Bass Practice Amp

redvette · Post by **redvette** » Sat May 07, 2005 4:37 am

I just put together a little system for private practice that might be of interest.

After some net research, I bought a ZOOM 506II effects box, which doubles as a headphone amp. It runs on 4 AA batteries and has a built in tuner. It is about 5" X 6" X 1.5" in size. In the tuner position, all effects are bypassed. The output is stereo, so all common headsets are immediately useable.

I stick the box in a little belt pack, plug in the headset and the bass and can wander around the house or out on the patio practicing without bothering anyone.

The sound in the tuner (bypass) position seems to be about the same as I get from my amp/cab and it sure is lighter to carry!

For travel, I have a little Kramer headless bass with a hard case that is about as big a a trumpet case. The box and the headset fit neatly into this case with the bass, so I have an instant practice facility wherever I go.

dean712 · Post by **dean712** » Sat May 07, 2005 7:53 am

That's a good idea, Richard.

I'm on the road for my day job quite a bit; I ought to try something like that. I'm going to have to try out my Bass POD that way. Nice idea, thanks!

lucky · Post by **lucky** » Thu Jun 09, 2005 4:52 am

The korg ampworks bass amp simulator is very good as a practice amp/headphone amp.My bass is a 92' 4003 and i can get a good sound from the korg unit when i can't be bothered to use my ashdown 180 combo.

shinynewtoy · Post by **shinynewtoy** » Thu Jun 09, 2005 5:04 am

Dean,

I use my POD with headphones often. Great for not bothering people with my playing and phenomenal for tuning out the wife!

Sidenote... she must not see this post or my Ric spending account will go away really fast!

edski · Post by **edski** » Thu Jun 09, 2005 5:08 am

Sidenote... she must not see this post or my Ric spending account will go away really fast!

LOL!

shinynewtoy · Post by **shinynewtoy** » Thu Jun 09, 2005 5:09 am

The absolute truth can be expensive...

(deflects imaginary slap)

rickaddict · Post by **rickaddict** » Thu Jun 09, 2005 5:33 am

Note to self: Save this thread and email it to Bob's wife next time he's bidding on something I want on ebay.

shinynewtoy · Post by **shinynewtoy** » Thu Jun 09, 2005 8:44 am

note to self... brush up on voodoo..

jnbass · Post by **jnbass** » Thu Jun 09, 2005 9:09 am

"It's the powder I'm after..."

Bill Pullman; Serpent and the RAinbow

jps · Post by **jps** » Thu Jun 09, 2005 3:37 pm

A Raven Labs PHA-1 makes a great portable practice amp.

rictified · Post by **rictified** » Thu Jun 09, 2005 7:37 pm

1959 Ampeg Bassamp 835. Hey I'm modern, I'm right up there with you guys.

dean712 · Post by **dean712** » Thu Jun 09, 2005 8:03 pm

Bob - since that post, I have indeed used the BassPODxt several times while on the road. It is amazingly good at making the bass I'm playing sound bigger than life in headphones.

If I could just figure out a way to mix in a CD signal with the BassPODxt bassline, in my headphones... I could use it to silently rehearse songs from our set list, as well as try out sounds and basslines for original ideas we've burned to CD. Any ideas on how to pull this off??

jps · Post by **jps** » Fri Jun 10, 2005 11:54 am

Mixing CDs with your bass signal is exactly what the PHA-1 excels at, besides making a great recording preamp.

shinynewtoy · Post by **shinynewtoy** » Fri Jun 10, 2005 12:22 pm

I haven't tried that one with headphones yet. When I want to work on a bassline for something, I just plug into the board and mix the signal going into the computer. (Gadgets are cool.) But as for a cd... I'm stumped!

My wife's Korg Toneworks has a CD in... Line 6 missed the boat on that one.

jmh · Post by **jmh** » Fri Jun 10, 2005 12:31 pm

"If I could just figure out a way to mix in a CD signal with the BassPODxt bassline, in my headphones... I could use it to silently rehearse songs from our set list, as well as try out sounds and basslines for original ideas we've burned to CD. Any ideas on how to pull this off??"

Any mixer would do this. Bass goes into one input, the CD player in another, plug in your headphones, and you're all set. Behringer makes some very inexpensive mixers.