LeftyBassist.com

Hey buds -

So, my wife and I moved into an apartment. I'm not sure how my twelve watt Marshall sounds to my neighbors
but I'm interested in finding a solution so I can play along with songs on my Mac and through headphones.
What kind of headphone amps are you using? I want to hear my bass and music to play along with.

Thanks!

pete

I like to keep it very simple and small. (And CHEAP!) I've been using the Vox amPlug Bass for years now. It's got an aux in and headphone out. Plugs right into your bass. I use it when I need to rehearse before/after generally accepted noise making times at my house, and in hotel rooms etc when I'm on the road. But, I'm not the kinda guy that requires high fidelity - ever really - when I'm practicing by myself.

http://www.voxamps.com/amplug/

I use a Korg Pandora PX5D (old clunky model, not the new mini fancy one).
I can either plug to my Mac through USB and use it to capture the bass, or any other sound source (e.g., iPod) through a regular mini-jack cable.

If you're mainly talking about jamming along with tunes and learning new material, etc, then here's where I'm at...

I used a Tascam CD-BT1 for YEARS... I've gone through two of them. The one I have now has thousands of miles on it... I use it almost every single day and I have learned HUNDREDS of songs on it. It's small, has some neat features and is easy to use. You can slow down tracks while retaining pitch, loop, and tune... however, the sound quality is not the greatest.

HOWEVER...

I am all about embracing technology and recently discovered a kickass app for my iPad called "Anytune Pro" and it works exactly like the CD-BT1, but pretty much WAY better in almost every possible way. It has superior looping functions that you can save to a track, you can import MP3's from your iPad or iPhone or even connect to your home network and do it that way. Slowing down the tune sounds WAY better than the Tascam, and there are a TON of cool EQ features for isolating bass or any other instrument. It's a quality app, and the iPad version is only $15.

Here's a demo video for the Mac version:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=plgry6gyE_o

Along with that, you'd need some kind of interface to plug your bass into your iPad or Mac and there are tons of those available... If you're looking for a compact, no-frills solution, I've heard pretty good things about the iRig HD, as it works really well with bass. I'm shopping right now for a new one... if I find something good, I'll let you know.

I use iRig. It's pretty damn cool.

I just use a relatively small mixing desk linked to my PC, I don't move around the house when playing so I'm perfectly fine with that solution and don't need anything portable. I use a Yamaha MW8cx, it's got USB in/out and even some (crappy but usable) footswitchable digital effects. I never use it for recording though, just to feed my active studio monitors and as a headphone amp.

It might be slightly off topic, but since I did a lot of research on headphones, I am going to give my two cents, and in this case it would cost a little more than two cents. But for what it is worth.
First in terms of headphone amp or mixer you can get a Berhinger for something like $24. I plug my headphones through my Focusrite interface and play along with whatever music I have on my computer.
Now, some good headphones will make playing bass much more enjoyable. Of course you will always miss the physical feel of bass playing and those chest thumping lows. Beyerdynamic DT770's are a good option to play bass. Very comfortable too.
If in addition to playing bass, you also wanted the best mixing headphones money can buy: Sony MDR7520 headphones.
http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/jan12/articles/sony-mdr-7520.htm.
They are said to compare to the most expensive studio nearfield monitors and were recommended to me by a notorious recording engineer who frequently records music TV shows and uses them for work as an alternative of his pricey nearfield monitors. They are closed-back and well insulated which makes them good for tracking too.
They are so incredible, with a such detail and extensive range (5hz to 80khz!), I recently lent mine to a friend, he put them on fifteen minutes and ordered some on Ebay... so just in case you wanted to go the fancy route

Yeah, good point... I never even mentioned headphones.

I have used a LOT of headphones... I currently own Sennheiser HD595's, AKG K271 MKII's... AND I also have Shure E2, E4 and SE215 in-ears (I have SE535's on the way).

When it comes to sitting and practicing or playing along with tunes, there is one set that beats tham all, hands down.

The Bose QC15 headphones.

I know audiophiles out there have convulsions and minor strokes at even hearing the Bose name, but they are incredibly light-weight, comfortable, and the noise reduction allows you to listen at lower volumes for very long periods without suffering much ear fatigue. They also happen to sound quite good (I have admittedly heard better), and have a pleasing "baked-in" tone that's good for pretty much any style of music.

With that said, I'd never mix on them or use them for studio monitors or whatever... but when it comes to casual listening and jamming just for the fun of it, I recommend them highly.

where that damn convulsion emoticon when you really need it??

I used to used closed back earphones but they aggrevated my tinnitus. So now i use these and am really satisfied with them Shure Open backed 'phones. Only problem with them is now I can hear my cats when they beg for attention.

I knew someone was going to say something about it.

My Sennheiser HD595's are open back and they sound great, but yeah... I can literally hear EVERYTHING else that's happening in my house... the kids, the cats... I can even hear when my central HVAC turns on!

Everyone in the house can hear what I'm listening to as well, so if a private space isn't a luxury, you'll piss off your family pretty quickly.

One other good thing I can say about open backed phones is that they're fantastic when you need to practice harmonies/backing vocals... but, other than that, they haven't worked well for me in my application.

Also...

In regard to the tinnitus thing... I'm a sufferer as well, and one thing about noise cancelling headphones that I've noticed is that it's much easier to enjoy music at lower sound levels.

So, as far as the QC15's bothering my ears, I can't say I've had an issue.

Good point. I used to have some open-back AKG K240's (which suck for bass BTW) and my wife would show up, ask me a question and then, I would answer. With the SONY MDR7520's she actually comes in, lift them off my head, THEN asks her question. She knows... I just can't hear squat around me

The Sony MDR7520's are not allowed for sale in some European countries because of their extended lows and ability to play insanely loud which was deemed potentially harmful to your hearing (5 Hz low!!!). It is a professional product and I can conceive it would mess up the hearing of anyone blasting them for hours. I actually use them at relatively low volume.

If you don't mix and if it is only to play bass, flat response is not important. You can use any of those consumer product with a highly hyped bass frequencies like Bose or Beat By Dre (I advise against the later as they tend to be fragile). But as I said, there is a world of a difference between headphones.

WOW! Such great ideas! I knew that I could count on you guys to give it your all.
I've never been so impressed by a bunch of guys that mostly only know each
other through this forum. Thanks to everybody for your input!

So, I'm thinking just using something like an Alesis Multimix 8 and nice pair
of phones. Now, I just need a place to put these 14 basses...

pete

hella ya, you can always count on me to chime right in !

I use an Axeport Pro, with a pc and Sennheiser 150.
Not great tone for bass, but it works ok.

All great suggestions and ideas, and I I've been toying with either buying an old PXSD, or checking out the "Anytune Pro" that Addison mentions.... and these sound like improvements over the "Pocket Rocket-STD " I bought off Craiglslist awhile back for $40. Works well though, and I can plug in my iPod and phones, plus, it's small and can easily go in one of my gig-bag pockets. The only downside I've ha with it is, the on-off switch is too easily turned on inside the pocket when jostled about, and I've had to put tape over the switch to keep from replacing the countless 9-volt batteries that have gone dead... other than that, it works well, and has Normal, Bright, and Distortion settings to play with. New models here - http://www.pocketrockit.com/Page.php?id=0022

Vox now offers headphones with integrated bass amp...

http://www.ebay.com/itm/281317985194?ru ... 26_rdc%3D1

Sorry to chime in so late on this thread. Big fan of Cafe Walter Ha-1A.

http://cafewalter.com/ha-1a/

Superb quality. I use a pair of Beyerdynamic DT770 80 ohm with it -- great combo.