Whats the best/easiest setup for practicing with headphones?

Evan Elkin · Post by **Evan Elkin** » 17 Jan 2018 8:31 am

I'm a low tech kinda guy and I wondered what would be the most straightforward way to play through headphones. Thanks

Jim Cohen · Post by **Jim Cohen** » 17 Jan 2018 9:06 am

With backing tracks or just on your own?

Nic Neufeld · Post by **Nic Neufeld** » 17 Jan 2018 9:16 am

I've not used one of these but they get decent reviews, have reverb:
https://www.amazon.com/AP2AC-amPlug-AC3 ... B00NAUHX1G

It's very small, somewhat cheap...but you'll have to keep it in batteries. Obviously if you have an existing amp with a headphone jack, that's pretty simple too.

For playing along with tracks what I usually do is a computer with a (now old) Line6 POD Studio GX, and the included basic version of POD Farm. Lots more tonal choices and you get to record and/or play along with other tracks. About $100, and you need the computer, obviously.

There are interfaces that are similar that have amp simulators for smart phones (iphone and android). If you have one of those, that could be fairly cheap and would be easier (no need to feed it disposable batteries, etc).

Evan Elkin · Post by **Evan Elkin** » 17 Jan 2018 9:23 am

This is great information Nic, thanks...and yeah, it would be ideal to also work with backing tracks

Eric Dahlhoff · Post by **Eric Dahlhoff** » 17 Jan 2018 9:31 am

I have one of those VOX AC-30 things that I tried withe pedal steel. Nope! It's awful - made for distorted electric guitar.
However, they did make a head phone version that is clean and even has reverb. I use it when I travel to practice lap steel. Not the best solution in the world but it is okay.
At home I use a Roland Cube Monitor, which has headphone output as well as the speaker.
https://www.amazon.com/Roland-CM-30C-Cu ... B000OY4WA6

Jim Cohen · Post by **Jim Cohen** » 17 Jan 2018 9:40 am

I have the clean version of the Vox, with reverb. Not great but will do. Awkward to use with a volume pedal though. But you can feed a backing track into it too.

Charlie Banning · Post by **Charlie Banning** » 17 Jan 2018 9:48 am

I use a digitech rp 250. It has an auxiliary in and headphones out. It also a USB port.

Jake L · Post by **Jake L** » 17 Jan 2018 1:08 pm

I have a guitar trainer from Tascam that I use. I can download songs to it and play along using my in ears or headphones. I can slow the track down or speed it up without changing the key. Has built in boss effects for delay, reverb, crunch, etc. Works well for me.

Evan Elkin · Post by **Evan Elkin** » 17 Jan 2018 1:15 pm

These are really cool options to explore, thanks folks

Cartwright Thompson · Post by **Cartwright Thompson** » 17 Jan 2018 1:48 pm

Any small 4 to 8 channel mixer will work really well. I plug my guitar into a stereo reverb pedal and then into two channels with both panned fully opposite each other. Then I mix in my iPad or whatever music source Iâ€™m using into two other channels. The sound is excellent with a decent amount of eq available. Iâ€™ve owned Peavey, Mackie and even Behringer(which sounded fine).
Iâ€™ve never had much luck with headphone amps although Iâ€™d like to try the digitech rp-360

Check out what Jim says here:
https://bb.steelguitarforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=326116

Lee Baucum · Post by **Lee Baucum** » 17 Jan 2018 1:59 pm

I use one of my Cube 80XL amps. It has an AUX IN and a HEADPHONE OUT. Plugging in headphones mutes the speaker.

Joe Cook · Post by **Joe Cook** » 17 Jan 2018 2:43 pm

I'd second Lee's recommendation of the cube 80xl. Line in micro plug is great for backing tracks and you can mix in as much of that signal in with your guitar with your headphones or out of the amp. Plus the cube is a nice sounding amp for PSG. I use mine for my tele as well and it sounds great.

Kevin Fix · Post by **Kevin Fix** » 17 Jan 2018 3:07 pm

I use my Laptop for playing with tracks or mostly I play along with YouTube when I am learning new material. I connect my laptop from it's headphone jack and then I plug the other end to the CD jack on the back of my NV 112. I then plug my headphones into the head phone jack on the back of my NV 112. If you want to play live then just unplug your head phones. When you connect from laptop to the CD jack on the amp you need to use a cable that has stereo plugs on both ends. Pretty easy and a cheap way to have a good tone. YouTube is the best thing since "Fish & Chips". The material to play along with is unlimited!!!

