This article will teach you how you can connect your phone to a guitar amp. There are many reasons why you would want to do so. I, for one, used Line 6 as a speaker for listening to music and also to play backing tracks at a volume that matches my guitar and thanks to the advancement in technology, many smartphones can even act as pedals and sound modules
Well, they are still reasonably beta in my experience but indeed a pretty cool thing to play around with. Anyways, let us not beat around the bush and get to the answer of “how to connect your phone to a guitar amp.”
There are many different types of amps out there. It can be pretty straightforward in some while a bit more complicated for others. So, for the sake of covering all grounds, I will divide the amps into two categories: With Aux Input and Without Aux Input.
Different methods to CONNECT PHONE TO GUITAR AMP
Type 1 - With Aux Input
It is going to be a fairly simple process if your amplifier has an input of Aux (3.5mm jack). If it does, all you need to do is connect one end of the aux wire to your phone and the other to the amplifier.
Take the male 3.5mm to male 3.5mm cable, connect one end into the headphone jack of your phone (or connect through converter since modern smartphones seem to despise headphone jacks) and the other end goes into the aux input of the amp.
After that, turn down the master volume of your amp as well as of your phone.
Start playing any audio through the phone and slowly turn up the volume of both. Stop when you have reached the desired volume.
Type 2 - without Aux Input
Most modern amplifiers do tend to come with an aux input. However, it is not a necessity that you own a newer model of amp or even that your amp ought to have one. So, in case your amp does it, the solution is still pretty simple; there is just an additional requirement.
Alongside your male 3.5mm to male 3.5mm cable, you are going to need a 3.5mm Stereo Jack to 1/4 Stereo Plug converter.
They do not cost a lot and are available at almost every electronic and music store, and are also available online on Amazon or other sites. Once you get your hands on it, plug the aux cable’s on the side into your phone’s headphone jack and the other into the converter, which further goes into the Input or Guitar section of your amplifier.
THINGS YOU NEED TO KEEP IN MIND WHILE CONNECT PHONE TO GUITAR AMP
Before you blow up your amplifier (yes, that can happen), be sure to read about it. Amplifiers, more often than not, tend to not make good speakers for music despite what you may initially think. Guitar amps are specifically designed to output the frequencies an electric guitar produces, not music, not podcasts.
Sure, if you specifically only play guitar solos, it might not sound terrible. Otherwise, the sound quality that you are going to get is not going to be extremely impressive. As I said above, guitar and bass amps are made to output the frequencies produced by electric guitars and bass, not music. Also, be sure not to play the music too loud as it is entirely possible that the tubes inside your amp might not be able to handle it and explode and no one wants that so fair warning.
tO avoid damage follow the below given tips
Try to not listen to very bass intensive music on your amps like EDM or Bass Heavy Metal songs. Guitar amps are not meant for lower frequencies; they are explicitly designated to tailor to the frequencies that guitars make which range from mid to high. However, if you do decide to listen to bass-heavy songs through your amp, turn down the bass via any music software or just merely through your eq. This is help preserve your gear and improve the sound quality as well… somewhat.
Avoid using your amplifier as a speaker for longer durations. Using your guitar amp for music is not something I would recommend anyway but if you are in a position where you must, try not to do it for a prolonged period. In my experience, using it for less than 30 minutes in a go at lowered volumes is what gives you the best sound and again, helps to keep your gear safe from excessive damage.
CONCLUSION
You can, for sure use your guitar amp as a speaker, provided you take care of certain things and do not use it for excessive amounts of time. All you need to an Auxiliary cable, a phone and perhaps a 3.5mm Stereo Jack to 1/4 Stereo Plug converter if your amp does not have an aux input. Amplifiers like those made by Line 6 are perfect speakers.
They come with Bluetooth connectivity and everything, and you can use them carefree. That is not true for all amplifiers, unfortunately, but that is not a robbery as they are after all “guitar amps” and not a music player system. Anyways, I hope this article helped you out. Thanks for reading and happy and careful playing!
Gibson is a blogger and reviewer, whose passion is helping people with all the aspects of music through the blog he provides. Also, he is an artist and loves to create his own tunes by purchasing good quality musical tools. With his own experience, he has provided a great list of tools for you in this blog. Seeking the best quality musical tools? Read this blog and end your music thirst!