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I've been wanting to purchase my first electric guitar setup, and as I'm on tight budget I decided to go with a Budget multi-FX processor instead of an amplifier.

My setup:

Guitar: Harley Benton ST-62
Fx processor: Mooer GE100
Headphones: AKG 240

My question is, will my sound quality be worse with this setup than a standard amp setup?

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  • do you have a little stereo you can plug the mooer into?
    – Нет войне
    Commented Aug 3, 2020 at 21:00
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    Define "standard". There's definitely a difference between a VOX AC30 and the cheapest transistor amp on Thomann. (Incidentally, if you're buying your guitar from Harley Benton for like 130 bucks, I doubt you need to be too worried about the FX processor, because I doubt that'll be the weakest link in your setup.)
    – user70370
    Commented Aug 4, 2020 at 5:16
  • im taking about 100-150$ solid state amps like Harley Benton HB20, Vox Pathfinder, Marshall MG15...
    – SvgG0D
    Commented Aug 4, 2020 at 6:36
  • TBH with most of those I expect the Mooer to sound better.
    – user70370
    Commented Aug 4, 2020 at 6:57
  • One alternative might be getting something like the VOX Amplug instead of the Mooer, invest the money saved into a better guitar (maybe a Squier Strat), and upgrade to a multi-FX or a decent-ish amp once you have a bit more money. The Harley Benton might be fine, the reviews on Thomann look fairly good, but they're not really a brand I trust tbh.
    – user70370
    Commented Aug 4, 2020 at 6:59

2 Answers 2

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I personally do not think this is better or worse than a "standard amp setup", both of them have pros and cons. Considering a "standard amp setup" is: a guitar connected to an amp, here would be the pros and cons of your setup (incomplete list):

Pros:

  • more effects available on a multi-FX than a "normal amp" (this obviously depends on the amp…),
  • quiet: you can play all night without having problems,

Cons:

  • no feedback, nor natural reverb of your room,
  • makes it hard to play with someone,
  • you cannot annoy your neighbors…

Obviously, the sound will no be the same, but that is not the argument I would use in order to choose between one or the other…

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  • thank you for your answer. and also i don't jam with others and usually just play in my room. If i plan to jam someday im just going to use my speaker or maybe buy a studio monitor(or cabinet) but for now this is sufficient. I don't care much about the natural sound of an amp. But are my headphones good enough, or will it just worsen the experience ?
    – SvgG0D
    Commented Aug 3, 2020 at 20:15
  • @svgg0d it will be a different experience ;)
    – Tom
    Commented Aug 3, 2020 at 20:55
  • @SvgG0D, do your headphones sound good when you're listening to music? If so, they'll be fine. Of course their frequency characteristics will change the sound, but so does every speaker cabinet out their.
    – user70370
    Commented Aug 4, 2020 at 5:13
  • actually I'm buying these headphones brand new, but I've heard that these are pretty good for monitoring stuff...
    – SvgG0D
    Commented Aug 4, 2020 at 6:37
  • Well, AKG have a fairly good reputation for high-fidelity headphones so I'm pretty sure they'll suffice. I play through either a pair of Koss Porta Pro or some Philips closed headphones, both of which have a <50€ price point. They both sound significantly different from each other, but both of them are absolutely fine for learning to play. Unless you're mixing and cutting audio intended for publication, you do not even need perfect monitoring.
    – user70370
    Commented Aug 4, 2020 at 6:53
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If you play in a band, either live or in a garage, it's probably better to have your own amp, for various reasons: you get the volume you need, you control the sound independently, you don't always get a PA to plug in, and so on.

In almost every other situation, especially playing at home and for recording purposes, your proposed setup if perfectly fine.

One thing I would however add to your proposed setup is a set of speakers that you may optionally use instead of the headphones. Nothing special, maybe just a set of decent PC speakers that you can plug directly into the headphones jack. Even at a low volume, it will be nice to have an alternative to always using the headphones. Playing through headphones is not the same as through speakers. Also, having speakers will allow you to play for someone else too, when the occasion arises.

(And by the way, always be careful at not using the headphones too loud for a long time, that can do a lot of damage.)

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  • well, I do own a set of bose speakers, but they're too bassy. I do plan to buy a set of studio monitors in the future tho.
    – SvgG0D
    Commented Aug 4, 2020 at 13:17

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