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using apple airpod pros as practice headphones

dlmarquez

dlmarquez

Jan 5, 2007
1,003
748
Medellin Colombia
#1
I have a couple of very nice passive basses (4 string, standard tuning) and I would like to be able to practice without using either of my amps/cabs. I have a pair of Apple Airpod Pro II’s that I like very much.
I am wondering if it would be possible to use them as practice headphones.
what I would need would be a battery device that plugs directly into my bass, and converts the output to a bluetooth signal which it then transmits to the airpod pros.

Does such a thing exist? if so can anyone recommend one that has been confirmed to actually work properly?
sorry if I sound stupid…I’m an old dog and keeping up with technology is quite challenging….I just want to be able to sit in my easy chair with my Ric or my Hofner and play a little in a very relaxed and casual way.

thanks in advance for any advice or help.
 
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#2
I think bluetooth would be sub optimal.

If your i-device is usb-c and you have a usb-c recording interface like a Scarlet, I imagine GarageBand would let you monitor a bass input through the Scarlet via the Air Pods.

Invalid Link Removed

Article mentions iPad, so don't know about phones.
 
#3
dlmarquez said:
I have a pair of Apple Airpod Pro II’s that I like very much.
I am wondering if it would be possible to use them as practice headphones.
Click to expand...
It wouldn't be too difficult or expensive to set up but you'll find the latency caused by the Bluetooth technology will make it frustrating to use, at best. There will be a delay between when you pick a note and hear it, and there is no way to fix this problem.

Cheaper and better to get one of those practice headphone amps and a cheap set of (wired) headphones. If you want to record yourself and have an iPad or iPhone, get an iRig or similar device (around $100) and a cheap set of (wired) headphones to plug into it.
 
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#5
I was hoping to get away from wires, but oh well! I actually have a pair of Linsoul KZ ZS10 pro 2 wired in ear monitors. now I guess my best option is something like a PJB Big Head 2 or some other less expensive option.
Any suggestions on a trick battery powered wired earbud amp that will plug directly into my passive basses?
 
#9
dlmarquez said:
I was hoping to get away from wires, but oh well! I actually have a pair of Linsoul KZ ZS10 pro 2 wired in ear monitors. now I guess my best option is something like a PJB Big Head 2 or some other less expensive option.
Any suggestions on a trick battery powered wired earbud amp that will plug directly into my passive basses?
Click to expand...
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This takes power from your computer, if that meets the requirement. I use one and like it quite a bit.
 
#10
Short answer: no.

Longer answer: latency will kill the experience. You’ll need something more specialized to do this. I use the BOSS Waza Air Bass, and it’s pretty good (but expensive). Bluetooth works fine to play yourself a backing track, but the signal from your instrument needs to have as little latency as possible.
 
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#12
Fender's Mustang Micro Plus headphone amp plugs into your bass and uses BT to your sound source (i use an iPhone). Headphones need to be wired and plug into the MM. Works quite nicely, rechargeable via USB-C connection to power. They don't have bass-specific sounds but plenty of guitar options to choose from that are usable for bass. A very nice device and no latency issues. Perhaps future software upgrades will have bass oriented options??
 
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#13
bass9999 said:
Fender's Mustang Micro Plus headphone amp plugs into your bass and uses BT to your sound source (i use an iPhone). Headphones need to be wired and plug into the MM. Works quite nicely, rechargeable via USB-C connection to power. They don't have bass-specific sounds but plenty of guitar options to choose from that are usable for bass. A very nice device and no latency issues. Perhaps future software upgrades will have bass oriented options??
Click to expand...
+1 for the Fender Mustang Micro Plus. Spend the few extra bucks and get the Plus model which has a built in tuner and effects parameters that can be changed and saved using an app. As mentioned above, the presets are mostly guitar oriented but there are plenty that can be modified for bass. The only glitch I have experienced is that when you start a song to play along with on your iPhone the MM Plus will cut off a second of the beginning of the song. The original Mustang Micro didn't do that.
 
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#14
dlmarquez said:
what I would need would be a battery device that plugs directly into my bass, and converts the output to a bluetooth signal which it then transmits to the airpod pros.
Click to expand...
Theoretically speaking you can plug your bass into your iPhone, iPad or MacBook using an adaptor, and use a virtual amp app (or GarageBand), which will allow you to listen on your AirPod Pros connected to your Apple device. I haven't tried this personally but it should work.
 
#15
bluetooth and practicing has never worked for me
better to get a good [ mixer | headphone amp | amp with headphone out ] and a good set of wired headphones [ AKG K240s | Beyer Dynamic 990s ]
 
#18
There are multiple wireless headphone technologies. The digital methods have varying amounts of latency, bluetooth being the worst because, if I recall correctly, it was never really intended for audio more demanding than a phone call and its current form suffers some of the faults of the first version because of needs for backwards compatibility. The digital technologies designed for live performance do not use Bluetooth.

I've got an old Sony headphone system here that transmits by infrared. It's surprisingly... not bad aside from the hardware being a little creaky with age. And signal will break if you turn your head. But since it was originally designed for "silent" TV viewing that's less of a concern than you might think.
 
#19
The AirFly SE is a bluetooth thingy that (theoretically) will do what you want but as stated throughout, the latency will make it unusable as a practice set-up. The thing works fine to convert an old fashioned headphone jack to a bluetooth transmitter for your airpods but every note you play will have an unacceptable delay. Fine for listening to music or tv, not good for practicing.
 

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