32
votes
My guitar has no sound when the gain knob is turned off. Do all amps need need a little gain to be able to output sound?
Gain is the input level control, it decides how hard the input signal hits the preamp. Guitar amps often exploit the effect of hitting it HARD, overdriving it into distortion.
Volume controls how ...
- 95.6k
16
votes
Accepted
Guitar - How to switch from clean to hi-gain
Around time stamp 0:46 he steps on a gain/distortion/fuzz pedal with his left foot. Watch his leg under his fretting hand.
Then he plays single notes in the neck pickup with a higher gain sound than ...
- 58.6k
15
votes
Guitar - How to switch from clean to hi-gain
You can get (mostly) clean tones from a high-gain amp setting if you go into the amp with a very low-amplitude signal. To put it simply, the amp has a maximum signal level that it can handle cleanly; ...
- 2,530
14
votes
Accepted
Theoretical difference between amp distortion and distortion from a pedal
As Todd Wilcox commented, there isn't a completely clear-cut classification, however the three categories of saturation-type effects are tube overdrive, fuzz, and transistor overdrive / distortion.
...
- 35.8k
13
votes
Can I play a electric guitar through a bass amplifier?
Bass amps have been used by guitarists for many decades. In some instances, they work better for guitarists than other amps designed for guitars, especially the speakers. If you are going to use ...
- 198k
13
votes
What is the value of having tube amp in guitar power amp?
It's an oversimplification to claim that "the tone change is done in the preamp". It's the complete signal chain that results in the final sound, including the power amp and the speaker ...
- 20.2k
10
votes
Using a bass guitar on a guitar amplifier through a bass pre-amplifier?
The basic problem with a bass guitar in a guitar amp is that speaker and cabinet are not built for the low frequencies of the bass guitar.
That means that at the low notes, the speaker will convert ...
- 101
10
votes
Should I use PA speakers for a full band all the time?
I went down a similar path to eventually starting a full band to accompany me on stage in paying gigs vs playing just for fun. My band has bass, two guitars, drums and vocal mics for all four ...
- 27.5k
10
votes
Accepted
My guitar has no sound when the gain knob is turned off. Do all amps need need a little gain to be able to output sound?
Yes it is normal.
The gain is the volume control of the input of the amplifier.
The signal flow of the tube amplifier goes:
Gain (preamp input) to tone stack (eq) to phase inverter stage (input to ...
- 134
9
votes
Accepted
What do "Uber" and "Plexi" mean in an electric guitar part?
They are almost certainly to both distinguish between the two guitar parts and also indicate the two different guitar sounds.
"Plexi" refers to the classic Marshall model 1959 100 watt head. This amp ...
- 58.6k
9
votes
Why guitar amplifier manuals require turning on with master volume down
Depending on what amp, and what's plugged into it, when the master volume is at 0 there is nothing at all going to be amplified. Master is most important, as it controls everything on the amp. There ...
- 198k
9
votes
Accepted
Guitar Cabinet volume low
Am I misunderstanding how i can use this guitar cabinet [...]?
Yes. It needs a "power amplifier" to drive it. Probably of the order of at least a Watt (typical guitar amplifiers are 5W - ...
- 400
8
votes
What is the difference between an amp and a head?
To elaborate and visualize the previous answers a bit further, here's a legend:
Amp/head: the device that amplifies the electrical signal. This is an electrical processor that does not produce ...
- 2,013
8
votes
What is the characteristic reverb effect on Fender amps?
I'm not sure what you mean by the "aggressive"sound, but yes it's a thing, and it's called spring reverb.
It's essentially a couple of transducers, connected at either end of one or more metal ...
- 815
8
votes
Accepted
What is meant when a guitar amplifier does or does not "take" guitar pedals?
First, an amp "taking pedals well" has little to do with modeling amps specifically or internal effects of any kind. I don't have much experience with modern modeling amps but I'd guess that they are ...
