Alternatives to Korg Pandorra, Line6 Pods etc. to mix bass and MP3 signal

[proton]

Does the situation sound familiar: You want to practise at home silently to your favorite songs, you want to find out bass lines of your favorite songs etc.
I know the following alternatives which I am not happy with
a) get a low quality practise amp which features headphone out, aux in and go ahead
b) get a Korg pandorra or Line6Pod or something like this. The idea is the same and the sound is not satisfactory as well.

Normally I play a passive Jazz Bass through a EBS HD350 and a 2x10 Box. This amp has neither headphone out nor Aux-in and I don't blame the Swedes because the sound is awesome

Does anyone has a good advice how to play to MP3s with a headphone and in good quality?

Has anyone ever tried to use an EBS MicrobassII for that? Is it possible to use the second instrument "in" for a MP3 signal and mix the bass to it? Does that work?

I would be happy to hear your opinions, experiences and advices

Thanks

[synaesthesia]

Buy a cheap Behringer mixer like the 1002FX, you can also plug your mic in and practice your vox with reverb. You active bass will plug into one of the line ins, and it will be OK, you can EQ the tone. If you are finicky, you can use a direct box. If you have a passive bass, use a direct box.

[proton]

Thank you Synaesthesia, I haven't thought of this. For me this would mean I would have to get a DI Box and a mixer - good idea. Anyone up for alternatives? Or Experiences with Preamps that can mix directly?

[proton]

I can also go via the EBS HD350 Head only and use the Balaced Output to go into the mixer. MP3 signal also into the mixer and listen to it via Headphone - good idea. Still interested in alternatives as the HD350 normally is not in my flat but in place where we are practicing. That was why a MicrobassII option or another idea would be so interesting for me

[synaesthesia]

Originally Posted by proton

Thank you Synaesthesia, I haven't thought of this. For me this would mean I would have to get a DI Box and a mixer - good idea. Anyone up for alternatives? Or Experiences with Preamps that can mix directly?

A pro quality DI will hold its value, a cheap one will work. But if you are not fussy about your practise sound, your passive bass will plug into a small mixer and give you decent results, until you have the cash for a DI. But the small footprint mixer works well. I use one next to my desktop, and I can plug in my guitar rig (speaker simulated), bass, MAC laptop etc. In the day I use my monitors, in the late evening and wee hours of the morning I use my Sony 7506.

If you have a Macbook, a more expensive alternative would be the Apogee Duet.

The small format mixer works best for me, I can monitor through speakers, or use headphones, sing through a mic, etc...I use either iRehearse or Amazing slower downer to pick out complex riffs and parts, rehearse to MIDI or MP3 from my Mac, use iRealbook, youtube etc etc etc

I use a Countryman DI.

good luck with your set up.

[JP Morin]

There are some little peavey practice amp with a headphone jack and a line in to plug cd/mp3 player designed for that purpose... that could be an option too...

check this link, it's the cheapest one from their max series :
Peavey :: MAX® 126

[A Strohman]

If I'm understanding your question correctly, I've been using a Tascam MP-BT1 to do exactly what you're suggesting for a long time now and find it to be the best practice tool I own. The MP-BT1 is discontinued (but you can find them all over the place) and Tascam is now putting these out:

Product: GB-10 | TASCAM

[gastric]

Mixer is the most robust suggestion. If you're just practicing at home you shouldn't really care about having an "amp" sound, just run your bass directly to the mixer, play along with MP3 via headphones or even run the mixer out to monitors/computer speakers and you're set.

Or if you have an iPhone/iPod/iPad you can buy an iRig or similar device, and use some free amp sim. They can all play MP3 while providing amp sounds.

[kettch]

Originally Posted by A Strohman

If I'm understanding your question correctly, I've been using a Tascam MP-BT1 to do exactly what you're suggesting for a long time now and find it to be the best practice tool I own. The MP-BT1 is discontinued (but you can find them all over the place) and Tascam is now putting these out:

Product: GB-10 | TASCAM

+1, I love my MP-BT1!!!

[MNAirHead]

Originally Posted by synaesthesia

Buy a cheap Behringer mixer like the 1002FX, you can also plug your mic in and practice your box with reverb. You active bass will plug into one of the line ins, and it will be OK, you can EQ the tone. If you are finicky, you can use a direct box. If you have a passive bass, use a direct box.

I own most of the options this one works as you suggested.

[MNAirHead]

An other option is a rolls pm351. You then can use it for other pro purposes

[Yools]

I use an old Tascam tape 4-track for practice at home. It is an older version of the Tascam 414. It has four dedicated inputs with level, gain, pan, and 2-band eq, plus lots of other options for inputs for an mp3 player; and it has a headphone out and rca outputs (I run the signal into a set of computer speakers). I plug my bass in direct, and personally think it sounds great. You can get older ones on Ebay for less than $100, and I see similar ones all over craigslist for next to nothing.

-Y

[Grateful]

I use one of these Lexicon Alphas hooked up to my computer at home. Product: Alpha | Lexicon Pro

I really like it because it's USB powered, has plenty of volume and I/O options and it's cheap.

I run a Sansamp PBDDI in front of it and it all works great.

[E.J. T.N.T.]

All the amplitube products have this speed trainer thingy in stand alone mode.

You will need a USB interface but you can get a cheap one if you only want it for practicing but make sure that the latency is not hindering you.

Concerning the software, well I would say it definitely worths its money especially the new one but you can find it around in the internets if you look hard enough. If you only want it for bass go for the Ampeg SVX that features modeled ampeg amps.

The only downside is that I used to have some trouble with playing back certain file formats with the older versions but the last version handles everything wonderfully and it sounds pretty good to me.

[NeroJazz]

Originally Posted by proton

Has anyone ever tried to use an EBS MicrobassII for that? Is it possible to use the second instrument "in" for a MP3 signal and mix the bass to it? Does that work?

The MicroBass II is made for this application. Plug your bass in channel A and your MP3 source in Effects Return and there you go! You can even mix the MP3 input with your bass input using the blend knob, to get the perfect balance between the song and your bass.

I use mine like this all the time while my girlfriend is watching TV.

[Bassman71]

I've got one of these - a Vox Amplug - plug it into your bass, plug an mp3 player and headphones in (or into monitor speakers etc) and you're away. Pretty good tone, and really simple to use. Runs on a couple of AAA batteries...

[Swift713]

I use a PJB BassBuddy.

[DanHibiki]

The Vox Amplug Bass works fine but I use my Zoom B2.1u more often for that scenario. Plug in the USB cable onto your PC, select the Zoom as the default sound card and playback your MP3 using your favorite software...

[jay tay]

I have an Edirol UA-25 I use for recording, at home, it also works great to play along to my music library with!

just one question... how is this topic connected to the Miles Davis poll??

or has TB made an error?

[albertforns]

BIRTH OF THE COOL!