I wanna talk 'bout practice

[McTred]

I spend most of my practice time unplugged with my six string bass.

What am I missing out on by going acoustic for practice sessions?

 

[Lagado]

I tend to play harder when playing acoustically to get more from it. I'd rather some sort of amplification so I can conserve the energy I'm putting in just to get more volume, have more consistent measured picking. Playing acoustically can mask quite a bit of string noise and other by products of technique or other. Better to work on that through 10 watts than 800. Ears are not very efficient with bass frequencies, they prefer higher frequencies. Playing bass frequencies at acoustic volume level and hearing every detail and nuance, is a tall order.

 

[Lagado]

That's pitch recognition across frequencies for our ear. A bass guitar E string is about 40HZ.

 

[Lagado]

Practicing through headphones has its own particular problems concerning pitch recognition, for a number of reasons but mainly concerning the frequency range of the bass. Your aural perception gets a bit overloaded and alters pitch perception. You doubt the bass, the phones, but it's just the perception.

Are you more out of tune in headphones than an amp?

Practise amps have small speakers, better defined and detailed than larger bass speakers. I use an Eden EC8 and it's more than enough.

 

[CallMeAl]

Mostly headphones, due to the fact that I practice when the family goes to bed.

occasionally unplugged, when I just wanna run a song or scale I already know, and I only have a few minutes. But I prefer the dynamic control of some amplification, and it is better (for me) for play alongs and learning by ear.

On rare occasions I can play thru a speaker, a practice amp is plenty

 

[mongo2]

I practice all 4 ways.

 

[Timmah]

I voted for everything except "full sized rig," but 90% of my practice is with headphones. I live with roommates I don't want to inconvenience them when I practice at odd hours. I've been trying to practice amplified more, though, because I don't love running through the headphones- mine are old and I often have issues recognizing bass lines and pitch through them.

 

[Rilence]

I play way too hard & tense up if I try and play unplugged. So very occasionally headphones if I'm doing something late at night, but 95% of the time with a combo; and at time of day & volume that's acceptable to my neighbours (you probably wouldn't notice it from the street unless you were listening for it) & also acceptable for me/my purposes.

 

[dreamadream99]

What am I missing out on by going acoustic for practice sessions?

Practice how you play. If you play through an amp, you should practice through one too. You need to develop an amplified tone you like.

 

[LBS-bass]

I rarely practice unplugged and when I do it's just to work on speed and scales and patterns and other mechanical things. I prefer practicing with an amp because I get the full experience of what it is I need to control in terms of string noise, ringing strings, etc., as well as tonal nuances. All of that is a part of what practice is about for me. Learning to be a better player involves taming all those unwanted sounds and learning to pull out the sounds I want, and you won't get the complete picture when you practice unplugged.

I usually practice with my small combo. Now and then with my big rig but that's usually when I have someone else working with me.

 

[whero]

I only have one rig so I use it for practising at home, rehearsals, and gigging.

 

[el murdoque]

Well, since I downsized my rig to barefaced cabinets it can actually happen that I have the full stack at home, but more often than not I'd connect only one of the cabs, which is plenty already, so playing through both is plenty unnecessary.
I also play a lot acoustic. Only headphones are out for me. I can play at decent volume at home, so I do.

When I practice technique, I always play amplified, since I want to practice what comes out of the speakers.
When I'm learning new songs, I often do so without an amp. I just bring a bass to the computer and either hit youtube or play the song and google the tabs. When it's about memorising how it is played, so I'm actually practising my brain and not my skills on the bass, I don't need the speakers.

 

[Nashrakh]

I practice through a small practice amp or headphones. If I'm working on technique (as opposed to working on songs), I like more presence in my sound - that is, by boosting high mids and highs so you can clearly hear all the ugly little things in your playing. Frustrating at first but works wonders...

 

[NordicBard]

I use a Fender Rumble Studio 40 for all my practise - That also enables me to tweak the sound / pedals for live use where I switch to my Fender Rumble Stage (My presets are in the cloud, so I can sync back and forth).

