Guitar Amplifiers

Many of you might be unaware that there are different types of amplifiers as far as there working principle is concerned. This subsequently affects the overall tone that you get from your instrument and hence it is advisable that you understand each type of amplifier clearly before investing.

There are three types of amplifiers. They are: Tube amps, Solid state amps and hybrid amps.

The tube amp uses one or more vacuum tubes to amplify the signal, while a solid-state guitar amp uses solid-state electronics (diodes, transistors, etc.) to amplify the signal. On paper and in theory these two approaches should yield identical result, but in reality the difference in their tone is usually quite noticeable. The tube amps may requires greater maintenance and demand more investment but it is observed that they throw a warm tone as compared to tube amps.

Many amps are not simply tube or solid-state, but mixer of both kinds, called "hybrids." This usually means that they have a tube preamp stage, employing vacuum tubes in the tone shaping circuitry, but use solid-state circuitry for the power section. The hybrids are closer to full tube amps in response and tonal warmth, but purists will still find a difference between the two. Tube amps are generally more expensive in initial cost and to operate (because you need to replace the tubes occasionally), and solid-state amps are generally less delicate and more reliable. Many players, however, feel that tube amps yield a warmer, more musical tone and more musical-sounding distortion.

Yet another wrinkle is tube emulation circuitry. Many amps and preamps have sophisticated circuits designed to act like tubes, and as in all things, some are better than others. A relatively new development has been the introduction modeling amps, which not only emulate the tone and response of tubes, but of specific tube amps. In general these pretty exciting amps, but again, some are better than others at reproducing the specific models, and in maintaining the sounds through a range of volume levels.

Another point to make about tube amps is that bigger is not always better. You get the most distinctive tube sound when the amp is cranked up enough so the tubes are saturated or nearly saturated, creating the overdriven sound revered by tube-amp fans. For this reason, it is often better to choose a lower wattage amp over a higher wattage amp, depending on how and where you play. By the time you crank up your 60- watt amp enough to saturate the tubes to get just the right level of distortion, you could be blowing your audience out the back door. It might have been better to choose a 20W amp that lets you get your saturated tone without the ear-killing decibels. Many professional guitarists prefer this approach both for recording and performance situations. They use close-miking to capture the overdriven sound of smaller tube amps, sending that signal to the recording console or the PA mixer.