Quiet Home Playing

normula1

Headphones said:

I see no mention here of the good old Pod.  This is just what it's good at.

I have a Pod Pro that I use, played through an audio amp and Hi Fi speakers.  It plays really well at conversation levels and can do headphones - which was where it started, as I bought it new when the babies arrived.  I've had it a while and tried many of the options mentioed above, but few scratch the itch just as well:  It sounds good, it has knobs on the front and is as complex as you want (though most of the time I don't)

It's not standing in front of a real live amp, but you need a bit of volume to make the speakers do their filtering job, so that's really not an option for a baby/neighbour friendly abode.

I did just this with a Pid XT live when the kids were young. Powered monitors at decent volume when I could and phones in the evenings.

bignorm

I can’t stand using an amp turned down low at home, it just sounds limp and lifeless. I’d rather have headphones on with the volume up. 
My home practice/song learning set up is a Tech 21 Flyrig 5 preamp into a little Spirit Folio Notepad desk.
As a song writing and learning tool it’s perfect, it all fits in a drawer when not in use so the missus can’t whinge either. 

stickyfiddle

I'm in a flat. I use a THR10C for noodling and late-night headphone stuff, and a Bad Cat Cub 15 with the master down in the daytime when I can get away with a little more. Both work nicely with pedals, and I've never had any complaints, even when other players in the building have had neighbours giving them shit. 

munckee

stickyfiddle said:

I'm in a flat. I use a THR10C for noodling and late-night headphone stuff, and a Bad Cat Cub 15 with the master down in the daytime when I can get away with a little more. Both work nicely with pedals, and I've never had any complaints, even when other players in the building have had neighbours giving them shit. 

Well you are clearly a considerate chap, or 6 foot 10 with a mean glare!

pmbomb

Adam_MD said:

I’ve been quite spoiled and have been able to play as loud as I want at home.  Mrs_MD likes having music playing in the house but as we have our first kid due in 4 weeks I’ve bought a katana 50 to see if it will help with some quiet practice while the babies sleeping.  So far the 0.5 watt mode isn’t too bad.  

result on the Mrs.

I recently got told off for being too loud when I was playing an electric unplugged.

darthed1981

pmbomb said:

Adam_MD said:

I’ve been quite spoiled and have been able to play as loud as I want at home.  Mrs_MD likes having music playing in the house but as we have our first kid due in 4 weeks I’ve bought a katana 50 to see if it will help with some quiet practice while the babies sleeping.  So far the 0.5 watt mode isn’t too bad.  

result on the Mrs.

I recently got told off for being too loud when I was playing an electric unplugged.

Yeah that happens to me as well.

stickyfiddle

munckee said:

stickyfiddle said:

I'm in a flat. I use a THR10C for noodling and late-night headphone stuff, and a Bad Cat Cub 15 with the master down in the daytime when I can get away with a little more. Both work nicely with pedals, and I've never had any complaints, even when other players in the building have had neighbours giving them shit. 

Well you are clearly a considerate chap, or 6 foot 10 with a mean glare!

I like to think it's that I'm good enough that my neighbours don't mind hearing it occasionally. Whether that's true is another matter...!

Beexter

I don't really like playing through headphones so for really quiet late night practice, my preferred solution is my THR10. I can still get a pleasing sound when the volume is around the same level as the unamplified sound of the strings. I don't tend to run pedals through it as if I'm practicing at such a quiet level, I'm not seeking earth shattering tone and the built in effects suffice. Plus, it's much more convenient to just plug straight in for a few minutes rather than faffing around getting the pedalboard out. Having said that,  I have run my AX8 through it at slightly louder volume to get a starting point for setting up patches and it works pretty well for that.
I've also got a Katana 100 and a Mesa that can be switched to a 5w setting but for me, the THR is what I gravitate to for super low volume practice without headphones. 

Adam_MD

darthed1981 said:

pmbomb said:

Adam_MD said:

I’ve been quite spoiled and have been able to play as loud as I want at home.  Mrs_MD likes having music playing in the house but as we have our first kid due in 4 weeks I’ve bought a katana 50 to see if it will help with some quiet practice while the babies sleeping.  So far the 0.5 watt mode isn’t too bad.  

result on the Mrs.

I recently got told off for being too loud when I was playing an electric unplugged.

Yeah that happens to me as well.

My ex was like that and I barely played in the house for the 3 years we were together it just wasn’t worth the moaning.

My wife has been much better she grew up in a large family with lots of music playing all the time  her brother, Dad, grandad and grandma all play guitar so she genuinely likes hearing it.

p90fool

I never saw the point of playing any amp at just above the volume of the strings, there's no dynamic range available for anything musical, it's just literally finger training. 

If I have to be really quiet I play unplugged, at least it's still an expressive instrument, albeit a quiet one. 

skunkwerx

My katana 50 is perfect. 

Never gets above home volumes or off the 1 watt setting anyway, but when i need it quiet I find I can go as low as I like but still have all the gain if I want it.

Tis the main reason a valve amp is useless for me. Even a 1watt htr-1 was too loud when I wanted gain..  

Granted its never going to sound as good as a valve amp, but it doesnt sound bad! 

p90fool

The Katana sounds way better than most small, cheap valve amps, especially at home.