An Intensely Informative Book for the Practicing Guitarist
Written: Feb 05 '06 (Updated Sep 23 '07)
Product Rating:
Pros: Informative and cheap, a really useful book
Cons: A little outdated (1993) but nothing critical
The Bottom Line: If you buy amps, buy this book. It's got everything you need to get started and you'll save a lot of money and get your sound a lot faster.
buffoonery's Full Review: Ritchie Fliegler and Jon F. Eiche - Amps!: The Oth...
Any guitarist worth a damn knows that at least half of his sound comes from his amplifier. Ritchie Fleiger’s Amps! The Other Half of Rock and Roll is a very useful book that will save beginning and intermediate guitarists a whole lot of heartache as well as providing the experienced guitarist an entertaining read on the history and function of amps and the differences between the various amp manufacturers. For $16.47 at Amazon, this is a must-buy for anyone who doesn’t want to sound like he’s playing a guitar-and-amp kit from Best Buy.com.
Of the book’s eleven chapters, the most important one for the student is Chapter Two, entitled How Do They Work? This needs to be read very, very carefully. It explains the really important stuff like:
1. Differences between tube and solid state amps (tube: more expensive, heavier, warmer sound, louder for the same wattage)
2. How tubes work.
3. The different types of tubes and where they fit into the amp’s preamp and power amp
4. Transistors
5. Speakers
6. Ohms.
These are the bare essentials for anyone who is contemplating buying a guitar amplifier. Knowing that a tube preamp is powered by EL34 tubes versus 6L6 tubes is critical for someone who is trying to capture a classic Brit 70’s hard rock sound vs. an American blues or standard rock sound.
The next seven chapters are devoted to an explanation of the most important guitar amp manufacturers, their history, and the different type of amps they produce. Chapter 3, for example, is a cool discussion of Fender amps and history along with extensive discussion about five 50’s era Fender amps and their various differences. Manufacturers like Vox, Ampeg, Marshall, and Mesa/Boogie also get their own chapters, and a separate chapter folds together a lot of companies like Roland, Hiwatt, Gibson, and others.
Without sounding redundant, someone who is remotely serious about sound has to understand these differences. If you want to play modern American heavy metal music, the last amp you want to own is probably a Roland JC-120, which is designed for a very clean sound (unless you want to run a multi-effects processor or amp modeler through it.) Such a player should look very closely at amps made by companies like Mesa/Boogie, whose amps are very commonly used by players in the metal genre. On the other hand, a blues player would more likely prefer a classic blues amp such as a Fender Twin Reverb or DeLuxe. Someone who wanted to play Who or Led Zeppelin cover tunes would look closely at Hiwatt amps (Who) and the great 60s and 70s amps made by Marshall. Guys who like early Beatles might look at Vox amps. Et cetera.
The last couple of chapters have some interesting info on transistors and whether to buy a vintage or reissue amp. That last is a very difficult question for amp buyers. Unlike a guitar, an amp sound doesn’t really improve with age (a guitar often sounds better and costs more with age because older, more aged wood creates better tones). However, even though a manufacturer may say that it’s reissue amp is just like the original made back in 1967, the fact is that very subtle changes in circuitry, tube manufacturer, and components can change the sound such that the reissue won’t deliver the tone that the original has.
Another interesting question: when buying vintage, do you buy an amp in mint condition or a beat up model. Answer: probably the beat up model. A mint amp can sound terrible because its power supply is dried out and you’ll need to get some replacement parts, which will seriously knock down the amp’s value.
The book is loaded with pictures of lots of amps, many of which are in color. It is clearly written and easily comprehended with only a minimum of technical jargon (in a subject which is REALLY technical). Bottom line: If you’re going to spend more than a couple of hundred bucks on an amp, or if you are looking for a particular sound, spend the money on this book first. You’re really going to improve the chances of getting an amp you like and you’ll save a lot of time that you otherwise would have spent spinning your wheels.
Helpful hint: When amp shopping, make SURE you bring your performance guitar with you. It’s not going to help you if you play an amp with the guitar store’s Yamaha dual humbucker guitar if you’re a single-coil player.
Here's a pretty solid selection of other guitar instructional and song books:
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