• Determine Your Guitar Amplifier Needs

• Choose a Guitar Amplifier Configuration

• Find Guitar Amplifiers on eBay

• Buy Guitar Amplifiers With Confidence

Determine Your Guitar Amplifier Needs

Determine Your Guitar Amplifier Needs

Guitar amplifiers intensify or boost signals passing through them. Guitar amplifiers typically use solid-state transistors and/or vacuum tubes to increase the strength, power, and volume of your pure unbridled rock-the-house riffs.

• Solid-state guitar amplifiers: Solid-state amplifiers, also known as transistor amps, make up about 90 percent of the guitar amplifier market. They perform well, offer strong bass response, and produce sufficient power for a variety of speakers. Ask the seller how the amp sounds in the higher registers.

• Tube guitar amplifiers: Old-school tube amplifiers produce a rich, relaxed sound with strong performance in the mid-range. Heavy tube amplifiers use delicate vacuum tubes for amplification. Use caution when transporting them to gigs and be prepared to replace components over time.

• Hybrid guitar amplifiers: Hybrid amplifiers combine tube and solid-state technologies, with a tube-driven preamp producing the basic tone, and transistors generating the power.

Evaluate guitar amplifier performance

Judge guitar amplifier performance by looking at maximum sustained power output measured in watts. The watts RMS (Root Mean Squared) specification indicates how much sustained power a guitar amplifier can deliver to a standard 8-ohm or 6-ohm electrical current load.

Find out how much current the guitar amplifier delivers to the left and right channels simultaneously, or with "both channels driven," instead of comparing overall wattage. Small tube amps produce as little as three watts per channel (Wpc) and large solid-state amps can produce more than 500 Wpc.

Choose a Guitar Amplifier Configuration

Choose a Guitar Amplifier Configuration

When shopping for a guitar amplifier, decide if you want a combo guitar amplifier that contains amplifier electronics and one or more speakers in a single unit or separate amplifier heads and speaker cabinets.

Take home a combo guitar amplifier

Combo amplifiers offer good portability and work well for practice sessions in your living room or garage. The one-piece units come in several sizes:

• Microamps: Small and super-portable, microamps provide 1 to 10 watts of power and are useful for low-volume playing and guitar solos in your bedroom.

• Practice amps: Practice amps offer 10 to 30 watts of power. You can also use the loudest practice amps for small gigs, especially if a microphone runs them through a venue's PA system. If you want to be heard outside your garage, get a 10-inch or larger speaker.

• Full-size (1x12) combo amps: The 1x12 amp gives you at least 50 watts of power and a 12-inch speaker, making it the smallest stand-alone amplifier suitable for small performances. Some high-end models can offer close to professional sound. Crate and Line 6 produce quality 1x12 combo units.

• Full-size (2x12) combo amps: Full-size 2x12 amps are heavier and bulkier than 1x12 because of the addition of a second 12-inch speaker. The extra speaker produces more sound output and lets you make use of some stereo effects. The 2x12 amp is highly versatile: use it for practice or take it on the road for gigs at small- and medium-sized clubs. Crate, Line 6, and Marshall all have top-of-the-line 2x12 combo amps.

Perform with a guitar amplifier stack

"Heads" contain guitar amplifier electronics and attach to separate speaker enclosures called "cabinets" or "cabs." Heads may look similar, but their performance depends on their wattage.

• Small heads: Small heads pack the power of 50 to 100 watts, enough for performances in small- to medium-sized venues.

• Full-power heads: Full-power heads offer 100 watts or more.

• Super heads: Super heads boast 200 to 400 watts of power.

A stack is a head and a set of guitar amplifier cabinets connected and ready to use. Although bulky, heavy, and loud, musicians prefer stacks for gigs, especially if they play large venues and stadiums on a regular basis.

• Half stack guitar amplifiers: Smaller heads connected to a single 4x12 cabinet containing four 12-inch speakers are known as a half stack. Working musicians use this configuration to get the volume they need when they don’t want to wrestle with the bulk of a full stack.

• Full stack guitar amplifiers: Many guitarists dream of owning a full stack. It's usually a 100-watt head connected to two 4x12 cabinets, but the wattage can vary. The stack gets its name from the way the cabinets are stacked vertically. Suitable for all but the most cavernous stadiums, full stacks offer impressive volume. Wear protective earphones or headphones when you play guitar through a full stack at higher volumes.

Stacks can weigh a lot, which will increase your shipping costs. Always figure shipping into your guitar amplifier budget.

Find Guitar Amplifiers on eBay

Find Guitar Amplifiers on eBay

Once you know what type of guitar amplifier you want, go to the Musical Instruments portal, click the Amplifiers link under Guitar, and start searching for item listings on eBay.

• Categories: The Categories list on the left side of each page will help you narrow down your listings by brand. You'll find links for Crate, Fender, Marshall, Peavey, and more.

• Keyword search: Search eBay listing titles for specific words. For example, if you want to find a stack amplifier from Crate, type "Crate stack" (without quotation marks) into the Search box. Click "Search title and description" to expand your results. Visit eBay's Search Tips page for more tips on searching with keywords.

If you can't find exactly what you want, try shopping eBay Stores, tell the eBay Community what you want by creating a post on Want It Now, or save a search on My eBay and eBay will email you when a match becomes available.

Buy Guitar Amplifiers With Confidence

Buy Guitar Amplifiers With Confidence

Before making your purchase, make sure you know exactly what you're buying, research your seller, and understand how eBay and PayPal protect you.

Know your purchase

Carefully read the details in item listings.

• Figure delivery costs into your final price. If you spend a lot of money, make sure the seller will insure the item when it ships.

• If you want more information, ask by clicking the "Ask seller a question" link under the seller's profile.

• Always make sure to complete your transaction on eBay (with a bid, Buy It Now, or Best Offer). Transactions conducted outside of eBay are not covered by eBay protection programs.

• Never pay for your eBay item using instant cash wire transfer services through Western Union or MoneyGram. These payment methods are unsafe when paying someone you do not know.

Know your seller

Research your seller so you feel positive and secure about every transaction.

• What is the seller's Feedback rating? How many transactions have they completed? What percentage of positive responses do they have?

• What do buyers say in their Feedback? Did the seller receive praise?

• Most top eBay sellers operate like retail stores and have return policies. Do they offer a money-back guarantee? What are the terms and conditions?

Buyer protection

In the unlikely event that a problem arises during your transaction, eBay and PayPal are there for you.

• Pay safely with PayPal: PayPal enables you to pay without the seller ever seeing your bank account or credit card numbers. In fact, PayPal protects buyers 100% against unauthorized payments from their accounts. Plus, with PayPal Buyer Protection, your purchase can be covered up to Cd$1,250.

• eBay Security & Resolution Centre: Visit the Security & Resolution Centre to learn how to protect your account and use eBay's quick and efficient resolution tools.