What to focus on for great headphone practice tone?

[oomo]

Due to various life things I'm often having to practice at 5am, where headphones are pretty much mandatory.

Wondering where to focus and what to look for to improve on the tone I hear, since I'm going to be sinking long hours into playing that way for a while.

Headphones? Audio interface? Preamp? Eq controls? Software? Amp/cab Sims?

At the moment I have decent headphones (ATH-M50x), connected to an audio interface connected to a laptop. Signal chain is bass, tuner, compressor, tube preamp, audio interface.

Any suggestions welcome.

Main thing I don't like with current sound is that everything sounds a bit boomy and not tightly focused. E.g. sounds badly mixed if I play along to anything coming through the same headphones.

 

[Bonafide]

While I personally, rarely, record *bass* with sims, I can't think of anything that sounds 'better in the phones'. If that is the goal. Modelers are often voiced or optioned to sound like an entire chain. That said, an HPF or a manual shelf to the bass might help clean it up in those phones.You can try a higher impedance phone as well. Specs aside, they all sound different.

 

[Celen]

If you’re listening through software (i.e. have access to EQ plugins), there’s an old studio trick that does wonders to the headphones tone: HPF at 80Hz combined with a few dB shelving boost around 110Hz.
The HPF tightens it up, while the shelving boost adds back a sense of “thickness”.

I like to do something similar with the high end too; LPF around 4kHz and a few dB boost at 2.8k. Like a poor man’s cab sim.

 

[Killing Floor]

Personally I use Mustang Micro and AKG K240 cans. I think that l’il Fender device sounds as good as any of the amplifier phone outs. Those headphones are open back so you can hear background noise unless you’re cranking it. That matters because you’ll be able to hear any string noise behind the headphones so you can keep on top of your good habits.

There’s no best. But those headphones stand up to live bass playing and they’re comfortable.

 

[oomo]

If you’re listening through software (i.e. have access to EQ plugins), there’s an old studio trick that does wonders to the headphones tone: HPF at 80Hz combined with a few dB shelving boost around 110Hz.
The HPF tightens it up, while the shelving boost adds back a sense of “thickness”.

I like to do something similar with the high end too; LPF around 4kHz and a few dB boost at 2.8k. Like a poor man’s cab sim.

That's a good point, I usually use a Broughton HPF when going into an amp, hadn't actually considered it for headphones too.

 

[oomo]

Personally I use Mustang Micro and AKG K240 cans. I think that l’il Fender device sounds as good as any of the amplifier phone outs. Those headphones are open back so you can hear background noise unless you’re cranking it. That matters because you’ll be able to hear any string noise behind the headphones so you can keep on top of your good habits.

There’s no best. But those headphones stand up to live bass playing and they’re comfortable.

Open back headphones make a lot of sense actually - added benefit of being able to hear knocks at the door

 

[Celen]

That's a good point, I usually use a Broughton HPF when going into an amp, hadn't actually considered it for headphones too.

Cool! I haven’t tried the M50x version but the older(?) ATH M50 headphones felt pretty strong in the bass. If the ‘x’ version is similar, maybe the Broughton HPF is all you need.

 

[pfschim]

+1 on using a amp/cab sim for the situation you describe. I'll just add that playing technique will really show in this kind of setup (bass into headphones) so working on that alone can really improve your overall sound/tone for other applications ... i.e live playing and tracking etc. It's so revealing to practice this way.

 

[RGerhart]

If you want to simplify things, I highly recommend the Darkglass Element, or getting a Phil Jones Bighead Pro headphone amp. The Phil Jones especially has a crystal-clear sound to it, and that might solve some of the boominess problem you're dealing with. If not, you can cut the lows on the 2-band EQ supplied.

I'm in the same boat as you, @oomo. I have a 4-year old, and a 5-month old, and I work from 6am to 3pm, so I usually get up at 4am to practice every day for about an hour, since it's the only time I can squeeze in. I also feel like since I started practicing exclusively through headphones that my technique has improved dramatically. You can hear every nuance, and I've found that I don't play as hard now (because you can hear string noise/fret noise better), and that I have a better grasp on my tone.

Good luck!

 

[tpaul]

My basic headphones rig is bass -> Sansamp BDDI V2 -> Boss headphone amp -> phones. I mix in music to play along to from an old Walkman connected to the external input of the headphone amp. If I want extra effects they usually go into the chain before the BDDI. I've never tried playing through a laptop so I can't speak to that.

 

[jnewmark]

After trying a few headphone amps, the best being the now discontinued PJ Bass Buddy, I settled on a small mixer, the Mackie 402VLZ4. It has an instrument option, an adequate EQ and all the benefits of a small sound mixer. Headphones, to me, are a personal thing, but I've yet to find any that give me the same sound as live, but good enough to do some silent rehearsing. Right now I'm using some Senheiser HD 280 Pro's, mainly for comfort sake, but also use the Audio-Technica ATH 40's model. Here's a link to the mixer: 402VLZ4 4-Channel Ultra-Compact Analog Mixer | MACKIE