Electric guitars are a beloved and very popular instrument in the music world, but they can be very loud, and not everyone wants to listen to an electric guitar being played. So, can an electric guitar be played and listened to with headphones on?
An electric guitar can be played and listened to while the musician is wearing headphones. The player can plug a headphone adaptor into the output jack and listen to the electric guitar as it is played. Headphones can also be plugged into an amp or portable amp.
Now that you know that headphones can be directly plugged into an electric guitar, you may be wondering about other ways you can listen to your electric guitar through your headphones while you play.
Headphone Adaptor
If you want to listen to an electric guitar as you play it, plug a headphone adaptor into the output jack and then plug your headphones into the adaptor. According to an employee at Mike’s Music Shop, this is one of the easiest ways to listen to what you play on your electric guitar while you play it.
Before you purchase a headphone adaptor for your electric guitar, make sure that it will work with the electric guitar that you own. Not all headphone adaptors will work with all electric guitars, so read the different electric guitars that the headphone adaptor is meant to work for before you purchase it.
Plug Headphones Into an Amp
If you want to listen to what you play on your electric guitar through headphones, you can plug in your headphones to your amp. However, most amps will not let you plug in your headphones directly, so you will need to purchase a headphone adapter to plug into the headphone jack. If you have purchased a headphone jack for your electric guitar in the past, it may work with your amp as well, so you don’t necessarily have to purchase a new headphone adaptor.
If you do want to purchase a headphone adaptor for your amp, make sure that it works with electric guitar amps. You may also need to find a way to extend the cords of your headphones so you can stand up and play your electric guitar through the amp. When playing your electric guitar and listening to it through your amp-connected headphones, make sure you pay attention to all the cords so you don’t trip on them!
Portable Amps
If you have a small, portable amp and you want to listen to your electric guitar as you play through your headphones rather than through the amp, you can plug your headphones into the portable amp. Many portable amps allow you to plug your headphones directly into the amplifier itself rather than with a headphone adaptor. This means that you won’t have to carry around a headphone adaptor, which is always nice.
Portable amps are very convenient, especially if you are traveling. If you are traveling and don’t want to bother other people while you play your electric guitar you can definitely use your portable amp to listen to your music through your headphones.
Headphone Amp
If you do not want to carry around a large or portable amp, but still want to be able to play your electric guitar and listen to it through headphones, you can get a very small amp that you can plug directly into your electric guitar. After you plug the headphone amp into your electric guitar, plug your headphones into the amp.
The headphone amp will basically act as a headphone adaptor for your electric guitar, but the sound quality will be slightly better because it will be coming from an amplifier rather than directly from the electric guitar.
Amps with Bluetooth Capabilities
If you want to wear headphones while you are playing your electric guitar but only have Bluetooth headphones, then you should get an amp that allows you to connect Bluetooth devices to it. Then you can listen to what you are playing through your headphones and you won’t have to worry about potentially tripping over your headphone’s cords as you move around.
Before you purchase an amp to connect it to Bluetooth devices, make sure that it can connect to Bluetooth. Bluetooth is still a relatively new technology, so not all amps will have Bluetooth capabilities. Amps with Bluetooth capabilities are becoming more common and popular, but it is still not a universal feature.
Benefits to Wearing Headphones While Playing Electric Guitar
There are many benefits to wearing headphones while you are playing your electric guitar.
Electric guitars tend to be very loud, and many people enjoy listening to loud music, especially when they are the ones making and playing it. However, not everyone around you will appreciate the noise and may simply want peace and quiet, which they can’t get if their neighbor is loudly playing their electric guitar. Depending on what time of day it is, people may also be trying to sleep, which they can’t do if their neighbors are playing an instrument at top volume.
When you listen to what you are playing on your electric guitar through your headphones, you are the only one who can hear the music, so you will not bother your neighbors. This means that they can sleep and enjoy peace and quiet, but you can listen to your loud music as loud as you want.
When you wear headphones while playing electric guitar, you can hear the music really clearly, clearer than you can when you are not listening to what you are playing through headphones. However, the quality of the sound will vary depending on the quality of your headphones, so if you really want to hear what you are playing on your electric guitar through your headphones, make sure to get high-quality ones.
Electric guitars are great, and it is really nice when you can plug your headphones into your guitar and hear what you are playing. Now you know what you have to do to do that, so enjoy playing your electric guitar!
