Monoprice Tube Guitar Amp Mods For Sale (2024 Update)

I had to make myself stop playing this Amp long enuf to write my review. This 30 watt 1 X 12 Celestion V30 Tube Stack simply Rocks my World! Bucket List item for me! Always wanted a Tube Stack with a creamy rich mid – range and a narly distortion channel. Foot switch turns reverb and overdrive on and off. 3 band EQ, 1/4" speaker cable. I love me some pedals and they blend well with this Amp. Quality build. Simply the best Amp my Guitars have played. Jazzmaster , Kramer and Mike Rowan all sound amazing. Arrived quickly in sturdy and well packaged shipping cartons. Guitar World review was spot on. peace, MarnyeMARNYE

Very nice tones from this amp, clean or dirty! I have been using it mic’d with a 609 clone, haven’t had the chance to crank it yet. I use a roadhouse Strat and fine on the dirty channel with the gain at 5 I can get a great, clear cleanish tone, and then hit the Strats preamp and have some nice grit! Not fizzy fuzzy grit, but nice organic breakup that is very pleasing to the ear. I run a TC Plethora in the FX loop and get great results, no jump or drop in volume, just sounds natural. For some extra gain I use a Boss OD200 into the front of the amp, glorious!! Quite surprising that an amp of this build and sound quality is available at this price point but it is and I’m glad I pulled the trigger on it. Looks to be plywood for amp cab and speaker cab, nice touch. All this and a V30 speaker! I don’t know when or if the speaker will “break in” but I’ll be using the amp mic’d most of the time so it may take awhile, and honestly couldn’t imagine it sounding any better! Only had it a few days, and haven’t moved it since I set it up so I can’t speak for how long it will last in the long run, but fingers are crossed.Ronald

Just received my stack on 3/16/20. Packaged great!. Overall build quality is very very good no particle board here all real solid wood cabinet for the head , speaker with a nice ply baffle I think it's 3/4 ". Light weight. Asthetics ,cosmetics tolex and Grill cloth with piping perfect. Reverb is digital no tank or Springs here it is not tube driven. Bright switch works great pedal for Reverb and gain Channel works great extra-long cable to connect the head to the cabinet with power cord great. Clean tones on this amp whether a low or hi channel are amazing . kind of somewhere between vox/ marshall cleans. Definitely Fender sounding w bright switch. Gig Worthy!. Loud amp!. Digital Reverb is okay. You must turn it up to around 4 or 5 to hear it. It's clean channels are where this amp shines . On the gain channel, Ican get some good tones but not super high gain here more in the classic rock 1960- 1970's tone. Great but no super High gain. Kinda on the thinner side, Not very Fat. 3 chinese 12ax7, ( maybe a swap out in this area may give better tone), all 4 el84 Are Eurotube JJ'S!!!! So happy to see this. Celestion V30 spkr cab sounds great, full with depth. Classic rock tone!. Highly recommended..strange looking chinese power tnsfrmr, but Ot looks good. Voiced similiar to monoprice. 15 watt duel el84 model, but not as aggressive. Blows away the Bulgara V22.. Etc. Nice product monoprice!New User

I bought this amp for my granddaughter who is a young student of guitar. For the money this amplifier can't be beat! Quality sound and sturdy build! Everything works as it is supposed to. I'm completely satisfied. Exceeded my expectations in every category! I'm about to order another one for myself, for practicing, so I can leave my big, PRO performance amp stowed away. My highest recommendation!!rgwhitlock

I initially was pleased with the overall functionality of the amp. The features at this price range were great, and I liked the tones I was able to generate. However, within a day I started getting some weird rattling noises as well as buzzing. I'm guessing there were some wires crossed on the inside. I'm not great at fixing electronics so I returned it. I think this amp has potential, but if the manufacturer can't minimize these issues in the simple construction process, I'm not risking purchasing it again.Russell

This amp has great sound. I like the response of the EQ. I also like that its load! It looks nice and is durably constructed. I bought this to run a ZOOM multi-effects processor to the front-end clean channel. I am very happy so far with its perfomance. I would have no problem playing a small venue with just the amp. Larger venues as a monitor with Its ability to connect to a mixer >PA is just a bonus. I like that it has an effects loop for more options. This is a tremendous value at this price-point. I have nothing bad to say about this product. I will say,IF it had a 1/4in' footswitch jack I would have purchased the Monoprice footswitch as well. As is you have to use the button on the unit to change to the gain channel.(Not an issue for me) I enjoy the thump from my drum machine through this product! I would recommend this product.Thank you,Monoprice!David

overall I really like this amp. the dirty channel has a good crunch. Not a very tainted sound, which I like a lot. Clean channel is not real chimy like some, but nice and clean. the face plate is also black, unlike the 30 watt which is easier to see. The issue is the channel switching. While some amps are known for a load pop, this is quite the opposite, and I am guessing the pop is what they were trying to avoid. this one actually drops in volume and then comes back up between channels. Deal breaker. I can't use this live if it cuts out. Really wanted to have this kicking around for a second amp. But I will be returning this.brian

