How to Choose a Guitar Amplifier for Rock Music

If you're in the market for a guitar amp, but are unfamiliar with all the little differences like tube versus solid state, EL34 versus 6L6, or British sound versus American sound, it can be daunting. And what the heck does a "creamy tone" sound like? It can be enough to make you want to pick up a ukulele and move to Hawaii! Armed with the right knowledge and your own ears, you'll be able to pick the right amp for your needs in no time.

EditSteps

EditThe Basics

Use your ears. Yes, it seems remarkably uncomplicated and highly un-technical, and there are really no acronyms to cover it. However, it's important to realize that from the outset, you have to like the sound the amp makes relative to the style of music you play.
- A Marshall amp sounds absolutely amazing—if the style of music you're playing falls in to the Van Halen, Cream, or AC/DC camp.
- A Fender amp also sounds amazing—if you're going for more of a Stevie Ray Vaughan, Jerry Garcia or Dick Dale sound.
- The best way to determine what an amp sounds like is to play your guitar through it. If you are more of a beginner, not confident about your chops, but want an amp you can "grow into," have somebody at the store play it for you. The critical issue here is how amp "a" sounds when compared to amp "b," so do whatever it takes to get a good comparison.
Evaluate your needs. Amps are rated by wattage rather than physical size (although high-wattage amps do tend to be physically larger).
- Lower wattage tube amplifiers will tend to create harmonic distortion at lower volumes, which is preferable in practice, studio, and miked stage performance.
- Higher wattage tube amplifiers will distort at higher volumes—which will require more creative mixing for live situations.
- The wattage has an effect on both the actual and perceived sound volume. In general, it takes 10 times the wattage of an amp to double the perceived volume. For example a 10-watt amp will sound half as loud as a 100-watt amp
- The wattage and cost of an amp are rarely related, as 10 watt amps can be two, three, or even ten times the cost of a 100 watt amp—depending on the quality of the components and the design. A knock-off 100-watt solid-state amp is inexpensive to produce compared to a boutique 5-watt tube amp.
Understand what defines an amp's overall tone. The sound quality experienced from an amplifier can be determined by many things, including (but not limited to):
- the preamp tubes used
- power amp tubes used
- the wood material used for the speaker cabinet
- the type of speaker cones
- the resistance of the speakers
- the guitar used
- the cables used
- the effects used
- the pickups in the guitar
- and even the fingers of the player.
Learn the categories. There are two main categories of guitar amplifiers configurations: combo and head/cabinet.
- Combo (combination) amps combine the amplifier electronics with one or more speakers in a one-piece package. These are generally smaller, as combining a powerful head and a couple large speakers can quickly push an amp into the "weightlifter" category.
- Head/cabinet arrangements solve the weight problem by separating the speaker cabinet (cabs) from the head—or amplifier—cabinet . Heads can be free-standing units that generally sit atop the cabs, or they can be rack-mounted units which are great for touring and more complex guitar signal chains.

EditTubes and Solid State Amps

Compare tube versus solid state. There are notable differences between the two styles of amplification. Tube amps use vacuum tubes in both the pre-amplification and power amplification stages, whereas solid-state amps use transistors for all stages. This can, and usually does result in markedly different tones.
- Solid-state amps are known for delivering bright, clean, accurate sounds. They respond quickly to your playing, and are far more rugged than tube amps: think of the difference between a light bulb (tube) and an LED (solid state). Throw both of them on the floor, and you'll be scooping up one of them with a dustpan! Also, with advances in technology, many solid-state amps are loaded with a wide array of modeled amp sounds, giving you a lot of versatility.
- Solid-state amps from a given manufacturer tend to sound the same, which can be a benefit when you need a reliable, repeatable tone. They are also notably lighter—both in weight, and on the pocketbook—than their tube brethren.
- This versatility and ruggedness comes at the expense of warmth of tone. While this is an entirely subjective evaluation, there are some differences that account for this: when pushed into distortion, a solid-state amp's waveform shows a hard-clipped edge and harmonics that stay strong through the range of hearing. By comparison, a tube amp pushed to distortion has a soft clipping edge, and harmonics that fall off well within the limits of hearing, giving tube amps their famed warmth.
- Tube (valve) amps have a certain unmeasurable "something" to them that makes them the most popular type of amp. The sound of a tube amp has been described as "thick," "creamy," "fat," and "rich"—adjectives that would pack on the pounds if amps were food!
- Tube amps can vary slightly in tone from amp to amp, and certainly do from player to player. For some players, their amp is the one that, in conjunction with their guitar, defines their sound.
- Tube distortion is softer, and to most, more pleasing to the ear, and when pushed hard, adds some compression to the dynamics that adds to sonic richness that only tubes can deliver.
- Tube amps can be much more powerful than solid state amps. A 20-watt tube amp can easily sound as loud or louder than a 100-watt solid state amp.
The drawbacks of tube amps are generally more practical than sonic. A tube amp—especially a large one—can be very heavy: a big negative if you regularly haul your gear up 3 flights of stairs!
- Tube amps are also more expensive, both initially, and when it comes to maintenance. A solid state amp simply "is." Unless you have a massive power surge, your solid state amp will sound the same, year after year. However, vacuum tubes—like light bulbs—wear out over time and will need to be replaced. Tubes are not terribly expensive, but it will be an annual expense (depending on how much you use it).
- Tube amps rarely have emulation-type effects. You'll need stomp boxes for those sorts of things. However, tremolo and spring reverb are often incorporated into amp designs.
Beware of type-casting. While it's good to know the pros and cons of both types of amps, it's not always the case that "tube good, solid state bad." Studies have shown that when played without distortion, tube amps and solid state amps are virtually indistinguishable.^[1]

