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headphone practice solution

#42
ack said:
See post #3 - Vox AmPlug - all you want, nothing you don't need.
Click to expand...

Well, let me nitpick. I mean, I could get by with this. This would work. But let me poke it with a stick for a second just for the sake of getting the very best solution for myself in the end...

I don't want to plug something directly into my bass. I want it to accept the signal from my amp's headphone out or my effect board out. Think it would do that?

Also, I have a proper compressor. I don't need one built in to my practice solution widget like this one has. But at least you don't have to use it, so I guess that gets a pass.
 
#43
My TC BH500 has L & R Aux inputs and a headphone output. If I want loud through my cab got it, If I want to plug in an MP3 player got it also. Want to to do it all through headphones? Got that too. Doesn't get much simpler.

Otherwise for a little more than your $50 a Korg Pandora is what I take with me when I travel, Headphone amp, Amp modeling, effects, drum machine, and a 1/8' aux input. Used on the Bay around $100. Does it all!
 
#44
I use a Radio Shack 6" long 1/8" stereo Y adapter (single female to double male) with my computer and an original Line 6 Bass Pod. I do have to also use a 1/8" female to 1/4"male adapter with the "Y" to plug into the Pod. The adapters cost less than $10 and I use a $20 set of sound cancelling headphones. Works great.
 
#45
fivestringgecko said:
you could try [Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
Click to expand...

+1000. iRig and Amplitube have replaced all my previous practice tools. I even use the free version of the software (if you're trying to keep the cost down). I did go ahead and buy the Ampeg emulators, but just because they sound so redonkulously good.

I use it to learn new music for 3 different bands all the time. You can even use the Speedtrainer feature to speed up songs or slow them down. I use the section looper all the time for figuring out new parts.

Between Amplitube and forScore, my iPad practically lives in my gig bag these days. I've tried it on my iPhone as well and it works great too.
 
#46
This is all really, really educational. Thanks for the suggestions, keep 'em coming!

At the moment, the front runners are..

a) Nothing! Plug the mp3 player into the effect return of my amp (via a 1/8 to 1/4" adapter), plug my good headphones into the headphone jack, hit the mute button on the front of the amp to prevent sound hitting the cab (and hope that the headphone out still works while mute is on)...instant solution. Cost: a $2 adapter and some good headphones.

b) the VOX AmPlug. I could use the plainest, cleanest sound on the VOX unit and plug it into the output of my pedal board. Then run a male-male 1/8" cable from iPod to VOX. Then my headphones to the VOX (might need a 1/4 to 1/8" adapter)..and voila. I'm golden. Cost: a cable, an adapter and the $50 VOX unit.

In each case, I get MY sound--effects board and all--into my headphones, unadulterated by other processing...plus my mp3s in stereo.
 
#47
All right, let me take a crack at this because I have been where you are and this is my current solution:

mx28-0e429be9a963adcc7cac7b1cf31b50e1.jpg


Invalid Link Removed

Great 3 channel input, stereo mini-mixer. Simple, portable, works great and I found one used for less than $50.00 w/ power supply. I also have a Tascam GB-10 and Korg Pandora PX4D. The Korg is OK but I never loved the presets. The Tascam should have been great but I find it fussy to balance bass vs. MP3 but it does have some useful features, is extremely easy to get songs in and out of and is the most portable.

In the end though, for day in/day out song learning the Rolls is it. Plenty of volume, straight, clean bass sound. Well built too.

Now, what I really need is a better or more featured playback app for my iPod. Something that I can more easily rewind or move around sections of songs (like a one touch 30 sec rewind, etc.)
 
#48
scottfeldstein said:
Wow, that's a really interesting idea. In that instance, I just use the mute button to quiet my cab, put the iPod into the effect return...plug the head phone into the headphone jack...

Hot damn, that just might work. And if not, all I'm out is a 1/8" to 1/4" adapter.
Click to expand...

Only if your amp runs the effect send parallel to the direct signal. Some (most?) amps it's an either/or scenario.
 
#49
I'm assuming you already have decent headphones... and a chord with 2 male ends to attach your music to the little amp.

Invalid Link Removed
i use this... i've even used it in conjunction with a tuner, and BigMuff ... just stick at the end of your signal chain...
You can play along with your mp3 (control volume on the player)
Has separate volume just for the bass...
it's 50ish bucks new ... buy a used one for a better deal

i've even used the aux out into a stereo at a buddy's house instead of headphones..

get an extension for your headphones so you can stand up and jam out...

in summary bass>instrument cable>pedal board>headphone amp> mp3 on the aux in> headphone on the out port on the little amp

i use mine daily infact it stays in my bag ... and my bass comes just about everywhere with me let's me get in that extra few minutes of noodle time :)


and you figured this out ... almost same as your scenario #b scott
 
#50
OP: Two things you may want to consider:

1) The available voltage swing from the headphone output of the mixer/amp vis-a-vis the impedance of your headphones, and how loud you want the latter to become.

