Guitar Amplifiers

Every budding guitar hero needs a great guitar amp and here at The Cheap Guitars Shop, you can find a guitar amplifier to suit every need from practising in your room to performing on stage.

All guitar amplifiers are designed to increase the sounds made by an electric guitar so that the sound can be transported to a loudspeaker. This makes the sound audible for a live performance. Sounds can be altered during various stages of amplification through various electronic effects, either in the amplifier or on the guitar.

Two types of guitar amplifiers exist: combination amplifiers, which include an amplifier and one or more speakers, and standalone amplifiers, which must be connected to a speaker. Combination amplifiers are generally housed inside of a wooden box. At least one quarter jack is located on the combination amplifier so that the electric guitar can be plugged in. Additional jacks may also be included to allow for effects loops or additional speaker hook-up.

“Amp-head” amplifiers, or those that do not include the speakers, join to a speaker through cables. During play, the amplifier is generally placed on top of the speaker. Additional amp-heads may be stacked on top of the first to enable amp stacking. This is a technique used to change the tone of the electric guitar.

Electric guitar tones can be changed before the amplification process by the guitar pedal, in between the amplification process, such as in dedicated amplifier tone circuits. They can also be changed in between stacked preamp stages or post-amp stages through feedback loops. Electronic effects like compression, chorus, distortion, and equalization can also be used by guitar amplifiers to change the guitar’s tone.