Whether you play an electric keyboard, bass guitar, electric guitar, or acoustic guitar, most instruments must be amplified so that they can project their volume from the instrument and into the room or stadium where they are being played. In order to project your instrument’s volume, you are very likely to use an amplifier, otherwise commonly known as an amp.
There are two common types of amplifiers called tube amps and solid-state amps. The main differences between these two amps include:
- The physical ways in which they amplify sound
- The type of sound they supply
- The type of music each amp tends to be used for
When trying to figure out which amp is best for you, it is important to learn the ins and outs of how each amplifier operates. Your music-playing style, the guitar you play, and even your musical goals can factor into whether a tube amp or a solid-state amp is right for your needs. To learn more about the differences between these two types of amps, continue reading below.
The Benefits of Playing Guitar
According to a 2018 research study done by the prolific Fender music and guitar company titled “Illuminating the State of Today’s Guitar Players,” 72 percent of survey takers said they began to play guitar to help make their lives generally better. Another 42 percent of individuals said that they believe playing guitar is a part of their identity. At the same time, additional research mentioned in the survey suggests that playing the guitar for an extended amount of time can help increase the brain’s capacity for memory retention.
Playing the guitar has many emotional benefits, as well as some of the long term health and memory benefits that are only beginning to be researched. Those who choose to dedicate their lives to learning and playing music, whether professionally or as a hobby, cultivate a skill that can both be shared and bring joy to others.
The Purpose of a Guitar Amp
An amplifier, or amp, is an electronic system that operates by using electricity. It must either be plugged into an electrical socket, a generator of some kind, or have the battery capacity to operate. A guitar amp, in particular, is a machine that plugs into the body of a guitar with a cable so that it can encourage strength and vibrancy in a sound signal that is otherwise quiet or weak.
Guitar amps can be used with most amp-compatible instruments and can be used with any of the following guitars:
- Acoustic guitars
- Bass guitars
- Electric guitars
Anytime you want to share your musical skills with your friends, play a show at a local venue, or even just practice your chord progressions at home, having a good amp can make the difference between a hollow or a full-bodied guitar sound. This is all because of what a guitar amplifier essentially does to your music’s sound quality when plugged into a guitar.
All About Tube Amps
When considering the differences between tube amps and solid-state amps, it is important to know how each one works. A tube amp works by utilizing vacuum powered tubes that hold a lot of energetic power. This power can charge and activate the electrons inside your guitar by attracting the negative electrons with the arm chord’s positive electric charge.
Unlike solid-state amplifiers, tube amps are said to have a warm, glazed, or heated sound. While this can seem complicated to guitar novices, the tube amp sound is actually a very recognizable one. Many tube amps offer a spacious and vast quality to the amplification that they create. This is due to the overloading of the physical vacuum tubes that occurs when the energetic capacity becomes overloaded. Overloading, in the context of guitar sound, can be a good one, resulting in a pleasant distortion of bass and mid-range tones.
The Pros of Tube Amps
Many famous and heroic guitar players such as Led Zeppelin’s Jimmy Page used tube amps to record their record-breaking and generation-defining albums. The Supro Coronado 1690T tube amp, used by Jimmy Page to record Led Zeppelin’s first studio album, was seen as a radical choice at the time but was used to give Led Zeppelin’s record its distinct distorted sound. Johnny Greenwood of Radiohead also liked to use tube amps such as the Fender 85 to create Radiohead’s unmistakable guitar identity.
There are many pros of using a tube amp to amplify your guitar sound. These pros can often include:
- A warm and soft sound
- A good bass sound for heavy-bass songs and styles
- An organic overdrive sound that does not need to be manufactured with pedals or outside mechanics
- Easily recognizable by sound engineers in most venues
- Excellent mid response
- Used by many classic and famous rock groups
The Cons of Using a Tube Amp
Even though tube amps have a wide array of positive aspects that cause guitarists of all ages and expertise levels to continue using them, tube amps also come with their fair share of difficulties. The main con of using a tube amp is less of a practical problem and more of a stylistic con.
Tube amps tend to:
- Be difficult to problem solve or fix when it’s malfunctioning
- Be less energy efficient
- Be less reliable when amplifying at high volumes
- Be more prone to unintended and unwanted sound distortion
The Solid-state’s Clean Sound
Unlike a tube amplifier, a solid-state amplifier converts the electrical signals from your amp-compatible guitar into audio waves. This is done by using a transistor circuit rather than a vacuum-powered tube. When pushed to their electronic limit, solid-state amplifiers retain a smooth and crisply clean sound, unlike a tube amp’s distorted and grainy sound.
