Best Electric Guitar Amps for your guitar that will help you get the right sound from your axe. If you play the electric guitar, you will need a good amplifier to hear its sound. Checkout the best guitar amps from the top manufacturers.
Introduction
if you’re looking for an electric guitar, you will need an amplifier too. While many find it easier to understand the various types of guitars, when it comes to amplifiers, many seem to be lost.
Here are the two most common guitar amplifier configurations:
- A “combo” (short for ‘combination’) amplifier that includes an amplifier and one or more speakers placed in a single cabinet
- A standalone amplifier (often called a “head” or “amp head”) – doesn’t have built-in speakers – which passes the amplified signal (via a speaker cable) to one or more external speaker cabinets.
An electric guitar without an amplifier is like a silent acoustic guitar, barely audible to anyone, and its not why electric guitars were built in the first place. Over time, you will realize that a good amp is as important as the electric guitar itself.
For beginners, buying a electric guitar amp can get confusing because of the several types and features available. In general, electric amps can of the following types: Tube amps, solid-state, hybrid, digital-modelling. Each of these produce a slightly different tone, so that is something probably you need to bear in mind before buying one.
In the beginning, you may focus on the few basic effects that every guitarist needs – Reverb, Chorus, Delay and Compressor. Later, depending on your preferences, you could consider buying other types of amps. Bbeginners should ideally go for something (preferably modelling amp) that provides clean distortion and also has built-in effects such as delay, chorus, reverb, etc so that you have more options at your fingertips.
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Best Electric Guitar Amps: Reviews
To fully experience the magic of a fine guitar, you need to plug it into an equally fine amplifier. Whether you’re playing in smaller venues or in concert halls, find the desired amplification to get heard from the front row to the rafters.
There are several types of guitar amplifiers to choose from, such as combo, mini, power amps and so on; you need to use one based on your requirements.
Best Beginner / Practice Amps
Here are some great options for beginners.
Vox amPlug AC30 Guitar Headphone Amp
Vox amPlug AC30 Guitar Headphone Amp plugs directly in to your guitar, you then just need to plug in your headphones and enjoy some great Vox tone.
Bugera V5 5-Watt Class-A Valve Amplifier
The Bugera V5 5-Watt Class-A Valve Amplifier Combo comes with Reverb and Power Attenuator. Good sound and build quality (no rattles), and value for money.
Vox AC4TV All-tube Practice Amplifier
Vox AC4TV All-tube Practice Amplifier comes with EL84 power tube, 12AX7 preamp tube, custom-made VX10 Celestion 10″ speaker.
Here are more powerful Guitar Amps, for the experienced players:
Fender Hot Rod Deluxe(TM) III
The Fender Hot Rod Deluxe III is a 40-watt single 12″ combo that comes with a versatile all-12AX7 tube preamp, comes with Fender spring reverb, effects loop.
Line 6 Spider Valve 112 MkII
The Line 6 Spider Valve 112 MkII 40-watt 1×12 Guitar Combo Amp has 12-inch Celestion Vintage 30 speaker; two 12AX7 preamp tubes; two matched 6L6 power tubes; 4 channels; 128 user-programmable presets.
Peavey ValveKing 112 Combo Amplifier
The Peavey ValveKing 112 Combo Amplifier comes with two 6L6GC and three 12AX7 tubes, two independent footswitchable channels.
Fender Mustang I Electric Guitar Amplifier
Great sound quality, easy to use, and flexible. With the Fender Fuse software, you can download huge amount of amp presets for free. 20 Watts, One channel (with 24 presets), Various Controls such as Gain, Volume, Treble, Bass, Master, Preset Select, Modulation Select, and more.
Line 6 Spider Modeling Guitar Amplifier
A great value amp, with hundreds of presets and distortion/effects settings for different songs. 75 watts; 300+ presets, 20 Smart FX settings, 16 amp models, and more.
Guitar Cord / Cable
You’ll need a guitar cable to connect the guitar to the amplifier. For this, you’ll need a 1/4″ guitar cord, one end plugs into your guitar and the other will go into the amp.
Its a good practice to make sure the cord is plugged in, before you turn ON the amplifier.
Planet Waves American Stage Guitar and Instrument Cable (15 feet)
The Planet Waves American Stage Guitar Cable allows smooth sound transfer from the instrument to the amp and/or pre-amp, and provides very low handling noise, great for home practice, stage and studio.
Best Combo Guitar Amps
Combo guitar amps for electric guitar are popular because of their convenience, ease of use and relative portability.
You will find a huge range of combo amps from leading brands. You can choose fro a state of the art modelling amp or a classic tube amp.
