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Tone
,→Guitar Power Amps vs. Pure Power Amps
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This page focuses on core tone, particularly distortion tone. Effects placement and impact are discussed individually on their own page, for each kind of effect. While effects are referenced below, they are only considered for how they affect core tone when they are set to be as transparent as possible.
* In the studio or at a gig, we can add: > Microphones > Microphone Pre-Amps > PA/DAW
Every part of the chain has a significant impact on the tone, and each stage is joined by cables which can also influence the tone. And we could further add components like [[Choosing a Pick|picks]], [[Slide Guitar|slides]], and [[Swells#Specialty Gear|feedback inducers]]; however, those are discussed on their own pages.
== Hands ==
== Power Amp ==
=== Guitar Power Amps vs. Pure Power Amps ===
When it comes to power amps, there are two kinds. '''Guitar power amps''' are the ones built into complete guitar amps but can also exist as discrete units. In the context of a guitar amp, it may be referred to as ''the power section''. They are designed to have some impact on tone, although not as much as a [[#Pre-Amp|preamp]]. They often use tubes, and may even be designed to be pushed into overdrive, or may at least offer differing tone at different volume levels. '''Pure power amps'' ' or '''FRFR amps''' (full range, flat response) on the other hand, are designed to be as transparent as possible, ''only amplifying '' the input signal with minimal impact otherwise.
In earlier years, these different types of amps rarely crossed paths. Guitar power amps were for guitarsusually built into guitar amps (or those manufacturers would make clearly-designated guitar-centered power amps), and pure power amps were for PA systems. With the introduction of modelers, which that simulate guitar power amps, cabs/speakers, and microphones, pure power amps began to be used by the guitar community for amplification purposes, the same way a mic'ed guitar cab would be amplified through a PA system. Rather And rather than running them into guitar cabs, they'd run into full-range, full-response (FRFR) monitors. Some brands market power amps that bridge the gap, claiming they work for both purposes.
=== Headroom ===
Some modelers allow you to tweak the resonance of emulated cabs virtually, effectively allowing you to tweak the cab's construction in real-time. This is great for dialing in your dream tone, although they tend to sound weird when fake when you deviate too far from center.
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== Gain Staging ==
Analog devices (and digital devices that emulate them properly) have a <u>'''noise floor</u> ''' - a small amount of noise that is inherent by nature and cannot be reduced. The further the signal is attenuated, the louder the noise floor will be relative to the signal, decreasing the SNR. Amplifiers cannot differentiate between signal and noise; they just amplify everything they receive as input. If any part of the signal chain lowers the SNR, there is no way to improve it later in the chain.
Running your devices to output at maximum strength means that the signal is much higher than this noise floor, maximizing signal-to-noise. (Devices have other forms of inherent noise that will increase with certain settings and output levels, but we are only concerned with the signal level vs. noise floor here.) Depending on the settings of the device, maximum output may be too strong for its internal amplifier and clip it. Then output should be reduced to avoid clipping.
=== Mic Pre-amps ===
Some mics require phantom (or actual) power to operate correctly. Some people believe mics need to be run through a pre-amp to sweeten up their tone. Pre-amps can also provide common effects like compression, EQ/filtering, or mild distortion. I don't know much about mic pre-amps, but most professional studios do tend to use them, often being incorporated into the mixing board, before converting the analog signal to digital for recording and post-processing. As such, they can be an important part of the signal chain, having either a subtle or profound effect on tone.
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[[Category: Guitar]]