INVENTION OR EVOLUTION?
Out of the dozens of amplifiers I own, there’s one that stands out. It’s the definition of perfect, and in its own way, it might well be the most important amplifier ever made. I know what you’re thinking, “Whoa there, Josh – I thought you were the effects guy? And I thought this column was about guitar effects?! You need to stay in your lane there, buddy, get back on script!”
I hear ya, weirdly intense imaginary reader, but put away those pitchforks for a second and consider this: amps might not be effects, but they’re an absolutely pivotal part of the story of electric guitars. Arguably the most important part. Why? Because without an amp, you can’t hear the guitar, and because if the right amplifiers hadn’t been invented at just the right time, guitar would never have become popular music’s greatest weapon.
To appreciate how radically different things could have been, you have to understand the pre-1960s world of guitar,
