Why is it more fun to talk about amps than guitars on TGP?

[Gearopenia]

Love guitars but do much more to say about amps.

[Unadan]

Because no matter how great your electric guitar is - it's nothing without the right amp/speaker combination.

[wordsonyou]

because a crappy guitar can still sound amazing through the right amp but an awesome axe through a shite amp is still shite...

[LPMojoGL]

For me, once I find a guitar and establish a bond with it, it's a keeper, and I'm done looking for that style of guitar.
Amps, on the other hand, are so different, and can tickle my happy ear bone in so many different ways that I want to try em all and find out what makes me the most giddy.

[chrisrocksusa]

i thought it was just me

[Porrig]

because a crappy guitar can still sound amazing through the right amp but an awesome axe through a shite amp is still shite...


Here be truth.

[steve108819]

because a crappy guitar can still sound amazing through the right amp but an awesome axe through a shite amp is still shite...
Beat me to it.

[stratpaulguy86]

I think it's because guitars are so personal, every one of them is setup differently and has its own playability/tone. Most modern amps of the same model sound very similar and that is accessible to anyone who is interested in trying or buying. Besides I think there is far more variety in the amp world which allows every guitarist to create their own personal unique rig. When you start talking vintage amps, I find that there are some really "special" examples which adds further to the mystique.

[TubeStack]

For me, once I find a guitar and establish a bond with it, it's a keeper, and I'm done looking for that style of guitar.
Amps, on the other hand, are so different, and can tickle my happy ear bone in so many different ways that I want to try em all and find out what makes me the most giddy.

Yep, and I've always been a one guitar guy, not really interested in others. But amps I can look at and talk about all day long (even though all I use is Marshall, pretty much... :D).

[The Whale]

... because there aren't "right handed" and "left handed" amps! It's so painful to look at the cool righty guitars and know that there isn't a left model or that I'm going to pay 50% more for it than Joe Plummer. So, with amps, I'm on a level playing field. That, and they make things much louder! :)

[SteveO]

You can open up a guitar and stick yer fingers inside without risking killing yourself. Not very exciting.

[Wizard of Ozz]

More details with amps vs. axes.

Amps: Tubes, mods, speakers, bias settings, different cabs, different settings, etc.

Guitars: Wood, pickups, and some knobs.

:p

[RedTiger]

I'm the opposite. It's the guitar that I have a tactile connection with. I've fallen asleep with a guitar on my stomach. I can't say I've ever fallen asleep on top of an amp. Tube amps have too many things to mess with that fall into a skill set that I have absolutely no experience with since I didn't grow up playing them. Frankly, if I plugged into a shoebox with a 3 inch speaker taped to it, and it sounded good, I wouldn't care that it's a shoebox.

[levous]

I think there's also something about one's place in life and their art that contributes to amp obsession and when it hits. With guitar, you start learning on some complete pos and begin working your way toward the axe that is your holy grail. There's a good chance, unless you get into collecting, that you find that guitar along the way and aren't really compelled to search for more. Its so very personal. You might like to show her off but you really believe she's one of a kind and another, of the same style, from the same builder - is just an ugly sister.

Along the way, you pick up an amp or two. You probably buy one amp because its a good price, i.e. you can afford it, and then another because your hero plays one or you hear one at a show and have to have "that sound". You buy pedals and multi-effects and probably many other guitars over the course of many years.

Then one day you find tgp and start listening to poor quality youtube videos that sound better than you thought possible and realize that there is a whole world of tone that you haven't tapped. You start a new obsession but now you are starting from a different place and you probably have a job so you can afford good sheet. Several months later you have a boutique on order and a build in mind and start snatching up vintage as you stumble across what appear to be good deals.

Getting a new amp is like taking your beautiful wife out on a date in a new hot car. Its romance all over again!

At least that's my story. I have three amps but I have a slew of guitars. I only play three of my electrics and two of my acoustics. Of my amps, just one. One is going on tgp in a short while to make room for something new. I've had it since the 80's and its a wonderful amp - for another style of player. A new amp is en route. And I can't seem to get enough of this forum :)

[teemuk]

Guitars don't have enough knobs and features that distract you from actually playing the damn thing.

