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Best Guitar Amps Reviewed & Rated for Quality
Standout Picks
Criteria Used for Evaluation
Potency
If you want to play the electric guitar, chances are you want to be able to make that thing howl. This category is to let you know just how easy it is to get your guitar loud. This is determined by a few things. With the amps that come with a speaker, that speaker is very important. You want something larger than usual that can do a good job of sending your sounds out into the world. This is determined by the wattage of the amp. They come in tons of different options. There are .1, 1, 5, and 15 Watt amps. The more amps, the more power that the amp will have. Look for amps that fit your profile for what you are looking for in an amp. The more powerful it is won't always turn out to be for the better, but it is definitely the right place to start when you are looking for an amp.
Versatility
Another thing that is useful to think about when buying your new amp is how much you can do with it. This is not in terms of sound options, but more like how many ways there are to play with it. An amp that can only be used to play loud is only useful for a small window of uses, while an amp that can be played in many ways is more useful to the beginner. Lots of amps give you tons of different ways to play the guitar. There are some amps that can be used in multiple wattages, which is a great way to switch up your guitar as you go. This means that you will be able to play it quietly at home, or loudly out on the town. Another useful option to look for is the ability to play in tons of different styles. Some amps are designed for a specific type of guitar playing, while others are not. The wider variety of styles you can play on your new amp, the higher this rating.
Portability
It can be fun to practice your craft while you are alone. This is the easiest time to experiment and really do whatever you want with your guitar. On the other hand, if you want to see what an electric guitar can do, it is best seen while you are playing with other people. Of course this could be a band, but it can be just as fun just screwing around with some friends in a garage or living room. Being able to take your amps along with you is the best way to make sure that you are showing off your skills at their best. Lots of amps are designed for portability. Some of them can be lifted by a handle so that you can easily take them wherever you are going with little hassle. There are other amps that come with convenient compartments that you can store your things in. The higher the rating in this category, the easier it is to take your amp on the road.
Adjustability
The more that you can do with your amp, the more use you can get out of it. There are usually a few different options and features that you can tweak while you go. The obvious option is the volume knob, but there are so many things that you can play around with. There are knobs for reverb, delay, and treble and bass. This gives you the ability to completely transform your instrument into something else entirely. This is a great way to get a guitar that is uniquely your own. There are tons of different ways that you play with your guitar, and it is still easy to end up with a sound that is uniquely yours. This rating is a good way to know just how much you will be able to switch up your guitar's sound, which is important for getting a long life of use out of your guitar.
Value
There is a wide collection of prices on display for these amps. Guitar amps are one of those things where there are so many variables that determine the final price for an amp. There are amps that are designed for beginners. These will usually be combo amps, which are the square amps that come with a speaker. These amps do a great job at giving you everything that you need in one little box. What they usually lack is the specialization that lets you really trick your guitar's sound into something that you can call your own. These amps usually cost in the bottom half of the hundreds. The other amps are much more specialized, and are designed to give you a lot of options in a more specific kind of sound. This rating is a good way to let you know just how far each one of those precious dollars you spend will go towards getting you the best amp for your money.
10 Best Guitar Amps
1. Boss Katana 100 Watt
This is a powerful and portable guitar amp that will make a comfortable home in any guitarist's home. This is a jack of all trades that you can use for anything.
Powerful and Portable
The Katana is a very well-designed amp. It is named after a katana for the expertise that has gone into making such a precise blade. The Katana amp is the same way. The sound that comes out of this thing is a crisp and clean sound that listens to everything that your fingers are doing to your guitar. It only helps matters that you can easily take it with you anywhere.
Other Features
The Katana is packed with versatile features that only complement how great it is. It comes with tons of different effects that you can attach to it. This means that you won't need to bring any other gear with you because it is already all there inside of this amp. This amp does a great job of making sure that you have everything that you need once you hit the road.
Cost and Value
The Katana is not the cheapest option on this list, but it is far from being considered an expensive amp. You get so much power and versatility out of this amp that it is truly surprising how good of a deal it. This amp is great because it could easily be everything that you need when it comes to gathering equipment for your guitar.
2. Vox AC15C2 15 Watt
The AC15C2 is a classic redesign from Vox. It is nicknamed the twin because it has taken some of the more successful elements from other guitar amps of the past.
