Editing Instrument amplifier

{{Short description|Amplifier with loudspeaker for use with musical instruments}}
{{about|amplifiers for musical instruments|amplifiers for test and measurement|instrumentation amplifier}}
{{refimprove|date=July 2007}}
{{Use American English|date=September 2024}}

[[Image:Pink-Guitar-Amp.jpg|thumb|right|300px|A Fender ''combo'' amplifier. The combination amplifier is a preamplifier, power amplifier and tone controls and one or more loudspeakers or drivers mounted in a portable wooden cabinet. This amp's sound is being picked up with a microphone in a recording studio.]]

An '''instrument amplifier''' is an [[electronic amplifier]] that converts the often barely audible or purely electronic signal of a [[musical instrument]] into a larger electronic signal to feed to a loudspeaker. An instrument amplifier is used with musical instruments such as an [[electric guitar]], an [[bass guitar|electric bass]], [[Hammond organ|electric organ]], [[electric piano]], [[synthesizer]]s and [[drum machine]] to convert the signal from the [[pickup (music technology)|pickup]] (with guitars and other string instruments and some keyboards) or other sound source (e.g, a synthesizer's signal) into an electronic signal that has enough power, produced by a [[power amplifier]], to drive one or more [[loudspeaker]] that can be heard by the performers and audience. 

Combination (combo) amplifiers include a [[preamplifier]], a power amplifier, tone controls, and one or more speakers in a [[speaker enclosure|cabinet]], a housing or box usually made of wood. Instrument amplifiers for some instruments are also available without an internal speaker; these amplifiers, called ''heads'', must plug into one or more separate speaker cabinets. Instrument amplifiers also have features that let the performer modify the signal's [[Timbre|tone]], such as changing the equalization (adjusting bass and treble tone) or adding [[effects unit|electronic effects]] such as intentional [[distortion (music)|distortion or overdrive]], [[reverb]] or [[chorus effect]].

Instrument amplifiers are available for specific instruments, including the [[guitar amp|electric guitar]], [[bass amp|electric bass]], [[keyboard amp|electric and electronic keyboards]], and acoustic instruments such as the mandolin and banjo. Some amplifiers are designed for specific styles of music, such as the [[Fender tweed]] guitar amplifiers, such as the [[Fender Bassman]] used by [[blues]] and [[country music]] musicians, and the [[Marshall amplifier]]s used by hard rock and heavy metal bands.

Unlike [[AV receiver|home hi-fi amplifiers]] or [[public Address system]]s, which are designed to accurately reproduce the source sound signals with as little distortion as possible, instrument amplifiers are often designed to add additional tonal coloration to the original signal, and in many cases intentionally add some degree of [[distortion (music)|distortion]].

==Types==

===Guitar amplifiers===
[[File:Guitarras de McCartney y Harrison.jpg|thumb|upright|A [[Vox AC30]] guitar amplifier used by [[The Beatles]]]]
{{Main|Guitar amplifier}}

A guitar amplifier amplifies the electrical signal of an [[electric guitar]] so that it can drive a [[loudspeaker]] at sufficient volume for the performer and audience to hear. Most guitar amplifiers can also modify the instrument's sound with controls that emphasize or de-emphasize certain frequencies and add [[effects unit|electronic effects]]. String vibrations are sensed by a [[Pick up (music technology)|pickup]]. For electric guitars, strings are made of metal, and the pickup works by [[electromagnetic induction]].

====Standard amps====
[[Image:Gibson 1.jpg|thumb|left|A small Gibson combo amplifier.]]

Standard amplifiers, such as the Fender ''tweed''-style amps (e.g., the [[Fender Bassman]]) are often used by traditional rock, blues, and country musicians who wish to create a vintage 1950s-style sound. They are used by electric guitarists, [[pedal steel]] guitar players, and [[blues harmonica]] players. These amps are designed to produce a variety of sounds ranging from a clean, warm sound to a growling, natural overdrive. These amplifiers usually have a sharp treble [[roll-off]] at 5&nbsp;kHz to reduce the extreme high frequencies, and a bass roll-off at 60–100&nbsp;Hz to reduce unwanted boominess. The nickname ''tweed'' refers to the lacquered beige-light brown fabric covering used on these amplifiers.