First one arrived and the overdrive channel sounded awful. Made arrangements to return it and the process went quick, I had a new one a week after sending the bad one back. The second one turned out as advertised. You can dial in a wide range of tones and has that beautiful tube sound. The reverb is just a tad weak but still ok. Also, effects pedals sound great. It?s an awesome buy.Leo

I had a 50 watt 6L6 guitar head and sold it only to regret it later. I saw this one on sale and I took a chance. Glad I did. Disclaimer: I only use it for a pedal platform, although I have tried the gain channel. It's "ok" (not great) but to use the amp that way you'll really have to work with the both channels to achieve unity volume. As a clean channel pedal platform it's great. Like others have said the reverb is lacking but I usually just leave it on 10:00 for ambience. This amp is LOUD and can easily hang with a large band if needed. As far as reliability, time will tell, but it seems well made IMO.john

I purchased the Monoprice 50 Watt Stereo Hybrid Tube Amplifier with Bluetooth and Line Output as a birthday present to myself after researching a number of hybrid tube amps, & felt this unit, paired with the Monoprice MP-T65RT Tower Home Theater Speakers, along with my ART Pro-VLA II 2-channel Opto Tube Leveling Amplifier & ART EQ355 Dual Channel 31-Band Equalizer would be the perfect combination for enjoying my vintage vinyl collection, played on my Technics SP-10 MK2 turntable, equipped with vintage Stanton 500EEE cartridge. When the Amp arrived, I was initially taken back after unwrapping it, and puzzled to find the tubes were installed, when the website indicated the tubes ship uninstalled to prevent damage during shipping, and the manual reinforced that statement as well, so I was even more dismayed to see the tell tale signs of an obviously fried tube (one of the 6P1's. I immediately fired off an email (because the package arrived late in the day, and customer support wouldn't be available until the next morning. I left a very detailed message stating my situation (receiving a new amp with a bad tube, Installed!) and indicated I would follow up the next day, but was hoping to at least have a replacement tube shipped right away, so I could begin enjoying my new item. After a chat with customer support the next day, I learned that they don't ship replacement tubes, and the only way to remedy the matter would be for me to ship my unit back, wait for it to be received, & then receive a replacement item. I was NOT particularly happy with that "Solution" especially since I was even willing to pay overnight shipping on my own just because I was so eager to test out this amp, but since that's what I was told, I figured, ok- so be it, and got my unit all packed up & ready to ship out, but I did take the time to leave a message for MonoPrice's customer support explaining how absurd it was I should have to ship the unit back & they deal with that expense, when it's so much easier to ship a simple tube, less expensive, & addressing the issue head on. Well, I heard back from an incredibly kind & understanding lady named Laura, who was the Customer Service Supervisor, & took note of my situation, and apparently had empathy on my situation, and turned what otherwise would have been a very negative opinion about MonoPrice & it's service, into a stellar example of how a customer should be treated. Not only did she expedite the shipping of a new amp out to me once my returned item was picked up by Fed Ex the next morning, but she really took the time to listen to me (we spent about a half hour on the phone together reviewing my situation and my explaining to her how ridiculous it was to ship this whole (somewhat heavy) amp back just because one tube was fried, and I also discussed some other matters such as the availability of replacement tubes for this item not being available on the site, & she really listened to me & indicated she would work within the proper channels of her company to see what she could do to rectify some glaring issues she agreed were sore spots, and thanked me for my input. Bottom line, the very next day, I had a new amp delivered to me , couldn't wait to unpack it, & get it all set up, and I'm pleased to report this is ONE AWESOME PRODUCT! Not only does the amp sound incredible, but the speakers are an excellent pairing to the Monoprice 50 Watt Stereo Hybrid Tube Amplifier . The added feature of the BlueTooth is a really nice touch, and the tonal controls (in addition to the many rave reviews I read about the product overall) were icing on the cake for me. I've spent the better half of my Wednesday afternoon listening to a number of albums from my vintage vinyl collection, and can't wait for the weekend to listen to even more! 🙂 This amp has power, and it SOUNDS INCREDIBLE!! It's I have a sub woofer hooked up to it, & it adds even more Oomph! to the sonic quality. Even enduring the issue initially with the bum 6P1 tube, I must say this company DOES stand behind their products, and they DO care about their customers, and I will definitely consider future purchases from MonoPrice, in particular, due to the prompt, courteous and proactive support I received from Laura P. in particular, who I would like to personally thank for making it a "Happy" Birthday for me after all. This is one AMAZING hybrid tube amp folks, you really can't go wrong if your hooking up any kind of half decent source to this unit, everything works flawlessly and it SOUNDS TERRIFIC! While the video I attached can't do the sound justice because I just recorded it off my cell phone, still – you can get an idea of how I've incorporated the Hybrid Tube Amplifier with Bluetooth into my audio chain. It truly is AWESOME!New User

