Rig suggestions

[Jeff D]

I'm living in an apartment right now and I'm trying not to disturb the neighbors too much, so I've been thinking about getting a semi-hollow guitar and seeing if I can get an amp with a nice headphone sound. I don't really want to play distorted at all, just a nice clean tone to practice my usual acoustic stuff late at night. I don't really have a budget at this point, as I'm just thinking about the idea, but I'm guessing it will probably be around $2 grand. I've been looking at carvins semi-hollows, and they look nice, but I would really like one with P90's in it.

I have been away from electric guitars for a while so I have no idea about what amp to get. I've been wondering if I could just buy a POD and ply headphones into there, but I'm not sure if that would work. So please throw out any suggestions you have. The guitar is not really necessary, I have an epiphone les paul back at home that I will be getting a few months, but the amp is necessary. I don't even have an amp at this point in time as I traded it to get an acoustic.

Thanks for any suggestions.

[jazzguy]

pod or any multi-effects stomp box with a headphone jack will do. If you have an iPhone you can also look at the iRig. Perfect for headphone jamming.

[Jeff D]

Thanks so much! I'll have to give iRig a look

[jazzguy]

Also the Fender Mustang I, II, or III version 2 are excellent amps with great Fender tube-like clean tones. All have headphone jacks I believe.

[moon]

With a reactive load, you can capture the full sound of any amp of any size from the input stage right up to the output transformer (it plugs into the speaker out so it sees exactly what the driver sees).

You need to add a cab sim to the raw amp output which you can do either on a computer if you're set up for recording or with a standalone box (eg google down Two Notes Torpedo).

I made my own reactive load (it's a very simple circuit - see below) and with a convolution cab sim and some good impulse response files (and of course a decent set of headphones) you can get some really good sounds. Just be careful not to play too loud for too long with headphones.

[Jeff D]

Thank you guys for the help!

Moon, I have no idea what that is or how I would make it haha. Could you send me more details? Thank you!

[moon]

The big magnet and coil in a speaker driver presents a big load to the amp. A loadbox just replaces this - but doesn't make any noise of course. They're used for testing and also to tap off a smaller, line level signal from the high-current speaker out to send to a desk or a DAW or whatever.

A real speaker driver has a variable impedance curve and this is what a reactive load tries to replicate using inductors and capacitors. By contrast, a purely resistive load has a constant impedance and can sound very flat and compressed by comparison.

The circuit above comes from this article by Randall Aiken.

Think of it as having two loops: the bottom loop with "signal in" L1 and L3, is the reactive load (L1 & L3 are inductors). the top loop, with "signal out" and the 1k log pot is the bit which taps off a lower current signal to create a line level output.

There are just 8 components plus some jacks and switches so it's a fairly easy DIY project. All you really need to know is how to solder. You'll need to use some high-quality inductors but it's not expensive to build.

I'm going to be frantically trying to catch up with work for the next week but I'll write up some detailed instructions when I can. I've been meaning to do this for a while anyway - I'd never have managed to build mine without help from other people.

With a convolution cab sim, the sound quality is very good so it's a very useful little device for quiet practice/recording.

[Jeff D]

Thank you so much, moon! This would be pretty cool as I could buy a nice amp and just use this to keep the levels low.

[clintj]

I just ordered a Vox AC30 AmPlug for my beater guitar at work so I can plug in and play silently, and still get some electric tone. No idea how good it is, but the idea is intriguing. Minimal size, plugs directly into the guitar, and has just a headphone output.

Another vote for the Mustang amps, too. The community online has come up with a vast array of downloadable presets, some of which are pretty darn good.

[DGFreeman]

I have a Zoom G3x that I use thats is just awesome. I was skeptical of getting a MultiFX after years of torturing myself with trying to find one that didn't suck. The G3 does not suck. It has extremely realistic amp and pedal tones and is killer with just some simple eq and effects for acoustic guitars as well. I use one now as the main part of my live rig, directly into a pa. I have made several different presets for different guitars and songs and it is a piece of cake getting to them,. It also has a looper, which I don't use too much, but it does work well.

I have the Bass version as well B3 and it works astonishingly well for acoustic guitars, but lacks the guitar amp models of the G3.

Check out this demo

[moon]

Originally Posted by Jeff D

Thank you so much, moon! This would be pretty cool as I could buy a nice amp and just use this to keep the levels low.

You still interested? Let me know what power amp it would have to handle and we'll take it from there.

[Sombras]

Looks like you've already got the major options:

• loadbox

• iRig

• multi-effects box

• amp w/speaker emulation

I used a Tonelab LE for five years and it was GREAT for silent playing. In the last year I've acquired two amps (Egnater Rebel 30 and Blackstar HT-5R) that allow for headphones when necessary and speaker when possible.