Guitar / Bass Amplifier Info & Education

In a previous article, we discussed the common equalization points on a bass amp and described how they affect your sound (you can find that here). But in a live setting, there will be times where something is not sounding right and you need to make a quick fix in between songs. Or maybe the soundman didn’t give you ample time to soundcheck properly, and you don’t have time to stop the show and play your bass alone to check and dial in your sound. Or you could be using an amplifier you are not familiar with. These are just a few of the instances where you need to know how to quickly address any issues with your tone on the fly.

The three-piece band or power trio is a staple of rock and roll. Bands like the Police, Rush, Nirvana, and Green Day have gone down in history as three-man musical powerhouses. While a lot of talent is required to make this band format work- as with any other format- a power trio comes with its own set of unique challenges. The biggest one is: How to fill out the sound with only three musicians? Sure, it sounds fine when everyone is chugging along at full throttle, but if the guitarist takes a solo suddenly there is a big old gap in the midrange where the rhythm guitar should be. This is an age-old symptom of the power trio, leaving many bassists to wonder what they can do to make it sound less empty.

In addition to your amplifier’s standard EQ controls, a contour knob, like the one found on many Carvin Audio bass amplifier heads, can further help you find a bass tone that sits perfectly in your band’s mix. While the function and engineering of each given contour knob may vary, the general purpose is to provide an extra tool for tone shaping the midrange frequencies and providing a classic “scooped mids” sound.

Going into the studio can be an exciting endeavor, whether you are recording your own music or doing session work. To make sure your recording session goes as smoothly as possible, it’s important to take some time beforehand to make sure your guitar is working properly and ready to lay down tracks the minute you set foot in the studio.

Getting a good guitar tone in the studio can be a different beast than dialing in your tone in a live setting. While some guitarists use the same amp setup for the studio and stage without issue, some prefer to switch it up and record with different gear.

Somewhere along the line somebody probably told you “Don’t ever use guitar cables for speakers and vice versa!” If not you will be glad you noticed this article because it might save you some trouble down the road. What seems confusing is that from outward appearances the two cables can look much the same, if not identical. The plugs are interchangeable in most cases as well. So let’s take a look at why they are different, what they are optimized for, and why they don’t make good substitutions for one another.

Many of Carvin Audio’s guitar amplifiers come equipped with a knob labeled Presence (such as Carvin Audio’s V3M, Legacy, and Belair, to name a few). Though the exact technical details of this mysterious knob may vary, its overall purpose generally remains the same- to add edge and brightness to your guitar tone and serve as an additional tone shaping tool. 

Headroom is a concept that is applicable to numerous different aspects of pro audio, from PA systems to loudspeakers to guitar and bass amplifiers. Each of these devices are intended to operate within a range- one that does not put stress on components or risk damage by operating too far out of the product’s capabilities. Headroom is the room you have above what you normally need or will need from your gear. Headroom is needed for both signal levels and output levels, but here we will be looking at output level.

The human ear naturally perceives midrange frequencies more prominently, and the guitar tends to sit naturally in that range. However, many factors in a live mix can make the guitar hard to hear for both the guitarists themselves and the audience, and it’s not always the guitarist’s fault. If your guitar is getting buried by your band, there are a few things you can try.

Swapping out a set of power amp tubes for another can change up your tone in a subtle but significant way. This article will highlight the basic tonal characteristics of common power tubes and help you find the right one for you. Please note that swapping out tubes is a process that is best left to an experienced amplifier technician- the amount of voltage present in tubes amplifiers can be lethal if they are not discharged correctly.

The entertainment business has always been a “no-excuse” industry. Ever since the phrase “the show must go on!” was first coined in the 1800s by the circus industry, it has been repeated by stage managers everywhere. Whether you make your living playing music or you are a weekend warrior for fun, a good trouble shooting approach will let you go on with the show. Second chances are hard to get, so you need to make that first shot work. Make sure you’ve prepared not only your music but also make sure your equipment is reliable and well-maintained. Unfortunately there is no way to predict when a bad connection or worse a failure will develop in your guitar system, but it is likely at some point you will turn up your guitar on stage and find there is no sound coming out. The good news is that by following a few simple steps, any musician can learn to quickly find which part of the system isn’t working and bypass it to keep the music going.

Reverb is a classic guitar effect that can breathe some new life into your guitar sound and add some nice dimension and depth. From shimmering surf guitar to shoegaze swells, reverb is undoubtedly a rock and roll mainstay. Used and loved by producers since the ’50s and ’60s, reverb was originally created in numerous ways. Bands could record in a highly reverberant echo chamber, a room acoustically tuned to provide natural reverberation. Spring reverb and plate reverb were also used, and they are basically what they sound like. Spring reverb utilizes the vibration of a metal spring to create reverb and plate reverb bounces the sound off of a metal plate. As time went on, digital reverb technology found its way into rackmount units and effects pedals. This allowed guitarists to take reverb on the go conveniently and custom tailor it to their liking onstage or in the studio.