Choosing an Amp - Revision history

Meambobbo: /* Tube vs. Solid State */

2016-02-13T02:21:58Z

‎Tube vs. Solid State

Meambobbo: /* Lead 2 */

2015-05-16T04:00:21Z

‎Lead 2

Meambobbo at 03:25, 13 April 2015

2015-04-13T03:25:43Z

Meambobbo: /* Peavey */

2015-01-22T22:05:00Z

‎Peavey

Meambobbo: /* Marshall */

2015-01-22T22:01:45Z

‎Marshall

Meambobbo: /* Fender */

2015-01-22T21:59:41Z

‎Fender

Meambobbo: /* Effects Loops */

2015-01-22T21:58:35Z

‎Effects Loops

Meambobbo: /* Effects Loops */

2015-01-22T21:57:09Z

‎Effects Loops

Meambobbo: /* Effects Loops */

2015-01-22T21:56:46Z

‎Effects Loops

Meambobbo: /* Budget */

2014-11-28T21:31:35Z

‎Budget

← Older revision		Revision as of 02:21, 13 February 2016
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	Various technologies have been developed by amplifier manufacturers to get the tube tone out of solid state technology; however, none of them gained enough traction to be considered at the same quality level as tube amps. To this day (mid-2014), the most popular amplifiers rely on tubes for both tone and power. That said, they are also more expensive, require tube replacement and occasional maintenance.		Various technologies have been developed by amplifier manufacturers to get the tube tone out of solid state technology; however, none of them gained enough traction to be considered at the same quality level as tube amps. To this day (mid-2014), the most popular amplifiers rely on tubes for both tone and power. That said, they are also more expensive, require tube replacement and occasional maintenance.
		+
		+	Solid State is now quite popular for transparent power amps with plenty of clean headroom to amplify a modeler which is already modeling the tonal impact of a tube power amp. This can be run from a modeler with no cab/mic simulation into a guitar speaker cabinet, or with cab/mic simulation into a passive FRFR monitor. Active FRFR monitors nearly always have their own such solid-state amplifier built into them.

	== Watts vs. Volume ==		== Watts vs. Volume ==

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 === Lead 2 ===
-An additional lead channel may simply offer more versatility by being a complete duplicate of the other lead channel or have a different signature to the tone.
+An additional lead channel may simply offer more versatility by being a complete duplicate of the other lead channel, allowing two different sets of settings (Gain, BMTP) to be instantly accessible and tweakable.  Sometimes the additional lead channel will have a different signature to the tone, including different dynamics, breakup, aggression, tightness, and clarity.
 == Modeling vs. Analog ==

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 The main things to consider when choosing an amp are price, your core tone desired, versatility, reliability, and power.  Most amps are designed for several tones and have a tonal signature that is difficult to find elsewhere.  This doesn't mean you should or shouldn't like any amplifier's signature characteristic - you may prefer other aspects of it, or a channel or feature that doesn't get the same love as other tones it can produce.  However, when trying to figure out what amp you want, it's a lot easier to listen to lots of clips and choose which tones you like and narrow that down to a list of amps that can do that tone well than it is to  aimlessly try every amp on every channel.
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 === Peavey ===
 Peavey's main success came in the early 80's by designing Eddie Van Halen's signature amp: the 5150.  Still a favorite in the hard rock and metal community today, it features a world-class distortion tone that fills the entire frequency spectrum and gets exceptionally saturated without getting noisy or suffering from a loose response.  Many metal artists use these with a boost in front to get an extremely tight and thick distortion.  And they are relatively cheap (in America, at least).  The 5150 II added a couple extra controls and improved the clean channel.  When the 5150 naming rights reverted back to EVH, Peavey renamed this line the 6505; 6505 = 5150 and 6505+ = 5150 II.  To confuse the matter more, Van Halen's own company has made the 5150 III amp, which is a bit different with 3 channels and different response/voicing.
 [[Category:Guitar]]
 [[Category:Gear]]
 [[Category:Amps]]

