When you live in an apartment, the chances of having a ton of space and privacy are highly limited. This obviously means you can't have your own home studio with amp rooms, microphones, and huge monitors.
When you try to play in the limited space, it is not only difficult to create the music you want at home, but you're also highly likely to get a notice from the apartment management for high sound levels.
Does this mean apartment guitarists have to always find a studio to create music and to play their heart's fill? Not really, as you can consider playing with electric guitar headphones. How will this sound and how to play it? That's exactly what this article is all about.
Here are four ways to play guitar with headphones for apartments.
Way 1: Plug the Electric Guitar Headphones Directly Into Your Amplifier
This is the easiest and the most common way of playing electric guitar with headphones. Simply plug your headphones into the amplifier and you should be good to go. Most amplifiers today come with a dedicated headphone output jack to meet the needs of apartment guitarists like you.
One aspect to keep in mind is the cable.
In general, headphone outputs on guitar amps require a 1/4” cable. If you plan to use a standard pair of headphones, they come only with a 1/8” cable and this means; you'll have to buy an adapter to connect the two cables. The good news is these adapters are readily available in most places and doesn't cost much either.
What if you have an old amplifier that doesn't come with a headphone output jack? Don't worry. Plug headphones into guitar directly and see if that works or simply move through the next option on our list to see if that will work for you.
Way 2: Buy an Electric Guitar Headphone Amp
Can you plug headphones into a guitar amp? Absolutely!
Electric guitar headphone amplifiers are a standalone device that is ideal for apartment guitarists who want to play their electric guitar with headphones. These are a simple plug and play solutions that are small enough to fit into your pocket, so you can carry them around anywhere and can play in any place of your choice.
Though these devices are small, they are also powerful at the same time as they are nothing but a mini self-contained guitar amplifier that gives good quality output for you through headphones. You cannot compare its output with a regular amplifier, but they are compact and handy and give you the flexibility to practice your guitar without disturbing your roommates.
The best part is it works with a regular 3.5mm output jack of your electric guitar headphones, so there is no need to buy additional cables or adapters. This can be a good cost-saving option for you as well.
Way 3: Connect The Headphones To Your Computer Through An Audio Interface
The first two options are great to play your guitar even if you live in a small studio apartment. But what can you do when you want to record what you play and listen to it later? Also, can you play electric guitar without amp?
In fact, this is something common that most of us would want to do because we'd like to know how we play, the mistakes we make, and the improvements that we have to bring into our playing capabilities.
One good option for playing as well as recording your music is to connect the electric guitar headphones to your computer using an audio interface.
An audio interface is a hardware that allows you to connect your headphones to a computer through a USB port.
Essentially, you will have to plug your guitar into one of the inputs of the audio interface and plug that USB to your computer. Sometimes, you may have to download and install additional drivers too, depending on your operating system and the compatibility levels of your audio interface with your computer. But this should be relatively easy too, as most drivers come with a wizard for auto-installation.
Once you've set up your interface, you can record the music you play in your computer and can always listen to it when needed. If you'd like to hear yourself play with no recording, you can even plug your headphones directly into the audio interface.
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This setup gives you the flexibility to listen to tracks on your computer and playback the same on your guitar as well. Of course, in this option, there will be no amplifier involved. Instead, you'll be using simulator software. There are many plugins available online to simulate any guitar amplifier you want. When you download, these plugins integrate well with most operating systems, so you can play and record on your computer with your headphones on and without causing disturbance to anyone in your apartment.
Way 4: Connect Your Guitar Directly To Your Smartphone Or Tablet
The emergences of advanced smartphones and tablets have opened many new opportunities for apartment guitarists to pursue their passion silently. One such convenience is the option to connect your guitar to your smartphone or tablet.
But this connection cannot happen directly because the guitar is an analog device while the smartphone or tablet is a digital device. To bridge this gap, you need a digital guitar interface that is designed specifically for mobile devices. You also need an application to simulate your amplifier, just like the plugins we saw in the earlier version. Here too, the choices are available in plenty, but you should know which plugins will suit which devices. For example, if you own an iPad or iPhone, your best bet is to choose iRig HD2 from a compatibility standpoint. Likewise, for Android devices, the most popular option seems to be iRig UA. These plugins are not set in stone but are just meant to show you that different operating systems require different plugins. Do you own research and pick the one that's best suited for you and your mobile device.
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