Can I use my phone as a guitar amp?
A guitar amp is an amplifier designed specifically to amplify the weak sound waves produced by an electric guitar’s pickups, allowing the guitarist to play loudly enough to be heard. Guitar amps work by using tubes or transistors to amplify the guitar signal and shape the tone using equalizers and effects.
Many guitarists want the flexibility to practice and play their guitar anywhere, without having to carry around large, heavy guitar amps. This has led some to wonder whether you can use a phone as a makeshift guitar amp. After all, phones have speakers built in, so theoretically they should be able to produce audible guitar sounds.
In this article, we’ll look at whether it’s actually feasible to use your phone as an amp for your electric guitar, discussing the potential audio quality issues and latency problems involved. We’ll also overview some dedicated mobile amp apps, audio interfaces to connect your guitar to your phone, and alternative solutions like Bluetooth speakers.
How Guitar Amps Work
Guitar amplifiers take the weak electrical signals from a guitar’s pickups and amplify them to drive speakers and produce audible sound. According to Roland, guitar pickups convert the vibrations of the strings into AC electrical signals. However, these signals are very weak and need to be amplified significantly to properly drive loudspeakers.
As explained on Rob Robinette’s website, the preamp section of a guitar amp provides initial amplification and shaping of the tone using gain and EQ controls. The power amp section then takes that boosted signal and amplifies it even further to create the high power required to drive the speakers. Guitar amp controls like gain, bass, midrange, treble, reverb, and more all shape the signals to tailor the overall guitar tone and response.
Challenges of Using a Phone
While phones provide some convenient options for guitar amplification, they also come with some inherent challenges that make them less than ideal as guitar amp replacements. Phones lack the analog circuitry and components like transformers and tubes that help shape tone in dedicated guitar amps (https://www.tdpri.com/threads/cell-phone-noise-through-my-amp.1005108/). The analog signal path in a real amp interacts with the guitar pickup signal to produce the desired overdriven and distorted tones. Phones rely on digital processing which can result in a less responsive and authentic tone.
Additionally, the small onboard speakers in phones are designed to reproduce the frequency range of human speech and music listening, not electric guitar. Guitar amp speakers are specially engineered to handle the low end frequencies and higher volumes required for guitar amplification. Phone speakers lack the headroom and low end response to provide a robust clean guitar tone, especially when adding in effects and distortion (https://blog.deplike.com/top-5-guitar-amp-apps-on-mobile/). The result is often a thin, unsatisfying direct guitar sound from a phone.
Dedicated Mobile Apps
Some apps are designed specifically to emulate guitar amps, cabinets, and effects using your phone’s or tablet’s soundcard and processor. Popular options include AmpliTube, Bias FX, and Native Instruments Guitar Rig. These apps model analog gear and aim to give you a wide range of tones and effects.
However, there are some limitations. Complex amp and effect modeling can tax your mobile device’s CPU, leading to stability issues or audio dropouts. Latency can also be a problem, especially on older devices. And while these apps can get you in the ballpark, the amp and effect tones may not sound as rich or responsive as real analog gear.
Audio Interfaces
Devices like the iRig allow electric guitars to connect directly to phones and tablets. These audio interfaces convert the analog signal from the guitar into a digital signal that can be used by the mobile device.
This conversion is key because it enables guitarists to utilize amp and effects simulation apps on their phones or tablets. The iRig has an instrument input that the guitar plugs into, which converts the analog audio to a digital signal via an internal analog-to-digital converter. It also draws power from the device it is connected to through the headset jack or Lightning port.
By digitizing the guitar signal, the iRig allows mobile users to get convincing amp and pedal sounds through their phones, without needing to carry around bulky physical amps and effects pedals. This makes an audio interface like the iRig invaluable for practice and mobile recording using phones and tablets.
Latency Considerations
One of the biggest challenges with using a phone as a guitar amp is latency, which is a delay between the input signal and the output sound. This is caused by the audio processing happening in the amp simulator app. To generate the various amp effects in real-time, the app needs to buffer and process the audio, which introduces a slight delay. Typical latency ranges from 10-50ms on phones. While that may seem small, it’s enough to make playing difficult since you hear the notes delayed back through your headphones or speakers. This can throw off your timing and feel disconnected from your playing.
