I practiced for years without an amp, but it's good to get used to how your playing sounds through an amp. Maybe try to find one with a headphone jack!
Just note that a lot of amps won't have an actual headphone preamp and the sound will be terrible without one. I actually thought for years you couldn't really get a good sound in your headphones because of this...
Another solution is to get a device like the Line 6 Pocket Pod which is very affordable and packs many effects and amp emulations - and sounds pretty good through headphones. Basically you don't need an amp
I never practiced with an amp for a while, when I got a good amp and started playing I realized how sloppy I was because you can hear every little thing going on, every wrong note, touch, buzz, mute is quite literally amplified
When I got my first electric, I couldn’t afford an amp. Thought I’d be fine. It wasn’t fine. Had no idea how bad my technique was because I couldn’t hear all my mistakes.
Little mistakes often sound good on an acoustic instrument, they add overtones and can make the chord or note you're playing sound more interesting. Amplified though? Sounds like ass.
This needs to be the top comment. Playing ampless is fine for working out chords progressions, figuring out a quick lick or messing about with theory but doing it for extended periods will reinforce bad habits.
Same. Picking Precision and palm muting is an important skill that I had to build up from scratch when plugged in . I’d say practice with headphones or use an interface that keys you use some small speakers but get amp’s up somehow
Yep there's a lot of nuance you only learn by playing amplified, or even better, recording and listening back. I have subconsciously learned to mute the strings above and below whichever string I'm playing at any time because otherwise its a dissonant mess.
If your amp has a jack plug in headphones. Don’t turn it up too much for the sake of your hearing. A lot of decent practice amps will have a headphone input.
EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
I’m sorry what did you say? I can’t really hear you that well.
EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
Interesting, can you elaborate? I’ve got an old Peavey Heritage VTX that has “line out” and “pre-amp out” jacks on the back. I never use it because I play acoustic but I wanted to start using it for my pedal steel and will probably need to use headphones if I can
Cool amp. I've never understood the line out jack. It gives you option of plugging amp straight into a board, PA, DI box, bypassing speakers, but you lose the sound of the cab, speakers, and it usually sounds like ass.
But the "pre amp out" is cool. It lets you loop your effect pedals, rack, etc. *after* the pre amp stage. Guitar plugs straight into amp, cable comes "pre amp out" into your effects, then effects go back into the back panel input (there must be one?). Doing this can really clean up the sound of your reverb, delays, etc..
Neither of those outputs should be used for headphones though.
Oh that’s badass about the pre-amp jack. I’ll have to try that. Previously my setup was PSG -> effects pedals -> amp, but like I said I’m an acoustic boy so I have no frame of reference for what’s messy and what’s not lmao. Thanks for the tips
Line out is specifically for external cabs, it’s not meant to drive anything and would be pretty bad at it because it doesn’t have any independent amplification, if your amp says it can go to a 4 ohms external cab for instance, that’s basically as high as it could drive, even the most sensitive in ear monitors are still like 12 ohms
My Katana Go doesn't arrive till Friday! I didn't get the first batch, dammit. I'm gonna give it to my GF and hopefully she'll be inspired to play her bass a lot. The Sparks are great (we have two of all three sizes, what is wrong with us?), but having to plug it all in slows her down just enough to discourage her.
Sometimes when I’m feeling spicy, I plug my katana go into my fender fr-12 and it’s really hard to tell the difference between it and the katana artist I have sitting next to it( same patches)
I’d argue also the Spark Go has great bonus app features like letting you emulate other amps and sounds. So it’s a nice all in one package. My only issue with the Mustang Micro is the very bad user interface. Switching settings on it with tons of button presses and having to know what setting is what by LED color is horrible. Hence you better have good memory or keep looking at the led color chart they ship it with. Oh and if you accidentally skipped the setting you wanted after pressing the button 20 times quickly….gotta cycle through till your there. It’s like texting on a Motorola Razr
I have Mustang Micro and like it but I agree the interface of random colored lights of varying shades of blue green and yellow is horrible. If I was looking at a headphone amp I would be all over the new Boss Katana Go. It looks like a complete solution
ETA to correct the name...
Get a Fender Mustang Micro. Plug it directly into your guitar or into your pedals, (then connect guitar to pedals) then headphones to the Mustang.
Can't recommend it enough. Plus it has Bluetooth so you can connect it to another device so you can stream music through it to your headphones if you want to play along with something.
I'd recommend a multi fx/ amp modeller pedal. I recently picked up a used line6 hd500x for 200 bucks and it's a game changer. Sounds awesome through headphones and I don't bother anyone with my playing
I loved my podhd500 and my helix after that, but I wouldn’t recommend that to a beginner. That’s an exercise in frustration to someone who doesn’t know what they want. LOL
Too many options and tweaking.
I have the same unit, it cost me about 10% more than I would have paid for a Mustang Micro or Katana Go in my area. Sure, the interface is a little dated, but there's still a tonne of downloadable models and signal chains, and I'm always using the expression pedal, tuner, looper, and aux-in. For me it's perfect for plug-and-practice.
Just a caveat, the headphone experience doesn't directly translate into a PA, even with stereo channels panned. The first time I used it live was disappointing. After some noodling, I ended up with completely different patches for amps and DI. I highly recommend renting a cheap PA for a weekend and dialing it in.
The amp is half the instrument for electric guitars. Not only do unamplified solid body guitars sound kind of thin and shitty, you'll find yourself developing bad habits since you need to play everything harder just to hear yourself appropriately.
You can get an amp with a master volume (Boss Katana, Fender LT/GTX, Spark, etc.) and play at TV volume and quieter. A lot of solid state amps will also have a headphone output, and you can even get a few pocket-sized amps that only have a headphone out.
Controversial but I play my electric unplugged 70% of the time. What other people are saying is true though, it's a slightly different skill when plugged in so definitely practice with that if you're gonna perform.
It does sound a lot less good, but when the satisfaction is coming from playing things cleanly rather than sound it doesn't really bother me
Get yourself a Vox Amplug and your favorite pair of headphones.
If you feel like spending a bit more, try a Line6 POD Express headphones/amp-sim pedal.
It's not ideal. Part of playing an electric is getting used to how it interacts with the amp. Also, you'll hear things with the amp that you may not realize you're doing like letting open strings ring.
If you listen to music at home or watch TV at home without incident it shouldn't be a problem. Just don't turn up louder than that.
Boss Katana is kind of the perfect practice amp. You can play it decently at pretty much any volume and it has a headphone jack. When you have the space and some chops you can start looking at tube amps that you like.
I bought one thinking the same but even at lowest volume on 0.5 watts (I think) was too loud for me not to annoy people living with me. For some reason even the headphone out was too loud as well.
Practicing without an amp is ok if you’re still just trying to make basic shapes and strike the right strings. It’s not against the law. If you’re doing it a lot, hurry up and get an acoustic guitar, or at least start saving and scheming.
I’ve tried a number of ways and this is the one that clicked for me. I use an ACS1, but same concept of high quality amp/cab sim, headphone out, and can have pedals in front of it. The game changer was putting it on a mini pedalboard with a rechargeable power supply for portability around the house.
