How Many Practice Electric Bass Unplugged?

[Rib 13]

I usually never practice with an amp

 

[zontar]

I sometimes do=--it's just easy sometimes to just pick up the bass & play
Sometimes I use headphones, and sometimes through the amp
It depends on what else is going on at home, what time it is, and how long I'm going to be playing for.

I enjoy playing--and so just grabbing the bass & playing--even without an amp is still fun.

 

[bigswifty1]

Never. For me I think it's a bad idea. It makes you play harder than normal (so straight away you're not practing in the way you're playing. Then because you're playing to hard your bass is all clanky and buzzy and you start wondering about your setup. One thing leads to another and you end up wasting your practice time.

 

[Jscriv]

All the time. I keep a bass hanging in my dining room so I can grab it and play for a few minutes when I can. I work full time, go to school, and have a toddler. I take whatever playing time I can get

 

[zontar]

Never. For me I think it's a bad idea. It makes you play harder than normal (so straight away you're not practing in the way you're playing. Then because you're playing to hard your bass is all clanky and buzzy and you start wondering about your setup. One thing leads to another and you end up wasting your practice time.

Might be your experience, but not everybody's.
It might depend on who loud your bass is unplugged or the room you practice in, etc.
I play about the same--and playing unplugged is better than not playing at all, at least in my book.

 

[bassrique]

Yes, but to develop proper muting, you'll need to plug and play.

When I first started playing, I didn't even have an amp and I played for about a year and I thought I was pretty good, however when I plugged in it was a disaster. I quickly discovered that much of playing is what you're not playing.

 

[ursusaltered]

I do this all the time and I think it’s a great thing to do. The reality with music is it’s all about fun and expressing your creativity. If you feel the urge to play, then play.

 

[dalkowski]

I used to. It created many bad habits that it took me a long time to unlearn, all based on playing too hard in order to hear myself.

I am still in recovery from many many many years practicing unplugged.

 

[Polkatronixx]

I have noticed that sometimes I just want to grab the bass and sit on the edge of the bed and practice unplugged. It's so simple and easy with no cables, no headphones or wireless electronics to worry over.

I was wondering how many other folks do this and if it is considered an effective way to practice?

Thanks.

I do it all the time. I am just careful not to observe/comment on how 'resonant' my bass sounds, because certain people are likely to draw offence.

 

[redstrand]

I guess that’s the delineation, I play unplugged because I can hear myself. I don’t have to play hard to hear the bass in the room. I’d rather plug in but usually can’t so I make due

 

[bolophonic]

I practice unplugged all the time. I don’t have to overplay to hear myself, it’s about the feel.

 

[Matty Koff]

I guess that’s the delineation, I play unplugged because I can hear myself. I don’t have to play hard to hear the bass in the room. I’d rather plug in but usually can’t so I make due

i spent $40 on my amPlug 2 Vox Bass headphone amp.. got a set of rechargeable AAA batteries.. got a pair of ear buds.. have to rely on active preamp in my bass for EQ, but it's been better than no amp, if the noise is why you can't plug in. Sometimes I have one ear hanging out so I can hear things around me and still hear the amplified bass in my headphones.
YMMV.

 

[bobba66]

I did it all the time when I was young. Lay my head on my trusty Precision and really feel it. Playing in the bathroom, too. I think that old '76 was a bit more resonant than my current instrument, or maybe I've just gone deaf.

 

[neptoon]

this is how Billy Sheehan does it

 

[godofthunder59]

I suppose I should elaborate. Im old school, when I started a practice amp was a luxury most couldn't afford, you had your bass a amp and that was it. I was 18 before I had my first practice amp, no headphone input, no aux, just a underpowered particle board box with a speaker that was no match for the 10 watts it produced.
These days I use my spotify playlist, YouTube and a Vox headphone amp for learning material, what a wondrous thing! I do however quite often practice without plugging in, just pick it up and run through a song, scale or riff I am working on. There's a bass next to my dresser, one on the living room and often one on the kitchen table not to mention the ones out in my music room. I just grab a bass when the mood strikes me no need to plug in.

 

[dabbler]

...

Early on I read an interview with Ron Carter talking about how players these days rely on equipment and don't take the time to develop their sound from the bass and strings themselves.

...

I think there is value in this.

I saw a YouTube of Marcus Miller where he said that he improved significantly when he decided to see what he could do soundwise just with his hands, leaving the controls on his amp and bass in one spot. He wasn't unplugged, but the principle is still there.

 

[davidjbass]

Every morning before I go to work. I do my warm up scales with a metronome. About a 30 minute routine. I have had to practice this way for years because my music room is right next to my sons room. And at 7 a.m. I didn't want him to wake up to a booming bass amp.

 

[DrayMiles]

Although he was referring to double bass, I see no reason why that idea couldn't be applied to bass guitar. A lot of other instrumentalists work on tone production so for me it's a little bit about borrowing that concept too.

I humbly believe your logic of equating unplugged electric bass with upright is incorrect.

The benefits gained practicing EB without an amp are minuscule. If you played upright you wouldn’t likely think that... I play both, and I do play EB unamplified quite often... but for a real practice session, you need to plug in grasshopper.
You will not develop touch, tone or nuance that can be used in the real world practicing unplugged, and Ron’s statement really doesn’t apply to electric bass. I have an old article where he says it comes from the amp and you have to know about speakers etc. Musician magazine I believe... The one with McCartney on the cover.
Good luck and whatnot!

 

[two fingers]

Only occasionally in my office. I keep a bass and a mixer in there. But sometimes I just run through songs for the next rehearsal to build muscle memory and work on singing/playing the songs at the same time.

 

[96tbird]

I do so that’s at least two of us.