Practise Solutions?

[steviebee74]

Hi,


[font="Calibri"][size="3"][color="#000000"]Not sure if this has ever been covered before but can anyone recommend their best methods of practise at home (specifically tackling noise related issues in the house)?[/color][/size][/font]

[font="Calibri"][size="3"][color="#000000"]My practise area/spare room is directly above my 13 month old son’s room and when he’s in bed, even the quietest amount of racket from my “smaller” (80w/15” Driver) amp is too much for him. [/color][/size][/font]

[font="Calibri"][size="3"][color="#000000"]What I’m looking for really is recommendations for quality sounding practise amps that I can use either upstairs or downstairs (we live in a three storey house) without disturbing him/the wife or the neighbours but still sound nice and warm etc. I don’t mind spending a reasonable amount of money as I don’t want anything sounding like the proverbial “wasp in a biscuit tin” but I don’t want to spend mega bucks either.[/color][/size][/font] [color="#000000"]The sound needs to be reasonably nice and the package needs to be fairly portable to get up and down two staircases easily enough![/color]

[font="Calibri"][size="3"][color="#000000"]I tend to practise by playing along with other peoples’ music on the stereo or the odd Scott Devine tutorial. [/color][/size][/font]

[font="Calibri"][size="3"][color="#000000"]I’m not keen on headphones as it’s virtually impossible to balance the two sound sources effectively. [/color][/size][/font]

[font="Calibri"][size="3"][color="#000000"]Any help gratefully received. Thanks in advance![/color][/size][/font]

[font="Calibri"][size="3"][color="#000000"]Cheers,[/color][/size][/font]

[font="Calibri"][size="3"][color="#000000"]Steve [/color][/size][/font]

[Marc S]

I use an Ashton BSK 158
It's a battery powered buskers amp
It's small & lightweight, easily carried with 1 hand

It is 15W, via an 8" speaker - hence the "158" name tag
The bass is quite controllable - you can get it to sound quite loud & deep (for its size etc)
But when you turn the bass down a tad, you can still hear the bass OK
But it doesn't carry through the house as many bass amps seem to

I tend to plug my bass into that, and put headphones on my MP3 player, to jam along to music
other than that, I'd suggest a decent pair of headphones
I know you said you're not keen, but a good pair can help
There are small bass amps out there (like the Marshall MB30)
Which have an output for headphones, and jack inputs for MP3 players....

EDIT: The ashton busker amp was about 150 quid
and yes, it will handle bass...
It was designed for guitar or keyboard
and has an additional mic input too - useful bit of kit IMO

Edited March 3, 2015 by Marc S

[Roland Rock]

I seem to be the only one on Basschat who practices unplugged :-(

[linear]

I have a 10W solid-state practice amp with 5" drivers, it's up off the floor, I roll the bass off, have the volume low, but you can still hear it on the ground floor, and that's with me up on the 3rd. Bass travels, unfortunately.

So, most of the time, I use a Zoom B3 + decent-ish headphones, hooked up to a laptop. It lets me play along with MP3s, CDs, YouTube etc, and also functions as a tuner, metronome, drum machine, looper, and it has some effects on there too I can't say I've ever had any problems balancing volumes - I keep the bass volume constant, and simply roll the volume knob up and down on the laptop as needed.

[chris_b]

Practice unplugged (I do that if I have to).

Get an acoustic bass.

Move your amp off the floor. Put it on foam or other insulation material.

A 15" combo is a big lump to be playing at home. I'd go for 8" - 10" max.

Get a headphone amp and sort out what ever you don't like about the one's you've tried.

.... and finally, practice in a different room.

Edited March 3, 2015 by chris_b

[Muppet]

I use a Tascam MP-BT1. the most useful bit of practise kit I own. Think it has been superseded by a newer model though now.

Steve

[obbm]

[quote name='steviebee74' timestamp='1425384436' post='2706691']

[font=Calibri][size=3][color=#000000]I’m not keen on headphones as it’s virtually impossible to balance the two sound sources effectively. [/color][/size][/font]
[font=Calibri][size=3][color=#000000] [/color][/size][/font]
[/quote]

Small Soundcraft mixer, bass into one channel, PC or MP3 player into a stereo channel and a pair of headphones. Been doing this for years. Loudest thing is the tapping of my foot so I have to put it on a thick cushion to keep Mrs obbm happy.

[Graham]

I use a Behringer Vamp (Line 6 POD copy) and a decent set of studio headphones for home practice and it's great.

The Behringer has an aux-in for plugging in a phone/tablet etc for Youtube or Spotify and a built in tuner. I don't really use effects, so one decent amp sim (I like the Gallien Kruger simulation) and I'm away - nice little one box solution.

[Marc S]

[quote name='chris_b' timestamp='1425386158' post='2706722']


Get an acoustic bass....

Move your amp off the floor. Put it on foam or other insulation material.

[/quote]

I meant to add this suggestion earlier too...
I have an Ibanez acoustic bass, and it's a fab bass anyway
Sometimes, depending on which bass I feel like playing, I use this at home
The sound from this shouldn't carry too much either

[Bassman Steve]

[quote name='Roland Rock' timestamp='1425385655' post='2706709']
I seem to be the only one on Basschat who practices unplugged :-(
[/quote]

I do too, never have practised at home with any kind of amp.

[Marc S]

[quote name='Bassman Steve' timestamp='1425390230' post='2706785']
I do too, never have practised at home with any kind of amp.
[/quote]

There are times when I've done this too - as I'm sure many of us have
But this depends on how resonant your bass is,
how loud the music is that you're jamming along to,
and how hard / heavy you play....

