Slide Guitar Amps – Playslideguitar.com

As an Amazon Associate Playslideguitar.com earns from qualifying purchases. This page contains affiliate links. As slide guitar evolves in music, its distinct and ear-catching sounds continue to amplify themselves into the airwaves. When playing slide guitar, it can be beneficial and enjoyable to dial in your tone on an amplifier that suits your guitar, playing style, and musical tastes. There are many great amp options for slide guitar, and often amps that sound great for regular guitar will also work well for slide. However, the slide certainly produces unique timbres and frequencies that can be accentuated by selecting an amp that you may not typically use for regular guitar, and really makes the slide sound come alive... What To Look For When Choosing an AmpBest Tube Amps for Slide GuitarPresenceSpeaker Size and PowerSolid-State Amps for Slide GuitarPlaying Acoustic or Resonator GuitarsStyle of MusicReverbPractice Amps for Slide Guitar What To Look For When Choosing An Amp There are several things worth checking out when selecting an amp, and focusing on a few main factors at first can ease the process. You'll want to think about what type of guitar you're playing, whether you want to use tubes or solid-state, and also the style of music. Let's start with a big consideration when buying any amplifier, will it be a tube amp or a solid-state amp? Tube Amps When playing electric slide guitar, tube amps are often the go-to choice for tone and sound, and for good reason. There is something about the harmonic distortion that tube amps can produce that makes guitars sound so rich and pure, in many forms of music. And with slide guitar, the tonality of the slide against the strings can produce such a silky, smooth sound with a tube amp: it'll have enough vibrancy, but also grit, to take listeners on a ride. There are so many great options for guitar tube amps nowadays, and in years past, that narrowing it down will become a matter of preference and taste. However, there are some key factors that may help in this process and have a great effect on your choice. Here are some good amp options for electric slide guitar... Best Tube Amps for Electric Slide Guitar Fender '68 Custom Twin Reverb: This amp has two 12-inch Celestion speakers, 85 watts of power, and will voice the slide with plenty of definition and fullness. Many of Fender's silverface amps have been renowned among guitar players since the 60's for their clarity and crisp sound, and this amp will make the slide's tone sparkle with harmonic distortion. Fender Hot Rod Deluxe IV (1x12", 40 Watts): I've always loved the sound of this amp for slide or guitar, and it has a sweet punch to its tone. It's really versatile, and sounds great for many styles of music. Like many of Fender's amps, the reverb is smooth and rich, which adds a lot to the warmth of its tone. Presence: The High End Slide guitar has such a beautiful timbre on the strings, particularly when it produces higher frequency notes played further up the fretboard (especially on strings 2 and 1). These notes have a presence and projection that can really be featured within music and bands, and making sure you get a nice tone in this frequency range goes a long way. When choosing your amp, see if it has an extra EQ control for presence, which often controls even higher frequencies than the "high" knob on your amp. This can really help you dial in the sound in the higher end of the amp, however keep in mind that most amps don't have this feature and can still sound magnificent with higher frequencies for slide guitar. Whether your amp has a presence control or not, your best clue to the sound in the high end is to use your ears. As you try the amp and play it, really focus on listening to the higher frequency notes you play on the fretboard. If they sound shrill and piercing, then you're probably not getting the warmth and roundness that can really provide a good shape for your tone. However, if you're looking for a brighter sound, then try to get that brightness through a projecting high end that is crisp and clean, but not too abrasive for a listener's ears. With blues, rock, and other forms of music, a warm and creamy high end sounds magnificent, and will still cut through the mix enough to stand out with presence, and impact the music positively. Finding a good tone with a presence that crystallizes within the music, will lead you to great places with slide guitar. Speaker Size and Power For any amplifier, consider the size of the speaker and the power of it too. Twelve inch and 15 inch speakers can have a nice broad frequency range, and will often provide plenty of headroom and power, and can sound great with slide guitar. However, consider the applications of the amp. Amps this large can often weigh a lot, and may be too loud for smaller settings and rehearsals. They'll be good choices for the stage and other venues though. Some smaller wattage amps, that also have a smaller speaker, can sound amazing from a tonal standpoint. These can be great options for the studio, or for practicing and rehearsals, and the tone you'll get can help you in determining the sound you'd like to voice when playing through a larger amp. Solid-State Amps Amps that are solid-state aren't as common for electric slide guitar, and you'll possibly lose some of the harmonic richness that tube distortion can offer. Oftentimes, the vibrato and sustain that slide is known for can be expressed with depth through the rich harmonic distortion of tubes. You may notice that you begin to miss the harmonic distortion elements that tube amps offer, especially when sliding into notes and using vibrato with your sustain. However, solid-state amps by companies like Marshall have certainly been known to produce a nice sounding distortion for electric guitar and there is no set in stone rule that a tube amp must be used to get a good tone. You'll always want to be aware of what type of guitar you're using when deciding between tubes and solid-state too. I usually find it easier to get a good distorted tone with a solid-state amp if the amp offers this type of sound in its design or presets. Trying