hamfist Posted August 9, 2013 Share Posted August 9, 2013 (edited) Right, its come to the point where I am simply getting frustrated. I love playing through my amp/cabs at home, but feel that the time available to me to do so is so limited. I live in a semi-detached and my direct neighbours are understandably not wanting bass frequencies rolling through their house all the time. I know it's an area of contention between us and I do not want to aggravate anything with these people. They are friends and I would like to keep it that way so comments on the line of "turn it up" and "rock on" are not really relevant here. So .... playing with my amp/cabs is simply a "nicer" experience. The fullness of tone I get is unmatched by any silent system I have used so far. I really want to upgrade my whole silent practicing system to give me more of that "nicer" playing experience that I get from playing out loud. Currently my silent system is to play my bass through my pedalboard, then straight into a Behringer mixer and into my computer's soundcard. This gives me the ability to monitor myself directly through headphones (currently Sony MDR-V55) and also to play along to songs played from the computer. It's potentially a decent amp system for my pedalboard as, for out loud playing at home and rehearsals, I use a powered EV PA wedge, so in theory both my out loud and silent home systems are FRFR and my pedalboard is set up to sound great through any FRFR system. I'm pretty sure the main weak link in my chain is the headphones, although I have tried a number of half decent phones, Sony, Sennheiser and Audio-Technica, in the £50-£100 range and have never really found it a hugely pleasant experience, but simply a necessary one, to be able to practice silently. My current h'phones are new and cannot be criticised for a lack of bottom end, but I am still not finding them a pleasant experience to use. So my thoughts wander to in-ear-systems. In particular the Shure SE215's (as my budget is not immense). I have never tried in-ears and do worry slightly about the isolation from the ambient noises in my house, as I still want to be able to hear the doorbell/phone etc when I'm playing. I guess if it comes down to it, I could set up an ambient mic to amplify house noise into the in-ears to enable me to hear such things. Could anyone try and describe the difference in experience of using in-ears to headphones. Is there one ? Or conversely, is it just that I am being a bit of a miser on my budget and that I simply won't get what I'm looking for for under a £100. Will spending £2-300 on a pair of headphones really make all that much difference ? BTW, they would need to be circumaural as I don't tolerate pressure on my ears well. I am loathe to try out expensive phones at a shop as I know how deceptive it can be to try something in a shop and then try and translate that into the actual listening experience at home or at a gig, or whatever. Frequently it is not comparable at all. So I feel a bit stuck at the moment. BC, can you please help me out, just with your thoughts and ideas to hopefully motivate me and to decide upon a decent next step. Thanks. Edited August 9, 2013 by hamfist Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Evil Undead Posted August 9, 2013 Share Posted August 9, 2013 I'm pretty much in exactly the same position - playing through my amp is just basically a more pleasurable experience for me and encourages me to play more. But, living in a top floor flat, I can't do that at all as there's always someone else home in the building. I either use my amp but with headphones, or I play through amplitube on my ipad. But, being totally honest, I don't really enjoy either as much as using my amp and cabs. Interested to hear input from others. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andydye Posted August 9, 2013 Share Posted August 9, 2013 I have a pair of Sennheiser HD280 closed back headphones and they do sound pretty good, I really fancy a pair of the PJB headphones designed for bass though... I only ever use my sfx micro-h at home as it sounds great and can blend mp3 input into my bass sound for me to play along to Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hamfist Posted August 9, 2013 Author Share Posted August 9, 2013 [quote name='andydye' timestamp='1376049482' post='2169003'] I have a pair of Sennheiser HD280 closed back headphones and they do sound pretty good, I really fancy a pair of the PJB headphones designed for bass though... I only ever use my sfx micro-h at home as it sounds great and can blend mp3 input into my bass sound for me to play along to [/quote] It would be good to try out those Sennheisers. They are above the price range I have ever used before. I guess it might be of some use simply to go into a hi-fi shop and do some listening tests with some quality phones with a track I know well. Andy I would be interested also in how much difference your little headphone amp makes. The only issue I can think of is the lack of EQ which I do use on my Behringer mixer (probably only needed as the behringer's pre-amps are so non-transparent). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andydye Posted August 9, 2013 Share Posted August 9, 2013 (edited) [quote name='hamfist' timestamp='1376058495' post='2169160'] It would be good to try out those Sennheisers. They are above the price range I have ever used before. I guess it might be of some use simply to go into a hi-fi shop and do some listening tests with some quality phones with a track I know well. Andy I would be interested also in how much difference your little headphone amp makes. The only issue I can think of is the lack of EQ which I do use on my Behringer mixer (probably only needed as the behringer's pre-amps are so non-transparent). [/quote] I can heartily recommend decent headphones as why buy a magnificent bass only to practice through 'less than great' headphones? It'll only ever sound cr*ppy won't it? I had a behringer BDI for a while and it sounded paper-thin by comparison, also had almost no volume output, I was used to a PJB Bass Buddy at this point, the sfx is as loud as I want it to be, I've never had it above half, and it sounds precisely like the bass, it's an excellent reproduction of the tone of the instrument, it's not cheap but it is chuffin good matey! Edited August 9, 2013 by andydye Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hamfist Posted August 9, 2013 Author Share Posted August 9, 2013 Looks like I'll have to do some more research. Those Sennheiser HD280's get some pretty excellent reviews I must say. And I do see your point, Andy, about why spend all this money on basses and other kit and then listen through cheap headphones when , to be honest, the majority of my playing time is through headphones. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andydye Posted August 9, 2013 Share Posted August 9, 2013 [quote name='hamfist' timestamp='1376081777' post='2169640'] Looks like I'll have to do some more research. Those Sennheiser HD280's get some pretty excellent reviews I must say. And I do see your point, Andy, about why spend all this money on basses and other kit and then listen through cheap headphones when , to be honest, the majority of my playing time is through headphones. [/quote] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hamfist Posted August 10, 2013 Author Share Posted August 10, 2013 No messing .... tried out a load of good headphones today. It amazes me how different they all sound. There is way, way more difference between different high quality headphones than between powered PA cabs for example. Anyway, the long and the short of it is that I went home with a pair of Grado SR125. These impressed me hugely sonically, and are very light and comfortable to wear. They are open backed so leak a fair bit of sound out, but that is no problem for me at all. For my first try-outs at home I am very happy so far. I don't find I actually need to EQ on my mixer at all with these. I love their flat sound. Plenty of bottom end , but not overly so. Great detail and nicely present yet not harsh treble. Very happy so far. I'm hoping it will stay that way ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andydye Posted August 10, 2013 Share Posted August 10, 2013 Hoorah matey! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RAY AGAINST THE MACHINE Posted August 10, 2013 Share Posted August 10, 2013 another way to play without headphones: use an interface on your computer and play through studio monitors. I do that , a lot of the time Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bolo Posted August 19, 2013 Share Posted August 19, 2013 (edited) Decent headphones do help, the sennheiser HD25-1 and beyerdynamic dt770 pro 80 ohms are recommended for bass practice also. Powered studio monitors are great at home! I bought myself a pair of Argons for Christmas last year and they perform well above expectation. Edit: speling nod gud Edited August 20, 2013 by Bolo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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