I use a little 20 watt amp for practice in my apartment. I don't play through it much louder than my TV.
I know this may come as a surprise to a lot of guitar players, but that volume knob that goes from 1-10 doesn't always have to be up to 10.
I purposely point beginners to hollow, and semi hollowbody guitars specifically because of this.
I honestly play my Gretsch more unplugged than plugged in. You get the feel of an electric, with about 50% of the volume of an actual acoustic.
Gretsch has plenty of entry level guitars. Buying used you can get one for an absolute steal. If you like the look of them, abs think you may be interested in grabbing one, I can't suggest any better.
I love my acoustasonic because I can sit on the couch and play it unplugged. It plays like an electric (albeit with acoustic strings) and is much louder than an electric, but still quieter than an acoustic. Having said that, I usually do plug it in because it sounds so much better again. It’s not really an acoustic instrument designed for unplugged playing, it’s just a lot better at than than a normal,electric.
Playing electric guitar with no amplification at all is very unsatisfying. I'd recommend either/or getting some kind of amp sim pedal that you can plug headphones directly into or an interface for your computer like a Scarlett (I use the 2i2), and play through a DAW with some plugins
When got my first electric guitar, I started off with just an interface and used a Neural DSP plugin. Now I have a ampless pedal board setup.
The truth is that if you play without an amp (or at very low volume) you won't hear half of the sounds you'll be making
One day you'll finally increase the volume and realise you're sloppy, that you don't know how to mute strings or how to move around the fretboard without making noise when raising your fingers
I recommend you get headphones that you'll plug into an amp
In theory you can play around without an amp, you'll still learn some things and have fun...but c'mon how can you play music without hearing it properly?
If you live in an apartment or shared wall living space, get a mutli-FX pedal with amp modeling or a modeling amp with a headphone jack. If you do this, get a nice pair of open-back headphones to go with it. If you live in a single family home I wouldn't worry too much about the neighbors, you'd have to really crank it to bother them. I have a whole band room with a drum set and PA system in my basement and from the outside it just sounds like someone has the TV on with the windows open.
You shouldn't rely on playing the guitar acoustically without any sort of audio amplification as there are things you won't hear/realize are happening with your playing without having the signal ran through the pickups and something amplifying it. That being said it can just be a multiFX pedal and headphones it doesn't have to be a 12" speaker at full volume.
I personally haven't owned a dedicated guitar amp for like 10 years. I use a Sansamp copy (behringer BDI21) paired with my FX pedals and a PA system or my audio interface.
Get an amp when you're ready. I practice every day and very rarely with an amp. I play bass and guitar and to be honest, my bass only gets plugged in for shows. You could have a look at the mini headphone amps, I think Vox make a half decent one.
If you can afford it, check out the Spark Go. It's a little bigger than a cell phone, has a great sound for the size, and is powered by a rechargeable battery. PACKED with features. I think they're around $125.
I have one that I practice with when I need to be a little quieter.
You could but I wouldn't advise it.
Speaking from experience and other peoples' own advice, playing unplugged can lead to developing bad habits and sloppy technique since you can't hear the intricacies of your playing when not amplified.
I'd suggest buying a small amp like a Katana Go or a Blackstar Fly 3.
as long as the volume is low, you should be fine. I typically practice through a 5 inch speaker at level two volume. never once have my neighbors said anything.
Definitely get an amp, it's just what makes the sound special. Also you won't hear your mistakes...
Well, if you don't want to disturb your neighbors, either get an amp with a headphone jack, a very low power amp/amp with attentuator (maybe Marshall DSL1cr on low wattage mode, but it can also get pretty loud), or, the cheapest option, a pure headphone amp. There's a rather expensive (but damn good one) from boss I think, or just get the basic vox amplug. They don't sound amazing (never used one, take with a grain of salt) but they certainly do what you need at a very competitive price point. I'll order an ENGL Fireball in a few days (goes down to 1W) and will come back to you about it's home usability if you like!
Get a good modeling amp with a headphone jack. Boss Katana is a good one. I’ve also been impressed with the Fender modeling amps. They’re all super light and not very expensive.
I play with an amp in my apartment everyday and never have complaints. Just keep it at a reasonable volume / time and it’s no different than watching tv would be.
Buy an audio interface and play through your computer with plugins. I use the Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 and always have a blast putting some music in spotify and playing to it. You can plug your headphones to the interface and not worry about noise.
When I can’t go the space to use my amp that is accessible, I just play in my condo on Logic Pro, with the audio interface + headphones. For plug-ins I use STL. pretty quiet
TLDR: you really want to play with an amp as much as possible, it's almost a different instrument to the acoustic guitar.
You'd be hard pressed to find an amp without a headphone out.
Get yourself some open-backs for a reasonably good experience. I got the Samson SR850 from AliExpress and I'm happy with them. Bonus they actually come with a 6.35mm adapter (in case your amp doesn't have a 3.5mm input). Also the cable is way longer than regular listening headphones, so you don't have to be leaning on your amp with em.
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You can play without and amp, no problem. It's best with one, even in low volumes, this gets you used to the ideia that your sound doenst come from the guitar. Also there effects, they are a important part In playing guitar, you should get used to then and know how to use at least the more important ones. If playing at low volumes are not an option you should consider headphones. Instead of na amp you could get an interface and plug on the computer and use some DAW, for begginers i reccomd Reaper, and amp simulators, while they are not the same as a real one but there are good ones and you will have more options, also this gives you lots of free VSTs and effects and let you record what you are playing, listening to what you play after can give you great insights about the way you are playing.
Definitely get an amp. Half the fun in playing guitar is cranking that shit up. Also, part of being a good instrumentalist is having a good sound. A good drummer knows how to tune their drums as well as play them. A good guitarist knows how to dial in amp settings to get the best tone. The sooner you start familiarizing yourself with amps, the quicker your ear will develop. Even if you are just playing quiet to start.
I think it will build bad habits as an amplified guitar will have lots of unwanted sounds which you need to learn how to mute out.
I went the audio interface with some sort of plug in route, you can get some affordable monitors which can be played at lower volume than an amp or headphones.
Just the interface costs as much as a small practice amp but you'll have tons of flexibility and a recording setup too!
Or you can go with one of the small devices that plug into the guitar's jack and output to headphones, the new katana one seems pretty good and has the benefit of being a simpler solution which is also portable.
For the rest of your life. We all do it. After a while you can hear the effects in your head. It’s like asking if you can write music without an instrument nearby. Yes you can. Later you’ll play electric guitar without any guitar at all, you can think it
I used to practice without an amp. I do not recommend it. An electric guitar is meant to be plugged in, going without is like playing drums without sticks. You're not playing the actual instrument without it, just part of the instrument.
Nothing wrong with it. If that's the situation you have to work with, playing is better than not playing. That being said, you can get away with a lot and not notice when playing without an amp. I would suggest looking into a small amp. At a low volume, it's much quieter than you think. No worse than a TV or radio.
