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playing bass through headphones


Farfetched

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Music stores can suppy you with or order for you several options:

Earphones that contain their own amp. Cheapos rune around $40 U.S.

 

A "Rockman" type clip on the belt box that'll give you effects in addition to phones.

 

The Pandora is a bass unit that does that but it's over $100. Check the mail order catalogs for other options.

 

If you have the bread to buy a small practice amp like an SWR Workingman's 10 or a number of others, they have an earphone jack on the back that'll cut out the main speaker.

"When people hear good music, it makes them homesick for something they never had, and never will have."

Edgar Watson Howe

"Don't play what's there. Play what's not there" Miles Davis

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I recommend the Korg Pandora PX4B . It is a multi-effects unit and headphone amp with amp/speaker simulations.

 

The effects are good but I don't go much for that sort of thing. However, the envelope filter is a lot of fun. The amp/speaker models are quite good but I don't see anyone using the PX4B as a preamp for live gigs; maybe for home recording.

 

The built-in drum machine is OK (no cymbals, just hi-hats) and you can chain patterns together. I mostly use the auxillary input to play along with CDs. The phrase trainer can record a CD and slow it down to make it easier to learn riffs. When you slow down past 75%, the sample sounds like it is under water but it is still usable.

 

Since it can use batteries, I can practice almost anywhere. Some people say that it eats batteries, but I haven't had any problems since I don't back light the screen. Bass Player magazine did a review recently and said good things (when don't they?).

Chris Hardin
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Headphone amps are cheap. Look at your local music superstore.

 

However, if you have good stereo headphones, not the cheap things made for walkmans, try plugging them directly into your bass.

 

I have Sennheiser headphones which I have had for years and when I plug them straight into the bass I can hear myself play. It's not loud, but it's ok. If it's an active bass it's a little louder. You'll need a stereo to mono adapter plug or else you'll only hear in one ear.

 

Recently I bought a small Behringer mixer for about $60. This allows me to plug in my bass and a cd player (and a few other things)and hear it all mixed together. I have used it already to plug into the headphone jack on the tv so I can play bass while I watch sports and neither thing forces my wife to leave the room...she can sit there and read quietly while I practice and watch football and basketball games and listen on my headphones.

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Rockman's are quite good you can pick one up from 50-70 USD at most music stores. I use mine quite a bit when the kids are asleep.

RobT

 

Famous Musical Quotes: "I would rather play Chiquita Banana and have my swimming pool than play Bach and starve" - Xavier Cugat

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You can pick up the Zoom BFX-708 multieffects pedal cheap these days on eBay-- it has a decent headphone level output (be warned that the DigiTech BP200 I replaced it with is better in some ways, but not practical for headphone use- darn it!), probably as cheap as one of the little headphone amps. It will not only bring the novelty and useful effects it offers, but it has a drum beat section that can make practice a heckuva lot less boring! Get an AC adaptor so you don't have to burn batteries.

1000 Upright Bass Links, Luthier Directory, Teacher Directory - http://www.gollihurmusic.com/links.cfm

 

[highlight] - Life is too short for bad tone - [/highlight]

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Farfetched,

 

The Zoom 506II pedal makes a pretty good headphone amp, and they're pretty cheap since the newer model came out. But my current silent practice rig is a Bass Pod feeding the sound card of my PC-- that way I can use the CD-ROM or DVD players in the PC and play along, or record myself if I want. With a looping program like SlowGold, it makes a pretty versatile practice rig.

 

EDIT: I should have completed the thought and said that I plug the headphones into the sound card as well-- your average computer speakers don't sound good with bass.

 

Bruiser

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IMHO,

If you need only headphone amp with cheap prices, you can try it by yourself which one most suitable in local musicstore.

 

If you need headphone amp with effects box, try Korg Pandora PX3-B or PX4-B. Or something else like Zoom BFX-708 or other effect pedal usually has headphone output.

 

If you need headphone amp with a better/best preamp for your bass, you can try Raven-Labs PHA-1.

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