Easiest/Cheapest/Simplest way for silent practice with backing track.

[SH73]

I used to live directly above my landlord ( in the same house) and for about 3 years it was headphones out the amp, not good for the ears at all. I think living in a flat surrounded by neighbours can be tricky, most likely you can hear others hoovering, shutting ( not closing) the front doors, TV, kids screaming , couples arguing etc. A dull, average person accept these sounds as normality, almost like background noise. But as soon someone starts doing something out of ordinary, like playing music instruments, it's all pointing fingers and the rest. I understand that people want to keep good neighbourhood relationship, BUT you should be allowed to play bass at a reasonable volume and at a reasonable time during the day. Just because someone does't like the out of the ordinary sound it doesn't mean it's more annoying than the everyday noise pollution you experience in the block of flats. I live in a semi, in the corner of cul-de-sac and we have a spare room between my neighbours wall and my music room. I have thick underlayer and hick carpet , I laid the underlayer myself to make sure there are no gaps by the skirting boards. I put a thick Persian style  rug ( courtesy of a fellow BCr) under the drums , 6x large DIY 100 mm Rockwool deep bass traps , a thick curtain from ceiling to floor covering the wall shared with spare room, and my neighbours still hear my drums. I also put a Persian style rug in the wall facing the drums. The roof have insulation. I stopped playing them , and sometimes don't touch them for 4 months or more because it bothers one of them. Well my other half said , you should be able to play them day time , I only used to practice for 20-30 mins at the beginning. You can hear them outside during the shut double glazing, it's not the volume that annoys people but the sound they hear. I did everything I could to minimise the noise traveling unfortunately the sound will find it's way out like water. I can equally hear people mowing the lawn with windows shut the neighbours dog barking, its just as noisy in terms of DB like my drums, just different noise. We measured the DB and it was not louder than a lawn mower! Sorry for hijacking the thread , but everything within a reason. 

[alexa3020]

Another recommendation for the Nux mighty plug

[Dad3353]

I read 'Easiest/Cheapest/Simplest way for silent practice with backing track.'. So, Amp plug (yes, those 'matchbox' things...).  Yes, there are better, more expensive, more complicated, more everything ways of skinning this cat, but the Easiest/Cheapest/Simplest way for silent practice with backing track is an Amp plug. Less than £20, new. Less than pocket size. Couldn't get much simpler. A no-brainer, really. 

[NHM]

remember that the request is to play along to a backing track, not just silent practice.

[Dad3353]

34 minutes ago, NHM said:

remember that the request is to play along to a backing track, not just silent practice.

 

... so an 'Aux In' is useful. 

[alexa3020]

All of the amp plugs Ive used Nux, Vox, Donner have a line in for your phone.

The Donner was cheap & pretty poor

The vox was decent

The Nux is levels above them, bluetooth means you have less wires to deal with, and the choice of amps, effects etc is super useful

[Dad3353]

I read 'Easiest/Cheapest/Simplest'. 

[Mottlefeeder]

2 hours ago, SH73 said:

I used to live directly above my landlord ( in the same house) and for about 3 years it was headphones out the amp, not good for the ears at all. I think living in a flat surrounded by neighbours can be tricky, most likely you can hear others hoovering, shutting ( not closing) the front doors, TV, kids screaming , couples arguing etc. A dull, average person accept these sounds as normality, almost like background noise. But as soon someone starts doing something out of ordinary, like playing music instruments, it's all pointing fingers and the rest. I understand that people want to keep good neighbourhood relationship, BUT you should be allowed to play bass at a reasonable volume and at a reasonable time during the day. Just because someone does't like the out of the ordinary sound it doesn't mean it's more annoying than the everyday noise pollution you experience in the block of flats. I live in a semi, in the corner of cul-de-sac and we have a spare room between my neighbours wall and my music room. I have thick underlayer and hick carpet , I laid the underlayer myself to make sure there are no gaps by the skirting boards. I put a thick Persian style  rug ( courtesy of a fellow BCr) under the drums , 6x large DIY 100 mm Rockwool deep bass traps , a thick curtain from ceiling to floor covering the wall shared with spare room, and my neighbours still hear my drums. I also put a Persian style rug in the wall facing the drums. The roof have insulation. I stopped playing them , and sometimes don't touch them for 4 months or more because it bothers one of them. Well my other half said , you should be able to play them day time , I only used to practice for 20-30 mins at the beginning. You can hear them outside during the shut double glazing, it's not the volume that annoys people but the sound they hear. I did everything I could to minimise the noise traveling unfortunately the sound will find it's way out like water. I can equally hear people mowing the lawn with windows shut the neighbours dog barking, its just as noisy in terms of DB like my drums, just different noise. We measured the DB and it was not louder than a lawn mower! Sorry for hijacking the thread , but everything within a reason. 

I think the issue with people practicing is that you might play through the same phrase many times, and that is what winds people up. 

David

[SH73]

6 minutes ago, Mottlefeeder said:

I think the issue with people practicing is that you might play through the same phrase many times, and that is what winds people up. 