EditCombo Amps

Review options for combo amps. Here are some common configurations for combo amps:
- Micro amps: 1 to 10 watts. These are tiny, ultra-portable amps which are useful for practice on the go (or when others are trying to sleep). They don't pack enough volume to be used in most "jam" situations (where you must be heard in the mix with other musicians). As a rule, their sound quality tends to be poor (when compared to larger amps) due to low output power and lower quality circuitry and are not adequate for professional performances. The Marshall MS-2 is an example of a super-portable (1 watt) micro amp which has received good reviews for a solid-state amp of this size.
- Practice amps: 10 to 30 watts. Practice amps are also suited for the bedroom/living room environment, although the loudest of them may be used for small gigs (performances), especially if a microphone is used to send them through the venue's PA system. Popular practice tube amps that sound as good or better than many larger amps include, Fender Champ, Epiphone Valve Junior and the Fender Blues Jr. As a general rule, the best amps in this range feature 20 to 30 watts with at least a speaker.
- Full-size 1x12 combos: With 50 or more watts of power and at least one speaker, the 1x12 amp offers the smallest package which is considered suitable for small gigs without using a microphone. For higher-end models, such as those produced by Mesa Engineering, the sound quality is of thoroughly professional calibre.
- 2x12 combos are similar to 1x12 combos, but they add a second speaker. The 2x12 design is considerably heavier and bulkier than the 1x12, but it is still a favorite choice of working musicians for performances at small to medium-sized venues. The addition of a second speaker allows for certain stereo effects, and two speakers simply move more air than one (allowing more "presence" in your sound). A favorite in this category is the Roland Jazz Chorus, which features a signature sound, stereo, a clean sound, and built-in effects.
Note well: small combo amps are often preferred in studio settings. For example, if you'd like to know what a tiny 5-watt Fender Champ sounds like in the studio, listen to Eric Clapton's guitar on Layla!

EditHeads, Cabs, and Stacks

Review the options for heads, cabs, and stacks. While combo amps are great for an all-in-one solution, a lot of players like to customize their sound. They may love the sound of a Marshall cab (speaker cabinet), but only when driven by a Mesa Engineering head. Others might not be that particular about cabs, but want to be able to have several of them for a powerful wall of sound that stretches across the stage.
Learn the lingo. A head is an amplifier without speakers. A cabinet (cab) is a stand-alone speaker enclosure, which can be connected to a head. A stack is a head and a set of cabinets connected together, ready for use.
- Stacks are generally preferred for gigs rather than practice, although there's no rule against having an enormous stack in your living room—if your family allows it. Fair warning: in most cases, they won't! Stacks are physically bulky, very heavy, and devastatingly loud. These are the tools of musicians who play large venues.
Put it together. Heads are all roughly the same size physically, but they come in a variety of wattages. Small heads pack 18 to 50 watts, while full-power heads are generally 100 watts or more. There are also super heads, boasting a tinnitus-inducing 200 to 400 watts of power.
- For performances at small to medium-size venues, a small head is more than enough. The smaller heads are often connected to a single 4x12 cabinet (which contains four 12 inch speakers, as the name suggests). This type of setup is known as a "half stack," and it is a favorite of working musicians.
- Before buying a half stack, keep in mind they are too large and too loud for most bars or venues with a small stage (most of the gigs you'll actually play), they don't fit in any vehicle smaller than a van or pickup, your band members will not help you haul it up on stage, and a half stack will cause permanent hearing damage if you don't use earplugs. The half stack offers plenty of volume, and the presence of four speakers. Use the heads (amplifier) that the professionals use.
- A full stack is the dream of many a guitarist (but will be frowned upon by your sound man and everyone on stage with you). This is generally features at least a 100-watt head connected to two 4x12 cabinets. The cabinets are stacked vertically (one on top of the other), giving the setup its distinctive name.
- A full stack is as tall as a grown man, making for quite an impressive sight. The sound is equally impressive. A full stack is too large for all but the very largest of venues, and even then your sound man will be mic'ing you so you'll never actually have a use for a full stack. Most working pros will use two half stacks in stereo rather than bringing a full stack on the road.
- Guitarists who are truly sadistic (in a sonic sense), such as some heavy metal players, may run one of the 200-400 watt super heads through a full stack. With any full stack (and especially the "hot rod" setups), you will require ear protection if you wish to play at higher volumes without sustaining potentially serious ear damage.
- Most live shows you see that use full stacks are doing it as a stage trick. Typically only one cabinet has speakers in it and the rest are up there for show. Mötley Crüe used to make fake speaker grille frames out of black cloth and 2x4s to make it look like the stage was full of amp stacks!
Follow the pros. Most pros currently use 2x12 or half stacks because the sound is easier to control. If you really want a full stack, by all means get one, but you'll almost never get to use it unless you are doing a stadium tour. They are just too big to be practical.

