Electric blues guitar lessons electric guitar amplification

Electric Blues Guitar Lessons & Amplifiers

A guitar amplifier (or guitar amp) is an electronic amplifier that strengthens the weak electrical signal from a pickup on an electric guitar, bass guitar, or acoustic guitar so that it can produce sound through one or more loudspeakers, which are typically housed in a wooden cabinet. A guitar amplifier may be a standalone wood or metal cabinet that contains only the power amplifier (and preamplifier) circuits, requiring the use of a separate speaker cabinet–or it may be a “combo” amplifier, which contains both the amplifier and one or more speakers in a wooden cabinet. There is a wide range of sizes and power ratings for guitar amplifiers, from small, lightweight “practice amplifiers” with a single 6″ speaker to heavy combo amps with four 12″ speakers and a powerful amplifier, which are loud enough to use in a nightclub or bar performance. Below is a photo of my amplifier which is a 100 watt Mesa Boogie MK 3 and I have had it for over 30 years now and it still sounds great. Its a perfect for guitarists who want electric blues guitar lessons for instant FAT tone ideal for blues.

Oh and thats my cat Panther sitting on the Mesa Boogie 🙂

Guitar amplifiers can also modify the instrument’s tone by emphasizing or de-emphasizing certain frequencies, using equalizer controls, which function the same way as the bass and treble knobs on a home hi-fi stereo, and by adding electronic effects; distortion (also called “overdrive”) and reverb are commonly available as built-in features. The input of modern guitar amplifiers is a 1/4″ jack, which is fed a signal from an electro-magnetic pickup (from an electric guitar) or a piezoelectric pickup (usually from an acoustic guitar) using a patch cord, or a wireless transmitter.

For electric guitar players wanting electric blues guitar lessons, their choice of guitar amp and the settings they use on the amplifier are a key part of their signature tone or sound. Some guitar players are longtime users of a specific amp brand or model. Many electric guitar players use external effects pedals to alter the sound of their tone before the signal reaches the guitar amp, such as the wah wah pedal and the chorus pedal.

This article focuses on electric guitar amps. For information on amps for bass guitar, a lower-pitched, similar instrument, see the article on bass amps.