This is a question I've long pondered:

When people talk about how good their guitar sounds, is it sometimes due more to their amplification, than the actual guitar's qualities itself?

Here's an example. When I was learning to play at a music store back in the early 1990s, we went into a different practice room to normal. In this room was a massive, battered, 60s tube amp.

I duly plugged in my terrible, no-name guitar... and sounded like a god. Great highs, deep lows, a bit of reverb. It was amazing.

And, ever since, I've always felt that regardless of the quality of the guitar (because, don't get me wrong, I do understand that different guitars have different sounds, quality, etc), the amplification does play a massive part.

You could have a $5000 guitar, for example, but play it through a kids 10W practice amp, and it's never going to show it's stuff. Conversely, play a cheap guitar through a beautiful old amp (like I did, back when I was a teenager), and it sounds a million bucks.

And does this affect some people's impressions of guitars in general? ie: They go into a music store and try a particular guitar through a less then perfect amp... they are going to have a different opinion of that guitar than if they had played it through a great amp... right?

Thoughts?

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2012 FSR American Special Satin Honeyburst Stratocaster®

Yes.

Your cops are only as good as your backup.

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1984 Squier Contemporary Stratocaster
1986 Peavey Envoy 110
1967 Kingston Acoustic

Amps are vastly under rated by so many people.

Not by the regular guys over on the vintage amp section Your amp is as much a musical instrument as your guitar is. The newest guitar amp I own is a 1984...the last of the Fender hand wired amps...and there is a very good reason for that

T2

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What time is it? It's Fender Time.

G'day Aussie Rob,
You may be making the issue a bit simpler than it is, even though I believe you are mostly correct in what you are getting at. There is no doubt in my mind that the amp has a HUGE influence on "tone". Having said that, I've been enjoying a lot of Hound dog Taylor lately - and he sounds awesome, despite using gear I wouldn't look at twice.

So... my opinion is that the player is the most important element, followed by the amp, then the guitar. This is only my opinion don't forget! Because of this, I have invested in some fantastic gear, to make up for my deficiencies as a player!

To actually answer your question, yes, I've seen people try nice guitars through ordinary amps, and form an opinion based on that. I've also seen the reverse, as clever salesmen put what I think are ordinary guitars through great amps, and let the buyer think they have an absolute tone monster.

In the end I hope that everyone will find the sound that they are looking for - by looking!

A lot of that is largely true as even a handmade Custom Shop Strat would sound like a rinky dink Walmart El-Cheapo model but a POS guitar can still sound like a POS guitar if the intonation is way off and the pickups or wiring are shorting or poorly soldered.I still have my $50 amp and $80 guitar that I got for Christmas in 1967 but it still sounds great when played together-it has the real 60s garage band sound that people go ape-turd over these days.BTW the little guitar sounds great through a really good amp and a Strat or any other primo guitar sounds great through the amp.

The guitar is a brand that I've never seen before or since,it is MIJ and is a 3/4 solid body that's styled somewhat like a Jazzmaster with pups much like the Jazz pups.The brand name is Dover and I've never seen or heard of another,even after putting a pic of it in Vintage Guitar Magazine.The amp is a Paul which was made in Montreal Quebec by Pine Electronics who made amps under many other names but the most common names were Paul and Arc.Paul amps were pretty popular in Canada as they were cheap but very solid with really good sound for the price.They made a 15W 2-12 amp that is now very desireable to Canadian collectors.They also made louder amps that were popular with bands that were just getting off the ground but couldn't afford the more desirable Canadian amp the Traynor.

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'65 Strat,65 Mustang,65 Jaguar,4 more Strats,3 vintage Vox guitars,5 Vox amps,'69 Bassman with a '68 2-15 Bassman cab,36 guitars total-15asst'd amps total,2 vintage '60s Hammond organs & a myriad of effects-with a few rare vintage ones.

I think it's all relevant to what sounds good to the player. I've got a 1978 Peavey Pacer amp that I absolutely love. Some people have told me that these amps were never very desired and they're bottom end junk, but I'd buy it again and again. this is the second one i've owned already. Of course, a lot of my love for it is probably based on the fact that it was my first "real" amp when i started playing. Before it I only had a 15w silvertone POS.
anyway, as much as I do love the amp, I will say I've played my guitars through different amps over the years and have been really surprised by how cool they sounded. not better, just a bit different.
as for guitars i've got a partscaster that i've been modifying for about ten years , recently put a squier bullet neck on it , and a brand new fender classic 60s strat. the fender can do things the beater can't, and vice versa. It's all about what you're going for in the moment.

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~Dan

My $50 pawn shop deal sounds pretty good. Maybe not as good as the DRRI, but not 15 times less.

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Gary

yes and more. fits all together (guitar, amp, imagine of sound etc) then it's no matter about prices, vintage etc.

cheers

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It's the possibility of having a dream come true that makes life interesting - paulo coelho

Beyond the artist (which should go without saying), the amp plays a far greater role in attaining the best tone vs. the guitar.

As other posters have stated, a great guitar will sound poor through an inferior amp, but a mediocre, inexpensive guitar can sound excellent through a great amp. I'm going to say 80/20 amp/guitar.

However, playability of a guitar is very important, but that can be had with +/- $500 guitars.

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The quintessential sound of 60/70's R&R:
Fender Tube Amps
Gibson Guitars

Buy an expensive high end amp and use an inexpensive guitar with upgraded pickups. Guaranteed to be a better sounding rig for about the same money as buying an expensive guitar and a low end amp.

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Just think of how awesome a guitar player you could have been by now if you had only spent the last 10 years practicing instead of obsessing over pickups and roasted maple necks.

+1

It's just difficult for newer players to understand this, when all they'd like to do is experience the sweetest guitars they can afford.

I couldn't agree more, Aussie Rob. I get parents coming in to the shop to buy Christmas guitars for their kids, and 9 times out of 10 they'll end up going for a decent guitar with a total piece of crap amp. My first amp was a piece of crap, and I always thought that it must be me and/or my guitar that sounded that bad. I bought a decent Roland amp several months later and I was completely shocked by the difference it made. It was like night and day.

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Website: http://www.rebeccalaird.com
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Skunk Baxter said in an interview in Guitar Player many years ago that he did some of his most recognized solos with an old Silvertone that he used as a kid.I guess that just reinforces the point that the hands of the guitarist plays a huge part in the musical equation.

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'65 Strat,65 Mustang,65 Jaguar,4 more Strats,3 vintage Vox guitars,5 Vox amps,'69 Bassman with a '68 2-15 Bassman cab,36 guitars total-15asst'd amps total,2 vintage '60s Hammond organs & a myriad of effects-with a few rare vintage ones.

"Do you think it's sometimes the amp, not the guitar?"

I usually think it is the player.