Members MPH Posted October 25, 2006 Members Share Posted October 25, 2006 Before i ask this stupid question, a little background. Firstly, the only amp i have ever used is a cheap crappy solid state one. I now need to upgrade. I would like an all tube amp and not knowing too much about them i started looking on the internet for reviews and opinions etc. I have looked at several known manufacturers (fender, vox etc.) and i have noticed one thing that seems to be missing on all of them. So here is the stupid question.... Do all-tube amps not have headphone sockets? I ask this because it really is a necessity for my new amp to have one. Many thanks for reading. Any info on this from your own experiences would be appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members charliedango Posted October 25, 2006 Members Share Posted October 25, 2006 Originally posted by MPH Firstly,... I like you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Takawiffonme Posted October 25, 2006 Members Share Posted October 25, 2006 Dude. A tube amp having headphones is like putting a seat belt in a 1940's hotrod. You just don't do it. Besides. Tubes amps are made to be turned UP UP UP UP UP UP UP. not ODNW DOWN DNOW DNOWODWONDOWN Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members monkeysuit Posted October 25, 2006 Members Share Posted October 25, 2006 i might be wrong here, but i was under the impression that you can't run an all tube amp on headphones only, because the power amp needs some load (ie. speakers) attached to its output or it will get damaged. i'm sure there is a way around this, but if you're planning on frequently playingwith headphones i'd rather recommend using a hybrid amp with tubes in the preamp only. or maybe sth like a pod xt with an external tube power amp would suit you as well. so you could jam with headphones on the pod alone and if you need volume just connect it to the poweramp and cab... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Frumpy Nipple Posted October 25, 2006 Members Share Posted October 25, 2006 I don't think that is a stupid question at all, unfortunately I don't have an answer. I speculate the reason why there is no headphone jack is because to get good tone from a tube amp, the volume needs to be loud and a headphone would not be able to withstand that much. Unless of course there was some kind of attenuator built into the amp. Like I said, that's pure speculation. Tube amps are made for live use, as they aren't as good in the bedroom as a SS amp. That's probably why you see headphone jacks on SS and not on tube amps. EDIT: Scratch what I said. Monkeysuit's answer is more logical. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members John Denver Posted October 25, 2006 Members Share Posted October 25, 2006 Am i missing something here? What kind of tube AMP do you want? I have an F-50, and the headphone out is on the back. Might want to check on the back of other amps....i figured a headphone out was pretty standard.......but in agreement with others, Playing through a tube amp with headphones is like trying to eat a steak with a plastic fork and knife, it will get the job done...but you might just want to eat a hotdog. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members hal9000 Posted October 25, 2006 Members Share Posted October 25, 2006 Meh, it's not a stupid question if it's important enough for you to ask. Welcome to the forum! My all-tube Mesa F-100 (and all Mesa F-series amps) have both a headphone output that doubles as a recording line-out and a power section mute. So, even though you only get the preamp section in the headphones, it sounds decent and makes no noise. However, Mesa is very expensive in Europe, so really the best way to go about getting both practice and gig volumes as well as heaphone volumes is to have two differnent rigs. Buy the tube amp that works for you. Then, get a modeler that will work for headphones. I personally prefer the Vox Tonelab. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members monkeysuit Posted October 25, 2006 Members Share Posted October 25, 2006 Originally posted by John Denver Am i missing something here? What kind of tube AMP do you want? I have an F-50, and the headphone out is on the back. Might want to check on the back of other amps....i figured a headphone out was pretty standard.......but in agreement with others, Playing through a tube amp with headphones is like trying to eat a steak with a plastic fork and knife, it will get the job done...but you might just want to eat a hotdog. just curious, when you connect headphones to the f-50 do you get the preamp signal or did they install a small poweramp or sth for the phones out? alright, question answered by hal9000, thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members hal9000 Posted October 25, 2006 Members Share Posted October 25, 2006 Originally posted by monkeysuit just curious, when you connect headphones to the f-50 do you get the preamp signal or did they install a small poweramp or sth for the phones out? alright, question answered by hal9000, thanks It's just the preamp signal, but with a speaker sim. I'm not really fond of the tone, but in a pinch it will work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members John Denver Posted October 25, 2006 Members Share Posted October 25, 2006 Only preamp....Hal seems to have beaten me to this explanation....sorry....should have been clearer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members MPH Posted October 25, 2006 Author Members Share Posted October 25, 2006 Excellent answers, thank you all. I did'nt expect such a quick response. I have now got a clearer picture. And charliedango, thank you for your quick reply, and although i appreciate the sentiment i don't really think it got to the nub of the matter for me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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