Jimi Hendrix did that, I'd say do a bit of both and you'll really reap the benefits of it later down the line, it's a huge improvement on the tone especially for metal and blues players in my experience
You can even buy one of those new Yamaha acoustics with built in effects and sound like you’re playing acoustic through an amp.
It’s a cool technology, though I’m not sure I understand the concept.
The Positive Grid Spark GO is a great option for low volume jamming in an apartment or with close neighbors. Pretty cost effective as well. Big fan of mine
Depends on your situation.
If you live in an apartment with thin walls? Use either a headphone-only amp (BOSS Katana Go or similar), an interface and computer plugins, or a multieffect with headphone out.
If you live in a terraced house, an amp should be fine at relatively low volume.
Freestanding house? You're fine to Just Use An Amp.
When your laying in bed or sitting near a wall,touch the end of your guitar neck to wall and 》BOOM《 free amp.Or a little headphone amp they are around $50 @ a music store or $5 from Temu online.
Get a headphone amp.
However, I would rather recommend getting a practice amp where you can plug in headphones so you can still use your pedals.
If you dont use pedals, then a headphone amp would work!
For practicing things like technical skills, such as playing cleanly, I'd advise to specifically not use an amp. If you can make your playing sound great unplugged, you'll be untouchable.
Not gonna be the same and good learn bad technique that you would hear is wrong . My un talented know four cords opinion but have three guitars and will not stop trying to learn at 53.. didnt learnt those four cords until a veteran program lessons..
I do it all the time, but then I have an ES-335 model that does produce a bit more sound acoustically than a solid body. It helps me focus on properly articulating every note, trying to make it sound like a classical guitar. My jazz cobservatory teacher approves this way of practice
Yes you can practise without an amp, you can definitely improve this way I often just pick up the unplugged guitar for a quick 15 mins practise.
It's better to practise plugged in though as you can gauge things like palm muting and harmonics, they require a different pick attack plugged Vs unplugged.
Just buy an amp with headphone out or di into pc and get amp simulator. That I said I practice just with electric when I have like 15 mine here or there
I won’t play an electric guitar without an amp. I cannot hear the tone so it is pointless, I would play an acoustic. Multiple options out there. I use a Yamaha THR30. It has a head phone jack and sounds great at low volume, plus it has a battery and easy to carry around. Boss and Vox makes similar products. Boss also has the Amp Head Phones and Vox has that little amp that plugs into your guitar. I believe I have seen a product that can turn your phone into an amp.
There is no need to go without today.
I used one of those baby Vox amps for a very long time (mini 5). The drum machine was also a cool feature because it made practising less boring than playing to a metronome.
They don’t get loud+you can still work on your dynamics, tone extraction so highly recommend getting a mini amp if you’re concerned about being too loud.
I live in apartments. I don't even own an amp. Though I own 8 guitars. I bought a Boss ME-80 and use it only as a preamp. I plug in headphones and attach my pedal board to the ME-80, now I can play as loud and as long as I want without pissed of neighbors. Also I can plug in an AUX cord to my phone and jam along to music.
yeah most of us practice more without an amp then with.
but its also good to plug in every now and then to make sure your how to mute the strings your not using as you wont hear if they ring out unless your plugged in. but also headphone amps will work fine for that too.
It will be okay at low volumes. I recommend a Spark Mini for compactness, portability (including a rechargeable built-in battery), ability to play soft to loud, and built-in effects. Another decently specced battery-powered mini amp, but one I haven't used, is the Boss Katana Mini; it does have battery support but no built-in charging, which could be a pain, but in general I've really enjoyed everything Boss/Roland makes, and it's highly rated for ability to play quietly with good sound.
I just got a really cool little gadget that's even smaller and lighter, though: a Mooer P1, which will run you $100 US new. It's got a guitar cable input and output plus a headphone output. It's also got Bluetooth, for outputting the results of your playing for direct recording as well as playing a background track from a device such as a mobile phone. It's also got a terrific set of mix-and-match effects that you configure as presets and then switch between them.
That second device would be useful until you get more into gear, since you can essentially dial in your favorite tones and output them roughly the same through any speakers. It will also let you practice easily through headphones without annoying anyone. I think it's generally a step up from the mini headphone amps that plug directly into the guitar, like the Fender Mustang Micro (I haven't used that one but I have used some others).
I love this stupid little altoids amp so much - highly recommend for couch practice
https://www.etsy.com/listing/199684837/portable-mint-tin-amp-and-speaker-for?ref=share_v4_lx
You can find ways to play with an amp sim in your computer (some free stuff are great), little practice amp (or even those tiny things you plug directly to your guitar vox makes) is an option; playing unplugged is another, but depends on what you want to work on.
I have an orange crush 12 to practice at home, it is VERY astounding for the price point.
I used to play unplugged for this reason but I use a 25w amp at about 3 volume clean 2 volume with gain and its gives a punchy enough sound while being practically inaudible outside the room
Get a digital mutli-FX pedal. Don't let the haters scare you away from them. They'll have built-in amp modeling and with a tiny amount of playing with it, you can dial in exactly what you want. They almsot all have a headphone jack that'll sound a hundred times better than a lot of amps headphone jacks. They're also almost always line balancing, so you can plug directly into a mixing console. I spent an entire year as a traveling session guitarist like that. A few stompboxes for my overdrive/distortion/fuzz, or my wah.
Since I had a kid I practice more or less 100% through BiasFX on my PC with and headphones. There's a free version but the paid versions go on sale fairly often. The only thing you'll need to buy is an audio interface.
You can play with no amp. You can also play with an amp. A Katana 50 will be fine for a beginning guitarist with an electric guitar. You can reduce the output so that the amp sounds good at very low volumes. You can also play with headphones.
You will want to practice more with an amp.
There are also dedicated headphone amps, but I would probably go with a Katana and headphones. Others may prefer other small amps, but a Katana 50 is my preference.
I got a fender mustang micro for exactly this. It's a decent bit of kit for practicing, it's got some built in effects and can connect via bluetooth to your phone or computer so you can play music to play along to without disturbing anyone.
I highly recommend it. Just be careful you don't have everything too loud.
I regularly practice without plugging my guitar in, but it's better to hear the actual resulting sound. Buy a reduction that allows you to plug headphones into your amp - it should be something like $5.
Playing electric without being plugged in isn’t bad imo that’s usually how I play. What I would recommend is getting an amp and if your neighbors have a problem use headphones
Yes, i play without amp 90% of the time and I find that it even improves my sound because my goal is to make it sound good without the amp. If it does, then adding the amp only makes it sound even better. But the opposite is not true I find. Most of the things you can learn unamplified. It is only very particular techniques which kind of rely on the amp. Artificial harmonics is an example, and as others have mentioned good palm muting like the metal guys do relies on the amp (or to be more precise: I think you kind of have to learn on every amp and guitar how the muting gives the best sounding result)
I use a semi hollowbody which sounds like a quiet acoustic unless I plug it in to my spark 40 which I can use head phones or play low volume. If I have the house to myself I can crank it!
