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yogalembic
Intermediate Member
Username: yogalembic

Post Number: 148
Registered: 5-2012
Posted on Wednesday, December 26, 2012 - 5:06 pm:   Edit Post

Always practice with "live" amp and laptop through stereo.
Wish to go "silent" via headphones.

Who uses what (with good results)? Have great headphones already.

Thanks....

Jay
lembic76450
Advanced Member
Username: lembic76450

Post Number: 322
Registered: 5-2002
Posted on Wednesday, December 26, 2012 - 6:28 pm:   Edit Post

I just use my Genz Benz 9.0. It is perfect for what you are looking for.
I can even sit on the couch while my wife watches TV.
I have even been looking for a 3.0 model that I can leave set up all the time.
rustyg61
Senior Member
Username: rustyg61

Post Number: 736
Registered: 2-2011
Posted on Wednesday, December 26, 2012 - 7:29 pm:   Edit Post

I use headphones a lot when I'm learning songs. It helps me to hear all the parts. I also use them after my wife goes to bed. I have Pro Tools on my PC so I play through the studio monitors all the time, I never set my amp up. I have a Presonus Audiobox USB interface, so I plug my headphones into that & I'm good to go. I can even play through it without the PC turned on. The Presonus stays powered up all the time. I have Sennheiser HD 280 Pro headphones which do a great job isolating outside noise. http://www.sennheiserusa.com/professional-dj-headphones-HD-280-PRO_004974
bigredbass
Senior Member
Username: bigredbass

Post Number: 1945
Registered: 9-2002
Posted on Wednesday, December 26, 2012 - 11:13 pm:   Edit Post

I use a Mackie 1202/VLZ3 mixer. 3-band EQ in the channels, XDR high-headroom inputs, and a LOUD, 1/4" headphone out. 1202's are everywhere, usually easy to find a clean, used one cheap, hold out for the second or third generation models with the VLZ inputs, worth it.

I use AudioTechnica ATH-D40fs headphones, sort of the de-facto bass player's headphones in Nashville studios, around $75. They feature a hump in the deep-end response, and they don't give me a headache !

Over the years, I've tried LOTS of 'headphone rigs', and like this set-up better than any other, by far. I can run a 'Y' cable from the headphone out to two mixer channels, or to the RCA inputs (like the channels better). One of these days I'll get some Mackie powered monitors and go ampless around the house.

Although I'm begging everyone to kill me quick if I'm ever fool enough to buy any more Eden gear, I kept the little Nemesis NA120 which has a headphone/aux in channel that you can blend with the bass channel which doubles as a headphone rig when you turn the speakers off. Otherwise it's a 2-8"+tweeter 1/2 scale Redhead, and it's really OK if I don't think about it being an Eden product too hard . . . .

Incidentally, I have one of those TASCAM Bass Trainers w/CD and a case, like new that I never use, bought it, didn't like it. Anybody that wants to steal one, PM me.

J o e y
rustyg61
Senior Member
Username: rustyg61

Post Number: 737
Registered: 2-2011
Posted on Wednesday, December 26, 2012 - 11:40 pm:   Edit Post

Hey J o e y, I may regret asking this, but why don't you like Eden gear?
bigredbass
Senior Member
Username: bigredbass

Post Number: 1946
Registered: 9-2002
Posted on Thursday, December 27, 2012 - 4:31 am:   Edit Post

You just had to ask . . . . .

I should have known when no road musicians out of here wold take them on the bus / semi.



So . . . . after a lifetime of cobbling rigs together used, I decided to once-and-for-all buy something brand new. (Bear in mind, this is the time period when Eden was in a boom time, and Nordschow was selling the company)

So I ordererd a new Metro and 115 extension cab from Corner Music, THE store here in town, run by friends of mine. Told 'em, 'when it comes in, call me, I want to open the boxes myself', had told 'em it was my first brand-new purchase in who-knows when.

Fast-forward a few weeks. They call me. I go down there, and JD had both boxes sitting there like Christmas morning. Both boxes as clean as if they'd come from next door. Open it up, both pieces, not a mark on them. Plug the 115 into the Metro, plug the AC in. . . . . the Metro sounded like a transistor radio with almost dead batteries, then it went 'KaBang!'. Never heard anything out of the 115 even before the bang. Plugged a different Eden head into it, nothing. Pulled the grill off and the speaker was frozen. Brand new out of the box. . . .

