10 Best Guitar Amps 2020

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No matter how much money you spend on your dream electric guitar the sound can be seriously affected by a poor quality amplifier. Guitars only produce a weak electronic signal on their own, thus many guitarists are convinced you should spend as cash on your amp as you did on your guitar.

Fortunately, there are many different amplifier brands which are available to general public ranging from beginner home units to profession recording or live performances. Picking the right amplifier for you can be a daunting task.

In this guide, we will arm you with the knowledge to pick the best guitar amps the first time round.

So with that, let’s begin!

Things to Consider When Buying Guitar Amp

Here are some essential concepts to consider when looking for the best guitar amp for you;

  • Combo or Amp Head? Combo amps are units which combine both amplifier and speaker systems, whilst amp heads contain all the components of an amp without speakers.
  • Tube, Solid-State or Digital? Tube amps are old solid-state and digital amps offer excellent tone for less cash and with a lot fewer maintenance headaches.
  • Wattage (Size Matters). Match your wattage to your specific needs (see “Buying Information” below).
  • Distortion: Distortion is typically generated by three distinct sources: the power amp, the preamp and the speakers. Check your future amp by turning the master volume way up and turning down the gain.
  • Crunch. Overdriven speakers create one of the most desirable distortion characteristics: crunch. Choose a speaker that sounds lively, defined and harmonically rich at volume and distortion levels you’ll normally play at.
  • Speakers. Match your speaker size to the wattage of the amp to prevent any unhappy surprises.
  • Channel Surfing. Multichannel amps are great if you like to use different tones, but may be more amp than needed if you’re not inclined to play around with tones.
  • Knob Accessibility. You should be able to quickly and easily switch between sounds on your amp. Make sure they’re easy to reach and store.

Top 10 Guitar Amps Chart

PictureNameWattagePriceRating (1-5)
Picture
Name
Wattage
Price
Rating (1-5)
1. Fender Mustang I V2 20-Watt 1x8-Inch Combo Electric Guitar Amplifier20W$$4.7
2. Fender Champion 20 - 20-Watt Electric Guitar Amplifier20W$$4.6
3. Fender Champion 100 - 100-Watt Electric Guitar Amplifier100W$$$$4.6
4. Marshall MG30CFX MG Series 30-Watt Guitar Combo Amp30W$$$4.4
5. Fender Frontman 10G Electric Guitar Amplifier10W$4.4
6. Rogue G10 10W 1x5 Guitar Combo Amp Black10W$4.4
7. Sawtooth ST-AMP-10-KIT-1ST-AMP-10-KIT-1 10-Watt Electric Guitar Amp10W$4.3
8. Danelectro N10B Honey Tone Mini Amp in Burgundy-$4.1
9. Peavey Vypyr VIP 1 - 20 Watt Modeling Instrument Amplifier20W$$4.1
10. Pyle-Pro PVAMP60 60-Watt Vamp-Series Amplifier60W$$4.0

Buying Information

A solid state amplifier is generally best for most players due to their affordability, portability and versatility.

In terms of wattage, a 10W amp is great for home recording, 30W is sufficient if you play live in a rock band. A 100W amp is generally considered overkill for most average players but will be the last amp you’ll ever need!

Additional features such as built-in effects, line outputs with speaker emulation and external speaker outputs are all great additional features, however, you often pay a little extra so make sure they’re up to par.

Top 3 Best Guitar Amps Reviews

1. Fender Mustang I V2 Combo Amplifier

First on our list of top three best guitar amps is the Mustang I V2 20-Watt 1×8-Inch Combo Electric Guitar Amplifier by Fender. Fender has been the industry standard for both amplifiers and guitars for close to seventy years.

The Mustang range of amps has that incredible Fender tone and myriad of extra features, simple USB connectivity and the unique Fender FUSE software. This amp comes with 17 varying amp voices/sounds which range from classic Fender tubes to more modern sounds and with an additional 24 on board pre-set effects and a chromatic tuner results in a single amp that will satisfy even the most demanding player.

The Amp easily connects to your computer for easy changing of the desired sound as well as superior recording abilities. The Mustang one also can track your performance, convert it to a file and send it to a friend allowing you to connect (or compete) with other players and friends. This is truly a guitar amp which has been specifically designed to connect, compose and create all in an easily portable design which boasts 20W of power and an 8-inch speaker.

If that’s not enough for you it comes with Fenders 5 year warranty, so what are you waiting for?

2. Fender Champion 20 Electric Guitar Amplifier

Next on our list of top three guitar amps is the Champion 20 – 20-Watt Electric Guitar Amplifier by Fender. Much like the Mustang I above the Champion 20 is built to the exacting high quality that we have come to expect of all Fender amplifiers.

The Champion 20 is an incredibly compact, yet powerful option which is more than enough for many beginning players as a guitar amplifier. The unit boasts straightforward controls, a whole range of great effects as well as versatile amp voicings to make it easy to get the right sounds for whether you’re keen on rock, country, metal, jazz or blues! The EQ section of the amp allows you to quickly and easily change the bass and treble of your sound as well as dial in a whole range of great effects such as digital reverb, delay, chorus and vibratone.

The handy auxiliary jack means that you can rock out to your favourite tracks simply by plugging in your phone and blasting your tunes through the 8inch speaker or privately through the use of headphones! With a turn of a knob you can easily choose from clean to frankly mean tones from the 17 available various amp models allowing you to play almost any genre. With additional features such as the open back cabinet to store extra cables or accessories as well as the incredible Fender 5 year, transferable warranty makes this amp a steal for any beginner player.

3. Fender Champion 100 Electric Guitar Amplifier

Last on our top three is the Champion 100 – 100-Watt Electric Guitar Amplifier by Fender. The 100 watt Fender Champion is frankly the only amp you’ll need if you play in a whole range of situations from home gigs to full-on live performances and is an idea 2×12 inch speaker practice amp or an affordable stage amp.

This is essentially the perfect amp for drowning out your drummer when the volume is important and you want to thrash out an epic solo. The auxiliary jack means that if you’re at home, or just practising why not simply plug-in your phone and jam along to your favourite tunes all day long or jam privately with Headphones.

The simple controls characteristic of Fender allows you to easily play around with the digital reverb, chorus, vibratone and delay and tweak the 100W output to get the exact sound you want to play almost any genre of music. You can also explore many highly usable musical tones from classic tube style sounds to more modern amp voicings.

Plus this amp comes with Fenders legendary 5-year transferable warranty, so why wait?