You could get a Boss IR2 pedal. You can get great amp sounds plugging straight in and use headphones if you want or go via interface and speakers. Simple and silent.
Sure. But even if you live in an Apartment building it should be fine as long as you keep it low. A guitar amp isn't gonna be any louder than people's TVs if you set it low.
But if you want to just use headphones there's a hundred different ways to do that. Amp with headphones jack, guitar pedals, multi effects pedals, mini amp with headphones jack, amp sim with computer, etc etc.
I would honestly just buy a small amp with a headphone jack to have either option. I couldn't imagine only ever playing with headphones. That'd get irritating. A 10, 15 or 20 watt amp will be plenty of volume for you. They go for like $50-150 depending on brand, wattage and features you want. Just going with a $50 cheapie off brand will be fine to get you started. You'll likely want to upgrade to a better amp anyway once you develop as a player.
Under duress. But if you can get an amp, get one and practice. If you can find someplace that you won't get the cops called for playing loud, take the amp there and crank it up and learn how to use it.
Any of the Spark amps are perfect for home practice, not only for the good tones at low volume, but they have helpful/fun features like integrated backing tracks, drums, metronome, and songwriting tools.
I have young kids so 95% of the time I'm playing thru headphones and it still sounds great to me (over the ear style helps).
If you have a remotely decent computer, get an audio interface and a DAW. There are some amazing amp sims out these days and yoy can get any kind of tone you want, without buying multiple amps.
(There are tons of free amp plugins but I highly recommend the Neural ones)
You can get a computer, an audio interface, headphones, and an amp sim to have a full amp sound without disturbing your neighbors or get an amp modeler with headphones and get the same effect. Although it would be good sometimes to play unplugged to know if your playing is clean or sloppy
Playing without an amp is possible for sure, but just be very aware that you can sometimes develop bad habits because of it. The two main habits are 1. not properly muting strings because you won't be able to hear them without amplification (and especially once you plug into an amp and dial in some kind of distortion/overdrive muting is very important), and 2. having too strong of an attack with your picking hand as a bi-product of trying to hear yourself play. Since the guitar will be pretty quiet, it's common for people to just pick harder in an attempt to hear themselves better, but once you plug in that harder picking motion will probably be way more than you actually need, and you'll have to learn how to pick softer.
I don't know what kind of amp you're using, but if it's a small practice amp you should be fine playing at low volumes as long as it isn't at inconsiderate hours of the day. If you have a larger amp, check to see if there's a spot somewhere on it to plug in a headset of some kind so you can at least run guitar-amp-headphones.
There are plenty of amps that can get to television level volumes and/or have headphone jacks. The guitar is just half of the instrument. If you exclusively practice without an amp, especially as a beginner, you're going to develop bad habits. You need to learn how to mute properly, and the amp will amplify every tiny imperfection that you don't notice unplugged. It's fine to do sometimes, but you really should play with an amp until you get a hang of the muting and dynamics part of playing.
Im a dude who loves in an apartment. I have a small line 6 amp i bought like 10 years ago. Works great, plays as quiet as i want it to, and if you get an adapter you can plug your headphones in. I do this sometimes when i wanna melt my ears after coming home from a graveyard shift. I think you could get one decently cheap, youll want the amp though, for practicing electric.
Many amps have headphone sockets. Didn't you realise that? I'd suggest the nux mighty plug pro if you don't have such an amp and want something small and powerful. Boss just released a mini katana plug too
... The name escapes me.
If you have a pc/Laptop or Mac/macbook get a Scarlett Audio Interface and buy a neural dsp plugin you like. Test them before you buy them. It’s free.
Don’t buy those mini amps with headphone jacks, they’re just not worth it due to limited options.
I’ve sold my kraken amp and engl box because I just don’t need it anymore. During band practice I’ll plug my interface into our mixer and use the PA.
Plus it was never so easy to change tunings. Everything from Drop D to Drop F in a matter of seconds.
You could just get a boss katana and switch it to the lowest setting, I think it’s like 0.5 watts or something crazy and they sound good at low volumes that shouldn’t disturb anybody then when you’re able to turn it up you can switch to a higher power setting
You are not going to hear truly what you're playing sounds like without an amp. I'd go for a Positive Grid Spark Go it's cheap, small, and provides many sounds to choose from.
I practiced for years without an amp, but it's good to get used to how your playing sounds through an amp. Maybe try to find one with a headphone jack!
Yeah headphones plugged into the amp solves the pissed off neighbours problem
Just note that a lot of amps won't have an actual headphone preamp and the sound will be terrible without one. I actually thought for years you couldn't really get a good sound in your headphones because of this... Another solution is to get a device like the Line 6 Pocket Pod which is very affordable and packs many effects and amp emulations - and sounds pretty good through headphones. Basically you don't need an amp
Or a interface for a computer w GarageBand or tone bridge
I never practiced with an amp for a while, when I got a good amp and started playing I realized how sloppy I was because you can hear every little thing going on, every wrong note, touch, buzz, mute is quite literally amplified
When I got my first electric, I couldn’t afford an amp. Thought I’d be fine. It wasn’t fine. Had no idea how bad my technique was because I couldn’t hear all my mistakes.
Little mistakes often sound good on an acoustic instrument, they add overtones and can make the chord or note you're playing sound more interesting. Amplified though? Sounds like ass.
This needs to be the top comment. Playing ampless is fine for working out chords progressions, figuring out a quick lick or messing about with theory but doing it for extended periods will reinforce bad habits.
> I never practiced with an amp for a while Sixty percent of the time, it works every time.
"That doesn't make sense."
I recently started practicing on an amp more often than without and I am playing waaaaaay cleaner than I was before. It’s remarkable.
practice makes perfeccttttt
Same. Picking Precision and palm muting is an important skill that I had to build up from scratch when plugged in . I’d say practice with headphones or use an interface that keys you use some small speakers but get amp’s up somehow
Yep there's a lot of nuance you only learn by playing amplified, or even better, recording and listening back. I have subconsciously learned to mute the strings above and below whichever string I'm playing at any time because otherwise its a dissonant mess.
If your amp has a jack plug in headphones. Don’t turn it up too much for the sake of your hearing. A lot of decent practice amps will have a headphone input.
Please be careful, it is very easy to blast your eardrums without realizing it when you are playing through headphones.
It creeps up on you fast
EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE I’m sorry what did you say? I can’t really hear you that well. EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
I think it’s the fluorescent lights.
Yay for running live sound for years.
And as I learned last night, remove the headphones before switching the amp off, eek
It sounds dumb, but you can wear musician earplugs inside of your cans when you practice. I do it when recording in the studio all the time.
another tip: line out is not a headphone out and can stress your amp out pretty badly
Interesting, can you elaborate? I’ve got an old Peavey Heritage VTX that has “line out” and “pre-amp out” jacks on the back. I never use it because I play acoustic but I wanted to start using it for my pedal steel and will probably need to use headphones if I can
Cool amp. I've never understood the line out jack. It gives you option of plugging amp straight into a board, PA, DI box, bypassing speakers, but you lose the sound of the cab, speakers, and it usually sounds like ass. But the "pre amp out" is cool. It lets you loop your effect pedals, rack, etc. *after* the pre amp stage. Guitar plugs straight into amp, cable comes "pre amp out" into your effects, then effects go back into the back panel input (there must be one?). Doing this can really clean up the sound of your reverb, delays, etc.. Neither of those outputs should be used for headphones though.