They obviously called Eden, and got me another setup. It worked out of the box. A week later, the 10's in the Metro sound funny. Pull off the grill, the paper cone had separated from the dust cover about 1/2 the circumference of the cone. Well. Eden DOESN'T warranty drivers. And all I'd done was play at home, no gigs yet. For a week. I take it back, they 'black glue' the paper surround so I DON'T have to shell out $160 for a new 10". Well.

In the five years I owned it, it never sounded right. Changed preamp tubes three times. Pots were always noisy. XLR out terrified good sound men. Internal fan always sounded like the bearings were about to seize, and at times, you could hear it at the bar . . .Could never keep casters under it. I did like the covers, though . . . . After spending $2k for this pile, I recently was tickled to get $500 out of it on CraigsList.

With the musician population here, there are several world-class amp repair only shops. The one that does Eden warranty work (besides my dealer) intimated that these things were putting his kids through college !

The funny thing, all those years I played lots of Peavey as that's all I could afford (while wishing I had some COOL stuff), IT NEVER BROKE DOWN. Not once. I realize it's never cool to admit you like Peavey, but geez I'd like to hang with Hartley some day.

So now, he's (Nordschow) in business as DNA. Lord Help Me, I hope I never run into him at NAMM . . . . As a designer, he did all the orginal SWR cabs for Steve Rabe (as well as others), and man do I wish he'd stayed a designer-for-hire.

J o e y
terryc
Senior Member
Username: terryc

Post Number: 2046
Registered: 11-2004
Posted on Thursday, December 27, 2012 - 6:15 am:   Edit Post

Joey...oh that reads like the rig from hell!
It is very disappointing to aim for your dream gear only to find out that it is a pile of s**t!
What I don't understand is the gear you bought has allegedly been built to high standards and at a high cost to the customer as you hope you are getting excellent gear only to find some stuff built in China is cheaper and does the job better! Sympathies to you over it all!
Peavey...I still have a working TNT115 in garage although looking a little ratty now and I guess the pots could do with some switch cleaner on them but it still works fine.
jet_powers
Senior Member
Username: jet_powers

Post Number: 546
Registered: 2-2003
Posted on Thursday, December 27, 2012 - 6:31 am:   Edit Post

That definitely qualifies as the rig from hell... I too, played Peavey gear for years with no trouble at all. When I finally 'upgraded' to an Ampeg SVT3 within a month I was packing it in its original shipping box and sending it back for a new one. The second one was fine for a few years then started acting up and I had to take a power amp from my PA rig to replace it. I then questioned myself as to why I hadn't done that years before. I just need a proper Alembic preamp for it now...

Speaking of TNT, years ago somebody gave me a well used TNT100. I used it as a practice amp until about two years ago when it finally gave up the ghost. It still serves me as an end table now!

As to the original thread, I really dislike using headphones, but when the need arises, I just run through my Boss ME-20. It's a guitar signal processor but works well enough in those situations when I don't want to annoy those around me.

-JP

(Message edited by jet_powers on December 27, 2012)
hieronymous
Senior Member
Username: hieronymous

Post Number: 1186
Registered: 1-2005
Posted on Thursday, December 27, 2012 - 8:06 am:   Edit Post

I use a Cafe Walter HA-1A headphone amp:

http://www.cafewalter.com/ha1/index.htm

Sounds great with the bass plugged straight in - I remember one user saying he wished he could get his amplified sound to sound like the Cafe Walter. I've been using my F-2B ahead of it for a nice fat sound. It also lets you plug in a mini-headphone jack so you can play along with computer, mp3 player, etc.

Not sure if they are still available, if interested you could contact Bass Northwest:

http://www.bassnw.com/New%20Effects%20Units/cafe_walter_HA1.htm
xlrogue6
Advanced Member
Username: xlrogue6

Post Number: 239
Registered: 8-2002
Posted on Thursday, December 27, 2012 - 9:21 am:   Edit Post

I use a Tascam CD-BT2. Tone is merely adequate, but the pitch transpose, tempo variation, looping and playback bass boost/cut come in really handy for learning parts. Of course all those functions are available as software, but the Tascam puts it all into one relatively cheap,small package.
tubeperson
Advanced Member
Username: tubeperson

Post Number: 400
Registered: 5-2005
Posted on Thursday, December 27, 2012 - 9:38 am:   Edit Post

Just a gentle, but important reminder headphone users. Make sure to get your hearing checked by an audiologist regularly. Long term headphone listening will cause hearing loss, especially since the ear drum gets fatigued, and one has the tendency to turn up the volume when this occurs.