to get distortion on a solid-state amp that isn't designed to offer distorted sounds can often sound unnatural and abrasive to the ears. When you're looking for a clean and clear type of tone for slide guitar, then some solid-state amps can provide this and sound great... Best Solid State Amps for Electric Slide Guitar Peavey Session 115 (500 Watts, 1x15"): Although this amp is made particularly for pedal steel, its design lends itself well to slide guitar if you're looking for a solid-state amp to use. It will provide a bright and crisp tone, with plenty of clarity, and can be great to use for playing environments where you want your tone to sound clean and transparent. Playing Acoustic or Resonator Guitars When playing these types of guitars, using a solid-state amp (or going direct through a PA), is usually the best option for slide guitar. Also, you'll usually want to use an amp that is actually designed for acoustic guitar. Most amps designed for acoustic will be solid-state, and often the goal when looking for an acoustic amp for slide guitar is to find one that sounds crisp, and has a good definition to it. The cleaner the sound, the more it will replicate the beautiful sounds of the acoustic that are naturally great without amplification. Resonator guitars have a distinct timbre to them, and you'll want to consider this when choosing your amp. Some players, such as Jerry Douglas, use a Fender Deluxe tube amp. An acoustic amp with a tube preamp, like the Genz Nenz Shenendoah Pro LT Amp that Rob Ickes uses, can also be a great choice. Best Amps for Acoustic Slide Guitar Fishman Loudbox Performer (180 Watts, 1x8"): You usually can't go wrong when you use a Fishman amp for acoustic, as they do such a great job of staying true to the acoustic's sound. This is their most powerful acoustic amp, and it also features Bluetooth if you're looking to easily pull up backing tracks and other music as you play. Genzler Acoustic Array Pro (150 Watts, 1x10"): This amp will provide the response and crispness that acoustic amps need to accurately reproduce the acoustic sound when you use a slide. If you play a lot of open strings, especially on the lower strings, this amp will have a thick sound for voicing the bass end of your guitar. Style of Music You'll always want to be aware of the style of music that you'll be playing, and if the slide guitar has a particular sound within that idiom, then listeners may be used to hearing the slide voiced a certain way through an amp. Blues and rock music usually benefits from playing slide guitar through a tube amp, with distortion capabilities and grit. Keep in mind for blues and rock music, that the amount of distortion you use can vary between songs and applications. Some tunes will call for more of a bite with heavier distortion, and some can have a crystal clear tone with a nice sounding reverb to accentuate it. Also, many tube amps will have the ability to naturally distort the more you push it and the louder you play, so some of this may happen naturally with the dynamics of your playing. Country slide guitar will usually have a cleaner, brighter twang sound to it, especially when the guitar has single-coil pickups. If you're playing slide guitar with an acoustic singer-songwriter, oftentimes the music will benefit from a cleaner and crisper slide guitar tone that sounds smooth with the acoustic and vocals. Reverb Because the slide produces such beautiful sustain, and emphasizes the tail-end of notes with vibrato, a nice sounding reverb will go a long ways. When choosing your amp, definitely consider the tone of the reverb and how it sounds with your slides. Fender tube amps often have gorgeous reverb, especially for slide, whether you're playing with a cleaner tone or with more distortion. If your amp isn't producing the tone of reverb you're hoping for, there are some great reverb effects pedals such as TC Electronic's Hall of Fame 2 (link to Amazon) that can produce a nice sounding reverb. Practice Amps for Slide Guitar Many amps nowadays are designed with plenty of loudness and power, however these don't always translate well to small rooms and most of these amps are made for using on-stage (or high dynamic environments). When you're practicing at home, or rehearsing in a smaller space, having a dedicated practice amp can be beneficial and handy. Plus, these amps can be a lot easier to transport when you're moving your gear. An amp with a smaller speaker size and less power will usually sound better at lower volumes, and be much smoother on the ears. Oftentimes, these amps can have a better tone than louder ones, and they can be great to use in recording sessions too. Here are some good ones to check out if you're looking for a practice amp for slide guitar... Fender '57 Custom Champ (5 Watts, 1x8"): A great amp to use in practice sessions or the recording studio, the tone you can get from Fender Champs is truly amazing. When you're practicing it's always nice to have an amp that inspires you to play more - one that isn't super loud in a small room like your main amp is, and I love using Champs for lower volume situations. Fender Blues Junior Lacquer Tweed (15 Watts, 1x12"): This is a beautiful amp that will provide plenty of tone when practicing, and have that classic Fender sound. Fender's Blues Junior amps have always had such a dynamic and deep voicing for guitar, and they're great to use for slide guitar. Conclusion Whatever amp you decide to use for slide guitar, make sure you find a tone that you enjoy, one that sounds so good that you'll want to play more and more. If you already own some amps for guitar, then experiment with these to see if they provide the tonal options you are seeking. They may also give you good indications of what to look and listen for when choosing a new amp for slide guitar. Take a listen to some of your favorite slide players and recordings, as the music holds some of the best clues. Many times, you'll be able to pinpoint a particular amp that is being used, which can give you more ideas and choices. Check out the page below for more about slide guitar amps... Best Slide Guitar Amp Settings: 5 Ways To Improve Your Tone