson,  legendary  bass player on most of THE motown hits would spin in his grave, (died@47), if he thought you were copying him with a commodore 64, sigh

I bet he would

[project_c]

I play through headphones at home, I have never found an amp that sounds good at home volume. There’s nothing more uninspiring than the sound of a bass amp at minimum volume for me, plus the acoustics of your house will have a huge impact on your tone, and every house I’ve lived in for the past 10 years had terrible acoustics. My amps sound great in the garden, but I don’t always want my neighbors to hear me fudging my way through some random jazz solo I’ve just transcribed. Studio monitors are probably a better idea but also need a decent sounding room, and relatively tolerant neighbours. 

What works for me is a decent interface (all the ones you mention are fine) straight into Logic, no plugins, and some proper studio quality headphones. Input levels and gain are key to getting a good tone, too quiet and you’ll sound thin and crap, too loud and you’ll clip and distort.

Lots of people can’t stand a dry signal or playing through headphones though, it’s a personal choice.

[Sibob]

Either a decent interface or a decent headphone amp will do you. Interface wise I’m biased (work for Focusrite), however 99% of the time I use a 3Leaf Enabler headphone amp/EQ for home practice, I have no amp for home use other than dragging out my gigging rigs (never happens). Good headphones help of course, I use KRK KNS8400.

The Enabler is discontinued and usually quite sought after used, but the Shift Line Olympic MkIII looks impressive, tube preamp, EQ, aux in, headphone amp and cab sim! Don’t know how it sounds though.

Si

Edited November 11, 2018 by Sibob

[StringNavigator]

There's always the portable Tascam CD-BT2.

 

Edited November 19, 2018 by StringNavigator

[pecodk]

2 hours ago, project_c said:

I play through headphones at home, I have never found an amp that sounds good at home volume. There’s nothing more uninspiring than the sound of a bass amp at minimum volume for me, plus the acoustics of your house will have a huge impact on your tone, and every house I’ve lived in for the past 10 years had terrible acoustics. My amps sound great in the garden, but I don’t always want my neighbors to hear me fudging my way through some random jazz solo I’ve just transcribed. Studio monitors are probably a better idea but also need a decent sounding room, and relatively tolerant neighbours. 

What works for me is a decent interface (all the ones you mention are fine) straight into Logic, no plugins, and some proper studio quality headphones. Input levels and gain are key to getting a good tone, too quiet and you’ll sound thin and crap, too loud and you’ll clip and distort.

Lots of people can’t stand a dry signal or playing through headphones though, it’s a personal choice.

Food for thought. You gave me many good points to consider. Thanks project_c

[pecodk]

1 hour ago, Sibob said:

Either a decent interface or a decent headphone amp will do you. Interface wise I’m biased (work for Focusrite), however 99% of the time I use a 3Leaf Enabler headphone amp/EQ for home practice, I have no amp for home use other than dragging out my gigging rigs (never happens). Good headphones help of course, I use KRK KNS8400.

The Enabler is discontinued and usually quite sought after used, but the Shift Line Olympic MkIII looks impressive, tube preamp, EQ, aux in, headphone amp and cab sim! Don’t know how it sounds though.

Si

I'll take any advise I can get - biased or not. I always have the option to google and see what others write and then make a choice based on that. Thanks for your suggestions Si 

[SICbass]

8 hours ago, StringNavigator said:

There's always the portable Tascam CD-BT2.

I’ve still got one of these (although I never use it) and to be honest they sound a bit thin and twangy. The effects aren’t exactly thrilling either.

[Bolo]

What I use to practice at home is a IRig (HD2) into an ipad with amplitube installed. Either use headphones (Sennheiser HD 25 in my case, other options are available) or connect a small amp.

I have a Kustom defender 15h amp and cab, not ideal for bass but good enough for home use. However I can recommend the Roland Cube for bass, very nice, tiny, many many options.

[pecodk]

Update,

Ok, so first I bought an Apogee Duet. But had some issues and it didn't sound great to me. Went to the music store and tested an amp + some speakers. Brought my bass of course. I ended up buying an EBS Reidmar 500 amp + Classic Line 410CL speakers. I think this will do for now. Who knows what the future will bring? Thanks for all your advice - it's really appreciated

P

[Grangur]

Hey @pecodk, I was in a similar position to you 9 years ago. Started at 50 and play at home, never have gigged, but tried being in a band and come to the conclusion that it's not for me.

I play using either a MarkBass LM3 and a Barefaced One10, or a Hartke B70.  I have a Zoom B3, but not into playing through cans. I guess it does depend on your style of playing.  Thrash Metal at a polite domestic volume won't really cut it. But I'm happy with what I have.

Good luck with the new gear and enjoy the bass-journey!

[pecodk]

10 minutes ago, Grangur said:

Hey @pecodk, I was in a similar position to you 9 years ago. Started at 50 and play at home, never have gigged, but tried being in a band and come to the conclusion that it's not for me.

I play using either a MarkBass LM3 and a Barefaced One10, or a Hartke B70.  I have a Zoom B3, but not into playing through cans. I guess it does depend on your style of playing.  Thrash Metal at a polite domestic volume won't really cut it. But I'm happy with what I have.

Good luck with the new gear and enjoy the bass-journey!

