The Guitar Players Club » Fender

Different Types Of Guitar Amps

Jeff — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 15:24:43 +0000

There are a few different types of guitar amplifiers that are available for you to choose from. If you're looking for a new amp, you need to first decide what role the amp will need to fill.

The first type of amps that came along were vacuum tube amplifiers. Although the technology of tube amps is fairly old, this style of amp is still very popular with most players. The reason for their popularity is that the tone of these amps is usually very warm and natural compared to the other types or more modern amplifiers. Not only do they sound better, they are usually louder than amps of other types at the same power level. Also, most newer, solid-state amps normally don't require regular maintenance, but tube amps do require new vacuum tubes occasionally. Also, it's beneficial to have a matched set of tubes in the amplifier.

Usually there are two types of tubes in an amp - the preamp section and the power section. Some of the common tubes used in vacuum tube amplifiers are the 12AX7, 6L6, EL34, and several others.

There are many different brands of guitar amps that use tubes -- Fender, Marshall, Soldano, Peavey, Genz-Benz, Mesa Boogie and many others -- especially older and vintage guitar amps. Many of the Fender amps, especially the original amps from the 1960s are in high demand by many players. The amps are still so popular that Fender offers new, reissue amps that closely copy the original amps in style and sound.

Solid state amps were invented to replace tube amps, unfortunatley the warm tones and great sustain of the original tube amps were nearly impossible to duplicate in the newer amplifiers. This is not to say that solid state amps are not as good as tube amps, it just all depends on the application and type of music you are going to be playing. Solid state technology is extremely reliable, but many players have to have at least one tube amp in his/her arsenal. Even with all the effects, synths and modelers, the smooth, warm tone of a tube amp is hard to duplicate.

Some guitarists combine the two types of amps, and use what is called a hybrid amp. This type of amps marries both tube and transistor (solid state) amps into one. Usually there are tubes at one stage of amplification and transistors at the other stage (preamp and power amp). These amps usually offer a vast improvement over a straight solid state amp if you're looking for the warm tones of a tube amp.

Digital amps were introduced in the chain of solid state amps, and offer the guitarist an expanded library of possible sounds that can be had from a single amp. These amps use computers and integrated circuits to create the various tones in the amps. Usually, there are many different types of effects and tones available to the player, with the added versatility of attempting to duplicate different amps and speaker cabinets combinations. These amps are very versatile.

Examples of some digital amps are Vox Valvetronix, Line6, and a few more. These amps are great if you want to play all different types of music with different types of guitars.

It should also be noted that Vox manufactures a device (amp/cabinet modeler) that offers many different combinations of amplifier and cabinet settings. Although it's considered a modeler and needs to be routed through a speaker cabinet and usually a higher powered amp, the Vox ToneLab offers the guitarist a wide variety of vintage amplifier and speaker cabinet settings. Having a vacuum tube in the device helps it to achieve some awesome tube-like sounds. It even duplicates the sound of a Leslie rotating speaker errily well.

The Beginnings of the Vintage Electric Guitar

Jeff — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 15:33:05 +0000

The Beginnings of the Vintage Electric Guitar
By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Lowry_Gibson]Lowry Gibson

That beat up old Fender vintage guitar has had a lot of history associated with it since it was first made nearly sixty years ago. The true beginnings of the electric guitar started with Gibson Guitars as early as 1920, but the design was not successful and was shelved. Rickenbacker made the first successful pick-up in 1931 and installed them on their "Flying Pan" Hawaiian steel guitar. Dobro placed electronic pick-ups on a few of their steel guitars in 1932.

The real success of the electric guitar was with the ES-150 Gibson (which stood for Electric Spanish guitar) in the late 1930's and made popular as part of the Benny Goodman Orchestra. World War II intervened and progress and development of electric guitars all but stopped.

The famous Les Paul experimented in 1929 with his own design of electronic pick-ups but wanted to resolve problems of excess vibration affecting the sound the pick-ups gathered. As a result, Paul started working on a more solid body electric guitar which allowed the sound of the strings to be the only thing picked up by the electronics. Les Paul, Leo Fender and Paul Bigsby worked together to make a solid body guitar to eliminate unwanted vibrations on the guitar's top wooden plate. Epiphone Guitars, at the same time experimented with solid wood bodies that resembled a railroad tie with a neck and pick-up.

Leo Fender started the Fender Electric Instrument Company in 1949 and made the Broadcaster, soon to be renamed the Telecaster in 1950. In 1951 Fender invented and made the first electric bass guitar and began marketing it. Gibson introduced the Les Paul model of electric guitars in 1952. That same year was the introduction of the three pick-up Stratocaster by Fender.

Since 1952, electric guitars are almost the same with the exception of some modifications to the pick-ups to take advantage of the ability to make them smaller such as use of piezoelectric pick-ups, "humbuckers" or the use of transistorized pre-amps embedded in the guitars themselves. Because of little changes over the years, the values of vintage electric guitars increase. And by studying production numbers of some vintage electric guitars, some instruments are very rare.

George Harrison played a Rickenbacker 360 12 string guitar in the early 1960's to obtain a fully rounded sound during recordings. His guitar may have been one of the total of 36 ever made! Because of the low numbers of this model of guitar (360/12 OS), finding the other one made during that year would make this vintage electric guitar extremely valuable.

Harrison was also given one of two Fender Telecaster electric guitars hand-made by Fender in Rosewood. Fender serial number 235594 was the only prototype of the Rosewood Telecaster outside of the one held by the Fender company itself. A similar Rosewood Stratocaster was given to Jimi Hendrix. The current owner of the Harrison Telecaster is Delaney Bramlett of Delaney and Bonnie. Bramlett received the guitar as a gift from George Harrison for bringing him back on stage after several years retirement to play along side long-time musician friends including Eric Clapton.

Inside the fraternity of guitar players, specific vintage guitars are passed to others because of a unique sound it provides. For example, Jeff Beck gave a 1959 Fender Stratocaster to Jimmy Page during one of their recording sessions because of a particular sound that guitar produced in the hands of Page. Joe Walsh gave Page an 1959 vintage Gibson Les Paul. In fact, almost all of the guitars used by Page are 35 - 60 years old! Vintage Gibson guitars, vintage Fender Telecasters and Stratocasters as well as Vox and Rickenbacker vintage 12 string guitars make up most of his collection. [http://www.vintageelectricguitars.net/Fender.html]Vintage Electric Guitars are not only an interesting topic of conversation but also a unique investment opportunity. But before you embark on that get some basic information first.

For a wide selection of electric and vintage electric guitars visit [http://www.electricandvintageelectricguitars.com]Vintage Electric Guitars dot com today for the best prices anywhere

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