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The modern amplifier generally has 2 to 4 channels that you can switch between. This will give you that many distinct tones. Some amps have completely independent controls for each channel, while some amps share some controls across channels which may make them less versatile. Beyond that, some amps have controls that affect all the channels.
== Pre-Amp vs. Power Amp ==
An amplifier generally consists of two main pieces: the pre-amp and power amp. The pre-amp is generally where the tone-shaping takes place. Modern amps also feature almost all of their distortion here, where it has more control. It also allows you to separate the amount of distortion you can dial in from the amount of volume. Older amps relied on power amp distortion, which meant you had to push the amp to full volume to start getting distortion.
That said, the power section isn't completely transparent, and its tone will vary from amp to amp, depending on the design, even when it isn't pushed into distortion.
== Overview of Common Channels ==