Combo amplifiers such as the [[Fender Super Reverb]] have powerful [[tube amplifier]]s, 10- or 12-inch speakers, and they often have built-in [[Reverberation|reverb]] and [[Vibrato unit|vibrato]] effects units. These larger combo amplifierss are used for club performances and larger venues. For large concert venues such as stadiums, performers may also use an amplifier ''head'' with several separate speaker cabinets. Smaller, lighter guitar amps are also available, which have less powerful amplifier units and as few as one speaker. Smaller guitar amps are easier to transport to gigs and [[sound recording]] sessions. Smaller amps are widely used in small venue shows, because players can obtain the tone they want without having to have an excessively loud volume.  The smallest combo amplifiers, which are mainly used for individual practice and warm-up purposes, may have only a single 8 or 10-inch speaker. Some players use these small combo amplifiers for concert performances, though, because it is easier to create natural overdrive with these lower-powered amplifiers.<!--[[User:Kvng/RTH]]-->

====Hard rock and heavy metal====
[[File:MarshallStack Slayer.jpg|thumb|A 3×6 stack of mock [[Marshall Amplification|Marshall]] guitar cabinets for [[Jeff Hanneman]] of [[Slayer]]]]
Electric guitar amplifiers designed for [[heavy metal music|heavy metal]] are used to add an aggressive ''drive'', intensity, and ''edge'' to the guitar sound with distortion effects, preamplification boost controls (sometimes with multiple stages of preamps), and tone filters. While many of the most expensive, high-end models use 1950s-style [[tube amplifier]]s (even in the 2000s), there are also many models that use [[transistor]] amplifiers, or a mixture of the two technologies (i.e., a tube preamplifier with a transistor [[power amplifier]]). Amplifiers of this type, such as [[Marshall amplifiers]], are used in a range of the louder, heavier genres of rock, including hard rock, [[Heavy metal music|heavy metal]], and [[hardcore punk]]. This type of amplifier is available in a range of formats, ranging from small, self-contained combo amplifiers for rehearsal and warm-ups to heavy ''heads'' that are used with separate speaker cabinets—colloquially referred to as a ''stack''.

In the late 1960s and early 1970s, [[Public Address system|public address systems]] at rock concerts were used mainly for the vocals. As a result, to get a loud electric guitar sound, early [[Heavy metal music|heavy metal]] and rock-blues bands often used stacks of 4x12" Marshall speaker cabinets on the stage. In 1969, [[Jimi Hendrix]] used four stacks to create a powerful lead sound, and in the early 1970s by the band [[Blue Öyster Cult]] used an entire wall of Marshall Amplifiers to create a roaring [[wall of sound]] that projected massive volume and sonic power. In the 1980s, metal bands such as [[Slayer]] and [[Yngwie Malmsteen]] also used ''walls'' of over 20 Marshall cabinets. However, by the 1980s and 1990s, most of the sound at live concerts was produced by the [[sound reinforcement system]] rather than the onstage guitar amplifiers, so most of these cabinets were not connected to an amplifier. Instead, walls of speaker cabinets were used for aesthetic reasons. 

Amplifiers for harder, heavier genres often use valve amplifiers (known as tube amplifiers in North America) also. Valve amplifiers are perceived by musicians and fans to have a warmer tone than those of transistor amps, particularly when overdriven (turned up to the level that the amplifier starts to [[clipping (electronics)|clip]] or shear off the waveforms). Instead of abruptly clipping off the signal at cut-off and saturation levels, the signal is rounded off more smoothly. Vacuum tubes also exhibit different harmonic effects than transistors. In contrast to the tweed-style amplifiers, which use speakers in an open-backed cabinet, companies such as Marshall tend to use 12" speakers in a closed-back cabinet. These amplifiers usually allow users to switch between clean and distorted tones (or a [[rhythm guitar]]-style ''crunch'' tone and a sustained [[lead guitar|"lead"]] tone) with a foot-operated switch.

