Are you still stranded on what guitar amplifier is best to buy and pair with the electric guitar you’ve already chosen to start a tone chasing lifestyle? Well If that’s the case. We have here a few recommendations of what we believe are the best guitar amplifiers for beginners.
Aside from what brands to choose from and finding out the right budget to spend on an amp. Initial search for a guitar amplifier generally leads beginner players on figuring out that there are actually different types of guitar amps in the market. This is where they start to care deeply enough to know which amp sounds better and what will fit their playing the best.
Like any other electronic products, the amp as well has already gone into notable changes and updates over the years. However even the changes in amp technology happened, many still prefer a tube powered amplifier over a solid state and modeling amps. This is mainly because the sound of a valve is considered the organic or natural on how an amplifier should sound. While the other two is engineered to sound like a tube amp especially the modeling amps.
Why buy a solid state and modeling amp? Every amp serves its purpose, it is not a matter of argument on which is better. Even gigging musician will not use their valve amps every time. It still a matter of preference on whether to use it as well for practice or only in the stage. Venue wise and on how big is the event.
Solid state and modeling amps are great amps to use for practice sessions. As well to bring it for small gigs and recordings that require their services. That is the reason why it is really hard to tell which one is above and try to suggest that a particular amplifier is better than the other. Having an own thing is what really is important here, and besides if you really sound good. The gears you will be playing with will equally sound as great.
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Orange Crush 20RT
- 20 watt guitar combo amplifier
- 1×8” inches custom voice of the world speaker
- 2 channel amp for clean and high gain tones
- Controls are channel switch, clean and dirty channel with separate volume knobs, 3-band EQ treble-mid-bass and gain control
- With a built-in spring reverb effect and a chromatic tuner
- Set of input/output jacks for a headphone and audio source to play along with a backing track
Straight away meeting the essential criteria and tonal platform of a good small solid state combo amp for practicing at low volumes with a pocket friendly price tag is Orange Crush 20RT. This dual channel 20 watt guitar amplifier that is also available in a 35 watt version is the upgraded model of the very well received and popular Orange Crush 20 for having now a built-in spring reverb effect and a chromatic tuner which are the kind of features great for daily use.
This fully analog simple plug and play guitar amplifier is enjoyable to play with. It has a switchable clean and dirty channel with separate volume knobs that shares a 3-band EQ treble-mid-bass and gain control to add more grit and shaping capabilities so players can arrive on a crunch and lead sounds. Other useful attributes on the amp are set of input/output jacks for a headphone and audio source to play along with a backing track.
Marshall MG30FX
- 30 watt guitar combo amplifier
- 1×10” inches custom speaker
- 4 channel amplifier with a clean, crunch, OD1 and OD2
- Controls are gain, clean/crunch select, bass, OD1/OD2 select, middle, treble, reverb, volume, tuner, tap, store, FX select and master volume
- Built-in onto the amp are digital effects like a chorus, delay with tap tempo, phaser, flanger, octave and a dedicated reverb (spring/studio)
- For output/input jacks, it has for a headphone and for an audio player to play with a backing track
If you’re looking for a solid start on how you will sound without settling for a tube amplifier due to its price, maintenance and back breaking weight to carry around. The Marshall MG30FX combo amp is surely one of the best out there on capturing iconic sounds, as well as the legendary Marshall tones that other brand of amplifiers frequently emulates, adding it to their bank of amp models.
The MG30FX is part of the MG Gold family. It is a small size 30 watts amplifier with a solid state circuitry consisting of 4 channels namely clean, crunch, OD1 and OD2. Any of these channels can be operated manually or by using the amplifier’s preset mode to save settings that has been dialed-in to be recalled later on for future use.
Also built-in onto the amp are digital effects like a chorus, delay with tap tempo, phaser, flanger, octave and a dedicated reverb (spring/studio) to add more color and ambient to the sound. For output jacks, it has for a headphone for silent practices and for an audio player to play with a backing track.
Boss Katana-50
- 50 watt guitar combo amplifier
- 1×12” inches custom speaker
- Amplifier type composed of clean, crunch, lead, brown and acoustic
- Controls are amp type selector, gain, volume, 3-band EQ bass-middle-treble, effects switches and knobs, tone setting switch, power selector switch from 0.5watt, 25watt to 50watt max and master volume
- Features customizable effects by using BOSS Tone Studio editor software
- Output/input jacks for a headphone and for an audio playerk, USB port and foot switch
High expectations to accomplish many things on an amplifier at this size was once impossible, but now not anymore when BOSS a company of Roland who made the popular cube amplifier introduced the Katana line of modeling amplifiers that are loaded in features and power even on their smaller models.
Flexibility of the Boss Katana-50 goes way beyond expectations for establishing a different path referencing to its predecessor the Roland type of practice amps. With 50 watts of power and a custom 12-inch speaker, the Katana-50 can deliver a commanding range of sound playing it clean, crunch, lead, and brown for electric and acoustic electric guitars. Moving on to other controls on the panel, it features customizable effects by using BOSS Tone Studio editor software and for adjusting sounds quickly, it has a dedicated gain, EQ and effects controls. Tone setting memory is also included for storing and recalling all amp and effect settings.
Fender Super Champ X2
- 15 watt guitar tube combo amplifier
- 1x12X7 preamp tube and 2x6V6 tubes
- 1×10” inch Fender design speaker place on a black texture open back cabinet
- Channel 1 is pure volume for the clean that starts to bite in every turn of the volume knob
- Modelling section that has a separate volume, gain and voicing control with 16 presets that includes the blackface, silverface, tweed, British combos and many more
- EQ bass and treble, FX adjust, and FX select consisting of a delay, reverb, chorus, tremolo and vibratone.
Central to Fender success aside from the guitars that carried the brand all this years are the amps they make which are pioneering themselves in giving guitar players unique set of tones and unmatched overall sound quality. This is what we can say are the indicative sign and facts on why players should get their hands on a Fender Super Champ X2 for a beginner amp.
Fender Super Champ X2 is a hybrid. Combining the organic sought after qualities of a valve driven amp and the dynamic technology of a modeling amp. This 15 watts combo amp with 1×10” inch speaker has two channels. Channel 1 is pure volume for the clean that starts to bite in every turn of the volume knob and modelling section that has a separate volume, gain and voicing control with 16 presets that includes the blackface, silverface, tweed, British combos and many more. The final section on the panel is shared by both channels, the EQ bass and treble, FX adjust, and FX select consisting of a delay, reverb, chorus, tremolo and vibratone.
Vox AC10C1
- 10 watt guitar tube combo amplifier
- 2x12AX7 tube preamp section and 2xEL84 valve reactor power section
- 1×10” inches Celestion VX10 speaker
- Controls are master volume, gain, bass, treble and reverb
- 1 x external speaker jack
- Housed on classic designed cabinet with chicken wire grille cloth and chicken knobs
For those players who prefer the good old valve sound and searching for one on a reasonable price, the Vox AC10C1 can be that great choice of an amplifier for the job. This 10 watts amp with 1×10” inch Celestion speaker has a 2x12AX7 tube preamp section and 2xEL84 valve reactor power section housed in a closed back cabinet and its trademark grill cloth to deliver a genuine Vox brown sound.
The panel on top carries the controls for an old school look and feel overall, consisting of a master volume, gain, bass, treble and the model AC10 comes equip with a built-in reverb effect that makes it even more powerful and articulate to use. This amp is at top of its class when used at home, awesome for a recording studio and bringing it on stage to cover a small to medium size venues.
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