Best Boutique Guitar Amps (2024 Update)

I'm running this through a 1×12 Bugera cab (which to my ear is a pretty neutral speaker, but sounds great). Unless your band plays way too loud this amp should give you enough volume for gigging (even at 25 watts through an 8 ohm speaker). Takes pedals well – all of my drive pedals sound great. The MV50 reacts like my tube amps with a boost pedal in front (Fulltone & Xotic). I really like the attenuator, and at home I play at 1/100 power with the volume at about noon. While this amp has a lot of clean headroom you will start to get some hair when you push it, but in a good way. It's the kind of sound where you can play clean by picking lightly but if you hit it hard you'll hear that you're on the edge of breakup. Not surprising for a Vox, this is not a mid-scooped Fender clean. Mids are present, but not pushed. It is a warm clean, not sterile or spikey at all to my ear. I've been playing this primarily with a Boss Fender reverb pedal and the tone really is glorious. I don't feel like I'm missing anything from my tube amps. Not a thing. I wish I'd had this thing years ago when I was throwing my back out moving 60lb tube amps to and from gigs. What I don't like. The unit feels very solid, seems like a quality piece of gear, but the mini chicken head knobs on the front feel cheap (a minor complaint). Mainly I don't like how much they have crammed on the back panel. You've got tiny switches for power, flat/deep, eco (shuts it off after 15 min. of non-use) and the attenuator, as well as headphone/line out & speaker out. Once you get a speaker cable plugged in it feels very cramped. I'd much rather that the power switch was on the front. Lastly, I wish I could get 50 watts @ 8 ohms, just for the headroom. This is giggable for me at 25 watts into 8 ohms & still gives you good headroom, but YMMV. I primarily use single coils. With hot humbuckers I don't know if you'd run out of clean headroom or not. With all 50 watts you'd be fine, I'm sure.NE Guy

First – let me say that this is a good, tiny pedal-platform amp, if that's what you're looking for. It has a very good base clean tone and it takes pedals well. I think most players looking to downsize would find this usable. If all you need is a good clean tone – for jazz, say – take a listen to one of these. I find the 4 ohm thing a bummer. I don't own any 4 ohm cabs, and after thinking about jumping through hoops to get all 50w available to me, I decided it wasn't worth it. This amp sounds really good, but at the very least for clean headroom, anyone looking for a pedal platform usually wants to control where the edge of breakup is, or have it totally clean. Beyond that, there's just too much crammed onto the (very small) back of the amp. Tiny switches plus the speaker out jack just mean it's hard to find the on/off switch, etc. Put the power switch on the front so I don't have to hunt for it. After having the MV50 a while I decided to try a DV Mark Micro 50 – and I like it better than the Vox. It's more versatile with 3 band EQ, and I have a full 50w to play with. Overall I prefer the DV Mark – I just feel it suits my clean & light OD tones better than the Vox. But if I had to gig with the Vox I'd be OK with it. Having said that, several months ago I came across a great deal on a Blues Cube Hot EL84 (more Vox-ish tone than the standard) and frankly, it blows the other two away. It's a combo, of course. So I'm keeping the DV Mark as a backup. The Vox has gone. Anyone looking to downsize should give one of these a listen. There is good to great tone in there, depending on your needs. Again – the 4 ohm load to get 50w is a bummer. But not everyone needs that much power. The small box is pretty cute and a cool conversation starter – but for practical purposes something slightly larger would've been a better idea, IMO.Mr. Joe

Every guitar player on God's green earth should have one. The different tones offered with the app inspire you to play differently. It allows you to play along with the songs you love, and download the tone. It also tells you the chord progression to the song. It's an amazing Amp, and if nothing else the GREATEST speaker in the world. I could absolutely ruin my neighborhoods night with the most absurdly clear version of my favorite songs. But I could Also practice at midnight with out waking up my roommates using my headphones.
Amazing tones made by professionals. If you care about being a musician… you need this Amp. This Amp was recommended to me by John Moyer… of disturbed.Teryn Surratt

As a practice amp, you will soon lose interest if the tone is thin, boxy and generally sounds like crap. The Spark is none of this. An incredibly wide range of tones are available via the app with sounds that you just don't expect to come from such a small package. The sound is loud, rich without the boxiness that you seem to get with amps loaded with small speakers. If you've used PG's Bias software, you'll be in very familiar territory – great emulations that have a depth that rivals some of the serious modelers available now. The effects, while not giving you a massive selection, supplies pretty well every type of effect you would ever need. The reverbs and delays are particularly good and while more than good enough for noodling at home, are more than up to the task of recording. The unit is quite sturdy with a timber cabinet and looks great – very traditional with an "English" type of styling. Using the Spark as a Bluetooth player for music is more than up to the task – good bass, clean mids and treble and loads of volume. The app overall is very good with some truly inspiring practice opportunities, though the function where the app analyses your playing and constructs a suitable backing track is hit and miss and is probably the weakest part of the app. Bluetooth connection for both control functions and audio playback is stable and very quick to pair with your device. Overall, I don't think you will find and amp sounding this good with the flexibility and functions available, from anywhere else and that is before taking into consideration, the extra functions the app gives you.Mick G.

