sonsider a portable thing that can do the headphone thing and then when you play with others you could plug it into their amp or PA. Maybe a Pod or a Boss GT 3 something like that. Pod can be had for about 300 and the GT 3 is on sale now for about 350. they both sound great and there are cheaper things out there that do about the same thing. http://shredlikehell.com http://guitarsoc.homestead.com