Still Looking For Simple Way To Practice With Head Phones

Joe Goldmark · From: San Francisco, CA 94131

Hi folks, I posted something similar a few years back and have limped along with a "Pocket Pod" ever since. However, I've never really gotten the hang of that and find it extremely user unfriendly, even after watching the videos.

So, has anyone found anything that is real simple, but works. I need to be able to practice inaudibly, but I want to hear it and with some reverb. I've also tried some guitar devices, and they work fine if I didn't have a volume pedal, because they need the full output from the instrument to be effective.

I'm willing to spend a little money, but not willing to do anything complicated...

Thanks, Joe

Doug Taylor · From: Shelbyville, Kentucky, USA

Joe, I have been looking for the best headphone solution for a while now and have tried several different configurations! The best I have tried by far is the Boss Waza cordless air headphones. They are not cheap but the sound great and after you get the sounds in you just turn them on and use them.

I plug the wireless 1/4 plug into my tuner out and VP works fine.

Christopher Woitach · From: Portland, Oregon, USA

When I’m at home, I use my Telonics amp with headphones with the speaker muted. Perfect

When I was at the SWSGA convention, I used my HX Stomp which works fine with a volume pedal. A very small amount of dialing in, works great.
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Jim Fogarty · From: Phila, Pa, USA

Joe,

This is really a GREAT sounding headphone amp. Highly recommended. Fender really knocked it out the park, IMO.

https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/MustMicro--fender-mustang-micro-headphone-amp

Here's a good (guitar) demo, that's pretty accurate:

https://youtu.be/BpAeiJ4R_CY

Eric Duarte · From: Santa Cruz, California

Hi Joe - I can't recommend Milkman's The Amp 50 highly enough for a silent practice amp. It has a headphone out with a headphone amplifier and 12ax7 preamp tube. It's simple. You just turn it on, let it warm up for a minute, plug in your rig, plug in headphones, and play.They run around $600.

The headphone jack is 1/4 inch so I use an adapter for the wired audiotechnic heapdphones I stole from my wife.

I picked one up lightly used last summer to practice with at night when my wife and dogs are asleep. Or for when I didn't feel like firing up the big boys for a 15-30 minute quick practice. It has Reverb and Tremolo. Made in SF.

Here's a link: https://milkmansound.com/collections/amplifiers/products/the-amp

Here are some videos of Dave Zirbel playing it through a cabinet & speakers:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0M9jw2pjw1Q
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jTwtkgAl9_M

It has an XLR and a 1/4 out for recording and speakers too.

I think there may be one for sale here on the forum. Also saw on on the SF Bay Area craigslist the other day.
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-Eric

Shaan Shirazi · From: Austin, TX, USA

The Roland GP-100 works well for silent practice and is very affordable nowadays especially considering everything it can do.

Joe Goldmark · From: San Francisco, CA 94131

Thanks for the answers everyone. I've pm'd a couple of you with more questions.

Because of a volume pedal which doesn't send a consistent signal, it's a lot harder to practice this way than with a guitar. You've sent me some interesting ways to approach it however.

Please keep 'em coming.

Joe

b0b · From: Cloverdale, CA, USA

Hi Joe,

I've been using a Line6 Pod XT for many years, both for headphone practice and for live effects on stage. You can get pretty much any sound you want from it. Just connect it to the output of your volume pedal. For example, the pedal steel on this track was recorded with it, as well as all of the steel on these two albums:

https://b0blee.bandcamp.com/album/rice-bean (Sierra 8-string non-pedal)
https://soundcloud.com/b0b/sets/wine-country-swing (Desert Rose pedal steel)

While most of the effects in the Pod XT aren't quite studio quality, the tone controls and reverb are very good. I also like the phaser in it. All in all, it's much better than the Pocket Pod, IMHO. It's no longer made, but they often show up used at very reasonable prices.
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Ken Pippus · From: Langford, BC, Canada

I have the Pod XT Pro, which I suspect is the identical unit to b0b’s, in a rack mount case, which sits nicely on a desktop. The other advantage is having a USB connection, so you can play right along with any media on your computer or on the internet.

Dave Magram · From: San Jose, California, USA

I've found the KORG PANDORA PX3 ToneWorks Guitar Personal Multi Effect Processor to be an excellent practice tool for many years.

● It has dozens of effects, but the one titled "Country" is my favorite, with a very nice reverb effect.
● It has an input for your guitar, a second input for an MP3 player or stereo system, etc., and a headphone output jack.
● It has a "phrase trainer" that will capture up to about 16 seconds of music, which can be slowed down without changing the pitch.
● It is small--about the size of a deck of cards, and fits nicely on the tuning keyhead of a PSG (use a couple or rubber bands to keep it from getting bumped and falling to the floor).
● They are battery powered, but also have an input for an AC power adapter.

They are available used for around $65.
More recent models are available for more $$, but the PX3 has everything I need.

-Dave

Tom Gorr · From: Three Hills, Alberta

Bob Watson · From: Champaign, Illinois, U.S.

