Tuesday, July 30, 2013

Why Use A Jazz Guitar Amp

By Maryanne Goff


The jazz guitar player wants to play through a jazz guitar amp that will project the player's unique ability and feel directly to their audience. The form of music can be a very intimate uplifting aural art form and the guitar player typically wants to convey the sound they produce from the fret board directly to the listener with minimal interference to that sound but at sufficient volume to be heard and appreciated.

Volume is required but it is not the prerequisite of the amplifier, more it is the quality of the sound produced. Volume is a requirement of the rock player where it is needed in buckets to rise above the accompaniment of the band and the roar of the audience.

The rock player will also typically dial up a huge array of different modulated sounds often used in combination to create different moods from song to song therefore the raw sound of the amplifier is of lesser importance. Where as the jazz player will typically only use the raw tone of the amp and tone controls of the instrument for the whole performance.

Unlike their rock and country compatriots who will often play in larger spaces form halls to stadiums, with off stage controlled public address systems, jazz is often played in small intimate clubs. I refer here more to trios or quartets where the guitar is often the melody instrument and not so much to the big band form where space may be not such an issue. In the small clubs gear size becomes an issue because audience space for seating not to mention drinking and eating is already small enough.

In such situations the jazz guitar amp needs to be small and compact but pack enough punch to allow the guitarist to be heard above the appreciative but often noisy crowd. It is often a fine line to stay loud enough for fellow band members to hear with out upsetting the audience with too much volume.

Considering that many of these clubs are in the heart of a city an added advantage is that the jazz guitarist can reach the gig venue by public transport, amp in one hand and instrument in the other. The double bass player unfortunately is at a significant disadvantage here.

Cost is often a huge consideration when buying any musical gear. There is always a temptation to buy the biggest bang for the cheapest price. That might be the case for the rock player whose first priority is to be heard over the rest of the band. Because cost is often an issue the beginner jazz musician might initially chose to purchase a mass produced practice amp which could fit the bill while learning.

This would not be the case for the professional or aspiring professional though. A good jazz guitar amp would be considered expensive if you consider bang, as in volume and features, for your buck. What you pay for is quality of build and sound. They often incorporate the best components that can be sourced in order to build them. These units are often hand made and some are built specifically to customers requirements.




About the Author:



No comments:

Post a Comment