My first impression removing the unit from the shipping carton was its weight. It weighs very much like a vintage tube amp, and I have three of the old ones. One of them needed work that cost more than the Mono, so I thought I would give the hybrid a try. I am glad I did. I has all the warmness of my old Stromberg Carlson, and the Mono is very powerful. The volume is sensitive; possibly due to the solid state aspect, volume adjustments are very slight. The sound is deep, rich, and full. I am still waiting to exprience the "tube bloom" I keep hearing about–with a tube Harmon Kardon Ballad amp, at about fifteen watts, you could hear individual instruments in different parts of the room, or what I think of as spatial balance. The Mono surprised me with its stereo separation, and when those tubes bloom, this is going to be one very interesting amplifier at 50 watts per. For less than a tube overhaul, the Mono is making me one very happy listener.David

Bought to fill in for a vintage NAD amp that is being refurbished. Pushing power hungry low efficiency Polk Audio Monitor 10B speakers. I read a number of reviews prior to selecting this unit- really my first tube stereo setup besides guitar amps and I appreciate the hefty 53 watts per side as many true “purist“ push pull tube amps have very meager power output. hybrid incorporates a fairly beefy class AB for the power section but has the “warm fuzzies” we all appreciate and expect from a tube setup. “burn in” of tubes – ran the unit continuously with music throughout two days. Noticed the initial harshness especially with Digital media, subdue after about 3 hrs, by day 2 was impressed by the separation, warmth and mids tubes are noted for, bass response surprisingly present and solid. Minor annoyances: power LED is a laser beam! Bluetooth input level is too low. VU meter is useless gimmick, needs BAL option, acceptable tube hum noticed only near field. Great sound worth the priceRollo

Many years ago I assembled a couple of mono blocks from a division of Cary Audio-(SE811) which I have been enjoying ever since. As my LP collection grew, I start feeling that it would be a waist to use them to listen to internet or CD content. (the 811 tubes are not cheap and I already had to replace them). So I sent for the Monoprice pure tube stereo amp. as a cheap choice to listen to music source other than LPs. I was very surprised by the quality of the sound. Very open an enjoyable with a sense of natural presence. Are they as good as the mono blocks? Of course they are not. But without comparison, they will satisfy 100% a music lover. Some material in the internet is of very inferior quality but I found that some transmissions from WCRB from Boston carry very good sound as they use a mix of live, CD and LP material. As speakers, I am using the Visiton BG 20-8 full range with a little help of the Peerless XT 25SC90-04 in a transmission line configuration.Joao 44

Had this for a few weeks now, and listening many hours a day as a main system in our small-medium open concept living/dining/kitchen area in a 60s ranch with vaulted ceilings. Inputs are a U-Turn Orbit with an Ortofon OM5E cart into the phono port, and an old iPhone 6 from the headphone jack to RCA into the AUX port. Speakers are 89db sensitive 6 inch woofer bookshelf monitors. Have not used Bluetooth. Have never taken the volume knob past 11, and the sound is liquid, with great mid and highs and punchy, but somewhat limited bass. Music choices range from old school Texas country/folk to indie to classic jazz to classic rock to acoustic to contemporary Americana to blues. Replaced a 35wpc vintage Nikko NR-715 which was quite good, warm and pleasant, and this little amp is louder, more clear, with better soundstage and separation and holographic with well recorded material. Vocals are stunning, fingers on guitar strings can be discerned, crytaline and non-fatiguing highs. Only limitation is bass response. I don?t need or want boomy lows, but, and this is function of both amp and speakers, I could use more precision in the lower frequencies. Researching subs to do just that. Purchased from Target.com, for $50 cheaper than the monoprice list, but shipped from monoprice. Super happy and looking to roll in some upgraded tubes to see what they bring.New User