EditRack-Mounted Products

Rack it up. Many musicians use gear racks, usually a reinforced metal box with removable panels on the front and back. The front side of the rack, when open, has two vertical rows of threaded screw holes on the sides, set apart: the rack mount standard.
- Like a head-and-cab setup, a rack-mounted guitar amplifier rig separates the amplifier components and the speaker cabinets. However, rack-mounted heads can be broken down into two categories: the preamp and the power amp. Both heads and combos have these components as well, but rack units make it practical to treat them as separate items.
- Most major amplifier manufacturers, including Marshall, Carvin, Mesa-Boogie, and Peavey make rack-mountable amp rigs.
The preamp. This is the initial amplification stage: in its basic form, a preamp boosts the signal so that it can effectively drive the power amp stage. Higher-end preamps will feature various tone-shaping features, including equalization, variable tube configurations, and more.
The power amp. This is connected to the preamp, takes the signal the preamp shaped, and gives it serious, speaker-driving power. Like heads, power amps are available in different sizes, from a minimum of 50 watts to monster 400W power amps.
- As many power amps as you want can be connected in a daisy chain or to different pre-amp outputs to boost the power of the signal, as well as possibly blend the tonal influences of two different power amps.
Disadvantages of Rack Rigs. As you can probably tell, racks are frequently very complicated rigs. A novice guitarist may find them perplexing. They are also heavier and bulkier than heads -- and add onto that the bulk and heft of the rack itself. Since you need to buy multiple products and accessories, the price for a new rack rig can be (but isn't always) higher than that of a head.
Gain the advantage. A rack allows you to mix and match products by different manufacturers and find a tone that is distinctly yours! In addition to the preamp and power amp, there are a lot of great products that can be mounted right on the same rack with your amplifier—reverbs, delays, EQs, and other sonic delights.
- Racks frequently have caster wheels, making them very easy to roll around, and having a rack can also simplify setup: your components are always ready to plug in to as soon as you wheel your rack onto the stage and power it up.
- Finally, racks are uncommon, and will attract attention. People will be impressed if you wheel a rack rig into rehearsal or performance, but beware—they will expect you to be a seasoned guitarist, or at least be able to effectively use your rack. Don't bring your rack anywhere unless you know how to get those pre-amps and processors to do exactly what you want them to do. Professionals axe masters like Robert Fripp, The Edge, and Kurt Cobain have favored rack rigs.

