Guitarist Clint Fanslow on How to Prevent Guitar Amp Damage

Guitar amps can be very temperamental. Any amp that sees a decent amount of use, particularly on the road, will eventually need a repair. Guitar amp repairs tend to be very expensive. Fortunately, many of the most common problems that amps experience are easily preventable. Here is a look at how you can prevent damage to your guitar amp.

Matching Ohms

Many guitarists are unaware of how ohms affect their guitar head and speaker cabinet. Using improper ohm settings can fry your amp in no time. Most amps have adjustable ohm settings. Look for the input on the back of your speaker cabinet. There should be a number of ohms listed nearby. Note that ohms are sometimes represented with a Greek omega symbol. If you are using a single speaker cabinet, you want to make sure that it is set to mono and that the number of ohms on the cabinet's input is the same as the number of ohms on your head's speaker output. Calculating the correct ohms gets more complicated when using multiple cabs, but in general, you want to connect two 8-ohm cabinets to 4-ohm outputs or two 16-ohm cabinets to 8-ohm outputs.

Avoid Damaged Speakers

If a speaker cabinet has a blown speaker, its ohms will be way off. This will create a mismatch that is very harmful to your amp. If you are unsure of whether or not a cabinet has a blown speaker, check it with a multimeter. Plug a speaker cable into the cabinet, then hold onto the unused end. While using the multimeter's ohm setting, touch one of the multimeter's wires to the base of the speaker cable's jack and the other wire to the tip of the jack. The multimeter should give you a number that is close to the correct amount of ohms for the speaker cabinet. The number will never be the same, but a blown speaker will cause the multimeter to display a number that is way off.

Check Your Knobs Before Turning On

An excessively loud signal can blow a speaker immediately. If you do not check your volume before turning on, there is always a chance that all of your knobs are set to 10. Sometimes they move in transportation. Other times, people think it's a funny prank to mess with your settings. Quickly sliding your hand underneath your knobs to make sure that they're turned down takes almost no time and can prevent a very expensive repair job.

No Liquids on the Amps

Guitarists are often aware that they shouldn't keep liquids on their amps, but they do it anyway. They think that they'll just be careful and not spill the drink. However, it is not enough to be careful. Even if you do not spill your drink, liquid can still get inside of the amp. Cold drinks will sweat as they warm up. This sweat is likely to find its way into the guitar head as it vibrates and the droplets trickle away from the drink. Even a single drop can lead to an expensive repair job if it lands in the wrong spot.

Although guitar amps occasionally need to be serviced due to normal wear and tear, many issues happen because of negligence. If you are careful with your gear, you will save a lot of money in the long run.

If you need help perfecting your craft, contact Clint Fanslow today.

About Clint Fanslow: After earning a degree in music education, I entered the music industry to explore my passion for teaching and playing the guitar. Now a 30-year veteran in the industry, I am skilled in a wide variety of genres including classical, instrumental, blues, jazz, rock, and fusion. Currently, I enjoy my role as a private music instructor and composer in Lake Charles, Louisiana.