Practicing without Amps

#42
Dave Curran said:
I do most of my practicing in front of the computer. That way I have the songs and sheet music right in front of me, and I'm not waking anyone up. I use a presonus audiobox 2 channel interface. Has separate volume knobs for headphone and speaker out. Also a blend knob to balance volume of input to volume of pc output.

PreSonus AudioBox USB

I love the sound of my basses without any coloration. All the flatwound ones are passive, and the rounds have active pre built in. I am waiting till the tech21 fly rig comes out though, am going to use that as my pre.
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I tried the same thing, but I am clipping the PreSonus even with the levels turned all the way down. My bass is only 9V, so I am not sure what I can do to remedy.
 
#43
I have the VOX AmPlug2 for bass and I think that it's a good value,~$40 at GC, for what you get. The amp is hissy and so I turn down the tone and am able to eliminate the hiss, it's internally generated within the amp. This doesn't affect the tone of my bass very much, since the hiss is far above the bass frequencies I'm working with. I usually use the AudioTechnica ATH-M50X to monitor the bass through this amp. The ATH M-40 would be cheaper but probably a very good choice. There is an aux input jack which is nice for things like an electronic metronome.
 
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#44
- Vox Amplug for Bass - about $40
- Mini plug to Mini plug cable - about $5
- Earbuds - you already own them
Result - Priceless

Plug into your laptop and you're ready to go!

Vox%20Headphone%20Amp_zps2hgbw3io.gif
 
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#47
vegasl said:
What is your setup then?
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Mac Pro using iTunes (or youtube, or whatever) --> Mackie CR4. Sits on my dining room table. I sit at a chair playing my bass unplugged. I filled the CR4 ports with paper towels to firm up the bass. Keeping the volume minimal, I can clearly hear the bass parts along with my bass. If you can hone your chops unplugged, you will do fine when plugged into any situation.
 
#48
7bridges said:
Mac Pro using iTunes (or youtube, or whatever) --> Mackie CR4. Sits on my dining room table. I sit at a chair playing my bass unplugged. I filled the CR4 ports with paper towels to firm up the bass. Keeping the volume minimal, I can clearly hear the bass parts along with my bass. If you can hone your chops unplugged, you will do fine when plugged into any situation.
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I should add: I am also a lead or back up vocalist and this setup lets me hear myself sing along. Headphones or earplugs won't.
 
#50
vegasl said:
Are you suggesting that I use both? If not, wouldn't the tone from the Zoom be far better than the Behringer mixer?
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What does better mean in this context? It very much depends on what you're looking for.

I like the Zoom, but it's not pass through at all, so your tone is affected in all situations, specifically including silent practice. However, it takes AA batteries, or USB power, or an adapter, AND here is TONS of control over the output. (I even use it as a preamp for DB, even though it traditionally uses very transparent pre-amps. My amped DB tone is notably different than my acoustic one, but it's not unpleasant and doesn't cost a zillion dollars There is a thread on the other side extolling the virtue of a pickup/mic/pre combo that costs about $1000.)

I don't know about that mixer specifically; likely much less color. It's also much, much less adjustable and I guess needs a wall wart?

There are obviously people of both camps on TB.
 
#51
vegasl said:
Are you suggesting that I use both? If not, wouldn't the tone from the Zoom be far better than the Behringer mixer?
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Yes I'm suggesting both. You can use the B1on by itself especially if you're concerned about portability. My practice setup stays in one spot, and I like the extra options a mixer gives me. Namely the ability to adjust levels without needing to go through sub menus first.
 
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