Silent or quiet practice in the evening - what setup can you recommend?

[Alex79]

Lately I haven't really found any time to practice during the day; new job and children keep me too busy, there's always something that needs to be done.
I do find that I usually have some time in the evening and I was wondering what people would recommend as a setup for practicing in the evening? Most likely I will have to practice with headphones, I guess (I have a closed pair of Beyerdynamic DT770s btw).

 

[budda]

I only play after 8 on weeknights. Headphones + axe fx 3 and im almost 2 years in and still enjoying it.

 

[Matt08642]

My go-to is guitar > Audio interface (Motu M4 is what I use) > amp sim + IRs in a DAW.

Lets me use headphones really easily and sounds great!

 

[drb]

HX Stomp usually. And if I’m really feeling cheeky I’ll put some pedals, an amp, and a Two Notes Captor in the loop instead of the Helix models.

 

[Crungy]

@Alex79 do you have any devices with a headphone output?

Like the others, another vote for something with modeling. I use an AxeFx 2Xl+ with a Focusrite interface. Perfect for my needs!

 

[ATRguitar91]

I use my HX Stomp most of the time, or Neural sims. I used to prefer headphones at low volumes, but lately I'd rather just keep my monitors at whisper volumes than use headphones.

There's a lot of good free amp sims and IRs if you want to give it a try without a big investment. All you would need is an interface, and those can be had pretty cheap.

 

[sleewell]

helix into a studio monitor works for me and doesn't wake my kids.

 

[ArtDecade]

Just play unplugged.

 

[cGoEcYk]

I suppose anything with headphones. Get some nice "cans." If I was in a pinch I'd use ISP Theta, had some great aggressive sounds. For quiet-er I've run pedal preamps into a studio monitor.

 

[Crungy]

OP has good cans, not sure if they have an interface or something else to use them with.

The amp sim with interface would be pretty nice, though I'd go for hardware. The POD Go's are decent from what I've heard, no experience with them myself.

 

[Jeffrey Bain]

OP has good cans, not sure if they have an interface or something else to use them with.

The amp sim with interface would be pretty nice, though I'd go for hardware. The POD Go's are decent from what I've heard, no experience with them myself.

Really liking my pod go. Snagged a $1 Mesa 2x12 ownhammer IR and off to the races. Haven't used it in headphones BUT the tone is very good for what it is. Has a nice userbase that submit their own tones if you're not one to sit and fiddle around dialing something in for too long

 

[wheresthefbomb]

Quieter than a volume pedal in the effects loop can get you?

 

[Audiowonderland]

Just play unplugged.

This is what I do most of the time

 

[DudeManBrother]

I just use the master volume when I want to keep it quiet. It doesn’t usually sound as good as when it’s louder, but it still sounds good enough to play.

 

[vibrantgermancities]

What's the budget? Some of the solutions being offered here run well into the thousands of pounds which some may regard as overkill for a late-night practice rig*

My view is that you want something as simple as possible when time is of the essence - you just want to be able to plug in and get right into it. I'll throw the Yamaha THRs out there as something small, straightforward, and that'll sound fine at low volumes either with headphones or without.

*I'm not one of those people.

 

[Jeffrey Bain]

OP another option would be to run something like Neural DSP and a simple interface (focusrite 2i2 or the like). Assuming you have a computer/laptop accessible for such activities. Would be one of the cheapest ways to get playing quietly.

 

[CanserDYI]

Helix/axefx thru headphones or monitors. HX stomps can be had for like 400-500 bucks and are a blast and a half.

 

[Spaced Out Ace]

I would try maybe something into a Two Notes Torpedo CAB M+ with wireless headphones.

 

[Steinmetzify]

Viper>Pedalboard>Herbert>Suhr RLIR>Apogee Duet>Reaper>ATHM50Xs

 

[CanserDYI]

Viper>Pedalboard>Herbert>Suhr RLIR>Apogee Duet>Reaper>ATHM50Xs

Well yeah, if you got a Herbert you're gonna play the damn Herbert lolol