Twin Design
The reason that this amp from Vox is called the twin is that it has two different modes that you can control the volume for. It has a standard mode and a top-boost mode. Both of these modes comes with their own volume controls, which gives you tons of control for how you want your playing to sound. If you want to keep it simple, then you can easily just use the master volume control that comes with it, too.
Other Features
There are tons of other reasons to love this amp from Vox. It has been designed so that you can easily control the volume from the master control, without needing to worry about adjusting the levels. Another thing that makes it so great is the amount of speakers shoved into this thing. There are two speakers inside the Twin to go along with the reverb box in the bottom.
Cost and Value
This is a bit more of an expensive option when it comes to amps, but it makes up for it with the added features designed for those who like to fine-tune their sound. The Twin is a great amp for those who are worried about getting their guitar to sound just right. The clever use of multiple kinds of volume lets you move from clear sounding picking, to powerful riffing.
3. Peavey 6505120 Watt
The Peavey is designed for one thing specifically, and that is to make hardcore rock music that really lays the smackdown out on your ears.
Aggressive Amp
The Peavey is designed so that you can always be sure that you are giving out the most intense rock music possible. This amp is designed for metal and hardcore music. The Peavey is great for those who want to rock. This is done through having the amp be overloaded with tube amps that bring a heavy and raw tone to the proceedings.
Other Features
So now you know what kind of person should be buying the Peavey, but it is also a great amp for some of its other features. This amp comes with lots of options for choosing the resonance for your guitar, which means that you can tone it down a bit if you want to play a bit softer. This guitar is also great for how reliable it is. This is a great amp for touring.
Cost and Value
The Peavey is a great choice for a specific kind of person. It brings a loud and uncompromising sound that is sure to impress those who want their guitar playing to feel powerful and heavy. This is a really popular amp with metal bands who like to shred. It has been modernized in many ways so that you can change the sounds to your liking. Important to note is that this amp costs quite a bit more than the other options on this list.
4. Marshall Combo 30 Watt
This is a classic looking amp from a classic looking brand. The Marshall is great for guitarists who want to take their work on the road, or for those who want to sit at home.
Classic Design
This amp looks exactly like the amp you envision in your head when you think of sitting down to play guitar in your room. It has a ten-inch speaker, which is a good size for getting just enough sound out to impress others, or just to enjoy on your own. It also comes with all the most popular effects, so that you can play around to find what you want.
Other Features
The Marshall is packed with other features that make it a convenient choice for the burgeoning guitarist. It comes with a line in for your headphones. This is great for if you want to play quietly, as you can hear your sound without waking up the neighbors. It also comes with preset modes that you can flick through if you are not confident enough to set the levels the way you want.
Cost and Value
This product is a great choice for anyone who wants to take their musicianship more seriously, but is not quite ready to go all the way. It is a good guitar for those who are still working on their art from home. This guitar does a great job at giving you everything that you need to start out. It also comes at a good price for a starting amp.
5. Fender Champion 20 Watt
The Fender Champion is a budget guitar amp that does a great job at giving the beginner a great place to start when they want the music loud.
Budget Concious Amp
This amp is the cheapest one on the list, which makes it a great place to start if you are buying your first guitar amp. This amp still packs lots of features and options so you have the versatility to do what you want with your guitar. The Champion is also powerful enough that you don't need to worry about being able to rock out if you want.
Other Features
The Champion is a fully featured guitar amp that gives you tons of ways to play your guitar. It comes with multiple knobs for changing around the sound of your guitar. It also comes with the ability to plug your music player into the amp. This makes it easy for you to play along with your guitar, due to the two channel design of the amp.
Cost and Value
The Fender Champion is an incredibly cheap guitar amp that does a great job at giving you everything that you need in a first timer's amp. It is more than powerful enough for you to play at home without needing to worry about the sound cracking. It has tons of options for changing the sound to the way that you want, too. Perfect for the beginner.
6. Hughes & Kettner 18 Watt
The Hughes & Kettner is a specialized head set up that will make any sound system that you attach it to sing for you.
Smooth Tube Head
The Tubemeister is designed to be a classic tube amp that will do a great job at getting you some basic guitar sounds. This is a really good choice if you are looking for an amp that will make the sounds that you expect, rather than something more specialized. Many people note that it has a very clean sound to it that makes it a good fit for any guitarist.
Other Features
The Tubemeister is designed with tons of features so you can get the sound that you want, though. It is designed with tons of different knobs and features. You can get clean sounding electric guitar, but you can also get tons of reverby metal and rock guitars to go with it, too. This guitar comes with multiple channels so that you can easily switch between the two set ups with ease.