I've been along to some bass lessons recently, to sharpen up my techniques etc
My tutor (the superb Jon Caulfield) has been trying to get me to lighten up on my right hand, to get more control....
I have to say, this does seem to be helping, and I think I'd struggle to hear my bass when playing along to music on headphones etc

[Lozz196]

A Fender Rumble 15 or an Ampeg BA108 will go quiet - I`ve both and they can be turned down to much less than TV volume. If raised off of the floor even better. Both have good sounds as well, the Rumble being my fave.

[zero9]

Phil Jones BigHead. You can always stick it through your computer speakers if you want to practice unplugged, and you can record directly to a DAW.

[Dad3353]

They don't come much more portable than the Vox Amplug or similar. An input for MP3 player or such; mixing the volume level for balance there should be no more hassle than for any sort of headphone listening. Battery operation (I use rechargeables; they last for many hours...), you'd be able to practise [i]whilst [/i]going up and down stairs, if you so wished..! Recommended as a lightweight, low cost, decent quality solution. The money saved on an amp could be put towards a more suitable headset, and there'd still be some change left over.
Just my tuppence-worth.

Edited March 3, 2015 by Dad3353

[Ed_S]

Markbass Micromark 801 is what I use at home when I'm not coming through headphones or studio monitors. Very nice sounding little combo, perfectly capable of playing a small acoustic 'coffee shop' style gig and they look to be a fair bit cheaper these days than when I bought mine.

[steviebee74]

[font="Calibri"][size="3"][color="#000000"]Thanks everyone for your suggestions! [/color][/size][/font]
[font="Calibri"][size="3"][color="#000000"]Having read through them, I think Graham’s Behringer V Amp & quality headphones suggestion might be the route to go down as that way, it’s total silence and Mrs B won’t complain at all! Fortunately, there’s a very good PA place round the corner from where I live so will try and pick up some good headphones on the way back after work tonight. [/color][/size][/font]
[font="Calibri"][size="3"][color="#000000"]I really don’t know what we ever did before online communities! [/color][/size][/font]

[Matt P]

[quote name='obbm' timestamp='1425389037' post='2706762']
Small Soundcraft mixer, bass into one channel, PC or MP3 player into a stereo channel and a pair of headphones. Been doing this for years. Loudest thing is the tapping of my foot so I have to put it on a thick cushion to keep Mrs obbm happy.
[/quote]

this is almost exactly the setup i use, except that i could only afford a little behringer mixer, i've got it setup as a recording station as well, with a cheap behringer usb to phono box, then my monitor speakers connected to the main outputs, i have my bass into channel one, then 2/3 are a stereo pair for my tablet/cd/whatever i'm playing along to, and my metronome is plugged into 4/5. very easy to get it all balanced and i tend to pan the bass to one side and the music to the other so i can get better seperation.

Matt

[RAY AGAINST THE MACHINE]

I'm thinking something slightly off the wall here . Have you got a loft? If so, I think ceiling speakers are the way to go. That is, if you can practice at the top room of the house. If you do consider this, do not plug your bass amp into them directly. You would need to use an interface ,which goes to your computer. The computer would have to go into your hifi . And guess what- the amp from your hifi is connected to your ceiling speakers.
They don't cost much either, and sound good . It just means you have to reconfigure your sounds/ computer etc.

[Alec]

[quote name='Roland Rock' timestamp='1425385655' post='2706709']
I seem to be the only one on Basschat who practices unplugged :-(
[/quote]
You're really not alone!

In fact, my main practise instrument is an old Hohner G3T (headless Steinberger clone), which I use to practise both guitar and bass parts on. Admittedly, quite a lot of bass stuff has to be done on the real thing - but plenty of "theory" practice is just fine on a six string.

A tiny minority will require an amped bass to work on a particular sound, but it really isn't that much.

I just don't get all those people who *have* to practice at gig levels...

[RAY AGAINST THE MACHINE]

I occasionally practice unplugged, on my washburn status! 10 mins turns into half hour ...

[TheGreek]

This:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Jaxville-GP-1000-PNK-Pocket-Amplifier-Headphones/dp/B00JKKIJKE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1425583169&sr=8-1&keywords=pocket+amp+gp1000

A solution to your problem for less than a tenner

[Jack]

I, too, use a mixer. A soundcraft compact to be exact.

Bass in Ch1. PC in Ch2 (mp3s, youtube etc) ->Mixer -> Headphones out to listen and pc out to record.

Edited March 14, 2015 by Jack

[pqs]

I practice at home on my iPad using Amplitude and headphones portable and quiet.

[Graham]

[quote name='steviebee74' timestamp='1425471947' post='2707636']
[font="Calibri"][size="3"][color="#000000"]Thanks everyone for your suggestions! [/color][/size][/font]
[font="Calibri"][size="3"][color="#000000"]Having read through them, I think Graham’s Behringer V Amp & quality headphones suggestion might be the route to go down as that way, it’s total silence and Mrs B won’t complain at all! Fortunately, there’s a very good PA place round the corner from where I live so will try and pick up some good headphones on the way back after work tonight. [/color][/size][/font]
[font="Calibri"][size="3"][color="#000000"]I really don’t know what we ever did before online communities! [/color][/size][/font]
[/quote]

Cool, let us know how you get on

[ras52]

I've practise unplugged a lot, and recently decided I'd to find out what some of the knobs on the bass do I generally find headphones uncomfortable, but was pleasantly surprised by what I heard when I plugged my iPhone earphones into one of these:



http://uk.boss.info/products/tu-88/