So this thing was $329 for ages, then it went 'on sale" when i bought one for $319….and now its on "sale sale' for $299, kinda bothers me, but not that much. The sound is super nice and tubealicious for this amp. I had been using a chifi douk audio $129 tube (preamp stage) amp with a solid state amp, but I wanted to try full tube amp. It has a very nice sweet sound. some people think highs and bass are rolled off with tube amps, and i guess its kinda true. There are tone knobs on the front if you wann change things around, but I have been satisfied with the sound for the most part.. I recently hooked up my sub to get the frequency response to 2022 bigger bass levels, and it was a nice combo…not sure why i didnt just try cranking the bass knob. This thing has no remote, so i set it on my desk to control volume, but those tubes get hot, so I had to move it away.If I was designing this thing, I would get rid of the bluetooth, and get rid of the silly VU meter on the front, and make it a few bucks cheaper., or maybe at least add a remote for volume. It feels well put together, although the rings around the tubes feel like they have edges that could potentiall cut your fingers if you try hard enough. Mine has a very low hum, only when no music is playing. It IS NOT a big deal, and doesnt affect the use of this thing in any way. For around $300, I dont think you could go wrong.Adalberto

Where do I start? Well, how about, this is the best tube amp I have ever played! 62 years with many guitars and many amps, some owned, some borrowed, and some tested in music shops, might give me a little credibility. I have loved a Fender Twin Reverb, made in the 50s that my uncle Keith, and my guitar mentor, loaned me for a while. It just sounded so good. Never could seem to find cash, or justification to buy a tube amp, but have owned a hal a dozen solid states. THEN THIS LITTLE BEAUTY! Having played the Twin for a couple of years, and others such as a Mesa Boogie, VOX's, and too many others to recall, THIS monster sounds like most of them with just little tweaks of the knobs and my guitar switches. I have played country, 60s and 70s rock, blues, finger-style instrumentals, gospel, etc. I believe this is the PERFECT combo, with the correct (JJ) tubes, a sweet (and dirty when desired) Seventy/80 speaker, and an amazing diversity of sounds, which works in every genre I play! I do not know how anyone can find reason to bad mouth this. I had it for 2 weeks, was asked to fill an absent, guitarist's spot at an outdoor venue, I took this little amp. We played to an area the size of a football field. I set the amp on 1 Watt, until I could hear it cleanly (behind me on stage), let the sound man mic and mix me in. Never had to turn it above about 4, with gain between 1 and 4, and many complemented me on my sound, and musicians asked me WHAT IS THAT LITTLE AMP? Those are the good points. I can only think of two piddly things I would like to see changed, and one would be a standby switch, and the second being a way to run the external speaker WITHOUT cutting off the amp speaker. Until then, I will just keep playing this sweetheart amp, and enjoy the statements about "my sound," and the question of WHAT IS THAT LITTLE AMP? Keep playing everybody…and maybe buy one of these. I do not believe you will regrety it.New User

These amps are fantastic, and at these bargain prices you simply can't go wrong. I upgraded the reverb tank in mine to a Mod and changed the speaker for a Warehouse GC12. OMG, this thing is a beast! Another WGS option I've seen people use is the ET65 for a more British tone, also with good results. The stock speaker is not too bad, but this one simple upgrade of swapping the speaker takes the amp to the next level. It just sounds awesome. The upgraded reverb tank is also an improvement, but not as much as I thought it would be. If I had to do it over again I would just take out the stock tank and use a pedal for reverb and make the amp even lighter to haul around. The more important upgrade imo is the speaker. It really makes a world of difference. Grab one reasonably while you still can, the price keeps creeping up and up and up… !Jeff

After a number of FEDEX issues, I received my amp about 5 days later than estimated. It did arrive in excellent condition and was worth the wait. The Stage Right 611815 has a really sweet tone that sounds particularly good with the single coil pickups on my Fender Sratocaster Player. It breaks up nicely! The reverb works perfectly, and is fine for most playing but you might want an external reverb unit if you are playing Dick Dale tunes. A really nice feature for home playing is the 15W/1W switch, where you can limit the amp to 1 W (be aware that with sound, you have to increase the wattage by 10 times to double the perceived volume, so the 1W setting is a lot more than 1/15th as loud as the 15W setting). It is a bit unusual to have a tone control along with the more common bass, middle and treble controls. Personally, I would have labeled the Tone control as Presence, because that is what it seems to be. I have mostly been playing in the 1W mode with all the controls (including reverb) at 12 o clock, and that is working out great. As far as construction, the amp looks fantastic and gives a vintage look that hints at its tone! The dark grill cloth provides a nice contrast with the blonde tolex, giving a true vintage appearance. The retro red, jeweled pilot light and metal toggle switch complement the vintage styling Keeping with the vintage look, the control panel is chrome with retro chicken head knobs. As others have mentioned, the control names are a little bit difficult to read on the chrome panel. After you use the controls once, you know where they are, so does it really matter (I noticed the blonde version of the Fender Blues Jr also uses a chrome control panel…probably where Monoprice got the idea)? The tolex is neatly installed and glued, at least the parts that are exposed. The leather handle is also reminiscent of old school amps. And I really like the metal corner protectors…very nice. As proudly announced by a badge on the front panel, the amp is equipped with a Celestion speaker…a Seventy 80 The only criticism of the construction, and it is minor, is that the 8 external screws are not chamfered properly to mesh with the finishing washers, which result in the screw heads protruding above the washers. The amp has a jack for an external speaker. When you plug in an external speaker, the internal speaker is shut off, as is common with guitar amps. The reason is if you plug in an external 8 ohm speaker and the internal speaker would still be on, a (combined) 4 ohm load would be presented to the amplifier, which it is not designed to handle. The back is open. The line cord is not detachable, but can be conveniently stowed in the back of the amp. The amp has an effects loop, which I have not tried yet. The amp is now equipped with JJ brand tubes and a metal, two spring, reverb tank, which are upgrades from the original issue I wish I could find a nice, economical (i.e. $20) dust cover for the amp. The only ones I can find are priced at $50 or more, a bit much for protecting an inexpensive amp. In conclusion, the Stage Right 611815 amp looks great and sounds great, and I highly recommend it.Chris

