Ten easy-to-stow—and silent—solutions that’ll keep you practicing when inspired, and keep your family and neighbors happy when they aren’t inspired to listen.
Whether you’re on the go or in your bedroom, each of these 10 headphone amp options represent a quick and easy way to plug in for silent guitar practice—without having to look at that phone you’ve likely been staring at all day.
joyoaudio.comHeadphone Amp
This pedal-sized headphone amp from OBNE will, of course, allow a guitarist to play silently, but also permits a buddy listener thanks to the second 1/4" output jack.
Headphone Amp
This true-bypass amp is enclosed in cast aluminum and features a pro-grade switch for long life, Neutrik jacks, audio-grade active components, and military spec silver-plated wire.
amPlug 2 Clean
Boasting a folding mechanism that rotates 180 degrees, this little Vox was designed to deliver fat, boutique-inspired clean sounds, and features effects for delay, chorus, and reverb.
I-Plug
This little amp with built-in overdrive runs on a pair of AAA batteries, has controls for volume, tone, and gain, and houses an auxiliary in for external devices.
Headphone Amp
This plug-and-play amp from EHX is ultra-lightweight and portable, and is built to handle high-gain pedalboard input so you can dial up your favorite tones and let it rip—silently.
Rock Bug
This 9V-battery operated rehearsal unit was designed to deliver the audio sensation of playing through a good tube amp. Features include open- or closed-back cab simulation and an XLR out.
AxeHead
Offering up to 15 hours playing time from each USB charge of its lithium-ion battery, this headphone amp houses controls for volume, tone, and drive to dial in clean to dirty.
Pocket POD
With 32 amp models and 16 cab models onboard, this battery-powered, headphone practice unit (and much more) can serve up tones to feed your inspiration whenever and wherever.
Bighead
Designed for low enders, this amp features a 2-band EQ, has a runtime of eight hours on its rechargeable lithium-ion battery, and functions as an interface or analog preamp as well.
Guitar Ace
These headphone amps provide built-in compression and an auxiliary stereo input/output, as well as settings for clean and two different flavors of distortion.
Day 12 of Stompboxtober means a chance to win today’s pedal from LR Baggs! Enter now and check back tomorrow for more!
LR Baggs Session DI Acoustic Guitar Preamp / DI
Inspired by the LR Baggs Handcrafted Video Sessions and our experience in some of Nashville’s great studios, the Session Acoustic DI brings our signature studio sound to your live rig. The Session DI enhances your acoustic pickup and imparts the rich sonic character that you’d expect from an experienced audio engineer using some of the world’s finest studio gear. We’ve captured this studio magic and put it into a compact, easy-to-use DI that will transform your live sound.
The second release from Cosmodio is a first-of-its-kind modulation effect that features an Expression Pedal/Tap Tempo input for dynamically controlling the LFO’s speed or depth mid-performance.
The Gravity Well is a dual-sided pedal featuring a tremolo on one side and a wavefolder on the other. When both circuits are active a third effect emerges – a refractor – a first-of-its-kind modulation effect produced by integrating the tremolo and wavefolder to rhythmically and fluidly warp and unwarp your signal, producing a dazzling variety of never-before-heard sounds and textures.
The pedal’s five-knob control set includes wavefolder Volume; wavefolder Gain (for controlling the amount of signal folding); modulation Speed and Depth; and a Waveform control to select between 8 LFO shapes that include classic shapes as well as randomized movements.
The Gravity Well’s capabilities are expanded by three toggle switches:
- “Flow” determines the signal flow when both sides are active. Tremolo into wavefolder or wavefolder into tremolo, dramatically changing the effects’ interactions and the sonic result.
- “Voice” selects between three different output voices of the wavefolder: full wavefolding, focused wavefolding, or a wavefolder and clean signal mix.
- “Tone” allows you to select a bright, dark, or balanced output tone of the wavefolder.
The Gravity Well encompasses familiar and exotic sonic territory, creating a pedal that’s both thrilling and approachable. Its carefully spaced control layout is optimized for easy spontaneous adjustments. Its top-mounted input, output, and power jacks ensure an efficient footprint on a pedalboard or desktop. It features faceplate artwork by accomplished pop-artist GOLDSUIT.