[golfnutt67]

..........because there is "magic" inside those boxes ;)

[Thinline_slim]

I've played guitar long enough that I have settled on what I prefer almost exclusively at this point. I stopped looking at guitars about 4 years ago.

I have not yet played amps to that point.

[semi-hollowbody]

it isnt for me on tgp...there are SO MANY amps that ive never heard of that i dont spend as much time talking amps as I do guitars or pedals...and im one of the guys who thinks the amp is the most important aspect of tone...

[TC (Houston)]

... because there aren't "right handed" and "left handed" amps! It's so painful to look at the cool righty guitars and know that there isn't a left model or that I'm going to pay 50% more for it than Joe Plummer. So, with amps, I'm on a level playing field. That, and they make things much louder! :)

Haha, funny you say that. My 4 year old is left handed and is just starting to get into guitar. My wife was complaining that both the guitars I've bought for him are righties. I told her that if he can learn to play rightie he will make his guitar life a lot easier.

I agree with the comment that guitars are very personal. I also find that high-end guitars are a lot more accessible for test drives than high-end amplifiers. So the incessant reading, research and discussion is very helpful to narrow the focus a little if I'm going to need to buy something sight unseen (unheard) or go to a lot of trouble to test something out.

[teemuk]

... because there aren't "right handed" and "left handed" amps!

Well... there were these Sho-Bud Dual Channel a.k.a. "Christmas Tree" amps, which were made in two versions, for both right -and left-handed persons.

I'm not kidding.

For some strange reason that idea never got popular. :huh


:rotflmao

[Dave_C]

because a crappy guitar can still sound amazing through the right amp but an awesome axe through a shite amp is still shite...

Because no matter how great your electric guitar is - it's nothing without the right amp/speaker combination.

I have often wondered the same thing as the OP and I have always known this truth above, so I think that's a big part of it. Plus, once you *have* an amp you like, there are more ways to modify and customize it, i.e., tubes, speakers, cabs, etc. There are just a lot more ways to change your tone after the signal leaves the guitar jack that before.

[gillman royce]

because a crappy guitar can still sound amazing through the right amp but an awesome axe through a shite amp is still shite...

That's the Eleventh Commandment that Moses forgot to bring down the mountain.

[bluessyndicate]

I still see the amp as the car engine, and the guitar as the "sensory" input to driving that car...the part we "touch" in order to control the amp.

The analogy I've proposed was that while car guys can sit around and discuss a race car engine in detail...not many people obsess as much over the steering wheel/gear shifter, accelerator pedal and brakes...the sensory input to driving the car.

Guitar is certainly different in that there is a lot of "romance" over the guitar, how it looks, etc.... I don't think many people have bought into my little analogy much...but for me the analogy is worth considering.

[mockoman]

Same for me,bluessyndicate.
I've always thought of an amp as an engine.I'm into Hot Rods & Muscle Cars,and I love an high performance engine.

[Tele Wacker]

I just like amps.

[Lucidology]

Find it's just the opposite for me ... Amps aren't as relative as guitars ...
There are certain truths about tone intentions that are based on watts, tubes, speakers, etc.

[MRscratch]

... because there aren't "right handed" and "left handed" amps! It's so painful to look at the cool righty guitars and know that there isn't a left model or that I'm going to pay 50% more for it than Joe Plummer. So, with amps, I'm on a level playing field. That, and they make things much louder! :)old :marshalls are right handed amps:p

[The Whale]

old :marshalls are right handed amps:p

WHAT!! I would think that Marshall's and Voxes would be lefties because they're british :). You righties get Fenders and Mesas!

[Leonc]

I think a lot of people tend to bond more with a few types of guitars or a specific guitar or set of guitars and develop a bit more of a personal attachment. But with amps...there's a lot more whoring around that you can do...and there are far more parameters to diddle with...and guys just love diddling with parameters :p

Hell with only speakers, you've got a million varieties to learn and yack about and experiment with. Then factor in cab designs and materials, speaker configurations, wiring configurations, etc. Then you go about factoring those choices with all the parameters there are to mess with in the amps themselves and you've got a zillion permutations; there's just a lot more to talk about.