{"id":509,"date":"2020-02-25T05:52:45","date_gmt":"2020-02-25T05:52:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/phanesmusic.com\/?p=509"},"modified":"2020-03-11T07:50:19","modified_gmt":"2020-03-11T07:50:19","slug":"do-guitar-amps-use-a-lot-of-electricity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/phanesmusic.com\/do-guitar-amps-use-a-lot-of-electricity\/","title":{"rendered":"Do Guitar Amps Use A Lot Of Electricity?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Listening\nto a well-played guitar is great. There is a certain feeling that comes from\nwithin. Therefore, if the guitar is expected to be heard over a long distance, it\nmight not be loud enough. A guitar amplifier (amp) is used to strengthen the\npickup from either an acoustic, electric, or bass guitar. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many amps consume less electricity, and once in a\nwhile, when they are being used in full-blown volume mode, they consume more.\nMany of the amps available in the market do not consume any electricity when\nthey are not in use.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\nguitar amplifier might be a \u201ccombo\u201d amplifier or a standalone metal or wood\ncabinet that has the power amplifier and a preamplifier circuit only. The\nstandalone amplifier will need an additional speaker cabinet. They are also\nused to modify the tone of the guitar by either emphasizing or de-emphasizing some\nfrequencies. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many\npeople have found themselves being accused of using excess electricity for\nhaving their amp on throughout the day. This is because people assume that amps\nuse a lot of electricity, and hence, they should be switched on only when it\u2019s\nunderused. The truth, however, amps use less energy compared to many everyday\nhousehold items. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

How Much Power Do Guitar Amps Use? <\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Wattage\nis the measurement that is normally used in indicating the power of an\namplifier. This shows explicitly the total amount of electric power output that\nwill be used to drive the speakers. For a guitar amp, small amps use 1 to 30\nwatts. For midsized amps, they use 30 to 60 watts while large-sized amps use 60\nwatts and above. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\namps, however, depend on what it will be used for. This is because; the bass\namps are thought to use more watts for driving larger speakers. Wattage is, however,\ncalculated and reported differently by different manufacturers making amp power\na sensitive subject. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Do Watts Matter In Guitar Amps?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

\u2018Yes.\u2019\nApart from what the manufacturers indicate on their products, professional\nguitarists have also agreed with their argument. A higher wattage amplifier is\nexpected to produce louder sound compared to lower watts within the same brand\nof the amp. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

At\nthe same time, a more powerful amp is said to give the user more freedom to\ncontrol the sound. Hence, your guitar will be heard more than the other\nmusicians without the need to push your amp beyond its optimal operating range.\nYou can, however, choose to use Tube watts instead of solid-state watts as they\nare way louder by far. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Can You Plug An Electric Guitar Into A Bass Amp?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

This\nhighly depends on an individual. However, according to experts, there is\nnothing wrong with connecting your electric guitar to a bass amp. If you are\nokay with the sound coming from the amp, then you can comfortably go ahead and\ndo so. However, it is important to understand that the sound will not be as\nperfect as it is when using a guitar amp. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A\nguitar amp features some effects that make your guitar sound much better. These\neffects are, however, not available in a bass amp. Therefore, the sound\nproduced by your guitar on a bass amp will be roughly distorted. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Can I Leave My Amp On All The Time? <\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The\nanswer to this question varies with the individual, frequent use of the amp,\nand the location. Although many people think that an amp wears out faster when\nleft on all the time, this is not true at all. Actually, the opposite is true.\nSwitching your amp on and off every now and then makes them wear out more quickly\nthan when left connected to power throughout. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

However,\nif you live in an area that has power issues, it is advisable to switch it off\nevery time you are not using it to avoid any damages from a power surge. At the\nsame time, you\u2019ll save some electric power, which is also essential. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Do Speakers Use Power When Not In Use?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The\nanswer to this question is a solid \u2018Yes.\u2019 Although the power used is very\nminimal, there is some percentage of energy passed through the speakers when\nthey are in their sleep mode. The energy consumed is a bit different from that\nconsumed when the speakers are on high volume. However, some people argue that\nit almost the same power consumed when the speakers are on low volume but with only\na difference of about a watt or so. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This\nmeans the speakers will heat up if they are left on for a long time, and hence,\nthey\u2019ll easily be damaged by the heat. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Is It Okay To Leave Studio Monitors On?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