Rick Abbott · Post by **Rick Abbott** » 17 Jan 2018 4:52 pm

A word to the wise:

I have used a headphone setup for a couple of years. Before that I have been a rock guitarist for 30 years. In the last two years I have significantly damaged my hearing, leading me to some hard decisions. By that I mean, I am selling most of my electric gear and focusing on very quiet music, acoustic mostly, to preserve what I have left. The noise I have acquired is louder than a fan running to drown it out. Before the headphone practice setup I had very little damage to my hearing.

I didn't realize I was hurting my ears at the time, but I'm certain that I did some major damage with the headphone setup.

Watch your volume and high end settings.

Dale Foreman · Post by **Dale Foreman** » 17 Jan 2018 7:09 pm

This is how I practice lol, I use one of my Nashville 112's and the headphone output with a nice pair of JVC headphones and before I put the big headphones on, I put my iPad earphones in then don the JVC set over iPad headphones ! Quite nice actually, I don't even aggravate my wife or the dog!! I sometimes put the headphone output of the iPad into the second channel of the 112 but the way I use my volume pedal, it will also lower the volume of the track.

Fred Treece · Post by **Fred Treece** » 17 Jan 2018 9:23 pm

Rick Abbott wrote:A word to the wise:
I didn't realize I was hurting my ears at the time, but I'm certain that I did some major damage with the headphone setup.

Watch your volume and high end settings.

Best advice on the whole thread so far. Also, take frequent breaks from the phones, like every 10 or 15 minutes.

Tony Prior · Post by **Tony Prior** » 18 Jan 2018 2:04 am

$40, plug your tracks device and your Steel into this, use the headphones out .

If you want reverb on the Steel , plug the output of the mixer into your amp and use the phones out OR just use a reverb pedal with the Steel ahead of the mixer.

http://www.guitarcenter.com/Behringer/X ... 2-Mixer.gc

Frank Montmarquet · Post by **Frank Montmarquet** » 18 Jan 2018 5:39 pm

digitech rp xxx

smaller, Line 6 pocket pod

both have aux in

Jack Hargraves · Post by **Jack Hargraves** » 19 Jan 2018 7:57 am

I'm also a low tech kind of guy. I rarely used head sets for practice at home, unless my wife is asleep. I have a headphone outlet on the back of my Nashville 112 that I use occasionally, but most of the time I just play without it. I have some backing tracks that I use, with my CD player right beside me. Fortunately, my wife loves the PS, so no complaints.

Jim Palenscar · Post by **Jim Palenscar** » 19 Jan 2018 8:18 am

Also the Quilter 45 micro amp- 45W- aux in, headphone and speaker out- comes w 24v power supply- can be used as amp w speaker at small gigs, sounds great- size of typical stomp box- $149.95.

Sam Norris · Post by **Sam Norris** » 20 Jan 2018 7:47 am

^ I can't speak for the 45, but I use a Qulter 101 mini head for headphone practice, and it is a fantastic amp through speakers as well.

Lyle Dent · Post by **Lyle Dent** » 20 Jan 2018 3:12 pm

Peavey's Nashville 112 has both a headphone 1/4 jack and a cd input 1/4 jack on the back panel. Get a leg clamp stand for your iphone or iPad and play steel with your tracks through the headset,neat!

Todd Blair · Post by **Todd Blair** » 20 Jan 2018 10:33 pm

I use a Tascam CD trainer, when I need to practice quietly. I can also slow down the tracks without changing pitch, which is helpful when Iâ€™m trying to figure out changes. I have a bass Rockman headphone amp, which only runs on 9v battery, but I rarely use it. It has an aux in (for CD/ MP3) but I bought theTascam specifically for PSG. Either way, there are cheap ways to get headphone practice in.
I had considered an Vox Amplug, but the Tascam and Rockman were significantly cheaper. And to someone elseâ€™s point: you will suffer more ear fatigue with headphones. I generally avoid closed back headphones, unless Iâ€™m recording, because it is tiring on your ears. Headphones, generally, should be used at any low volume.

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