Guitar Amplifiers

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Guitar Amplifiers Buying Guide.

Buying a new or pre-owned guitar amp can be a difficult can be a challenge to decide on the right amp for you, your guitar and your musical style. This guide attempts to make your buying decision a little easier with arming your with some basic tips. Sure you need to inform yourself about amplifier specs and features, but do not stress too much. The simple approach is pick your budget, review a few models and make the purchase. The state of current technology and manufacturing techniques means that most amps are of good build quality and will deliver acceptable performance.

The price

There is a general rule of thumb, advocated by musicians, the cost of the amp ought match the cost of the guitar. The reason is simple: why diminish your musical talent and the quality of your guitar with an amplifier of lesser value than your instrument. Bottom line is; don’t retard your instrument’s potential by pairing it up with a less than suitable amp. That does not mean that low priced amps are of an inferior quality. Today, because of computer aided manufacturing, costs of amp units are dropping considerably without affecting the quality of the sound that produced. This trend benefits amp buyers.

Given the multitude of roles that amp units can fulfill, they have been optimized to be paired up with 4 different types of instruments: the electric guitar, acoustic guitar, electric bass guitar, electronic keyboard.

Electric Guitar Amplifiers: These are very popular amps. This level of popularity is a result of the broad appeal of the electric guitar.

Acoustic Guitar Amps: These amps are used to project the brilliant highs of the acoustic guitar without sacrificing on the mid-ranges and basses. Acoustic amps have inbuilt speakers and usually support a mic plug and a line for guitar pickups.

Bass Amps: These amps tend to not distort the sound; rather the focus of a bass amp is to reproduce the low sonorous sounds that bass guitars are so popularly known for.

Keyboard Amps: Simply try to reproduce the sounds made by the keyboard as accurately as possible acting like a PA system.

Types of Amplifier Units

Combo Amps: House both amp unit and speakers in one box. These amplifiers are the most common type on the market. These are very good for carrying around, as long as they are not too large.

Amplifier Head: Is a single amp unit without any speakers. Amp heads require a cable connection to speakers. High voltage capable cables are the better choice for connecting speakers to the amp head. Avoid using standard guitar cables. If you plan to use several speakers, then this type of amp is well designed for the task.

How an amplifier works

The basic function of an Amp is to convert electrical signals into audible sound. To achieve this task, amps use two circuits or stages, namely: preamp and power amp. The preamp works on the signal it gets from the instrument and makes it good enough for the power amp and the other instruments within the amplifier such as the EQ and the effects loop etc. The power amp is responsible for boosting the signal from the pre amp and sending it to the speakers according to the wattage specs of the unit.

Vacuum Tube Amplifier

A vacuum tube is essentially the same as what you find in older style ratios.

When over-driven and heated with electrical current, tube type amps produce a tonal warmth and a unique 'distortion effect' not found in digital type amps. Some consider the tube amp to be obsolete, but for many musicians the authentic and classic sounds of the tube amp ensures its continued popularity.

Solid State Amps

Solid state amps are a newer generation of circuitry, inspired by the tube type amps, optimized to reproduce the those more authentic and classic tones achieved by tube amps.

The choice between a tube or solid state amp depends on both your budget and musical genre. Both vacuum tube and solid state amps produce reproduce excellent sound quality. Purists argue in favor of the more organic sound quality of vacuum tube amps and their ability to produce that unique analog warmth and fluid distortion. Most newbies however tend to stick with the latest in technology, including solid state circuits not only because some of these are suited to some of the modern genres, but also because they are cheaper.

The Proper Channel

Amplifiers offer multiple channels which can be independently setup so that you can switch between them without missing a beat. Multiple channels and channel switching is an important feature to look for when making buying choice for an amplifier. Electric guitarists use this to switch between the loud distortion sound and the clean rhythm tones. Most amplifiers are already equipped an accessory footswitch which facilitate channel changes.

Electrical Power

The power capacity of an amplifier is measured in Watts. And it is this wattage capacity that drives the speakers. Bear in mind the following guide when researching your amplifier purchase:

a) Higher wattage will mean a louder sound in the same amplifier.

b) Vacuum tubes produce a markedly louder sound per Watt of power as compared to solid state circuits. A vacuum tube being driven on 5 Watts of power produces the same level of sound as a 40 Watt solid state unit will produce.

c) Beginner musicians will find the feature of a headphone jack useful, especially for those practice sessions when you do not want to disturb the neighbors.

Effects

Most amplifiers support a number of inbuilt effects. Here is a brief overview:

Line-6-spider-amp-controls

a) EQ: This generally comes in the form of 2 or 4 knobs with which you can control the range of frequencies in the sound. For instance, increase treble settings for a brighter sound, adjust the middle EQ to full and the treble and bass to zero to achieve a the natural sound of the guitar, add extra bass tones by increasing the bass frequency. As an example, increasing the treble settings will produce a brighter sound, increase the middle EQ with treble and bass to zero to deliver a raw natural sound of the instrument. And then play with the bass control for added bass depth.

b) Effects Loop: An effect loop is controlled by an external chord and facilitates changing the signal carried between the preamp and the power amp.

c) Digital Effects such as flange, phase, reverb, echo, chorus, pitch shift, etc are supplied in most quality amplifiers. You can save these as presets that can act as channels in the amp. Many amps also come with presets which can be used as well.

Speakers

Speaker quality is an equally important consideration when buying a guitar amp. It is not necessary to pay a lot of money, but nevertheless, try to get the best quality that fits your budget. bear in mind that heaver and more expensive speakers are generally translate better sound quality. Better quality speakers facilitate better coloration of the amps signal, thus creating a richer superior sound.

Common speaker types include:

- 8” Speakers: generally housed in smaller amps.

- 10” Speakers: find these in amp for for practice sessions.

- 12” Speakers: basic performance amps.

- 15” Speakers: these speakers suit bass amps and built into separate speaker cabinets.

Things to keep in mind

Buying an amplifier requires some initial thought and research. Be clear about the purpose of the amplifier and how it will match and enhance your musical genre. Some considerations include: the style of music you plan now, the number of instruments you plan to attach to the amp, are there other band members who want to plug into your amp, the size of performances and venue types.

Points to consider

- 40 Watt solid state amps driving a 10" speaker will deliver adequate results for most performance contexts.

- For larger performance situations, a 60 Watt amp connected to a 12" speaker will deliver excellent performance.

- 30 Watt tub amplifier is the pic for a full rock band performance in most contexts.

Use this guide as a starting point to formulate a criteria for your guitar amplifier research and ultimate purchase.

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