This Years Topics Amp Speakers: Fill & Download for Free

Beginners come in all types, too, so get one that suits you now. If you stay with playing, you will get more in time, sometimes many, over years to come.Some people do OK with a “mini” amp, often battery powered and used with headphones. (Headphones themselves may often be part of what you use, to keep from getting yelled at or tossed out.) There is no way, however, to practice with others, with one of these little things.“Next” up is a small amp, about the size of a shoe box (or boot box). 5 to 10 watts, with a 4″ to 6″ speaker, typical. Still should have a headphone jack. The very best/most expensive sound pretty good, but far more sound thin and often buzzy (if using an “overdrive” setting). These qualities can’t be fixed with a pedal, which is a waste of money at that point, given that a pedal can equal or exceed the cost of the small amp itself.Then there are somewhat bigger amps I’ll call practice amps. 10 to 20ish watts, 6″-10″ speaker, and starting to have more tone controls and options. Compared by ear in the store to the small ones, now you notice more punch and usable volume. All kinds of stuff starts to happen, mostly good.Right about here, you’ll see “modeling” amps, which have (sometimes complex) controls to try to sound like some other amp/speaker/tone. Some of those have programming that can be expanded by downloads. Some, unfortunately, overdo it, and have just a few settings you’ll actually use. Hafta keep your ears open, as some will still sound thin and buzzy.At about 20+ watts, you’re also getting into a “garage band” practice amp, where you’ll want to hold your own with others’ sound levels. (Do not, however, start getting into power/sound level wars, another topic.) That’s quite far enough to go for a beginner.Ultimately, use your ears in real music stores, and try out several in your budget range (or have them demoed for you). Stay away from the pricey stuff, as it serves no purpose to squash your interest. Your time for the stage-level stuff will come.Welcome to the tribe.

I am a former touring musician. I have never owned a guitar that I have spent over $500 for. In fact I prefer to buy lower priced used gear and modify it to my liking. I agree that the fit, finish, and feel of a guitar is extremely important. Given the options on the market right now just about any guitar can be modified to have a plethora of features and tones. As an example one of my guitars is an old squier strat that has 2 EMG active humbuckers in it. I play thrash metal with this guitar and it started off as a $50 strat at a goodwill. This specific guitar has a super fast neck that feels different to me than other squier/fender necks, but it does not sound like any other fenders due to the pickup configuration.With that said there are tonal variations between different guitars, different woods, electronics, wiring, etc. This is a never ending rabbit hole of a topic.With that said I think that having your instrument properly set up (frets dressed, crowned, leveled, action, intonation, etc) will have a significant impact on the playability and in some cases the tone. It can make a neglected, $150, 20 year old used yamaha play like a dream. Changing the pickups to something more suited to the tone that you want will make a HUGE difference.Your amplifier and pickups, especially your amplifier will have the biggest impact on your tone. Different amplifiers are going to have different sonic characteristics and the same goes for different speakers and cabinets. I have both tube and solid state amps. I like my solid state stuff for lower volume playing, but at loud volumes I feel that I get a fuller sound out of my tube amp.You can take your guitar and try 3 different amps with similar EQ settings and you will be amazed at how different they sound. This makes sense because the amp is what presents the guitar to the world. Your pickups are what presents your guitar to the amp. Adjusting these variables to your liking will allow you to find the tone you are looking for.

What guitar-oriented "conventional wisdom" gets on your nerves?Let me just tell you, “conventional wisdom” in the guitar realm isn’t wisdom, it’s just opinion.And that brings me to some of my favorite pieces of “conventional wisdom” that just gets on my nerves.START ON AN ACOUSTIC GUITAR:This piece of “wisdom” is given to beginner guitar players who are just starting their journeys in becoming the next Shredi Knights.They’re told to start on an acoustic guitar, because it will help build finger strength and dexterity faster than an electric guitar will.But here’s a problem. Humans have a finite amount of time, and investing time into an endeavor that takes time to become good at (like playing the guitar well) you need to be properly motivated and dedicated, but, most importantly you need to have fun.For example, say a young Padawan Shredi Knight around say 10 years old wants to start playing guitar, and they’re all about rock and metal.Why on Earth would you tell this kid to get an acoustic guitar?They’d be much more motivated and have much more fun on the electric guitar.Now, say you have another young Padawan Shredi Knight, and they’re more about folk, country, and Mississippi Delta Blues.Then sure, the acoustic guitar is what they need.Not everyone should start out on the acoustic guitar. Now, granted, you will need both, but a young Padawan Shredi Knight that’s into the rock and metal needs an electric guitar.Give them an acoustic guitar, and unless they’re a rare species of human, they’ll drop it quickly, or just end up buying their own electric guitar anyways.And therein lies another problem with this piece of “conventional wisdom.”If they get serious with guitar, you’re gonna end up owning both an electric and an acoustic anyways.Bottom