Best Electric Guitar Amps

I genuinely feel that at times, that a lot of emphasis is placed on buying an (electric) guitar, but not enough space is given to what usually needs to be bought with one – something that is just about as essential as the guitar itself, if not more. An amplifier!

As has been discussed at length in previous posts, an amplifier is vital for an electric guitar to function. An electric guitar produces no sound of its own (unlike its acoustic equivalent), and hence needs to be paired up with a good amp to produce sound.

In simple terms, an electric guitar has multiple pickups on its body, and these electromagnetic pickups are actually responsible for producing sounds. When a string touches these pickups, the pickups convert these mechanical vibrations into electric signals, which go through the amp and produce the desired sound.

So we see that the amplifiers are extremely important as far as electric guitars are concerned.

Whether you’re buying your very first amp, or getting rid of that old practice amp, the question remains, which amps out there are the best? Here are my picks of the crème de la crème of guitar amplifiers:

1. Marshall MA50C

Marshall is, by far, the biggest amp manufacturer in the world, and they make some of the most instantly-recognizable amplifiers in the world today. Marshall amps therefore, are understandably expensive, such as the MA50C, which will set you back by a good $600-$800! It comes with 50 watts of power under its hood, 12-inch speakers, and dual channels. Other features include independent volume and 3-band EQ controls per channel, gain, crunch, balance controls, master presence, resonance, reverb controls, serial effects loop and an included foot switch. It looks absolutely breath-taking, and sounds as good as it looks as well! Which, as you’ll discover, is a rare combination when it comes to amps.

2.  Fender Deluxe VM

Another, beautiful piece of equipment, and another that is one of the most instantly-identifiable amps in the world, the Fender Deluxe too will set you back by around the same price as the MA50C. The VM, or Vintage Modified, has a real-tube amp, with a whole range of essential effects. It houses two 12-inch speakers, pumping a combined power of 40W, and produces a rich and responsive tone. A great amp for a small pub, bar or jamming in your own garage, and ideal for Rock, Country and Blues genre guitar players.

3. Randall KH75

One of my personal favorites from the list, mainly due to the 75W of power that it is capable of delivering, its two channels with its 3 modes, and partly due to the fact that its named after one of my favorite guitarists in the world: Kirk Hammett of Metallica fame! The KH75 is the perfect amp for the road, and has three intuitively and aptly named channel to boot. It also boasts a  spring reverb, an effects loop, a Tape/CD input, and a footswitch. The onboard equalizer controls let you create your very own rock sound, with bass, treble and middle and contour controls. A fantastic amp for the budget-minded.

4. Fender Frontman 15G

A small, basic amp, which is cheap and just perfect for newbies or someone looking for a cheap back-up amp. But nonetheless, one that has great reviews in the community, and one that comes with the reliability and awesomeness of Fender! The Frontman 15G will set you back by around 50-90 of your greens, and apart from being a good backup/second amp, or a cheap startup amp, it is also perfect for backstage practice or warm-up sessions. It has great, signature-Fender tone, 2 channels including normal and drive, a headphone jack, and an auxiliary input with which it can be hooked up with either a CD, tape, or drum machine. It is low on power however, with an output of 15W on its single 8-inch speaker. However it does provide an excellent low-cost solution for beginners and learners. And with Fender, you really can’t go wrong.

5. Peavey 6505 Plus

A very popular amp (and an extremely popular and well-regarded company), the 6505 Plus is a common sight at a lot of gigs, especially rock and metal gigs, all over the world. This particular amp packs a real punch! The Peavey 6505 Plus is a great amp for hardcore rock and metal guitar players, it houses no less than six 12AX7s Preamp tubes and as many as four 6L6s power amp tubes, giving at an astonishing output of 120 watts! In addition, the 6505 has foot-switchable controls, allowing it to switch between lead and rhythm channels easily. It also has an effects loop, a three-band equalizer, presence and resonance control, the Peavey 6505 Plus are the amps of choice for all rock and metal guitarists, because of their power, raw tone, and of course, reliability on the road.

6. Jet City JCA2112RC

Another affordable amplifier, providing a no-nonsense, no-frills experience that is still big on power, the Jet City JCA2112RC provides 20W of power and is single-channeled. Ideal for small places, such as rooms, garages or pubs, the amp has preamp, bass, middle, treble, master, presence controls,  a solid state rectifier, and a 16 gauge, cold-rolled steel chassis. Keeping in view, ease of use, the JCA2112RC has its amp control on top of the amplifier, instead of the front. Each of its hand-built tube amp undergoes rigorous testing, which provides genuine and true British tone and of course, excellent reliability. This particular amp will cost you $350 on the dot.

7. Orange DA15H Dark Terror

Small, compact and portable, the Dark Terror guitar amp packs some serious firepower for an amplifier of this size! Its 15W Tube Guitar Amp Head has an unusually high amount of gain on tap, one of the highest in its class, with extremely high levels of responsiveness. The amp of choice for every hard rock and heavy metal guitar player, Dark Terror stays true to its name by pumping out a huge sound for its small size, backed by three 12AX7 preamp tubes and a 12AT7 power amp tube. It looks fantastic, as is the case with all Orange-produced amps out there, including another personal favorite of mine – the Thunder 30, and has one of the coolest guitar amplifier names in the industry!

Further Read

This is an excellent read on some of the best amps known to man today!

If you're uncertain about what kind of an amp you should get, or which amps fits the bill for you, I recommend checking this LearnGuitar piece on important questions to ask yourself before you make your decision.