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Background
Welcome to The Search For Tone
Welcome to the Search for Tone. This site displays the best guitar amps, great fx and advice for achieving the holy grail of guitar tones. I started the site with what I thought were the top 10 guitar amplifiers.
As I wrote about the top 10 amps, I realised that there's a place for information on smaller amplifiers as well, especially where have features that beat the larger amps.
To get you started, here are a few starting points for finding your way around this site: Read more »
Presents for Guitarists
Stuck for ideas of what to buy a guitarist friend or relative?
Rather than just promote a list of "The Top 10 Gifts for Guitarists", I'll guide you through a few ideas over the next few articles. I'll discuss each gift and point out what you need to know about the gift or the guitarist before you buy. I want you to be able to show you've put some thought into the present. Read more »
What presents can you buy for a beginner rock guitarist
A bit of background first
As part of a series on gifts and presents for guitarists, trying to give some ideas for what you buy beginner rock guitarists for birthdays, Christmas or for any other reason.
Read more »
The cheapest way to obtain better guitar tone
The Search for Great Tone
In the aim of obtaining great tone, many guitarists go through a range of amplifiers, change their pickups, tried different strings, different speaker cabs and even different guitars. But they all cost both time and money. However there's one option a lot of guitarists don't try and best of all, it's probably free. All it takes is a bit of time.
The Solution
The solution is a actually question:
Are you standing in the right place?
Make sure your amp makes you smile
Vox AC30 amps have great tone, however they don't fulfil the role of an all-round amp for me. I was playing with one a few days ago and, although I could appreciate what it did, I found it lifeless. I just didn't feel it respond to me. I can imagine it working well for other guitarists though.
I went home and played on my own guitar amp and that put a smile on my face. The difference between the two was incredible. Very few amps have had that effect. In fact, only 3 amps have had that effect on me that I can think of. Read more »
The big amps aren't for everyone
Not everyone needs a 100W monster of an amp.
Size shouldn't equate to functionality
Guitar amplifier manufacturers seem to follow the same logic that car manufacturers do when it comes to functionality. I'll make the comparison based on an amp's watts relating to a car's engine capacity.
Now think if you want all the latest mod-cons, then you have to purchase a car with the largest engine size. It's the same with guitar amps. You want direct recording, speaker emulation, valve switching, multiple channels, etc, then you'll quickly be looking at a 100W amplifier. Read more »
When you're not focussed on tone
I mentioned that I believe amplifiers to be the most important element in the signal chain in regard to tone.
However, there are cases when I'd say that the amplifier isn't the most important element in the signal chain.
For instance, playability is also key. I know I can achieve better tone with a bad guitar and a great amp, but I'd usually choose a great guitar and a bad amplifier for playing live. Being able to play smoothly will increase the confidence more.
So it's down to which is more important at the task at hand; tone or playability?
The amplifier is the most important
Think about the signal chain with a typical electric guitar set-up. It includes:
- Guitar (wood, shape, chambers, fixed neck/bolt-on neck, etc)
- Strings (metals, freshness, shape, gauge)
- Instrument cable
- Guitar amplifier
- Guitar FX/effects pedals
- Speaker drivers
- Speaker cabinet
- Room reflections
Out of all of them, I believe that the amplifier section is the single most crucial element in the chain regarding tone.
FX Pedals Read more »
About Us
Welcome to the Search for Tone.
I love tone. I believe the guitar amplifier is the single most important link in the signal chain. This site is dedicated to that concept.
We're going to feature a short article about each guitar or bass amplifier. How they fit in, what they're background is, where you can hear them.
In addition, this site is proof of concept for the technology on Earn More Than Before and part of the Earn More Than Before initiative.
Have a look at our welcome page for places to start finding your way around this site. Read more »
