For all things guitar – the ultimate guide to guitar amplifiers
As with anything guitar related, todays choice is immense and you can get a decent guitar amplifier for less than a hundred quid and one for more than twenty grand; it all depends on your budget, needs, space and musical taste!
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Amplifiers come in all shapes, sizes and technologies from Bedroom Amps, Practice Amps, Home, Studio, Stage and Stadium amps and can be Valve, Solid state, Digital, Hybrid based and be a Combo, Head or Floor amp.
Confused?
Check out the fifty plus makers we have profiled.
Whist we are not experts on amps, we are passionate about guitars, making music and having fun! We have also tried a few amps out over the years…
Where do you start?
First off you need to consider what you want the amp for (apart from amplifying your guitar!) – to practice at home, on the move, perform on stage or record.
Next you need to consider what size (loudness) you want – a 100watt valve amp in a bedroom will destroy your ears, annoy the neighbours (four doors down) and probably blow the windows out!
Then consider your music genre and taste, what features you might want and your budget.
Check out our Guide to Bedroom Amps and Guide to Practice Amps
For acoustic guitarists check out our Guide to Acoustic Guitar Amps
Choice
There is a huge choice of amps out there from ‘traditional’ valve amps – some players refuse to play anything else, solid-state amps (all electric and no valves), digital (using computer technology) and hydrid amps (feature digital technology with a valve power). All of these can produce an array of tones covering all genres of music.
You can get predominantly ‘clean’ amps (think Fender amps) and predominantly ‘overdriven’ amps (think Marshall or Orange) and all points between.
You can also get pedal friendly amps that take guitar effects pedals well and many of these may have a separate effects loop enabling you to integrate your pedals via the amp.
Fully digital amps have come a long way and many now have good sounding embedded tones that ‘replicate’ certain famous amp sounds, with pre-set sounds and downloadable patches meaning you can really get any tone/sound you want. All clever stuff.
Which one is for me?
Valve amps tend to cost more that digital, hybrid and solid-state amps and. as we mentioned before, are the preferred choice for many guitarists; you can’t beat the sound of a Les Paul through a fully cranked, overdriven, valve amp – glorious! Although not that practical at home…
Whilst valve amps are great they can be temperamental and your ‘sound’ may not be the same every time. Valves also wear out and need replacing.
Digital amps can start at £50 and all the big makers now have a good range of amps available in their catalogues. The Vox VX, Fender Mustang, Blackstar ID:Core, Boss Katana, Marshall CODE, Line 6 Spider and Yamaha THR are great choices here.
They have all the sounds you want (and more), are reliable and produce a consistent sound day after day.
Hybrid amps, like the Vox Cambridge, have a digital front end and a valve power section – the best of both worlds.
Think Roland JC Jazz Chorus amps and you get a solid-state based, superb sounding clean amp with great features.
Head, Combo, Floor or Headphone amp?
All amplifiers have to be connected to a speaker and these can be integrated, which are Combo amps, separate, which are Heads, where you need a speaker cab.
You can also get floor amps, which as their name suggests look like big effects pedals and these will need a speaker cab as well. Think BluGuitar amps.
Or you can have a headphone amp which you plug your headphones into – think Vox amPlug, or you can get headphone you plug straight into your guitar, think Boss, Vox or Marshall, which can be wired or bluetooth.
These allow you to sit and noodle on your sofa without disturbing anyone.
Top Amp Makers
Fender started as an amplifier company before moving into electric guitar production and they are still one of the biggest players. Many great names, such as Vox, Orange and Marshall, started in the UK during the pop and rock revolution of the 1960’s and remain major players today.
- Vox
- Marshall
- Orange
- Laney
- Blackstar
- Fender
- Boss
- Line 6
- Peavey
As with guitars we have small, in the shed, custom makers who produce some fantastic, and very expensive amps, together with the full-blown global manufacturers.