Learn About Guitar Amps And How It Works

Guitar Amplifiers

Chances are you've just bought your first Electric guitar and wish to find out all about guitar amps. Maybe you're just curious as to how long amps have been around, how they work, or which to purchase. Whatever the reason, by reading this article, you'll get answers.

History of the Amplifier

Guitar amps have been around for roughly 70 years now, having first appeared during the 1930s. The earliest amps had very poor high treble and bass responses. This was improved over time, as amps became better developed. During the ‘60s, the guitar amp greatly evolved to where it is today when guitarists of that era experimented with deliberately overloading their amp to create Distortion. From that point on, most amps were provided with preamp distortion controls. Playing with distortion has since become an important part of Electric guitar playing.

Types of Amplifiers

There are two types of amps: solid state and vacuum tube amps. Additionally, there are some amps that combine both solid state and tube technologies. Most amps, especially the least expensive ones, are solid state because they are lighter and easier to repair than tube amps are. A lot of guitarists, however, prefer the tube amp due to the tube amp's analog sensitivity, which they claim makes tube amps sound better. While this is probably the case, most beginners can't afford to shell out the $500-$1000 it costs to buy a good tube amp. That's why solid state amps are actually a good buy in some cases.

Solid state and vacuum tube amps come in combo (speakers and head) packages or separately. Guitarists who aren't picky can just buy the combo, while those who are picky can “mix and match” heads and speakers. This is useful for those looking to achieve a certain sound.

How Amps Work/What Watts Mean

Without going into a big, long, technical explanation, amplifiers basically take the vibration (sound) of the string(s) and amplify it, thereby increasing the sound. If you wish to find out more about the technical side of guitar amps, there are several good books that cover the topic pretty thoroughly.

Each amplifier has a certain number of watts. The higher the number of watts, the louder the sound produced by the amp is. Generally speaking, those who wish to play shows will want to get amplifiers with at least 30 watts, preferably at least 50 watts, especially if they plan on playing at larger venues.

Learn About How Guitars Work And Makes Sound

How Guitars Work

Many people, guitarists included, have probably wondered how exactly guitars work. However, they probably also are confused by all of the terms used to describe how a guitar produces the sound we hear. There is quite a bit of physics involved in it, and those who haven't taken a day of physics in their life probably wouldn't understand it. This is where this article comes in handy. In this article, we will describe how both Acoustic and Electric guitars work in terms that everyone will understand.

How the Acoustic Works:

To start with, when a string vibrates (when you play it), it produces vibration at a certain frequency. The frequency at which a string vibrates is determined by the weight, length, and tension of the string.

The body of the guitar takes in the vibration of the strings and then puts the sound out into the air. This is the sound that is heard when the guitar string is played.

On an Acoustic guitar, there is a soundhole. This soundhole serves to amplify the sound of the vibration produced by the strings. Without the soundhole, the sound would be practically inaudible, which is the case with a solid body Electric guitar.

To alter the length (and therefore change the sound that is heard) of the string, you'll alter the tension of the string. You do this by pressing down on the string on any of the frets and then playing that string. Doing so changes the frequency of the vibration, which, in turn, alters the sound that is heard.

How the Electric guitar Works:

Electric guitars really aren't that much different from Acoustic guitars. In fact, the main difference between the two is that one is made of solid wood (with no holes), while the other has a hollow-body (with a soundhole). How Electric guitars work is a bit different than how Acoustic guitars do.

Just like with the Acoustic guitar, when a string is played, it vibrates. That vibration produces the sound that we hear. The frequency of the vibration is, again, determined by the weight, length and tension of the string.

With no soundhole, the Electric guitar is unable to self-amplify the sound produced by the vibration of the strings. Thus, the sound heard from an un-amplified Electric guitar is minimal. This is why guitar pickups and amplifiers are necessary to produce the sound loud enough for people to hear.

Pickups basically take the vibration of the strings and convert it into a useable electrical current. This current is then fed into the amplifier by way of a cable which is then interpreted by the amplifier. The sound that results comes out of the amplifier speaker.

Amplifiers that have pre-built distortion (and practically all of them do now) can distort the electrical current (vibration) by clipping it. The sound that results from this clipping is what is called distortion.

Other types of guitar effects found on amps and pedals do pretty much the same thing—they alter the electrical current which is fed to them by the pickups of the guitar.

And there you have it. That is, in a nutshell, exactly how guitars work. No physics necessary.