There\nare two different answers to this question. One of the answers is a solid \u2018Yes\u2019\nwhile the other one is a solid \u2018No.\u2019 When talking about the wear and tear of\nthe studio monitors, there is absolutely no problem with leaving it on. This is\nbecause, as long as it is in its absolute sleep mode, it can\u2019t heat up and\nhence, no damages. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

On\nthe other hand, when it comes to environmentalists, they would give a solid\n\u2018No\u2019 to this answer. This is because they believe that we should try to save as\nmuch energy as possible every day. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Is It Okay To Leave Speakers On?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Leaving\nyour speakers on when not in use is not advisable. This is because of a few\nreasons. One, they use energy even when they are in their sleep mode, which\nmeans your electricity bill will go higher by day. At the same time, they say the\nheat is an enemy of any electronic gadget. Therefore, you risk damaging your\nspeaker when you leave it on for a long time. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unlike\nthe amps which work better when they heat up, powered speakers are easily\naffected by heat. Therefore for the sake of saving your electricity bills and\nyour speaker, don\u2019t leave them on. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Do Tube Amps Consume More Electricity Than SS?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

If\nyou are using a solid-state amplifier and a tube amplifier at the same watts, they\nwill use the same amount of energy. This is because; there is no difference\nbetween the watts used on one device and the ones used on another. If it is 50\nwatts on both of them, then it will be 50 and nothing less and nothing more. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

However,\nthe tube amps can be said to be a bit cost-effective as they produce louder\nsound at lower watts. Hence, one can use much lower watts in tube amp to get\nthe same results with what you\u2019d get with high watts in SS. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Can You Play a Bass through a Tube Guitar Amp?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

When\nit comes to using one device in place of the other, it is obviously possible\nunless it is under special cases. However, this doesn\u2019t make it alright. This\nis because, although it is possible to play a bass through your tube guitar\namp, you might end up on the losing end. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Playing\na bass through your tube guitar amp might be fun in the beginning, and actually,\nit is. However, after some time, it will cause damages to your speakers as they\nare not meant to handle such kinds of wattage. At the same time, you will not\nget the same effect you are looking for. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

How Many Amperes Does My Amplifier Draw?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The\nnumber of amperes your amplifier draws highly depends on its watts. This is because,\nin the calculation, it is the watts of the amplifier that are considered. Many\npeople calculate the watts divided by the voltage. This is mostly used in the\nUnited States, and hence, it can be said to be the standard way of calculating\namps. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This\nmeans that different amplifiers draw different amps. For example, a 400-watt\namplifier is expected to draw about 3.33 amps. An 800-watt amplifier is\nexpected to draw around 6. This means, many amplifiers used in the house draw\nless than 10 amps. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Conclusion<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

A\nnormal amplifier uses very little electricity on a daily basis. This means that\nyou can never classify an amplifier under the least of high voltage equipment\nin your house. When it comes to a guitar, it uses even less power depending on\nthe number of watts indicated on the packaging. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For\nthat reason, no one has any reason for not enjoying their guitar playing out of\nfear of power consumption. Relax and give it your best and, at the same time,\nensure it is reaching all the intended audience in the right volume. This can\nonly be possible if you use the right guitar amp. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Listening to a well-played guitar is great. There is a certain feeling that comes from within. Therefore, if the guitar is expected to be heard over a long distance, it<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":510,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/phanesmusic.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/509"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/phanesmusic.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/phanesmusic.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/phanesmusic.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/phanesmusic.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=509"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/phanesmusic.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/509\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":558,"href":"https:\/\/phanesmusic.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/509\/revisions\/558"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/phanesmusic.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/510"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/phanesmusic.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=509"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/phanesmusic.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=509"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/phanesmusic.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=509"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}