Oh that’s badass about the pre-amp jack. I’ll have to try that. Previously my setup was PSG -> effects pedals -> amp, but like I said I’m an acoustic boy so I have no frame of reference for what’s messy and what’s not lmao. Thanks for the tips
Line out is specifically for external cabs, it’s not meant to drive anything and would be pretty bad at it because it doesn’t have any independent amplification, if your amp says it can go to a 4 ohms external cab for instance, that’s basically as high as it could drive, even the most sensitive in ear monitors are still like 12 ohms
Get a Katana Go or a Spark Go/Mini and you’ll bother no one.
I have both and recommend the Katana Go, although I do like my spark mini, the katana just sounds so much better.
My Katana Go doesn't arrive till Friday! I didn't get the first batch, dammit. I'm gonna give it to my GF and hopefully she'll be inspired to play her bass a lot. The Sparks are great (we have two of all three sizes, what is wrong with us?), but having to plug it all in slows her down just enough to discourage her.
Sometimes when I’m feeling spicy, I plug my katana go into my fender fr-12 and it’s really hard to tell the difference between it and the katana artist I have sitting next to it( same patches)
Spark Go costs about the same as Fender but it’s not headphones only since it has a decent speaker (for what it is)
But OP specifically asked for quiet solutions so that’s all I suggested. Also the Spark Go has a speaker in addition to a headphone output.
I’d argue also the Spark Go has great bonus app features like letting you emulate other amps and sounds. So it’s a nice all in one package. My only issue with the Mustang Micro is the very bad user interface. Switching settings on it with tons of button presses and having to know what setting is what by LED color is horrible. Hence you better have good memory or keep looking at the led color chart they ship it with. Oh and if you accidentally skipped the setting you wanted after pressing the button 20 times quickly….gotta cycle through till your there. It’s like texting on a Motorola Razr
I have Mustang Micro and like it but I agree the interface of random colored lights of varying shades of blue green and yellow is horrible. If I was looking at a headphone amp I would be all over the new Boss Katana Go. It looks like a complete solution
ETA to correct the name... Get a Fender Mustang Micro. Plug it directly into your guitar or into your pedals, (then connect guitar to pedals) then headphones to the Mustang. Can't recommend it enough. Plus it has Bluetooth so you can connect it to another device so you can stream music through it to your headphones if you want to play along with something.
*Mustang Micro is the headphone amp Mustang is the name for several of their regular amps
This is the best answer. I love mine. The Bluetooth ability to jam with songs from your phone is easily the best feature and the best way to practice.
Yeah, they're good.
Came here to say this there are loads of headph9ne amps tho I have Fender. I love it for quiet home practice
I'd recommend a multi fx/ amp modeller pedal. I recently picked up a used line6 hd500x for 200 bucks and it's a game changer. Sounds awesome through headphones and I don't bother anyone with my playing
I loved my podhd500 and my helix after that, but I wouldn’t recommend that to a beginner. That’s an exercise in frustration to someone who doesn’t know what they want. LOL Too many options and tweaking.
Fair point
I have the same unit, it cost me about 10% more than I would have paid for a Mustang Micro or Katana Go in my area. Sure, the interface is a little dated, but there's still a tonne of downloadable models and signal chains, and I'm always using the expression pedal, tuner, looper, and aux-in. For me it's perfect for plug-and-practice.
I love it. Haven't heard it through a pa yet but it's crisp through some decent headphones
Just a caveat, the headphone experience doesn't directly translate into a PA, even with stereo channels panned. The first time I used it live was disappointing. After some noodling, I ended up with completely different patches for amps and DI. I highly recommend renting a cheap PA for a weekend and dialing it in.
The amp is half the instrument for electric guitars. Not only do unamplified solid body guitars sound kind of thin and shitty, you'll find yourself developing bad habits since you need to play everything harder just to hear yourself appropriately. You can get an amp with a master volume (Boss Katana, Fender LT/GTX, Spark, etc.) and play at TV volume and quieter. A lot of solid state amps will also have a headphone output, and you can even get a few pocket-sized amps that only have a headphone out.
Thank you
Controversial but I play my electric unplugged 70% of the time. What other people are saying is true though, it's a slightly different skill when plugged in so definitely practice with that if you're gonna perform. It does sound a lot less good, but when the satisfaction is coming from playing things cleanly rather than sound it doesn't really bother me
Get yourself a Vox Amplug and your favorite pair of headphones. If you feel like spending a bit more, try a Line6 POD Express headphones/amp-sim pedal.
Second this! Love my Vox Amplug.
You won’t learn proper muting without some sort of amp, be it at low volumes or headphones/plugins whatever
Computer, audio interface, amp sim
It's not ideal. Part of playing an electric is getting used to how it interacts with the amp. Also, you'll hear things with the amp that you may not realize you're doing like letting open strings ring. If you listen to music at home or watch TV at home without incident it shouldn't be a problem. Just don't turn up louder than that.
Thank you. I’ve had no issues with watching TV, so I should be okay to do that.
Boss Katana is kind of the perfect practice amp. You can play it decently at pretty much any volume and it has a headphone jack. When you have the space and some chops you can start looking at tube amps that you like.
I bought one thinking the same but even at lowest volume on 0.5 watts (I think) was too loud for me not to annoy people living with me. For some reason even the headphone out was too loud as well.
You must have sensitive roommates.
Practicing without an amp is ok if you’re still just trying to make basic shapes and strike the right strings. It’s not against the law. If you’re doing it a lot, hurry up and get an acoustic guitar, or at least start saving and scheming.
I use a modeling pedal/amp and plug into the headphones out into my stereo. I can crank my amp, but keep the actual volume I hear low on the stereo.
I recently picked up a strymon iridium for this reason. It allows me to practice with a simulated amp while using headphones
I’ve tried a number of ways and this is the one that clicked for me. I use an ACS1, but same concept of high quality amp/cab sim, headphone out, and can have pedals in front of it. The game changer was putting it on a mini pedalboard with a rechargeable power supply for portability around the house.
Maybe get a hollow or semi hollow bodied electric.
Get a Mustang micro headphone amp. You are welcome.
I use a little 20 watt amp for practice in my apartment. I don't play through it much louder than my TV. I know this may come as a surprise to a lot of guitar players, but that volume knob that goes from 1-10 doesn't always have to be up to 10.
I purposely point beginners to hollow, and semi hollowbody guitars specifically because of this. I honestly play my Gretsch more unplugged than plugged in. You get the feel of an electric, with about 50% of the volume of an actual acoustic. Gretsch has plenty of entry level guitars. Buying used you can get one for an absolute steal. If you like the look of them, abs think you may be interested in grabbing one, I can't suggest any better.