line, start out the young Padawan on the instrument that would suit their needs and style. If they’re a young metalhead, then a good shred axe is what they need. If they’re a young kid into the country, blues, and/or bluegrass and folk, then an acoustic axe is what they need.BEGINNERS SHOULD START ON AN INEXPENSIVE GUITAR:This is another piece of “advice” that’s totally out of touch with the modern era.No matter the level of experience, or level of skill, guitarists should buy the best guitar that they can afford!And these days, even guitars that are sub $500 are extremely high quality, because of modern tooling.Now “best” here is entirely subjective, because music, musical taste, hands, and such are all unique to us, so buy what feels good to your hands.Touch is incredibly important when buying guitars. I don’t mean musical touch, I mean the actual, physical act of touching the instrument.Touch the body, grab that neck, feel the frets, feel the bridge. Our hands are incredibly sensitive, and is one of the best ways to determine quality.Plus, we’re gonna be touching the guitar all the time anyway, might as well get a guitar that feels nice to the touch, and is comfortable, right?Bottom line, everyone, no matter the skill level or level of experience, should buy the best instrument they can afford.Whatever that guitar happens to be is the right instrument for you.IT’S BAD FOR THE GUITAR TO REMOVE ALL THE STRINGS AT ONCE WHEN CHANGING STRINGS:This is a piece of “conventional wisdom” that’s completely untrue.I used to work on guitars when I worked in a guitar shop, and you know what the head tech often did when polishing and leveling frets?He just took all the strings off.These days, guitars are actually quite overbuilt and stronger than we give them credit for.It shouldn’t bother the guitar one bit if you take off all the strings at once and then put new ones on.In fact, you kinda need to change the strings semi-regularly in order to get the best tone out of it.If you need some confirmation, here’s Scott Marquart of StringJoy, a company that makes fine guitar strings on this very issue.In short, it’s safe to take off all the strings at once when changing strings. The guitar will be fine, you don’t need to do a new setup.Basically, guitars are made of much sterner stuff than people give them credit for.Speaking of strings…THICKER GAUGE STRINGS LEADS TO A BETTER AND BIGGER TONE:This is the “Stevie Ray Vaughan/Zakk Wylde Effect.”To explain why it’s called that, SRV was famous for playing .013 gauge strings, and near the end of his career before he passed, he dropped it down to .011’s.But the reason he played .013 gauge strings was because his techs talked him down from playing .017 gauge strings.SRV just preferred thick gauge strings, which is purely a subjective thing.Zakk Wylde is also another fantastic player that prefers thicker gauge guitar strings, preferring .011–.070 gauge strings.Now, because people love SRV’s sound and tone, and people love Zakk Wylde’s sound and tone, and gear forums wax eloquent on their rigs, there seems to be a popular notion among guitar players that thicker strings are better, and produce a fatter, bigger sound, and so on.But you know who also has a fat sound?Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top, and he prefers .008 gauge strings!Here’s another guitarist with a huge sound.Steve Vai prefers .009 gauge strings.Here’s another guitarist with a massive sound.Marty Friedman prefers .009 gauge strings.Here’s another guitarist with massive tone.Randy Rhoads used .009 gauge strings. Yet his tone was huge.And finally, here’s two other guitarists with probably the biggest sounds in rock:That’s right, Angus Young and Jimmy Page both prefer light gauge strings.Angus Young, according to his guitar tech, uses .009–.042 gauge strings, Ernie Ball Super Slinkys, to be specific. The same ones you can get at any guitar shop.Jimmy Page prefers lighter gauge strings, .008’s to be specific.So honestly, what can the difference in string gauge tell us?That thicker strings produce a different tone, not necessarily a better tone.Again, the key is to try out different strings and gauges and find what you prefer.You can get a huge, heavy sound regardless of what the gauge is.Buy the best strings that feel the best for you, and don’t worry about what the gauge is.ADJUSTING THE STRING ACTION IS DONE BY ADJUSTING THE TRUSS ROD:This piece of “conventional wisdom” is not even true.Ron Thorn is the current master builder for Fender’s Custom Shop, and here’s his method.He uses the TRAIN method, which is as follows.Tuning:Quite simply, tune the guitar first.Relief:Neck relief is adjusting the truss rod to give the neck the proper relief for the strings and gauge you’re using. You can check that by fretting the first fret, then the last fret, and then tapping the 12th fret to judge the distance between the bottom of the string, and the top of the fret.It should be half the thickness of a credit card.If it’s less, the truss rod is too tight, and needs to be loosened. Loosen it about 1/4 to 1/8 of a turn, then check again. A little goes a long way.If it’s more, the truss rod is too loose, and needs to be tightened. Tighten it about 1/4 to 1/8 of a turn, then check again. A little goes a long way.Repeat until it’s spot on.This results in a straight neck, with just the slightest amount of relief, possible. Which is what you want.Action:Action is how far the strings sit off the fretboard. Too high, and you can pull notes sharp when you go to fret a note, and makes the guitar harder to play. Too low, and bends will fret out, and the strings buzz off the frets.The key is to find a happy medium, and you adjust the string action by adjusting the height of the bridge and the nut.Intonation:Intonation is the process of adjusting the bridge saddles to make