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Question About Low Volume/Home Setup
- Thread starter BigDrew
- Start date
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- home setup low volume
Small guitar tube amps are also an option. For low volume at home I find these more rewarding than bass solid-state amps. They often have an integrated reverb which is nice when practicing in a dry-sounding room. And they are very cheap.
For me the sweet spot are amps with a 2x6v6 power section, with a power rating of 10 to 20 watts and with a flexible eq section.
For home use and low volume acoustic gigs I currently use a Bogner Duende head, an Egnater Tweaker 15 head and a Laney Cub 10 combo. Of the 3 I prefer the egnater because it has a very nice eq section.
Other options with 2x6v6 are fender superchamp x2, ampeg gvt15, princetons, deluxe reverb and many others.
I use them with bass cabs (Mesa Subway 12 and/or 15) but also with guitar cabs. Some guitar speakers sound great for bass at low volume.
I also have a 200w bass tube head and high wattage SS heads for stage use but at home the low power amps sound much better, at least in my opinion.
For me the sweet spot are amps with a 2x6v6 power section, with a power rating of 10 to 20 watts and with a flexible eq section.
For home use and low volume acoustic gigs I currently use a Bogner Duende head, an Egnater Tweaker 15 head and a Laney Cub 10 combo. Of the 3 I prefer the egnater because it has a very nice eq section.
Other options with 2x6v6 are fender superchamp x2, ampeg gvt15, princetons, deluxe reverb and many others.
I use them with bass cabs (Mesa Subway 12 and/or 15) but also with guitar cabs. Some guitar speakers sound great for bass at low volume.
I also have a 200w bass tube head and high wattage SS heads for stage use but at home the low power amps sound much better, at least in my opinion.
We spend a lot of time looking after my wife’s 98 year old mother , so I set up a little practice nook there. I’m not loud there. At first I picked up a Rumble 15 thinking small and cheap would work , but the tone sucked. I had been using a GK MB150 at home. It’s been about three years now and the rig has evolved. The early version that “worked” for me was a GK MB200 and an Ampeg 210AV. Today I’m using a Darkglass Exponent , the e500 and a Phil Jones C2 cab. The e500 runs software that has two dozen pedals and effects , you program with a phone or tablet. It’s intuitive and easy to create presets. Sometimes I might plug into a Yamaha NE-1 parametric eq to fatten things up. I also use a Phil Jones BigHead headphone amp for silent practice. I can plug in a tablet and run over things on YouTube.
My home practice rig changed too , it’s an Aguilar TH350 into a SL112.
An early version.
Not suitable for gigs or band rehearsal , but a seriously enjoyable little rig to spend time with.
My home practice rig changed too , it’s an Aguilar TH350 into a SL112.
An early version.
Not suitable for gigs or band rehearsal , but a seriously enjoyable little rig to spend time with.
When I take an amp for rehearsal I usually bring this little rig. It’s tiny , but will get fairly loud. For gigs I replace the Barefaced One 10 cab with a Bergantino cab. And keep the Forte amp with the Monique preamp.
For a brief time I did play with a drummer and guitarist in my marina.
Yes I purchased the Phil Jones Double Four a week ago to use at my parents' place where I visit and stay for similar reasons-
As small as it is, my mom told me she could hear it downstairs in their bedroom which is directly beneath my upstairs bedroom and music station, hence the AKG 720 headphones. Nevertheless, since on occasions I may be there for contiguous stretches as long as six weeks, I have considered a more substantial alternative to play out in the barn or whenever they're not sleeping.
Beautiful bass by the way- what make is it?
Almost bought one of those myself recently. Great looking stuff! How do you like the bass response?
The bass response is great- particularly with my Steinberger XL-25 which has massive output- mind you this is with the EQ settings to mid-
I will say this this- it isn't very loud, but the quality of tone is very good. It's like taking the output of a decent standard sized rig and proportionately shrinking it down without losing quality of tone.
It can be powered by a 20 volt battery pack and appropriate DC cable, and played outdoors if you want-
Here are a couple of videos that enticed me to making the purchase-
Being a caregiver with parents can be difficult , it’s not something we had planned. And it’s been about three years now. So I wish you well. Patience and understanding.
The bass was given to me after an old friend passed , it’s an Epiphone Rumblekat , the Allen Woody. I’ve gone over to short scale basses for the most part.
The little C2 cab sounds great when it’s right in front of you , but doesn’t fill the room like most cabs.
I recently upgraded from a Rumble 100. I love the sound of tubes, also wanted something future proof and light enough to one hand it. I ended up getting a GK Fusion 210 combo. 400 watts as is, 800 with an extension cabinet. All tube preamp, very intuitive settings, DI out, etc.
I haven’t gotten to where I’m doing gigs yet, but started going to a jazz jam session in a practice space. They had me plug into a mediocre PA and I could barely hear my low notes. I’m bringing my GK this week.
The amp is very sensitive to small changes in the volume knob, but I run it through pedals that I can adjust more easily. The radial pedal allows me to keep my passive Jaco fretless and my active Stingray balanced so I don’t have to mess with compression and pedal settings when I switch.
I’m surprised the Fender Rumble 40 is t cutting it for home practice.
Are you playing at high volume at home?
I’ve had a lot of the same amps mentioned here and while some have come and gone, the ones I use the most at home are a GK MB150s, a Fender Bassman 25, and a Roland Microcube bass.
The Roland has the worst sound and the best feature set.
The GK has the best sound but lacks an aux in.
For home practice, I was happy with an Swr Wm10, Ampeg B100r, and a Fender Bxr25 as well.
Are you playing at high volume at home?
I’ve had a lot of the same amps mentioned here and while some have come and gone, the ones I use the most at home are a GK MB150s, a Fender Bassman 25, and a Roland Microcube bass.
The Roland has the worst sound and the best feature set.
The GK has the best sound but lacks an aux in.
For home practice, I was happy with an Swr Wm10, Ampeg B100r, and a Fender Bxr25 as well.
For real. I still have my original SWR Workingman's 12 from 1999 that I use as a practice amp sometimes. I even -gasp- still gig with it for very low volume gigs, just to get it out of the house and stretch its legs. MORE than enough for home practice for sure.
I used to have a WM12, S/N 36, that I bought in the ear;y/mis '90s. At one point, I gave the speaker cabinet to a friend to use with his GK MB150s head, and I made a nice headcase for the chassis out of oak. I should have kept that but I ended up selling it on the 'bay when I got my second Walter Woods MI100-8.
I realize this is an old thread, but Im curious about your choice of open backed headphones. I tried a few before setting on the ubiquitous (closed back) Sony MDR7506. I found the lack of room noise attenuation incredibly distracting.
I'm currently using an Aguilar TH500 and a Barefaced One10 for home practice. Using a 500 watt amp doesn't mean you have to run at 500 watts!! IMO the sound of good gear running at low volume beats "practice" amps running at the same volume hands down.