How to Choose a Headphone Guitar Amp

If you have the freedom to turn up your favorite guitar amplifier as much as you want, you’re lucky — for players that share living space, live in an apartment, or are constantly on the go, enjoying a “real” amplifier is a luxury. Headphone guitar amps give players real-amp tone in the most portable format possible — plug your headphones in, and you’re instantly transported to your own personal guitar studio. Players have questions about headphone guitar amps, and we have answers — read on for all you need to know to choose a headphone guitar amp.

What is a Headphone Guitar Amp?

A headphone guitar amp is designed to give you the same type of tone-shaping you’d have with a real amplifier, including gain control and EQ controls, in an ultra-compact portable device optimized for headphones. While many guitar amps and amp modeler pedals have a headphone output, these aren’t as practical for on-the-go use, compared to the tiny size and battery-powered operation of headphone guitar amps. If you want to jam silently without waking roommates or practice licks in a hotel room while you’re traveling, a headphone guitar amp is your smallest and simplest solution.

Can Headphone Guitar Amps Make Convincing Amp Tones?

Absolutely — headphone guitar amps have become extremely popular, and manufacturers have responded with a wide range of headphone amps for different applications. Some headphone guitar amps, like the VOX amPlug series, are designed to mimic the sound of specific amplifiers like the AC30, Fender Twin, or Marshall JTM. Other headphone guitar amps like the Fender Mustang Micro Plus may offer a range of clean, crunchy, and high-gain tones, and may or may not mention specific amps that they’re based on.

If there’s one specific style of amp you prefer, for example a modern high-gain amp, you should probably prioritize that over a wider selection of tones that you won’t use. If you’re looking for a fun practice partner with some creative range to explore, prioritize a headphone amp with a wide range of amp tones.

Can I Use My Effects Pedals with a Headphone Guitar Amp?

Yes you can — but you may need to acquire a simple adapter to make it work. Most headphone guitar amps are designed to be plugged directly into your guitar, and feature a 1/4-inch plug instead of a guitar input. You can plug it into the output of your effects pedal if you want, but for a neater solution, use a 1/4-inch TS female-to-female adapter such as this one. Connect this to the plug on your headphone guitar amp, and then connect the output of your effects pedal chain to the other end of the adapter with a guitar cable. You can plug your guitar into your pedal chain like you normally would, and monitor with headphones — it’s a great way to turn off your amp for silent sessions with your headphone amp, without needing to sacrifice your pedalboard too.

Can I Record With a Headphone Guitar Amp?

You definitely can create record-quality guitar tones with a headphone guitar amp and use it for your productions, too. Some headphone amps feature a USB output for recording directly to DAW software, which makes matters simple. If your headphone guitar amp only has a 1/8-inch stereo headphone output, you’ll want to use an adapter cable like this one if you want to connect to a mixing board or recording interface.

A headphone guitar amp’s headphone output isn’t the ideal source to connect to line-level inputs on a recording interface, but if you use an adapter like the one linked above you can do it with minimal noise or interference. Set the volume as high as possible on the headphone guitar amp, and use only enough input gain on the recorder or mixer to keep the signal at a good level without clipping. If the volume is low on the headphone amp, turning up the recording input will also turn up noise.

What Kind of Headphones are Best for Guitar Amps?

For the most part, you can plug practically any type of wired headphones or earbuds into your headphone guitar amp. However, we’d recommend you avoid long sessions with earbuds, as you’re putting your eardrums through some pretty intense activity. Circumaural headphones, or “around-the-ear” headphones are better over long sessions mostly because the speaker isn’t directly in your ear canal, and you have a lot of options at pretty much any price point.

We recommend you look for studio monitor-style headphones as opposed to consumer-style headphones made for casual listening. Headphones designed for mixing and monitoring generally have a relatively flat frequency response, which is what you want when you’re shaping guitar tones. Headphones for casual listening are typically voiced for more excitement, with boosted bass and highs coloring your overall sound. You should also look for closed-back headphones if your goal is to play silently and privately, as open-back headphones leak quite a bit of sound due to their design.

How Can I Mix My Headphone Guitar Amp with Other Sound Sources?

Want to create your own private music environment with guitar, drum machines, synthesizers, and any other music device with a headphone output? Get a simple headphone mixer like the ART SPLITMix4 — connect the headphone outputs of your headphone guitar amp, drum machine, and synthesizers with TRS cables like this one, then connect your headphones to the mixer and monitor them all at once. It’s also a good solution to play along with music and learning apps from your smartphone, if your headphone guitar amp doesn’t offer connectivity for that purpose.

