Guitar Amplifier: For Boosting the Pitch

Guitar amplifier is an electronic sound booster used to increase the volume of the sound coming from an electric guitar. It is connected to the electric guitar via a cord, and the sounds produced by plucking the strings of the electric guitar are fed through the amplifier first, and then the speaker. This amplifies the sound pitch and volume 4-5 times of the original, thereby allowing listeners to hear it more clearly.

Guitar amplifiers come in two main varieties. One is the combo variety, in which the amplifier head and the guitar speakers are contained within a single unit. In the other form, the amplifier head is separately placed and connected to the speakers with cables.

Amplifiers can be of four types, based on their inside structures. These are:

1. Tube: These are the oldest types of amplifiers, and provide the richest sound quality even at louder volumes. These amplifiers contain glass tubes on the inside. The cost of maintenance for these is quite a setback though. The glass tubes must be cleaned at regular intervals, and promptly replaced in case they get cracked or chipped. These fragile amplifiers are also quite bulky to carry around.

2. Solid state: These have transistors built into them instead of glass tubes. These transistors take care of the amplification. These amplifiers are comparatively lighter in weight, damage resistant, and thus easy to carry around. The sound quality produced is good, but can get distorted at higher sound volumes.

3. Digital: These guitar amps are probably the best after tube-based ones. The problem is, the ones with low price tags may not be that good and make the sound feel synthetic. But a high priced one with good quality components can even beat some high-end tube amplifiers. Besides, maintenance and transportation is very easy. This is often the tool of choice for professionals nowadays.

4. Hybrid: These are combinations of tube and solid-state technologies. The sound is first amplified by the transistors, and then fed into the glass tubes, resulting in double amplification. Purchasing the low-priced ones is not advisable, as in those, the poor quality of transistors can result in distortion of sound at higher volumes. The high priced ones produce much better sound quality. However, this would never stand up to a good quality tube amplifier or digital amplifier.

Getting an amplifier is certainly a good idea if an artist wishes to enhance the quality of his/her music. But, getting the right kind of amplifier is very important. Otherwise, the purpose of the whole process could be defeated.

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