Guitar and bass amps are two very different pieces of equipment; each is designed to optimize their respective instruments. A dedicated guitar amp will produce tones that sound better and inspire you to practice more.
Back to Top. When it comes to selecting your first guitar amp, choosing the best size is a great place to start. When it comes to sizing, guitar amps range from tiny micro amps to giant rigs with multiple speaker cabinets. When you are just starting out on guitar, a small practice amp will be all that you generally need to get started. Because of their smaller size, these amps are also great for musicians who travel for whatever reason, either on the road or to their next band practice.
When choosing your guitar amp, two factors to take into consideration are the wattage of the amp and the configuration of your speakers. There are many misconceptions around the necessary wattage needed for a guitar amplifier. A watt amp is only 5 decibels quieter than a watt amp.
Most amps sound best when they can be turned up about halfway. If your guitar amp never gets turned up past 3, you should probably use a smaller amp. You want to make sure the speakers are rated for the amount of power the amp will produce.
When choosing your speaker configuration, two factors to take into consideration are the wattage of the amp and impedence. Popular speaker configurations include one inch speaker, two inch speakers, and four inch speakers.
For most gigs, one inch or two inch speakers are fine. Remember: In most cases, your amp will be connected to the PA system. Likewise, most practice amps have a single speaker between 8 inches and 12 inches in diameter. The practice amp is for practicing at home at a reasonable volume — save the big amp for the stage.
You don't have to practice the guitar on your own. With the School of Rock Method app, you can get live feedback as you play to make practice smarter, not harder.
If you want to use your amp in a recording situation, smaller is usually better. For instance, Jimmy Page used a small watt Supro combo amp in the studio to create the huge guitar sounds on the early Led Zeppelin records. Some guitarists will use multiple amps in the studio and blend their sounds to get the perfect tone.
The possibilities are endless. The same pretty much holds true for playing live: Gigantic amps are no longer needed, as most venues use microphones on the amps to better control the sound that the audience hears.
The only real consideration is being able to compete with the natural volume of the drum set. A cab with one or two inch speakers will probably be fine for live shows. For really big venues, a 4x12 cab is sometimes used, especially for heavier bands. Save the full stack watt amp and multiple cabs for when you hit the big time! The kind of music you want to play will affect what kind of guitar amp you want to buy.
A basic understanding of amp tones and effects can help you make your final decision. These controls are usually labeled treble, mid, and bass. Still, from a practical standpoint, it is something you need to consider when you are looking for a guitar amp. So, if you are on the fence about whether to choose a solid-state amp or a tube amp here are the takeaways:.
These little amps are usually watts. This is more than enough power for a newbie to get started. Look for features like onboard digital effects, reverb, and of course good-quality distortion.
There is nothing wrong with going with a more powerful amp as a beginner. The reason new guitarists choose little amps is that they are inexpensive. However, for serious beginners who know they are going to stick with the instrument, there are affordable guitar amps in the watt range. These amps will let you jam with friends, and many are even loud enough to compete with a drummer. For the typical beginner, I recommend an amp like the Marshall MG It also has a very usable 3-band EQ section.
Thus, again watts is a pretty good range for a dedicated practice amp. The right practice amp is one that sounds good and inspires you to play. Tube, solid-state or digital amps are all good options for home use. In my opinion, small digital modeling amplifiers make outstanding practice amps.
In fact, my practice amp is a Peavey Vypyr. Other brands that make great modeling amps include Fender, Line 6, and Vox. These little amps sound good and have a ton of different effects and amp models to mess around with. The benefit here is that you can still use an array of different sounds when practicing without having to set up your effects pedals or muck with different amps for different tones.
You have it all in one little box, available with the push of a button. I also like small-wattage tube amps for practice settings. While they are much less flexible than modeling amps, they do bring some amazing tone to the table. The Marshall DSL5C, for example, is a 5-watt amp capable of that awesome Marshall growl without bringing the roof down.
If your band has a drummer, especially one with heavy hands, my recommendation is at least 40 watts tube, or at least watts solid-state. If you play with a rock band you need to play loud. An acoustic drum kit makes a racket, and you need to be heard. Also consider whether you have another guitarist in your band, and what kind of firepower they are bringing. Keep these points in mind when choosing an amp for your band situation.
A watt tube amp will give you plenty of volume and work hard enough to bring out the best tone. In this case, choose at least a watt solid-state amp. This is also why guitarists looking for loud, clean tones, such as jazz players, prefer powerful solid-state amps like the Roland JC And, this is why rock players prefer tube amps that heat up at high volumes, like the Marshall DSL If you play in a band the amp you use for gigging will probably be the same amp you use for rehearsal.
Multichannel amps are great for players who use a lot of different tones, but if all you want is a good clean sound and a good distorted sound, they may be more amp than you need. If you decide that an amp with three or more channels is right for you, look for one that provides separate EQ controls for each channel.