Solid-state amps are beloved by many guitarists because they are considered to be more ‘digitally’ operating than ‘analog’ operating. This is due to the musician’s ability to change and alter its channels, controlling how the sound presents more than is usually possible with a tube amp. Solid-state amps have been, and are still used, by many of the world’s most famous rock and roll, blues, and jazz musicians, including:
- Andy Sommers of The Police, who liked the loud Roland JC-120 Jazz Chorus amp
- Chet Atkins, who used the Standel amp
- Craig Chaquico of Jefferson Starship
- Jazz musician George Benson, who used the Polytone solid-state amp
- Jefferson Airplane, who liked to use the Standel amp
- John Fogerty of Creedence Clearwater, who favored the Kustom Tuck n Roll 100 watt amp
- The Beatles, who favored the Vox Super Beatle amp
- Tom Petty
- And more
The Pros of a Solid-state Amp
Solid-state amps are extremely popular amplifiers because they have many pros. From price to operating abilities, some of the benefits of using a solid-state amp include:
- A clear and vibrant sound that doesn’t overload quickly or distort at all
- Less required maintenance, meaning you won’t need to replace or switch out any parts
- More durability, so if they drop or are thrown while being loaded into a tour bus, they are far less likely to break
- The musician has more control over the multiple channels
- They are less expensive with fewer parts, meaning that you will save money when buying a solid-state over a tube amp
- They don’t weigh as much, making them easier to carry and transport without machinery
- They have been used by an array of diverse artists, including both famous bands of the 60s and 70s as well as well-known contemporary musicians
Disadvantages of Solid-state Amp
Even though solid-state amps have many pros, they also have some disadvantages. These cons include:
- A lack of versatility, meaning that you will have a hard time making your sound calmer or softer and will be left with one main type of sound
- A less warm sound than tube amps, meaning you will end up hearing some of the higher frequencies without any sound shielding
- You won’t be able to coax distortion effects out of them to play classic songs from bands like Led Zeppelin or Jimi Hendrix, who utilize tube amps to their overdrive capacity to produce distorted sounds
Hybrid Guitar Amps and Their Uses
When comparing tube amps to solid-state amps, it is also valuable to know that a third option exists. If you are torn between your desire for a distorted sound and your need for an inexpensive and reliable amp that doesn’t rely on tubes, a hybrid guitar amp could be for you.
While hybrid guitar amps are not typically the most popular type of amp used by professional musicians, there are still a few companies out there that manufacture them. The purpose of a hybrid amp is to offer you the best of what a tube amplifier and a solid-state amplifier have to offer. Rather than being composed of vacuum tubes like a tube amp, the hybrid amp has the same physical make-up as a solid-state amp. It uses the same digital frequencies of a solid-state amp while still being able to supply a tube amp’s reliability, warmth, and distorted sound.
One of the most popular companies for completely hybrid amp production is the Orange Company. One of their offerings includes a single 20-watt tube preamp that also comes equipped with the volume, gain, and controls of a solid-state amp.
Picking the Amp That Suits Your Needs
Now that you understand the fundamental differences between the tube amp and the solid-state amp, it is important to learn which amp is best for which purpose. Every amp type and model style is different and comes with its unique set of attributes. You will need a different amp to successfully amplify your instrument’s sound depending on whether you play the following:
- Acoustic guitar
- Bass guitar
- Electric guitar
- Keyboard
You will also most likely want to purchase an amplifier that suits your daily needs and habits. Consider whether you will be using your amp more often for one of the following:
- Playing at outdoor venues
- Playing large shows in auditoriums or stadiums with a band
- Practicing at home in a small space
- Teaching students in a classroom
- Traveling professionally or recreationally
Acoustic Guitar Amps
Playing the acoustic guitar often conjures images of singer-songwriters quietly picking and plucking away at their strings on a small, unwired stage. This, however, is not the reality for many contemporary acoustic guitar players today. When figuring out whether or not you need an amp for your guitar and which type of amp you might need, make sure to understand whether or not your instrument has the capability to be amplified.
The two major types of acoustic guitars are:
- Acoustic guitars: These guitars do not have any electrical capabilities and are made of only wood and strings. They are the more traditional form of guitars and do not have any jacks or plug-in areas on their bodies. Most acoustic guitars are like this and therefore cannot be amped.
- Electric-acoustic guitars: Electric-acoustic guitars are acoustic guitars with the electrical capacity to be plugged into an amp and therefore have their sound channeled, altered, and made louder through amplification. Electric-acoustic guitars come equipped with specially made ports, inputs, or jacks that amps can be plugged into when amplification is desired for playing. While these acoustic guitars technically can be plugged into electric amps, most of the time, it is best to connect them with acoustic amps.