Yamaha THR10 Modeling Guitar Combo Amplifier
The Yamaha THR10 combo amp features real tube amp tone and dynamics, hi-fi quality stereo playback and full recording capabilities. It comes with the essential amp tones and effects, is battery powered, and offers USB connectivity for recording, playback, and preset editing. 10-watt 1-channel 2×3″, User Setting Recall, 3-band EQ.
With the THR10 Desktop combo amp, Yamaha has blurred the lines between tube tone and digital technology. This might be a mini amplifier but it sounds big and recreates the rich sound of an overdriven amp even at low levels, and its USB output is easy to record. It gives you a huge range of guitar tone and is made for all occasions.
- PROS: Sturdy, sounds far more “real” than other modeling amps, the effect are usable, headphone jack
- CONS: Designed to be a practice amp for at-home playing or recording and not really for on-stage performances
It’s got Clean, Crunch, Lead, Brit Hi, and Modern tube guitar amp models, plus modes for your acoustic guitar or bass and a bypass mode that turns its modeling off. Yamaha’s modeling technology delivers tube-like responsiveness, and adds character to the various built-in effects.
Auxiliary inputs. USB output to send the amp’s big sound directly to your computer. Cubase AI is included in the package, the downloadable THR editor allows you tweak the sounds further.
This amp is perfect for playing at home, you get authentic tube tone and an unfiltered clean sound. It can be powered by an AC adapter or AA batteries, so it’s even ready for camping.
Fender 65 Deluxe Reverb Vintage Guitar Combo Amplifier
The Fender ’65 Deluxe Reverb Combo Amp delivers 22W power through a 12″ speaker. Features two channels (normal, vibrato), all-tube circuitry, tube vibrato, tube spring reverb, Blackface cosmetics and two-button footswitch to control the reverb and vibrato effects. If you’re looking for a pure Fender tone but don’t need lots of wattage, this is a good amp to consider.
This 22 watts of pure fender tube power is good enough for small clubs and venues. The full, snappy guitar tones heard on many famous recordings from Memphis to Abbey Road were made using the Deluxe amp.
This amp is loud and delivers great clean tones with a nice natural overdrive, and can be used for every genre from rock and roll, blues, and country. The Deluxe Reverb gets a natural tube overdrive, which is the signature tone of this amp. It sounds better than most overdrive pedals out there.
It is a good bet if you’re looking for a reliable tube amp in the price price range suitable for most hobbyists.
Key features:
- Two 6V6 output tubes, one 5AR4 rectifier tube, four 12AX7 preamp tubes, a pair of 12AT7 tubes — all-tube power and tone
- 12-inch Jensen speaker (model C-12K), Speaker Jack: Two 1/4″ Parallel (Internal and External)
- Dual channel operation (clean and vibrato), Classic Fender tube-driven reverb and tube vibrato, Two-button footswitch to control reverb and vibrato
- Inputs: Four – (1/4″, Two Normal and Two Vibrato), Auxiliary Input: N/A
- Voltage: 120V, Wattage: 22 Watts
Best Acoustic Guitar Amps Reviews
Acoustic Guitar Amps: Experienced guitar players use a dedicated acoustic amp to get the best sound from your acoustic guitar. Here, we take a look at the best acoustic guitar amplifiers. Other factors like portability, aesthetics, build quality, built-in effects, EQ, road worthiness, etc. have also been considered.
AER Domino 3 Acoustic Guitar Combo Amp (100W)
If you’re a pro guitar player, look no further than this for your acoustic guitar. AER is a famous brand, their amps are not cheap, but they provide excellent acoustic amplification, and offers portability as well.
Roland AC-90 Acoustic Guitar Amp
Roland amps are quite popular among guitarists for its clear tone, and the AC-90 (features 2 8-inch speakers) is a popular acoustic guitar amp. Great, crisp amplification and modern look. More features include phantom anti-feedback, useful effects like delay and reverb. It offers great performance in any situation including busking, to weekend gigs, to studio recording.
Fishman PRO-LBX-600 Loudbox Artist
Fishman is a popular brand that makes electronics for guitars. The Loudbox Artist is a popular, and reasonably priced acoustic guitar amp that provides fantastic acoustic tones, with minimal feedback issues. Comes with two effect sections, more features include EQ, gain and anti-feedback. Classy wooden finish.
Alternatively, you could also look at the Fishman Loudbox Mini Acoustic Instrument Amplifier, which is one notch lower than the artist version.
Also Read:
Best combo keyboard amplifiers.
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Fender Guitar Amps and Cabinets
Fender doesn’t need any introduction, its among the world’s top manufacturers of electric and acoustic guitars, basses, amplifiers, accessories, more. They do have a wide range of amplifiers, ranging from the classic tube-driven combos to modern digital modelers.
