Guitars, Amplifiers and Strings

[ravncat]

Anyone knowing about electric guitars and amplifiers?

I've recently gone insane, and decided that i need to learn how to play. I've been practicing the shamisen for some time now (a Japanese three string instrument), but I don't really know about amplifiers.

I was in the store, and saw a 10 watt one that was oddly cheap - i figure like anything, cheap is probably an indication of quality. I can't really read enough of the information as it is all in Japanese... Are there seperate amplifiers for Bass and Electric guitars? What is it exactly that I should be looking for in the stats / specifications..

I know, I suppose I should google it, and I probably will, Just curious if anyone here can give me a quick rundown, it would be appreciated, Thanks

[BryanC]

Originally Posted by ravncat

Anyone knowing about electric guitars and amplifiers?

I've recently gone insane, and decided that i need to learn how to play. I've been practicing the shamisen for some time now (a Japanese three string instrument), but I don't really know about amplifiers.

I was in the store, and saw a 10 watt one that was oddly cheap - i figure like anything, cheap is probably an indication of quality. I can't really read enough of the information as it is all in Japanese... Are there seperate amplifiers for Bass and Electric guitars? What is it exactly that I should be looking for in the stats / specifications..

I know, I suppose I should google it, and I probably will, Just curious if anyone here can give me a quick rundown, it would be appreciated, Thanks

Basically with guitar amps, watts translates to volume. A 10w amp falls into the "practice amp" category. They're loud enough to practice through, but not enough to play along with drums or annoy the neighbors. When you get closer to 100w and above, you're cranking and could play along loud enough with un-amplified drums. Price-wise, it depends on brand, quality and features. Around $30US for a lower end, $70-100US for nicer ones.

There's a difference between Bass and Guitar amps. Mainly, the speaker of a Bass amp is made to handle the low frequencies and needs more wattage to equal the volume of a Guitar amp of a certain wattage. You could play a guitar through a Bass amp, but it would be muddy sounding since it's designed to be driven by lower frequencies. Playing a bass through a Guitar amp on the other hand, if loud enough, would turn the speaker to confetti.

I'm not an expert on shamisens, but I believe the frequencies would fall into the guitar range.

For what use/situations were you wanting an amp for?

[lizhop]

For mor information an opinions of people who play you should check out ulitmateguitar.com. It is pretty much the guitar version of DPS. People there could help you out with your qestions.

[ravncat]

thanks guys

[Biomech]

This guy knows a far bit too:
Szleppard | Facebook

[RLucas]

Is it a 10w tube amp or solid state? A 10 or 20w tube amp will be fairly loud. Don't let the low wattage numbers fool you. What brand of amp was it? I know Line 6 make some cheaper amps that were supposed to be packed with features, but the QC was/is very lacking last time I checked.

As far as guitars go, that will depend what style of music you want to play, your tastes, and your budget. Much like cameras, just pick up a few and see how they feel. You'll know when you find IT.

as someone suggested above, the Ultimate Guitar site is really good. I was a member over there for a couple of years, until I quit playing.
Good luck and have fun with it!

[ravncat]

Well, when i was in yodobashi kyoto, the only amp i saw in my price range was a pathfinder bass 10, by vox... I'd done no research i just went and looked, curious to see what was available

I'm interested in metal (Iron Maiden...) and classic rock (think Bob Seger and get out of denver)

[RLucas]

Originally Posted by ravncat

Well, when i was in yodobashi kyoto, the only amp i saw in my price range was a pathfinder bass 10, by vox... I'd done no research i just went and looked, curious to see what was available

I'm interested in metal (Iron Maiden...) and classic rock (think Bob Seger and get out of denver)

Sounds pretty much like my tastes. With a bass amp, you can play a guitar through it, but you will usually only have a clean channel. To get any crunch or any type of distortion, you will need a pedal. I actually quite like the sound of a guitar played through a bass amp with a good pedal. It has low end for days. The best pedal I ever had was a Boss MT2 Metal Zone. It had a great distortion circuit to be solid state. To do something like this, may take you out of your price range. I got lucky and picked up a Peavey 112 transtube combo amp for a couple hundred bucks. You may get lucky and find something like that. It is a great sounding amp, that emulates the nice creamy overdrive of some of the classic rock to the balls out metal distortion.

[ravncat]

I checked out the ultimate guitar, joined the forums, checked through their hints and whatnot and gave all the right information, they sent me to an amp that looks like itll be pretty good, now I just gotta see if I can find it - the peavy vypyr 15. With any luck there will actually be one at the guitar place I know of, or maybe they can order one... will see... have to check amazon too

I checked out some youtube videos and reviews - it seems to have those kind of sounds