sure all of the notes across the guitar neck are in tune with each other.You adjust that by playing the 12th fret harmonic, then the 12th fret note, and seeing if they’re identical on an accurate tuner.If the fretted note is sharp compared to the harmonic, move that bridge saddle back.If the fretted note is flat compared to the harmonic, move that bridge saddle forwards.Repeat until the 12th fret harmonic, and the fretted note at the 12th fret are identical.Noodling:After all that, play the guitar, and find out if there’s any fine tuning you need to do, like pickup height, fret polishing and such.Bottom line, those who suggest adjusting the string action by adjusting the truss rod are those that do not know how to properly set up a guitar.If you follow Ron Thorn’s method, you will find you will get your guitars to play and sound their absolute best.To be sure, the truss rod is for adjusting the neck relief, not the action.If you want to raise or lower a guitar’s action, you must raise or lower the bridge and nut.CERTAIN GUITARS ARE MADE FOR CERTAIN GENRES OF MUSIC:This is a fun piece of “conventional wisdom” that goes something like this.Person A: Hey guys, I’m looking to get a new guitar. I play metal, and I want something that will help with the shred, what should I buy?Person B: Get yourself a Jackson/Schecter/Ibanez/ESP. Those guitars are MADE for metal!Or, alternatively.Person A: Hey guys, I’m looking to get a new guitar. I play blues and country. What should I get?Person B: You should get yourself a Gretsch or a Fender Telecaster! Those are MADE for those genres!Now, there is some truth to this. Some guitars have certain features that lend themselves well to a certain genre of music. For example, acoustic guitars may not work for distorted guitar tones very well.But…Guitars are a versatile instrument by their very nature, and one guitar can be used to play nearly every kind of music imaginable.There’s no such thing as a “metal” guitar, or a “country” guitar. Why pigeon hole yourself to buy a certain guitar, especially if you don’t like the look, sound, feel, or overall vibe of the instrument?For example, I’m a sucker for 80’s shred axes like this Jackson Soloist in Rainbow Crackle:Just looking at that instrument, I dig its overall look and vibe.It’s flashy, and I dig that. Others may say I have poor taste, but I buy what I like, dammit!Sure, it excels at metal, but I can play blues on it if I want to. Hell, I can play jazz on it if I want to.“Oh Colton, if you want to play jazz, you need to get yourself at least a semi-hollow or hollow body electric!”Well yeah, this guitar would be great for jazz.But….My favorite jazz guitarist is Allan Holdsworth, I dig his tone, technique, his music, and his vibe.What guitar did he play?Oh a headless, solid body electric?Hmmmm… starting to think the guitar type doesn’t matter a whole lot…In fact, guitars can work for all genres of music, so pigeon holing people to buy guitars that they just don’t gel with in order to fit a genre of music is not the best way of approaching purchasing a guitar.As I’ve stated before, the best guitar for you is the one you like the feel, sound, and overall vibe of, regardless of brand or price.Glenn Fricker actually did several tests on whether or not you can play metal on a:Fender Stratocaster.Fender Telecaster.Gibson Les Paul.Hollowbody electric guitar.A guitar synth.And whether or not they excel at doing so.The results?Yes, of course you can, they all performed very well.Bottom line, when buying a guitar, regardless of the genre you play, buy the guitar you dig the look, sound, feel, and overall vibe of. That’s the instrument that will inspire you to play it and start making music with it.If you buy a Fender Telecaster, you play metal, and you dig the way it plays and sounds, and people are saying, “Fender Teles are terrible for metal!” give them the finger and keep enjoying your guitar.Besides, John 5 (pictured above) is a known enthusiast when it comes to Fender Teles, and he’s played with David Lee Roth and Marilyn Manson previously, and currently, he’s the guitarist for Rob Zombie.He also plays damn fine metal:He plays damn fine jazz, specifically gypsy jazz:And he shreds country like you wouldn’t believe:All on the same guitar, a Fender Telecaster.One guitar can take you to many genres, it’s all in your phrasing and your touch.ONLY THE BEST GUITARS ARE MADE IN THE USA/OVERSEAS GUITARS ARE ALWAYS CRAP:This piece of “conventional wisdom” is hilariously false.It goes a little something like this.A person is asking other people what they think of a certain brand and model of guitar, and asking if it’s a good guitar for the money, and they just want to get the opinion of someone that has experience with it.Another person chimes in that they only buy vintage, American made guitars, and all other guitars and brands are inferior.This is effectively gatekeeping, preserving the best tones only for those with deep pockets.But, luckily, it’s not even true.Because, then as now, there’s excellent guitars that are made overseas.Let’s look at PRS, an excellent guitar brand. They have several lines of production, and depending on the line, gives you an indicator of where it was made.Those lines are:PRS Core.PRS CE.PRS S2.PRS SE.The PRS Core, CE, and S2 lines are made in Maryland, USA at the PRS factory.PRS SE, on the other hand, are either made in South Korea or Indonesia.In fact, those same South Korean and Indonesian factories that produce PRS’s SE line, are also building guitars for:Ibanez.ESP/LTD.Schecter.Epiphone.Jackson.Chapman.And various others.And these are all brands that have respect among various guitar players.Now, to be fair, there are American owned and operated companies that produce very high quality, excellent playing and sounding instruments.For example, Kiesel:And Suhr:And as