Peavey equipment may very well be "working person's" gear. The factory has always been ahead of its time in the efficient use of energy resources. No shame in using that brand it it gets you your sound, and the quality of engineering helps! For full disclosure and FWIW, I own Phil Jones gear as well, and the various pieces have been reliable to date also.
xlrogue6
Advanced Member
Username: xlrogue6

Post Number: 240
Registered: 8-2002
Posted on Thursday, December 27, 2012 - 12:14 pm:   Edit Post

Older, made in Meridian Peavey stuff is generally pretty good, if unremarkable. Current made in China stuff, not so much. Caveat emptor...
slawie
Senior Member
Username: slawie

Post Number: 453
Registered: 8-2002
Posted on Thursday, December 27, 2012 - 1:06 pm:   Edit Post

I use a TC Electronic RH750 as my gigging amp and practice amp. The amp has a headphone out and MP3/audio in capability.
No need to plug in any speakers so it is silent. Actually by plugging in a set of headphones you disable the output to the speaker.
The headphones are Sennheiser HD280 pro (same ones as Rusty).
The tone out for the headphones is shaped by the amp so that you can drop in the mix and hear yourself.

slawie

(Message edited by slawie on December 27, 2012)
cousinvinnie
Junior
Username: cousinvinnie

Post Number: 48
Registered: 4-2011
Posted on Thursday, December 27, 2012 - 1:52 pm:   Edit Post

I have a Yamaha THR10 that I use for guitar. It also has a great bass setting. The THR has an MP3 input with separate level control and the little speakers can get really low volumes and still sound great. Excellent 1/4" stereo headphone output on the THR as well.
dela217
Senior Member
Username: dela217

Post Number: 1126
Registered: 6-2002
Posted on Thursday, December 27, 2012 - 3:26 pm:   Edit Post

J o e y

I had a very similar problem. I warn folks of Eden all the time now. I got a Traveler WT550 and a 210XST. This replaced my Alembic F2B and QSC power amp with Bag End cabinets that I lost. I had high hopes, as everyone raved about the stuff. The 550 was junk right out of the box. So noisy I could not use it on a gig. I sent it back. After about 6 weeks another one showed up. It was quieter, but still noisy. The direct out on the amp even took out a channel on a mixing board. The sound guy was quite upset.

The cab that got rave reviews I could not get a sound out of at all. This is the one with the supposed extended low frequency. All it would do was fart out at any volume higher than a practice volume. The only way it was audible with no distortion was with all of the bass turned off. What's the point? Yuck. And they still rave over it. I don't get it.

But to keep it in the thread, for headphone practice I just plug a set of Sony earbuds directly into my Series II.

Michael
rustyg61
Senior Member
Username: rustyg61

Post Number: 738
Registered: 2-2011
Posted on Thursday, December 27, 2012 - 4:57 pm:   Edit Post

J o e y, Apparently the QC at Eden has had some inconsistancy. I have an Eden WT 800 with a 115 & 410 cabinet (both Eden) & have never had a bit of trouble out of it. It is by far the best sounding rig I have ever owned & this past weekend I had several people come up to me at my gig & tell me how amazing my bass sounded! Hopefully the fact that mine has worked fine for over a year means that I will avoid the problems you & Michael had since you each had trouble right away.

Rusty
edwin
Senior Member
Username: edwin

Post Number: 1383
Registered: 5-2002
Posted on Thursday, December 27, 2012 - 6:05 pm:   Edit Post

I use a Raven Labs headphone amp or my computer (either built in or with a Metric Halo interface. Great headphone amp and one of the best DIs there is). Headphones these days are Sennheiser HD600 for open and Audio-Technica ATH-M50s for closed.

