Does anybody else do this, while playing at home?

[Diminishedfilth]

Being stuck at home with three other sheltered inhabitants, learning (and relearning) new songs can get annoying, as I’ve been told.
So I’ve resorted to play/practice in a portion of our basement that doesn’t have any outlets.
My amplification has become pressing my lower jaw against the upper horn of my 2005 fretless boat anchor Warwick.
Flashing back, I used to do the same thing when I was a teenager with my Gibson Ripper, with a crabby Girlfriend of my Dad’s living with us. I don’t blame her, I used to spike the heck out of my Gorilla practice amp.
Anyway, curious if this is an innovation of my own, and how much dain bramage I’ll suffer.

 

[MarkA]

Being stuck at home with three other sheltered inhabitants, learning (and relearning) new songs can get annoying, as I’ve been told.
So I’ve resorted to play/practice in a portion of our basement that doesn’t have any outlets.
My amplification has become pressing my lower jaw against the upper horn of my 2005 fretless boat anchor Warwick.
Flashing back, I used to do the same thing when I was a teenager with my Gibson Ripper, with a crabby Girlfriend of my Dad’s living with us. I don’t blame her, I used to spike the heck out of my Gorilla practice amp.
Anyway, curious if this is an innovation of my own, and how much dain bramage I’ll suffer.

I've done something like that and I've read of others doing similar. Beethoven, I think, bit his piano at some point.

I used to practice unplugged quite a bit (sans jaw-pressing or biting). Still do, though less often. If surroundings are very quiet, I feel that the unplugged sound is enough -- and listening this way can be instructive... you hear some things that are (or can be) obscured when you plug in.

Often, though, I'll just turn the amp really low. I still have my Gorilla amp. 60 Watts and open-back -- not a ton of deep bass, so I suppose it's an ideal late-night/quiet practice amp, if I want to use it that way.

Got any spare stethoscopes around the house? That could take your jaw-pressed thing to the next level.

 

[BassChuck]

TB used to have stethoscopes with suction cups. Sort of worked OK. If you can swing it, you might check out a GK 200 amp. Small, light, can be used with headphones as a practice amp and then can be an easy to carry back up amp for gigs. (and cheaper than a Phil Jones BigHead).

 

[Spidey2112]

I used to practice, with the headstock of my bass pressed against the drywall...

... plenty of resonance, depending on how well insulated the cavity was.

 

[equill]

It'll work, but your neck will hate you for it after a while.

Have you considered an Amplug? It's just as quiet, and much less likely to give you chronic headaches.

 

[carrythatweight]

I never used my jaw. Hadn't thought of that before. I DID, however, play with my headstock against my dresser when I started out. The wood-to-wood vibration would amplify some. I actually like that tone a lot.

 

[glocke1]

Being stuck at home with three other sheltered inhabitants, learning (and relearning) new songs can get annoying, as I’ve been told.
So I’ve resorted to play/practice in a portion of our basement that doesn’t have any outlets.
My amplification has become pressing my lower jaw against the upper horn of my 2005 fretless boat anchor Warwick.
Flashing back, I used to do the same thing when I was a teenager with my Gibson Ripper, with a crabby Girlfriend of my Dad’s living with us. I don’t blame her, I used to spike the heck out of my Gorilla practice amp.
Anyway, curious if this is an innovation of my own, and how much dain bramage I’ll suffer.

I don't have any need to do that..but theres a lot to be said for practicing unplugged and trying to get a good sound from an unamplified bass.

 

[Lowbrow]

No biting, but I've found that certain tables - usually long-legged types with plenty on air underneath -- can work well for acoustic amplification if you experiment leaning/resting certain parts of the bass body against them.
Likewise, pressing the headstock against a hollow wall.

 

[Lagado]

I tried it but all I could hear was sobbing.

 

[lfmn16]

They've got this new fangled invention for situations such as yours!

 

[FrenchBassQC]

Nope to dangerous

 

[minimalist freedom]

Being stuck at home with three other sheltered inhabitants, learning (and relearning) new songs can get annoying, as I’ve been told.
So I’ve resorted to play/practice in a portion of our basement that doesn’t have any outlets.
My amplification has become pressing my lower jaw against the upper horn of my 2005 fretless boat anchor Warwick.
Flashing back, I used to do the same thing when I was a teenager with my Gibson Ripper, with a crabby Girlfriend of my Dad’s living with us. I don’t blame her, I used to spike the heck out of my Gorilla practice amp.
Anyway, curious if this is an innovation of my own, and how much dain bramage I’ll suffer.

Your giving me flash backs, practice with chin on horn and the Gorilla amp. we’ve come a long way.

 

[ThinCrappyTone]

well, no, but I have been forced to put my ear against my bass to hear tuning, back in the long ago times, when some drummer wouldn't stop playing and I didn't have a tuner.

 

[Element Zero]

I’m confused. Are you not allowed to play through an amp at home? Or at least have some kind of headphone setup?

 

[StereoPlayer]

I had a friend in the 60’s-70’s that would call me on the phone and play me his latest “licks” by pressing the guitar against the phone handle.

 

[micguy]

Beethoven, I think, bit his piano at some point.

Thomas Edison, while developing the phonograph, developed a habit of listening to his invention through bone conduction (his hearing wasn't normal) - one of his prototypes at his home/lab in Florida has very prominent teeth marks.

 

[Wesley R]

When I went to school, there was a guy who hugged the stair well rails (pipe) with the neck of P Bass. You could hear it several floors away in each direction. I hesitate to think what the action looked like at the end of the semester.

 

[Diminishedfilth]

I’m confused. Are you not allowed to play through an amp at home? Or at least have some kind of headphone setup?

My junk-drawer MacBook only works with the charger plugged in. I think the nearest unoccupied outlet down here is 220. I’m just trying to not my bother my Significant other and her Kids. With all that’s going on, I’m sure if I had to listen to a loop of murdered bass changes, my tolerance would wear thin.

 

[TheReceder]

I used to play with the back corner of the body of the bass pressed against a hollow core door. It actually had pretty good tone.

Just enough to be barely enough.

 

[Wisebass]

Hi lfmn16

They've got this new fangled invention for situations such as yours!

You should have it patented before someone steals your idea!

greetings

Wise