you can imagine, being excellent guitars produced in the United States, they command a premium price.But there’s import guitars that are just as excellent and beloved by many.Like this Schecter Hellraiser, which is made either in South Korea or Indonesia:This ESP/LTD Eclipse, which, depending on price, is either made in Indonesia, South Korea, or Japan:This Solar Guitar, which are made in Indonesia:Hell, even Tosin Abasi started his own company, and Abasi Guitars are made in the same factories that make Schecter Guitars:Again, to be sure, every guitar company produces total lemons, guitars that don’t feel good to the touch, and are tonally dead, but the same brand can produce a high quality instrument that plays and sounds great.This comes back to my earlier piece of advice of buying the best guitar you can afford, one that you like the feel of, like the sound of, and like its overall vibe.If that happens to be an American made guitar, so be it.If that happens to be an import guitar, so be it.Brand and where its made shouldn’t even factor in this.Especially when we now live in this golden age of guitar, with so many options.TUNE YOUR GUITAR BY EAR AND LEARN MUSIC BY EAR:While this piece of “conventional wisdom” comes from a good place, advocating that we need to listen with our ears more, expecting a beginner to pull this off isn’t going to end well.And that’s no fault of the beginner’s. They just aren’t experienced enough to know what an in tune guitar is supposed to sound like, and probably don’t have the necessary experience to start transcribing music.Now, am I advocating that they don’t use their ears?No, of course not.I’m advocating that they should buy a tuner, and listen to what an in tune guitar sounds like.Use tabs, and then use your ears to refine and correct parts of the tab that are incorrect.Basically, in their practice routines, they should integrate ear training along with everything else they have to learn.UPGRADE YOUR GUITAR’S PARTS IF YOU DON’T LIKE ITS SOUND OR PLAYABILITY:Now, I don’t discount the fact that upgrading guitars is a valuable thing. It certainly is.You should upgrade a guitar if it’s a guitar you love the playability and everything about it, except for maybe a couple of things.In other words, it’s a fine specimen for upgrading.But if you have say, a Fender Squier Bullet, and you aren’t a fan of how it plays and sounds, and you want ways to improve it, I say you’re approaching this the wrong way.If you don’t like that Squier Bullet, just get a different guitar that has what you want.Because the upgrades going into the Squier Bullet will cost more than the guitar is worth to get it to play and sound how you want.So there’s always benefits and drawbacks to upgrading guitars.So upgrading may not always fix what you don’t like about a guitar.Sometimes, an axe upgrade is what’s required.MUSIC THEORY STIFLES CREATIVITY:This piece of “conventional wisdom” isn’t even wisdom, and is just flat out wrong.Music theory just explains what we’re hearing in real music, nothing more or less.It’s also a very useful tool for transposition (changing a song’s key), writing music, transcribing music, explaining your musical ideas to others, and so on.Plus, I question the logic of this piece of “conventional wisdom”.If somebody who doesn’t know music theory says that music theory stifles creativity, then how would they know?They don’t have a frame of reference to make such a categorical statement.Any piece of “wisdom” that advocates that you shouldn’t learn something, especially when that information can benefit you in more ways than one, isn’t advocating for wisdom, they’re advocating for ignorance.Ignorance may be bliss, but knowledge is power.And in music, I personally feel that there’s no knowledge that will harm you in your musical journey.Plus, some nerdy types love learning the ins-and-outs of things, even as beginners, so advocating that they shouldn’t learn something is just something I don’t agree with.Also, consider this.Every time you hear a professional musician, and the topic of music theory comes up, what do they always say?They either say they wished they knew it, or that it was invaluable.You never hear that it stifles creativity, or that they’re glad they don’t know it.But why does this keep being repeated?Because of…THE DAVID GILMOUR EFFECT:This piece of “conventional wisdom” goes a little something like this.A person listens to this technical piece of music by the excellent guitarist Tosin Abasi of Animals as Leaders.They want to share their enthusiasm and love for the music, and express a desire to play like this.Then some jackass comes up and says:I just don’t get technical shredding guitar. You should listen to David Gilmour. He plays every note with soul and feeling.But this is a meaningless statement.Not only is musical taste highly subjective, but all music is soul and feeling, dude.Everyone’s musical voice is different and unique. Some, like Tosin Abasi, have a musical voice that requires technical expertise.Is it any less valid than David Gilmour’s musical voice?No, it is not!It’s just different.And this shows up with any guitarist that’s a technical player, just insert a technical player, and you’re guaranteed to run into someone bringing up David Gilmour and “playing with soul and feeling.”What they really mean is that music like Animals as Leaders isn’t to their taste.But they want to take their subjective opinion, and turn it into a factual statement by saying that Tosin Abasi isn’t as good as David Gilmour, because Abasi doesn’t play with “soul” or “feeling.”Despite the fact that there is a lot of emotion in Abasi’s playing.Now, is Tosin Abasi better than David Gilmour?Nobody has ever claimed that.They’re just fundamentally different guitar players, playing a completely different genre of music, and we’re fundamentally