Yes, if the amplifier has a line or USB output. Several practice amps do, and a speaker-emulated output is voiced to sound like a miked cabinet rather than like a raw signal.
Three ways out of an amplifier
A USB output, which appears on modeling amps and goes straight into a computer. A line output, which goes into an interface. A microphone in front of the speaker, which is how records were made for fifty years.
Speaker emulation is the detail
A raw line output from a guitar amp sounds thin and fizzy, because a real speaker removes a great deal of top end. An emulated output puts that filtering back, and the manual states whether one is fitted.
The quiet advantage
Recording from an output means recording at any hour, which for most people matters more than the last few per cent of tone.
Check your own manual before you plug anything in. Voltage, polarity and current draw differ from model to model, and the manufacturer’s figures take precedence over anything written here. A supply of the wrong polarity can damage a pedal in seconds, phantom power is safe for most microphones but not for every one, and the required voltage is printed next to the socket or stated in the manual — not inferred from a connector that happens to fit.
The questions players ask
What if my amp has only a headphone socket?
It can often be used as a line output into an interface, but levels are high and the voicing varies. Check the manual for your model before relying on it.
Does a microphone sound better?
It captures the speaker and the room, which is most of what an amplifier sounds like. A line output is more convenient and more consistent; a microphone is more characterful.
Last reviewed 2026-08-18