Headphone practice setups: halp pls!

[PaulTrevellyan]

Hey all! Only recently getting back in the game after pretty much a decade, and I wanted to talk headphone-based practice setups.

 

 

im looking for the best way to have Bass=>tuner&/or preamp=>headphones setup. Not overly interested in any effects or altering the bass tone, I just wondered if anyone had some recommendations for how to practice alone, quietly, thru headphones. Bonus points for an audio in to run the track I’m tryna learn  

 

whatcha recon?

😁👍

[Bunion]

Have a read through this thread I’ve found nothing to beat it yet 

 

 

[ezbass]

Yamaha Sessioncake.

[Bunion]

You won’t need preamps or tuners it’s all built into the app on the phone. 
the sound is great, multiple effects and eq, tone shaping. 
metronome and drum tracks, tuner and wireless media so you can play music from your phone 

this is the boss Waza air bass I’m talking about 

Edited May 2, 2022 by Bunion

[danweb22]

Zoom B1 Four

[PaulTrevellyan]

Oh wow thank you all! 5mins later and I have a raft of reading!  Thank you so much! 😁👍

[Happy Jack]

Best single piece of kit I ever bought was https://www.gak.co.uk/en/phil-jones-bass-bass-buddy/30619 but in fairness it used to cost a helluva lot less than £399!

[hiram.k.hackenbacker]

30 minutes ago, Happy Jack said:

Best single piece of kit I ever bought was https://www.gak.co.uk/en/phil-jones-bass-bass-buddy/30619 but in fairness it used to cost a helluva lot less than £399!

Same here. Love my Bass Buddy. It’s been rock solid since I bought it when they first came out.

Fantastic piece of kit.

[Guest]

Sony headphones, Tascam GB10, sometimes my old AriaPro2 effects board.  

[casapete]

59 minutes ago, ezbass said:

Yamaha Sessioncake.

+1 for the Yammy.

Easy to use, sounds great and costs next to nothing.

I use mine a lot and it’s just what I needed. 

[PaulThePlug]

Most basic... and near indestructable EHX Headphone amp @ £40....

Zoom B1on / B1Four are great...

(I've got an EHX and a B1on)

The Yam Session Cakes also crop up cheap on the bay.

Down to budget...

But keep clear of the plug-in Vox-Amp type Bug thingies that hang out ya jack socket... they are noisy and break at the plug... and you will end up wanting and needing to buy something else.

 

Edited May 2, 2022 by PaulThePlug

[Velarian]

Another couple of threads that cover this subject:

 

 

[ambient]

The Darkglass Element is a fabulous practice tool.

 

it has a built in tuner and can work as an audio interface. The cab sim library is fantastic.

[lemmywinks]

I just use a mini USB mixing desk, this one:

https://www.gear4music.com/PA-DJ-and-Lighting/Soundcraft-Notepad-5-Analog-USB-Mixer/1XK3?origin=product-ads&gclid=CjwKCAjwgr6TBhAGEiwA3aVuIaoFQOp56U4E2tixeCgA8xU_6hMIWa7Sibsru6mEH8HogkqeOoPwsBoCNjEQAvD_BwE

 

No tuner but can play audio over USB and the mic preamp sounds great.

[Lfalex v1.1]

I've used-

 

Korg Pandora

A Cheap mixer 

NUX Mighty Plug

 

They're all perfectly serviceable solutions. 

The Pandora did well for having a built in tuner and effects.

The mixer has the greatest flexibility, and is a generally useful item to own.

The NUX wins for portability and the fact that it reduces cabling to just a headphone cable. 

 

All are perfectly adequate for silent home practice, but any battery powered unit will be better for use away from the home environment. 

 

I use a mobile phone to supply music. It has a headphone socket so can be connected to other devices via an Aux cable. The files are stored on the phone,  so I don't have to rely on Internet availability to practice.

[Fishfacefour]

Another vote for the darkglass element.

You can use Bluetooth or aux in for backing tracks and use the cab Sim for plugging in to all sorts of other amps.

[CJPJ]

I think this is absolutely brilliant. You plug in wired headphones and then bluetooth phone to have backing tracks or whatever. I use SBL app as a tuner in the absense of anything else. This Mustang also does allow you to change effects and amp sims which I rarely use but its good to have occasionally.

 

https://www.andertons.co.uk/fender-mustang-micro-personal-guitar-amplifier-2311300000

[fretmeister]

Basic interface, Smartphone, AmpliTube free.

 

Amplitube imports songs from iTunes for easy practice 

[SteveXFR]

I like using a digital interface in to a PC and then use free DAW software. It allows you to drop in mp3 (or other format) tracks, record your playing, create drum loops, add in effects and set up a tuner. It cost me about £70 for a cheap interface and then download Reaper for free which you can run as a demo (it says 30 days free but never actually expires). You can also run a XLR from an amplifier or preamp pedal. 

[MrSpace]

I use one of those Amplug things from time to time - sure there is a bit of a hiss but you can't go wrong for the price, and they have a basic drum machine and audio input too. Most of the time I just go through my Ashdown Studio amp with headphones plugged in though. 

[PaulWarning]

I use a Behringer UM2 straight into my laptop, then play along using Audacity, slow things down, go up an octave to make the bass stand out, the big game changer for me was when I bought some Audio Technica WS1100 headphones, head and shoulders above the Sennheiser HD 280 pro's I was using before

[2elliot]

Ashdown Tour Bus 10, it does everything you need, headphones out, mp3 in and it's an okay little bedroom combo as well. £79 new. I've been using one for sometime.

 

[Velarian]

I have several these options available to me, including the audio interface/DAW route, practice combo with headphone out, Zoom B1-4 and Nu-X Mighty Plug/Vox Amplug etc. For me the Nu-X provides the most convenient and accessible solution with the most features for a good price. I generally leave it plugged into the bass and just turn it on, plug in the headphones and off I go. The others have their benefits but there’s the inevitable messing around with different elements and cables so they’re less immediate to use.

 

All of these suggestions have got me thinking though. Why don’t modern basses or guitars come with the equivalent of something like the Nu-X built in to their circuitry? It doesn’t seem like much of a stretch for an instrument with active electronics to incorporate a headphone driver which could be selected with a toggle switch to send the appropriate level to the output jack.

 

Maybe such a thing already exists? I’m sure someone will enlighten me if it does. 

[ped]

6 minutes ago, Velarian said:

I have several these options available to me, including the audio interface/DAW route, practice combo with headphone out, Zoom B1-4 and Nu-X Mighty Plug/Vox Amplug etc. For me the Nu-X provides the most convenient and accessible solution with the most features for a good price. I generally leave it plugged into the bass and just turn it on, plug in the headphones and off I go. The others have their benefits but there’s the inevitable messing around with different elements and cables so they’re less immediate to use.

 

All of these suggestions have got me thinking though. Why don’t modern basses or guitars come with the equivalent of something like the Nu-X built in to their circuitry? It doesn’t seem like much of a stretch for an instrument with active electronics to incorporate a headphone driver which could be selected with a toggle switch to send the appropriate level to the output jack.

 

Maybe such a thing already exists? I’m sure someone will enlighten me if it does. 

 

I think Mayones have such an option on their mini Cali basses (and presumably their full scale basses too)

 

I won't go into detail about my love for headphone setups but will just add that any such system can be made 100% amazing by using a backbeat or similar tactile feedback device. Paired with a great headphone mix you'll hear and feel exactly what you want.

[PaulThePlug]

iPhone?