Stop Buying Gear, Practice More!

[NJE]

Bit of a dilemma at the moment, I need to stop obsessing over new gear and focus on practicing, better technique and learning songs for the band. The problem is I need some new gear to practice with and I have started obsessing and GAS-ing.

[b]The issue:[/b] I leave my big EBS 4x10 at the studio as it is a pain to move in a polo, and the singer and I lift share so bring it home is not an option. I bring my markBass head and cables home after practice but I dont have another practice amp or cab at home so effectively have nothing to practice with apart from playing unplugged which isnt great.

[b]Possible Solutions: [/b]
1. Get a practice amp - I absolutely love the EBS session 60 and havent played a better one, but it cost £220
2. Get a headphone practice amp - EBS Microbass is very cool and has some extra features I could use, as I find the DI on my MarkBass very limited. Again though it costs well over £200
3. Use the money I would spend on a practice amp or MicroBass and buy a completely new head with line in and headphone out (and better DI) such as TC RH450 or Genz Benz etc
4. Buy a cheap cab to play through at home and use my MarkBass head but then still have no option for silent practice?

What would you all do? I cant make my bloomin mind up....

[mikegatward]

I use a line 6 practice amp

It's great. i can use the headphone output if need be and it also has a 3.5mm jack input so you can play along to your ipod or whatever.

not the loudest amp in the world but serves a purpose

[RussFM]

Got an iPhone? [url="http://www.peavey.com/products/software/ampkitlink/"]http://www.peavey.com/products/software/ampkitlink/[/url]

Got a PC? [url="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Behringer-UCG102-USB-Guitar-Link/dp/B000PAPO9W"]http://www.amazon.co.uk/Behringer-UCG102-U...k/dp/B000PAPO9W[/url]

Got neither? [url="http://www.soundslive.co.uk/product~name~Korg-Pandora-Mini-Black~ID~14913.asp"]http://www.soundslive.co.uk/product~name~K...ck~ID~14913.asp[/url]

Add these: [url="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sennheiser-HD201-Closed-Back-Headphones/dp/B0007XJSQC/ref=sr_1_2?s=musical-instruments&ie=UTF8&qid=1313420077&sr=1-2"]http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sennheiser-HD201-C...0077&sr=1-2[/url]

Sorted!

[waynepunkdude]

Acoustic bass or an Ashdown Perfect 10.

[ThomBassmonkey]

Find the cheapest, smallest cab you can on here and get it for home use.

For practicing at home it doesn't have to be good, it has to be functional and I think a lot of us forget that.

[risingson]

I had the same issue, my Eden rig isn't practical for practicing. My solution was to buy the Korg P4XD, it's got an aux in for practicing along to songs and all you need is a pair of headphones. It's brilliant, has loads of emulation possibilities, loops, is cheap, practical and easy to use. Easier than having a practice amp and cheaper than the options you're considering already if you're not too sure what to do.

[NJE]

[quote name='RussFM' post='1340805' date='Aug 15 2011, 03:56 PM']Got an iPhone? [url="http://www.peavey.com/products/software/ampkitlink/"]http://www.peavey.com/products/software/ampkitlink/[/url]

Got a PC? [url="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Behringer-UCG102-USB-Guitar-Link/dp/B000PAPO9W"]http://www.amazon.co.uk/Behringer-UCG102-U...k/dp/B000PAPO9W[/url]

Got neither? [url="http://www.soundslive.co.uk/product~name~Korg-Pandora-Mini-Black~ID~14913.asp"]http://www.soundslive.co.uk/product~name~K...ck~ID~14913.asp[/url]

Add these: [url="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sennheiser-HD201-Closed-Back-Headphones/dp/B0007XJSQC/ref=sr_1_2?s=musical-instruments&ie=UTF8&qid=1313420077&sr=1-2"]http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sennheiser-HD201-C...0077&sr=1-2[/url]

Sorted![/quote]

Dont have an iphone (yet) but the Pandora looks wicked, didnt even know there was a new one and not too pricey which is perfect. Thanks for pointing that one out, real option there.


[quote name='waynepunkdude' post='1340806' date='Aug 15 2011, 03:56 PM']Acoustic bass or an Ashdown Perfect 10.[/quote]

Would love an acoustic bass but its getting into a lot of cash even for a cheap one and would like to use the Stingray to practice with. Ashdown is an option as it has headphone setc, but if I went down the practice amp route I would want it to make a reasonably good sound through the speaker and it does look a bit small for a Stingray 5. Might be suprised though so will look out for one to try as its not too expensive.

[quote name='ThomBassmonkey' post='1340807' date='Aug 15 2011, 03:56 PM']Find the cheapest, smallest cab you can on here and get it for home use.
For practicing at home it doesn't have to be good, it has to be functional and I think a lot of us forget that.[/quote]

i like this option as I may have another smaller project coming up so another cab may be helpful. I still dont have the silent practice option with this though.

Cheers so far guys, plenty to think about.

[waynepunkdude]

[quote name='NJE' post='1340831' date='Aug 15 2011, 04:18 PM']Would love an acoustic bass but its getting into a lot of cash even for a cheap one and would like to use the Stingray to practice with. Ashdown is an option as it has headphone setc, but if I went down the practice amp route I would want it to make a reasonably good sound through the speaker and it does look a bit small for a Stingray 5. Might be suprised though so will look out for one to try as its not too expensive.[/quote]

I had the mini rig version which took a passive 5 fine but an active may push it a bit.

[clarkpegasus4001]

I have a Line 6 Pod UX2 which cost about £130. I use this through a laptop for recording purposes (using Cubase), but it is cool to use for silent practice with headphones. I can put on a cd on the laptop and play along if I wish in silence. The pc is set up so that the it uses the Pod's in-built sound card (so headphones only). This has another advantage in that if you come up with an idea, you can record it, burn it to disc and play it to your band mates. Perhaps this might be a solution?
If it's just an amp you want to use at home perhaps a Roland Cube?

Edited August 15, 2011 by clarkpegasus4001