Pretty much total newbie here, messed around with bass a few times but didn’t get anywhere - no online lessons 25 years ago. I’ve got the urge again before it’s too late so I’ve ordered a bass and just about to sign up for Beginner to Badass. My plan is to work through the lessons, playing along on headphones, so what do I need? Ideally it needs to be portable as I work away from home a lot so I could use the endless boring evenings in a hotel to practice. In a perfect world I’d probably be looking to di the bass into my Macbook and use something like Garage Band or MainStage, is that the way to go or is there a better way? Thanks, G
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One simple, inexpensive approach would be to purchase a bus-powered Fender AudioBox Go (formerly PreSonus). It has an instrument-level input that you would plug your bass into. The Fender Studio app is free and includes guitar and bass FX, so no need to buy any software. In the future, if you want/need a full-featured DAW, song projects saved in Fender Studio can be imported directly in Fender Studio Pro (formerly PreSonus Studio One Pro).
Fender AudioBox Go audio interface
Both links are to Fender’s website in France (where I am), but the page content is in English.
Fender also sells the Link I/O which is a USB guitar/bass interface that also works with the free Fender Studio app. It’s a little more expensive than the AudioBox Go, but it’s smaller.
Fender Link I/O guitar/bass interface
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Thanks, the audio box & app look exactly what I was thinking. Surprisingly reasonable price too. 
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Welcome @Graeme
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Welcome! I use the Audio Box Go (didn’t realize Fender now owns it) and it’s simple to use. The included software is good too although a bit “busy” for what I need.
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That’s a good point.
@Graeme, you can just skip installing all of the “freebies” for now, but you will probably want to install the “Universal Control” (UC) software. The AudioBox Go is probably class-compliant, so on a Mac you won’t need an ASIO driver (installed as part of the UC installation). If you do install UC, note that (on Windows at least) there’s a long list of interface drivers and they’re all installed by default. There’s no harm in doing that, but it’s just clutter. I uncheck every one except the one I want (Studio 1810c in my case). In addition to the interface drivers, UC provides some basic, useful functionality.
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I have recently discovered how sweet Sweetwater is. They are an amazing vendor. I recommend checking the Fender Link I/O on their site. It’s $95 and I believe you should get free shipping with that price point. Their staff is EXPERT. They will help you with cables, advice, etc. Also sends candy in every order.
There is a 2 year warranty with all their products.
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Thanks, their site looks good. Unfortunately I’m in the UK, which is a shame as free candy is the best kind!
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Welcome @Graeme !
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@Graeme welcome, here is a simple and light solution thats not to expensive, works great if you planing on using only headphones
Boss Katana Go BOSS - KATANA:GO | Personal Headphone Guitar Amplifier
works great for headphones, with alot of of features and sounds if you want to experiment, can stream from laptop/phone the audio from the lessons to your katana via bluetooth, and if you want to record, just plug usb-c cable in the katana go and your computer, and you got audio in your computer.
I love the thing for walking around the apartment while playing when I’m a mood for not beeing tethered to my desk, and cant wait to take it out in nature this summer and play for the trees and birds 
(even though only I will hear it in my headphones offcourse)
hope you will have great fun, I for sure have had since starting the bass
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I bought a LOT of gear from Sweetwater before I moved to France 5 years ago. Now, most of my gear money goes to Thomann. In my experience, they’re even better than Sweetwater, except no free candy. 
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Welcome aboard. I went with the Neo Spark with wireless transmitter. It allows you to pick your amp and effects then play your lessons via bluetooth. And you can play with along with any lesson/app/song while enjoying good sound and replays are a click away.
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exilent its all about playing that bass
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i went through a bunch of headphones setups for bass before settling on the spark neo setup. not sure what your price point is, but i kinda hate headphones practice (which i know make me a little bit of an outlier cuz it seems like everybody loves it) and this makes it actually bearable. please be aware that if the utmost in sound fidelity is your goal, this is not it. but it sounds good enough especially for practice, it’s small, convenient and flexible.
https://www.amazon.com/Positive-Grid-Headphone-AI-Powered-Noise-Isolation/dp/B0DTPMLMFV
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I’m sure there are many ways to skin this cat. I don’t know much about the solutions that have been offered so far. A little info about my setup: a laptop with Reaper and a UMC202HD (which is not too big to be considered portable but it requires cables). The UMC202HD has 2 inputs which allow me to record both B2B lessons and my bass simultaneously . NBD.
BUT more importantly, I frequently consult with openAI chatgpt about my bass learning techniques and progress. It offered a suggestion that made a lot of sense. That is as I go thru B2B for the second time I should record the lessons and my playing together and listen to the result. This would allow me to notice issues and progress easily.
Happy GAS.
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Nice Headphones!!!
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Welcome! I use Vox amp headphones. But these good folks know way more than I do, lol!!! 
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Agreed, free candy is the best kind… I even got a couple of those old fashioned “Root Beer Barrels” a couple of times. 
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Tomorrow is free candy day for me!
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