The Steel Guitar Forum

I use a laptop for the tracks and play my steel through a Nashville 400. I would like to get the steel and the tracks through earphones. How can I do it? Thanks in advance.

Hi Billy, You can purchase a nice mixer for $50 and it will be able to do anything you want. I have a Behringer 6 channel and I put my steel into it, my lead guitar, a laptop computer, an Ipod, and a cd player. I have total control over the various volume and also I can EQ each channel as I want to. I can use head phones at night when my wife is sleeping or I can come out into an amp or my small PA system. Larry

The Nashville 400 won't be the easiest amp to do that with (if you want to use the 400's preamp) because the post gain turns the pre amp out down. If you want to have a realistic sound for practicing, I'd recommend using something like a Pod to get a more realistic sound through your headphones...it's what I do 90% of the time.

You could, in theory, disconnect the speaker in the 400, I don't think it'll hurt it, but it's not something I particularly like to do.

Jonathan

Jonathan please check your email.

I personally use a Profex II. While not the greatest sounding or loudest in the headphones, I have a program for running CD MP3 or laptop signal into the effects return so that the steel signal is separate from the practice track. It works well for me for practice late at night when the kids and wife are asleep and at the touch of a button be ready to go on the job.

PodXT connected via USB to your laptop. With this setup you can use headphones or send the output of the pod to your amp with your tracks and guitar playing through your amp. THe podxt is a bit pricey but you get a lot of features, and really good effects. Kinda like a swiss army knife for guitar..
dw

If you have a N112, plug earphones into the back, use a CD player, plug into the ear phone jack on the player, then plug into the other jack on the front of the 112, and you have volume control on the player to get the volume compaired with the steel for balance, you have it all under control to your head phones, You are the only one that can hear.

ernie

I like Larry's idea of using a low end mixer. You can get one of those with a small number of input channels for around $50. Another suggestion is a Pocket POD, they are relatively inexpensive around $100 new, less than that used. The least costly approach would be the mini mixer. The advantage of the Pocket POD is it allows for input from MP3 player and headphones, plus you can do some amp modeling with effects.

-Chuck

I tried the Pocket POD approach for a while. I didn't like it very much. Pretty junky product, IMO. I bought a VOX DA5 and like it a lot better. I run it with an iPOD for tracks and my headphones.

I've actually accumulated three of those mini-mixers, and they come in handy for all sorts of stuff - run your TV headphone out into one channel and play your own soundtracks to football games, record different instruments onto a computer without disconnected each individual thing, etc. I 'd even buy another... I have two Behringers (8 and 10) and a Samson 8 track, I got one for $25 IIR. I'm using one to run a monster quadraphonic headphone rig with four overlapping delays and loopers.... get a life, I know.

Billy,

I have an 8 channel Berringer mixer I use at home. It has 2 XLR inputs, two stereo inputs and two RCAs. I guess that how they come up with a total of 8. About $50. The headphone out works well but when you stick a guitar in it you have a very dry signal. I hooked up an old MidiVerb II to it through the effects loop. I can use my lap top, ipod or CD, works out just fine.

When I travel and need to woodshed, I take a Roland Micro Cube with me. It will also run any of the playback devices (one at a time) and powers headphones nicely. The amp modeling and effects on the cube are a plus as is the battery power option.

The Nashville 112 has a jack in the back for headphones and also one for mp3 player that is what I use and works great

I have used a Pocket Pod with an iPOD plugged in and Bose headphones and it is a wonderful little practice amp for the money. I use a Freeloader or Blackbox in front of it as I do with any amp that doesn't load the pickup.