Playing along with CD but listening through headphone

[No1skewenjack]

What the best and CHEAPEST way to listen to a recording say on CD and play along with it BUT listening to both through my headphones.

I have got a old mixer I used to use in my DJing days. Its a mixer which use with decks if that helps. I've tried running my bass through the microphone input and getting some leads that go from microphone input to red and white outputs (sorry cant remember the correct terms so I'll just explain what they look like) but cant seem to hear either. Whould i have to use a studio type mixer to give my bass more power for the DJ mixer to hear it so to speak (my bass is passive).

Would the cheapest option be to buy a programe for my Laptop which will be able to do this?

[martindupras]

I hope I understand correctly, in which case I'll try to give you a very cheap option.

Your DJ mixer will have at the minimum two pairs of line inputs (probably labelled input 1 L and R, and input 2 L and R.) You'll probably also have phono inputs, which we won't be using.

Line inputs are stereo inputs designed to take the output of consumer audio equipment. If you have a standalone CD player, plug it straight into input 1 L and R. If you're coming out of a headphone output, you can connect a minijack to stereo phono lead too, but check that the headphones level is not too hot.

Now to get the bass into the second input, you need some kind of preamp that will take the pickup signal from the bass and bring it to line level.

If you have any bass amp (or even a little guitar practice amp) with a line out, you can use that. It won't necessarily sound brilliant, but it will do the job. Same goes for any Line 6 pod, Behringer V-amps, Korg Pandoras, etc.

If you don't have any preamp, the cheapest that I have found and works brilliantly well for me is the Behringer PB100, which is a preamp booster pedal; mine cost £9. It's not terribly robust because of the plastic housing, but you're not gigging it, just using it to get a line level signal.

Now the pedal comes out standard 1/4" mono; I'd go to Maplin and get this: [url="http://www.maplin.co.uk/Module.aspx?ModuleNo=28111&ForceUpdate=Y"]http://www.maplin.co.uk/Module.aspx?Module...p;ForceUpdate=Y[/url]

You plug that in input 2 L and R of the mixer, Bob's your uncle, and Fanny's your aunt.

- martin

(£6 is expensive for that adaptor. You could make your own, or buy different adapters that go into one another to create the 1/4" mono to twin phono that you need. Ask the nice Maplin people.)

[quote name='No1skewenjack' post='883230' date='Jul 1 2010, 05:43 PM']What the best and CHEAPEST way to listen to a recording say on CD and play along with it BUT listening to both through my headphones.

I have got a old mixer I used to use in my DJing days. Its a mixer which use with decks if that helps. I've tried running my bass through the microphone input and getting some leads that go from microphone input to red and white outputs (sorry cant remember the correct terms so I'll just explain what they look like) but cant seem to hear either. Whould i have to use a studio type mixer to give my bass more power for the DJ mixer to hear it so to speak (my bass is passive).

Would the cheapest option be to buy a programe for my Laptop which will be able to do this?[/quote]

[Colledge]

if you can't get the mixer to work, a litte thing i used to do is use some normal ipod headphones for music and some bigger home headphones over the top for bass. It worked surprisingly well.

[urb]

If you can stump up the cash for one of these - it's well worth it:

[url="http://www.guitarampkeyboard.com/en/74288"]http://www.guitarampkeyboard.com/en/74288[/url]

[Marvin]

[quote name='Colledge' post='883506' date='Jul 1 2010, 10:42 PM']if you can't get the mixer to work, a litte thing i used to do is use some normal ipod headphones for music and some bigger home headphones over the top for bass. It worked surprisingly well.[/quote]
This is what I tend to do. Or my amp has a CD input, so I can do it that way as well.

[PaulWarning]

the way I do it is to plug my bass into my computer mic input, turn the volume down on your bass and plug headphones into you soundcard out socket, then use audacity to play the track through so I can slow it down alter the pitch that sort of thing, simple, and won't cost a thing, asuming you've got a computer