Back around 1986 I was doing a lot of road work and found myself playing a 6 nighter in Alamagordo NM. I wandered into a stereo shop one afternoon and had a cool conversation with a tech there about wanting to be able to use headphones to practice. He modified my Peavey LTD with an input jack on the back board that protected the speaker with an input jack that had a resister on it that allowed me to use headphones. It bypassed the speaker and the resister changed the signal so I wouldn't blow the headphones. It worked like a champ and allowed me to go into the clubs I was playing at in the afternoons and practice without bothering anyone. It sounded good and allowed me to use the volume pedal as if I was using the speaker.

Ian Rae · From: Redditch, England

The simplest solution is the headphone jack on your amp if you have one.

I don't find Bluetooth useful except just for listening. The delay is too great for live use.
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J Fletcher · From: London,Ont,Canada

Roland Micro Cube is good . Decent clean tone with reverb . Nice and simple . Overdrive if you want .

Ian Worley · From: Sacramento, CA

Hey Joe, I have one of these that I no longer use, a POD HD. I will be down your way next Tues/Wed 3/1-2, and could drop it by Amoeba if you want to try it out for a while. If you like it you can send me a $100, otherwise I can just get it back from you some other time. The HD was the next iteration after the XT. It's a lot more versatile and works perfect for what you want to do, and as Ken mentioned above you can also plug it in to your 'puter via USB and play along in real time with any available sound source, mp3s, youtube, etc. all via the headphone jack in the POD. The USB connection makes it a standard ASIO audio interface. Basic functions are simple, it does lot more if you choose to dig into the weeds. Let me know if you want to check it out.

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b0b · From: Cloverdale, CA, USA

That Pod HD should do the trick. The Pod 2 came before the Pod XT (which I use) and didn't quite cut it. The HD is the XT's successor. I imagine it's really good. Maybe I should get one! Mr. Green

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Ian Worley · From: Sacramento, CA

Jim Fogarty · From: Phila, Pa, USA

Michael Dulin · From: Indiana, USA

Joe, for simple I use a Fender 25R. It has a headphone jack and CD red/white input on the front. CD volume is controlled by the player. Can be played out loud or silent thru headphones. It"s 25 watts RMS and pulls 75 watts out of the wall.(cheap to run for hours)They were $90 new and you can find one used for maybe $50. 10" speaker and just a little smaller than a Princeton. It's worked for me for years. Also use the same cord to connect my laptop.MD

Joe Goldmark · From: San Francisco, CA 94131

Wow, lot's of great ideas. Good to see that everyone is practicing! I PM'd Ian to try the Pod HD and also Jim Fogarty and I are getting creative with the Fender Mustang Micro that I already have. PM'd a couple more folks. I appreciate the advice and unless my Luddite side takes over, I should be good.

Thanks,
Joe

Bill Galvan · From: California, USA

A stroke seriously damaged my hearing in 2018. I can no longer(after 70years) play pedal-steel with groups or with tracks. I now play only non-pedal for my own entertainment. I use a VOX AmPlug 2 in-line with a
KORG GA chromatic tuner and SENNMEISER HD200 phones.
This set up works great and costs less than $100 for
everything. I have variable delay, reverb and some FX.

Dale Foreman · From: Crowley Louisiana, USA

I use the headphone Jack out the back of my Peavey 112.
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Cody Coombs · From: Washington, USA

I use my Yamaha MG60X. It’s small, simple to use, sounds great and a decent price for the purpose! I use a aux cord to my music source (phone, stereo, etc.) plug my pedal board right into it as if it were an amp, put my headphones on and get to picking!

playing my steel and tele through it - it sounds very realistic to my ears.

Ron Hogan · From: Nashville, TN, usa

Joe,
I recommend the Positive Grid SPARK practice amp. I’ve had it at least one year now. it’s got everything built in that you could think about. Headphone jack that I used to practice when I don’t wanna bother anybody. Metronome, Bluetooth, fax, tons of amps. And much more as they say. All for under $300.

If you listen to the samples most guys are using distortion guitar so that doesn’t help. you’d have to listen to my samples on YouTube. over 10,000 tones are stored in the iCloud that people put there. Many are not any good but you find some jewels if you look. I’ve stored about five or six there that people can use and then tweak to their liking. i’ve even recorded a lot of stuff with it directly out of the headphone jack into a recorder or studio.

https://youtu.be/FKmdqA8mMZk

https://youtu.be/2CXRAz8exw0

Anthony Campbell · From: Northwest Indiana, USA

I would recommend the Strymon Iridium. I use it for recording and practice and it sounds fantastic.

Simple layout, no menus, easy to edit if you want to add different speaker impulse responses.

I use the Fender Deluxe Reverb setting with a 2x12 IR that I added and it sounds great.

Has the ability to dial in room reverb for headphones to make it even more realistic.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yFgMOaDYRnk - This is plugged straight from the Iridium to my Phone.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uGGv2ryG6b4&t=851s
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