You should be able to dial in a sound you like quickly and easily. Adjust each tone control and note how they interact with each other. While tone and volume should be your foremost considerations, you should also determine what extra features you really need. Built-in effects are great if you want a no-hassle, all-in-one package, but they may not be as flexible as external effects pedals and processors.
Line outputs with speaker emulation are helpful for home recording, and external speaker outputs are great for expanding your live rig. I always got them back together again and working. I took courses in radio and electronics as a teenager, and became a ham radio operator. I worked in my high school's stage crew, running sound, lights, and a movie projector. After college, I joined a rock 'n roll band as the soundman and learned how to lug around and operate the gear that helps make music sound good and loud.
Working in a music store in Austin, Texas, I spent a few years manufacturing, installing, repairing, and operating sound systems. Our customers were recording studios, nightclubs, and touring bands. Eventually I moved back to Charlottesville, Virginia and opened a small demo recording studio. In , I finally came to my senses and got this job at Crutchfield. They actually pay me to ramble on, rant, and explain the things I love about music, electronics, and getting good sound.
Given my background, they put me to work writing about some of the most complex electronic products Crutchfield sells: car amplifiers, digital signal processors, wiring, professional sound mixers, and PA systems. The secret to great bass is making sure your subwoofers and amp are evenly matched and will properly work together. And this article will help you figure out how to do just that — match amplifiers and subwoofers.
Getting the right sub for an amp, or the right amp for a sub, is like solving a puzzle. A subwoofer has impedance measured in ohms which represents the "load" an amplifier will sense on its output.
An amplifier will put out different amounts of power watts RMS based on the impedance load it "sees. Your goal is to get those two variables to match for both the amplifier and the subwoofer. Below, we cover the important basics of power-matching, impedance, and planning for the number of subs you want, and we approach the situation from both sides of the system:.
Part A — You have the subs, which amplifier should you get? Multiple subs wired together must be the same coil type and impedance. If you want to run different types of subs in a system, each type needs to have its own separate amp. Figure out the possible total impedance s that the subs can be wired together to form. For more combinations of subs and their impedances, see Subwoofer Wiring Diagrams.
Using the chart in Step 2, 2 DVC 4-ohm subs can be wired together to form a 1-ohm, a 4-ohm, or a ohm load. Any one of these high-quality amplifiers would work well with those subs. Part B — You have the amplfier, which subs should you get? Divide the power you picked in Step 1 by the number of subs you want.
Using the impedance you picked in Step 1 and the number of subs from Step 2, cross-reference the possible coil configurations that you can use:. Look for subs that are rated at the wattage you figured in Step 2, and are configured as you found in Step 3. This might sound confusing, so let's walk through an example and it'll make sense. This means your subs have to be wired to form a total impedance of 2 ohms.
Using the chart in Step 3, for two subwoofers, a final 2-ohm load can be achieved with either two SVC 4-ohm subs or two DVC 2-ohm subs. All these subwoofers will sound their best when amplified with the proper amount of power. Differences in size have more to do with tonal qualities and frequency response than with power performance. And optimizing performance is the point of matching subs and amps together. Part C — You have neither amp nor sub, and want help deciding how to begin. Check out our other article, All About Subwoofers to learn the basics of how much bass you need and how to choose your subwoofers.
And of course, if you have any questions, contact our expert advisors and they'll be happy to help you build your system. I say all of this, because I'm nervous I could have damaged my brand new sub Less than 2 months old and after I was playing the music decently loud and smelt a scent of burning and then the amp cut-off which lead to no power to my sub. I have a bigger amplifier that can handle the sub, I just haven't had the time to install it. I was planning on doing it within the next week but now I'm praying I didn't damage my sub-itself during the process.
Hello, first I would like to note that I am noob in the audio branch. I am looking to slightly improve the bass of my BMW. I have also purchased an amplifier for them, with specs: Two channel amp with maximum exit output of W, 2x55W at 4Ohms, 2x85W at 2Ohms. I want to know if i had made a good choice, as once again saying I am total noob, just had a really good offer for them.
Looking forward for you reply. I have 3 boss 10 inch subs four ohms what would be ideal to push these speakers and I have a five channel watt brigable amp can that be used with those speakers? I bought it with the box and wasn't sure if it could be used? I'm hoping you can help with my set up. Confused on how to tune the lc2i and amp. I have 1 pair of wires coming from the subs, how should I connect them to this amp? What should the lc2i be set to? Amp looks like 6v max? From there any insight on how to tune the amp?
Will two pioneer ts-asls4 subs work with an Alpine S-A60M amp? If not then what amp would you suggest? Wondering if this one will be good Boss BE My amp only powers a single 12" sub. Each sub that blew was bridged at the amp when this occurred.
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