[[Image:Bassstack.jpg|thumb|left|100px|A 2 x 10" bass speaker cabinet stacked on top of a 15" cabinet, with separate bass amplifier head unit]]

===Bass===
{{Main|Bass amplifier}}
[[Bass instrument amplification|Bass amplifiers]] are designed for [[bass guitar]]s or more rarely, for [[double bass|upright bass]]. They differ from amplifiers for the electric guitar in several respects, with extended low-frequency response, and tone controls optimized for the needs of bass players.

Higher-cost bass amplifiers may include built-in [[bass effects]] units, such as [[audio compressor]] or limiter features, to avoid unwanted distorting at high volume levels and potential damage to speakers; equalizers; and [[bass overdrive]]. 

Bass amps may provide an XLR [[DI unit|DI output]] for plugging the bass amp signal directly into a [[mixing board]] or [[PA system]]. Larger, more powerful bass amplifiers (300 or more watts) are often provided with internal or external metal [[heat sink]]s and/or fans to help keep the components cool. 

Speaker cabinets designed for bass usually use larger [[loudspeakers]] (or more loudspeakers, such as four ten-inch speakers) than the cabinets used for other instruments, so that they can move the larger amounts of air needed to reproduce low frequencies. Bass players have to use more powerful amplifiers than the electric guitarists, because deep bass frequencies take more power to amplify{{citation needed|reason=Frequency has no bearing on actual amplitude of an amplified signal.|date=December 2016}}. While the largest speakers commonly used for regular electric guitar have twelve-inch cones, electric bass speaker cabinets often use 15" speakers. Bass players who play styles of music that require an extended low-range response, such as [[death metal]], sometimes use speaker cabinets with 18" speakers or add a large [[subwoofer]] cabinet to their rig.

Speakers for bass instrument amplification tend to be heavier-duty than those for regular electric guitar, and the speaker cabinets are typically more rigidly constructed and heavily braced, to prevent unwanted buzzes and rattles. Bass cabinets often include [[bass reflex]] ports, vents or openings in the cabinet, which improve the bass response and low-end, especially at high volumes.

[[Image:Amplifier1.jpg|thumb|A small keyboard amplifier suitable for at-home practice capable of mixing the inputs from two keyboards.]]

===Keyboard===
A [[keyboard amplifier]], used for the [[stage piano]], [[synthesizer]], [[clonewheel organ]]s and similar instruments, is distinct from other types of amplification systems due to the particular challenges associated with keyboards; namely, to provide solid low-frequency sound reproduction ''and'' crisp high-frequency sound reproduction. It is typically a combination amplifier that contains a two, three, or four-channel [[Electronic mixer|mixer]], a [[pre-amplifier]] for each channel, equalization controls, a [[power amplifier]], a [[Loudspeaker|speaker]], and a [[Horn loudspeaker|horn]], all in a single cabinet.

Notable exceptions include keyboard amplifiers for specific keyboard types. The vintage [[Leslie speaker]] cabinet and modern recreations, which are generally used for [[Hammond organs]],  use a [[tube amplifier]] that is often turned up to add a warm, ''growling'' [[Overdrive (music)|overdrive]]. Some [[electric piano]]s have built-in amplifiers and speakers, in addition to outputs for external amplification.

===Acoustic amplifiers ===
These amplifiers are intended for acoustic instruments such as [[violin]] ("fiddle"), [[mandolin]], [[harp]], and [[acoustic guitar]]—especially for the way musicians play these instruments in quieter genres such as [[Folk music|folk]] and [[Bluegrass music|bluegrass]]. They are similar to keyboard amplifiers, in that they have a relatively flat frequency response and avoid tonal coloration. 

