Amplifiers

Amplifiers do not just do as the name suggests. While they all make sounds louder most will colour the sound while doing so. Which is why there are so many different types and why some are preferred or even essential for certain purposes. Fender amps were certainly designed for their guitars and do produce a classic fender sound or tone. With an explosion of acoustic musicians who are amplifying their guitars, banjos, mandolins etc they are mainly searching for the most realistic sound they can find. The term acoustic pick-up is an oxymoron itself. Any player will notice straight away that as soon as that jack to jack lead is connected everything changes. Yes it is louder but does actually sound like it did before. The answer will generally be not really but it works well enough. The new generation of acoustic amps are far better than in the past with more versatile EQ that is designed specifically for acoustic pick-ups. When the tone controls are not engaged or set flat there should be no colouring of the sound. The better range of pick-ups tend to require less EQ and any that is required should be to a minimum. Talk to any studio engineer and you’ll find a mantra of the less EQ the better. The truth is, as soon as you plug in you are entering an electric world whether you like it or not. Just like learning, EQ has it’s curves too.