One of the most common questions people ask is, is it possible to get better tone from cheap guitar amps? The simple answer to this question is yes.
It is possible to get better tone even if you have a budget electric guitar amp or acoustic guitar amp.
The question to ask is how to go achieve a better tone. Though finding the best musical instrument amplifier will make a great impact even though you are on a tight budget, there are secrets that can help you improve the tone of your amp. We are going to look at those secrets briefly.
1. Good strings, good guitar tone
Did you notice your guitar isn’t sound well now, compared to when you first got your new electric guitar and amp? Maybe the tone you are getting is dull and lifeless and you can’t cope with that.
We oftentimes blame the poor sound of our bass amplifier while the fault is actually something else.
The surprising thing with guitar strings is that you might never know they are becoming weak unless you check carefully.
They don’t get weak all of a sudden, so how will someone know? Even with good amplifiers, guitar with poor quality strings will sound dull and awkward.
So if you have done some tweaking on your guitar practice amp or gigging amp and still getting a dull sound, then you have to change all the strings on your guitar at once.
To prolong the lifespan of your strings, remember to wipe them with a guitar cleaning kit after each practice session.
2. Choose the right picks
If you just bought a new tube amplifier think that is going to solve your tone problem, tried to use a guitar pick but still end up with the worst guitar tone, then the problem might not just be your amp but pick.
It is a common thing for a new guitar player not to be too familiar with how to use the pickups at the initial stage.
However, using the right picks can make a whole lot of difference. They can help you differentiate between a horrible tone and a good one.
Many guitarists invest in top amplifiers because they want to end their guitar tone problem, but after playing for a while, they start thinking of a replacement because of poor tone without knowing the fault is from the picks.
You need to know the right picks to make use of because every riff, style, and songs are not the same. Though this will take some time, it will make a whole lot of difference to your guitar tone.
3. Avoid recommendations settings for guitar amp settings
If you use Google to search for how to set guitar amps, you’ll find tons of articles offering help on how to set the amp for different styles.
But if you want better tone, I highly recommend you avoid those recommendations online made by different guitarists.
The reason for this is very simple; different guitar amps have their own settings. Settings for Marshall Amplifiers might be different from that of Carvin Amps or the Tone King Amps.
So it is completely useless following recommended settings you came across online.
For example, someone might give settings for rock as Bass 4, Gain 5, Treble 4, Mid 5 and Volume 6. But when you set your electronic amplifier following this recommendation, the sound might not even be close to a rock tone.
The main reason for this is that every amp has different controls. Setting the gains for your Best Marshall Combo Amp to 5 might be too high for your Best Orange Amp and vice versa.
In fact, finding guitar amps for sale with the same settings is almost impossible. There must be something differentiating the various brands.
4. Change the position of your guitar amp
This tip is simple and important but many people don’t attach any importance to it. People spend hours when setting up their home theatre trying to get the best position for their amp.
The position of your guitar amp kits does not matter. What matters most of the position of the amp itself. Changing the angle, distance height or even the position of the speakers around can change the tone of your guitar amp.
Your best clean guitar amp will sound different when placed on a bench and also when placed on the floor. It happens to all amps whether you are dealing with the best amplifier brands or not. Being best doesn’t make any difference in this case.
Final Word
Instead of regularly changing your guitar tube amp or bass amp because of poor sound, it is best to find out why they’re sounding poor. Changing your amp regularly will drain you financially. There are ways you can get better tone from your guitar amp. We have listed some vital tips that will help you achieve that.