Guitar / Bass Amplifier Info & Education

Even with all the EQ controls set to Zero, you can get a wide range of tones from one knob on the BX250 250W Micro Bass Amp Head. Watch the video to check it out.

Perhaps it is because music is passed down from one generation to the next via personal instruction and anecdotal knowledge, but whatever the reason, a great deal of what the average musician knows about their craft is hearsay as much as fact. And while all those legends we pick up may be useful in our quest to acquire a broad understanding of music, at some point we need to reexamine the wives' tales we've built our art upon to be sure they are worthy of our reliance. So with no further ado, let us endeavor to blast some of the most pervasive myths about amps and sound!

Congratulations! You just landed your first session gig. Since you are getting paid (even if you’re doing it as a favor to a friend and being paid in pizza), it’s important to come prepared to lay down some awesome guitar tracks and be as professional as possible. Though it may seem intimidating, preparing for a session gig isn’t all too different than getting ready for a live performance. Here are some tips to help make sure that your recording session goes smoothly.

No matter how good you are at bass, if you’re out of tune during a live gig, the audience - and your bandmates - will be less than impressed. Even if your bass is properly intonated and you’ve used an electronic tuner to tune it up before the first downbeat, a variety of factors may cause you to step on that tuner pedal a little more than you’d like, which can really slow the momentum of your band’s live show. But don’t worry- this post will help you get to the root of the problem. 

Sometimes a little idea can make life a lot easier! Here are seven essential life hacks for guitarists which might save you some time and trouble down the road.

Premier Guitar reviews the Legacy Drive Preamp Pedal in this video. 

If you’re a bass player who rolls a heavy speaker cabinet to the gig, and once the cab is on the stage, you turn the cab on its side, or remove pop-out casters. This could be just what you have always done, or it could be to make the cab sit onstage with more stability (ever played on a slanted or uneven stage?)

If you have a guitar amp with a flexible equalization section and sufficient tone shaping capability, the idea of adding a preamp pedal to your setup may seem unnecessary.  After all, your amplifier’s controls along with your guitar's onboard tone controls are useful tone shaping tools in and of themselves, so why add another one?

In the constant quest for perfect tone, musicians often forget the simple things. It’s always fun to upgrade to a better guitar amp, put more pedals into your chain, or buy a new axe, but let’s face it- the cost of all that adds up! If you’re a working musician, the next level of tone isn’t always within easy reach. In the meantime, as you’re adjusting your amp’s EQ settings or pondering what mods you can make to your guitar, try to tweak what’s right there in front of you- your guitar’s onboard tone controls!

Let’s face it- a certain degree of loudness is par for the course at a rock and roll show. But louder is not always better. While nothing compares to standing in front of a cranked half stack and letting it rip, the fact of the matter is that most of the time, a band that is too loud onstage often sounds worse than one that makes a conscientious effort to monitor their stage volume! It sounds counterintuitive, but bringing your stage volume down can improve your live show for a variety of reasons.

In a perfect world, sound engineers at every venue would ask bassists whether they prefer to go DI or have their cab miked up. While many sound engineers do take player preference into account, the fact of the matter is that for small local shows where five bands are on the bill, many engineers understandably stick with one method for all the bands to make the in-between set transitions as smooth and fast as possible.