Guitar Amps - all you need to know

There must be hundreds of different types and makes of Guitar Amplifiers.

Acoustic guitar amps, electric guitar amps, tube guitar amps (sometimes called Valve Amps), bass guitar amps, the list goes on....

Should I buy a cheap guitar amp to start with, or how about second hand?

Is a used guitar amp a good idea?

Do tube amps really sound better?

Are solid state guitar amps more reliable?

How do you find out which is best guitar amplifier for you?  Read on...

Whether you're just starting out and need a practice amp or you're an experienced musician looking for the best vintage guitar amp, you'll find quality information right here. We've been in the business of repairing all types of amplification for over 30 years and this site is here to help you.

Follow the links to the Guitar Amp Guides pages on this site and you'll find some great information on types of guitar amps how to make sure you buy the right amplifier without wasting your money now, or later on.

You'll also find a section of this website dedicated to help you with guitar amp maintenance and basic repairs. After all there's no point in wasting money on repair bills if you can sort the 'first aid' stuff yourself, or at least save a technician's time by explaining fault symptoms correctly – believe me this helps a lot.

Another useful section here will explain some of the mysteries of the guitar amplifier, with technical terms simply explained including pictures and tips. People love using techie terms and jargon but very often don't really know what they mean. What does Sag mean, Clip, Overdrive, Phase, Active and Passive, Send and Return, Balanced and Unbalanced, Ohms and Watts, plus loads more. You'll come across all these at some stage so it'll be useful to be able to pop back to this site and find out what they mean.

How about an explanation on the different inputs and outputs you'll find on your guitar amp
and the types of connectors used.

These details may be simple for the experienced musician, but it's not always self explanatory just by reading the label on the panel, what, or how these connections are used especially if you're a beginner.

For the more experienced visitors to this site there are some free guitar amplifier schematics.

Want some information on how to connect additional speaker cabinets to your amplifier and stay within the load requirements for your amp? Get this wrong and it's a really easy way to severely damage your precious guitar amplifier.

Use our easy impedance calculator for working out the total impedance (measured in ohms) of speakers connected in series and parallel and ensure this doesn't happen to you.

Check out the article links – you're sure to find loads of help and great information.