If you’re considering getting an electric guitar, one of the first things you’ll need to know is how to connect it to an amplifier. While this info could be picked out of your amp and guitar instruction manual, this article will provide a concise guide, interspersed with tricks of the trade not found in the manuals. There are two types of amps: Combos – where the power amplifier or “head” is contained within the same unit as the speakers or “cab”, and Stacks – where the head and cab are separate components that need to be connected by the user. Here is everything you need to know connect to a Combo, a generally inexpensive style of amp that’s perfect for a beginner.
Step 1
Connect the amp’s power cable into the wall. Most likely the cable is permanently attached to the back of the amp, but you might need to plug the female end into the back of the amp.
Step 2
Plug one end of a ¼ - ¼ inch patch cord into your electric guitar. On some guitars, such as Stratocasters, the input for the patch cord will be on the front panel, near the volume and tone knobs, on others, such as Les Pauls, it will be on the edge of the guitar near the hooks for the strap.
Step 3
Plug the other end of the ¼ - ¼ inch patch cord into your amp. The input for the patch cord is either on the front of the amp or on the top panel.
Step 4
Remember that before turning on your amp, make sure the “Volume” and “Gain” knobs on your amp, as well as the volume knob(s) on your guitar are at 0. This will prevent the high frequency ringing known as feedback, which happens when your guitar’s pickups feed the amp’s output back into the amp creating a “feedback loop”.
Step 5
Switch the amp’s power on. The switch will either be on the front or top panel near the volume, hi, mid, and lo knobs, or in the back near the power cable. Adjust the “volume” knob on the guitar, and the “volume” and “gain” knobs on the amplifier simultaneously. Be gentle with the knobs and strum your guitar while turning them. Find the volume and sound you want. Try tweaking the lo, mid, and hi knobs (EQ) on the amp, as well as the tone knobs on your guitar. These will give you control over the sound quality or timbre.
Step 6
Find out if your amp has other features such as distortion and reverb. You can check the manual if you do not already know. If it does have these features, there should be switches or buttons to turn these effects on and knobs to control their intensity. Again, make sure that the parameters of the effects are at 0 before switching them on to avoid unexpected loud noise or feedback. You can play around with these effects to achieve different sounds from your amp.
Step 7
Find out if your amp came with a footswitch. If it did, there should be an input for it on the back of the amp. The footswitch lets you toggle on and off the effects such as distortion and reverb.
Step 8
If you are using a tube head, make sure the head is plugged into the cabinet before turing it on. Doing otherwise can damage the head.
Step 9
Rock out! Now that you’re connected, the only thing to do is play around, learn and practice.
Things You'll Need
- An Electric Guitar
- A Combo Amplifier
- 1/4 inch to 1/4 inch patch cable