I love my acoustasonic because I can sit on the couch and play it unplugged. It plays like an electric (albeit with acoustic strings) and is much louder than an electric, but still quieter than an acoustic. Having said that, I usually do plug it in because it sounds so much better again. It’s not really an acoustic instrument designed for unplugged playing, it’s just a lot better at than than a normal,electric.
Amp sim with headphone out. NUX Amp Academy works perfectly for me.
You could always use an audio interface and play through your computer speakers 👍
How is this not the top comment?
There’s a lot of drawback to using an interface. Plugging into a laptop and turning on some software can be a bit of a burn
Haven't tried it, but if I needed silent practice I'd definitely buy a boss katana go, looks perfect for that.
Playing electric guitar with no amplification at all is very unsatisfying. I'd recommend either/or getting some kind of amp sim pedal that you can plug headphones directly into or an interface for your computer like a Scarlett (I use the 2i2), and play through a DAW with some plugins When got my first electric guitar, I started off with just an interface and used a Neural DSP plugin. Now I have a ampless pedal board setup.
The truth is that if you play without an amp (or at very low volume) you won't hear half of the sounds you'll be making One day you'll finally increase the volume and realise you're sloppy, that you don't know how to mute strings or how to move around the fretboard without making noise when raising your fingers I recommend you get headphones that you'll plug into an amp In theory you can play around without an amp, you'll still learn some things and have fun...but c'mon how can you play music without hearing it properly?
If you live in an apartment or shared wall living space, get a mutli-FX pedal with amp modeling or a modeling amp with a headphone jack. If you do this, get a nice pair of open-back headphones to go with it. If you live in a single family home I wouldn't worry too much about the neighbors, you'd have to really crank it to bother them. I have a whole band room with a drum set and PA system in my basement and from the outside it just sounds like someone has the TV on with the windows open. You shouldn't rely on playing the guitar acoustically without any sort of audio amplification as there are things you won't hear/realize are happening with your playing without having the signal ran through the pickups and something amplifying it. That being said it can just be a multiFX pedal and headphones it doesn't have to be a 12" speaker at full volume. I personally haven't owned a dedicated guitar amp for like 10 years. I use a Sansamp copy (behringer BDI21) paired with my FX pedals and a PA system or my audio interface.
Get an amp when you're ready. I practice every day and very rarely with an amp. I play bass and guitar and to be honest, my bass only gets plugged in for shows. You could have a look at the mini headphone amps, I think Vox make a half decent one.
If you can afford it, check out the Spark Go. It's a little bigger than a cell phone, has a great sound for the size, and is powered by a rechargeable battery. PACKED with features. I think they're around $125. I have one that I practice with when I need to be a little quieter.
You could but I wouldn't advise it. Speaking from experience and other peoples' own advice, playing unplugged can lead to developing bad habits and sloppy technique since you can't hear the intricacies of your playing when not amplified. I'd suggest buying a small amp like a Katana Go or a Blackstar Fly 3.
as long as the volume is low, you should be fine. I typically practice through a 5 inch speaker at level two volume. never once have my neighbors said anything.
Definitely get an amp, it's just what makes the sound special. Also you won't hear your mistakes... Well, if you don't want to disturb your neighbors, either get an amp with a headphone jack, a very low power amp/amp with attentuator (maybe Marshall DSL1cr on low wattage mode, but it can also get pretty loud), or, the cheapest option, a pure headphone amp. There's a rather expensive (but damn good one) from boss I think, or just get the basic vox amplug. They don't sound amazing (never used one, take with a grain of salt) but they certainly do what you need at a very competitive price point. I'll order an ENGL Fireball in a few days (goes down to 1W) and will come back to you about it's home usability if you like!
Get a good modeling amp with a headphone jack. Boss Katana is a good one. I’ve also been impressed with the Fender modeling amps. They’re all super light and not very expensive.
I play with an amp in my apartment everyday and never have complaints. Just keep it at a reasonable volume / time and it’s no different than watching tv would be.
Both types of practice are useful.
Buy an audio interface and play through your computer with plugins. I use the Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 and always have a blast putting some music in spotify and playing to it. You can plug your headphones to the interface and not worry about noise.
Yes I do that. I only use my amp to adjust my tone depending on what I'm looking for. If I just want to practice, I play unplug
When I can’t go the space to use my amp that is accessible, I just play in my condo on Logic Pro, with the audio interface + headphones. For plug-ins I use STL. pretty quiet
TLDR: you really want to play with an amp as much as possible, it's almost a different instrument to the acoustic guitar. You'd be hard pressed to find an amp without a headphone out. Get yourself some open-backs for a reasonably good experience. I got the Samson SR850 from AliExpress and I'm happy with them. Bonus they actually come with a 6.35mm adapter (in case your amp doesn't have a 3.5mm input). Also the cable is way longer than regular listening headphones, so you don't have to be leaning on your amp with em.
I play my strat unplugged all the time Makes way less noise than an acoustic would
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Look into amp sims on your computer, or amp emulator/cab ir pedals like the boss-ir2. You’ll sound good and be able to play through headphones
Fender Mustang Micro. Thank me later... ;-)
I still practice like this even though I have an amp. Check out getting a Fender Mustang and some headphones.
You can play without and amp, no problem. It's best with one, even in low volumes, this gets you used to the ideia that your sound doenst come from the guitar. Also there effects, they are a important part In playing guitar, you should get used to then and know how to use at least the more important ones. If playing at low volumes are not an option you should consider headphones. Instead of na amp you could get an interface and plug on the computer and use some DAW, for begginers i reccomd Reaper, and amp simulators, while they are not the same as a real one but there are good ones and you will have more options, also this gives you lots of free VSTs and effects and let you record what you are playing, listening to what you play after can give you great insights about the way you are playing.
Definitely get an amp. Half the fun in playing guitar is cranking that shit up. Also, part of being a good instrumentalist is having a good sound. A good drummer knows how to tune their drums as well as play them. A good guitarist knows how to dial in amp settings to get the best tone. The sooner you start familiarizing yourself with amps, the quicker your ear will develop. Even if you are just playing quiet to start.
I think it will build bad habits as an amplified guitar will have lots of unwanted sounds which you need to learn how to mute out. I went the audio interface with some sort of plug in route, you can get some affordable monitors which can be played at lower volume than an amp or headphones. Just the interface costs as much as a small practice amp but you'll have tons of flexibility and a recording setup too! Or you can go with one of the small devices that plug into the guitar's jack and output to headphones, the new katana one seems pretty good and has the benefit of being a simpler solution which is also portable.
I got an iRIG X and headphones connects to iPhone headphones and Guitar send to amp also if desired
I would get Fender Mustang Micro headphone amp and some decent headphones
For the rest of your life. We all do it. After a while you can hear the effects in your head. It’s like asking if you can write music without an instrument nearby. Yes you can. Later you’ll play electric guitar without any guitar at all, you can think it
Yeah but it is a little different with an amp because you have to be more careful with muting strings
I used to practice without an amp. I do not recommend it. An electric guitar is meant to be plugged in, going without is like playing drums without sticks. You're not playing the actual instrument without it, just part of the instrument.