To produce this relatively clean sound, these amplifiers often have very powerful amplifiers (up to 800 watts RMS), to provide additional [[Headroom (audio signal processing)|headroom]] and prevent unwanted distortion. Since an 800-watt amplifier built with standard [[Class AB]] technology would be heavy, some acoustic amplifier manufacturers use lightweight [[Class D amplifiers|Class D]], "switching amplifiers".

Acoustic amplifier designs strive to produce a clean, transparent, ''acoustic'' sound that does not—except for reverb and other effects—alter the natural instrument sound, other than to make it louder. Amplifiers often come with a simple mixer to blend signals from a pickup and microphone. Since the early 2000s, it is increasingly common for acoustic amplifiers to provided digital effects, such as [[reverb]] and [[Gain compression|compression]]. Some also contain [[feedback]]-suppressing devices, such as [[notch filter]]s or [[parametric equalizer]]s.<ref>Note: Acoustic amplifiers should not be confused with the amplifier brand name ''[[Acoustic Control Corporation|Acoustic]],'' whose products are still available in the used equipment market.)</ref>

Acoustic guitars do not usually have a built-in pickup or microphone, at least with entry-level and beginner instruments. Some acoustic guitars have a small [[condenser microphone]] mounted inside the body, which designed to convert acoustic vibrations into an electrical signal, but usually they do so from direct contact with the strings (replacing the guitar's bridge) or with the guitar's body, rather than having a membrane-like general-purpose microphone. Acoustic guitars may also use a [[piezoelectric]] pickup, which converts the vibrations of the instrument into an electronic signal. More rarely, a magnetic pickup may be mounted in the sound hole of an acoustic guitar; while magnetic pickups do not have the same acoustic tone that microphones and piezo pickups can produce, magnetic pickups are more resistant to [[acoustic feedback]].

==Roles==
Instrument amplifiers have a different purpose than 'Hi-Fi' (high fidelity) [[stereo]] amplifiers in radios and home stereo systems. Hi-fi home stereo amplifiers strive to accurately reproduce signals from pre-recorded music, with as little harmonic distortion as possible. In contrast, instrument amplifiers are add additional tonal coloration to the original signal or emphasize certain frequencies. For electric instruments such as electric guitar, the amplifier helps to create the instrument's tone by boosting the input signal gain and distorting the signal, and by emphasizing frequencies deemed desirable (e.g., low frequencies) and de-emphasizing frequencies deemed undesirable (e.g., very high frequencies).

===Size and power rating===
In the 1960s and 1970s, large, heavy, high-output power amplifiers were preferred for instrument amplifiers, especially for large concerts, because [[public address system]]s were generally only used to amplify the vocals. Moreover, in the 1960s, PA systems typically did not use monitor speaker systems to amplify the music for the onstage musicians. Instead, the musicians were expected to have instrument amplifiers that were powerful enough to provide amplification for the stage and audience.  In late 1960s and early 1970s rock concerts, bands often used large stacks of speaker cabinets powered by heavy tube amplifiers such as the [[Ampeg SVT|Super Valve Technology (SVT)]] amplifier, which was often used with eight 10" speakers.

However, over subsequent decades, PA systems substantially improved, and used different approaches, such as horn-loaded ''bass bins'' (in the 1980s) and subwoofers (1990s and 2000s) to amplify bass frequencies. As well, in the 1980s and 1990s, monitor systems substantially improved, which helped sound engineers provide onstage musicians with a better reproduction of their instruments' sound.  

As a result of improvements to PA and monitor systems, musicians in the 2000s no longer need huge, powerful amplifier systems. A small combo amplifier patched into the PA suffices. In the 2000s, virtually all sound reaching the audience in large venues comes from the [[PA system]]. Onstage instrument amplifiers are more likely to be at a low volume, because high volume levels onstage make it harder for the sound engineer to control the sound mix. 

As a result, in many large venues much of the onstage sound reaching the musicians now comes from [[in-ear monitor]]s, not from the instrument amplifiers. While stacks of huge speaker cabinets and amplifiers are still used in concerts (especially in heavy metal), this is often mainly for aesthetics or to create a more authentic tone. The switch to smaller instrument amplifiers makes it easier for musicians to transport their equipment to performances. As well, it makes concert stage management easier at large clubs and festivals where several bands are performing in sequence, because the bands can be moved on and off the stage more quickly.

