Punkavenger Posted July 28, 2010 Posted July 28, 2010 I'm trying to practice playing my bass, listening through headphones, housemates you know. Ive got a sansamp DI programmable and a line 6 low down with a headphone jack. A decent set of Koss headphones. I can get the Line 6 to sound pretty good with the sansamp but through the headphones it sounds like crap. Not even good enough to practice through. A musician friend of mine said to use just the sansamp directly which does work somewhat but really doesnt have enough volume to be useful.. Do I need some sort of preamp to give me the volume or .....??? Headphone preamp or does Tech 21 make something that goes along with the sansamp to make it functional in these situations? I would like good sound quality and maybe some backing rhythm/metronome to play along to although not completely necessary The other option would be some sort of audio interface to hook up to my new macbook pro. I do have a firewire port which I hear is better than a USB connection. I dont have much money so around $100 or less would be great Edify me o great ones! Thanks!
specialk Posted July 28, 2010 Posted July 28, 2010 On JohnnyB's recommendation, I got my brother a Nuforce Icon mobile headphone amp for his laptop. He likes it a lot. He's using it for playing bass through his laptop. Here:http://www.nuforce.com/hp/products/Iconmobile/index.php$79 here:http://www.amazon.com/NuForce-Icon-Mobile-...7321&sr=8-1The original thread is here:http://www.hamerfanclub.com/forums/index.p...l=headphone+ampBet of luck to ya!
Feynman Posted July 28, 2010 Posted July 28, 2010 I still like the Korg Pandora devices. A handful of cool rhythms to practice alongside, short phrase trainer, decent effects, tuner, metronome, all that jazz... Used ones can be had all day long for $100. They are just so handy! Easy to travel with, run on batteries, aux-in for patching in your ipod or whatnot, pass-through to an amp if you care to, etc... nice little boxes I think. If I'm way off base, sorry - I don't know much... PX4B: I've never used the bass one, but I've had a few of the guitar ones which made me happy. EDIT - of course, you may not need to spend any money at all once someone else chimes in with advice on getting good results from your current equipment.
Jimbilly Posted July 28, 2010 Posted July 28, 2010 Yeah, the sansamps don't have enough power to drive headphones, I think I tried mine once too. You'd probably be happy with a small PA type mixer, I think a lot of those can be found for $50-$100, they're handy for a lot of uses, mics, misc gear testing too. A decent one works great for a headphone amp all by itself. Probably look at Yamaha first. The other/added inputs would make it easy to mix in other sources (CD etc).I've got a 1st generation Korg Pandora I still use for bass headphone practice. Late at night when I get some free time I plug the headphone out from my computer into the 'thru' of the Korg, usually listening to Pandora radio through it. 2 rechargable AAs last a long time. I'm happy enough with it for practice to not be motivated to buy anything newer. Oh, a Roland MicroCube should also work great as a bass headphone amp (I'll go try mine really quick...) Yes, the MicroCube works great for bass with headphones, I'd bet the sansamp would only improve the tone, since the Roland only has a 'tone' control. MicroCubes run a long time on their six AAs, my kids LOVE the microcube because I can plug in a mic and they can hear themselves sing/yell etc. You should be able to fine a mint used MicroCube for $50-$80 if that's the route you choose.
Ethan Posted July 28, 2010 Posted July 28, 2010 Do you not like the amp with headphones, or the amp/sansamp combo with headphones? I could see how all the amp/cabinet/speaker modeling of the two units could make for less than desirable tone...
Punkavenger Posted July 28, 2010 Author Posted July 28, 2010 Do you not like the amp with headphones, or the amp/sansamp combo with headphones? I could see how all the amp/cabinet/speaker modeling of the two units could make for less than desirable tone... I think the headphone jack on the Line six is screwed up somehow ... internal electronics problem methinks I still like the Korg Pandora devices. A handful of cool rhythms to practice alongside, short phrase trainer, decent effects, tuner, metronome, all that jazz... Used ones can be had all day long for $100. They are just so handy! Easy to travel with, run on batteries, aux-in for patching in your ipod or whatnot, pass-through to an amp if you care to, etc... nice little boxes I think. If I'm way off base, sorry - I don't know much... PX4B: I've never used the bass one, but I've had a few of the guitar ones which made me happy. EDIT - of course, you may not need to spend any money at all once someone else chimes in with advice on getting good results from your current equipment. This looks good On JohnnyB's recommendation, I got my brother a Nuforce Icon mobile headphone amp for his laptop. He likes it a lot. He's using it for playing bass through his laptop. Here: http://www.nuforce.com/hp/products/Iconmobile/index.php $79 here: http://www.amazon.com/NuForce-Icon-Mobile-...7321&sr=8-1 The original thread is here: http://www.hamerfanclub.com/forums/index.p...l=headphone+amp Bet of luck to ya! I want one of these too!
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