Practicing with headphones.

[N. Kentucky Bass]

They would certainly block out all that noise. It's the whole reason I use my IEMs when I practice and not my cans. The sound from IEMs feels like it comes from inside your head rather than air from the outside, if you know what I mean.. I'm not the best at describing things. They're a whole different creature and some people just don't like them.

I'd go for a cheap pair of IEMs before dropping the money on a custom moulded set if you've never used them before.

I have a pair of Atrios from Future Sonics that I've used to listen to MP3 files on a portable player. I tried plugging these into the headphone jack but they couldn't handle the low frequencies. Maybe I need to hook them up in a different way? These have the double rubber flanges so I doubt they cancel that much noise, at least not as much as custom molded IEMs.

 

[beans-on-toast]

It would be easier if the TV had a headphone jack.

 

[N. Kentucky Bass]

It would be easier if the TV had a headphone jack.

Clearly, my low tone friend, you know nothing about wives!

 

[cloudburst]

It would be easier if the TV had a headphone jack.

If you want to go down that (impossible) route, you may as well suggest installing volume controls on wives.

CB

 

[SUPERMAG]

I am always practicing late at night. My cab , a HARTKE 3500, luckily I use my Zoom b3 and run my Tascam BT trainer thru it. I know I'm not getting everything perfeft. but my amp/cabs are out in my shop. SO..... unless I want to go out there @ 3 am,in this humidity. I can get really close to my normal tone by using the afore mentioned setup. As most have said, the main thing is that I practice more often. Which by keeping my gadget setup close by, I end up getting way more time in, that way Plus, the ZOOM B3,has my amp modeled within it. so I figure I am getting close as possible. I'm just using what I already have here. I've considered a HP upgrade, but I think that the extra time I get to practice more important than exact sound that I'd gtt live. cause that tone I can adjust. I'm gonna modify it according to the room,size of crowd and the shape,matrrial the room is made of,as well.
Anything that keeps the bass in your hands and the wife off your case, thsts a good thing.
Thanks to for the link on those HP's. been wanting a better set.

 

[Rip Topaz]

If you want to go down that (impossible) route, you may as well suggest installing volume controls on wives.

CB

Wait, those are available??

 

[synaesthesia]

I've never quite gone down the exclusively headphone amp route except in my teens when i built a few headphone amps but once I built a mixer with a headphone amp I've never used anything but that. Currently, I use a countryman 85 into a Behringer mixer which connects to my Macbook pro, where I can run iTunes, amazingslowerdowner, iRehearse, play CDs or tracks I've recorded. I almost always play along to some music, and use this set up to transcribe/rehearse tunes/ or jam with jazz greats. I have used Sony 7506 cans since the mid 90s. I used Sennheisers before that, and I still have them.

I used to plug my Demeter/Alembic/or Fender TBP1 preamp DI into the mixer but the countryman gives me a decent enough tone. I've used the same headphones long enough for it to be a reference for me to test out pickups, new basses, preamps etc. I have had several Behringer mini desk mixers and whatever you think of the name they make a good little mixer. The current range with the USB, Klark Teknik efx, and built in compressor per channel are really good, the compressor is quite decent for bass.

Went through the Tascam Bass trainer stuff etc but I like to use ITunes on the mac, and with this set up I actually have an ethos overdrive connected for DI guitar, my midi keyboard set up, and my e-drums too (running superior drums on the Mac) through the little desktop mixer. So I can practice not only bass but other instruments that I play, and yes there is a mic connected so I can practice my vox too. All my family hears is me singing into the mic, whilst I get vox with stereo reverb, mixed with music and my Di'ed bass.

 

[Wireking1]

I use a Raven Labs PHA-1 and a pretty good universal fit IEM (UE 900) for quiet practice. It works really well for me because it is very true to what I will hear when playing live because we are almost exclusively IEM with a personal mix when playing live. I am able to tweak my knobs when I practice and know that the tone is very close to what I will have (in my IEM) when I go live. As to what it sounds like FOH.... who knows!

The problem with IEM and cans is that you are not really moving and air. To me, bass has a lot to do with feeling the thump. Better IEMs will have better frequency response and you can hear the highest of the highs and the lowest of the lows, but no IEM or head phone is going to hit you in the chest like an amp and cabinet will. If you are not using the IEM or cans for monitoring and only for silent practice, then just get a fairly decent pair. I don't think it is work the effort (or even possible) to recreate your live sound with an amp and cabinet (moving air) with IEM's or cans.

 

[BassmanPaul]

A simple micro mixer will surfice for headphone practice and will allow for an audio source to play along to.

 

[greggster59]

I had my first practice with the Phil Jones H850 headphones last night. I had my iPod hooked up as well and found that my playing really stood out well against the music without overwhelming it. A big improvement over my more expensive Grado's, though the Grado's are probably better for general listening.

 

[zapped777]

Now the trick is getting ahold of the remote

If you want to go down that (impossible) route, you may as well suggest installing volume controls on wives.

CB

 

[AlexanderB]

I am looking into a similar setup and have not found many micro mixers with high impedance inputs suitable for passive instruments. There are some, but do yourself a favor and make sure the input is 50-100 kOhms or higher, rather than 1-5 kOhms which is common for line inputs!