Re: Headphone amp / mixer

Posted by MAO on Dec 06, 2018; 4:08pm
URL: http://guitar-fx-layouts.238.s1.nabble.com/Headphone-amp-mixer-tp44796p44980.html

That's a great approach bones79.

I did something similar, I built my 1st couple headphone amps in "modules". Highly recommended!  

I used this for the headphone amp section, which has an audio input, and a panning control for the guitar which is great when playing along with audio so you can place the guitar anywhere in the stereo mix.  (see the 03/19/2016 post for the stripped down headphone amp section)

Then I tried multiple distortions, overdrives, eqs and cab sims as the front end.

As with everything, there are positives and negatives with each.

The best option/combination really depends on what your main goal is...and your gear. Taking a modular approach until you dial it in will be the most efficient way to do it.

One suggestion I would make is if/when possible use a charge pump for at least the input and headphone amp sections to get the most headroom. The headphone amp section I linked to uses +9/-9 supply from a charge pump and sounds super clean with both the audio input and guitar input.  (I found most headphone amps lacked headroom with modern humbuckers and/or didn't take pedals well)

And if not using a breadboard, use sockets where you think you may want to try different caps and/or resistors, saves time and frustration. What sounds great through an amp, doesn't necessarily sound great through a headphone amp. Of course, that's the whole reason for using a cab sim.  

The omnicabsim on the main page may be the way to go for the cab sim if you don't mind all the knobs. You could always start with that and see which settings you prefer, then eliminate all the extras to slim it down if need be. (Personal experience - I had built the original non-commercial version of the omnicab a couple years ago and didn't care for it, preferring the simpler runoffgroove Condor. This version of the OmniCabSim looks much improved and worth a go I think)  

Keep us posted as I'm always looking for more :0)