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 === Peavey ===
-Peavey's main success came in the early 80's by designing Eddie Van Halen's signature amp: the 5150.  Still a favorite in the hard rock and metal community today, it features a world-class distortion tone that fills the entire frequency spectrum and gets exceptionally saturated without getting noisy or suffering from a loose response.  Many metal artists use these with a boost in front to get an extremely tight and thick distortion.  And they are relatively cheap.  The 5150 II added a couple extra controls and improved the clean channel.  When the 5150 naming rights reverted back to EVH, Peavey renamed this line the 6505; 6505 = 5150 and 6505+ = 5150 II.  To confuse the matter more, Van Halen's own company has made the 5150 III amp, which is a bit different with 3 channels and different response/voicing.
+Peavey's main success came in the early 80's by designing Eddie Van Halen's signature amp: the 5150.  Still a favorite in the hard rock and metal community today, it features a world-class distortion tone that fills the entire frequency spectrum and gets exceptionally saturated without getting noisy or suffering from a loose response.  Many metal artists use these with a boost in front to get an extremely tight and thick distortion.  And they are relatively cheap (in America, at least).  The 5150 II added a couple extra controls and improved the clean channel.  When the 5150 naming rights reverted back to EVH, Peavey renamed this line the 6505; 6505 = 5150 and 6505+ = 5150 II.  To confuse the matter more, Van Halen's own company has made the 5150 III amp, which is a bit different with 3 channels and different response/voicing.
 [[Category:Guitar]]
 [[Category:Gear]]
 [[Category:Amps]]

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 === Marshall ===
-From the early 70's to today, Marshall basically dominated the amp market, by delivering the crunchy, "British" tone.  The clean tones were sweet, but what set the amps apart was they could be pushed into overdrive more easily and without getting nasty.  Think Clapton, Hendrix (when he's not using a fuzz pedal), Ritchie Blackmore, and Pete Townshend.  Their sound is somewhat nasal but delivers a relatively aggressive distortion, especially when boosted.  This is how early Eddie Van Halen, Randy Rhoads, Zack Wylde, and pretty much every 80's hair metal band got their sound.  Other notable artists include Joe Satriani and early Steve Vai.
+From the early 70's to today, Marshall basically dominated the amp market, by delivering the crunchy, "British" tone.  The clean tones were sweet, but what set the amps apart was they could be pushed into overdrive more easily and without getting nasty.  Think Clapton, Hendrix (when he's not using a fuzz pedal), Ritchie Blackmore, and Pete Townshend.  Their sound is somewhat nasal but delivers a relatively aggressive distortion, especially when boosted.  This is how early Eddie Van Halen, Randy Rhoads, Zack Wylde, and pretty much every 80's hair metal band got their sound.  Other notable artists include Joe Satriani and early Steve Vai.  Many modern small-shop amp manufacturers got their start by modifying Marshalls to have greater and more focused gain.
 === Vox ===

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 === Fender ===
-Fender is one of the first big names in amps, producing many classics still sought after today.  Their vintage tone is typically defined by shimmering cleans with a nice fat bass response.  Pushing them into overdrive can be a rather unpleasant experience for many models, but with the right pickups, style, and/or boost in front, they can deliver excellent lead and mild crunch tones.  Keith Richards and Stevie Ray Vaughn are some notable users.
+Fender is one of the first big names in amps, producing many classics still sought after today.  Their vintage tone is typically defined by shimmering cleans with a nice fat bass response.  Pushing them into heavy overdrive can be a rather unpleasant experience for many models, but with the right pickups, style, and/or boost in front, they can deliver excellent lead and mild crunch tones.  Keith Richards and Stevie Ray Vaughn are some notable users.
 === Marshall ===

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 A ''parallel'' effects loop features a mix control, using the same logic as individual effects - you can determine the mix of dry, where the pre-amp signal goes straight from pre-amp to power amp, and wet, the signal processed by all your effects in the loop.  100% mix is identical to a serial effects loop, while 0% is like using no effects loop at all.  The big benefit of a parallel loop is when you use effects without mix controls, which was typically the case with vintage effects.
-What you have to watch out for with a parallel loop is when effects introduce lag into the signal, such as with some digital effects that necessarily buffer the signal time-wise.  Even a small lag in the signal will create a ''comb filter'' with the dry signal, where regular nulls occur throughout the frequency spectrum, particularly in the highs.  The tone will sound dull or not as full as it should.  Also, effects like tremolo or others that alter volume may sound quite awkward when blended with a dry signal.
+What you have to watch out for with a parallel loop is when effects introduce lag into the signal, such as with some digital effects that, by nature, buffer the signal time-wise.  Even a small lag in the signal will create a ''comb filter'' with the dry signal, where regular nulls occur throughout the frequency spectrum, particularly in the highs.  The tone will sound dull or not as full as it should.  Also, effects like tremolo or others that alter volume may sound quite awkward when blended with a dry signal.
 == Signature Tonal Aspects ==

