Suggestions for headphone practice

[RodWichita]

Guitar players have the Guitar Trainer.

And as a keyboard player who would like to practice using several keyboards at once, I was wondering what you guys use for multiple keyboard practice that would have the capability to have an external input for cd/mp3 and a headphone option? I do have a 12 channel mixer that I use live, but my thinking is that I want to drag as little down into the basement to practice as possible. I already have the keyboards down in the basement and they stay there as the ones I play with live stay in my truck in the garage. I was thinking that the roland KC series amps was a good option, but was wondering if there was something along the lines of the Tascam that allows multiple inputs and the size is not as big? Seems like the cool thing about the tascam is that you can slow the speed of the song without changeing the pitch?

 

 

Thanx!

[toad]

I was wandering the same except for at a gig. I'm always next to an old SVT. if I turn-up so dose He. I think closed headphones would be nice. I'm running a KBR-3D and a nord stage.

[loumi]

I use an S90ES and Korg CX-3 into a Mackie 1202 VLZ PRO into AKG K240 headphones. Then my digital recorder, CD player, and anything else can go into the mixer. Works great for me, an nobody ever complains when I practice - even at higher volumes! ;-)

 

Lou

 

[mikeNZ1]

I use my 12 channel mixer, but you can buy a headphone mixer or micro size line mixer for ~$50 or less. Behringer makes some cheap, basic models. Rolls has a HUGE range of them. Some can be battery powered.

 

Michael

[J. Dan]

If I'm not practicing in my studio, or at our practice space where we use our monitor rack with IEM's, I have a Rolls Playmate. Looking at their web site, it looks like they don't have the exact same model anymore, but it looks like this replaced it.

 

Mine has (2) 1/4" inputs, an XLR, and stereo RCA (which it mixes to mono) inputs. outputs are headphone and 1/4" line. Can run off batteries or wall wart. I'll either use it with headphones or my 10" 2-way crate powered speaker. I've also taken it on vacations, etc. I wouldn't use it live though - too noisey.

[bloodyMary]

I practice using heapdhones a lot.

I have a tiny mixer (Tapco .Mix50) which mixes outputs from the keyboard (I use one, but there are channels for more) and the laptop. The laptop runs Cool Edit Pro, which allows me to easily loop and/or slow down parts of songs so I can learn them by ear and practice.

 

My headphones of choice are AKG K240S.

 

By the way, I could get by without a mixer since my keyboard (Roland FP4) has inputs for connecting external stuff. I can just plug the laptop into the Roland, and connect the headphones to the Roland, too.

 

The reason I use a mixer is that I have a pair of monitor speakers, too, and it's very convenient to be able to mute/unmute headphones and monitors using a pair of buttons on the mixer.

[SpaceNorman]

I use a little Yamaha MG12/4FX for pretty much everything. There's enough channel real estate to connect up all my boards - plus a CD player and iPod for learning tunes. A pair of headphones - connected via an extension cable - into the headphone outs work great.

 

I use a pair of cheap Yamaha closed headphones that twist and fold more or less flat for storage - which for me means that they fit easily into the carry tray of the "tool box" case that I use for carrying cables and stuff - so I've always got them with me for warming up at gigs.

 

There are certainly much better sounding cans out there - but for the amount of time and the manner in which I use headphones - thise cheap Yamaha pair works great.