When the subject of amplification comes up one question always makes it way into the conversation. “Which is better, vintage guitar amplifiers or modern guitar amps?” Whoa! Hold it right there big feller. This subject could be debated till the cows come home, as they say. The answer is actually relative to each individual guitarist as well as the genre of music they are playing. Because every guitarist has their own style and their own likes and dislikes, as far as what they hear coming from their amp, and the type of music or the actual song being played by that guitarist matters as well, because different amps lend their tonal qualities to different types of music better than others. So the answer to that question is not as cut and dry as it may seem.

There are a lot of things to consider when this question arises. First of all, what genre of music is being played? Is it rock music? If so, then what kind? 50′s, psychedelic, classic, modern or pop? Is it country music? Old country or modern?  Heavy metal? Classic, hair band, modern or death metal? Blues? Robert Johnson at the crossroads style blues or Stevie Ray Vaughn, rock your socks off blues? Jazz? Contemporary? Classical? What kind of music? Are we talking about rhythm or lead guitar? What “feel” does the song call for in it’s particular genre? Is it a ballad? A rocker? An instrumental? A barndance? What???

How about the type of guitar is being used? Acoustic, electric, bass, or an acoustic/electric guitar? We are going to try to stick to talking about electric guitars here, since that’s what the jist of this blog is about. As far as electrics go, is it a vintage Fender Stratocaster, or  Gibson Les Paul, or something more modern like a Paul Reed Smith, Dean or Ibanez? What type of pickups are in the guitar? Does the song call for a clean sound or a distorted sound? What guitar effects, if any, are being used? Is the amp going to be played on stage, in a studio or at home? You see what I’m talking about? There are a plethora of other questions to ask when considering the answer to that question. And yes El Guapo I know what a “plethora” is!

So the question is not a general question and since the answer depends on so many other factors, the answer should really be left up to the individual guitar player and the playing situation that they refer to specifically. Or the question should be changed to something more suitable to be asked of each individual guitarist, such as “When you play “x“, which guitar and amp combo do you prefer using to get that sound?” Something like that is easier to answer.

Now, with all that said,  ”Which is better, vintage guitar amplifiers or modern guitar amps?” Geez, Here we go again! Nah, lets just answer it the way it sounds. Which has better sound quality and which is more dependable? Well…Both. And we aren’t going to compare apples to oranges either. By that I mean we aren’t going to compare a vintage Marshall amplifier to something like a new, state of the art, Peavey JSX Joe Satriani Signature amp. Not fair! Lets compare apples to apples.

One of the cleanest and warmest sounding amps I have ever owned was a Fender Vibrolux Reverb. The sound from that amp and a vintage Fender Telecaster was like warm, golden liquid tone being poured into your brain. Hey that’s a good name for my next band-Golden Liquid Tone. Don’t steal it or I’ll have to come looking for ya! Anyway that amp was put through hell and it never gave up on me. Now, on the other hand, Fender’s reissue of that amp, now called the Custom Vibrolux Reverb, is not really a reissue of the vintage amp, but it’s  a more modernized version that’s just as tough and dependable with upgrades like: a bright channel, reverb and vibrato that functions in both channels, Tilt-Back legs and a factory warranty. It’ll set you back about $1,600. That’s about $500 more than what you can buy a vintage amp for. As far as the sound goes, with a vintage Fender Telecaster plugged into it, I think it’s just as warm and liquidy as the vintage model.

So is it better? Don’t get me wrong, I love the vintage amps from Fender, Marshall and others, and I think if I was buying an amp to hang on to for an investment or to play and record with at home, I’d definitely lean towards a vintage amp, but If I was buying a workhorse to take on the road or into a studio I’d probably buy the newer reissues of the vintage amps. Mainly because of the warranty.

Gregor Hilden playing a 1969 Fender Telecaster through a 1968 Fender Vibrolux Reverb