Amplifier FAQ

[Mushroony]

Great work AK! I proposed to make this one a sticky, so if Larry doesn't mind, this one will remain at the top, as it answers alot of comon questions.

[Apopholis]

How about a Gear-of-the-Forum part.

Where forum members post a video/written article on their own gear/amos. Why they like it? What they use it for (Live? Which Genres?) Good points and bad points. This way we can have in depth reviews of the lesser known amps out there. Ok so it'll seem pretty random at first but once every forum member chips in there could be a nice list of info.

I had this idea only yesterday actually, I was about to post it.

I'd be willing to help keep it under control, if needed.

[AKA Ninja]

Great work AK! I proposed to make this one a sticky, so if Larry doesn't mind, this one will remain at the top, as it answers alot of comon questions.

Sweet, thanks.

Added a Table of Contents w/ hyperlinks to each of the individual FAQ sections, and "(Back to Top)" links at the end of each section.

[Mushroony]

AK, one more thing: We sticky this, but we have to be sure this is all your work. If you copy/pasted it (or parts of it) from somewhere else, you have to mention the source in the original post.

[AKA Ninja]

AK, one more thing: We sticky this, but we have to be sure this is all your work. If you copy/pasted it (or parts of it) from somewhere else, you have to mention the source in the original post.

No sweat. I believe I've already sourced everything I copy/pasted (which actually wasn't much), but I'll go through and doublecheck.

FWIW, 99.9% of the info came from:

- Wikipedia articles (of varying names/linkage)
- Product descriptions
- A few random web pages
- A couple articles on about.com
- What I just happened to know
- Forum suggestions

Very little was copied/pasted, but quite a bit was sourced and re-typed by hand, so I'll go through and toss out some more sources just for good measure.

[Mushroony]

AK, one more thing: We sticky this, but we have to be sure this is all your work. If you copy/pasted it (or parts of it) from somewhere else, you have to mention the source in the original post.

No sweat. I believe I've already sourced everything I copy/pasted (which actually wasn't much), but I'll go through and doublecheck.

FWIW, 99.9% of the info came from:

- Wikipedia articles (of varying names/linkage)
- Product descriptions
- A few random web pages
- A couple articles on about.com
- What I just happened to know
- Forum suggestions

Very little was copied/pasted, but quite a bit was sourced and re-typed by hand, so I'll go through and toss out some more sources just for good measure.

If it's retyped, than it's good. It's just that you cant copy/past a huge wall of text without saying where you got it from. Good job AK! +1

[AKA Ninja]

AK, one more thing: We sticky this, but we have to be sure this is all your work. If you copy/pasted it (or parts of it) from somewhere else, you have to mention the source in the original post.

No sweat. I believe I've already sourced everything I copy/pasted (which actually wasn't much), but I'll go through and doublecheck.

FWIW, 99.9% of the info came from:

- Wikipedia articles (of varying names/linkage)
- Product descriptions
- A few random web pages
- A couple articles on about.com
- What I just happened to know
- Forum suggestions

Very little was copied/pasted, but quite a bit was sourced and re-typed by hand, so I'll go through and toss out some more sources just for good measure.

If it's retyped, than it's good. It's just that you cant copy/past a huge wall of text without saying where you got it from. Good job AK! +1

Thanks much.

Added "Sources" section at the end, which includes pretty much everything and the kitchen sink that I could remember.

Everyone - PLEASE feel free to volunteer some links or other information that might help with the "FIXME" items in the article. If I knew the answer, I already woulda fixed it! 

[AKA Ninja]

Added the "Rectifiers: What the Heck Are They?" section, explaining what a rectifier is, and what all the hubbub is regarding the "Mesa Dual Rectifier" name.

[Meeeoww]

wow, +1 super helpful!

Although, Gilmour definitely never used Marshalls or Mesa Boogies. He was a Hiwatt man from day one. The only other amp he used (sparingly) was Twin Reverb for minor studio work, but even 99.8% of everything he did was with Hiwatts.

[Q]

how about we add a Guitar FAQ to this?

I could write something..

[AKA Ninja]

wow, +1 super helpful!

Although, Gilmour definitely never used Marshalls or Mesa Boogies. He was a Hiwatt man from day one. The only other amp he used (sparingly) was Twin Reverb for minor studio work, but even 99.8% of everything he did was with Hiwatts.

I got that information from his wikipedia entry ...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_gilmour#Amplifiers

... and his wide array of equipment is confirmed at a number of articles:

http://www.pinkfloyd-co.com/band/interviews/djg/djg96.html

http://www.worldmusicnashville.com/special-gear/mesa-engineering

http://www.ehow.com/how_2124653_play-guitar-like-david-gilmour.html

... etc ... so sorry to break it to you, but it sounds like while Gilmour may prefer hiwatt, he apparently either was a user of, or experimented with, an incredibly wide array of amplifiers.

[Meeeoww]

wow, +1 super helpful!

Although, Gilmour definitely never used Marshalls or Mesa Boogies. He was a Hiwatt man from day one. The only other amp he used (sparingly) was Twin Reverb for minor studio work, but even 99.8% of everything he did was with Hiwatts.

I got that information from his wikipedia entry ...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_gilmour#Amplifiers

... and his wide array of equipment is confirmed at a number of articles:

http://www.pinkfloyd-co.com/band/interviews/djg/djg96.html

http://www.worldmusicnashville.com/special-gear/mesa-engineering

http://www.ehow.com/how_2124653_play-guitar-like-david-gilmour.html

... etc ... so sorry to break it to you, but it sounds like while Gilmour may prefer hiwatt, he apparently either was a user of, or experimented with, an incredibly wide array of amplifiers.

All his famous Pink Floyd work was done with Hiwatts. He has used probably every amp known to man at the time because Pink Floyd were always experimenting with new equipment. (Pretty sure the cleans he is known for can't be done with the Mesa Boogies or Hiwatts either; they definitely don't have the same headroom as the Hiwatts.) A couple of those links were downright falsified fabrications. David never uses wah except for the Seagull screech in Echoes. While he has probably dabbled in using a different amp once or twice, THE Gilmour sound is an echo-drenched Strat through a Hiwatt hooked up to WEM and leslie cabs.

[AKA Ninja]

A couple of those links were downright falsified fabrications.

Which ones?

While he has probably dabbled in using a different amp once or twice, THE Gilmour sound is an echo-drenched Strat through a Hiwatt hooked up to WEM and leslie cabs.

I'm not trying to start an argument, I just have yet to see anywhere that says such a thing. Everything I Can see points to him recording and performing large with a wide variety of equipment. Provide me something that says otherwise and I'll gladly change it.

edit: I should say, rather, that I need to add a Hiwatt section. I'm not denying Gilmour used or favored Hiwatts, I'm only asking for further proof that the Marshall/Boogie sources I'm citing are false. I don't have a Hiwatt section, because I know nothing about Hiwatts - and further, I don't consider them all that legendary in the same sense that a Marshall, Fender, or Boogie is. So, yeah... just clarifying.

[AKA Ninja]

how about we add a Guitar FAQ to this?

An entire FAQ could be written on pickups alone ... but yeah, an instrument FAQ isn't a bad idea. I was considering an Effects FAQ as well. They'd both need their own posts though, and are frankly a *much* wider topic, so not as easy to do.

[Apopholis]

how about we add a Guitar FAQ to this?

An entire FAQ could be written on pickups alone ... but yeah, an instrument FAQ isn't a bad idea. I was considering an Effects FAQ as well. They'd both need their own posts though, and are frankly a *much* wider topic, so not as easy to do.

I could help with some of it.