2) Whether you ever want a single channel of your MP3 player's stereo output panned to both channels of your headphones. This may be the case if you rip a CD that comes with a instructional book, wherein the bass is panned to one channel and the rest of the band to the other.
 
#51
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#53
scottfeldstein said:
Entering the home stretch.... it's looking like the Vox and a bitchin pair of Audio Technica headphones (plus a 1/8" adapter)
Amazon.com: Audio-Technica ATHM40FS Precision Studio Headphones: Musical Instruments
At least that's my thinking so far.
Click to expand...

The A-T phones' sensitivity spec is meaningless: 100 dB. It should be 100 dB at xxx mW.
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Without that datum you can't calculate how much power the amp must be able to deliver into 60 Ohms. The Vox Amplug uses a 3V power supply (*), which can produce at most a 1 Vrms output, which is 17 mW into 60 Ohm.

(*) As far as I know there is no switcher up-converting the voltage of the batteries. Correction is welcome.
 
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#54
I have been looking for a similar solution, only I want my channels to have pan control and I plan on plugging straight in to the mixer. The stereo mixer above seemed like a good choice until I saw the input impedance. I guess I'm gonn have to build something myself....
 
#55
Just want to mention, the AmPlug really only works with passive basses.
I heard people report that active basses have problems with getting distorted, if tried to use at reasonable volume... and I guess that's true, because that "fx" setting, wich is supposed to be some sort of limiter/compression is already distorted heavily with a passive bass.
 
#56
scottfeldstein said:
This is all helpful. Thanks for all comments so far. I definitely am reading them and I recognize that some of them are going to get me where I'm going. But I just want to reiterate what I'm looking for:

---bass amp or fx board------>

---iPhone/iPad music player-->

----------->
---------------> my headphones
----------->

That is, I don't want to plug my bass directly in. I want my effects board at least.
Click to expand...

I think the easiest solution for you would be one I use. I think it's been mentioned before, but I did not read all the responses.

What I did was get a cheap 8 channel Phonic mixer (or Behringer, or ...). Just for fun I actually got the one with the digital FX module, but that's just an extra.

The setup is as follows:

First, the bass signal:

Bass -> Tuner -> OD pedal -> Amp.

Then I use the Effects Send of my amp as an input of a mono channel of the Phonic Mixer. I use the Rec In input of the mixer to get the signal from my laptop/MP3 player:

Amp Effects Send -> Channel 1 \
---------------------------------------> Phonic Mixer.
Laptop/MP3 player -> Rec In. /

Now you can use the Control Room output of the mixer for your headphones. The added benefit is that the mixer allows you to control some extra aspects of the mix of your bass and MP3 signals (it is a mixer, after all... ;)):

Mixer Control Room out -> Headphones.

Last, if I do not want to play with headphones on but hear the music through my amp, I use the Master Output of the mixer to go into the Effects Return input of my amp. This way I can hear both my bass and the MP3 through my amp. Granted, the MP3 doesn't sound great through the amp, with it's inability to properly reproduce the higher tones. But it's still nice it's possible:

Mixer Master out -> Amp Effects Return.

Controlling whether my Amp actually produces a sound is simply a matter of adjusting the master volume of the Power End Stage of my amp.

You could even use both the headphones and the amp simultanenously with this setup (no idea why you would, though... :p).

The simple 8 or 4 channel Phonic/Behringer mixer can be found online for as few as $100 I think. Add some decent Sennheiser headphones (the ones that have a frequency response down to 20 Hz), and you're ready to go! :bassist:
 
#57
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#60
makkE said:
Just want to mention, the AmPlug really only works with passive basses.
I heard people report that active basses have problems with getting distorted, if tried to use at reasonable volume... and I guess that's true, because that "fx" setting, wich is supposed to be some sort of limiter/compression is already distorted heavily with a passive bass.
Click to expand...

Oh for heaven's sake.

I would have thought that this was a really, really common need. Surely common enough for someone to make a product that actually works correctly.

Maybe I could crank the signal low enough using my SansAmp PBDDI that I could achieve less-than-unity with my bass that has an active EQ on it.

I'd hate to spend $50 to find out that the Vox is distorting my signal into unusability unless I plug directly into it.
 

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