comparing apples and oranges.Which leads me into the next thing that drives me nuts….THE COMPETITION MENTALITY:People keep wanting to turn the guitar and music into a competitive sport.But…. music isn’t a sport, and isn’t a competition.It’s a form of expressive art that uses and manipulates sound.Plus, having this competitive mindset may actually hurt your musical journey.Part of being a musician is what I call the discovery phase, and it happens every time we learn a new scale, chord, progression, song, or writing a new song, or when we buy a new guitar, amp, or pedal.This discovery phase is very crucial to learning what you prefer, and what will help to best get your musical voice from inside your head, to outside your head in the form of sound waves.Everyone learns things and discovers things at a different pace, and this is what causes a difference in style between guitarists of the same genre.So when you’re learning some theory, like a chord, progression, mode, scale, or what have you, take some time to really get into the nuts and bolts of what makes it unique, and, more importantly, what it sounds like.Or when you buy that new guitar, amplifier, or effects pedal, take some time and play around with it and find out what sounds you can coax out of it, and if it’s something that works for your musical voice.If it doesn’t, then it wasn’t to your taste.But this competition mindset really comes out when people talk about or discuss other guitarists that inspire them, or inspired them to pick up the instrument.If some young Shredi Knight was influenced by Tosin Abasi to pick up the guitar, and then someone tells him that Jeff Loomis is better, who looks more like an asshole?The kid, or the person that denigrated the artist?Music isn’t a competition, people! People have differing tastes, are inspired by different artists, and having this competition mindset is just getting in the way of learning and growing.FRETBOARD CONDITIONER CAN DAMAGE FRETBOARDS:This is a fun piece of “conventional wisdom” that’s easy to prove as popular foolishness.The myth goes something like this.Somebody posts a video of them setting up their guitar, and a person uses a certain brand of fretboard conditioner on their rosewood fretboard.Somebody comments:Dude DON’T USE FRETBOARD CONDITIONER ON THE GUITAR!!! It’s made from lemons and could damage the fretboard because of the acidity!Wanna know the best thing about statements like this, and the scientific method?You can put it to the test.Take vinegar, lemons, fretboard conditioner, water, and bleach, and then grab some pH testing paper.pH paper works by turning a certain color based on the acidity and alkalinity of the material it’s subjected to.If it’s an acid, it will turn red, if it’s an alkaline, it will turn blue. If it’s neutral, it stays the same color.If we perform this test, here’s what happens:The paper that tests the vinegar and lemons will turn red or slightly red, because vinegar and lemon juice are acidic.The paper that tests the water will remain the same color, since water is neither acidic or alkalotic.The bleach will turn blue or slightly blue, because most bleach is actually alkalotic.The fretboard conditioner will remain a neutral color, because it’s neither acidic or alkalotic.“Wait, what?!”Yeah, the fretboard conditioner is neither acidic or alkalotic.And that’s because all fretboard conditioners sold by manufacturers is actually made from mineral oil, and they use orange or lemon scents to give it a pleasing smell, because our monkey brains interpret citrus with refreshing or cleanliness.So Lizard Spit:Dunlop Fretboard Conditioner:Musical Nomad’s F-One Oil:And other similar products are fine to use to clean and condition your guitar’s fretboard.Fretboard cleaning and maintenance is something that people overthink.Guitar Care and Maintenance Guide | Sweetwater.How to Clean a Maple Fretboard | SweetwaterStarting to notice that us guitarists aren’t a very scientific bunch?Things get even more crazy with the next piece of “conventional wisdom”.DRASTICALLY ALTER YOUR TUBE AMP’S TONE BY SWAPPING OUT THE STOCK TUBES FOR N.O.S. (NEW OLD STOCK) TUBES:This is a funny piece of conventional wisdom, because many treat vacuum tubes as if they’re somehow the holy grail of tone, that they are made out of dragon scales and unicorn dust, instead of electrical components with electrical properties.To give them credit, there are unique things that a tube amp does that has made them the gold standard for guitar tones, and tubes do provide something unique that’s still being emulated by other modeling amps.This myth goes more like this.Person is looking for advice on what tubes work with their amp.Another person chimes in, with this advice:I’d advise you to swap out your stock tubes with NOS tubes from Mullard. I did on my amp, and I noticed a drastic change in my guitar’s sound.It was sharp and more brittle in tone compared to the new Mullards in it, which are warmer and more rounded in tone.Again, we can show this to be nonsense with a thing called a null test.A null test is by recording two identical tracks then flipping the phase on one of them.Any differences in sound will be noticed instantly in a null test, assuming that we eliminated the speaker cabinet, and micing from the equation using a power conditioner and impulse response to simulate the same speaker cabinet and mic arrangement consistently.The results?There’s actually not much difference.Glenn Fricker actually demonstrated this as well using different amps.The amps were:A Joyo Zombie, which has a tube preamp with a 12AX7 tube in it, and a solid-state power section.A Peavey 5150.A Mesa/Boogie Dual Rectifier.A 1959 Fender Pro.The results?There wasn’t as big of a change as you’re likely to believe.Now, because the null tests didn’t cancel out completely, there are