When originally introduced in the late 1960’s, it didn’t take guitarists long to realize that Solid-State amps were a different breed than the tube amps they were used to. While they did produce a very clean sound and were lighter to carry around, there was a “musical” quality that was somewhat lacking when it came to the electric guitar. On the other hand, Keyboard Players, Bass Players and PA builders found these loud, clean sounding, lightweight amplifiers to be excellent for their needs.

There are three types of solid-state amps:

• Solid State – These are not your father’s solid-state amps. Manufacturers have come along way in developing these amplifiers and have really made huge improvements in the sound. Many solid-state amps have built-in effects, channel switching and sound amazing for their price and size.

• Modeling Amps – Digital Modeling amps use digital processing to simulate or “model” the sounds of other classic tube amps, effects, and speaker cabinets. This is a relatively young technology that offers high quality sound with incredible versatility and variety at a very reasonable price.

• Hybrid Amps – These amps usually combine a tube preamp with solid-state power section to provide the warmth and “musicality” of tubes, with the durability and lightweight of solid-state. There are some manufacturers that combine both tubes and solid-state technology in the power amp itself. Hybrids have been very effective in bridging the gap between solid-state and tube amplifiers