Instrument Amplifiers

Instrument amplifiers differ from Hi-Fi ie. high fidelity stereo amplifiers in design and intent. Hi-Fi amplifiers are designed to accurately reproduce the source sound signals at very high fidelity.In contrast, instrument amplifiers are often designed to add additional tonal coloration to the original signal or emphasize certain frequencies. For electric instruments such as electric guitar, the amplifier has a major role in the creation of the instrument's tone which is used by all instruments.

Instrument amplifiers that provide distortion or dissimilarities between the input and output signals are sought out by musicians in many genres. Many instrument amplifiers for electric guitar and bass allow performers to add distortion by boosting the input signal gain.The two exceptions are keyboard amplifiers and acoustic amplifiers which are used for amplifying acoustic instruments such as acoustic guitar, violin, mandolin, etc.Acoustic amplifiers typically aim for a relatively flat response which is needed by all instruments.