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VINTAGER GM110
3. HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
3. HISTORICAL BACKGROUND by Neville Marten (Guitarist Magazine)
The guitar amp: your tone generator
Many guitar players think of their amplifier as the least important link in their musical chain. Sure, everyone
needs the right guitar, with the right finish, pickups and tremolo; and, of course, effects these days are so
important in looking and sounding cool.
But what of the humble guitar amp? Is it just an ugly box that stands behind you, a heavy hindrance thats just
a drag to get into and out of the car? No, its your powerhouse, a tone generator that should work as an equal
member with you, your guitar and effects in the creation of the best possible sound.
Ever since the 1940s, when a radio repairman in Orange County California started customizing tube radio
circuits for the new breed of electric guitarists, guitar amps have been evolving into what we see today. Great
American names like Fender, Ampeg and Gibson supplied small-output amplifiers to the guitarists of
the 40s and 50s, creating the sound of electric jazz, rocknroll and country music; a sound thats still as fresh
as ever at the dawn of this new millennium.
As the 50s became the 60s, the British sound was born with Vox producing small-powered valve amps for
groups like The Shadows, then later The Beatles and The Rolling Stones, The Hollies and The Hermits. Then,
in the mid-60s a drummer from London was asked by some budding musicians to build them some amplification.
Jim Marshall took the basic American design and using British components and speakers, created higher
Wattage amps and multi-speaker cabinets to give bands like The Who, Cream and The Jimi Hendrix Experience
the power to begin their assaults on the rock stadiums of the world.
Amp design has come a long way since then. Multi-channels and cascading gain stages, as pioneered by
Randall Smith and his Mesa Boogie amps, are found in the majority of stacks and combos built by amp
manufacturers all over the world today. Modern, solid-state circuits and digital effects are now commonplace
and in some instances work successfully on their own, or hand in hand with classic tube designs, to create
versatile performing instruments for working guitarists. Other manufacturers are looking back to the old ways,
with hand-wired, vintage-style boutique amps that can cost the earth.
Whichever option you choose, the ears of discerning musicians recognize that, behind the bells, whistles and
hype, there must be a great-sounding amplifiera real musical tool that not only uses the best of todays
technologies, but pays its respects to the great pioneers that have gone before.
(We would like to thank Mr. Neville Marten, the editor of Guitarist Magazine, for this little essay about the
history of guitar amp development.)
Fender, Ampeg, Gibson, Vox, Marshall, Mesa Boogie and the names of musical artists and groups are all registered
trademarks of their respective owners, which are in no way associated or affiliated with BEHRINGER.
All manuals and user guides at all-guides.com
all-guides.com