 

[drumvsbass]

Tone production on the instrument involves electronics. At least something that gives you an idea what your fingers are producing through the pickups, and some representation of what your amp sounds like. All of this will lead to a better end result.
Extreme scenario. You spend all day practicing with tiny little earbud headphones and then go to rehearsal where your amp is a single 18 inch sub. What, if anything, that you practiced do you think will translate?

 

[40Hz]

To my way of thinking, an amp is as much a musical instrument as the bass instrument itself is. And it affects the way you play. Because it’s not just about playing notes. It’s also about tone and timbre.

I’ve found people who routinely practice unplugged tend to play harder to get some volume when they do. So they tend to get in the habit of digging in. And later, when they do plug in, their playing lacks somewhat in the additional subtleties and nuances you can get out a decent amp.

My rule of thumb for practice sessions is: Practice with whatever gear you’re planning to play.

YMMV.

 

[Kmonk]

Practicing through headphones has its own particular problems concerning pitch recognition, for a number of reasons but mainly concerning the frequency range of the bass. Your aural perception gets a bit overloaded and alters pitch perception. You doubt the bass, the phones, but it's just the perception.

I disagree with this. You won't experience these issues if you have a good pair of headphones and a good headphone amp. My wife goes to bed at 8 P.M. so she can get up for work at 3:30. I have been using a headphone amp at home for 20 years and have never had an issue with pitch recognition. In fact, my experience has been the exact opposite. No issues at all with pitch. I use a Tascam GT-R1. It stores up 1,000 songs on an SD card. I can build playlists, it has a built in tuner, effects, amp models, I can change speed without pitch, change pitch without changing speed, loop sections of songs and record on it. The GT-R1 has been discontinued but Tascam has similar models available. I use a pair of Beyer Dynamic DT770 headphones.

 

[Lagado]

I disagree with this. You won't experience these issues if you have a good pair of headphones and a good headphone amp. My wife goes to bed at 8 P.M. so she can get up for work at 3:30. I have been using a headphone amp at home for 20 years and have never had an issue with pitch recognition. In fact, my experience has been the exact opposite. No issues at all with pitch. I use a Tascam GT-R1. It stores up 1,000 songs on an SD card. I can build playlists, it has a built in tuner, effects, amp models, I can change speed without pitch, change pitch without changing speed, loop sections of songs and record on it. The GT-R1 has been discontinued but Tascam has similar models available. I use a pair of Beyer Dynamic DT770 headphones.

View attachment 3728221

It isn't the gear, it's the aural perception and inefficiency of our hearing range at lower frequencies.

"Another interesting fact about human hearing is that pitch perception is not linear with frequencies over the range of human hearing.

Similar to how a sound at constant air pressure will not be perceived at the same volume over the range of human hearing (reference the equal-loudness contours), the perception of pitch is not always linear from 20 Hz to 20 kHz. This is especially true below the mid range (around 500 Hz) and above the highs (around 8 kHz).

This is all to say that it would be beneficial for the singer to hear tones in their octave to match pitch. Relying on bass frequencies might not be as accurate, resulting in further intonation issues."

4 Headphone Tips for Better Vocal Performances — Pro Audio Files

 

[chuck65]

I have the same rack rig at the rehearsal studio as I do at home. Only difference is I use two 210’s at home and two 112’s at the studio , with PA.
I’m pretty old fashioned when it comes to practice. Warm up , exercises , then straight to jamming with an antiquated home stereo. I’m from the days of wearing out cassette tapes , so I may not have evolved..... LOL!!

 

[garp]

I agree with others who've posited here that practicing electric bass unplugged does nothing to improve technique. Though I don't necessarily feel the same about practicing electric guitar unplugged. The frequencies are different. I had to learn this lesson for myself.

I rarely keep my full bass rigs assembled assembled at home, so for me, it's either a small combo amp or a Line 6 Bass POD and headphones.