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Guitar and Amp question

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(@harleycotts)
Active Member
Joined: 7 years ago
Posts: 4
Topic starter  

Hey guys I was just wondering, if I buy a new guitar do I have to buy a new amp as well, I have just bought a new guitar but can't quite afford a new amp yet so was just wondering if its a must when buying a new guitar or can I wait and buy new when I'm ready


   
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(@alangreen)
Member
Joined: 22 years ago
Posts: 5342
 

Have you already got an amp? If so, use it with your new guitar.

If you haven't already got an amp and you do get the guitar, then you're going to be playing very quietly until you do get one.

Your amp doesn't have to be expensive, big, or brand new.

"Be good at what you can do" - Fingerbanger"
I have always felt that it is better to do what is beautiful than what is 'right'" - Eliot Fisk
Wedding music and guitar lessons in Essex. Listen at: http://www.rollmopmusic.co.uk


   
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(@harleycotts)
Active Member
Joined: 7 years ago
Posts: 4
Topic starter  

Yerr I have a 15 watt Marshall amp, I was thinking of buying a 30 watt one when I have thever money, or so you think mine will be fine?


   
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(@alangreen)
Member
Joined: 22 years ago
Posts: 5342
 

Go for it. The 30-watt amp will allow you to play bigger gigs - small pubs, for example.

"Be good at what you can do" - Fingerbanger"
I have always felt that it is better to do what is beautiful than what is 'right'" - Eliot Fisk
Wedding music and guitar lessons in Essex. Listen at: http://www.rollmopmusic.co.uk


   
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(@harleycotts)
Active Member
Joined: 7 years ago
Posts: 4
Topic starter  

I won't be doing that for ages as I've only been playing a few months, this will be mainly home use, would you say just keep the 15 wato or get a 30 watt? Just for home use?


   
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(@alangreen)
Member
Joined: 22 years ago
Posts: 5342
 

Get the 30. I've used a 30 at home before; it produces a good sound. I don't use my 50 at home; that would be overkill.

"Be good at what you can do" - Fingerbanger"
I have always felt that it is better to do what is beautiful than what is 'right'" - Eliot Fisk
Wedding music and guitar lessons in Essex. Listen at: http://www.rollmopmusic.co.uk


   
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(@ryuking)
Active Member
Joined: 8 years ago
Posts: 12
 

All you really need is 5 watts to be at home. I use a blackstar ht 5 and I don't even put the volume past 5. If you want a list of more amps for you then you can check out my list of The Best Guitar Amps for Beginners and Intermediate Players

Best Electric Guitars for Beginners


   
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(@sandyb53)
Active Member
Joined: 7 years ago
Posts: 6
 

Just because I did not see it mentioned, I would like to Add that there are Amplifiers for Acoustic guitars as well as Electric guitars and Bass Guitars. It does make a difference so Be Sure that the Amplifier you are using is Matched to the Type of Guitar you are Playing.

2015 Fender Strat
2013 Epiphone 56 Les Paul Pro
Fender Mustang IV

Student- Gibson's Learn and Master Guitar
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(@waylon)
Trusted Member
Joined: 8 years ago
Posts: 54
 

If you want something cheap, but good and loud, try one of theese
https://musicsquare.co.uk/145271_Fender-Mustang-I-V2-guitar-amp.html
https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/VXII


   
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(@kingpatzer)
Noble Member
Joined: 19 years ago
Posts: 2171
 

"Wattage" really means very little.

Speaker quality, peak headroom of the amplifier, the genre of music you're playing, and speaker efficiency all matter much more. Not to mention the tonal characteristics of the amplifier itself.

Further, wattage and loudness are not linear relationships to one another. In order to double the volume, the amplifier has to increase wattage by 10x. A 30-watt amplifier is nowhere close to twice as loud as a 15-watt amplifier. Rather, a 150-watt amplifier will be twice as loud as the 15-watt amplifier (operating at max volume).

Because the power to volume curve is not linear, in the mid-tone range where guitars live, doubling the amp power increases max volume by about 3 dB. Which isn't much. In fact, 3 dB is about the smallest increase in volume the human ear can perceive!!

So, all things being equal, you will not be able tell the difference in volume between a 15-watt amp and a 30-watt amp!!

So what wattage you need really depends on how much clean headroom you need before the amp tone ceases to be clean and starts to distort. The "clean headroom" of the amp. If you are playing metal, you may well be better off playing a really great 1-watt amp that starts to overdrive early in the power curve than you would be playing a 120-watt fender twin that is almost impossible to overdrive because it has so much clean headroom.

So, what you will see between a 15-watt amp and a 30-watt amp is that the 30-watt amp will start to distort later in the power band. If you're using the amp to practice with at home, you may actually find that 30-watts will be too much power for the tone you want -- because the volume will be too loud for the small(er) space in most typical residences.

This is a key point: the cleaner the tones you want, the more wattage you require!!! If you're playing nothing but classical jazz, then you might NEED a 100+ watt amp to gig with, and it won't matter that you can't distort the thing at volumes appropriate for practice. If you're playing grunge, a 15-watt amp may actually be too much power for the sound you want at practice volumes.

In today's world, the key is to get an amp that has the tone you need at "bedroom" volumes, and then mic it when you gig. Because you're going to be running into the soundboard anyway. So you don't need wattage. What you need is the right mix of headroom and tonal color for your style of playing.

For rock music, I'd rather have a 1-amp Emery Microbaby or Blackstar HT1R with great tone than a 150-watt Marshall stack that won't overdrive until it's pushing out 120 dB of volume.

"The music business is a cruel and shallow money trench, a long plastic hallway where thieves and pimps run free, and good men die like dogs. There's also a negative side." -- HST


   
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(@hthiew)
Eminent Member
Joined: 7 years ago
Posts: 22
 

I'm always very excited when people buy amps. The options are wide though it's such a personal thing that the right one is waiting to be uncovered.

Whatever it is, don't skip considering the Roland Cube series. Sounds great clean. Distortion/Overdrive is not going to sound good in most solid state amps anyway so I suggest getting one that is beautiful clean and then use a pedal. Anway having said that, its overdrive channel is not too bad also.

Other good clean amps are Peavey Bandit. The older Made in US ones are better than the new ones apparently but the new chinese made news ones are still great. Just the older ones are GREATER!

My current favourite small amp is a Fender Pro Junior. It's an all tube amp and I get lovely chimey tube goodness. I have vouched not to have a tube amp because of amazing simulation technology today but this one got me. And I am hooked.

So excited that you are looking for a new amp. Enjoy the journey!

HT
playgoodguitar.com

HT, Founder of https://PlayGoodGuitar.com


   
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(@chroma)
Eminent Member
Joined: 7 years ago
Posts: 18
 

If you have an Iphone, get their little interface, and then get Positive Grid's JAM UP, and play all the killer amps you want at any volume.

No Android unfortunately, so otherwise you'll have to use your laptop/desktop/maybe netbook......and get the respective version.

Do it. Now.


   
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