Fender guitar amps (and Cabinets) are renowned for reproducing Fender’s clean and overdrive tones, and come with an assortment of effects. Their amps include auxiliary input for jamming with media player, headphone output for silent practice, and lot more.
These amps are designed to highlight the iconic tones that Fender guitars are revered for around the world. You may choose from models that offer modern high-gain tones, as well as models that also include rich “Vintage” sounds, making them perfect for performers as well as recording musicians.
Fender Guitar Amps Over the Years
Fender guitar amps have evolved over the years from the tweed era to the black/silver panel models. Along the way, several models became a hit with musicians (during that era) thanks to their unique sonic identities & capabilities. Over the years (Tweed amps, Brown/Blonde Tolex amps, Black/Silver Panel amps), Fender guitar amps have only gotten better.
Experienced and pro-musicians love the old tweed Fender amps (and their similarly constructed modern clones) because the sound they produce is naturally airy and vibrant, and that’s because of the way they’re constructed. The cabinets of Fender amps are made from materials like solid pine, which vibrates better compared to stiffer materials like plywood and MDF (medium density fiberboard).
Benefits of Using Fender Guitar Amps
- Versatile for any style of guitar playing.
- Simple to use control layout
- These come with several onboard effects and amp models
- Several customizable amp voices, gives your tone unlimited possibilities.
- USB connectivity and stereo XLR outputs – Use it with a digital audio workstation, connect to your recording rig or use it with your computer
- Practice anytime, anywhere thanks to the Headphone Output
If you’re looking to add some serious performance and power to your music, you need to take a look at the Fender guitar amps.
Fender amps have great set of features, are versatile. Feel free to use them as standalone tone machine or as part of your personal effects chain.
Best Fender Guitar Amps and Cabinets:
Fender Champion 100 – 100 Watt Electric Guitar Amplifier
The Champion 100 combo amp cranks out 100 solid-state watts of power, offers customizable amp voices. Toggle between clean or mean with the kick of a footswitch. Best for playing loud and proud, in any syle.
Fender Mustang IV (V.2) 150-Watt 2×12 Electric Guitar Combo Amplifier
The Fender Mustang IV comes with the most modernfeatures. Comes loaded with 17 models of classic Fender amps, plus USB and stereo XLR outputs to connect to your recording rig. Let your musical creativity and imagination run wild.
Fender ’65 Twin Reverb 85-Watt 2×12-Inch Guitar Combo Amp
The Fender 65 amp provides crystal-clear and harmonically rich tone, and is perfect for rock, jazz, country or any other style. Features four 6L6 Groove Tubes output tubes, four 12AX7 preamp tubes, two 12AT7 preamp tubes, two 12” 8-ohm Jensen C-12K speakers, dual channels (normal and vibrato), Fender® reverb, vibrato, two-button reverb and vibrato on-off footswitch.
Checkout more Fender Guitar Amps & Cabinets here on zZounds
Guitar Amps: Buying Guide
Beginning Years: Most electric guitar players, in their beginning years, never buy an amp. At most they may use a headphone amp. One of the reasons for this is that they want to keep things simple. Some players are just not comfortable with the idea of getting an amp and pedals, and do all those cord connection to get the right sound.
But what better time to get an electric guitar amp than now! You have so many choices and more importantly it’s quite easy to operate.
Electric Guitar Amp: Features
Electric Guitar Amp: Most widely used features and how to select one.
An amplifier comes with several features and lets you generate some cool tones for your guitar.
You get fully featured amps that come with additional software to control the sound (and not expensive at all).
You also get little pocket amps which are powerful enough for a smaller venue and then you have the guitar headphone amp, both of which can be powered by batteries.
So depending on your requirement, you can choose from a huge variety of electric guitar amps.
If possible, try them out at music shops to get an idea of the various features. You also need to have an idea of the wattage that you are after — you need it for personal use or for public performances.
Just spend some time knowing your amp, the various control, and how to tweak them, and you will be amazed by the sound that some of these amps produce.
Here’s what most guitar players would love to see on their amplifier:
More Features and Effects
Most of these come with amazing features and effects. Out of all the features, the most important is the ability to alternate between effects using a foot switch. It makes it easy to alternate between effects such as clean and overdrive. So if possible, do get one with a foot switch.
Number of Watts
Try to get one with at least 50 watts. Anything less than 50 watts will not be powerful enough. You want something that will provide a much better sound quality with thumping bass.
Great Sounding
Most electric guitar amplifiers come with built-in speakers which are quite good on their own but if you want it to sound better, you may plug in quality headphones and hear the sound, or just send the sound to a PA, or send it to your computer based studio for a whole new hearing experience.
Some important features that you can expect on the better ones include a built-in tuner, several pre-loaded effects, and software that can help you record on your PC using USB.
Understanding Combo Amplifiers
What do you exactly mean by a Combo Guitar Amp?