Do Headphone Guitar Amps Have Effects?

Some headphone amps do offer built-in effects like delay and reverb to enhance your sound. However, don’t expect too much variation or control over the effects — due to the minimal interface, you probably won’t have much control over effects parameters. That doesn’t mean they’re not useful: delay adds a sense of rhythm that greatly enhances solo playing sessions, and reverb is especially desirable when listening to direct sound from headphones. In other words, it’s nice to have some built-in FX on your headphone amp if you’re not using it with other pedals.

If effects are a priority for you, look for a headphone guitar amp with a companion app. The app will generally give you access to more effects types and more effects parameters to edit (as well as other functionality) — after all, there’s only so much room for buttons and knobs on a tiny headphone guitar amp.

Headphone Guitar Amp Companion Apps

Some headphone amps are designed for straightforward simplicity, with onboard controls to access all features. Other headphone guitar amps may be equipped with Bluetooth, and are intended to be used with a companion app for full functionality. While each amp is different, most companion apps offer similar features: access to a selection of amps and effects, detailed parameter controls, and preset management are quite common. These types of headphone guitar amps may offer limited onboard controls (as everything can be accessed from the app), so keep that in mind when choosing your amp.

Do Headphone Guitar Amps Actually Sound Good?

In short, yes they do — amplifier emulation has come a long way, and some headphone guitar amplifiers have the same presence and character that a miked-up amp would. When it comes to player/amp interaction, you’ll probably notice you have less dynamic range to play with, as there’s no way a compact battery-powered device could offer the wide dynamic range of high-voltage power rails found in a tube guitar amp. That said, most players find they have plenty of expression to work with, and we have some tips to get the best sound from any headphone guitar amp.

• Turn up the volume on your guitar — the stronger the signal you’re sending the headphone guitar amp, the more signal you’ll have above the noise floor, maximizing your dynamic range. Some headphone amps may sound okay when you roll your volume back, but they’ll sound their best with full output.
• Turn down the gain a bit — you may be surprised at how little gain you can get away with while still enjoying enhanced harmonic crunch and sustain. Using less gain (and keeping the highs dialed down a bit) will go a long way toward reducing listening fatigue.
• Use reverb to avoid the dry headphone sound — when you’re listening to an amp in a room, you’re hearing the room’s natural reverb even if you’re not using reverb as a guitar effect. Adding a bit of reverb helps recreate that sense of space.
• Take frequent breaks — it’s always been good advice. Taking off your headphones for even a minute every half hour helps reduce ear fatigue and makes long practice sessions more enjoyable.

VOX AMPLUG 3 AC30 HEADPHONE GUITAR AMP

Headphone Guitar Amplifier with 2 Channels, Stereo Effects, Tremolo Circuit, Speaker Cabinet Emulation, Built-in Rhythms, and Aux In Jack

BOSS KATANA

ㅤRechargeable Headphone Guitar Amplifier with 13 Amp Characters, 150+ Effects, 30 Memory Slots, 1/8" Stereo Output, Bluetooth, and Audio Over USB

FENDER MUSTANG MICRO PLUS

Headphone Guitar Amplifier with 25 Amps, 25 Effects, Tuner, OLED Display, 1/8" Stereo Output, Bluetooth, Audio Over USB, and Rechargeable Battery

NUX MIGHTY PLUG PRO

Rechargeable Headphone Guitar and Bass Amplifier with 29 Amp Models, 34 IRs, FX, 1/8" Stereo Output, Bluetooth, USB Audio Stream, and App Interface

BLACKSTAR BEAM: SOLO

Rechargeable Headphone Guitar and Bass Amp with 6 Amp Models, 6 Cab Models, 6 Microphone Models, CabRig VIR, 35 FX, 1/8" Stereo Output, Bluetooth, USB Audio Stream, and App Interface

POSITIVE GRID SPARK NEO

Headphone Guitar Amplifier with Wireless Transmitter, Spark App, Amp/FX Emulations, AI-driven Tools, Bluetooth, Rechargeable Battery, and USB-C

BOSS WAZA-AIR WIRELESS GUITAR HEADPHONE AMP

Rechargeable Headphone Guitar Amplifier with 13 Amp Characters, 150+ Effects, 30 Memory Slots, 1/8" Stereo Output, Bluetooth, and Audio Over USB

ELECTRO-HARMONIX HEADPHONE AMP

1-channel Battery-powered Headphone Amplifier with Volume Control, 1/4" Input, and 1/8" Output