Combo guitar amplifiers are merge all of the components of an amplification chain. These amps are a type of stack amplifier, which means their design is portable. There are many sizes, configurations, and output levels to choose from. Plus, everyone can use them, no matter if it’s the begging of their career or there are many years of experience.
Combo Guitar Amplifiers: Origins
To start, the first amplifiers had a single volume control, one or two output jacks, field coil speakers, and thin wooden cabinets. They didn’t have tone controls or a switch for turning the amp on and off. However, combo guitar amplifiers have not changed much over the years. This is to say that they have remained similar to the portable PA systems.
Musicians used the first combo guitar amplifiers with bass guitars and electric pianos. Both of these instruments require a full-range speaker system because they produce a wide frequency range. In order to reproduce low frequencies, it’s essential to have the appropriate woofer and subwoofer speaker, with the right size and type of the bass cabinet. And open-back cabinets work well with electric guitar amplifiers, but they don’t have a good bass reproduction.
Their Benefits
Combo guitar amplifiers have many benefits. They might have a limited number of built-in speakers, but they are able to attach additional ones to have better sound coverage when playing in larger performance settings.
Players have used them for a long time. In addition, this kind of amplifiers have many styles to choose from and they have a peculiar sound. However, keep in mind that they require regular maintenance and replacements. This means that, in the long run, they tend to be more expensive.
Types of Combo Guitar Amps
There are three types of combo guitar amplifiers: tube combo amplifiers, solid-state combo amplifiers, and modeling combo amplifiers. In relation to the second one, solid-state combo amps are more cost-effective. They don’t need regular maintenance and they have a cleaner sound at higher volumes. Linking it to the third, modeling combo amps combine tube, solid-state, and hybrid combo amplifiers with digital processors. This combination can match the sounds of a variety of amplifiers and effects and are able to design custom sounds based on algorithms.