Pleased with this amp awesome tube sound clean channel is very nice. Reverb nothing to brag about but it's there. Speaker is nice prefer v30s or greenbacks will eventually switch out. Takes pedals very well have not used the fx loop yet but I'm sure it's good. Would of been nice if it came with footswitch. All around happy for $357 plus tax well worth it.Heriberto

Firstly, let me say how quickly Monoprice shipped this to me .. ordered on Monday and delivered Wednesday morning to NY! Guess MP is now shipping from Kentucky, which is great .. no more 5 days in transit from CA to NY 🙂 The amp itself? All I can say is WOW!!! Solidly built with classy looking trimming all around, protective metal bumpers on all 8 corners, top handle with sufficient padding that won't cause hand cramps when carried. On to the sound sections: ——————————– I spent around 3 hours toying with the amp using my G&L ASAT (large MFD pups), just going thru the various gain/volume and tone settings on each channel, and overall my impression is that this amp is capable of achieving a wide variety of tones, from bell clean to screaming metal and everything in between. Clean Channel is absolutely gorgeous sounding. Nice three-dimensional timbre which can only be achieved with a tube amp. Tone controls (Treb/Mid/Bass) seem to interact with each other in a pleasant manner, by turning one or another the tone changes dramatically but still subtly, if that makes any sense. /grin … The Bright switch reacts similarly, it's almost as if there are two sets of overall tone in the clean channel, just by switching 'Bright' on or off. Drive Channel is what you'd expect – lots of crunch with the aforementioned Treb/Mid/Bass interactions. I'm not much of a 'metal' type player, so can't really comment on this section with an opinion, but I liked what I heard in "Drive". Monoprice hit it out of the ballpark with this amp, for mid sized gigs or even small gigs, this amp is a clear winner.New User

The only complaint is the speaker used. While I do understand the logic, I still am not a fan of the celestion seventy 80s. Although, it could be addressed by just adjusting the settings. I got mine shipped securely. I updated the speakers to emminence cannibis rex but thats just for my own taste. Wpuld be nice to have different options for the speaker if that is feasible at all for monoprice. Bottom line, its a lot of ampmfor the price. I highly recommend it!Zed Byron Pisec

I just completed my Mod 102 kit. An excellent experience! I was delighted with the quality of components, clarity of instructions, and, perhaps most importantly, the sound of the amp. It is very loud – currently running into my Fender Twin Reverb cab (2×12) and very sweet! I will be running it into a new 1×12 cab with a new Celestion G12 M Heritage 'Greenback' when I get a case for the speaker (on order). My only criticism (and something to look out for) is that the chassis is very nicely painted in gray gunmetal paint. Even following the directions to file all the holes, it is very hard to get a good ground connection at every point a terminal strip connects. I worried about this, and about 1/3rd of the way through the build, took an ohm meter to check all the connections, and as I had suspected, some of the connections were not great (9-10 ohms or so!) So I removed the terminal strips (with the components I had already soldered still attached) and scraped away the paint under the tabs of the strips to ensure a good connection. Re-testing showed virtually zero resistance. I'd strongly recommend scraping the paint away at all holes under the chassis before getting started on the build. Even better, suggest that Amplified Parts leave the inside chassis unpainted (at least around the important holes). Aside that one criticism, I am delighted with the kit and with Amplified Parts. Everything was delivered promptly and they are a class outift. I'll probably try some of their other kits soon.vpmerlyn

I spent three evenings building the MOD102. The instructions are very easy to understand and the amp has a great Fender sound. I had one grounding issue that was easily fixed with a little help from tech support, which was excellent. If you're good at following step by step instructions and can solder well this is a fun little amp to build. Only small issue is the labels. They could stand an improvement.Brandon