When evaluating amp sim apps, look at their advertised latency measurements. Lower is better for live playing. Some apps can achieve under 10ms latency with optimal phones and settings, but often 20-30ms is more realistic. If an app doesn’t list its latency, it’s likely on the higher end. Also try before you buy – test the app and see if the latency is acceptable for your style of playing.
Lastly, minimizing other processes running on your phone can help. Close any unnecessary apps and disable power-saving modes that throttle the CPU. This lightens the load on your phone’s processor and audio subsystem, allowing the guitar app to prioritize lower latency.
Using the Headphone Jack
Simply plugging your guitar into your smartphone’s headphone jack won’t work well for playing and listening. While you can get a special adapter to connect the guitar to the headphone jack, the audio signal from the guitar needs to be amplified and shaped with effects to sound good. Without an amp or effect processing, the sound through the headphones would be very weak and flat.
However, there are some dedicated apps like JamUp and Bias FX that provide guitar amp and effect modeling and can be used with just your phone and guitar. These apps can make it possible to skip dedicated amp hardware and use your phone to provide amp/FX modeling when playing with headphones. But the guitar needs to be connected properly through an audio interface or adapter designed for instrument level signals.
While using just the phone and headphones can work in a pinch, the sound quality may not match having a dedicated amp and effects. There can be latency issues as well when monitoring through headphones plugged into the phone. Using an amp simulator app with headphones can be convenient for practice and mobility, but for the best audio quality an external amp is recommended.
Bluetooth Speakers
One option for using your phone as a guitar amp is to pair it with a Bluetooth speaker. There are dedicated guitar apps like Spark Go that allow you to pair your guitar to your smartphone via a wireless adapter or cable. The app acts as a virtual amp, providing effects and amp modeling. The guitar signal is then sent wirelessly from your phone to a Bluetooth speaker, which acts as the amp for playback.
The main advantages of using a Bluetooth speaker in this way are the portability and convenience. You can easily bring your guitar and a compact speaker anywhere without needing bulky equipment. The sound quality you get depends on the speaker you use – small portable speakers may lack bass response and volume for guitar, while larger Bluetooth speakers can provide a decent practice setup.
Overall, pairing a guitar app with a quality Bluetooth speaker provides a flexible way to use your phone as a guitar amp for casual practice sessions and jamming on the go.
Other Alternatives
There are other alternatives besides mobile apps and audio interfaces that allow you to use your phone as a guitar amp. Here are some options:
- Small battery powered guitar amps – These miniature amps like the Danelectro Honeytone can provide basic amplification and allow you to play guitar anywhere without needing an outlet.
- Multi-effects pedals with headphone out – Devices like the Line 6 POD Go give you amp and effects modeling that you can listen to quietly through headphones.
- Software amp sims for computers – There are many software solutions like Bias FX and AmpliTube that let you get studio-quality guitar tones on your computer.
With these options you don’t need additional hardware like audio interfaces. They provide flexible alternatives to get guitar amplification directly from your phone.
Conclusion
In summary, using your phone as a guitar amp is possible but has both advantages and disadvantages. On the plus side, it’s inexpensive, portable, and convenient since most people already have their phone with them. However, sound quality is a major drawback, as phones simply aren’t designed to reproduce the full frequency range of an electric guitar. Latency can also be an issue, even with dedicated mobile amp apps and audio interfaces.
The pros of portability and cost make a phone worth considering for practice and casual jam sessions. But for live performance or recording, most guitarists will still want the superior tone and responsiveness of a real amp. While technology keeps improving, phones have some inherent limitations around speaker size and digital processing that prevent them from fully replacing a dedicated amp.
That said, in a pinch a phone can get the job done and allow you to play your guitar anywhere. As mobile apps and accessories continue advancing, phones will likely become even more capable guitar amp substitutes. But for the time being, discerning guitarists will still prefer the sound of tubes or analog circuitry over the digitally-processed output of a phone.