bass amp for headphones during practice

okieman · #1 10-30-2010, 01:52 PM

I'm having to wait a while before my finances are where I can get a new bass amp. In the duration, I wonder if there is some kind of little bass amp on the market that I can use drive my headphones when I practice? They're studio quality.

Evil Undead · #2 10-30-2010, 01:59 PM

there's the Vox Bass Amplug... might be worth looking at. But I haven't tried one, so no idea how good they are

UncleFluffy · #3 10-30-2010, 02:00 PM

http://pro-audio.musiciansfriend.com...xer?sku=631238
http://bass-guitars.musiciansfriend....Amp?sku=581087
1W mini-amp built-in to bass. Thoughts?

Personally, I'd grab the mixer because a spare little mixer is always useful to have around.

bassplayerbob · #4 10-30-2010, 02:06 PM

How about a Korg Pandora? I use one all the time to practice with. Also has an input to plug in an MP3 player or Ipod. I got mine used for 50 bucks!

MNAirHead · #5 10-30-2010, 02:10 PM

I only practice with headphones...

Behringer Xenix
Vox Amplug
Korg Pandora
Rolls PM351 (or PM 50 if you'd never sing)

All of the above can be found for under $50 (used) and have their own benefits.

Tim

**JxBass** · #6 10-30-2010, 02:48 PM

Cafe Walter, sold through Bass Northwest. Completely transparent and perfect for high quality headphones.

Shindig · #7 10-30-2010, 02:56 PM

If you can find one, the Raven Labs PHA-1 has good quality sound. Not made anymore but they appear from time to time on TalkBass.
Good luck

Shindig

garak7 · #8 10-30-2010, 02:57 PM

I have the Vox Bass Amplug and it works well. It has compression and is basically flat sounding. So, if you have a nice sounding bass, it will sound great, but if you have a crappy sounding bass.....

okieman · #9 10-31-2010, 07:49 AM

Wow a lot of great suggestions. I researched all of them. JxBass was the only person to mention the Cafe Walter. It's an obscure device but extremely interesting. Maybe I'll get one someday. I'm looking around on eBay etc for best price on a Korg Pandora. I know it's *bloated* with options including guitar crap I don't need, but it can do two things useful for a beginner like me. 1-Cut out the bass of audio I feed into so that I "become" the bass player in the song, and 2-Record up to 80 seconds of music and play it back looped at a slower speed so I can figure out what the bass player is doing in a song.

Justin Tuskey · #10 10-31-2010, 08:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bassplayerbob

How about a Korg Pandora? I use one all the time to practice with. Also has an input to plug in an MP3 player or Ipod. I got mine used for 50 bucks!

I have one as well. best money Ive EVER spent on bass. sure you need a bass you like, an amp, cabs etc. but this tool is absolutely fantastic. Ive never looked forward to practicing but with my ipod going into the aux in and cutting the bass freqs out, practice just becomes fun now. trying to cop a tone and see how well it fits in. I say go Pandora.

BNM · #11 10-31-2010, 08:07 AM

I use one of these. If you just want a simple headphone amp it's good, it's just an input, output, and volume knob. So far it seems solidly constructed and reliable.

Chrisk-K · #12 10-31-2010, 08:09 AM

Go for a Korg Pandora. I like its bass models much better than Line 6's.

Check Marlowe DK on Youtube. Most of his bass tones on those clips are nothing but his bass and a Pandora.

I got mine for $60 3 years ago. The best $60 I ever spent in my life.

scotts42 · #13 10-31-2010, 08:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JxBass

Cafe Walter, sold through Bass Northwest. Completely transparent and perfect for high quality headphones.

+1 for the Cafe Walter. I haven't set my gear up at home in the 8 months I have owned mine

**JxBass** · #14 10-31-2010, 08:39 AM

I actually have both the Cafe Walter and the Korg Pandora. The Pandora is good if you want rhythms and effects, a la Marlowe DK, but the Cafe Walter is the best headphone amp on the market for a pure, transparent tone. Don't take my work for it, do some searches on it and read the reviews

georgestrings · #15 10-31-2010, 09:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bassplayerbob

How about a Korg Pandora? I use one all the time to practice with. Also has an input to plug in an MP3 player or Ipod. I got mine used for 50 bucks!

This - I bought a used Pandora PX4B a couple of years ago, and it's been great... Mine has been stone reliable, but if it crapped out tomorrow, I'd get another one right...

- georgestrings

abarson · #16 10-31-2010, 09:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bassplayerbob

How about a Korg Pandora? I use one all the time to practice with. Also has an input to plug in an MP3 player or Ipod. I got mine used for 50 bucks!

+1 on the Pandora's. I've been using mine exclusively lately for learning new material, and the repetition would drive anyone in the house bonkers! I'm running either a CD or MP3 player in to play along.

The drums sound cheesy, but are really useful for practice, starting slow and working up to a faster cadence.

Some of the effects are pretty cool, but if I like them I try to model them on my BP8, which sounds better.

popgadget · #17 10-31-2010, 09:37 AM

I use a Tascam bass trainer. It makes a good headphone amp, and will let you play with mp3's changing the key and preserving the tempo or vice versa. I find it pretty handy when I have to learn a cover song, especially if I have to learn it in a different key.

Fredde · #18 10-31-2010, 09:46 AM

Hi!

I use the Vox Amplug. It sounds good, it's cheap and it feels cheap. The gain/tone/vol-knobs are very small and difficult use as the numbers are almost impossible to read and you accidentally change the settings all the time. It has an "effect/compressor"-switch that doesn't seem to do much apart from increasing gain.

In short: It serves its purpose, but I think I'll try another brand if (when) it breaks. A less compact design with input/output jacks and proper pots in a metal chassis would be nice.

/Fredde

BassmanPaul · #19 10-31-2010, 10:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by popgadget

I use a Tascam bass trainer. It makes a good headphone amp, and will let you play with mp3's changing the key and preserving the tempo or vice versa. I find it pretty handy when I have to learn a cover song, especially if I have to learn it in a different key.

I use the CD version but never use the CD deck. I connect my Mac to the aux input and just use it as a headphone amp. If it ever fails it'll be replaced with a simple micro mixer.

fish slapper · #20 10-31-2010, 11:45 AM

Another vote for the Cafe Walter. iPod, laptop, or metronome in the Aux, bass in the In: ready to go. Very transparent. Actually, a good way to audition a bass: what you hear is the sound of the bass.