EditSelecting the Right Sound

Understand how different types of amps suit different styles of music. For the most part, amps are not "one size fits all." Although there are all sorts of amps, they can be classified in two broad categories: "vintage" and "high gain."
Get the right amp for the job. Each style of rock has characteristic amps. Here are some general guidelines:
- Vintage amps produce the classic sounds of early amplifiers. For the jazz, blues, or blues-rock guitarist, the vintage sound is still widely considered the most appropriate for the style. Vintage amps can be actual antiques, or they can be modern amps that replicate the sound of antique amps. The sound of Fender, Vox, Marshall, and similar amplifiers from the 50's, 60's and early 70's is the foundation of the vintage tone. When you think "vintage," you think Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, Eric Clapton, Deep Purple, etc. These are the sounds that started it all.
- High-gain amps produce a sound with greater distortion than that of vintage amps. Although there is some debate about the evolution of high-gain amps, many believe that a large part of their history is owed to Eddie Van Halen. Van Halen actually knew very little about electronics (he has admitted that is why his guitar was so oddly assembled), and only got his high gain tone by maxing out all the knobs on his amp, then brought the volume under control with a variac, which brought down the amp's voltage. With his landmark "Eruption" solo in 1977, Van Halen introduced the roaring, face-melting sound of an amp pushed into complete power tube saturation. Amp makers trying to emulated that sound at lower volumes then started adding extra gain stages to the preamps of their amp designs, to allow for higher gain tone at controlled volumes. As heavy metal evolved, so did the need for higher gain amps. For hard rock and heavy metal music from the early 80's and beyond, vintage amps are overshadowed by their modern high-gain counterparts.
- If you want to play jazz, blues, blues-rock (in the style of Led Zeppelin) or very early heavy metal (in the style of Black Sabbath), a lower gain tube amp may be your best choice. If you want to play hard rock, 80's metal, and shred guitar (in the style of the countless 80's "guitar heroes"), you will probably want to go with a high-gain model. Note that many newer amps can provide both high-gain and vintage sounds, although some purists feel that the only vintage amps worth playing are the actual antique amplifiers themselves. "
- Amp modeling technology (which allows one amp to simulate the sound of many different amps) is a relatively recent development which has both fans and critics—though to most people, they sound remarkably good. Modeling amps can be very useful, although if you're a purist, nothing beats walking in with a real Fender Twin Reverb, an ancient Marshall "Plexi" head, or something similar.

EditTips

Unless you are playing raw black metal, it is generally better to buy a smaller amp with good tone than it is to buy a big loud amp that sounds cheesy. You will never regret having a nice tone, but you will always regret bad tone. Some music stores may try to sell beginners a loud amp with loads of effects, but don't fall for that. Use your ears and pick an amp whose tone you absolutely love, and don't part with your money until you find that amp.
If you purchase a transistor amp, be careful not to overdrive it too much. Do not be afraid to turn the gain up to 10, but be careful when placing booster effects before the amp, as you may burn out a transistor. If you purchase a tube amplifier, boost the signal before the amp as much as you want, because tubes can typically handle ridiculous amounts of overdrive.
If you purchase a tube amp, try not to abuse it physically. In general, transistor (solid-state) units are designed to take loads of punishment, but tube amps are much more delicate. If your brand new (very expensive) Soldano tube head falls down a flight of stairs, you are probably in deep trouble—while the same thing happening to a solid-state combo will probably result in nothing more than a momentary panic and some laughs (after the fact). If you're wondering why such a warning is necessary, you probably haven't spent much time with rock musicians.
For most guitarists, a 30 watt amp will be more than enough for bedroom, practice, and small gigs.
If you need one amp that can do "everything," consider purchasing one of the new modeling amps with onboard effects. The best of these amps can reproduce the sound of many other units with passable accuracy, and you have instant access to full effects chain including delay, chorus, flanger, reverb, etc. Line 6, Crate and Roland (among other companies) make some good effects combos.
When shopping for an amp, price should not be your only consideration. Some lower-priced amps offer admirable sound, while you may find some costly amps unsuitable for your needs. To judge quality, read user reviews on various guitar websites.
Always try before you buy. Most music stores will be happy to accommodate you, and if they aren't, chances are another store near you will stock the same item. Reading reviews is nowhere near as good as trying the amp out yourself. Bring your guitar to the store, and your own cable, and ask if you can try out some amps. Most stores should allow you. If not, assume it is not worth it, and go somewhere else.
If you really want to achieve an array of tones, it's best that you get a good digital multi effects pedal (the ones that simulate amps). From there you can either get a good amp, like a solid state or a combo tube amp. Or just use your speakers and plug into the PA systems at gigs. Or if you can really afford it, just get an Axe FX.

EditWarnings

Do not ever play through a tube head unless it is plugged into a speaker—without a speaker load, you will damage your amp.
Be aware that equipment vendors, such as Musician's Friend, publish what appear to be reviews, but are paid advertorials designed to boost product sales. Do your research and make an informed decision.
Buying a large combo or (especially) a stack for the purpose of wailing in your living room at all hours can lead to divorce. So will spending $2000 on an amplifier without asking your spouse.
Keep the volume down while practicing at home. Headphones may be a good idea. Similarly, if you plan to install an enormous Marshall stack in your garage for rehearsals, make sure it's a detached garage. Mrs. Smith doesn't want to have Black Sabbath's "War Pigs" rattling windows and knocking pictures off the walls while she is entertaining her Saturday bridge club.
If you play very loud and use continuous distortion, be sure your speaker or speakers are designed to handle it.

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