Headphone Practice Rig?

I posted something similar to this in the Amps subforum over the weekend:
Phil Jones BigHead... is this the gold standard in headphone amps?

The BigHead Pro seems to have fixed the small issues that some people had with the original BigHead. That being said, I would have a serious look at the Zoom B1 Four (or B1X Four if you want/need an expression pedal). I've narrowed my choice down to the Zoom and BigHead, but have yet to make a decision.

 

Neunaber Iconoclast is a Headphone Amp and Cabinet Simulator. Accepts instrument or consumer line level input. According to Neunaber, it can be used for bass. Not sure it tricks all your boxes, but I'll put it out there.

 

The newer version of the full size OCSD might be a winner. Relatively small, good for guitar or bass, aux in, stereo headphone out, sounds great, and a cab sim/DI is just a useful piece of kit

 

I voted Helix. It's not what I'd personally go for (I use a Genz-Benz Shuttle into a Two Notes CAB), but we have different needs. Since you double on bass and guitar I think that Helix is the way to go. Sure, there are A LOT of options in there, and it looks like there may be easy to get lost in them, but you can also just stick to the presets (stock and/or created by other users). As for losing it's value, that's something that I personally never give much thought. I guess it could only be a problem if you are planning to resell. If you are planning on playing the cr*p out of it, then it doesn't really matter, does it?

 

I believe some of the new Darkglass pedals might tick most of the boxes. Namely, the X7 Ultra.

 

My "SMALL" footprint headphone amp is a Genz Benz Shuttle 9.0.

 

My vote goes to Shift Line Olympic mkIIIs. Not the cheapest solution but I think it ticks all your boxes. Headphones and aux in that is by far the best headphone amp I’ve played through. Sounds stellar.

And it’s a tube preamp, that goes from totally clean to a pushed tube amp. Not really distorted, but pushed. Sounds great at the edge of break up! Really small footprint for all if it’s options. A three way toggle for two cab IRs, or no cab, FX loop, DI, out, parallel out and lots more.

I fall in love every time I sit down to practice. It’s that good IMO.

 

The zoom b1xon is my home Swiss Army knife

 

It depends on what you want from a headphone amp.

If your priority is finding a tool that allows you to practice or rehearse at low volumes and you're focused on your playing and technique, I'd say just buy a Vox Amplug and be done with it. You can buy two or three of them for about $120; the bass version, the AC30 version, and one of the overdrive versions, if you want. No bluetooth, but a built-in drum machine (on the bass version) and aux inputs on all models. It'll keep you and your playing pretty honest. Bonus - you can play on the go - throw it in your gig bag - and there's no reason to worry about depreciation.

If you're chasing your tone through headphones, or you intend to use this tool as part of a rig, one of the options you described may work better.

Note that if you're looking at the HX Stomp, you may also consider the new Pod GO pedal, which is less expensive than the HX Stomp and may do what you need if you only intend to use it for headphone practice and don't need full Helix routing and IO.

But yeah - if you're focused on being able to play and practice solo without bothering others - in my opinion, it's hard to beat the Amplug.

 

I use my recording set up for practice at home. The main bit you need is an audio interface, the Focusrite Scarlett 2i2. Then you need recording software often called a DAW (Digital Audio Workstation), I like Reaper and it's fully featured and cheap although it's free trial never actually expires. Then you can look at amp modelling plug ins, there's a bunch of free stuff if you're willing to do some work but things like the Ampeg SVX are also great for the price.

It's not cheap but it's also not as expansive, all in, as some of the options you've listed if you've got a half decent computer to start with. But it has a lot of advantages, it's flexible, and you'll be set up for doing some basic home recording.

 

My vote goes to the Bighead.

IME, worrying too much about tone is a waste of time if it's headphone practice you're going for. It'll never match exactly what you get out of your amp/cab anyway, so why bother? What you want is to hear yourself clearly, so you can hone your technique.

For that the Bighead is excellent - small footprint, solidly built, long battery life, and it will give you the exact tone of your bass, no more, no less. One of the best bass-related purchases I ever made.

 

I personally bought the helix lt but only because boxing day had one for only 100 more than the stomp. The usb interface is cool. I play the music on my computer, and have the chord sheets up on the screen and just go through the set list. Just worry about one amp at a time . Last week I added a bit of chorus, but have just been using the b15 for older stuff and the m9 carbine for more modern stuff. Just don't get lost in analysis paralysis and it works great for headphone practice

 

It sounds like there are a lot of great options here. For my own headphone practice I love my Zoom B1 Four. I just got it for Christmas and I’ve used it quite a bit already. It’s got great built-in models and effects, a tuner, drum machine, AUX in and ten customizable empty channels that are a lot of fun to mess with. All that for $80.00. That would be my vote. If you hate it you’re not out much. Yes, it’ll depreciate like crazy, but the initial investment is so small that it’s no great loss if you don’t like it.

 

I use my Genz Benz Streamliner 900. Doesn't need a load so I put an audio source in the Aux In and Plug my Sony monitors in the back. I use the Genz on the majority of my gigs so its nice to have a similar sound to practice with.

Perfect.

 

+1 on DSM's OmniCabSim Deluxe. It's just a fantastic unit.

Note -- I had the Palmer for a very brief period and ended up quickly selling it. I simply didn't care for it.

The OCSD eats its lunch on every level.

 

Any of those will do, I don’t know your budget but I wouldn’t spend crazy money on a headphone set up, it’s just practice...