How do I listen to my axe through headphones?

T

tenseurmetrique

Member
Hi, this is kind of a newbie question I guess but I can't figure this out..
Is it possible to play just through headphones so I don't wake everybody up in the middle of the night?
I don't have studio monitors.
Here is my setup :
guitar-->axe-fx2-->PA-->guitar cab
So I tried plugging headphones without turning the poeramp on but it didn't worked. What must I do?
thanks
 
Of course I plugged the headphones in the headphone input, but there's no sound coming out so I figured I had something else to do...
Oh it's working now but for some reason the sound comes from only one side..
Edit : it sounds very harsh, oversaturated and overall dull and unpleasing. is it because I have (good) but non studio headphones? Is it possible to achieve a good sound through headphones?
thanks
 
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I found that boosting the highs on the Global Graphic EQ when developing patches using my Sony 7509HD headphones gets me much closer to a properly EQed sound live thru full range speakers(with the Global EQ Flat). Of course I am trying not to wake anyone. So I agree that, the headphone out for me cuts high end more than the line outs.
 
tenseurmetrique said:
Edit : it sounds very harsh, oversaturated and overall dull and unpleasing. is it because I have (good) but non studio headphones? Is it possible to achieve a good sound through headphones?
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The headphone jack has the same sound as the main outs (OUT1). So if it sounds "very harsh, oversaturated and overall dull and unpleasing" then its one of 2 things - your preset has issues or your phones do!
Which phones are you using?
 
Could also be a loose connection if it wasn't working and now is. Did you do anything for that change to happen? It has happend to several units in shipping. Are you now getting a consistent signal or hearing any breaks?
 
I disagree with the last post? There is a marked difference iin tone between the headphone out and the main outs.

So much so I will never use the phones jack gain,lol.

The real issue is that people are expecting the headphone amp to be audiophile recording quality for auditioning and creating patches. In fact it's just a simple headphone out for late night practice sessions only.
 
I disagreewith the disagree. :) My headphone out and main outs are very very close if not identical (I'm thinking the perceptive difference is between the monitors and headphones). I have Adam A7 monitors and several pairs of headphones ranging from $50.00 to $1000.00+. The headphones themselves make the biggest difference to me. Just my 2 cents.
 
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Fair enough as tone is subjective and there is no doubt You may like what you hear from the headphones.

Let me say this though, I had a HUGE (name withheld) mastering engineer friend (I own at least 75 CDs that are his work) check it out for me as I thought I was crazy, he laughed after five seconds of listening through full range headphones and told me to only use it for quiet practice. He then showed me the differences though spectral analysis.

NOT the same signal, try it out if you have the gear.
 
Make sure put acab block in in fact just make a few presets for playing through headphones- cab block, amp dialed in for phones there's plenty room for extra presets. :0)
 
Larry Mitchell said:
Make sure put acab block in in fact just make a few presets for playing through headphones- cab block, amp dialed in for phones there's plenty room for extra presets. :0)
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+1. If you normally play through a guitar cab, you almost certainly aren't using the Axe-FX cab sims, and that will sound nasty through headphones or anything else that's not a guitar cabinet.

Make sure there's a cab sim in your patch, and make sure that cab sims aren't disabled globally. Then try your headphones and see what you think.
 
sorry that I didn't replied before, I had no internet.
So to sum it up I use a cab sim with the headphones (and with the guitar cab too, I find it sounds better), but I seem to get sound through only one of the 2 sides, but when I turn the jack in the input, it will randomly change side.. So maybe my unit has a problem?
The headphones I use are definitely not good headphones for this but they sound really nice when I listen to music. I also tried with the 2.1 system I use for the computer and got the same result..

@ rex, what do you mean by "make sure that cab sims aren't disabled globally"? I am new with the axe and don't know my way around yet..
thanks for all the replies
 
are you using an adaptor from your headphones 1/8" plug to get into the 1/4" jack of the axe? was this adaptor supplied with the headphones, or separate? many times it is the adaptor that is bad.
 
Yes, that adaptator was probably cheap and not supplied with the headphones (which aren't studio headphones ), but I wouldn't thought it might drive the sound through only one side. I will check that.
 
Hi tenseurmetrique,
the fault may reasonably have occurred at either the headphones/adaptor/socket level. It should not be hard to make experiments to exclude them one by one.
For example, do your headphones behave like this with any other device using the same adaptor? Another thing you might want to do is to connect a stereo cable (like a balanced one) to the Axe's HP output and drive a stereo device with it (your hi-fi will do the job provided you have the right adapter).
In case you don't own one (and can't have any for a test) you could use any mono amp, provided you have a stereo-to-mono adapter: just create a sound which pans left-to-right, or alternatively raise one of the two channels while setting the other one to zero: in any case you should hear no difference. If you don't, your Axe's HP output is damaged.
It might simply be a defective wiring, if you feel comfortable with opening the case give it a check ;)
 
tenseurmetrique said:
...I seem to get sound through only one of the 2 sides, but when I turn the jack in the input, it will randomly change side.. So maybe my unit has a problem?
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It sounds like you have a connector problem, either in the unit, the adapter, or the phones.

The adapter is the likely culprit, but it could be any of the three.

Try the phones with something else and wiggle the connector. Then try a different adapter with the Axe FX. If there's still no problem, try a set of phones with a dedicated 1/4" stereo plug directly into the Axe FX, rotate, and see if you can reproduce the problem.

Process of elimination.
 
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tenseurmetrique said:
So to sum it up I use a cab sim with the headphones (and with the guitar cab too, I find it sounds better)...
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That's part of the tone problem. Running a cab sim into a real cab will really dull the sound; you must have done some pretty radical tweaking to make it sound good. And with your tone tweaked for running through two cabs (a real one and a simulated one), it will really harsh up when you remove one of those cabs (the real one).

tenseurmetrique said:
@ rex, what do you mean by "make sure that cab sims aren't disabled globally"? I am new with the axe and don't know my way around yet..
thanks for all the replies
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There's a global setting that will disable cab sims in all your presets, regardless of how the presets are set up. Manual, Page 94.
 
Sounds like a connector problem to me - they normally come loose after repeated use.

You might want to get a decent set of phones if you're going to be using headphones a lot for late night jams. The good phones start at about $100, but you can actually get a set of decent closed back headphones for 30-40USD that are pretty good and flat-ish. A pretty small cost compared to the axe, but makes no sense using cheap headphones with a high end piece of gear like the axe......

Also to answer your question - go to the global menu (press the global button) and you will see an option to turn off/on global cabs, global power amp sims etc. You'll want both options turned on.
 
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