Help choosing something for headphone practice

ToastHat · August 6

I could do with some advice. Having children means I need to play through headphones. I’ve been using an audio interface into a laptop running Guitar Rig but it’s a bit of a faff to set up each time and sounds a bit meh. The headphone out on my DSL5 sounds pretty terrible.

Headphone amp plugs like NUX Mighty Plug look pretty convenient but I’m worried it’s a bit of a toy so maybe I’d be better off getting something like a cab sim or IR pedal instead? I feel like they’d sound better and be a bit more useful in the long run (but I have no real evidence for that).

HX Stomp looks great but they’re a bit out of my budget right now. I know there are plenty of cheaper / older multi FX pedals out there but I don’t know where the quality bar is these days (I don’t want to relive my teenage years on a DigiTech RP200).

Any guidance or advice is very welcome, thanks Fretboarders

digitalscream · August 6

ToneX ONE? Don't know if it's within your budget, but it's basically the best you can get for less than £200, and it works with all your pedals (but you only have the headphone option if it's the last in your chain - no delays after the amp, although it does have reverb built in).

smigeon · August 6

I like the Boss Waza Air. It sounds very good to me - the sound appears to be coming from the room rather than directly from the phones. And the fact that it’s wireless is a strong benefit - it’s very easy to slip in on spontaneously when the whim commands, with no need to mess with wires. For me, this means it gets used a lot more than it otherwise would.

It’s relatively expensive, but I wouldn’t be without mine. No regrets at all - it’s one of my best gear purchases (and I’ve made a few :-)).

ToastHat · August 7

Cool I did see the Tonex ONE on my travels, that's the kind of price range I was thinking, good to know about the last in chain thing. Have you tried it out? There are a billion YouTube reviews but I don't really trust anyone there to have an objective opinion as to whether it actually sounds any good or not.

The Waza spatial stuff seems pretty awesome and I definitely appreciate the lack of wires when I have pretty short windows of time to play in.

I appreciate the input!

digitalscream · August 7

ToastHat said:

Cool I did see the Tonex ONE on my travels, that's the kind of price range I was thinking, good to know about the last in chain thing. Have you tried it out? There are a billion YouTube reviews but I don't really trust anyone there to have an objective opinion as to whether it actually sounds any good or not.

The Waza spatial stuff seems pretty awesome and I definitely appreciate the lack of wires when I have pretty short windows of time to play in.

I appreciate the input!

Yep, I've got a ToneX ONE. Quite honestly, it's an absolute game-changer for me - I can use all of my pedals exactly as I would at a gig, plugging my board into my interface.

Not only that, but for the first time ever I have a pedal which accurately recreates the ADA MP-1; that's something that's never really existed.

And yes, it really is that good - I'd happily gig it. If I could be bothered to put another band together, that is

fretmeister · August 7

I use Waza Air headphones a lot at home. They are great. I've been playing loads more since I got them.

They are expensive, but I'm using them 2 or 3 times more often than I thought I would.

blobb · August 7

I plug my headphones into the stereo out from Trio+. Pedals up front or in the loop.

Band in a box (silent band in a box).

smigeon · August 7

This thread got me googling to see if there was a newer version of the Boss Waza Air out (my original ones are near worn out). There’a no new version it seems, but I was interested to come across an apparent competitor: Yamaha YH-WL500 (see, e.g., https://www.thomann.co.uk/yamaha_yh_wl500.htm). Anyone tried these??

mrkb · August 7

smigeon said:

This thread got me googling to see if there was a newer version of the Boss Waza Air out (my original ones are near worn out). There’a no new version it seems, but I was interested to come across an apparent competitor: Yamaha YH-WL500 (see, e.g., https://www.thomann.co.uk/yamaha_yh_wl500.htm). Anyone tried these??

The Yamahas don’t have any sound processing, just a low latency wireless signal.