David

Absolutely agreed, so does the dog barking   the neighbour lets out every evening and even later at night during summer hasn't changed his barking phrase in the past 5 years or so, same old bark, no change in tone,when I have to get up at 5:30 am. I have  played the same  4-5 songs almost daily on my bass to relieve work related stress in past several weeks, and although it may not be my neighbours cup of tea , I bet one day he hears Anthrax, Maiden or Metallica and says, I've heard this somewhere....

[PaulThePlug]

Zoom B1on or B1 Four...

[Shockwave]

Just to note I am still reading the thread and taking onboard the breadth of solutions. 

 

Also to the kind people who have PMed me to gift me a solution, I really appreciate it, but I am unable to accept a Gift/Charity, for personal reasons. But I definitely do appreciate it! 

Edited November 26 by Shockwave

[synthaside]

The Nux Mighty plug is what you need, it will allow you to stream  Bluetooth audio, from a phone or other Bluetooth source to it as a speaker, which routes straight into your headphones  
The smartphone app is excellent and free and used to control the settings including selecting amp sims and cabs the selection is below ."Yes" there are more options for "guitar" but the AGL and MLD are bass-dedicated.

 

Edited November 27 by synthaside

[MrDaveTheBass]

On 26/11/2024 at 08:06, Reggaebass said:

I can highly recommend the Nux Mighty Plug pro, quality is very good, there’s a thread here on them 

Small, quick and easy to set up, loads of usable FX. Bluetooths to your phone, so you can play along to YouTube, Spotify etc. I do all of my practicing through one of these.

[nekomatic]

On 26/11/2024 at 22:57, PaulThePlug said:

Zoom B1on or B1 Four...

This is a good call, I have the B1 Four. It has line in and headphone out, powers off batteries, 9 volt adapter or USB, has a tuner, metronome or drum patterns to practice to, it’s a recording interface, and it’s a multi effect unit as well if you need that. Oh and I think you can use it as a looper too. You can get them secondhand for about £50. 

[PaulWarning]

I've got a laptop, use a Behringer UM2 audio interface, load any song into the audacity app (free)  you can slow it down or change key, if required, then play along using headphones

[mcnach]

On 26/11/2024 at 08:10, BigRedX said:

It's never truly silent. Even though the room where I practice is separated by a floor and wall from the lounge other people in the house can hear the acoustic sound of the strings (and my foot tapping on the floor) unless they have the TV or music on.

 

The sound of the strings I would not worry about. The foot tapping, however... I do it a lot, and when I had neighbours downstairs it was a constant struggle. I would start tapping away within minutes... I ended up putting a cushion on the floor so that I could tap freely

[mcnach]

On 26/11/2024 at 20:29, alexa3020 said:

All of the amp plugs Ive used Nux, Vox, Donner have a line in for your phone.

The Donner was cheap & pretty poor

The vox was decent

The Nux is levels above them, bluetooth means you have less wires to deal with, and the choice of amps, effects etc is super useful

 

 

Agreed, of the plug style units, the Nux is probably one of the best. I have one that I got in order to be able to learn a setlist for a band I was depping for while I was away visiting family.

 

A Zoom B1Four would also be a nice option. No bluetooth, but in some ways a more versatile unit, not just for quiet practice. It can run on batteries or from USB as well, which is nice.

[Stub Mandrel]

On 26/11/2024 at 19:52, NHM said:

remember that the request is to play along to a backing track, not just silent practice.

 

My Blackstar one has a basic drum machine built in. Only a handful of patterns but more inspiring than a metronome.

[Stub Mandrel]

3 minutes ago, Stub Mandrel said:

 

My Blackstar one has a basic drum machine built in. Only a handful of patterns but more inspiring than a metronome.

 

Just remembered I have tail end of an amazon gift card, with black friedegg I just got a metronome for £3.54.

[blisters on my fingers]

Palmer Pocket Amp Bass on British Heart Foundation Ebay store, current high bid at £32.

 

eBay item number:226464930526

 

Two days of auction left.

[AlexDelores]

As previously mentioned, I think the Nux Mighty Plug is bob on! 
 

This is all of the footprint it takes up for me and allows me to play when the kids are in bed.

 

It has a few different amps and effects within the free app. And, it just runs in the background so you can play along with Spotify/Apple/Youtube etc. 

 

 

Obviously, some of the things like the Phil Jones and other heads will likely have a better tone/sound but for practicing through headphones/the price, I don’t think you can knock this. You can also put it at the end of a pedalboard and use your effects, just adjust the gain with the app to suit. 

Edited November 29 by AlexDelores

[Russ]

+1 on the NuX. Or whatever Zoom pedal you can afford. 

 

Always hated living in badly built flats. I lived in one once and I had a very "pubby" couple living upstairs who would noisily fight regularly, things would crash and break, but then they'd make up, and it'd be even noisier (squeak, squeak, squeak... uhhh).  I don't think my bass practice ever bothered them! 

 

[alexa3020]

The mightier amp app is compatible with the nux and has a wider selection of amps