Choosing a Guitar Amplifier

Finding the Right Guitar Amplifier Sound

Sounds! Sounds! Sounds! How do you get the right guitar amplifier sound? You gravitate towards the big names! The music shop is in a frenzy cacophonous uproar. Twenty guitar amps are going off simultaneously. Someone is in the corner doing bad guitar solos. Opposite corner, someone’s banging out helicopter rhythmic heavy metal with dark clean tones. Perpendicular to the stereotypical metal guy, a dorky indie kid is playing some bar chords. Madness!

Choosing a guitar amplifier can be like stumbling drunk into a darkened room fumbling for the light, yet amplifier choice is just as important (even more so!) as choosing the right guitar. The guitar amplifier will set your sound more then your guitar. An ampflier can even be cruel, of trickery like a love affair gone terrible. Different guitar amps will create different texture, tone, quirks and loudness. Built in effects, head phone jack, numbers of knobs, wattage, heaviness, durability and number of channels are characteristics the beguiled prone guitarist must face.

The Right Guitar Amplifier for the Right Music

Overall, choosing a guitar amplifier depends on your goals. What style of music are you playing? Are you just learning the guitar? Are you just playing at home? Are you going to play shows in the near future?

The worst mistake a beginner can suffer is the awful temptation of the flash factor. A giant amp with fifty knobs is silly. Beginners make the mistake believing loud can make up for technique. Down the road, a loud guitar amplifier can make sense once a personal style is solidified (after all personal style is just technical limitations concentrated). A simple guitar amplifier will suffice and not be like an avalanche of sound upon you. A beginner should choose nothing over a 15 watt amp, even better a practice. For example, Pig nose guitar amps offer great practice amps that are fantastically portable.

Guitar Amplifier Specializations

Different guitar amplifiers specialize even within a name. Marshalls are good for deafening high gain. Peavey amps usually have cleaner sound even with gain turned up to distortion. A Peavey amplifier also as more pronounced bass. Vox amps have so much intense reverb and tremolo capabilities, a pedal would be indulgent.

For example, take a Dan Electro guitar (a simple diverse guitar) and play it through a Fender Frontman II amp (fender standing in as the generic amplifier). The amp could minimize that guitar’s characteristic vintage fat tone. Plugging that same guitar in a different Fender amp like Super Six then suddenly you’re in a cavernous studio with Phil Spector pointing a gun at you.

Tube Amplifiers vs. Solid State Amplifiers

The mechanics of a guitar amplifier will also make a difference. Tube amplifiers will give you a warmer sound and more sustain. Tube amplifiers, usually because of their craftsman work and lesser number, are more expensive. Tube amps are special creations, in the sense more craft goes into their making. Some even have coils or “spring reverb.” A tube amp's drawbacks are heaviness, bulkiness fragility and occasionally have the tendency to pick up mechanical noise (microphonic).

Solid state guitar amps are based on a semiconductor system. These guitar amplifiers are cheaper then tube and have more variety. Solid states also last longer and weigh less. Their no nonsense suites a beginner well

Hybrid and Model Guitar Amplifiers

Hybrid and Model guitar amplifiers are two other possibilities. Hybrid amps combine tube and semiconductor systems. Modeling guitar amps are configured with a digital system. The digital route makes cheap, affordable guitar amps, yet they also have the highest amp draw backs. The Often, they destroy the nuances of tone

Finding the Right Guitar Amplifier

When shopping, explore your options. Plenty of non chain music stores wait for you. Mom and pops will have a more unique selection though with a slightly higher price. The big chain music stores are often cheaper with a more general selection. Pawnshops are really exciting to go to because you don’t know what you’ll find and you can wrangle with prices. The Internet gives you infinite choices yet shipping and handling will be the burden.

If one gets frustrated, don’t. The perfect guitar amplifier does not exist. You’re not trying to answer the sphinx’s riddle. To be blunt, selecting the “wrong” amp can be the right choice because this can make a guitarist realize what he or she really wants.

Additional Pro Guitar World Articles

Beginner’s Guide to Harmonicas
Beginner’s Guide To Guitar Slides
A Beginner’s Guide To Capos: Versatility
Choosing Bass Strings
Beginner’s Guide To Guitar Tuners
Beginner’s Guide To 12 String Guitars
Beginner’s Guide To Guitar Pickups: Finding that Right Sound
Painting The Air: Beginner’s Guide to Effects Pedals
Beginner’s Guide To Buying An Acoustic Guitar
A Beginner’s Guide to Guitar Strings
Picking Through: Choosing Guitar Picks
The Dirt on Distortion: A Simple Guide to Getting Dirty
Deep Dark Notes: A Beginner's Guide to Bass
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