Thanks Grangur - I'm sure I will enjoy what I bought (sounds great even at moderate volume). Now it all comes down to practise I guess. I cannot imagine I will be in a band - but as others said: you never know 

[Geek99]

2 minutes ago, pecodk said:

Thanks Grangur - I'm sure I will enjoy what I bought (sounds great even at moderate volume). Now it all comes down to practise I guess. I cannot imagine I will be in a band - but as others said: you never know 

don't have to be in a band, just playing with one other like minded person will do. As a bass player you have a head start in that you're not a common as muck guitar player

[Grangur]

7 minutes ago, pecodk said:

Thanks Grangur - I'm sure I will enjoy what I bought (sounds great even at moderate volume). Now it all comes down to practise I guess. I cannot imagine I will be in a band - but as others said: you never know 

Exactly. Amps have volume knobs.  
What I've also found is small combos sound naff. So, don't be frightened to have power in the house.

[Geek99]

My ampeg ba108 sound awesome even through headphones so I’m not sure that’s always true

[paul_c2]

48 minutes ago, Grangur said:

Exactly. Amps have volume knobs.  
What I've also found is small combos sound naff. So, don't be frightened to have power in the house.

I think that's a bit of a generalisation - possibly true for the really small combos of around 10W-20W. Once you get into something around the 30W-50W range, then a decent sound (at a volume level suitable for home practice) can be achieved. I think its true to say that an amp has a "happy" volume range, beyond or below which in theory it can go but it loses a bit of its nice tone. Thus, a very large amp would probably not sound great at very low volumes, where a smaller one does better.

[pecodk]

35 minutes ago, paul_c2 said:

I think that's a bit of a generalisation - possibly true for the really small combos of around 10W-20W. Once you get into something around the 30W-50W range, then a decent sound (at a volume level suitable for home practice) can be achieved. I think its true to say that an amp has a "happy" volume range, beyond or below which in theory it can go but it loses a bit of its nice tone. Thus, a very large amp would probably not sound great at very low volumes, where a smaller one does better.

I can't play a decent tone anyways, I'm a total beginner

[paul_c2]

I know you're kinda joking, but a few points worth making: 1) most of the time, the "tone" produced isn't that player-dependent. The note is fretted by the left hand and the right hand plucks the string. Yes you can pluck it in different ways, different positions, but a "normal" pluck is not in itself distinctive between different players. The tone is much more dependent on the strings, pickups, signal chain (if any effects etc used) and the amp. 2) You want a setup which gives a fairly "normal" even tone, for example you don't want to have anything weird going on with weird pickups, or tons of effects, or distortion, or compression in the signal chain. You want it so you can hear what's right and what's not. Playing with loads of compression (that might be from overdrive/etc) is not ideal for beginners because they don't hear the variation in dynamics they have themselves.

[pecodk]

2 minutes ago, paul_c2 said:

I know you're kinda joking, but a few points worth making: 1) most of the time, the "tone" produced isn't that player-dependent. The note is fretted by the left hand and the right hand plucks the string. Yes you can pluck it in different ways, different positions, but a "normal" pluck is not in itself distinctive between different players. The tone is much more dependent on the strings, pickups, signal chain (if any effects etc used) and the amp. 2) You want a setup which gives a fairly "normal" even tone, for example you don't want to have anything weird going on with weird pickups, or tons of effects, or distortion, or compression in the signal chain. You want it so you can hear what's right and what's not. Playing with loads of compression (that might be from overdrive/etc) is not ideal for beginners because they don't hear the variation in dynamics they have themselves.

Thanks for the advice @paul_c2 From what I have read and seen on YT I should set my sound flat and only tweak a little if I want to hear the sound of my bass. So that is what I do. Maybe it's not correct? I don't use compression, don't add a lot of bass etc. Still I really like the sound (I like disco/funk) I get thru the speakers. But to be honest I'm sure I could get better sound if I had experience playing/setting up gear. But for now a sound that sounds nice to my ears is just great. I had someone play my bass when I bought the amp/speaker, I just listened. This guy (experienced bass player - well actually 2) was blown away by the sound of the bass. Deep, punchy, crisp, clean - yes all of the things I personally like. When he/they played all was set to flat with only minor adjustments. So that is what I try to copy when I set it up at home. I only have sound (when others are playing my bass) to make my decisions upon - because I'am totally green and I know it will take a while before I will be able to play something that sounds the way I like. I heard it's all/mostly "in the fingers of the player".  Right now my fingers won't even do what I ask them to  Practise makes "perfect"  

[paul_c2]

Aaaah the old "Its all in the fingers"! Its partially true, but its a bit false to claim its totally true and that the equipment itself has a non- or minor role in the sound.

Sounds like you'll be just fine - I've noticed that with decent equipment, the range of sounds from tone (ie bass, mid, treble) control changes are all pretty much usable, because the range is a sensible one; and with cheaper equipment, a lot of the range is a bit useless so you need to be more careful or lucky with the settings. By having everything flat and it sounding reasonable, you're well on the way to success.

Bear in mind that the acoustics of the room will have an effect, so one bunch of tone settings which works in one place, might not in another.

Also, I know you mentioned you won't be gigging (won't be playing with others?) but a lot of the time an alteration away from that "perfect" tone you might perceive when played on its own, fits in better with the other musicians playing.

[pecodk]

@paul_c2 I don't plan to play in a band but who knows - for now I'll just play with Chic, Bootsy and some other guys   Didn't buy the cheapest stuff out there. So for a beginner I think I'm fine for now

Edited November 19, 2018 by pecodk