differences, but they are so minor.If you want to really change the sound of your amp, here’s what I recommend:Experiment with the amp’s EQ settings.Try the amp through different speaker cabinets and speakers. Make sure the impedances match, and that the speakers can handle the amp’s power, but otherwise, knock yourself out.Try an EQ pedal if the amp’s EQ isn’t giving you what you need.Experiment with different microphones, and experiment with microphone placement.By far, the biggest factor here is the speaker cabinet and the speakers, as that is what is producing the sound.Now why isn’t there such a large change between tubes?Because amp manufacturers carefully design the amp’s circuit for tonal reasons, like using specific gain stages, specific tone stacks, specific types of phase inversion, and so on.Because they carefully construct the circuit, they also tend to pick tubes that fall within the tolerances they need that works for their circuit design.This is why some amps use specific types of tube, and why amp manufacturers tend to switch a lot between tube manufacturers.Here’s the way I think of it, the preamp is the “tonal heart” of the amplifier that defines its tonal identity.But the speakers are what produces the sound.I definitely love and prefer the sound of tube amps, but there’s a lot of nonsense that surrounds them.Speaking of which…WHEN YOU TURN ON YOUR TUBE AMP, FLIP ON THE POWER, WAIT A BIT, THEN FLIP ON THE STANDBY. WHEN YOU TURN IT OFF, FLIP OFF THE STANDBY, WAIT A BIT, THEN FLIP OFF THE POWER. THIS IS TO PRESERVE YOUR TUBE LIFE:This is complete and utter nonsense, and guitar amps don’t really need a standby switch at all.The claim being made is that if you apply the high plate voltage to the tubes before the filaments are hot, that may damage the tubes because of cathode stripping.Cathode stripping is a real phenomenon when high voltages accelerate ionized gas atoms in the tube towards the cathodes which, when cold, are not yet able to give off enough electrons.But since the power tubes of most amps run a plate voltage below 500V, cathode stripping is not an issue. At all.If you remember other tube driven devices that weren’t guitar amps, like radios, televisions, and so forth, they didn’t have a standby switch.Modern devices that are tube driven, but aren’t guitar amps, like tube driven hi-fi amps, for example, also don’t have a standby switch.So why do tube driven guitar amplifiers have a standby switch?Because Leo Fender included them on the earliest Fender amps for amp servicing convenience, and then everyone else just copied Fender.The other reason is…. popular demand.Many amplifier manufacturers would love to get rid of the standby switch, and the second they do, they’re inundated with calls, emails, DM’s all complaining that their amps don’t have standby switches, and thus the tubes will blow up!In short, amp manufacturers include the standby switch because it costs them less money and time to do so in the long run.Think about it, would you want to waste valuable time and money responding to emails on why you got rid of the standby switch, or is it easier to put the damn thing in and get back to designing and making a circuit?Remember how I said guitarists ain’t a very scientific bunch?Scientifically, guitar amps do not need a standby switch to operate correctly, and safely.And thankfully, modern tube amps are starting to remove the switch, like this Victory Kraken Amp:CSGuitars summarizes this myth beautifully.Now, there are ways to permanently damage a tube amp, such as not running a proper load into them, ignoring failing tubes, and other such nonsensical things.Basically, if you use common sense, and use the amp to play guitar through (which is what it’s designed for), you should be fine.But wait! There’s more!PEDALS CAN BREAK A GUITAR AMP:This isn’t so much “conventional wisdom” as it is inexperienced people being concerned about using equipment with a guitar amp.For example, using a boost pedal with a certain type of amp, or using bass effects pedals with a guitar amp.While I appreciate people showing concern for their equipment, and wanting it to run at its best, I have to laugh at this one.In truth, your boost pedal won’t overload the input of your amp with too much signal, and guitars don’t have a super secret self destruct button when they’re plugged into a bass amp.In fact, Doyle Wolfgang von Frankenstein of the Misfits actually uses a bass amp…. and he’s a guitar player.But why doesn’t his guitar blow up, and why don’t effects pedals overload an amp and cause them to blow up?Well, let’s think logically for a minute.If effects pedals really could damage your amp, don’t you think they’d come with more warnings about using the pedal with certain amps? Remember, companies are held liable for some situations, and definitely an amp blowing up because of an effects pedal would lead to class action lawsuits.Hell, this is the reason why electrical devices come with label after label:That’s because companies lose a ton of money by not including these labels, so it’s just easier for them to stick these labels on a device and get back to production.But, pedals don’t have any warning labels of any sort discussing them blowing up amps, so already this is a non-issue.But why?Because effects pedals modify your weak guitar signal before they’re amplified by the amplifier, and the signal produced by your guitar is incredibly weak, hence why it needs amplified.Further, pedals deliver a signal that your amplifier can easily handle.So if you use a guitar effect into a bass amp, the bass amp doesn’t care, and will continue operating as normal.Now, there are ways to permanently damage amps and pedals.For pedals, if you use incorrect power supplies with the wrong voltage and polarity, you can fry them in no time flat.For a tube amp, if you