- 4,138
8
votes
Accepted
Why does an open guitar cable buzz or hum?
The circuit isn't completely open. The cable acts as a capacitor (around 500 pF, depends on cable length and insulator properties), parallel to the input. That by itself wouldn't cause hum (it just “...
- 35.8k
8
votes
Speaker impedance: rewiring four 8 Ω speakers for use with 8 Ω amp output
What you have described is inaccurate. Four 8 ohm speakers wired in parallel would result in a 2 Ohm load not 32 Ohms. To achieve an ideal load for you amp, you'll need to wire 2 of the speakers in ...
- 7,860
8
votes
Accepted
Does instrument cable impedance matter?
You've correctly analysed why the cable impedance does not matter in the way it does for HF transmission lines. (Though, the assumption of vacuum light speed is actually not completely valid – the ...
- 35.8k
8
votes
Impulse response: does it represent a cabinet only or the whole chain used to record it?
The impulse response can represent any linear time invariant parts of the signal path. In practice this means frequency response and delay, so it is good representing room response and equalisation, ...
- 3,473
7
votes
Using a bass guitar on a guitar amplifier through a bass pre-amplifier?
@user36187 is right – a preamp will not change anything about the suitability of a guitar amp for amplifying bass. In fact, it would rather exacerbate the problems!
Such preamps are designed to add a ...
- 35.8k
7
votes
Can I play a electric guitar through a bass amplifier?
The Fender Bassman has famously been many guitarists' amp of choice over the years. A bass amp still needs to produce all the same higher frequencies as a guitar amp, because it's the higher ...
- 4,792
7
votes
Can I play a electric guitar through a bass amplifier?
Technically yes, playing electric guitar through a bass amp can be done, nothing will break, no one will get hurt.
I guess the thrust of the question is more, will I get a satisfying sound playing ...
- 2,066
7
votes
Can playing an amp at minimum volumes (<1%) be harmful to it?
Amps are designed to run at pretty well any volume - although high volumes can be dangerous - for the speaker, neighbours, and your ears. Although at low volumes, the quality of sound is often ...
- 198k
7
votes
Accepted
How to make "plastic" sounding distorted guitar sound
I'm dropping this answer in early, assuming I might be right rather than being certain at this point.
I posted an example of a totally different style track, but I think using similar techniques - so ...
- 28k
7
votes
Accepted
Beginner Metal gear
Ever heard the old joke about the farmer being asked how to get to a nearby famous landmark? There are a hundred versions of it, but there's one commonality...
His reply is always, "Well, you don't ...
- 28k
7
votes
Accepted
Is it mandatory to let tube amps warming up ? What are the risks of not doing that?
The way tubes work is that electrons are "boiled" out of the cathode by heating it, and then pulled across to the anode by the different voltages inside the tube.
The only way you can damage a "cold" ...
- 577
7
votes
I need a stage vocal monitor. Can I use a spare amp?
You may absolutely use a spare guitar amplifier as your personal vocal monitor.
Set the amp up clean (no Gain higher than 2, and the Bass, Middle, and Treble at 12 o'clock at first) and run the mono ...
- 2,191
7
votes
I need a stage vocal monitor. Can I use a spare amp?
Yes but...
My covers band did exactly this for a year or so, until I could afford a couple of reasonable monitors. It certainly works, but there are issues.
The most obvious problem is that a guitar ...
- 4,792
7
votes
Guitar Cabinet volume low
You need an amplifier with speaker output from the power amp.
The Harley Benton is a 60 watt cabinet. Your Katana & GX won't be outputting more than about a watt, if that.
The Katana looks like it ...
- 28k
6
votes
Accepted
Is there a big benefit to running stereo?
This is a familiar question for keyboard players; our instruments are stereo by default[note], so we have to decide whether to run in stereo or mono all the time.
The biggest issue with stereo is ...
- 9,689
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