headphones into my Markbass LMII?

[wideyes]

Just got an LMII from a fellow TB'er!

Now for the bad news: I live in an apartment. I know, I know, I'd feel sympathetic if I were you, too.

So the question is, how should I go about getting my headphones into this thing? Am I going to need to invest in a headphone amp? It has a tuner out and effect send, as well as an XLR line out. I'd rather avoid buying another box if I can...

Also, if I do play through headphones, should I be concerned about having a speaker plugged in to hold a load?

Thanks in advance!

 

[musicman724]

if it doesnt have a headphone out then you will need a headphone amp. im not sure if you really need a speaker hooked to it. i have always been told that its not good for amps to run and not be connected but im no expert.

 

[wideyes]

Thanks for the quick response! So the tuner out or send effect is a bad idea? Is it just an issue of mono vs. stereo, or could damage to equipment be involved?

 

[Captain Simian]

Easiest fix-go out and get one of the Acoustic practice amps. They're $100, have headphone & aux in jacks, and sound pretty darn good IMHO.

 

[wideyes]

Thanks for the suggestion. I own a pair of headphones I really like practicing through, so I was hoping to not have to make too much of an investment to get them into the box. Something simple and cheap would suit me, I think.

 

[Crabby]

Zoom B2. New they are about $120. Should be able to find one used. fantastic headphone amp with drums built in and all the amp/cab effect models you could want. Its a blast to play through and dead simple.

 

[Mrdak]

Do you have a mixer? or a decent sound card in your PC..... or?

Oh yeah..... like Crabby said... A B2, or better yet a B2.1u is a great piece of gear for a little over a hundred bucks.

 

[zuokinis]

the easiest way imo would be to hook it XLR to a cheapest mixer you can get (with phones out). Not sure about the damage to the amp without a load, isnt it for tube amps only?

 

[bebop1]

There is no danger to running this solid state amp without a speaker load. No concern whatsoever.

 

[wideyes]

Thanks for the suggestions, folks! I'll do some craigslisting/ebaying and practice my ass off

 

[BassmanPaul]

Make yourself a headphone adapter box. You'll need a mono phone socket, a stereo phone socket to match your headphones, a pair of 1KΩ 5W resistors and a small plastic box to hold everything. Mount the two sockets to the box. Wire the sleeve connection of each socket together (ground). Wire each resistor to the tip (left) and ring (right) connections of the stereo socket. Wire both of the resistors opposite ends to the tip of the mono jack. Make sure all wiring is insulated with sleeving or heat shrink tubing.

Connect the mono jack to the amp with a speaker cable and your headphones into the stereo jack. Bring up the volume on the amp to a comfortable level and play away.

Paul

 

[Jim C]

Paul,
Am in the process of making this as I asked the same question about my SWR and just got an LMII yesterday!

Problem is that the biggest 1K resitors I can find (without buying big quantity) is 1 watt from Radio Shack.

Anybody have a source for 1K @ 5 watt for small quantities?

 

[BassmanPaul]

Parts Express, MCM Antique Electronics to name just three assuming you are in the Americas. I suggest 5W because they are robust and will handle pretty much any amp. This thing will not work with a tube amp as tubes always require a correct load. The mono socket can be replaced with just a length of speaker cable with a phone plug or speakon on the end.

Paul

 

[wideyes]

I like this approach better! I'm gonna look into this...

 

[RumbleBeeAL]

Very cool project Paul!!! It works like a champ too.

After reading your description above, I picked up the supplies from a local electronics supply house for about $6.00 total.

I added an 1/8" stereo socket along side the 1/4" Stereo Out socket. This way, I don't have to hunt down a 1/4" to 1/8" adapter if using my smaller in-the-ear plugs.

If not using as a Speaker level to Headphone level adapter, I can use as a 1/4" to 1/8" adapter since the optional 1/8" Out socket is tied directly to the 1/4" Out socket

Thanks for the head's up on this beefy resistor! They stay nice and cool with what little testing I've done thus far with my GBE1200.

 

[dannybuoy]

Check out the Behringer Micromon MA400. You can take the XLR from the amp to the mic input on that, also blend in am iPod and output to your headphones. I use one and for the money it's great.

 

[mentalpatient]

Rolls PM50, does many things. You should be able to plug the DI out into the rolls and then plug headphones into the Rolls, so you will need a DI to DI cable. I guess that is what you want to do so you can use the pre/post DI switch on the back of your LMIII.