Guitar amplifiers amplify the sound fed into it from the guitar and drive the guitar loudspeaker. The sound waves generated by the guitar strings are converted into minute electrical signal with the help of the guitar pick up and then fed into the guitar amplifier (or simply guitar amp). Depending on whether or not the input of the guitar amp can work with the minute signal coming from the guitar, the guitarist may need to feed the guitar signal first into a pre-amplifier and then take the output from the pre-amplifier to feed the guitar amp.
The working of a guitar amp typically has four stages – input, signal modulation, signal amplification and then finally the output stage.
Input Stage
The input stage of the guitar amp accepts the input signal either from the guitar pre-amp or directly from the guitar itself. Normally, there are input female jacks installed onto the amplifier where you attach the input signal cable. If the guitar signal is too weak to be fed into the guitar amp, the signal should first pass through a guitar pre-amp. It is very important that there is proper impedance matching between the available input signal impedance and specified guitar amplifier’s input signal impedance. More often than not, signal impedance mismatch is the cause of deterioration of the final guitar sound on the loudspeaker.
Nowadays, there are many guitar amps, which have a pre-amplification stage incorporated into them. For such amps, you do not need to pass the guitar signal into a separate pre-amp. You can directly feed the signal into the amp itself.
Signal Modulation Stage
Plain in and plain out is not exactly the way normal electric guitarist likes it. He wants the guitar sound to be jazzed up, twangy, funky, heavily distorted etc. etc. For such sounds, the input signal has to under go modulation before they can be amplified. Say suppose the guitarist wants a heavy distortion akin to heavy metal rock sound. To get this type of sound, the input signal is fed into the signal modulation stage where the signal undergoes the required (but controlled) distortion. The same applies to other sound effects like wah-wah sound, reverb etc. Many guitar amps have equalizers and other tone control knobs, which also come under the signal modulation stage.
Signal Amplification Stage
The signal amplification stage is the ‘business’ stage of any guitar amp. It is here where the guitar sound is actually amplified. Good guitar amps will faithfully magnify the signal coming from the Signal Modulation Stage, i.e. the incoming signal will be the exact replica of this stage’s outgoing signal, only that it will be of much greater amplitude. It is the ‘business’ of any amplifier (be it voice or guitar amp) to faithfully amplify the incoming signal.
Output Stage
This is the final stage of all guitar amps. Some guitar amps have the output driver stage as a part of the output stage, while some of them do not. In some cheap guitar amps, the outgoing signal from the signal amplification stage is directly fed into the loudspeaker. However, good guitar amps have proper signal conditioning output stage where it is ensured that output signal is properly matched to the input specifications of the loudspeaker.
Every good guitarist should have good knowledge about guitar amps. Getting a good guitar amp is very important if you wish to have a reliable and predictable output musical sound whilst playing your guitar.
For more information and reviews on guitars, guitar amplifiers and equipment visit GuitarHeadz.com, the complete guide for anything you want to know about guitars and related gear.
American Idol Eats up the Competition
Television shows, like almost anything, have a shelf life. Even some of the most beloved sitcoms, dramas and variety shows in the history of televised programming have managed to wear out their welcome while others were savvy enough to end their run on a high note. Late night talk shows and Saturday Night Live aside, reality TV series usually fall into the latter category and often see a ratings decline by the third season. For some, such as CBS’s Survivor, it can take a little longer.
But then there’s American Idol. 2007 marks the show’s 6th season, and if early returns are any indicator of future ratings (and they normally are), this one promises to be the most successful Idol yet.
Idol has obliterated its primetime competition since the season began. The latest incarnation has a 33% average share in the coveted 18 to 49 demographic, up several percentage points from the previous year. The season premiere caught an unbelievable 36% share of viewers, numbers it hadn’t seen since the finale of season two which pitted the soulful crooning of the robust Ruben Studdard against the middle America mainstream pop stylings of Clay Aiken.
So what makes American Idol so endlessly entertaining and gives it the ability to gain our attention year after year?
Could it be that we really want to hear another year of schmaltzy, often soulless Stevie Wonder covers, or could it be that we love to see a lot more agony of defeat as opposed to the thrill of victory? It appears to be a little of both, since so many manage to keep tuning in. At least that’s what initially attracts us.
Of course, at some point, we start to care. That’s what makes American Idol such a success. Watching the contestants make their way through the competition is a little like watching them grow up. You want them to succeed, and the hope against hope that they have what it take to make it to the show’s finale, as you share the moment with millions nationwide. Like everyone, we pick our favorites and usually have an alternate or two standing by just in case. But no matter who we choose, we become familiar with them all. The longer they stay on the show, the more we feel as though they belong to us. That’s something special that no other reality based television show has been able to successfully duplicate year after year
You can read more about Ruben Studdard http://www.yuddy.com/articles/music/ruben-studdard.html and Stevie Wonder http://www.yuddy.com/articles/music/stevie-wonder.html
To read more about other Idol stars see our site Yuddy.com http://www.yuddy.com
Masters Of Bad Behaviour
It's hardly enough to play good music to gain world success
and rule the world music scene. The success is usually
accompanied by rumours, increasingly of a negative character.
It's bad boys, women usually fancy.
Thus, similar attempts were applied by a lot of musicians
and bands, however only few were successful. It's either
absence of good ideas, or improper fulfilment of their
bad-boy duties, however we can see just a few of them.
To mention Eminem for example. The rap king was reported
to hit paparazzi, assault fans, threaten by-passers with
a gun, take drugs and beat his wife up. Another vivid
example is rock-idol Ozzy Osborne. He is too old now to
act as a bad boy, however, his fan-base still remember
him biting the head off a live bat, mistaking it for a
rubber toy at a concert of his own. The mistake cost him
multiple blames of the Greenpeace, which forced him to
check into a rehab for a treating course. Kid Rock, came
to fame through regular beating up his wife Pamela
Anderson, who finally filed for a divorce.
The title No 1 Enemy was collected by vocalist of the
British punk rock band Sex Pistols Johnny Rotten 30
years ago. Their behavior, as much as their music,
brought them to the national attention. On 1 December
1976 the band and members of the Bromley Contingent
created a storm of publicity by swearing during an
early evening live broadcast of Thames Television's
Today program. Appearing as last-minute replacements
for fellow EMI artists Queen, band and entourage took
full advantage of the Green Room facilities, and
consumed large amounts of alcohol. During the interview,
Rotten used the word "sh**", and host Bill Grundy, who was
drunk at the time, flirted openly with Siouxsie Sioux
("We'll meet afterwards, shall we?"). This prompted Jones
to call Grundy a "dirty old man". Grundy responded by
requesting that the band "say something outrageous",[18]
to which Jones replied: "you dirty f**er . . . what a
f**ing rotter". Their 1977 single, God Save the Queen,
released to coincide with the Queen's Silver Jubilee,
was widely regarded as an attack on the British monarchy
and British Nationalism. The cover of the God Save the
Queen single was designed the way the Queen worn an
earring in her nose and her mouth was shut with a ribbon,
wrapped around her face.
Johnny Rotten's behaviour was called the most popular event
of the 1990s and positively effected success of the Sex
Pistols in Europe and the USA. Mr. Rotten wasn't surprised
by the consequences.
phil fischer - phil fischer
