Double Bass EUB practice setup?

[Adam Solove]

(Hey all, I’m new here and didn’t see this discussed in any of the sticky threads, but would be happy to be pointed at something if it already exists.)

What setup do you recommend for beginner practice on an EUB?

I just got an SLB-200 to start learning upright. If I understand correctly, its active output is still too low for headphones directly and it makes fairly little acoustic sound, right? So I can plug it into an amp, but what if I want to practice quietly at night?

I’m wondering if something like a tascam guitar trainer exists for upright bass. A cheap headphone amp combined with a tuner, metronome, and recorder would be super useful. But I’m not sure if the output of the bass would be appropriate for using with that.

I’d appreciate folks advice!

 

[Cdnbassnut]

I’m in the exact same situation, same bass.
I’m looking at a Zoom A1fourX.

headphones, aux in, metronome, tuner and a 10m ohm input.

Thinking I prefer it to an amp at this point.

 

[Cdnbassnut]

I’m hoping that some of the double bass modelling the Zoom has might help to make the Yamaha more DB like. Not to the extent of a Tonedexter, but toward that direction.

 

[Reg Braithwaite]

I have seen little doodads that claim to be portable preamps for bass guitars, but I have shied away from them like a startled Mustang. I have two different solutions for my little EUB.

First, I use a Roland Cube “street” as a practice amp. It has a headphone jack, and it works just fine provided that I use headphones with a cable long enough to reach the amp on the floor. This is my usual setup: If I want to play, I play. If I need to keep it quiet, I plug in headphones.

Second, I sometimes want to play in a different room or on my back porch. I also have a small Yamaha mixer, and it also has a headphone jack. It mixes stereo, but there’s a mono switch for my EUB (My other bass is a stereo instrument, so both of the things I use accept stereo input). But the Yamaha is much more portable.

Both are good enough for my practice purposes. YMMV, I am extremely mediocre.

 

[mooseonbass]

The output on the Yamaha Silent Basses easily drives a pair of headphones without any external preamp, it isn't concert-quality sound by any stretch but it works for practice. I have the SVB-100 and it makes plenty of sound on its own and I often practice with it unplugged. I currently have it hooked into an old GK 200MB and am perfectly happy with the sound. You may want to check out the thread on these basses: YAMAHA EUB Megathread

 

[Happy Steve]

I have three choices of headphone drivers at my disposal:
Vox 'Bass' Amplug
Yamaha MG06 mixer
Zoom A3
however, I often find that the SLB200 has enough acoustic output for 'silent' practice, especially playing arco

 

[Marty Forrer]

Vox Amplug or Vox Headphone amp works for me.

 

[dylanjohnson]

Just get a little mixer or use an audio interface. You can get so much more use from them. I love the Yamaha AG06