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Vintage threads from the first ten years
help with amps
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 6/22/2000 3:55 AM |
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Matt |
help with amps i'm a new guitar player. i've been playing for 1 month now and i have a 15w peavy amp. Now i might start playing with a band i would like to know what kind of amp too look for. What are tubes? I just thought the wattage increase like, 15w, 50 w, 200w, etc. So what's the deal with amps? |
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| 6/22/2000 10:50 AM |
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| Stephen Conner |
There are so many different kinds of amps that you yourself really have to know what you're looking for. An amp makes your guitar louder but it also changes the sound, and each amp does this in a different way. So, you have to make your mind up what sound you want. What kind of music do you play? What musicians do you like? Find out what amps they use.
Most electronic equipment nowadays is made with transistors and microchips. Tubes (aka vacuum tubes or valves) are what they used before transistors were invented. They are glass bottles like light bulbs, but with lots of extra bits inside. A red-hot heater in the middle of the tube shoots out clouds of electrons which fly around the inside, bouncing off all sorts of grids and plates. Tubes are still used in guitar amps because they add all sorts of distortion to the guitar sound and make it sound cool. Transistors don't do this, they just make it louder. Unfortunately, tube amps are more expensive. However, there are transistor amps like Marshall's Valvestate and the Peavey Transtube, which are cleverly designed to sound kind of like a tube rig, but are a lot cheaper. You might want to try one of these, especially if you like grunge or metal. Steve C. | ||
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| 6/22/2000 10:59 AM |
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| Liam |
Hi Matt, What sort of music are you going to play? How much money do you want to spend?
They are electronic components used to make the signal from your guitar bigger. The alternative to them is the transistor - which basically does the same job but doesn't make for such a good sound in general. You'll probably need an amp between 25 and 50 watts to make yourself heard over a drummer. The make and model you use will depend on what you want the sound to be like. Liam | |
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| 6/22/2000 3:59 PM |
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| SteveG | When I was learning about this stuff (I still am!) I used to read every review of amps and guitars that I could find in guitar mags. You can learn a lot that way. Good luck. Steve |
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