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Tested: Where Does The Tone Come From In A Guitar Amplifier?

Jim Lill · demo · Watch on YouTube

Music theory, synthesis & productionAudio & video engineering

What it is

Guitarist Jim Lill spends a year testing where guitar amplifier tone comes from, swapping tubes, rectifiers and bias types. He finds that much of it can be reproduced with EQ and distortion in different orders.

Why Hacker News recommends it

Recommended as a systematic, surprising experiment, often cited in audio and gear-obsession threads.

  • 3 people recommended it
  • 3 different months
  • 0 strong recommendations
  • first 2024, last 2026

What HN commenters said

  1. “It's almost entirely EQ and distortion, applied in various orders”

    Tests amp tone, showing it is mostly EQ and distortion.

    mrob, 2025-05 · Recommendation · in “A Secret Trove of Rare Guitars Heads to the Met”

  2. “I'd like to plug the YouTube Video by Jim Lill”

    Investigates where guitar amplifier tone comes from.

    WorkerBee28474, 2025-11 · Recommendation · in “How Tube Amplifiers Work”

  3. “check out this guy who ran a much more systematic set of experiments”

    Systematic experiments on where guitar and amp tone come from.

    gadtfly, 2026-03 · Recommendation · in “Comparison shows audiophiles waste a lot of money”

Excerpts from Hacker News comments, linked to the originals. Summaries and labels were written by a language model from those comments.

Topics: guitar amps, eq, distortion, tube amplifiers, audio

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