Amps for Electric Guitars
If you have an electric guitar, the question is not whether you need an amplifier but which amplifier will best suit your musical and practical needs. While electric guitars can be played without an amp, you will be missing any quintessential electric guitar sound and reverberation while doing so.
Electric guitars, originally created by guitarist Charlie Christian in 1936, were developed to be played specifically with amplifiers. Having since been updated and developed by some of the world’s leading instrument and guitar companies, electric guitar amps can now offer different benefits such as distortion, clarity, channel shifting, and more. The most highly rated electric amps include:
- The Boss Katana 100 MkII, a solid-state amp
- The Fender Tone Master Deluxe Reverb, a solid-state amp
- The Hughes & Kettner TubeMeister Deluxe TM20 Head, a tube amp
- The PRS MT 15 Mark Tremonti Head, a tube-based amp
- And more
Practicing at Home
When practicing your guitar at home, you typically don’t need an amp with a lot of power. Home practice spaces tend to be smaller rooms such as living rooms, basements, or bedrooms that bounce sound without any exceptional need for overdrive. Two of the best amps for home practice are the Fender Superchamp X2 Amp and the Blackstar Fly 3 Mini Amp:
- The Fender Superchamp X2 is a traditional tube amp, offering great sound distortion through 15 watts and a ten-inch speaker system. With 15 tube-based effect level controls, you’ll be able to practice harnessing your sound at home.
- The Blackstar Fly 3 Mini Amp, unlike the previously mentioned Fender amp, is a small and compact solid-state amplifier hybrid. It offers two clean channels, including minor distortion, three-inch speakers, and battery-operated power.
Don’t forget to consider whether most of your practice will call for a distorted, warm sound or a crisp audio capability before purchasing your practice amplifier, as the choice of your amp can change the quality of your playing and what you hear.
An Amp for Playing with the Band
If your amplification needs include playing for large audiences or crowds in stadiums and amphitheaters, you will need a professional grade amp. While the type of amplifier that you choose will depend highly on what type of music your band plays and what overall sound your band is looking to achieve, the following amps are some of the best amps for bands playing to large audiences:
- The Blackstar HT-20R MkII, a tube combo hybrid amp
- The Blackstar Silverline Stereo Deluxe, a solid-state amp
- The Boss Katana Artist MkII, a hybrid amp
- The Fender Blues Junior IV, a tube-based amp
- The Fender Tone Master Deluxe Reverb, a solid-state amp
- The Yamaha THR30, a tube combo hybrid amp
Amps for Easy Travel
When hitting the road, don’t forget to pack one of the most important aspects of your sound, otherwise known as your mini amps. Mini amps are the perfect amplifiers for traveling since they offer great reliability and quality for the small amount of space they take up. Whether traveling by plane and taking your amp as a carry-on or piling into a van for a small regional band tour, the following amps will be best for your easy- travel needs:
- The Blackstar Fly 3 Mini Amp, a combination hybrid amp
- The Fender Mini ’57 Twin Amp, a solid-state amplifier
- The Marshall MS-2 Mini Amplifier, a combo hybrid amp
- The Roland Cube Street Combo Amp, a hybrid amp
- The Vox AC4TV 4-Watt amp, a tube amp
- The Yamaha THR10C Classic, a combo hybrid amp
The Upkeep of Your Amp
Whether you choose to opt for a tube amp, a solid-state amp, a hybrid combo amp, or one of each to add to your growing collection of instruments and accessories, you will need to upkeep them. To keep your amp clean and working properly, make sure to do the following occasionally:
- Make sure to keep your amp in a cool, dry location, especially when not using it.
- Regularly dust your amp’s case.
- Set your amp to standby.
- Turn your amp off gently before cutting off all surrounding power.
- Wipe your amp off every once in a while to protect from moisture and mold.
Remember that while all amps do require some upkeep, solid-state amps and combo hybrid amps tend to require less intricate upkeep than traditional tube amps. To learn more about amp upkeep, contact your local guitar shop.
Style, Sound, and Preference
Picking the perfect guitar amp for you is an important process. When deciding between a tube and a solid-state amp, always remember that one size does not fit all. The type of amp that you choose will effectively depend on:
- How much money you can spend
- How much upkeep you want to do on your amp
- The location or venue where you will be playing
- The sound aesthetic that you are hoping to achieve
- What kind of guitar you are playing
- Whether you are looking for a decidedly distorted tube amp sound or a clean amplified solid-state amp sound
- Whether you want your amp to travel lightly
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