Gravity Well features include:
- Selectable true bypass or buffered bypass switching
- 9-volt operation via external power supply - no battery compartment
- Built in US
- Internal DIP switch controls for customizing expression pedal function, tremolo volume, and tone switch range.
The Gravity Well carries a $279 street price. It is available for pre-order at the https://www.cosmod.io/ website. It will fully launch and start shipping on November 19.
The multi-instrumentalist bandleader and ex-Metallica bassist talks the strain of professional touring, creative fulfillment, maintaining artistic balance, and cellphone screens.
Jason Newsted spent 15 years holding down the low end in Metallica, playing bass for the band from 1986 through 2001. That era included records like …And Justice For All and Metallica—AKA The Black Album—plus the iconic S&M live album with the San Francisco Symphony.
But that was just the beginning for Newsted, an artistic polymath who has since pursued a life of balance and creative freedom. On this episode of Wong Notes, he opens up to Cory Wong about why he left Metallica, and details the “Olympian” physicality and discipline that hard international touring requires. Newsted needed a break; the band wanted to keep going. “You gotta sometimes give it a minute,” he says.
Newsted shares his thoughts on Dave Mustaine and his predecessor Cliff Burton, and goes deep on the issue of cellphone usage at concerts. (Spoiler alert: He doesn’t like it very much, and he’s got good reasons for his disdain.) But Newsted isn’t just a performer. He talks about his painting and the way that practice differs from music-making, plus his private artistic journeys with theremin, mandolin, and sequencers and loopers—rabbit holes he might not have gone down if he stayed in Metallica. “I don’t say no to any medium,” he says.
Maybe leaving Metallica created the need to explore. “I did not get to fulfill that journey,” he says, “so I’m making up for it.”
Wong Notes is presented by DistroKid.
Use this link for 30% off your first year.
This compact multi-effects unit provides four simultaneous effects with a user-friendly experience inspired by traditional guitar pedals.
The effects are based on the award-winning Axe-Fx III, and include hundreds of classic stompbox and studio effect models, including drives, delays, reverbs, choruses, flangers, phasers, pitch, plex, EQs, compressors, wah, tremolo, and many more.
Key features include:
• Uncompromising Sound Quality: True to Fractal Audio's reputation, the VP4 delivers pristine sound quality, and is suitable for use on the world's finest stages and studios.
• Four Footswitches: Classic ON/OFF switching makes it easy and intuitive to use the VP4 like four traditional pedals. Meanwhile, the factory default “Gig Mode” switching system places Presets, Scenes, Effects, Channels, Tuner, and Tap Tempo right at your feet.
• 104 Presets: Each preset is like a complete pedalboard with your choice of four effects. This flexibility allows a single VP4 to replace an entire collection of other effects. Additionally, each preset has its own Noise Gate, Master EQ/levels, and more.
• Expression Pedal Compatibility: Connect up to two expression pedals or switches for real-time control of effect settings. The Fractal Audio EV-1 and EV-2 are perfect choices!
• Accurate Tuner: The VP4 includes a dedicated large display tuner mode, plus a handy “mini-tuner” that’s always visible. It uses our latest pitch detector from the Axe-Fx III.
• Flexible, High-Quality Connectivity: Mono/stereo analog I/O, with unity gain an ultra-low noise floor, “4CM Mode” allows you to divide effects in front of your amp and in its loop. Plus: buffered analog bypass, SPDIF digital I/O, MIDI I/O, and USB audio/MIDI capabilities.
• Beyond the Basics: For those who want to go beyond a basic pedalboard, the VP4 supports Scenes, Channels, Modifiers, and more for a highly customizable experience.
• VP4-Edit: Customize your VP4 with VP4-Edit, a free companion software editor and librarian.
• Upgradeable Firmware: Like every Fractal Audio processor, the VP4 features upgradeable firmware, ensuring that you can enjoy free updates with new features and improvements.
The VP4 combines ease of use with exceptional performance, offering musicians a high-quality, versatile effects tool. Featuring a pristine signal path and rugged, road-ready design, the compact VP4 delivers world-class multi-FX processing to take your sound to the next level. The VP4 also works great with acoustic guitar, bass, keyboards, and other instruments.
Retail Price: $699 Availability: October 15, 2024 Visit https://fractalaudio.com/vp4 for updates and to purchase, or contact your local Fractal Audio dealer for inquiries outside the USA/Canada.