Putting a guitar through a home stereo?

scott101

Hi guys,
Im currently looking at buying a electric guitar and have my sights set on what i want (roughly), i have a few friends who play, so i have no worries on that side however i dont know what to do with regards to the amp.
My home system is a harmon kardon hk990 and a pair of elac fs248's. the amp has quite a few inputs, the ones ive noted being xlr's and phonos, which i have found i could get with a quarter inch jack.
however, i have no idea if putting a guitar through a system would work, sound good or even be safe (just covering all bases)
on the side of sound quality i presume i would have to get some sort of eq so i could mess around with distortion and such, as the amp only has settings for treble, bass and gain.

Thanks in advance!

reevesy

bit of a no no apparently....

sure way to knacker your speakers if you're not careful...something to do with the high frequency from the guitar if I remember rightly.
you might be able to get away with it if you're careful ...

get a proper guitar amp....they can be had quite cheaply...especially on the second hand market

the little roland cubes are meant to be great little amps...think they can be had new for around 80 quid.....seen a few on ebay/gumtree for 40 or 50 quid.

just an example..

I've you're mates that play I'm sure they could point you in the right direction....or fish about on here
...especially here :
The Learning ... Equipment thread! | Page 225 | AVForums
the rocksmith lads certainly like their amps

KungFuPro

Yeah, I wouldn't recommend running it straight into the amp without some kind of amp modeller first, like a line 6 pod. Any pedal/modeller that has an emulation out/line out or headphone out, basically anything that converts the hi-impedance guitar signal should sound okay plugged up to a hi-fi amp at bedroom levels, but loud they don't respond the same as a proper amp.

You can also buy DI-boxes which convert the signal but without modelling effects it's not going to sound good.

Philly112

Guitar amps are so cheap, especially second hand, that it makes little sense to try and use a home hifi amp and speakers. They can't handle the dynamic range of a guitar. It will sound terrible and might damage the speakers. Buying a modeller will work, but why? It would be cheaper to buy a proper guitar amp. If space is a problem, buy a small guitar plug in amp and some headphones.
As Reevsey said, the small battery Cubes are great. The Yamaha THR amps are a little louder. I have had both (still have a Yamaha THR10 - can also be used as an amp/speakers to play music from a phone or tablet). The Cube clean sound is a little better, but the Yamaha is more flexible. (and expensive!). The Cube distorts at moderate volume, the Yamaha can actually go quite loud. Can't use either with a live drummer though.
Beware You Tube demos of these amps. They don't give any idea of the volume either put out. They will only give an indication of the tones available (which are actually very good).

KungFuPro

I guess it's down to personal preference, I prefer a modeller via line-out, stereo amp & speakers over a small guitar amp myself. I don't like the boxy sound of small amp speakers, there's never enough thickness or oomph!. I can get a much bigger sound through my stereo with modelling.

Most of the newer small amps use modelling technology (like the Yamaha & Cube) they just have speakers built in (FRFR?, I'm not sure). Could even plug one of these up to your hi-fi if they have a line level output somewhere.

A distortion pedal plugged straight into a stereo amp will sound awful and probably damage your speakers, but a modeller with decent cab sim/impulse response, signal going line level-out to stereo speakers, will sound huge compared to a practise amp.

Also, if you ever want to record yourself modelling is a lot easier to work with than micing up an amp. I have a 100w Marshall valvestate 2x12" combo that sounds great cranked up (and low levels too with the power dimension/saturation turned on), but it never sounds as good recorded mic'd up as a modeller does replicating the same settings (probably because I don't own a recording studio). I've lost count the amount of times I've heard people say "it sounds much better in person", that might be true, it still doesn't help the sound of the recording.

But if you just want to plug in and rock out then I agree, a proper guitar amp is a better option. And as good as modelling is getting, you can't beat the feeling of a proper amp, the response is a lot better.

scott101

Thanks for your opinion (and everyone else's for that matter)
if i were to use a modeller as you suggest would this definetely be safe with regards to my speakers?
which line 6 are you reffering to by the way? a quick search found a few models ranging from 80-350 pounds.
(edit) Having had a further look around this looks perfect Line 6 Amplifi TT Table Top Guitar Multi-Effects Unit | Dawsons Music
What do you think?

KelvinS1965

Years ago I wrecked a good pair of Wharfdale Shelton speakers (shows how long ago it was) playing my guitar, plus fuzz pedal into my hifi amp. It's the high frequencies that are created by the distortion pedal effect that does the harm, but if you use a modelling amp then it will filter the high end which is what a typical guitar amp speaker does naturally. It's then no different to playing a recording of a distorted guitar, so it should be safe to do within the usual confines of turning up the amp too far.

Just always make sure you use the simulated speaker setting when you play, though I still think that a guitar amp can be better in many ways, I know the little practice amp I got 'free' with a guitar I bought recently isn't a patch on my main amp(s).

Christian 71

Yup get the TT best value by far at the moment if you want to play through your stereo and standalone it will sound great through headphones.

Quite a lot of the guys in the thread above have bought Amplifis amps and the TT has just come out at a really good price. Wish they were out when I first started playing a few years ago.

KungFuPro

Amplifi TT looks like it was made for hifi use, not tried on myself but I've used a pocket pod and podxt (same modelling, I think) through hifi speakers and both sounded great. Like KelvinS1965 said, as long as you keep speaker sim turned on there shouldn't be any risk of damaging the speakers, turn off cab/speaker sim and the pod assumes you're going into a proper guitar speaker, sounds nasty as hell through normal speakers and most likely cause damage.

instigator

i think the TT was for practicing with several musicians using headphones?

if it is, it might be crippled or not have all the full guitar amp modeling stuff that the normal pod boxes have... i'd double check as you may be giving up guitar amps and mic modeling for the ability to plug other people into your TT box...

ok, just checked out the TT - you should be fine...  i got it confused with another similar box that allowed you to plug in guitar, bass, electronic drums, vocals etc and have everyone listen back via headphones....   it's pretty cheap too...  they also make guitar amps that are basically HIFI stereos   amp modelers in one if you want to get a separate box for everything...