Advice: Amplification

Electric Guitar Amp Advice:

There are many different types of lead amplification available. Amplifiers can be sold separately as a speaker cabinet and an Amplifier Head or as a combined unit called an Amp Combo. An Amp Combo is a combination of the Amplifier Power Head and any amount of speakers all in one unit. Most Amplifier set ups only produce enough sound for one guitar and usually feature 2 switchable channels; this is so the guitarist can select one for a clean sound and the other for any distortion. All Amplifiers vary in wattage and size and this must be taken into consideration when being purchased for a certain use e.g. home use, practising or gigging. Some may be suited for different genres of music better than others, but most Amplifiers these days will give a much wider range of tone.

Much care should be taken when purchasing an Amp not to cut corners just to save money. Cheap Amplifiers cannot be driven as loud/hard as Amps in a higher range. This can lead to the customer having to purchase a more expensive amp in the future. Some manufacturers offer up to a three-year warranty period as standard, this may be one of the attractions when buying a brand new Amplifier opposed to one that’s Second hand and may save money in the long run.

Bass Amp Advice:

Bass Amplification is one of the most difficult areas when deciding which Amp to buy. It’s crucial to make the right decision as money can be wasted far easier in this department than any other. Low-end bass frequencies are known to be difficult to amplify and must not be overdriven, therefore the right size of speaker(s) and wattage must be adequate for the job at hand.

Do you need standard or graphic tone controls? Will you need a compressor? All these questions have to be answered when a Bass Amp is purchased. If the wrong Bass Amplification is purchased it could lead to major problems. Good advice is essential, for example if a Bass Amp has an extension speaker socket then an extra cabinet can be added for more power and better spread of sound, this also means that it is unlikely the unit will produce the full wattage when used on its own.

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