Exactly duncanwhyte
I'd like to thank everybody who posted here. Lots of great info, lots of ideas to experiment with
Meanwhile I traded a few things at my local music store, and came out with a littel Blackstar solidstate thingie with an mp3 input and headphone out.
When the family's out I can use it without the headphones. The sound is decent enough for practice, and I'm using an old Boss Bassman pedal to warm things up. I'm happy.