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So, has anyone found a headphone amp that doesn't totally suck?


sxyryan

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Right now where I live, I have the luxury of no neighbors and tasty amps to turn up a little. It's looking like I'll be moving within the next year or so, and I'll be giving that up along with my girl being a teacher and getting up super early. So I'd like to find a headphone option.

 

Line 6 pods? Those yamaha THR amps? Everything I have tried thus far has been pretty awful. I've tried direct from my pedalboard into an interface, my Marshall JTM DI interface, a Kustom 36 Coupe DI interface, and a Boss ME50.

 

I'd also like to be able to do some recording direct with this option, nothing pro studio quality, but decent enough that I could use it as demo.

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I really like the jamup pro app on my I phone using irig. Awesome amp and effect models. I haven't used it for recording ( I use pod farm with my ux2 interface). But the jamup sounds good with headphones and sometimes I run the headphone out to a little crate bass amp set flat that sounds awesome. I also have peaveys ampkit, ampitube, and GarageBand apps but the jamup sounds best to me.

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Well, I guess it depends how particular you are. I was in the same situation for a while, and I was satisfied with a Zoom G7.ut. I also have a Pod X3 Live, which I like better in some ways. I also have a Vox AmpPlug, which obviously only does one sound, but it's totally useable. I find that using a pair of Sennheiser PX100 headphones (very affordable, good iPod headphones) makes it sound nice. I don't have a set of really hi-fi headphones, but for my purposes, they're perfectly good.

 

If you're interested in the Zoom or the Pod I mentioned, I'll tell you what I like and don't like about them.

 

Zoom G7.ut - Just a few models compared to the Pod, but all are usable. The pedal models are cool with the exception of the Metal Zone, which sounds like chainsaws getting pissed on. All effects are good, and it's easy to combine them for cool sounds. Cleans are good, high gain sounds are better. I don't like the EQ on this thing. It's usable, but it's a little odd. It's very easy to get good recording sounds from this unit.

 

Pod X3 Live - There's maybe 100 amps. Some are utter {censored}, others sound great. I love the cleans from the AC30 Top Boost model (not so much the Fawn AC30 model, though), and there are multiple high-gain sounds that are killer. The pedal models are lacking overall - some are so bad I can't believe they programmed it in and called it a Tubescreamer, others sound ok, like the Fuzz Face. I found it easier to combine effects on the Zoom, and I think they sound better there, too. It's also easy to get good recorded tones with this unit. Bonus points for some very cool-sounding bass amps and effects.

 

Honestly, I like the Pod better. It has better amp models, and I don't use effects too much. It's also better laid out if you want to use it in a live situation. I had the Zoom for a long time before that, though, and I was happy with it.

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Thanks for the input! I'll check them out. I had a Pocket Pod, and the sound was usable, but the interface was meh and once I plugged the cords into the pod it would slide off the desk unless I positioned everything just right. A big annoyance to me.

 

I should clarify. I'm not too worried about build in effects, as I'd like to run my pedalboard in. Of course, it would be a bonus if it did have some decent built in stuff. I'd also like the unit itself to sit on a desk or table for easy access.

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Yeah, so far I'd say the Mustang I/II is the best at doing a good high gain, a good Fendery clean and doing a half-way decent low to mid gain Marshall and Vox thing.

 

The Korg Pandora has much of the same software as the Vox Tonelab stuff but they sound terrible running into an amp. I have the blue one that is roughly five or six years old and it does a a great high gain (I use an envelope filter model to make it a bit more expressive) and have dialed in a fairly clean Fender tone that isn't really very Fendery... but those elusive low gain/edge of breakup tones.... forget about it.

 

Had a Yamaha THR5 for a short while but ended up returning it. The key, for me anyway, is to dial in a really low volume tone. As in low enough that a child can be sleeping in the same room as you playing. I wasn't very impressed with the Fender or Vox tones at anything remotely resembling 'practice volumes'.

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honestly, i've owned a fender mustang for almost 2 years and i'm still amazed at how good it sounds. get a 1 if you truly only want to use headphones, or a 2 if you think you might want to play "regular" sometimes. I've seen used 1's for $35(!)-$50 and 2's for $100-$125.

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I really like the jamup pro app on my I phone using irig. Awesome amp and effect models. I haven't used it for recording ( I use pod farm with my ux2 interface). But the jamup sounds good with headphones and sometimes I run the headphone out to a little crate bass amp set flat that sounds awesome. I also have peaveys ampkit, ampitube, and GarageBand apps but the jamup sounds best to me.

 

 

i just got my iRig and downloaded Garageband. i'm getting sound through Amplitube, but nothing through Garageband. for whatever reason, it won't recognize the input. any ideas?

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I can't help thinking that any one of these new modelers could be the one you prefer and the one I prefer being a different one than yours (whoah, my english is bad)..

 

One word, though: Tweak!

 

If that was of any relevance, I still have, all piled up in shelves and on the floor and desk, A Flextone 1.0, a Bean Pod 2.0, a pocket pod, a HD400, a blue Pandora, a korg AG1000, a Mustang III and a THR10. My favorite as a do-it-all-real-well: The Yamaha THR10.

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i just got my iRig and downloaded Garageband. i'm getting sound through Amplitube, but nothing through Garageband. for whatever reason, it won't recognize the input. any ideas?

 

 

I had the same problem. I believe You have to make sure the input is active/turned up. There is a slider control or you can select auto .. It's the small icon that looks like a cable end. You will see the green slider light up as you play. Honestly that and the amp models it has which I'm not totally crazy about has kind of kept me away from using GarageBand that much.

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Just to clear up, I don't have a need for it to make noise like a normal amp. Headphone is really all I am interested in.

 

 

honestly, i've owned a fender mustang for almost 2 years and i'm still amazed at how good it sounds. get a 1 if you truly only want to use headphones, or a 2 if you think you might want to play "regular" sometimes. I've seen used 1's for $35(!)-$50 and 2's for $100-$125.

 

 

I though about the mustang, but I'm shying away from normal amps due to wanting it to take up little space and be able to sit on my desk.

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I've had two Valvetronics, and the headphone outputs on them was pretty encouraging. I forgot about the footpedal/desktop versions. I just checked ebay and they definitely seem like a great budget option.

 

 

I borrowed a Tonelab ST (is that the 2-pedal one?) for a few days, and I was impressed with it.

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Just to clear up, I don't have a need for it to make noise like a normal amp. Headphone is really all I am interested in.


...


I though about the mustang, but I'm shying away from normal amps due to wanting it to take up little space and be able to sit on my desk.

 

 

Sounds like one of those little THR amps would fit the bill for ya then!

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It's not totally ideal, but a cheap fix is to do what I've done: I have a Vox Mini 3 amp that's about the size of a lunchbox and sounds decent through the headphone jack. For about $90, it's been useful for me to play in the bedroom when I get booted from the living room!

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