An unplugged electric guitar is already quiet; the amp is what makes noise. So for electric guitar, the answer is simple: play through headphones. Acoustic guitar is louder by design, and the only real way to silence it is a different guitar.
For electric guitar
- A headphone amp plugs straight into the guitar's jack, with amp sounds and effects built in. The cheapest, from about $44.
- Wireless guitar headphones have the amp inside the headphones.
- An amp with a headphone output, or a multi-effects pedal: plug in headphones and the speaker goes quiet.
Vox AmPlug 3 US, $44
A clean and a drive channel, chorus, delay and reverb, plus 9 rhythm patterns to play along with. #124 of 386 miscellaneous guitar effects.
Nux Mighty Plug MP-2, $74
13 amp models, cabinet IRs and a bass mode, controlled from an app. #101 of 386 miscellaneous guitar effects.
Fender Mustang Micro Plus, $125
25 amp models, 25 effects and 100 presets in a plug-in unit, with the Fender Tone app. One of the highest-ranked headphone amps we track: #1 of 82 headphone amps.
Positive Grid Spark NEO, $221
Wireless headphones with 33 amps and 43 effects inside; the guitar connects through a small transmitter. #36 of 38 bluetooth headphones.
For acoustic and classical guitar
A soundhole cover and lighter strings take some of the volume off, but not enough for thin walls. A silent guitar has only a slim center and a frame where the sound box would be, so it makes little sound in the room and plays through headphones with a modeled acoustic tone.
Yamaha SLG200S, $898
A steel-string silent guitar: a slim mahogany center with a maple and rosewood frame instead of a sound box, piezo pickups, a headphone output and in-ear headphones in the box. #16 of 390 miscellaneous acoustic guitars.
Yamaha SLG200N, $893
The nylon-string version, with a 50 mm nut like a classical guitar and a preamp that models a studio microphone. #1 of 73 miscellaneous classical guitars.
Questions
How can I play electric guitar without an amp?
Plug a headphone amp like the Vox AmPlug into the guitar and wear headphones.
How do I make an acoustic guitar quieter?
A soundhole cover and lighter strings help a little. For truly quiet practice, use a silent guitar.
How we picked. Every product comes from an AudioFu ranking, scored on demand, price, specs and brand; specs from Thomann's product data. Prices are converted from euros at the European Central Bank rate and updated every night, as are the ranks.
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Denis Kataev runs AudioFu. Every night the site records the prices of more than 38,000 instruments and studio tools at Thomann, and he writes about what those numbers show: what got cheaper, what just arrived, and which discounts are real.
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