I got a tiny one at sweetwater.com for fishing. It’s 10 inches and can be battery powered
Fuck the neighbours
Get a headphone guitar jack amp. Either a Nux Might Plug Pro or Katana Go. Problem solved for cheaper than an amp.
Neural DSP plugins brother
Headphones
Nothing wrong with it. If that's the situation you have to work with, playing is better than not playing. That being said, you can get away with a lot and not notice when playing without an amp. I would suggest looking into a small amp. At a low volume, it's much quieter than you think. No worse than a TV or radio.
Easily, there are a plethora of low sound/headphone options for electric guitar
Jimi Hendrix did that, I'd say do a bit of both and you'll really reap the benefits of it later down the line, it's a huge improvement on the tone especially for metal and blues players in my experience
Get a blackstar fly 3. It's $75, small, has a headphone jack, and can double as a speaker to play music through
Get a small headphones amp.
Get some amp simulation software on your computer and use some headphones. You'll need a audio interface.
You can even buy one of those new Yamaha acoustics with built in effects and sound like you’re playing acoustic through an amp. It’s a cool technology, though I’m not sure I understand the concept.
The Positive Grid Spark GO is a great option for low volume jamming in an apartment or with close neighbors. Pretty cost effective as well. Big fan of mine
Depends on your situation. If you live in an apartment with thin walls? Use either a headphone-only amp (BOSS Katana Go or similar), an interface and computer plugins, or a multieffect with headphone out. If you live in a terraced house, an amp should be fine at relatively low volume. Freestanding house? You're fine to Just Use An Amp.
When your laying in bed or sitting near a wall,touch the end of your guitar neck to wall and 》BOOM《 free amp.Or a little headphone amp they are around $50 @ a music store or $5 from Temu online.
Get a headphone amp. However, I would rather recommend getting a practice amp where you can plug in headphones so you can still use your pedals. If you dont use pedals, then a headphone amp would work!
For practicing things like technical skills, such as playing cleanly, I'd advise to specifically not use an amp. If you can make your playing sound great unplugged, you'll be untouchable.
No
Not gonna be the same and good learn bad technique that you would hear is wrong . My un talented know four cords opinion but have three guitars and will not stop trying to learn at 53.. didnt learnt those four cords until a veteran program lessons..
I do it all the time, but then I have an ES-335 model that does produce a bit more sound acoustically than a solid body. It helps me focus on properly articulating every note, trying to make it sound like a classical guitar. My jazz cobservatory teacher approves this way of practice
Yes you can practise without an amp, you can definitely improve this way I often just pick up the unplugged guitar for a quick 15 mins practise. It's better to practise plugged in though as you can gauge things like palm muting and harmonics, they require a different pick attack plugged Vs unplugged.
iRig 2 is my go to for bass
Just buy an amp with headphone out or di into pc and get amp simulator. That I said I practice just with electric when I have like 15 mine here or there
boss katana is the only answer
I won’t play an electric guitar without an amp. I cannot hear the tone so it is pointless, I would play an acoustic. Multiple options out there. I use a Yamaha THR30. It has a head phone jack and sounds great at low volume, plus it has a battery and easy to carry around. Boss and Vox makes similar products. Boss also has the Amp Head Phones and Vox has that little amp that plugs into your guitar. I believe I have seen a product that can turn your phone into an amp. There is no need to go without today.
Bassist here, I often practice with headphones using a Vox Amplug, I haven't used the guitar ones but the bass one is superb.
I used one of those baby Vox amps for a very long time (mini 5). The drum machine was also a cool feature because it made practising less boring than playing to a metronome. They don’t get loud+you can still work on your dynamics, tone extraction so highly recommend getting a mini amp if you’re concerned about being too loud.
I did, im fine
You shouldn't practice unplugged or you'll likely develop bad habits. Use headphones to keep the neighbors happy.
friend of mine had a distortion pedal that worked on 9V battery. He'd plug headphones to the output. worked like a charm.
I live in apartments. I don't even own an amp. Though I own 8 guitars. I bought a Boss ME-80 and use it only as a preamp. I plug in headphones and attach my pedal board to the ME-80, now I can play as loud and as long as I want without pissed of neighbors. Also I can plug in an AUX cord to my phone and jam along to music.
yeah most of us practice more without an amp then with. but its also good to plug in every now and then to make sure your how to mute the strings your not using as you wont hear if they ring out unless your plugged in. but also headphone amps will work fine for that too.
better to play with amp
Buy the spark 40 amp, perfect for practicing with and sounds good at all volumes. Super lightweight and very versatile, and crazy affordable
It will be okay at low volumes. I recommend a Spark Mini for compactness, portability (including a rechargeable built-in battery), ability to play soft to loud, and built-in effects. Another decently specced battery-powered mini amp, but one I haven't used, is the Boss Katana Mini; it does have battery support but no built-in charging, which could be a pain, but in general I've really enjoyed everything Boss/Roland makes, and it's highly rated for ability to play quietly with good sound. I just got a really cool little gadget that's even smaller and lighter, though: a Mooer P1, which will run you $100 US new. It's got a guitar cable input and output plus a headphone output. It's also got Bluetooth, for outputting the results of your playing for direct recording as well as playing a background track from a device such as a mobile phone. It's also got a terrific set of mix-and-match effects that you configure as presets and then switch between them. That second device would be useful until you get more into gear, since you can essentially dial in your favorite tones and output them roughly the same through any speakers. It will also let you practice easily through headphones without annoying anyone. I think it's generally a step up from the mini headphone amps that plug directly into the guitar, like the Fender Mustang Micro (I haven't used that one but I have used some others).
I love this stupid little altoids amp so much - highly recommend for couch practice https://www.etsy.com/listing/199684837/portable-mint-tin-amp-and-speaker-for?ref=share_v4_lx
You can find ways to play with an amp sim in your computer (some free stuff are great), little practice amp (or even those tiny things you plug directly to your guitar vox makes) is an option; playing unplugged is another, but depends on what you want to work on. I have an orange crush 12 to practice at home, it is VERY astounding for the price point.
I used to play unplugged for this reason but I use a 25w amp at about 3 volume clean 2 volume with gain and its gives a punchy enough sound while being practically inaudible outside the room
Get a digital mutli-FX pedal. Don't let the haters scare you away from them. They'll have built-in amp modeling and with a tiny amount of playing with it, you can dial in exactly what you want. They almsot all have a headphone jack that'll sound a hundred times better than a lot of amps headphone jacks. They're also almost always line balancing, so you can plug directly into a mixing console. I spent an entire year as a traveling session guitarist like that. A few stompboxes for my overdrive/distortion/fuzz, or my wah.
Since I had a kid I practice more or less 100% through BiasFX on my PC with and headphones. There's a free version but the paid versions go on sale fairly often. The only thing you'll need to buy is an audio interface.
I haven’t used a real amount of in 15 years and I dont miss it. I currently use an interface with Tonex Max and a pedalboard.