use it without a load attached, or a load with an improper impedance rating, you run the risk of the output tubes, output transformer, and any other component down the chain to fry.Also for amps, if you don’t pay attention to failing tubes, this can cause real strain on the components inside the amp, and rough handling of the amp while the tubes are still hot (like throwing them in the back of a truck after a gig), can damage the tubes.In other words, you have to go against the intended use of the pedal or amplifier for it to cause any real damage.In other words, you have to lack common sense.If a pedal requires 9VDC, don’t use a 12VDC power supply, use a 9VDC power supply.If your amp was rated to use 6L6 and 12AX7 tubes, replace them with that type.In other words, ignorance like this can be resolved by reading the instruction and safety manual that comes with your amp.“But Colton! This is an old amp! I don’t have one!”There is this thing called the internet. Google the product then add manual at the end, and one will show up.Speaking of tubes….DON’T TOUCH THE GLASS OF A TUBE, HANDLE THE TUBE WITH A PAPER TOWEL TO PREVENT IT FROM HEATING ASSYMETRICALLY:This other piece of “conventional wisdom” comes from people thinking that vacuum tubes (or thermionic valves if you’re a fancy pants) operate like halogen light bulbs.Well surprise! They don’t. I don’t think I have to tell you that vacuum tubes aren’t halogen light bulbs.Now, you don’t want to touch a tube if it’s still hot, like say you turned the power off and didn’t give them time to cool off.But once they’re cool, yeah, you can touch the glass all you want.In fact, if you have the chance to talk to an amp manufacturer or boutique amp maker, ask them if they touch the tubes bare-handed.100% of the time, they will say yes.Because they don’t use any special gloves or anything when testing tubes for the amp.But when it comes for final assembly and shipping it out, they do clean the tubes.Why?So they look nice.Now, there’s no harm in using a paper towel to change tubes, but there’s no benefit either.In other words, if you err on the side of caution, no harm no foul, but if you changed the tube, and then realized you forgot to wipe it down, no harm no foul.Just don’t touch them when they’re still hot! That’s just common sense.SHIPPING GUITARS IN TUNE WILL DAMAGE THEM:This piece of “conventional wisdom” isn’t even remotely true, but has a grain that spawned the myth.First of all, every guitar manufacturer ship their guitars in tune.Every. Single. One.Every retailer like American Musical Supply, zZounds, and Sweetwater ship the guitars in tune.Every. Single. One.So where does this myth come from?It comes from guitars shipped in tune, but not packaged very well to handle the shipping, and the guitar comes with a broken or cracked headstock.Particularly if the guitar has a headstock angled back.Another reason this myth exists is the pressure change argument. That if a guitar ships in tune and you need an airplane to ship it, the pressure change could damage the guitar.This ignores that even luggage area of the plane is pressurized like the cabin is.Another reason is the climate change argument. Now, this isn’t some political rant, this has to do with someone shipping the guitar from a humid environment to a dry environment, and that change can effect the guitar and may cause an issue if the guitar was in tune.But, as I demonstrated earlier, guitar necks are made of much sterner stuff than we give them credit for, so this isn’t a huge factor.So what caused these guitars to break?They weren’t packaged properly.When shipping a guitar, one cannot be too careful on putting the guitar in a hardshell case, stuffing the voids in the case with bubble wrap, especially around the headstock, putting that in a box filled with bubble wrap, then butting that packaged box in another box.In other words, the tuning doesn’t matter, but how it’s packaged during the shipping process does.When shipping guitars. Take extra care and package it carefully and thoroughly.Ever get a guitar from Sweetwater and you had several boxes to go through?That’s the level that’s appropriate.ONLY BUY PEDALS THAT ARE TRUE BYPASS/BUFFERED BYPASS PEDALS ARE GARBAGE:This piece of “conventional wisdom” is also completely false.But what is true bypass and buffered bypass?True bypass is when the input and output jacks are connected when the pedal’s in bypass mode, in other words, off means off.Buffered bypass means even when the pedal’s in bypass, your signal is still going through the pedal’s input buffer, so your tone is effected even when the pedal’s in bypass.At least, that’s the concern those spouting this myth have.Effectively, having a bunch of true bypass pedals averages out to about 1 foot of cable per true bypass pedal, and since cables are largely a piece of metal, alongside another piece of metal with material in between, the very definition of a capacitor, that means you’re prone to the capacitance effect.The capacitance effect occurs on really long cable runs, and what happens is that the high end of your guitar tone is bled to ground.Unless… you have a buffer that changes the signal from high to low impedance, which preserves the high end of your guitar tone.So having a mix of true and buffered bypass pedals is fine, and this isn’t an issue you need to worry about.But buyer beware! Not all buffers are created equal. Some buffers, like those in some Boss pedals, aren’t the best quality, and even worse, those in the Dunlop Crybaby Wah can be known for being notorious tonesuckers.But otherwise, whether a pedal is buffered or true bypass shouldn’t factor in your purchasing decision of that effect. What should be the deciding factor is how it sounds.HAND-WIRED AMPS ARE BETTER THAN PCB AMPS:PCB in this instance refers to printed circuit board.The piece