FUQ (eff -yu - cue) - FAQ's with an EDGE

Tagged As: Mini Amplifier

Question:
My new day job involves lots of hotel stopovers and I want to practice in the evenings but I don't want to carry an amp around (even my small AER) or risk disturbing fellow occupants. I play with a pick but I don't play with a particularly heavy touch so I know I could just play acoustically. However, I never find that very inspiring, even using guitars with (IMHO) good acoustic properties like my Heritage Golden Eagle. Can anyone recommend a mini amplifier/gadget, ideally that I could attach to my belt, that will provide good clean amplified reproduction of an archtop guitar (no effects required except maybe some simulated reverb) through headphones? Also, any recommendations for the most suitable (i.e. the least tinny sounding) headphones for this. When I've tried using assorted hifi headphones in headphone sockets on various amplifiers (Polytone Minibrute, AER 60, Roland Cube) the results have never been very satisfactory.

Answer:
With regard to headphones, if you have a larger budget to work with, I couldn't possibly make a higher recommendation than Sennheiser HD-600's or the very nearly as good HD-580's, which sell respectively for as little as 279 and 179 dollars new from dealers on ebay. Either model makes the Bose headphones sound so bad in comparison you won't hesitate to return the Bose units for your money back, or you might just toss them in the trash. I had HD-580's which are serious, audiophile preferred favorites. HD-600's are an updated, better performing version and I now have those. They're always hooked up to something, even the computer. Playing games with that sort of sound in your ears makes it a lot more enjoyable.