Guitar Amps

Many guitar players dream of standing in front of a massive audience at a sold out show, playing through a huge stack of tube amps. While countless guitarists have actually done this, it doesn’t make too much practical sense (sorry to burst your bubble!) Not that you shouldn’t have that dream, but even if you are playing in an arena, the soundman will mic up your amp and use a quality PA system like a Carvin Audio TRx 3000 Series system to make sure your guitar is heard everywhere in the venue. Whether you are playing in a small club or actually playing an arena, your guitar amp probably won't have to do the heavy lifting.  Instead, your amp will provide stage volume and monitoring, and put out the tone that will be picked up by the mic and sent to the front of house. You don't necessarily need high wattage and lots of speakers to be heard.

All practical audio amplifiers require some type of amplifying device, whether in the form of new school transistors or old school vacuum tubes. Transistor amps are durable, efficient and in lesser forms, comparatively inexpensive. Tube amps like power, they eat it like a college student making a fifth run at the "all you can eat buffet” while being fragile compared to their solid state cousins. Let’s not forget to mention the heat generated by tube amps. Your studio rarely needs that radiator to work on those cold nights while you are honing your craft.

When purchasing a new speaker cabinet, guitarists are often faced with the choice of open back or closed back cabinets. An often overlooked factor, this seemingly simple choice is responsible for a large part of your tone. While no cabinet style is necessarily better, they are different, and it’s just a matter of finding which one works better for your situation.

If you’re a singer-songwriter or one man band, your amplification needs are much different than your typical rock group. Sure, you can bring your half stack or PA system into the coffeehouse or small venue, but it certainly is overkill, and your back will hate you, too. And if you play multiple instruments during your set, forget about it! It is just not practical to bring one of each amp into the gig, unless you’ve got a crew of hulking roadies or really, really good friends to help you out.

Music is all about expression, from the style of music you play to which gear you choose to play it. Even what you wear and how you or your band’s stage setup looks contributes to your overall identity as a musician and performer and helps the audience connect with you. This is important because while live music fans want to be entertained, many also want to feel that the musicians playing the music they are listening to are interesting, funny, or unique in some way. A good live show is not only entertaining and fun, but caters to both sight and sound. People say they are going to go see a band play a show, not that they are going to go listen to a band!

Once you’ve finally acquired that perfect power amp, bass amp, wireless system, or power conditioner, the next step is to invest in a quality road case to get it to and from the gig in one piece. Compared to studio equipment, stage equipment is subject to constant bumps and scratches as it is moved around, so it is essential to have a case that’s right for the job. Not only will the proper road case protect your investment, but it will allow you to house and transport your equipment a lot more easily and make you look and feel more professional doing so.

Did you know the Vintage 16 guitar combo amplifier and the VT16 head version have an internal dummy load? When you want to play your amplifier without a speaker load you need what is called a dummy load. With tube amplifiers you have to load the amplifier (connect speakers) or you may damage the output power tubes.

The serial loop would run the effects in line: the guitar tones enter the input, flow through the pre-amp section, then through the effects loop, going out the effects loop send and returning on the effects loop return. Then the signal from the return of the effects loop goes through the power amp section, and finally comes out through the blaring loudspeakers. This basic loop is viable for most applications.

Guitarists have been mulling over which amplifiers work best for years without reaching any consensus. The guitar in a band has to stand out amongst the crowded stage. Guitar players tend to be opinionated and will swear by their half stack, full stacks or combo amps, depending on their personal preference. All three setups have been used to play different types of music in all kinds of situations. It’s hard to pin down specific reasons why one may select a particular setup over another in a specific situation. All this is to say we will not be giving you any definitive answers, rather we will sound out some pros and cons for combos and stack setups to help guide your decision.

Gig bags come in all shapes and sizes to accommodate your instrument, in a format that is easy to carry and, if constructed well, offers real protection for your investment. Over the years the trend of new bags is toward tougher water-resistant materials, comfortable padded shoulder straps, and “lots and lots” of pockets to store stuff in. Overall they have made the life of a working musician easier.

Whether feeding a live mix or laying it down in the studio, an important part of your guitar sound usually involves placing a mic or mics in front of your combo or stack. You may have your technique dialed in or, like most of us, are still searching for that signature sound. That tone is ringing in your head, but not coming out in the mix.

Even if your organizational skill matches your amazing musical skill, there eventually will be a gig that was predestined to humble you. We’ve all been there looking frantically through a gig bag hoping that the “one” thing that is desperately needed will magically appear, that another musician will have it in their bag or a music store is right next door. Either way, you either have to make do, succumb to failure or forever owe someone for saving the night.