I voted half and half. Depends on if I'm just practicing by myself or with a track. Also, I have a Micro Cube which gets extensive use because it's so small it's super convenient.
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Do you practice plugged in?
- Thread starter adudenamedruby
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I mostly play unplugged, and almost always have. Basically, I've usually lived in situations where playing through an amp would be too loud and disturbing for everyone else in the house (or my apartment neighbors back in the day). For example, a lot of times, I'll play while my wife and I was watching TV. An unamplified bass is not loud enough to mess up the TV sound.
I also like to play unamplified because I think it has forced me to play more cleanly and precisely. There are a lot of fret buzz noises that you may not hear when you play through an amp, especially if you use a lot of drive, distortion or fuzz. When you play unamplified, you hear every little mistake, which gives you the opportunity to fix them.
I also like to play unamplified because I think it has forced me to play more cleanly and precisely. There are a lot of fret buzz noises that you may not hear when you play through an amp, especially if you use a lot of drive, distortion or fuzz. When you play unamplified, you hear every little mistake, which gives you the opportunity to fix them.
Unplugged most of the time. Simply put if i can manipulate the strings to respond how I want them to, then I am not relying on the instrument or amps electronics to get the initial sound, I am getting it myself.
As in if I want a bright sound or a thick sound and get it straight off the strings, then that range of tonal manipulation is available regardless which instrument I am playing, specific gear from that point means far less. All I want then is an instrument that's comfortable and gear that's free of electronic noise.
I do use effects as well so yes I practice unplugged most of the time and it's the extra control I have gained from that practice that allows me to get the effects to respond even better.
Most of the effects that I use are practically impossible to replicate through touch alone which is why I use them.
As in if I want a bright sound or a thick sound and get it straight off the strings, then that range of tonal manipulation is available regardless which instrument I am playing, specific gear from that point means far less. All I want then is an instrument that's comfortable and gear that's free of electronic noise.
I do use effects as well so yes I practice unplugged most of the time and it's the extra control I have gained from that practice that allows me to get the effects to respond even better.
Most of the effects that I use are practically impossible to replicate through touch alone which is why I use them.
I live in the lower half of a house in what I'd call an "in-law apartment". As a result my landlord lives above us and her bedroom is directly above my "man-grotto". That's a section I've delineated with 5 tall bookshelves, but it has no door to close, so it can't be a man-cave.
For the longest time I plugged my computer into the "aux-in" of my amp and then plugged headphones into my amp. Then I got a computer interface (Behringer UMC202HD) and that hooks into my computer with a USB connection. I plug my mic into one channel and my wireless into the other channel, push in the "direct monitor" button on the interface so I can play in sync with what I'm hearing, and away I go.
I could plug my bass directly into the interface, but since my Line 6 G10s wireless has a rechargeable transmitter plug, I plug that into my bass and the receiving section into my interface. That also makes it really easy to pull the plug out of my bass and plug it into my 5-string or my guitar if I like. Now if I could just remember to take my headphones off when I get out of my chair...
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Since day one, I always practice unplugged. Going stealth, I can practice in any place, anytime, without worrying about neighbors and, besides that, playing ampless make my right hand stronger and stronger.
I guess you're not worthy.
I use my volume knob and some common sense and save my hearing and don't annoy my family. If you think that you can hear all of the subtleties of an electric bass unplugged, carry on.
The only sound that matters is what is coming out of the amp or being recorded. No one is hearing your electric bass acoustically.
I find practicing acoustically makes it really easy to forget about muting unplayed strings as they are too quiet to hear, but then when you plug into an amp all of a sudden those unmuted strings ring audibly and mess up your sound. YMMV.
You wanna do both obviously (string noise), but I play unplugged most of the time with a metronome. Just so long as I can hear myself I'm fine. I find I get a lot more practice time in this way, just grab and go.
I guess I'm in the minority. I almost never play with an amp unless I'm playing with others OR I'm messing around with the amp to try and get a good tone out of it. I always find it easier to pick up the bass and play it while I'm watching TV or just get some inspiration. It's probably mostly just laziness though tbh
You need to always practice with a amp. If not you will pick up the habit of playing heavy handed. Hard habit to break, ask me How I know,
I plug into my amp with headphones. I tried the vox amplug recently. I liked it, but that thing eats batteries way too fast.
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I used to almost always practice unplugged, but these days I most often practice with a pair of headphones via a headphone amp getting the signal from my bass amp's line out.
I guess mostly due to the fact that I have begun utilizing effects more as an essential part of what I am playing, and there's really no way to get that to work without your bass signal being amplified.
Billy Sheehan seems to be doing alright with preferring to practice unplugged.
I guess mostly due to the fact that I have begun utilizing effects more as an essential part of what I am playing, and there's really no way to get that to work without your bass signal being amplified.
Billy Sheehan seems to be doing alright with preferring to practice unplugged.
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I find it to be quite easy to mute strings acoustically and be able to tell the difference.
Your absolute simply reflects a lack of understanding of technique that allows for effectively practicing acoustically. I’ve been doing it for many years successfully while gigging professionally. If it’s not for you, or you prefer amplified, it’s all good. But when you insist that it can’t possibly work. Well, you’re wrong.
One person's heavy hand is another person's tone. I can think of many well known bass players who do not play with a light touch and that's how they get their signature tone. Flea and Geddy are two that come to mind right away. Both of them absolutely hammer away on the strings. Geddy maybe a little less because of how his fingernail hits them, but it's pretty hard to do a decent copy of his technique and tone without digging in. However, I understand what you're saying and that's why I use a Bassboard when I play through IEM's so that I can physically feel the attack.
Fair enough, though if you think you need to practice unamplified to hear anything that will matter when playing amplified, then you are also wrong.But when you insist that it can’t possibly work. Well, you’re wrong.
