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Im using the Quilter SBUS.
I got some nice phones for it (Beyerdynamic 990 x )
The sound is very detailed and Ive been experimenting with the different cabinet simulations and settings.
Im struggling a bit with the dryness of the sound. I realize that the room plays a HUGE portion as does a big speaker vs headphones. Also there is less input at lower volumes from the archtop itself (despite having open back phones).
Are there any tricks of the trade to get sound that has a larger feeling of space or do I just need to accept that its gonna be different?
I do know one thing...these things are so detailed that everything comes through. If I can sound good via earphones I can sound good in a live space!
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02-25-2026 09:23 AM
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It's easier to sound good in a live space than headphones. The bar is so much lower at the bar, ambient noise, room acoustics, drummers, they all eat up most of the sonic space.
Originally Posted by Sigmund451
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Headphones are very good if you don't want annoy anyone whilst practising or listening to music.
Otherwise, I wouldn't use them.
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That is my primary reason. Most the year I leave the doors and windows open in my office and sound carries in our area. Plus sometimes I drive the wife nuts. I will do both but if I want to work on something a long time phones are good to not bug anyone.
And the phones do sound good. Its just very different than a practice space.
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Maybe crank the reverb? But since that's a mono reverb it's not going to give it a whole lot of 3-dimensionality. If you have an audio interface for computer and some sort of DAW, I suggest plugging the line-out from the SBUS into the interface and using stereo reverb and stereo delay in the DAW rather than just plugging headphones into the amp. You might also try closed back headphones to block the acoustic sound of the archtop, but that won't do much for the 3-dimensionality problem without some sort of stereo effect. Originally Posted by Sigmund451
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I use a Universal Audio Enigmatic, with its very effective Room control. You could even set the Quilter flat and use the Enigmatic as your front end, setting EQ, cab sim, and set the voicing to Jazz. Or use a combination of Quilter and Enigmatic settings, but Room is excellent at simulating a room, and reverb won't duplicate it. "Room" is a shift function on the Volume control. It's the one thing that made playing through headphones comfortably close to playing in a room. Originally Posted by Sigmund451
Enigmatic '82 Overdrive Special Amp – Universal Audio
Phil
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Hmm, I was hoping for a solution that didnt require a purchase haha
Yeah, more reverb just sounds like more reverb.
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Headphones are designed for hifi sound reproduction. Listening through headphones is the same as using hifi audio speakers with a guitar amp. It's just not possible to make it sound like speakers designed for use in a guitar amp. Probably the better the headphones, the worse they will sound plugged in to a guitar amp. A good preamp in front of the guitar amp might help, but it's still not going to be the same as using guitar amp speakers.
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Yea, I can give things a boost with the Eq pedal and it sound full. Regardless, it still sounds dry compared to a space. Its not that it sounds bad, it just sounds different, which of course makes sense. I still enjoy it and I think it will be a good practice tool as it details every mistake or sloppiness in playing that a room seems to mask.
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I find it very difficult to play through headphones, and I really only do it while recording or playing along with backing tracks at night (because my recording "studio" is a laptop on my kitchen table with headphones as monitors). If I'm playing my archtop and don't want to make noise with an amp I just play unplugged. I've tried open back, closed back, and in-ear headphones. There are plusses and minuses with each. But they all are weird to me in the same way, i.e., pointing the sound directly into your ears and providing none of the indirect/reflected sound you get from the room. Our perceptual system is just not evolved to process sound this way, though some people adapt more easily than others. Originally Posted by Sigmund451
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I think Im adapting ok. After reading responses Ive simply decided to not try to copy the experience I hear in a room and Im able to find more sounds I can enjoy with the phones. Trying to mimic the sound just leads to frustration and endless dial twisting. I can still play with my amp so nothing is lost.
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could it be an impedance mismatch between amp and cans? aren't 990s something like 250 Ohms?
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The 990s I have are 45ohms
I wear them for quiet practice becuase I have trouble hearing the acoustic sound if I practice softly.
Its working out ok.
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For silent practice, I use closed Audio Technica headphones and a Zoom G1Four modeling stomp box. Good sounds, small, easy to use, cheap $130 CDN which is <$100 us
It's got nice reverbs and delays to give you that open feel.
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Do you have an interface to run your guitar into your computer? If so, there are lots of free tools that you can use to make it sound good (maybe even great).
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