Here are the best Headphones for your Guitar Amps. Guitars amps can be loud (not to you but definitely to your neighbors). Using a pair of headphones will allow you to practice without annoying your family or neighbors.
Why Use Headphones?
Want to make your guitar sound like a much more expensive instrument? Want to practice at odd hours without anybody yelling at you? Use a pair of quality Headphones. A good pair of headphones can come in handy, be it for practicing at home or for your studio.
There are several benefits of using Headphones for your Guitar.
Firstly, it lets you practice at odd hours without having to worry about disturbing others.
Practice makes perfect, and just because people are objecting to your playing because it is late in the day doesn’t mean you stop practicing. An easy way to get rid of this problem is to use a guitar headphone; you then don’t have to worry about disturbing others, especially if you want to play at odd hours.
In most cases, depending on the quality of your headphones, your guitar may sound much better through the headphones. Most stereo headphones will be good enough for listening to your guitar, especially for silent practice. However, if you are willing to stretch your budget, you can get a professional-quality pair of headphones.
If you do a lot of work in the studio creating your own tracks, then you need headphones that will give you excellent clarity. You do get good headphones that keep unwanted sound out, very useful in studio where you are looking for a flat sound that you can trust.
Ways to Listen to your guitar through Headphones
Here are the various ways to listen to your guitar through headphones.
- Plug the headphones directly into your normal guitar amplifier
- Use a Guitar Headphone Amplifier. The guitar amp plugs directly into the guitar, and the headphones plug into the amp. No cables or adapters required.
- Use a Multi-Effects Possessor. These come with several ports, including a headphone output.
- Connect your guitar to your smartphone or tablet via a digital guitar interface designed for mobile devices (the headphones will plug directly into the mobile device).
- Connect your guitar to a Computer using an Audio Interface (the headphones will plug directly into the audio interface)
Headphones that Plug Directly to an Amplifier
The most common way to use headphones is to plug it in directly to your guitar amplifier. Nowadays, almost all guitar amplifiers have a dedicated headphone output jack. Just plugin and you are good to go.
Please note that the headphone outputs on most guitar amps require you to use a 1/4” cable. Most standard pair of headphones on the other hand use a 3.5mm, or 1/8″, cable. So, you may need to
The most common way to use headphones is to plug it in directly to your guitar amplifier. Nowadays, almost all guitar amplifiers have a dedicated headphone output jack. Just plugin and you are good to go.
Please note that the headphone outputs on most guitar amps require you to use a 1/4” cable. Most standard pair of headphones on the other hand use a 3.5mm, or 1/8″, cable. So, you may need to purchase an adapter (available for under $10) to plugin the headphones into the guitar amplifier.
Best Headphones
Headphones from Audio-Technica, Sennheiser, Sony, Shure, Bayerdynamic are of good quality. If you want your guitar to sound as good (or better) than an amp, you will need top-quality headphones.
My best headphone recommendation would be Audio-Technica ATH M50x. They already come with a 1/4″ adapter out of the box.
Here are some more recommendations.
- Beyerdynamic DT 770 PRO: 80 Ohm Studio Headphone, Solid German Build, High Impedance
- Sennheiser HD 280: Super sleek design, Lightweight, Gold plated connector
- Sony MDR7506: Foldable, Large-diaphragm size
Check out more Headphones on zZounds
Using a Guitar Headphone Amp
A Guitar headphone amplifier is a mini sized self-contained guitar amplifier (small enough to fit in your pocket). It’s a tiny instrument that occupies minimal space.
A headphone amp is plugged into a guitar, and the headphones plug into the 3.5mm output of the guitar amp. No cables or adapters are required, which makes it very convenient to use. So, connect the amp to your guitar, and plugin headphones in the amplifier. That’s it!
Most headphone amps also come with an AUX input jack, so you can also play-along to your favorite song on your mp3 player if you wish to.
In addition to practicing at home, you can even use it to warm up before a live performance or use it when traveling.
My recommended guitar headphone amp is the Vox Amplug AC30 guitar headphone amp. You will find several different amp models from Vox for different types of music, such as metal, clean, classic rock, and blues, so you can also choose a model that suits your playing style.
You can check out more Guitar Headphone Amps here.
Connect Your Guitar to Smartphone or Tablet
A lot of beginners and experienced players now use mobile devices (such as Tablet / Smartphone) to learn to play the guitar and to create music (using apps), and you can easily connect headphones to a tablet or a smartphone.
So you just have to figure out how to connect your guitar to your mobile device and you will have another way to listen to your guitar via headphones.
For this, you will need to purchase a digital guitar interface designed specifically for mobile devices. Once the guitar is connected to the iOS device, you will require an amp simulator app such as Jam Up Pro, Bias FX Mobile by Positive Grid, Amplitube (for Android) to listen to guitar tones.
Recommended options include:
- iRig HD 2 interface for iPhone or iPad
- iRig UA guitar interface for Android devices.
Use a Multi-Effects Possessor
Digital effects processors provide high-quality simulation of amplifiers and effects pedals in a separate hardware unit. Once you spend enough time playing the guitar, you’re very likely to own one of these. Digital effects processors come with several different ports, including audio, USB, and headphone outputs.
A Digital effects processor is a comparatively expensive option (compared to the other options), but it is indeed a versatile product.
Recommended product: Line 6 POD HD500X Guitar Multi-Effects Processor. Excellent for live performances and for home studio recording.
Connect to Audio Interface / Computer
There is one more method to hear your guitar through headphones, although this setup is primarily a home studio setup used primarily for recording.
You will need an audio interface, a piece of hardware that connects to a computer via USB (or Thunderbolt); an audio interface can take several inputs and has several outputs.
So, you connect your electric guitar to one of the inputs of the audio interface, and plug your headphones directly into the outputs of the audio interface, and you will be able to hear yourself play. You can even record what you’re playing using the digital audio workstation (DAW) software installed on your computer.
Recommended audio interface is the Focusrite Scarlett Solo. Sound quality is excellent, you can plug in your guitar and even an additional microphone at the same time. It’s also affordable; sells for under $100 on Amazon.
- Here’s a detailed guide on studio headphones & in-ear monitors.
- Headphones for Digital Pianos & Keyboards
KeytarHQ editorial team includes musicians who write and review products for pianists, keyboardists, guitarists & other musicians. KeytarHQ is the best online resource for information on keyboards, pianos, synths, keytars, guitars and music gear for musicians of all abilities, ages and interests.
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