-
Woody, my solution above would work perfect. Though there are other solutions as well and the Joyo gizmo Lawson posted seems pretty cool as well, especially for $12.
Originally Posted by Woody Sound
When I practice at home at night I use that apogee jam into either my iPhone, iPad or Mac Book Pro. With the iPhone and iPad I use Bias FX. I also have Jamup pro as that came out first, but tent to prefer Boas FX. The apps has worked flawlessly for me over the past years.
I pretty much just use a jazz guitar setting I downloaded form the preset sharing section of the app... sounds great.
If you want to practice along with a tune within itunes or a Youtube tutorial, just select the Bias FX app setting to play in background mode. I do this often to follow along with YouTube tutorials.
The only down side is that the Apogee Jam connects to the iphone through the same multi pin port that the power cord attaches so you cannot charge the phone and jam.
Good luck with the search and enjoy the practice time!
-
01-04-2018 06:51 PM
-
My solution for headphone practice was to pick up a used GK MB200 class D bass head. These things are tiny and have both headphone out and aux in. This may be more than the OP had in mind, but I got mine for $150 used. I'm also a bass player, so that was a big plus - having such a small/light backup amp for gigs is great and for quieter situations, it's a good stand alone. I know some members here have used them for dedicated guitar amps and they seem to be popular with the pedal steel crowd. All in all, a great utility piece of gear.
-
Apogee Jam worked fine for me through iPhone and using the Garage Band app for amps and efx. Fun!
-
I'm not sure why this is hard to understand. The OP and also myself are NOT wanting to have to route through software, not wanting to have to use the iPhone or iPad to activate the device's features. We are talking about basically a headphone amp that has an aux. input one could attach the headphone output of an iPhone, or any other music player, to. Originally Posted by TedBPhx
I added an interest in being able to output the combined signal through a USB to a digital device.
I've looked at many of these devices, and the ones that rely on an app on the phone/tablet often disable other inputs when you plug into the aux. input. They assume you are recording layer after layer, track on track. The OP wasn't even talking about recording, of course. That's a bit I threw in. It's unusual, but simply being able to (1) plug in a guitar (2) plug in a player with backing tracks (3) listen on headphones (4) output digitally to a laptop or other digital recording device is hard to find on a small device. Something like the Focusrite Scarlett series, of course, can handle that, but it is larger and more complex to deal with.
The point is simplicity: being able to practice with tracks, listening on headphones is the easy part. The OP already found what he needed. I was curious about the next step, outputting the guitar+backing tracks from a player, real time, to a phone or tablet to record--in a small, headphone amp "bug" type of form factor.
-
L-S,
Did you figure this out? I'm planning a long road trip and I have a travel guitar (Composite Acoustics) that I'd like to plug into something simple that takes my headphones and gives a tolerable result. Backing tracks would be nice.
Thanks, S
-
Just for practicing with tracks, the $12 Joyo thing works wonderfully. I haven't been able to record from it, though. I imagine a recorder that would accept a head-phone out signal could work, but you'd have to monitor it somehow. Originally Posted by skykomishone
On the digital front, I haven't found an economical solution. That Phil Jones BigHead looks wonderful but it's pricey.
A simple solution might be something like the Focusrite Scarlet-plug in guitar, tracks, USB to your computer which powers the Focusrite. They're pretty small, but if all you want to do is practice you have a power problem.
So I know of no economical, small, flexible solution to guitar+tracks+headphone+recording.
-
Lawson, That is great bro!
Ive been using a mixer for the same thing. My Jm4 looper does the same thing but it doesn’t fit in my case pocket. And I have save my backing tracks to Line6’s stupid WAV file format.
What a great tool for practicing along with backing tracks.
Nice job buddy. I’m gonna git one!
JD
Originally Posted by lawson-stone
-
I actually managed to make a clip with this. Here's how I did it.
I used a cable from the headphone out of the Joyo that we use to connect MP3 players to RCA type jacks, L/R. I put an adaptor, RCA to 1/4" phone plug on each RCA plug, and plugged them into the 2 inputs on my ProSonus Audiobox iTwo. The USB out to the Lightning port of my iPhone brought it to the phone. I used the headphone jack of the ProSonus to monitor, and the iPad into the MP3 input of the Joyo.
Here's the quick clip I did. I think you'll see it's really just fine for practice.
-
Got the Joyo, it's great. I can plug either my iPhone or Tascam CD-VT2 into it and play along through my headphones. Exactly the simple solution I wanted for about $10. Thanks Lawson.
