How to Choose a Guitar Amp





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Okay, this is more complicated though less crucial than choosing a guitar. I won't make an attempt to explain everything a professional would want to know.

There are 4 things to consider when choosing an amp:

1- How big and loud?
2- Does it have distortion/overdrive?
3- Does it have special effects?
4- Do I want tube or solid state? (least important question)

Distortion/overdrive is CRUCIAL for that heavy sounding rock distortion.
Effects are quite cool, but not necessary, although the effect called 'reverb' would be awfully nice to have.

The short answer:

To begin with, most amplifiers have either an 8”, 10”, 12”, or 15” speaker. (or multiples of any of these)
If you have $75 or less to spend, buy anything you can find. If you have $100 to $200 try a Marshall 8"- $140 (loud, I'll bet, for a small amp), a Roland MicroCube 5"- $120 (not loud at all, but FABULOUS sounds), Vox Pathfinder 8" -$140 (loud like the Marshall, sweeet), Fender 8"-$150 with many effects, probably pretty loud, Behringer 10" $150 with effects, Line6 8"- $100 with effects, Crate 12" !!!! -$100 with reverb but no other effects(this is cheap!! and Crate is good). You might look at Kustom also. I have had two and I loved them.

If I had a little more money ($200-300), I'd look at a 10" or 12" in any of the above-mentioned brands (try a Vox Valvetronix- wow, they’re amazing). For $329 Fender has an amp with two 12" speakers. And Behringer has an amp with two 12" speakers for $259. Now either of these last two amps would be very loud (they're 100 watts!).- Loud enough for gigs in good sized places. Fender is very good, and Behringer I know very little about, but their effects pedals are very cheap and quite adequate in my opinion. I'd trust their amps, too.

The long answer:

You can buy an amp for as little $30-40. Or you can go up to $5000.

Most amps have either an 8 inch speaker, 10 inch speaker, 12 inch or 15 inch. Amps have anywhere from 1 to 8 speakers. The loudness of an amp is largely determined by how many watts it has. Amps come anywhere from 5 watts to 120 watts. Five watts is loud enough for your bedroom. 120 watts will move the pictures on your walls. For playing gigs you need at least 50 watts, probably 100.

Amps can have effects like reverb, delay (echo), chorus, you know....cool sounding things. An amp that has them will be more expensive though.
Amps can have overdrive/distortion (for the dirty, powereful rock sound), and most amps do have that these days.

Is a $40 amp any good? Aaaaahhhh, maybe good enough if you don't want loud, or any effects.

What's the cheapest amp I can get that's cool at all? -- Oh, maybe $130-$175. If you shop, you can find an amp that has an 8" speaker or smaller, 15 watts or smaller, a full set of effects and different distortion sounds. Look for Vox, Marshall, Fender, Crate, etc. To get something loud enough to cool your mood, you need a 10" or 12" speaker and 25 watts or more. Maybe $130 minimum (but no effects). Even though effects make an amp more expensive, Chorus, Delay(echo), and Reverb and others are really cool. If you're looking seriously large, you can find a 100 watt amp with 4-12" speakers, a Marshall or a Randall or a Crate or a Fender that will blow you away, for $500 or $600 these days. Fender and Behringer both have amps with two 12" speakers (loud) for $329 and $259 respectively.

Eight inch speakers are fine, but pretty tinny. Ten inch speakers are slightly less full-sounding than 12", but they're quite satisfactory. Twelve inchers are pretty much the perfect size for guitar, and 15" might have a bit too much bottom end for you, though they would kick heavy butt.

Too much information?... and you just want to know, what's a good amp for a beginner? I'd say an amp with a 10" or 12" speaker, with overdrive/distortion and maybe just reverb- no other effects. Still too much info? I'll give you some examples, but first of all, there are MANY amps that would do, but I only know of a limited number, so this doesn't mean that there aren't ones out there just as good as the ones I mention.

I'd be happy with a Marshall 8"- $140 (loud, I'll bet, for a small amp), a Roland MicroCube 5"- $120 (not loud at all, but FABULOUS sounds), Vox Pathfinder 8" -$140 (loud like the Marshall, sweeet), Fender 8"-$150 with many effects, probably pretty loud, Behringer 10" $150 with effects, Line6 8"- $100 with effects, Crate 12" !!!! -$100 with reverb but no other effects(this is cheap!! and Crate is good). You might look at Kustom also. I have had two and I loved them. If I had a little more money ($200-300), I'd look at a 10" or 12" in any of the above-mentioned brands(try a Vox Valvetronix- wow, they’re amazing).

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If you trust online music places (and they're cheap!, although some downtown music stores will match an online price if you quote it), I have dealt online with Music123.com and SameDayMusic.com and I trust them well. I trust MusiciansFriend.com also for some reason, although I don't remember actually having ordered from them. These dealers have huge stocks of guitar stuff.


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