I just finished this amp build and it sounds fantastic! I also just finished a Marshall 18 Watt clone and I have to say that the Mod102+ holds its own very nicely alongside the Marshall. In fact, I will probably use the Mod102+ for recording because it sounds amazing at lower volumes (the Marshall is loud AF). Honestly, if I were only going to build one of them today, it would be the Mod. I'm blown away by the tone! Great kit with excellent instructions. Great bang for the buck. The parts all seem to be top quality. I love the old style cloth solid core wire, too. I find it much easier to work with than modern stranded wire. The labels are a bit lame but I covered them with packing tape as suggested before cutting them out and they look fine. If you're thinking about building an amp, build this one.danjbeckett

I took a flyer on this purchase and overall I?m pretty satisfied with it, just need to make a few more tweaks to the setup. It definitely sounds good, it?s just a bit underpowered for me, but considering how often my wife is asking me to turn things down, that?s not necessarily a bad thing! Plenty of input options, including phono, line and optical, as well as a subwoofer out. Pretty cool looking as well! So for the price, I guess you can say I?m good with it all!Tim

Way better than expected. I went into this with open eyes – I knew this wasn’t going to sound like a $2k tube amp and some reviews were, well, brutal. Nonetheless, for the price it was worth a shot. I paired this with inexpensive Polk bookshelf speakers and WOW. Much nicer sound quality than I expected. No hint of buzz or noise as has been reported. I think that with clean power and decent cables that might not be a problem. Still, I suspect there are some variations between units as the under components seem fairly pedestrian. Overall I don’t think you’ll find a better sounding amp at this price point. Highly recommend this amp.David

Overall, I?m pleased with this product based on the price point. I?m using this in my medium sized living room for playing records and Bluetooth via iPhone. Playing through pioneer SP-BS22-LR speakers. Turntable is a Dual 510 With a Bellari VP549 phono amp. The built in phono amp In the mono price hybrid amp is not much to be desired (it?s terrible actually) so I?m using the Bellari phono amp and am pretty happy with this setup.Nate

The combo amp arrived double boxed. Very simple operation. Construction is solid and simple. Headphone out, line in & out, make this a versatile practice amplifier. For the money I have not seen a better offering. In my den it is more than loud enough. Eventually I will buy a modeling amplifier but it is more than adequate to complete its current task. I have no problems recommending this practice amplifier.Brian

I was looking for a cheap little ultraportable practice amp. The usual suspects are like the Fender Frontman 10W with a 6” speaker. I figured that if I could get a Monoprice with two channels, 20 watts and an 8” speaker for less money, I should go for it. First off, there were no cosmetic flaws. Second, everything works all of the knobs and plugs do what they should. The clean channel produces no noise other than the sound of the guitar. You can turn it all the way up and still hear only the guitar. What more can you ask? The gain channel works well also. What does works well mean? It means that my distortion pedal definitely produces more of a tube sound, but the amp does well enough that the pedal stays home. Using gain, the sustain is impressive. I even get a surprising amount of sustain from the clean channel which indicates that some form of uncleanliness is occurring, but I do not hear it. Bottom line? Big Bang for the buck! PROS: Easy to toss in the car or carry down the street Does everything you could reasonable expect for the cash My girlfriend says it is "cute." CONS: When I plug in my modelling stompbox and set it to emulate a "4 X 12 Marshall stack" it doesn't sound like a "4 X 12 Marshall stack" My girlfriend says it is "cute."Ed from Merritt Island

Bought this amp as a second practice amp, since my wife needed an amp for her new bass. The clean channel is really nice, sparkly and rich without mud. The overdrive channel is a bit murky, sounding a bit more like a weak fuzz than a good overdrive. It works alright, but the sound isn't really for me. I prefer to stick to the clean channel when using it, despite the fact that I'm mainly a metal player! I haven't tried it with any pedals, but I may need to snap up a couple distortion and overdrive and see if those can give me the tone I want.Kailin

The amp was solidly built, more than I expected. The sound was clean. The reverb did create a little background noise when turned up over half way. The chorus was clean. I left the tone controls at midpoint because the amp’s natural sound was quite adequate. Most surprising is that when I used it with my solid body and hollow body electric guitars, it sounded better than the two name brand guitar maker’s amps that I have. I prefer clean tones and do not use fuzz, crunch, distortion, or high gain signal disruption. I do use full chorus and partial reverb this amp and with it’s inherent excellent sound it performs perfectly.Keith

This is a tough one to write about. This amp has so much going for it. Its clean tones are much better than expected. The reverb effect is more than up to the challenge. However, the chorus effect is almost non-existent. It has to be dialed up to beyond "8" to have any signs of life, and even then it does not sound anything like what a chorus effect should be. I know, what many people would say is: what do you expect for $ 79 ? I expect everything to work as labeled and promised.David