-
Since you have a 1/8” jack (I still hate that they removed them and that I don’t have access to one on my phone anymore) the iRig is cheap and works well. I have the first iRig which was just a male 1/8” and a female 1/8” and 1/4” inch (one for the guitar and one for headphones). Simple and works well - I miss being able to use it.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
-
The problem of the iRig for the OP (and me) is the central OP question: you can't have aux. input and your guitar, output to a headphone, no computer or phone or other device involved. The iRig is a nice piece of gear, but doesn't do what the OP was looking for. It also runs on a 9v battery and costs <$15. Originally Posted by rio
-
If I wanted to do this while travelling and also make some recordings, I would just take my iPad and use Garageband. Apart from the iPad I would just need my Line6 sonic port interface, this is quite small, about 4 inches by 1.5 inches, something like that.
In fact this is how I made most of the tracks on my soundcloud page below, the quality is very good.
-
WAAAY TOO COMPLICATED. NOBODY WAS ASKING ABOUT MAKING RECORDINGS ON THE ROAD. Originally Posted by grahambop
I just don't get it....
-
I had completely forgotten that the MB200 has aux in and headphone out. I just tried mine, just for kicks, and I find I like it. It's the first amp I've tried that actually sounds good through headphones. The 10dB pad helps keep the volume listenable, and the noise down, but it's not essential. It also has XLR direct out. It's not nearly as portable as the Joyo, but it works great for home practice, and is probably as portable as some of the other solutions mentioned.
-
Lawson mentioned it. In any case, I would usually be carrying my iPad anyway, so to take the small sonic port is no more hassle than any other solution. Originally Posted by Woody Sound
WAAAY TOO COMPLICATED. NOBODY WAS ASKING ABOUT MAKING RECORDINGS ON THE ROAD.
I just don't get it....
-
No usb, but I like a mini mixer for this. You get some tone control which I find very useful and I would suspect, a better headphone amp. Plus more I/O for many uses down the road. The little Mackie 402 sounds good and can be found used for about $75.
-
Ah, I missed the aux part. When I used my phone with the guitar, if I needed some sort of aux sounding just used what was on the phone already so I never hit that issue. That Joyo does look cool and small. Although the iRig is small enough that I could put it in a pocket and forget about it but anything that fits in a guitar case is small enough most likely. Originally Posted by lawson-stone
The problem of the iRig for the OP (and me) is the central OP question: you can't have aux. input and your guitar, output to a headphone, no computer or phone or other device involved. The iRig is a nice piece of gear, but doesn't do what the OP was looking for. It also runs on a 9v battery and costs <$15.
Also nice Cross pen. Pen collecting is a hobby of mine - I have that same pen and the matching pencil and fountain pen but the gold rolled versions. They were my dad’s and are very special to me since he used the fountain pen all the time for sketching music down and now I get to use it for the same purpose.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
-
Yes it's the aux. input that is the key factor for the OP wanting to be able practice. I don't know how to use the iRig in combination with tracks on my iOS device, I've tried but could never get that to work. Originally Posted by rio
I started on Cross pens years ago when i kept losing pencils and pens, cheap ones. Someone suggested I buy an expensive pen/pencil set and I'd likely not lose them! Which turned out to be true!
-
Lawson, what about the old Rockman headphone amps? I think you can still get em. Or the Vox headphone amps?
-
Hey, that is definitely another cool solution. But more $. Originally Posted by rolijen
Dunlop Rockman Guitar Ace Headphone Guitar Amplifier | SamAsh
-
Sure. Any of these does the job, some better than others, some more expensive that others. The variation in quality and cost is why one would want reports of actual experience before buying, hence the OP... Originally Posted by rolijen
-
The one I used to have (over 30 years ago) was very good tonewise, but in those days my idea of good tone involved low-slung 10 lb. slabs of maple-topped mahogany and generous helpings of distortion... Originally Posted by lawson-stone
They cost more than $12, but here’s a shootout of a few options:
http://www.guitarsite.com/guitar-headphone-amp/
-
Roli, I have four of these Amplug2s and an Amphone. The only one worth getting is the Amplug2 Clean.
The Amplug2's swivel plug doesn't lock in place. There is an detent but it is weak. The Clean one does a passable clean sound. The Bass one is my favourite; trouble is, the highs are attenuated. It has a few nifty rhythm backing tracks. There is a hi-hat track with a nice 4/4 swing feel.
Haven't tried the Joyo nor any of the other MiCs. That the $12 Joyo can be powered by a 9V adapter is a nice plus. I would use a pigtail to connect to the box though; I won't plug it directly to the guitar jack. For $12, I'd take a punt.
-
-
I had a couple of days to experiment with one of these. It's great for practicing with headphones and aux. input, has great control over tone. USB output works fine with my laptop, but I have not been able to make it work as a digital audio input for my iPhone or iPad. I still plan to try different approaches to this, but so far it looks like a no-go on iOS devices, but fine for recording into the USB port of a laptop. Originally Posted by coolvinny
Reply With Quote
Recommandations for Hollowbodies for $600 and under?
Today, 05:20 AM in Guitar, Amps & Gizmos