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Chapter 15: Choosing Your Amp and Effects
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Some amps feature more than one knob to control a given range of frequencies.
For example, the midrange may have two controls — one for the frequency
range covered (the high, middle, and low area of tone) and the other to boost
or cut the level of that frequency range (to emphasize or de-emphasize).
Effects
An amp’s effects section is where the reverb, chorus, and other effects reside.
The signal travels from the tone controls (covered in the previous section) to
the effects section, shown in Figure 15-7. On some amps, this part can be just
a reverb, but many amps feature an entire digital effects section with reverb,
delay, chorus, vibrato, and so on. (For more about effects, see “Messing
Around with Your Sound: Effects,” later in this chapter.)
Figure 15-7:
An amp’s
effects
section.
An amp with built-in, or onboard, effects is very convenient. But even with
the handiness of onboard effects, most guitarists opt to create effects with
signal processors or stompboxes placed between the guitar and amp (called
outboard effects) because you can get more of a selection by choosing external
effects and because they offer a wider range of tonal variation.
Power amp
The power amp is the heart of an amplifier. It takes your guitar signal and
beefs it up to the point where it can get the speakers moving and push the air
around that your ears perceive as sound. Power amps are made of heavy components,
including transformers — which harness the electricity coming out
of the wall socket into current that the amp can operate safely and optimally at.
TEAM LinG