any ideas for low volume playing, maybe without an amp?

[studio]

There are plenty of those electric guitars with built in amp and speaker.

I have a Brownsville one and the others are usually in that lower priced margin.

It sounds good with a new battery and at volume 5 is clean, then dirts up nicely when full volume is dialed in.

Just loud enough to be heard if jamming with another acoustic guitar player but not much else.

I hope this helps. Thanks.

 

[Geo]

If you just want simple and inexpensive this one is ~$25 >

For way more options there are various ones up to and ~ $90 like >

 

[chris m.]

Put your ear against the body and it will sound plenty loud.

I mostly play unplugged. A 335 style guitar is louder but I am happy using my solid body guitars unplugged, too.

 

[Tommy Biggs]

Hi, Yall. hope things are sunny in your world today.

i have just rejoined the ranks of the gainfully employed, part time after 5 years of retirement. need to pay some bills and buy some toys.

so. i'm back doing what i do best: nightwatchman. mellow. quiet. no boss in my face. you understand. and i just found out that bringing in a guitar to keep myself awake between rounds is A-ok. but i have to be careful about volume - but i can't do a headphone amp because i have to be able to hear whatever might be happening in the building. so a stethoscope is also off the table.

what i wonder is does anybody know a trick one could use to maybe double the volume of an unplugged solidbody electric? for instance, i know that you can set the headstock of your axe up against a cabinet and get some volume, but that gets really awkward pretty quick.

anybody got a trick?

Lower bout up against a wall or something solid works too.

 

[Phrygian77]

Joyo has a couple of mini amps, including one with a micro speaker that runs on a 9 volt and just plugs straight in to the guitar.

 

[jays0n]

Like Jakedog ..........No amp, solid body or thinline type electric. That's pretty much 95% how I practice or noodle anyway. It's great!

I used to do this too but found that when I thought I had something down then played it with an amp, I was not playing cleanly. Some notes partially muted, hitting unwanted strings a little here and there, not letting notes ring etc. All could not be heard while playing unplugged. I use a Champ turned way down now when playing at home.

For the OP’s situation, I would probably get the Roland Mobile Cube (because I want one myself

Roland - MOBILE CUBE | Battery-Powered Stereo Amplifier

MOBILE CUBE: Battery-Powered Stereo Amplifier - The All-Purpose Portable Amp

www.roland.com

 

[1 21 gigawatts]

I used to do this too but found that when I thought I had something down then played it with an amp, I was not playing cleanly. Some notes partially muted, hitting unwanted strings a little here and there, not letting notes ring etc. All could not be heard while playing unplugged. I use a Champ turned way down now when playing at home.

For the OP’s situation, I would probably get the Roland Mobile Cube (because I want one myself

Roland - MOBILE CUBE | Battery-Powered Stereo Amplifier

MOBILE CUBE: Battery-Powered Stereo Amplifier - The All-Purpose Portable Amp

www.roland.com

Very true. That's another reason that I hardly ever use an amp. I find out that I really suck!

 

[nojazzhere]

Hi, Yall. hope things are sunny in your world today.

i have just rejoined the ranks of the gainfully employed, part time after 5 years of retirement. need to pay some bills and buy some toys.

so. i'm back doing what i do best: nightwatchman. mellow. quiet. no boss in my face. you understand. and i just found out that bringing in a guitar to keep myself awake between rounds is A-ok. but i have to be careful about volume - but i can't do a headphone amp because i have to be able to hear whatever might be happening in the building. so a stethoscope is also off the table.

what i wonder is does anybody know a trick one could use to maybe double the volume of an unplugged solidbody electric? for instance, i know that you can set the headstock of your axe up against a cabinet and get some volume, but that gets really awkward pretty quick.

anybody got a trick?

Probably not a practical (expensive) answer, but I love practicing unplugged with my Godin Multiac Encore nylon guitar. A bit louder than an unplugged solid body, but quiet enough that you won't miss any mischief if it goes down. Apparently everyone who buys an Encore loves it, because they never seem to come on the used market.

 

[HoodieMcFoodie]

I play unplugged electric at home. Tone is in the fingers.

 

[Hank-Frost]

I use one of these - compact, low volume and similar to an electric:

 

[scelestus]

Black Star Fly mini amp!

<$100. Super light, batteries last forever! Pretty good sound for a plastic box.

I ended up with a Katana Mini myself, but same idea. Similar amps are available from several companies.

There's always the MS-4 if you have to be one of those guys.

 

[Winky]

The answer to this, and to many questions, is to get a Casino.

 

[Jakedog]

hmmm... yes, a semi-hollow would probably do want i want. it's just that i love playing my strat.

Well, there’s the semi-hollow Eric Johnson strat. Not a very budget friendly solution, but a real fun one!

 

[Gardo]

I have a Squier Affinity Tele that actually sounds pretty good unplugged. The top loading bridge is bright and perhaps the thinner alder body has something to do with it too.
Mostly though if I want to play quiet I turn the amp down to 1 and back off the guitar as needed.

 

[kuch]

along the lines of the semi hollows:
thin line/semi hollow tele; I've read that those G&L Tribute thinlines are really well made
Get a ukulele

 

[Beebe]

Could you use open back headphones?

My beyerdynamic dt880's are my favorite headphones and are open back.

There are other less expensive ones out there. I had some $20 open back AKG earbuds I liked a lot but I can't find em anymore.

I'm surprised these aren't more popular. They are much more comfortable to wear for long periods of time. And when I'm alone with the kids I feel like it's important to be able to hear what's going on.

There will be some bleed, so if turned up loud people around you will hear them.

 

[Maguchi]

Hi, Yall. hope things are sunny in your world today.

i have just rejoined the ranks of the gainfully employed, part time after 5 years of retirement. need to pay some bills and buy some toys.

so. i'm back doing what i do best: nightwatchman. mellow. quiet. no boss in my face. you understand. and i just found out that bringing in a guitar to keep myself awake between rounds is A-ok. but i have to be careful about volume - but i can't do a headphone amp because i have to be able to hear whatever might be happening in the building. so a stethoscope is also off the table.

what i wonder is does anybody know a trick one could use to maybe double the volume of an unplugged solidbody electric? for instance, i know that you can set the headstock of your axe up against a cabinet and get some volume, but that gets really awkward pretty quick.

anybody got a trick?

Play an acoustic guitar or
get a small practice amp

( sorry, I just don't enjoy playing any electric solid body unplugged)
Mine are the teeny Smokey amp ( from the '90's ) and a 2020 Roland Micro Cube ( full of features, including battery or A/C power)

^^^Yeah, gotta agree with Chiogtr4x. There are lots of small acoustics out there like the Martin Backpacker. Playing a solidbody or even semi-hollow body electric un-amplified is a recipe for developing sloppy technique. If you hear only the strings, you won't catch little slip ups in technique. Our ears tell our fingers to adjust subconsciously when playing and an unamplified string on an electric guitar will not give enough info to our fingers.

 

[Tonetele]

The katana amps are attenuated to: 1.5 wtts,25 and 50. Useful in playing at low volume and pretty decent at 50 watts ( RMS by the way).

 

[OmegaWoods]

Acoustisonic? They must have at least one actual use case...

Or a folding or small acoustic... https://voyageairguitar.com/

 

[gimmeatele]

This just in:

A local nightwatchman was found tied up and gagged at his place of employment last night. Authorities say, the nightwatchman become so engrossed in hammering out "Stairway" on his guitar that he failed to notice over a dozen intruders who had surrounded him. It was only when they applauded that he finally took notice of them, and well, tune in for the rest of the story at six pm.