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Topic: Home Stereo used for Amp? |
Patrick Way
From:
Anchorage, AK
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Posted 17 Feb 2001 11:56 pm |
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O.K. Don't laugh too hard. Talk about a poorboy deal. I just want to hear my guitar, so as to discern if I'm on the right strings or not. Just wondering if it is possible to somehow plug into the back of my stereo aux port and get some sort of amplification.
PW |
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Jack Stoner
From:
Kansas City, MO
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Posted 18 Feb 2001 3:12 am
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Shouldn't be a problem. Just get an adapter cable with a female 1/4" jack on one end and an RCA plug on the other.
Try the different inputs, e.g. phono, aux, etc to see which one works better.
I've used my stereo system as a practice amp and a stereo amp doesn't have the "tuned" frequency response a guitar amp does but mine doesn't sound bad. However, I have a pair of JBL D120-F's for my stereo speakers. |
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Martin Abend
From:
Berlin, Germany
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Posted 18 Feb 2001 5:06 am
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Patrick,
you might try one of these "digital modeling"-devices like the POD, the Johnson or the Zoom. I use my POD for practicing with my stereo and it's great!
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martin abend my homepage chicotarde@web.de
s-10 sierra crown gearless 3 x4 - fender hotrod deluxe
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Earnest Bovine
From:
Los Angeles CA USA
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Posted 18 Feb 2001 10:20 am
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The phono input probably won't sound good since it boosts the low frequencies.
Any other input will work, such as tape, CD, aux, etc. You will need to boost your signal first. Any of the common effects boxes will do that (ProFex, Boss GX-700, Lexicon, etc). |
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C Dixon
From:
Duluth, GA USA
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Posted 18 Feb 2001 5:00 pm
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The Aux, VCR, CD, tape, tuner, etc inputs on a Stereo amplifier are analagous to "line" inputs on a PA system. And as such you may have very low volume. So you will need a preamp in all likely hood. If you have A mic input it will not need a preamp since it will have a preamp ahead of the Aux input.
The statement about the "phono input" is correct. This input is designed to compensate for the non linear output of a record player's pickup. The other inputs (save the mic) will all be flat assuming the tone controls are in the "flat" position and the "loudness" control is in the off position.
One word about Stereo amplifiers versus Guitar amplifiers. You will probably NOT like the sound out of a Stereo amp. The reason is its flat response will make the guitar sound exactly as it is. Which ironically is NOT what most players want to hear. Contrary to what most people think.
Sound engineers realizing this in the early days of amp design altered the freq response characterisitics of Guitar amps to make them sound more pleasing to the vast majority of players.
And they did this in the area right around 800HZ. For some reason a guitar's output needs to be altered in this narrow audio spectrum in order to sound good to the vast majority of players.
A stereo amp has NONE of this altering. So again you may not like the sound and no amount of tweaking its tone controls will help. But then who knows til you try it?
God bless you with what you do,
carl |
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Dayton Osland
From:
Lake Havasu City, AZ
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Posted 25 Feb 2001 11:00 pm
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Hi,
I use a "Pocket Rock-it" from CB Labs for a lot of practice. This is a battery driven "amplifier" that plays back through a stereo headphone. They make several models, I have the "low end" unit. It has controls for Clean, Distorted and Max distorted, volumn control and a "filter" (which I don't use or know how to use). The really nice thing about the pocket rocket is that you can plug a CD into another input on the Pocket Rock-it and play along with recorded songs, rythm tracks or whatever.
I often use it to practice after the family has gone to bed since the only thing you can hear in the room is the unamplified strings on your guitar.
I believe I paid about $39 for it a year and a half ago at Guitar Center.
There are models that include reverb and effects but these cost more.
The Pocket Rocket has a swiveling 1/4" plug that will plug into many guitars directly. However mine is under the guitar and it doesn't plug in directly. I picked up a 1/4" plug that splits to two 1/4" female plugs. This allows me to plug in the Pocket Rock-it and the Korg chromatic tuner (about $19). By the way, if I don't turn off the tuner, it feeds back onto a real amp as well as the Pocket Rock-it.
Supposedly, you can plug the output from one Pocket Rocket-It into another and play duets. Haven't tried it.
Definately would recommend this to anyone playing any kind of electric guitar.
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Dayton Osland
Shobud S10[This message was edited by Dayton Osland on 25 February 2001 at 11:02 PM.] [This message was edited by Dayton Osland on 25 February 2001 at 11:03 PM.] |
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