Most are of the opinion that beginners should opt for a compo amplifier, because its convenient.
The amp head and speakers are housed in one single unit, which means.
- Its more portable
- You do not have to worry about making the connection from the amplifier to the speakers
- It’s easy to use
Here are few things to know about a combo amplifier:
- A combo amp basically contains both the speaker and the amplifier in one unit (hence the name)
- Combo amps are designed to work optimally with certain instruments (frequencies). So you would be more interested in buying a guitar combo, than a keyboard combo
- An alternative to using a combo amplifier would be to buy an amp head (contains only the amplifier) which would then need to be plugged into external speakers
I guess that gives some idea to you, if you’re a beginner; because most think that a combo amp means you can play both bass and guitar through it. They think that instead of buying just a separate bass or guitar amp, a combo that plays both bass and guitar would really be ideal.
However, that’s not what a combo amp means (though you can definitely play the bass through a combo guitar amp, its just that you get separate bass amps as well )
Why Acoustic Guitar Amp?
While most electric guitar amps do add their own sonic colors to the tone of the guitar, the best acoustic guitar amps actually faithfully reproduces your acoustic guitars sound; it provides a flat response without adding any color. The resulting sound is transparent, warm, loud yet crisp and clear; they sound more ‘wooden’ and reproduce minute details of your playing.
The tone produced by an acoustic guitar is different from the other types of guitars, so it has to be treated differently if you want to amplify it. A good amp is responsible for getting a rich sound from your acoustic, which may otherwise sound tinny or hardly inaudible if you were to use a cheap amp.
If you play your acoustic guitar directly through a PA, it’s quite possible that your pickup / guitar may produce some nasty amplification frequencies. Routing your guitar through an amp / D.I. definitely helps.
Acoustic Guitar Amp
A dedicated acoustic amp enhances the sound of an acoustic guitar as compared to a regular guitar amp. Some of the good acoustic guitar amps act as a “Direct Injection” (D.I.) box, which basically takes takes an unbalanced signal and converts it to a balanced signal so that you get a fine tuned sound which can then be passed to the PA.
The various knobs on these amps help you to control bass, treble, and help you to fine tune your sound by eliminating feedback. You can customize your sound to suit the venue where you will be performing.
A good acoustic guitar amplifier makes the guitar sound great even if the PA system isn’t that great.
You may use these amps for vocals as well (as a pre-amp), though there are some better pre-amps for vocals out there.
You will need to spend some time with your acoustic guitar amp to hear how the various controls impact the sounds. Once you know what sounds better, you just have to make minor adjustments whenever you intend to perform. So it is good use of your time to know your acoustic guitar amp.
Can You Use An Electric Guitar Amp for Playing Acoustic Guitar?
Of course you can, and the good news for you is that you will get reasonable results with such a setting, which should be okay for beginners and intermediate level players.
Experienced/professional players own multiple guitars and amps so they will most likely use a separate acoustic guitar amp for their acoustic guitar/s.
Can You Play Electric Guitar Without Amplifier?
Is it possible to play the electric guitar without an amplifier?
There are some students who experiment by taking the amplifier out, and depending on the guitar, it can actually make a nice sound even without the amp. But is it the right thing to do? Does it affect the guitar in any way?
Well, the short answer to this is that so long as you don’t try too hard (on the strings), you should be fine.
If you’re practicing in a small room, you can definitely play your electric guitar without hooking it up to an amplifier and you should be able to hear the sound pretty okay.
Closing Thoughts
Those of you looking for a nice amp to practice, you can look at the fender mustang electric guitar amp or the slightly powerful roland microcube amplifier. Both are suitable as practice guitar amps for playing at home, and not really for bigger venues.
For comparatively bigger venues, you can have a look at the 40W Fender Mustang guitar amp. Another options is the more powerful and one of the best solid state amp, the 75W spider guitar amplifier
Though amps are designed to be instrument specific, you can always use it with any audio source. So you always plug-in your iPod and listen to music, if you wish. It’s just that the sound quality could be less than ideal because the speakers are configured for certain frequencies.
Usually, a Guitar combo amp will be good at amplifying the mid-frequencies, a bass one will have more bass, and if you want better higher frequencies you need an amp with tweeter.
If you buy a beginner electric guitar package, then the bundled amp should be good for you, but in case you are looking to buy an amp separately you’ll need to do some research and also probably test it out using your guitar. There are lots of options out there so it should not be a problem finding a good electric guitar amp.
KeytarHQ editorial team includes musicians who write and review products for pianists, keyboardists, guitarists & other musicians. KeytarHQ is the best online resource for information on keyboards, pianos, synths, keytars, guitars and music gear for musicians of all abilities, ages and interests.
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