of “conventional wisdom” here is that amplifiers with hand-wired circuits are objectively better than ones that use PCB’s.But notice that those spouting this “wisdom” never tell you in exact terms what is better.Let’s look at a number of very high quality amps and determine if they’re hand-wired or PCB’s.Bogner Uberschall Twin Jet:The Bogner Uberschall Twin Jet, is a hand-wired amp, and it sounds fantastic.Diezel VH4:The Diezel VH4 is also a fantastic sounding amp.But it’s a PCB based amp.Marshall JCM800:The JCM800 is another legendary, fantastic sounding amp.And it’s PCB based.Mesa/Boogie Dual Rectifier:I personally own this amp, and I can vouch for its gigantic, powerful, and fantastic sound.And it’s PCB based.Peavey 6505+/5150:Yes the old Peavey 5150’s and the new 6505+’s are the same amp, straight from Peavey itself.Anyhow, this is a famous amp that’s been heard on countless rock and metal records, sounds fantastic.It’s also a PCB based amp.So there is something to be said about hand-wired amps, but in terms of better sound, and being better, I wouldn’t buy that at all.PICKING TECHNIQUE:There’s loads of incomplete advice to help people improve their picking technique.To give them credit, some of the advice is sound. But incomplete.Ask the question of “How do I improve my picking technique?” and you’ll get 1000 different, contradictory answers.Few ever delve into the actual mechanics of picking, to not only make your picking more comfortable and efficient, but more accurate.And conventional wisdom like “Practice, practice, practice” or, “start slow then slowly build up,” is actually solid advice, but it doesn’t really address the fact that you’re a product of what you practice, and the advice doesn’t address problems that only show up at fast speeds,Basically, if you’re not given any guidance on what to practice to improve your picking technique, you won’t see much improvement beyond basic picking technique.This is why when it comes to picking technique, there’s only one source I trust.Troy Grady’s Cracking the Code.Cracking the CodeCracking the Code HomepageI have yet to come across anyone that delves this deeply into the mechanics of picking, as well as specific things to practice to really hone your picking technique, and I’ve been playing guitar for 21 years.Nobody delves into pick angles, wrist flexion, forearm rotation, crosspicking, downward pick slanting, upward pick slanting, hybrid picking, two way pick slanting, and so on, as well as psychological tricks like chunking to really hone your picking technique, and to get your hands working as a unit.Not only that, but he includes the picking technique of:Marty Friedman.Yngwie Malmsteen.Paul Gilbert.Michael Angelo Batio.Eric Johnson.Several bluegrass session players.Frank Gambale.And others. Having a frame of reference by these astounding players is invaluable.Yeah, it goes against “conventional wisdom” on picking technique, but since this produces actual results, that people have more reliable, accurate picking technique, and you can see the actual technique of real monster guitar players with superb picking technique, that begs a question, doesn’t it?What good is conventional wisdom?“THIS X OVERDRIVE IS BETTER THAN Y OVERDRIVE BECAUSE IT’S MORE TRANSPARENT”:This is a silly piece of “conventional wisdom” that I feel is a bit misguided.The idea of this myth is that one overdrive, distortion, or fuzz pedal is better than another similar overdrive, distortion, or fuzz pedal because its tone is more “transparent.”Except, that dirt pedals work by distorting the signal and coloring the tone quite heavily.In fact, the famous Tube Screamer, pictured above, actually colors the mid-range a lot and adds a characteristic smoothness to the distortion.Fuzz pedals, by their very nature, are quite dynamic, and color the tone a lot.But this isn’t just pedals that color your tone.Your amp, due to the amp’s circuit, colors the tone quite heavily, as do your amp’s speakers, they color the tone quite a lot.In fact, not one amp or effect is truly transparent unless you plug your guitar straight into a recording interface.If you do this, you get a really unpleasant, and dare I say, sterile tone.You want coloration to the guitar sound, you want to have the amp and speakers to color it, you want effects pedals to color it, and you want dirt boxes to color it too.Because “transparent tone” is kind of a myth to be honest.Here’s Brian Wampler, the owner and designer of Wampler Pedals, which are amazing pedals discussing the myth and demonstrating what I was getting at:CONCLUSION:Don’t buy much into “conventional wisdom” when it comes to guitars.In fact, as a lot of these show, the piece of “conventional wisdom” is either incomplete, partially incorrect, completely incorrect, or just plain ignorant.“But Colton! Is there a piece of conventional wisdom that you can offer?”What’s the common thread throughout each of my responses to these pieces of “conventional wisdom?”It came in a few parts:Experimenting and finding out what works for you.Using common sense.Doing your own research.Buying the best guitar you can afford, and the appropriate guitar/amp/pedal for your needs.Only you know what’s best for you, so if you wanted some good advice, and have never played guitar before, hop on down to the music shop and look at some axes!Buy the one you dig the look, feel, and sound of, and then you’re on the path to become the next Shredi Knight!Oh, and as always….Louder is more better!EDIT: Edited to include two other very persistent pieces of conventional wisdom that are complete and utter myths that aren’t even true.EDIT 2: Edited to include one on picking technique, as well as links to the best source on picking technique that there is.EDIT 3: Edited to include three videos of John 5 playing metal, jazz, and country all on one guitar.