==Amplifier technology ==
Instrument amplifiers may be based on [[thermionic]] (tube or valve) or [[solid state (electronics)|solid state]] (transistor) technology.

===Tube amplifiers===

Vacuum tubes were the dominant active electronic components in amplifiers from the 1930s through the early 1970s, and tube amplifiers remain preferred by many musicians and [[record producer|producers]]. Some musicians feel that tube amplifiers produce a warmer or more natural sound than solid state units, and a more pleasing [[distortion (music)|overdrive]] sound when overdriven. However, these subjective assessments of the attributes of tube amplifiers' sound qualities are the subject of ongoing debate. Tube amps are more fragile, require more maintenance, and are usually more expensive than solid-state amps.

Tube amplifiers produce more heat than solid-state amplifiers, but few manufacturers of these units include cooling fans in the chassis. While tube amplifiers do need to attain a proper [[operating temperature]], if the temperature goes above this operating temperature, it may shorten the tubes' lifespan and lead to tonal inconsistencies.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20061019054109/http://www.chitown.com/http/music/Musictips.html ''Cool it, man''; Michael "Mac" McCullough.]</ref>
[[Image:Trace Elliot Bonneville rear view.jpg|thumb  |A [[Trace Elliot]] Bonneville tube amplifier as seen from the rear view: note the vacuum tubes extending into the wooden cabinet.]]

===Solid-state amplifiers===

By the 1960s and 1970s, semiconductor transistor-based amplifiers began to become more popular because they are less expensive, more resistant to bumps during transportation, lighter-weight, and require less maintenance. In some cases, tube and solid-state technologies are used together in amplifiers. A common setup is the use of a tube preamplifier with a solid-state power amplifier. There are also an increasing range of products that use [[digital signal processing]] and digital [[Amplifier modeling|modeling]] technology to simulate many different combinations of amp and cabinets. 

The output transistors of solid-state amplifiers can be passively cooled by using metal fins called heatsinks to radiate away the heat. For high-wattage amplifiers (over 800 watts), a fan is often used to move air across internal heatsinks.<ref>[http://www.yorkville.com/default.asp?p1=6&p2=17&p_id=25 Power Amplifiers - General Information: Yorkville Sound] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101007213736/http://www.yorkville.com/default.asp?p1=6&p2=17&p_id=25 |date=2010-10-07 }}</ref>
===Hybrid===
The most common hybrid amp design is to use a tube preamp with a solid-state [[power amplifier]]. This gives users the pleasing preamp and overdrive tone of a tube amp with the lowered cost, maintenance and weight of a solid-state power amp.

==See also==
*[[Amplifier]]
*[[Electronic amplifier]]
*[[Guitar amplifier]]
*[[Guitar speaker]]
*[[Guitar speaker cabinet]]
*[[Isolation cabinet (guitar)]]
*[[Valve sound]]
*[[Bass instrument amplification]]
*[[Effects unit]]
*[[Distortion (guitar)]]
*[[Power attenuator (guitar)]]
*[[Sound reinforcement system]]
*[[Tone stack]]

==References==
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== External links ==
{{commons|Guitar}}
* [http://www.duncanamps.com/index.htm Duncan's amp pages]: information about valve (tube) guitar amplifiers
* [http://www.amptone.com/booksamps.htm List of books about guitar amplifiers and guitar amplifier tone]
*[http://tons-of-tone.tripod.com/index.html Tons of Tones, a website for guitar amplifier modelling on digital multi-effect units] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110831074000/http://tons-of-tone.tripod.com/index.html |date=2011-08-31 }}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Instrument Amplifier}}
[[Category:Instrument amplifiers|*]]
[[Category:Rock music instruments]]
[[Category:Blues instruments]]
[[Category:Sound reinforcement system]]
[[Category:Consumer electronics]]
[[Category:Loudspeakers]]