Instrumentation amplifier

[technoguy]

An instrumentation amplifier is a type of differential amplifier that has been specifically designed to have characteristics suitable for use in measurement and test equipment. These characteristics include very low DC offset, low drift, low noise, very high open-loop gain, very high common-mode rejection ratio, and very high input impedances. They are used where great accuracy and stability of the circuit both short- and long-term are required.

[vipl]

Instrument amplifiers that provide distortion (clipping) 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.