Electric Guitar Amp
Electric Guitar Amp – Selecting the Right One For You
By Keegahn G
Electric Guitar Amp
No matter how good the quality, no recording will make the amplifier sound the way it does in person. The first type is a solid state amplifier. More often than not these are the cheapest amps you’ll find. Some people even say they can’t listen to playing through a solid state amp for too long, otherwise they get a headache.
There is one solid state amp that I DO like; it’s the Randall RG100ES from the 80’s. It’s a pretty wicked amp for heavy metal or heavy rock tunes. You’ll hear it all over Pantera records (”Dimebag” Darrell was a huge fan of solid state Randall stuff), some Def Leppard and Michael Angelo Batio’s stuff. The second type of amp is all that digital modeling business… you have to be super careful when buying this stuff. Some of the digital products out there sound way too digital – Line 6’s Spider 1 through 3 are a good example. They just don’t sound natural.
On the practice side of things, it makes sense that it would be a better choice… you get multiple amp models and multiple effects for roughly the same price as a solid state amp. If you’re lookin’ into digital stuff I’d recommend checking out the Roland Cube – she’s a nice little practice guitar amp.
Depending on which company you go with these usually sound better… not exactly like that actual amps they’re modeling but still pretty decent.
For giggin’ and live shows, I’d say stay away from the digital modeling amps and go for the modeling boxes, preferably the ones that lay out on the floor like the Line 6 POD X3 Live (or Floor POD, the POD XT Live) or the Vox ToneLab. It makes balancing the sound of the stage/playing area much easier and less time consuming… plus, like I said earlier… they just sound better than modeling amps (in my opinion).
Oh yeah, and you can usually record with those modeling boxes – straight out of the box. I use my POD X3 Live for recording and practice purposes… great little thing to have.
The third (and final type I’ll mention) is tube amps – the mother of all amplifiers… also the most expensive. Go listen to your favorite bands and chances are they’re using tube amps – the majority of professionals do. These are the amps that modeling tries to mimic… that alone should tell you something.
Tube amps tend to sound smoother, have more clarity, react better to your fingers and picking, etc… Everyone’s tastes are different; I prefer tube amps while some call me crazy because they prefer digital modelling.
I own three amplifiers – a Randall RG75G2 (75 watt solid state combo) which I used to use to practice/jam on, a Line 6 POD X3 Live (digital modeling box) which I currently use for practicing and recording tunes/ideas and a Laney GH50L (tube amp head) for rockin’ at unacceptable levels.
Electric Bass Guitar in here.