I just got this amplifier yesterday and I took it through an hour long test. It is very solidly made, it has a genuinely good sound. I play guitar in church so I don?t need a lot of volume. I just need to be able to keep up with piano and light drums. It?s absolutely perfect for that. I play an acoustic guitar with a condenser mic pick up that has very high fidelity. The amp reproduces the sound very faithfully., much better than my electric guitar amp. If I needed more volume it has a line out that could go directly to the sound system. I highly recommend it.Tom

Because the Stage Right 5-watt tube amp (#611705) has control knobs only for Volume and Tone, I found that I get the best-to-my-ears guitar sound when I put an equalizer pedal between the guitar and amp and then adjust the equalizer to the tone that I'm looking for. On the guitar the Volume and Tone knobs are set fully open and on the 5-watt tube amp the Tone knob is fully closed and the Volume knob is set to the volume level acceptable to the environment (for home practice the Volume knob is set to level 3 at full 5-watts). The Stage Right 5-watt tube amp is my first tube amp after having used modeling amps for at least five years. I had heard that tube amps more often than not sound better than modeling amps. After now having experienced using a tube amp I agree that tube amps (at least the Stage Right 5-watt amp) sounds better than the modeling amps I've used (which to me sound great too). If you're looking for your first tube amp (like I was) or you are looking for a low-watt tube amp for home use then I highly recommend the Monoprice Stage Right 5-watt tube amp #611705. Review about Monoprice customer support: The 5-watt tube amp that I initially received had a cosmetic defect (a hole) on the textured surface on the front side of the amp. The Volume knob when set to fully opened level 10 produced normal speaking level sound instead of the noise-complaint loud volume that I expected. Monoprice customer service was great and easy to work with in submitting an amp replacement request. I described the problems, sent pictures of the cosmetic defect and a video demonstrating the Volume problem. After Monoprice customer service reviewed the pics and video they sent me a free shipping return label, a RMA label, and they ordered me a replacement amp which arrived within 7 days after I submitted the replacement request. The replacement amp that I received had no cosmetic defects and the Volume knob set to max level 10 is loud enough to generate noise-complaints from neighbors, though I normally use the amp at Volume level 3 for home use.New User

For the price (I got it when priced $119) it is fantastic. It's simple, straightforward and sounds good. Nice warm tones. If you're a fantastic guitar player, this amp will sound fantastic. If you're an okay guitarist, you might want to invest in some pedals (or just keep practicing). I only say that because it is very clean and bright and it really shows off what you're playing. (I've been known to hide my sloppiness with reverb, distortion, etc.) BUT It does take pedals well – thankfully! Adding a good reverb pedal, delay and an overdrive to go along with this little guy is a good idea. The Pros: Value to Price ratio. Looks well built. Warm tube sound. The handle (yes I am talking about the amp's handle) is nice! Better than I expected. In fact, everything looks pretty good (except the cheap control knobs). 5 watts is plenty loud for home/recording use. The Cons: Good sounding, but there are better sounding. Please don't buy this thinking that this is a $500 amp. It is not. But sub $200 it is a good one. The chickenhead knobs are cheap looking. I took them off and painted them. But that's a dollar or two easy fix (if it bothers you at all). Overall: I totally recommend for $150 or less. Probably for $200. If the prices climb too much beyond that, I think there are other options. If you want to jam at home and record with it, I think you'll be happy.Brad

The Monoprice 5 watt guitar amp arrived just a few days after ordering, and arrived in good shape, due in part to the excellent shipping carton. Upon taking it out and inspecting it, I could find no flaws in the cabinet, and due to the cream color of the covering, it seemed a little bigger than I was expecting. I plugged it in, let it warm up for almost an hour, and then plugged in an ES339, using no pedals. At first, I wasn't all that pleased with the sound I was getting, but it was my fault. I had it adjusted as I do with my Albion Hybrid, but that wasn't the way. I found the best sound came from turning the Monoprice all the way up, and then use the guitar controls for volume instead. That did it, and the little amp came a alive in a big way! Sounding very similar to a Fender champ, it could go from nice clear tones to crunchy heaven with the ES339's humbuckers. I plugged in a Strat with an HSH configuration, and the single coil really made it sound Fenderish. Sweet. The only thing I found one might improve on the amp, is the speaker. As such, I plugged into the built-in external speaker jack on the back, a little Randall 8" cabinet. That really did it for me. The sound was fantastic through the entire spectrum, and was loud enough to be heard down the block. I then bi-amped it with the Albion, and the sound had all the creamy goodness I've been seeking, and that is how I now have it setup for daily use. That said, there's nothing wrong with the stock speaker on the Monoprice, and I suspect it will satisfy most users. Am very happy with this purchase, and glad I bought it for such a great price. Almost every electric guitar player could find a use for this amp. Buy before the price goes up, or they quit making them!T

