How Often Do You Practice Unplugged?

[jmverdugo]

I get all the "tone" thing while practicing, but I really don't see how it can hurt practicing without amp, tone is important, but more important is to be able to hit the note you have to hit at the moment you need to hit it, when you practice without amp you are practicing scales, creating new bass lines, building strong fingers, getting faster, etc ... In the end tone generation has a lot to do with where on the bass to play and pickup selection, the rest is knob tweaking and chances are that what you are hearing in your amp at home is going to sound very different in a different space and with different gear. I would think that if you practice focusing on your tone you risk becoming gear dependent, and gear changes all the time but you can't change your hand or fingers. Jmo.

 

[Lobster11]

I get all the "tone" thing while practicing, but I really don't see how it can hurt practicing without amp, tone is important, but more important is to be able to hit the note you have to hit at the moment you need to hit it, when you practice without amp you are practicing scales, creating new bass lines, building strong fingers, getting faster, etc ... In the end tone generation has a lot to do with where on the bass to play and pickup selection, the rest is knob tweaking and chances are that what you are hearing in your amp at home is going to sound very different in a different space and with different gear. I would think that if you practice focusing on your tone you risk becoming gear dependent, and gear changes all the time but you can't change your hand or fingers. Jmo.

If you read through the whole thread you'll see that people have pointed out a number of drawbacks to practicing unplugged, or at least doing it too much. If you can't really hear what you're playing well, it's difficult to tell if you are really fretting notes cleanly, adequately muting unplayed strings, and holding notes for the correct length, for example. Also, you can develop a habit of plucking too hard in order to hear yourself. So while I agree with you that practicing unplugged can be helpful in some ways, I also think there are real risks of developing a variety of bad habits.

 

[wisconsindead]

I also spontaneously play along to TV commercials or backing music all the time to keep the ear sharp. It works.

I also do this if I start thinking jeez I should really be playing bass instead of watching tv.

I play unplugged when trying to be really quiet or hanging with friends (10% of my playing). I think it helps with accuracy of fretting. Fret buzzing is way more audible without amplification IME.

 

[jmverdugo]

If you read through the whole thread you'll see that people have pointed out a number of drawbacks to practicing unplugged, or at least doing it too much. If you can't really hear what you're playing well, it's difficult to tell if you are really fretting notes cleanly, adequately muting unplayed strings, and holding notes for the correct length, for example. Also, you can develop a habit of plucking too hard in order to hear yourself. So while I agree with you that practicing unplugged can be helpful in some ways, I also think there are real risks of developing a variety of bad habits.

I did read the whole thread, I just disagree with them and think those "real risks" are not that real and the benefits of practicing without an amp outweigh the disadvantages and I would certainly recommend practicing without amp.

 

[insomniabass]

I practice unplugged 75% of the time. Mostly when I am watching TV. That way I can get an extra hour per day of semi-practice time, noodling around while keeping my hands on the instrument. Also, I like to put my ear directly on the body of my Fender Jazz ’74… it is an amazing sound, so much different (better) than any amplified sound. I have wondered about getting a contact microphone and running that through my amp, rather than sending the pick-up signal

 

[Jefff]

I stopped practicing unplugged when I noticed it was changing my attack.

 

[lfmn16]

but more important is to be able to hit the note you have to hit at the moment you need to hit it, when you practice without amp you are practicing scales, creating new bass lines, building strong fingers, getting faster, etc ...

You can do all of this through an amp.

I don't really care how other people practice, but I haven't really seen anyone mention a benefit to practicing without an amp, other than volume, which you can adjust via you volume knob.

I guess I also see a difference between noodling on the couch and actual focused practicing. Not that there is anything wrong with noodling while you are watching TV.

 

[jmverdugo]

You can do all of this through an amp.

I don't really care how other people practice, but I haven't really seen anyone mention a benefit to practicing without an amp, other than volume, which you can adjust via you volume knob.

I guess I also see a difference between noodling on the couch and actual focused practicing. Not that there is anything wrong with noodling while you are watching TV.

Of course!, I'm not saying don't practice with and amp, nothing beats practicing with and amp, I'm just saying there is nothing wrong with practicing without one and I don't think people here is saying that that is the only practice you need to get. The point is that you can still practice when you don't have an amp available or when time is constrained and you just want to do some scales, that by itself is the benefit. Not everybody has the time to light up candle, pour a cup of wine, feng shui your home studio and then seat to practice on your home/practice amp. Moreover not everybody can afford a practice amp, what if your only amp is at the gig/practice room? You can't practice because you are going to start plucking like The Hulk? Human body is a wonderful thing, if you feel and hear you are plucking too hard, how about plucking less hard?

 

[Kyle_S]

Since getting a headphone amp that lets me play along with my mp3 player, never.