A guitar amplifier is mainly used with electric guitars to amplify the sound, especially when the instrument is played on stage or in public.
The different types of amplifiers
There are two different types of amplifiers: the tube amp and the transistor amp. The latter, also called a modeling amp, generates less heat, depth, grain and dynamics than the tube amp.
The tube amplifier is very popular with musicians who are looking for quality and authenticity. This type of amp provides warmth to the sounds, performance and personality, but it does force the musicians to play louder, so that the full potential of the amp is exploited. In other words, it is essential to cross a certain volume threshold, so that the amp’s lamps can operate and disclose all their quality.
The characteristics of the tube amp
This technology that uses lamps is quite expensive, as it generally uses rare and therefore expensive components. In addition, the lamps must be changed after a few years. The majority of the models are manufactured in Europe and the United States, but Asia is offering more and more models, less expensive, with quite pleasant results.
Another characteristic to consider is the power of the tube amp, which ranges from 2W to 100W. The choice of power therefore depends on the context in which the amp will be used, i.e. whether the person who plays the guitar does so individually, in a group, in a studio, on small stages or even in a stadium.
If you play in a group, it is advisable to have an amplifier of 30 or 40W, or even between 50 and 60W. The amplifiers with a power of 100W are rather intended for large stages and especially to rock or metal music, when the amp is also connected to big speakers.
On the other hand, if you play at home or in the studio, you can target amps with a power of 2 to 30W. The adjustment possibilities on these amps are less numerous than on the more powerful amps, but they are more than sufficient for this kind of use.
Tube amp sounds
There are two main types of amplifiers concerning sounds: American and English amplifiers.
American amps offer warm, bright, clear and velvety sounds with basses present. With them, you can play jazz, blues, rock or even rock-metal.
As for the English amps, they offer more punchy bass and the trebles are more “acidic”. It is mainly rock bands that use them, such as Queen, the Rolling Stones or AC-DC.
The choice of a tube amp will therefore depend on the type of sound you want to obtain and the type of music played.
