GUITARGRABBAG
CHOOSING A NEW AMP
For a guitarist, there may be no less challenging COMBO OR HEAD/CAB and thus reduce your actual volume, all while
a decision than needing to buy a new amplifier. Another consideration in your search will be loading your amp correctly.
With all the choices available today, it can the configuration of the amp. Can you put your be overwhelming! After all, you spent days, amp onstage near you? Then you could go with DIGITAL VS. ANALOG
months, maybe even years finding that perfect a combo amp. Or do you have the option of Yes, I said it! Sometimes, you need to consider
guitar, and now you are deciding how all of that putting your amp offstage somewhere? Then whether or not the best option, considering
wonderful wood and steel makes its way into the head/cabinet setup might be better. The your venue, is a digital modeling solution. Line
the world. combo amp can give you everything you need 6’s new HELIX is a revolutionary piece of gear,
in one package, but depending on where you and the introduction of the Helix LT puts that
locate the amp onstage, you introduce stage line within reach of more players’ budgets.
A daunting task, to say the least!
But BE WARNED: all those options come at a
Even for the experienced musician, choosing
a new amplifier may leave you scratching your
head over what to buy. Today, we’re going to
try and break down the process into bite-size
chunks.
CONSIDER VENUE
The very first thing you should look at when
shopping a new amp is where it’s going to be
used. So many of us exist and play in the small
church venue, where there aren’t isolation cabs
or fancy backstage hideaways to keep that
100-watt Marshall from blowing Aunt Susie’s
wig off in the front row. And if you try to bring
those big amps down to moderate volume
levels, you’re very likely to be frustrated with
anemic tone. Even your sound guy won’t like
So many of us exist
and play in the
small church venue,
where there aren’t
isolation cabs or fancy
backstage hideaways
to keep that 100-watt
Marshall from blowing
Aunt Susie’s wig off in
the front row.
that! So shop for an amp that has a lower
wattage rating.
price: the hours of tweaking your tone to work
in your environment. You can get great tone out
of it, it’s just going to require patience. But if
you’re using IEM’s, you’re not actually hearing
the direct sound of your amp anyway, so a
digital solution can sound better than even a
well-mic’d amp. You’d probably be surprised
how many artists on the road these days use
a version of digital modeling to achieve their
tone. (And on the plus side, modeling gives
you the option of hearing that cranked-up
Marshall sound without the aforementioned
wig-blowing!)
In the end, the search for an amp comes down
to a lot of really personal choices, and it can
seem frustrating at times. But hopefully, the
hunt will be a little less elusive with these things
volume and possible issues there. But a head/
in mind!
cab can give the option of locating the speakers
SOME OF MY FAVORITES: in another room or offstage, and that may give Happy Hunting!
• PRS has a new line of amps called the you a little more freedom in how you run your (...and please feel free to find me on Twitter and
Sonzera that are designed to fit a budget amp. Just make sure you have a good quality let me know how the search is going!)
and sound amazing, available in a 20-watt speaker cable, because the length of cable combo. And their 2-Channel line also sports can sometimes cause issues with tone. I have a good option in the 20-watt range. always preferred this way because of the ability • CrimsonTone Amps are some of the smallest to locate the speakers out of the way or faced
wattages I’ve seen - their “se meany” is 4 away from the audience, to give the sound
watts total! people the best case scenario for my amp.
• Jackson Ampworks is another favorite. They
worked with Nigel Hendroff from Hillsong If you already have an amp, but want the
Church to design a beautiful amp, the cab option, you can check out my friends
Scarlett 30. at EarCandy Cabs - they have done their
• Of course, all of the majors, Fender, Marshall, homework and have some great speaker
and Vox, have low-wattage options too that cabinets (Including a mini 1x6!) that will allow
are worth looking into. you to pump your amp into a smaller speaker
May Jun 2017
WorshipMusician.com
JEFFREY B. SCOTT
Lives in Atlanta, GA with his
wife & 3 kids and is deadset
on delivering his best for
God’s glory. Guitarist, vocal-
ist, producer & songwriter.
Check out his EP Highest
Heights on iTunes.
@JeffreyBScott
17