Yeah, another headphone amp question...

[WRM]

I have a couple of options for silent practice myself:

1 - Darkglass A/O Photon (or really any of their Ultra or Photon/ADAM type pedals). I love that it gives me all kinds of options for tone/sound/eq, the headphone out is great, it's a DI that can be used as an audio interface into my laptop, it has cab sim, and I could go on and on about how great it is. Only downside is price, and the fact that it is mounted on my pedal board (for gigs and band practice) and I don't want to dig that out and set it up each time I just want a headphone option.

2 - Zoom B1X. I LOVE this pedal. I have had more than a couple zoom multi-effects pedals and for what they are and what they cost they're hard to beat. Not all of the effects sound excellent, but the ones I use regularly sound fine. For practice, it's hard to beat. Plug in bass, plug in headphones and play. It's got a built-in drum machine and metronome which is decent, built-in tuner, looper, headphone volume control, and SO many other features. It's also super user friendly. As much as I love the DG A/O Photon, I find the Zoom pedal to be more convenient and as a result of that it's become one of my main practice tools. (I even use it regularly plugged into my practice amp to practice with volume).

My practice amp is a small Ampeg, and it has a headphone out that I use sometimes as well, but it's hard to beat the convenience and portability of the zoom pedal so it is my go-to.

I bought the PJB Bighead pro last year, and really like it, and got a Zoom B1X for Christmas. Haven't had a lot of time with the B1X, but really like it, too. I would recommend either/both.

 

[SkylineFiver]

I use a PJB Double 4(without headphones).
If you bring the volume up just enough to cancel out the acoustic sound of your bass strings it’s very quiet yet because of your proximity, that slight feel of warmth that you don’t get from headphones.
The sweet spot is 3-4ft away.

 

[Reese T Morin]

I do all of my practicing at home silent. I run bass to interface to DAW with monitoring on. No noticeable latency.
Recently I purchased the Ampeg SVT suite and now I just open that app on my computer and practice from there! Great presets that handle everything I need.

 

[SoulReflection]

I do all of my practicing at home silent. I run bass to interface to DAW with monitoring on. No noticeable latency.
Recently I purchased the Ampeg SVT suite and now I just open that app on my computer and practice from there! Great presets that handle everything I need.

I have done the same with the Ampeg B15 and bassdude plugins. Works great!

 

[dbsfgyd1]

I've been playing for many years. I have decent gear. But for the first time in almost ever I now have a need for silent practice. I have in the past owned (I think) a Vox headphone amp. Didn't like it enough to really use it. I just this evening took possession of a Donner Basement. Seems kinda like a stinker, too.

I do own a 550 watt amp head that has a headphone out. I also think I still have a Scarlet interface that obviously has headphone monitoring. My space is very limited and I don't think the amp head is going to be the right way to go. And the Scarlet doesn't have any features or even an EQ.

All of which has me thinking about a number of quality preamp/DI pedals that have headphone outs on them. Which leads me to the question... which of those should I look into? I mean, a headphone jack is a headphone jack, but which of them have the best features that I might use in other contexts like live performance or recording? Or maybe I'm thinking the wrong way entirely and another solution is the right way.

I’ve used the headphone outs from several different amps I’ve owned over the years and never did enjoy the experience much.

A while back, my son gave me a Digitech BP3500 effects pedal which is perfect for silent practice. The amp models and effects are pretty good. With a little delay from the effects you get more of a live ambient sound as opposed using the dry headphone out of an amp head.

It also has a media input to practice along with, stereo ,mono, and headphones outs , and will also function as a DAW for recording.

 

[johnh89]

+1 for the PJB bighead . A bit spendy but a marvellous thing .

 

[Bar Band Bassman]

Valeton Rushead Bass Max works fine for me. The Vox was OK but the rotating plug finally failed. I can also use my Zoom B1X Four. The Valeton has a USB rechargeable battery.

The Bar Band Bassman

 

[hennessybass]

The Phill Jones BP-200 is a great little amp with everything you need.
I actually bought one while I was traveling (with a bass, but no amplification). It fits perfectly in the front pocket of my Mono gig bag.

Bonus, it's a pretty nice sounding 200w amp in addition to the silent practice thing. Great for at home, back-up amp, etc...

 

[Aloe]

you'd appreciate having an aux in in your headphone setup. not all headphone outs are equal, some are more noisy.

a Hotone Thunder Bass is under a hundred, if I was on a market for something similar, I'd give it a try.

 

[MrLenny1]

SansAmp Fly Rig is what I have for small quiet playing.
I also do gigs with it.

 

[lermgalieu]

+1 for the PJB bighead . A bit spendy but a marvellous thing .

You can get them fairly cheap used these days (like below $100)

 

[smatanovic]

So the Mustang Micro will work with bass? They're about the onliest headphone amps available here in the kingdom, listing at about $160.

I have one and use it for bass regularly. Like others have said, the effects aren't great, but the clean and hairy tones work very well when I want to practice when traveling.

 

[lug]

Bluetooth has too much latency to be used going to headphones for playing.

Bluetooth 5.4 should change this. Latencey projected to be sub 20ms. Current bluetooth that utilizes the aptX Low Lantecy codec delivers audio with a 40ms delay which is useable.

 

[johnh89]

You can get them fairly cheap used these days (like below $100)

Not in the UK sadly .

 

[lermgalieu]

Not in the UK sadly .

Bummer, sorry.

 

[scottfeldstein]

I can throw out a few options that dont involve your amp...

For starters I recently discovered this Darkglass Microbe Infinity It's quite impressive gear, the demos sound great even if the distortion is not your thing, it could be for you if the price is not a barrier. It's a DI/preamp that is loaded with features, it has headphone output you could practice silently and and USB audio interface capabilities which would replace your Scarlet. It has built in compressor, multiple drive and cab simulation... all to go along with their XLR DI that you can use for live performance (and recording)... pretty insane if you ask me.

Well, I impulse bought the Darkglass Microtubes Infinity. Man that thing scratches a lot of itches. It was expensive, even used, but seems very worth it. It should arrive next Wednesday.

 

[MCF]

Bluetooth 5.4 should change this. Latencey projected to be sub 20ms. Current bluetooth that utilizes the aptX Low Lantecy codec delivers audio with a 40ms delay which is useable.

That’s faster than my brain processes.

 

[ImTheOnlyOne]

These little (pocketable) Sonic Ports were really slick when attached to a phone or tablet.

Line 6 Sonic Port Mobile iOS Guitar Interface | Reverb

 

[thedovewarlord]

Well, I impulse bought the Darkglass Microtubes Infinity. Man that thing scratches a lot of itches. It was expensive, even used, but seems very worth it. It should arrive next Wednesday.

Amazing, I wish you tons of years of enjoyment. based on your original post I think that device ticked every box (along with a few more bells and whitsles). Report back when it arrives, love to hear your your impressions. Best!