On the Eden thing, I'm done with that company. My third Navigator broke down (the output went low, I know it's just a couple of JFETs, but I haven't fixed it yet), my WXT500 blew up on the first note of the first gig as did my WT1205. The former was replaced at the store where I got it. The latter was used and has spent the last 14 months at a Denver authorized repair shop. They finally emailed me a couple of weeks ago and told me they were sick of looking at it, so they UPS'ed it to Eden on their dime. Not a cheap prospect. So far, Eden (aka American Music) has ignored phone calls and emails. So, $1k down the drain. Ugh. I never liked the speakers much. I had a pair of the 210XLTs back in the day and went back to Acme pretty quick. These days, I replaced the Navigator with a Grace M103. Fantastic tone and it will never break down. With my F2B ahead of it, it's the best of all worlds.
tomhug
Member
Username: tomhug

Post Number: 93
Registered: 7-2008
Posted on Thursday, December 27, 2012 - 7:59 pm:   Edit Post

I use :
1) iRig + iDevice + free app from GK (PocketGK)
2) Old Pod 2.0 with manual tube preamp setting
3) Tascam US-122 and MacBook

I probably use #1 the most. I will frequently use earbuds inside of over-the-ear headphones to play along with recordings. It works.

Ironically I have an amp that has a great headphone jack. It's almost always upstairs and I am usually practicing downstairs, so I wind up using this humbler solution more frequently.
bigredbass
Senior Member
Username: bigredbass

Post Number: 1947
Registered: 9-2002
Posted on Thursday, December 27, 2012 - 10:36 pm:   Edit Post

Oh Rusty, I don't think their Quality Control is inconsistent at all. It's as high-quality as their 800# Customer Service ! I wish you the best, hope you have continued great service from it, but on the other hand, I wouldn't wish this stuff on a dog.

J o e y
rustyg61
Senior Member
Username: rustyg61

Post Number: 739
Registered: 2-2011
Posted on Thursday, December 27, 2012 - 11:35 pm:   Edit Post

J o e y, I bought my WT 800 used from a kid who never took it out of his bedroom. It was like brand new & I got it for $550, so maybe I got lucky & got an older model that was built before Nordschow sold the company, when they were still building quality equipment. Obviously Eden made some good products at some point or they would not have had the sucess they have had. I would be skeptical to buy anything new from them now, but the rig I have sounds amazing & so far has performed flawlessly. I'm sorry you had such a bad experiance with them & I don't blame you for having such a low opinion of them, but I'm completely happy with my Eden rig.
cozmik_cowboy
Senior Member
Username: cozmik_cowboy

Post Number: 1363
Registered: 10-2006
Posted on Friday, December 28, 2012 - 3:35 pm:   Edit Post

When my son moved to Alaska, he flew; thus his Ampeg Rocket Bass B50-R is still in my study. It has a speaker-cutting headphone jack - which, quite frankly, I think every amp should have.

Peter (who has no experience with Eden, but wouldn't spend your money on Peavy, let alone his own)
rami
Senior Member
Username: rami

Post Number: 999
Registered: 6-2002
Posted on Friday, December 28, 2012 - 5:38 pm:   Edit Post

Hey guys,

On the EDEN subject, I must have been lucky too because my DC210XLT Metro, my 410XLT cab, my WT550 head, and my three 112XLT cabs have all performed perfectly from day one. My Metro and 410 cab are going on 10 years of hardcore flawless performance.
I'm truly shocked to hear about such problems and I can understand the bad aftertaste that would leave. I haven't had so much as a hint of an issue with my gear.

Best regards.
that_sustain
Member
Username: that_sustain

Post Number: 82
Registered: 8-2012
Posted on Friday, December 28, 2012 - 9:14 pm:   Edit Post

I use a 2nd hand Fender Frontman 15R(made in China) with Sony headphones for late night/early morning playing. The headphones cost more than the amp.
room037
Senior Member
Username: room037

Post Number: 471
Registered: 9-2003
Posted on Sunday, December 30, 2012 - 3:31 am:   Edit Post

Hi,

I was looking for such rigs.
We feel the beat not only a sound but vibration.
The most important point is no vibration with headphone.

Finaly I got the answer at last month.
It is Buttkicker system that known as drum monitoring.
This system is low frequency shaker on the throne or platform for standing.

My rig for room practice are Phil Jones Bass Briefcase and Pearl Drum Throne Thumper (Produce by Buttkicker).
These provide low volume with enough vibration of the beat.

Let's try it.
You can get the beat only $250 !

Eiji
artswork99
Moderator
Username: artswork99

Post Number: 1817
Registered: 7-2007
Posted on Sunday, December 30, 2012 - 2:56 pm:   Edit Post

+1 on the buttkicker system. Tried it in Charlotte last year.

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