One of my friends is a musician. He cannot manage to get any free time for his guitar practice in the daytime because of his busy schedule.
Therefore, he needs to practice the guitar late at night. For this, he interrupts the peaceful sleep of his roommates and neighbors very often. All of them are very much annoyed with him.
So, what to do in this situation?
I recently came to know about his problem and found some solutions for him after so much research.
Fortunately, you can have plenty of great options that will allow you to play guitar silently without disturbing others. And one of them is using headphones.
But can you plug headphones into a guitar?
The answer is yes!
If you are in the same situation as my friend, then don’t worry. I am here today to solve your problem.
Have a look here.
Right now, I am going to describe some ways of playing guitar through a headphone.
How Can You Plug Headphones Into A Guitar?
Here I tried to include some convenient methods of connecting headphones to a guitar. You will find the details below.
Plug Your Headphone Into The Guitar Amp
This is the fastest way to play guitar through headphones. Nowadays, most guitar amps have a dedicated headphone output jack. Simply plug your headphones into it, and get ready to play just like you usually would.
I want to mention one more thing: the headphone outputs on guitar amps always require a 6.5mm or ¼ inches cable. If your headphone has a 3.5mm, or 1/8 inches cable, you need to purchase an adapter.
Note: when connecting headphones to your guitar amp, make sure to lower the volume before you start playing. Then slowly increase the volume level to avoid blasting your ears.
Well, you know that everything has both positive and negative sides. Now, I will talk about the merits and demerits of this process.
Pros
- Cheap to buy an adapter if your amp needs one.
- Quick and easy setting.
- Use your gear in silence.
Cons
- Your amp must have a headphones output.
- Not suitable for traveling.
As the usual guitar amps are not portable, you cannot use them for traveling or while going outside. In this case, using a micro guitar amp can be the best solution for you. Just keep reading to know the details.
Use A Micro Guitar Amp
Micro Guitar headphone amplifiers are becoming incredibly popular for guitarists who travel or like to practice in silence. It is a tiny self-contained guitar amplifier that is small enough to fit in your pocket.
Simply plug it into your guitar, and plug in your headphones into the 3.5mm output. There is no hassle with cables or adapters. Besides, the sound quality is decent enough but not like the real amplifier.
Now, look at the pros-cons of using microamp.
Pros
- Quite portable.
- Can play with or without headphones.
- No cables or adapters are needed.
- Aux input can be used for jamming with music.
Cons
- The sound quality is not as good as other options.
- Limited control over guitar tones and effects.
If you are looking for a high-quality microamp, you can go for
- VOX AP2AC amPlug 2 AC30 Guitar Headphone Amplifier
- Marshall MS2 Micro Guitar Amplifier
- Blackstar FLY3
- BOSS Katana Mini Amp 7W Solid State Amplifier
- Yamaha THR5
Are you curious to know the details about these battery-powered guitar amps? Then check it. You will find all the details there.
Go For A Headphone With Built-In Guitar Amp
You don’t want to use microamp? Okay, then I am going to tell you the simplest and easiest way to play guitar through headphones.
There are some headphones available in the market that have a built-in guitar amp!
Are you surprised? It is only a matter of plug-and-play.
Here I would like to mention such two headphones for you. They are:
1. Boss Waza Air Wireless Guitar Headphone Amp
It is great if you want to practice your guitar in peace. It is a fully-featured headphone amp that is the best for wireless. You can take it anywhere, and it is excellent for practice.
2. Vox amPhones AC30 Active Guitar Headphones
If you love to play electric guitar, it can be a great option for your practice. This headphone amplifier is a very versatile gadget. It gives you excellent tonal quality.
Connect To A Computer Or Smartphone Using An Audio Interface
You can play guitar through headphones using an audio interface by connecting it to your computer or mobile devices.
However, the process varies a little bit with the type of devices.
For Computer Or PC
An audio interface is one kind of hardware that allows you to connect your electric guitar to your computer, PC via USB, or Thunderbolt. You can then connect any headphones to your device and play guitar.
However, you might need to download some drivers depending on the interface or computer.
For Any Mobile Devices
Another convenient way of playing electric guitar through headphones is to connect it to your mobile devices like smartphones or tablets. For that, you need to purchase a digital guitar interface designed especially for mobile devices.
If you choose this option, you will get far more out of an interface than just playing the guitar with headphones. You can also record, process, and produce music with it.
Right now, I am going to mention the positive and negative sides of using audio interface.
Pros
- Great portability for convenient traveling.
- Wide range of amps and effects to enhance your music.
- Option for recording audio on computer or phone.
Cons
- Limited options for Android users.
- Cannot connect with an existing or regular amp.
Here are some suggestions for good-quality audio interfaces. Look below.
Some of the best audio interfaces for your computer can be..
For iPhone, you can rely on..
If you have an Android, the best interface you can go for is..
Let’s know about another way now.
Using Multi-Effect Pedals
Most of the modern multi-effects units tend to have a headphones output, which is usually labeled as the line out.
If it has some kind of amp modeling, you can also plug in your headphones. Sometimes, the output is called phones or simply headphones.
The best part is that they have plenty of different ports such as audio outputs, USB, and headphone outputs, which makes them versatile.
It will allow you to hook up to a PA system for live performances. You can also connect it to a computer for easy recording in your digital audio workstation (DAW) and even just for playing music through headphones.
It also has some disadvantages with the advantages. See them at a glance.
Pros
- Provide a wide range of tones and settings.
- More portable than guitar amps.
- Accessible to a PC or Mac for recording.
Cons
- More expensive than the amps.
- Not as portable as microamps.
- All pedals don’t have a headphone output.
If you don’t have a multi-effects pedal yet, it is high time to get one. I have some best suggestions for you,
Well, if you already have a set of headphones, you can utilize one of the methods mentioned above to play guitar with them.
But don’t you have any headphones?
Then you can check our another article, which is the best headphones for electric guitar. This write-up will help you choose the best headphones for your guitar practice.
Now come to another significant part. What will happen if your guitar does not correlate with headphones?
You might have no idea why it is not connecting and what the problem is.
So let’s know what to do in this situation.
Troubleshooting For Guitar Amp & Headphones
Although it can be annoying for you, finding a solution is the most important thing. Therefore, I will give some important tips now, so that you can find out the problem.
Try Another Guitar Amp
Disconnect your headphone from the guitar amp and use it with another guitar amp. If it works, you can be sure that the headphone is ok. The problem may be between your amp or guitar.
Use Another Headphone To Check The Amp
You can also plug another headphone into the amp. The amp is the bridge between your guitar and headphones. It serves as a guitar headphone adapter. So it can be the reason why your guitar is not connecting to headphones.
If this pair of headphones does not work with this amp, you need to consider the other possibilities.
Check The Output Port Of The Amp
Now you should check the output port. This port can become faulty without your knowledge. It is a small part of the amp that you ignore most of the time.
Go For Professional Help
If the problem is with this amp port, then you need professional help to repair the port. It will be better to buy a new amp in case of a highly damaged port.
I hope you can solve your problems with these instructions.
Lets conclude the topic here.
Conclusion
Finally, I can say that now you have got your solution to plug headphones into a guitar. Right? It is an excellent system if you want to live peacefully.
I tried my best to inform you of the best ways to play electric guitar with headphones. Now you can enjoy your guitar anytime and anywhere without disturbing others. I hope this will be very helpful for you.
Thanks For Reading This Article.