I had a Vox and would say it’s a fine way to start out, and definitely a better choice than many small bass amps, but you will want something better soon.
I happen to prefer amp and cab sims through good monitors to actual amps; and if you have decent headphones this can be a good silent option.
That’s not exactly true. There are some great headphone amps, but a Vox amplug ain’t one of them. I bought one and used it with good ‘headphones. Kinda OK, but no cigar.
But for a larger investment, the Boss Air-Bass headphones amp system is a stellar solution. Great bass fidelity and a lot of other features.
Looks like an interesting system but at $400 I’ll stick with the $40 Vox or just turn the volume down and sit close to the amp!
Thanks for the info, I’ll have to keep that in mind.
Or just plug some good headphones into the amp.
I tried but too much buzz in the phones. I’ll try another pair. They are studio monitor phones so more flat. Tried the Vox tonight with good phones and with volume turned up to full it’s just barely loud enough.
Your good phones might be too high impedance.
Also max volume on the Vox sounds awful, lots of hiss in my experience.
It sounded really bad to me as well.
What amp are you using?
Older Peavy Basic 112
The AKG headphones arrived today and I wasted no time trying them out with the Vox. I love it! The headphones do seem to be on the fragile side, but I treat my equipment pretty gently, so I’m not too worried about that. I love the fit too, and it’s a good thing because I have yet to figure out how to move that headband that regulates the fit. The sound through the Vox is incredible. It is more than loud enough and no hiss. I have the pre amp in the bass at about 1/2 and the rest of the controls at about mid point. The volume on the Vox is at maybe 1/4 at most. It’s plenty loud enough and it sounds awesome! I couldn’t be happier.
Nice!
FWIW my Vox wasn’t bad either. It wasn’t great, but I did not have the issues others mention. Maybe they are just inconsistent.
Hi Jim. I use a fender mustang headphone amp on my active base as well as passive bass. It works just fine and no, you’re not going to blow anything up. Just turn the output volume down on the guitar or turn the volume down on the headphone amp. Either way you’ll be just fine and it pairs up with your phone beautifully.
That’s a good point. Finally found the adapter for the plug on standard phones so I’ll give them a try.
Tried the standard phones and no better. Amp didn’t even want to turn on, so either the brand new batteries that came with the unit are bad or the amp is bad. My luck, I often get brand new items that are broke right out of the package!
I also find it interesting that the company I bought it from has no listed record of me purchasing it no did it arrive with a bill of sale. Probably cost as much to send it back as to just throw it in the drawer!
Hi Jim,
I’ve played guitar & mandolin for about 50 years and about 8 months ago I started playing bass. I am working on a similar idea. I am building a tiny pedal pedal board just for practicing. Which will allow me to practice with no AC connections and can drive an amp or headphones. And the whole thing fits into the smallest craftsman toolbox from Lowes.
Basically I’m using the smallest Holey pedalboard (3 from the 1-2-3 system) (about 5.5”x13.5”) and I powering the board with a rechargeable-battery base pedalboard power supply.
They signal chain is currently:
So I can take my bass, pedalboard and headphones anywhere to practice.
HELP please! I'm in a one bedroom apartment and for right now I am not interested in a new amp. I am interested in something along the lines of headphones and a headphone amp for practicing without a lot of noise. I normally shop by way of Amazon so if you read and care to help please assist me -- anyone who reads this...thank you so very, very much. Paul Schilling
Have you read the suggestions in this thread (and others with “headphones” or “headphone amp” in the title)? If so, what is the reason those don’t work for you?
I’m using a Nux Mighty Plug. The sound is much better than a Vox I tried, you can store a few presets using the app etc.
Wasn’t completely thrilled with the way my PJ Ibanez sounded with that (lots of buzz and high mids), but my HH Yamaha sounds amazing with it.
It connects to your phone or via bluetooth and is recognized as a headset, so you can play along to some music.
The only feature it’s missing, and I can’t explain WHY since it would be so easy to implement, is a tuner.
Agreed, adding a tuner into this would make it a lot easier.
Only thing to be wary of is the lag between audio input from a video source. It is incredibly offputting but for straightforward audio streaming it is great.