Difference between SPEAKER OUT & LINE OUT on Amp? (Guitar/Bass)

[studiodrum]

Speaker Out vs. Line Out on Guitar Amp?​

Hey guys, can someone tell me what the difference between a SPEAKER OUT, and a LINE OUT jack, and explain to me what they are usually used for?

I have an small Gibson GA-5T, and apparently it was modified with two additional jacks on the back of the amp that read SPEAKER OUT, & LINE OUT, . .so, I was just wondering if someone can explain to me the different things that these jacks can be used for. . .Cheers everyone!

 

[zed32]

speaker out sends a speaker level amplified signal. line out sends a line level signal.

so you would plug the speaker out into a speaker cabinet, and the line out into the line input of a mixer or something.

 

[antichef]

speaker out sends a speaker level amplified signal. line out sends a line level signal.

so you would plug the speaker out into a speaker cabinet, and the line out into the line input of a mixer or something.

What he said, and don't mix'em up Also, it's a combo amp, right? When you plug a speaker cable into the speaker out, it probably disengages the speaker that's in the amp. I think it's an 8 ohm speaker, so you're best off going into an 8 ohm cabinet from the speaker out jack (unless it doesn't disengage the speaker, in which case it would be different). In any event, you don't want to run the amp with no speaker hooked up or you might damage the output transformer, so if you do plug in the speaker out, make sure there's something attached to the other end.

I've got a GA-5, and I'm trying to think of how that line out mod would work -- probably the line out is the signal taken from the preamp before it gets to the power tubes. I *love* the amp, but mostly when it's turned up to the point that the power tubes are being overdriven - I wonder how just the preamp would sound -- guess you'll know soon enough.

 

[ggunn]

speaker out sends a speaker level amplified signal. line out sends a line level signal.

so you would plug the speaker out into a speaker cabinet, and the line out into the line input of a mixer or something.

What he said. A line out carries a signal which is about 1 volt RMS, whereas a speaker out carries a much hotter signal, the strength of which depends on how loud the amp is turned and its output capability, but it can easily be 100 volts or more. If you plug a speaker into a line out, it won't hurt anything but you will hear little if anything from the speaker. If you connect a speaker output to a line input, however, you can do serious damage to both the amp and whatever you've got it plugged into.

 

[studiodrum]

Hey Thanks for all the help guys!!! I really appreciate the info.

I'm not a guitar player, but I have a small studio in my basement and I wanted to have a small tube amp to be used for recording. , ,and I lucked out and picked up this amp from a recording studio that was going out of business, and apparently it was used exclusively for recording. So, it has all these interesting mods not usually found on a GA-5T.

Aside form the SPEAKER OUT, and LINE OUT, it also has an FX SEND, and EFX RETURN jacks, . .as well as a funky jack that reads SPEAKER IN, and it has a RIGHT ANGLE 1/4" plugged into the jack with the wires going back into the amp??? It looks like this 1/4" plug is attached to the main speakers???

Anyway, it helps to know what all these jack are used for, since I would like to have the option of sometimes recording direct from the amp, as well as miking it. So, do you guys ever use your SPEAKER OUT jack to connect another speaker can when your recording, or is that something that is mainly used for live stuff?

Here is a pic of the type of GA-5T that I have, unfortunately, I don't have a pic of the back, with all the jacks, cause my cam took a dump. but, you get the idea. . .Again, I appreciate everyone's the help!

 

[dasaradhi66]

Hello,
Further to the discussion on LINE OUT and SPEAKER OUT on a musical amplifier, I may have a stupid question as I am a layman. Can I connect the LINEOUT of the musical amp to the audio input of a Laptop for online streaming of audio from the amp to ZOOM or some other online platforms.
I intend to play a karaoke track from my mobile (through bluetooth or aux cable) on to the Musical Amp and with a mic connected I want to sing along with the track and the combined output I want to be fed to audio input of my laptop for online streaming to ZOOM or similar platforms.
Will LINE OUT help me on this - Experts please advise.

 

[gecko zzed]

Line out of an amp is the right thing to connect to a line in of a device. If the input of the laptop is not designated as a line input, it will be dsigned for a microphone, and may not work too well. You can try it out and see.

If it sounds horrible, you may need to get an audio interface, which you should probably be doiung anmyway, if you are going to do a lot of online streaming.

 

[rob aylestone]

I’m old enough to remember doing these kind of mods on various bits of kit in the 70s. Some done with little though, just the ability to drill and solder! Getting a line output from equipment that doesn’t offer it is fairly simple. I’d just find the volume control and the pot has three terminals. One would be ground, the furthest normally came from the preamp. Tagging off these gave me a line level signal for the recorder, or other bit of kit. Tagging off the speaker gave me the option of trying other speakers, and a switched ¼” gave me the ability to send sound into the combo and use it‘s speaker. People used to bang on about it being the integral part of the ‘sound’ but my mod soon let me discover this sound was often just severe mangling. Playing music through the speakers in a Twin Reverb revealed how thin and weedy they were. The tone of the guitar through the amp was quite warm and full, but the filtering and honkiness seemed to be the speakers in that cabinet just being weird sounding. These mods are always worth trying if drilling holes in your kit is ok. If not, you do the mods and dangle a removable connection box, so later you can remove it with no trace.

 

[dasaradhi66]

Line out of an amp is the right thing to connect to a line in of a device. If the input of the laptop is not designated as a line input, it will be dsigned for a microphone, and may not work too well. You can try it out and see.

If it sounds horrible, you may need to get an audio interface, which you should probably be doiung anmyway, if you are going to do a lot of online streaming.

Thanks a lot. My son had an audio interface box and through that I was able to connect LINE OUT to the interface box and from there to the laptop mic input and it worked fine and I was able to stream to zoom and audio quality was very good. Thanks once again

 

[mjbphotos]

Thanks a lot. My son had an audio interface box and through that I was able to connect LINE OUT to the interface box and from there to the laptop mic input and it worked fine and I was able to stream to zoom and audio quality was very good. Thanks once again

If you are using an audio interface, you connect to the laptop with USB, not the audio-out of the interface to the mic input of the laptop.

 

[dasaradhi66]

If you are using an audio interface, you connect to the laptop with USB, not the audio-out of the interface to the mic input of the laptop.

OK. Understood. Will take care. Thanks a lot for the guidance