Nice little kit! Instructions are pretty clear and it's certainly not overly complicated to build. Having some amp repair/building experience helps, but I'd say even a beginner could buy this, build it, and be playing it within a day or so. Once built it sounded pretty good as well. Fun to swap tubes around, substituting the 12AX for a 12AT, AY, or others. The 'effect' changes on the pull switches are pretty subtle, so don't expect anything dramatic there. But, the amp makes a great platform for learning, and even 'expanding' from the original design. I've put an EIA connector in the back of mine so I don't have a cord sticking out. I put some tall 'feet' on it so it would clear a speaker box handle. And, the power transformer is suitable for adding a 6CA4 rectifier, which I plan to do in the future. I'll have to move the filter capacitor section around some to make clearance for the socket, but it's a 6 volt 9-pin rectifier, so will work perfectly in this amp. I might even 'upgrade' the output transformer….or play with some yellow jacket type adapters to try a different output tube. In all, a lot of fun to build, sounds great for what it is, and I'm very glad I made the purchase!! A 'GREAT' value!!!Tom

This is a great kit. I wanted to build a small amp so i started researching schematics online. Then i found this kit. All the leg work has been done as well as step by step instructions. I just started it so i can’t comment on tone, but the ease and design of the kit is excellent. Full parts list, schematic and instructions include. It gives you a proven simple platform to start with and you can add your own modifications if you wish. Thanks MODRonnie

Great kit. Excellent components and very clear instructions. Took about 9 hours to complete and worked on "first fire." Great single-ended sound quality. Wonderful headphone amp and with the auto-biasing, many different power tubes can be used. I am using reissue Gold Lion KT88 power tubes and RCA clear-top 12AU7A drivers. I recommend highly this fun-to-build and great sounding amp.eickmewg

Wonderful amplifier and plenty of volume thru 92db speakers. I enjoy not having to fiddle with bias as well as only needing 2 tubes for output and input..easier to get a full compliment of tubes. I wired a toggle switch to move between triode and ultra linear, a nice addition.arnran

I was interested in tube amps for last few years, since I heard dynamics and sound quality of Audio Note. It was too expensive for me, but I thought- one day… But then I found reviews of Elekit preamp and amp kits. Read a lot of info. Learned, how to solder. Bought everything, whats necessary for building this kit, and I bought the kit. I made it without any troubles. And I am no longer interested in Audio Note "lowest price range" amps, because Elekit 8200 sounds as good or even better for me, and there are very big room to modify it with capacitors, resistors, tube selection.unosworkshop

I built this amp 4 years ago, and have used it a lot. It's connected to a pair of ELAC DB62-BK speakers. It was fun to build and has been very reliable. I upgraded it with Hammond 1615A output transformers, and the extra iron makes it sound much better. I haven't replaced any tubes yet, but would be interested in options for tube upgrades.Shayne

This is a great little amp, easy to build and has great sound and gain. If you haven't built your own stereo amplifier before, start here, you won't regret it!Lester

Incredibly well made. Vintage 30 speaker is a bargain in this cab. Cannot beat the price. And the cab was shipped in double boxes, with double corrugated cardboard each, quite bulletproof packaging! Monoprice cannot be making much money on this cab, it would cost a lot more to make one yourself!Bob M

This cabinet and speaker sound fantastic! It looks nice and is a SUPERB value for what you're getting. I would buy this again in a heartbeat and I'm actually buying a second one for a different ohm speaker. Shipping was fast and it was packed very well. Also comes with a really good quality speaker cable. Remember, you don't want to use a regular guitar cable for speaker cables. If you're thinking about getting one just get it already.MusicMan

This is the best deal you will find for an extended speaker cab of this quality hands down! The Vintage 30 speaker on its own is nearly $150 at most places, making the cabinet so cheap for this unit that you cannot even build your own for less money. The cabinet is gig worthy and is wired for a parallel speaker extension…however the soft vinyl covering, which looks nice, could possibly damage easy over time (*one and only complaint). I am extremely happy with the build quality and the sound of this 12" speaker with the open back cab perfectly fills out a missing niche in my speaker stack. At this price point you will not find a better value anywhere. Highly recommended!Stephen

I built this amp 4 years ago, and have used it a lot. It's connected to a pair of ELAC DB62-BK speakers. It was fun to build and has been very reliable. I upgraded it with Hammond 1615A output transformers, and the extra iron makes it sound much better. I haven't replaced any tubes yet, but would be interested in options for tube upgrades.Shayne

This is a great little amp, easy to build and has great sound and gain. If you haven't built your own stereo amplifier before, start here, you won't regret it!Lester