Cost and Value
This is definitely the tube amp you should get if you are already deep into the guitar game. Buying this set up means that you already have a speaker set up that you can be proud of. Even better, this amp comes with tons of options so you can really take advantage of all those toys you own. It does cost quite a pretty penny, but the range of sounds that you can get out of it will make it worth it.
7. Orange 15 Watt
This is another tube amp that you can use to get some great range out of your speakers. This one has a funky design and a lot of powerful.
Packs a Punch
The Orange tube amp is a powerful tube head that you can use to get some great sounds out of your guitar. It packs a lot of power into a very small unit. The size makes it a great choice for those who want to take their show on the road, or who do not have as much space as they would like. Don't worry, this thing will still let you go to town on the sound.
Other Features
The Orange tube amp is a great choice for tons of other reasons, too. It comes in a funky little package that is about as cool looking as you are going to find in the entire amp market. This is also an interesting choice because there aren't very many options for how you want to switch around your sound. This is actually a good thing if you know what you want out of your amp.
Cost and Value
The orange is a good buy for people who want something simple and effective from their tube amp. These amps do a great job at making it easy for you to get a great classic sound out of your guitar. The simple features and portability also make it a good choice for those who want something simple and portable. The Orange amp is another expensive option for those who are already set up with their gear.
8. Bugera 5 Watt
The Bugera is a combo amp that packs tons of sound into a small and portable body. It also has some cutting edge technology to back up its vintage look.
Good Starting Kit
The Bugera is a great place to start if you are just buying one of your first amps. It comes with tons of different options for playing. It has a fully powered five watt option that is perfect for when you want people to hear your sweet cords, but it also has other options for quieter playing, like when you are at home. It even has a headphone mode so you can keep it really quiet when it is after hours.
Other Features
The other great thing about the Bugera is how many options it gives you for when you want to move on. The Bugera is a great little piece of gear that you can easily move on from when you want to move onto bigger and better things. It has the ability to unhook the amp from the speaker, which gives you the ability to hook it up to a more powerful speaker if you want.
Cost and Value
The Bugera is a great choice if you want something that you can move on from when you are ready to go big. It gives you tons of options and power from the head, while giving you a speaker that does a serviceable job in most situations. If you want it to sound even better, the Bugera gives you multiple ways to switch to some cleaner sounding speakers. It comes at a good price, too.
9. Yamaha Mini 10 Watt
The Yamaha is a very cool choice for those who want an amp that comes along with some unique and interesting features.
Cubase Recording Software
The Yamaha has a clever feature that lets you record music on it through the jack. Play something on your guitar, and the Yamaha will convert it through your settings into a satisfying guitar riff. The portability of the Yamaha improves this even more, as you can just set up and record something as it comes to you.
Other Features
The Yamaha is also designed with portability in mind. The Yamaha is a very tiny amplifier that you can take with you just about anywhere. It has the clever design of an amp that you can take on the road with you, due to the fact that it can run through an outlet, or by putting some batteries into the back of it. It also has tons of options for setting it just the way that you like it.
Cost and Value
The Yamaha mini amplifier is a great choice for people who want to be able to make your own music. If you are someone who likes to bring their guitar with them when they go downtown, the Yamaha offers the unique opportunity of letting you record your own music any time the inspiration strikes. On top of that, it is just a good amp, in general.
10. Roland Micro Cube
If portability is the most important thing that you are looking for in a guitar amp, then the Micro Cube is what you should be looking for.
Extreme Portability
The Micro Cube is an incredibly small amplifier that runs on double AA batteries. That makes it a good choice for those who want to be able to take their guitar kit with them anywhere. It can be easily taken anywhere because of how amazingly lightweight it is. This guitar does a great job at being a good pick up and go option for the traveling musician.
Other Features
Although the portability is the Micro Cube's biggest feature, it is also very impressive in how much power it packs into its tiny frame. The Micro Cube is only a 3W amp, but it does a great job of keeping your music pounding when it needs to be. The amp is designed so that the sound doesn't depreciate in quality all that much when the volume is amped up all the way.
Cost and Value
For its size, the Micro Cube may seem like it costs too much, but this is not the case when it comes to the quality of the amp. From the clever choice to use batteries, to the lightweight build that makes it easy to carry across town, the Micro Cube is a great little amp that is a perfect choice for anyone. This is even a good choice if you already have an amp, just for the great convenience.