Winny_Pooh · August 8

The Boss Katana Go is surprisingly great if you want a few basic sounds and limited but nice effects. The phone editor is very cool, you csn adjust alot. I say this coming from also having a GT-1000 core for headphone practice.
Bargain price IMO

ToastHat · August 8

Sweet, really useful to hear that too. I think the Katana Go is discontinued right now (I think I read somewhere that there were supply chain issues but I'd guess they'll relaunch something similar). Thanks all

JodyJames · August 8

Waza Air as well for me - I bought them specifically because I have kids, and although they’re expensive, the amount of use they’ve had (four years and counting with no issues) means they’re actually one of my better value purchases.

I have a pedalboard with UAFX amp pedals and headphone amp, and a Tonemaster Princeton rigged up for headphones as well. As previously mentioned, the sheer speed and ease of the Waza Air usually wins out. The separate Bluetooth audio connectivity is great as well - you can use it with Any kind of practice tools on your phone/ipad/computer, anything from a metronome to Trufire or just watching telly.

Winny_Pooh · August 8

ToastHat said:

Sweet, really useful to hear that too. I think the Katana Go is discontinued right now (I think I read somewhere that there were supply chain issues but I'd guess they'll relaunch something similar). Thanks all

I read that before buying and got one anyway rather than wait for a v2

Seziertisch · August 8

fretmeister said:

I use Waza Air headphones a lot at home. They are great. I've been playing loads more since I got them.

They are expensive, but I'm using them 2 or 3 times more often than I thought I would.

This.

The Wazas are my most used bit of gear.

Set up takes a matter of seconds, and they take pedals well.

Neilybob · August 8

blobb said:

I plug my headphones into the stereo out from Trio+. Pedals up front or in the loop.

Band in a box (silent band in a box).

+1 on the Trio plus.

Mine is all hooked up ready to go on my desk for practice. Great fun.

Danny1969 · August 8

The Nux MP might be priced low but it sounds better than many more expensive modelling bits of kit. The amp sounds are more realist to my ears than the £350 Pod Go I brought, especially the Marshall plexi. The verbs and delays are great too.

I ended up buying another Nux MP because I liked it so much and transplanted the PCB form it into a prototype amp I built.

matt_sefton · August 8

The Boss Katana Go is fantastic and has inspired me to play more than any other piece of gear in years. Sounds great and is so convenient. I got mine just before they were discontinued but I’ve seen a few used. My only complaint would be that unlike Boss’s usual bomb proof products, the Go is a pretty flimsy bit of kit. A metal enclosure would have been so much better (but inevitably more expensive)

rickd2112a · August 9

Glad you started this thread, this is exactly what I'm looking at.
I'm a little different in that I use a couple Origin pedals (Deluxe61 and Revival Drive) for my amp sound going into my amp.

I considered the ToneX and the Boss IR2, but felt they are overkill for what I want. I just want headphone out but with reverb as I normally use the reverb on my amp. The amp sound will come from the Origin pedals, so need some sort of cab sim and reverb in the headphone section.

Katana GO would be ideal, as it would just be set to a clean style amp with reverb.

As that's not an option, I've considered the new VOX Amplug3 (Fender style). Not ordered it yet as I'm always hopeful Boss will fix the component supply issue on the GO.

Neilybob · August 9

Neilybob said:

blobb said:

I plug my headphones into the stereo out from Trio+. Pedals up front or in the loop.

Band in a box (silent band in a box).

+1 on the Trio plus.

Mine is all hooked up ready to go on my desk for practice. Great fun.

Forgot to add I also use this setup when I travel for work.

I've played all over the UK!!....

..unfortunately it's in hotel rooms on my todd with a pint of cider but man I look good in the mirror lol

normula1 · August 11

How about the Nux mini studio or pulse? I have the mini studio as the last pedal on my board in the FX loop and it works pretty well. The pulse seems to be its replacement

TheMarlin · August 11

Nux Mighty Plug Pro. It’s excellent, sounds great, loads of pedal/amp options.

Brilliant bit of kit.

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Help choosing something for headphone practice

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