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 Most modern amps feature the availability of distortion in the pre-amp.  Additionally, even when using distortion pedals in front the amp, the pre-amp still provides compression.  Many effects should be processed completely after any distortion or compression affects the signal.  For example, the delay trails of a delay effect should gradually decrease in volume until they are inaudible.  With compression, the trails would have a more consistent volume level until suddenly dropping off.  Similarly, reverb would seem to stagnate rather than decay.  Distortion would be even worse, with delay trails and reverb being distorted just like the original signal, creating a noisy mess.
-An effects loop gives you the option to run effects between the pre-amp and power amp.  In some cases, the power amp may still be providing compression or distortion; but it's usually less than the pre-amp.
+An <u>Effects Loop</u> gives you the option to run effects between the pre-amp and power amp.  In some cases, the power amp may still be providing compression or distortion; but it's usually less than the pre-amp.
 Amps traditionally have ''serial'' effects loops - the signal leaves the pre-amp from the effects loop send, is processed by any effects in the loop, and returns through the effects loop return to enter the power section.  Most effects have mix controls - they split the signal in two as soon as it enters the effect and only process one of them.  The resulting "wet" signal is mixed with the unprocessed "dry" signal, with the proportions determined by the mix control.  100% is totally wet, 0% is totally dry, and 50% is equal mixes of both.  If all your effects have mix controls, or you always want to run your effects 100% wet, then a serial loop is fine.

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 == Effects Loops ==
-Most modern amps feature the availability of distortion in the pre-amp.  Additionally, even when using distortion pedals in front the amp, the pre-amp still provides compression.  Many effects should be processed completely after any distortion or compression affects the signal.  For example, the delay trails of a delay effect should gradually decrease in volume until they are inaudible.  With compression, the trails would have a more consistent volume level until suddenly dropping off.  Similarly, reverb would seem to stagnate rather than decay.  Distortion would be even worse - with delay trails and reverb being distorted just like the original signal, creating a noisy mess.
+Most modern amps feature the availability of distortion in the pre-amp.  Additionally, even when using distortion pedals in front the amp, the pre-amp still provides compression.  Many effects should be processed completely after any distortion or compression affects the signal.  For example, the delay trails of a delay effect should gradually decrease in volume until they are inaudible.  With compression, the trails would have a more consistent volume level until suddenly dropping off.  Similarly, reverb would seem to stagnate rather than decay.  Distortion would be even worse, with delay trails and reverb being distorted just like the original signal, creating a noisy mess.
 An effects loop gives you the option to run effects between the pre-amp and power amp.  In some cases, the power amp may still be providing compression or distortion; but it's usually less than the pre-amp.

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 If you are a tone junkie, you may want to consider a good modeler.  For the price of 1-2 quality amps, you get several dozen to hundreds of models.
-Remember that your amp purchase isn't your only expense.  Tube amps have to be retubed and possibly maintained every so often.  If you need additional effects, such as [[Boosts|boost pedals]], [[Noise Gates|noise gates]], or [[Delay|delay]]/[[Reverb|reverb]], those can add up quickly.  So can cables, pedalboards, gig bags, cases, etc.  Write it all out, then set your budget.  If you are a professional and need absolute reliability with bigger gigs, you should also have a backup amp.  If tone is crucial or budget isn't a big concern, you can fully duplicate your rig; but practicality often necessitates a watered down, "get-through-the-gig" backup rig.
+Remember that your amp purchase isn't your only expense.  Tube amps have to be retubed and possibly maintained every so often.  If you need additional effects, such as [[Boost|boost pedals]], [[Noise Gate|noise gates]], or [[Delay|delay]]/[[Reverb|reverb]], those can add up quickly.  So can cables, pedalboards, gig bags, cases, etc.  Write it all out, then set your budget.  If you are a professional and need absolute reliability with bigger gigs, you should also have a backup amp.  If tone is crucial or budget isn't a big concern, you can fully duplicate your rig; but practicality often necessitates a watered down, "get-through-the-gig" backup rig.
 A major part of amp tone is what cabinet it is paired with.  Cabs can range from fairly cheap to quite expensive.  If it's a key part of your amp's tone, you may have to spend a bit of money here - the expensive amp but cheaper cab solution may not be a solution at all.  Or you can consider looking smaller, such as getting a 2x12 vs. a 4x12.  I use a modeler with a FRFR wedge monitor, and it was quite cheaper than a real guitar cab.