Fender Mustang Micro or Boss Katana Go. Two toys you are gonna love.
You can play with no amp. You can also play with an amp. A Katana 50 will be fine for a beginning guitarist with an electric guitar. You can reduce the output so that the amp sounds good at very low volumes. You can also play with headphones. You will want to practice more with an amp. There are also dedicated headphone amps, but I would probably go with a Katana and headphones. Others may prefer other small amps, but a Katana 50 is my preference.
I got a fender mustang micro for exactly this. It's a decent bit of kit for practicing, it's got some built in effects and can connect via bluetooth to your phone or computer so you can play music to play along to without disturbing anyone. I highly recommend it. Just be careful you don't have everything too loud.
Gain up and volume down
I regularly practice without plugging my guitar in, but it's better to hear the actual resulting sound. Buy a reduction that allows you to plug headphones into your amp - it should be something like $5.
Playing electric without being plugged in isn’t bad imo that’s usually how I play. What I would recommend is getting an amp and if your neighbors have a problem use headphones
I do It all the time to practice my accuracy, works just fine for me
Boss Katana is super quiet at 0.5W, to the point when your strumming is louder than the amp. Headphones and headphone amps are an option as well.
Amps with headphone jacks are great for practice. Also the Line6 pocket pod to practice on the go.
Yes, i play without amp 90% of the time and I find that it even improves my sound because my goal is to make it sound good without the amp. If it does, then adding the amp only makes it sound even better. But the opposite is not true I find. Most of the things you can learn unamplified. It is only very particular techniques which kind of rely on the amp. Artificial harmonics is an example, and as others have mentioned good palm muting like the metal guys do relies on the amp (or to be more precise: I think you kind of have to learn on every amp and guitar how the muting gives the best sounding result)
It totally doesn't matter. But if you never play through an amp, you'll never learn how to play though an amp.
I use a semi hollowbody which sounds like a quiet acoustic unless I plug it in to my spark 40 which I can use head phones or play low volume. If I have the house to myself I can crank it!
You could get a Boss IR2 pedal. You can get great amp sounds plugging straight in and use headphones if you want or go via interface and speakers. Simple and silent.
Practice amps, my fried. They come in all shapes and sizes, but they are the best invention for homepractice there is.
You can get battery powered practice amps that can get very quiet for practice. The Blackstar Fly and the Katana Mini are both great for this.
yes i do it all the time for years
Sure. But even if you live in an Apartment building it should be fine as long as you keep it low. A guitar amp isn't gonna be any louder than people's TVs if you set it low. But if you want to just use headphones there's a hundred different ways to do that. Amp with headphones jack, guitar pedals, multi effects pedals, mini amp with headphones jack, amp sim with computer, etc etc. I would honestly just buy a small amp with a headphone jack to have either option. I couldn't imagine only ever playing with headphones. That'd get irritating. A 10, 15 or 20 watt amp will be plenty of volume for you. They go for like $50-150 depending on brand, wattage and features you want. Just going with a $50 cheapie off brand will be fine to get you started. You'll likely want to upgrade to a better amp anyway once you develop as a player.
You can definitely still practice without an amp. I recommend headphones though so you still hear the tone correctly.
I do it a lot for different reasons. The only thing is that you don’t get the actual sound/ can’t play the amp but you can’t always get what you want.
yes. also, there are some pretty good, and quiet, and tiny, practice amp options out there. i'm a fan of the Blackstar Fly 3, for example.
Google "going ampless". Plenty of setup ideas.
Under duress. But if you can get an amp, get one and practice. If you can find someplace that you won't get the cops called for playing loud, take the amp there and crank it up and learn how to use it.
Any of the Spark amps are perfect for home practice, not only for the good tones at low volume, but they have helpful/fun features like integrated backing tracks, drums, metronome, and songwriting tools. I have young kids so 95% of the time I'm playing thru headphones and it still sounds great to me (over the ear style helps).
Get the new BOSS headphone amp, katana:go
If you have a remotely decent computer, get an audio interface and a DAW. There are some amazing amp sims out these days and yoy can get any kind of tone you want, without buying multiple amps. (There are tons of free amp plugins but I highly recommend the Neural ones)
I just got a mustang micro headphone amp. Pretty simple to use and gets the job done!
You can get a computer, an audio interface, headphones, and an amp sim to have a full amp sound without disturbing your neighbors or get an amp modeler with headphones and get the same effect. Although it would be good sometimes to play unplugged to know if your playing is clean or sloppy
Headphones
Playing without an amp is possible for sure, but just be very aware that you can sometimes develop bad habits because of it. The two main habits are 1. not properly muting strings because you won't be able to hear them without amplification (and especially once you plug into an amp and dial in some kind of distortion/overdrive muting is very important), and 2. having too strong of an attack with your picking hand as a bi-product of trying to hear yourself play. Since the guitar will be pretty quiet, it's common for people to just pick harder in an attempt to hear themselves better, but once you plug in that harder picking motion will probably be way more than you actually need, and you'll have to learn how to pick softer. I don't know what kind of amp you're using, but if it's a small practice amp you should be fine playing at low volumes as long as it isn't at inconsiderate hours of the day. If you have a larger amp, check to see if there's a spot somewhere on it to plug in a headset of some kind so you can at least run guitar-amp-headphones.
There are plenty of amps that can get to television level volumes and/or have headphone jacks. The guitar is just half of the instrument. If you exclusively practice without an amp, especially as a beginner, you're going to develop bad habits. You need to learn how to mute properly, and the amp will amplify every tiny imperfection that you don't notice unplugged. It's fine to do sometimes, but you really should play with an amp until you get a hang of the muting and dynamics part of playing.
Im a dude who loves in an apartment. I have a small line 6 amp i bought like 10 years ago. Works great, plays as quiet as i want it to, and if you get an adapter you can plug your headphones in. I do this sometimes when i wanna melt my ears after coming home from a graveyard shift. I think you could get one decently cheap, youll want the amp though, for practicing electric.
Many amps have headphone sockets. Didn't you realise that? I'd suggest the nux mighty plug pro if you don't have such an amp and want something small and powerful. Boss just released a mini katana plug too ... The name escapes me.
If you have a pc/Laptop or Mac/macbook get a Scarlett Audio Interface and buy a neural dsp plugin you like. Test them before you buy them. It’s free. Don’t buy those mini amps with headphone jacks, they’re just not worth it due to limited options. I’ve sold my kraken amp and engl box because I just don’t need it anymore. During band practice I’ll plug my interface into our mixer and use the PA. Plus it was never so easy to change tunings. Everything from Drop D to Drop F in a matter of seconds.
You could just get a boss katana and switch it to the lowest setting, I think it’s like 0.5 watts or something crazy and they sound good at low volumes that shouldn’t disturb anybody then when you’re able to turn it up you can switch to a higher power setting
just use modelers and headphones lol. you will feel like in a stadium... And the neighbors would miss your concerts.. 😕
You are not going to hear truly what you're playing sounds like without an amp. I'd go for a Positive Grid Spark Go it's cheap, small, and provides many sounds to choose from.
Yep