I bought this amp on the back of all the rave reviews on YouTube etc. For me, it's just not a finished product yet. It feels very "beta". The hardware seems robust and of good quality. The modelled sounds are very good, albeit very bass heavy. But most of that can be EQ'd out. There are several problems I couldn't live with, and had to sell it on. The hum problem which is due to the supplied, un-earthed PSU was very apparent in my example. I contacted Positive Grid support about the issue in December 20, and as of selling the amp at the start of March 21, I had not yet received the replacement PSU. There are temporary workarounds, but I wanted the problem sorted permanently. As said above, the sound is very bass heavy. The amp models' EQ can be used to deal with the guitar tone, but music playback through the unit via Bluetooth has no EQ control, so the sound quality is very poor. In addition to this, the playback level is far too high. When using as a Bluetooth speaker it is very difficult to get the volume low enough using the tiny trim pot volume control for comfortable listening when sat in close proximity to the unit. The Auto Chords feature is a gimmick and needs serious work. It only works for E standard guitar tuning. For example, when listening to a song in dropped standard tuning such as "Yesterday" (guitar tuned down one whole step) Auto Chords will show fingerings for F, Em, A7 etc instead of the G,. F#m, B7 shapes that are required. At the very least, a "transpose" button is required to allow for dropped standard tunings that are very common. When using the tuner, you have to look at the lights on top of the amp. The app should have a screen that displays the tuner on your connected device when in use. The app metronome tempo can only be set by tap. It should have the ability for the user to enter the exact required BPM by inputting the figure required, or selecting the tempo with up and down or + and – controls. All of these niggles were too much for me to live with. Hopefully Positive Grid implement the changes in future releases, but I won't be buying Spark again until they do.Paul

Just picked one of these and it's been a joy to play. Pretty easy to use with quite a few options. Was able to dial in some tones that sound like my $800-1k tube amps. Honestly this amp is the best bang for your buck amp available imo. I really love the Waza Craft Greenback speaker. I love the .5, 50,100 watt options. Haven't even explored the software yet but I'm confident enough in this amp to give it a 5 star already. This of course is keeping in mind the fact it's essentially a budget amp price. You won't regret spending the money imo. Awesome job, Boss. 🤘 🎸Jason Faust

Sound: Right out of the box? I didn’t even adjust EQs. Set volume and gain, and started playing. Took 0 effort to get 98% of the way to my live tone that is an Orange Rockerverb 100W MK2 and Marshall 212 with V30s. Features: I love the Tone Studio. I did have to pull a star from Ease Of Use because it may be confusing if you’re not good with computers. Ease of Use: If you can’t get a good sound out of this amp, return it, sell your guitars, and find a new hobby. That’s how easy getting a good sound out of this is. Quality: Seems pretty decent. I wouldn’t call it robust, but it doesn’t FEEL as cheap as the price would suggest. Value: 100% worth the price. I’d have paid $100 more for it if I’d have known how good it would sound. Manufacturer Support: I’ve dealt with Roland/Boss in the past, and they’ve always been wonderful. The Wow Factor: Looks good, sounds good, price is good. A perfect practice amp, that could stand in for a small venue in a pinch. Naturally my live rig is a bit much for my apartment, but this is just what the doctor ordered. Overall: Solid state amps have come a long way. A REALLY long way. I’ll be honest, being a tube snob, I had very low expectations. I could have set the bar in the same area as I would a $2,000 and it still would have hopped it effortlessly.Kenny

I've owned several Marshall combos over the years, and they've never let me down, until I bought this piece of garbage. I couldn't get a decent tone out of it!! Very low and bassy, and barely present at all. Definitely wouldn't be able to punch through a mix, and playing live would've been a nightmare.CoopDBomb

Overall: Bought this at a great deal.I had it for 30 days and sent it back for a refund.I could not for the life of me dial in a sound with my Fender Blacktop Strat with humbuckers.Marshall should be ashamed of themselves for putting their name on this horrible POS.Went and bought a used Peavey Vypyr 30 for $135.00 and had great sounds in less then 24 hours.Blows this marshall away.Very underrated Peavey Vypyr amps . Great tube sounding amps and also feel.Frank

The Marshall name alone speaks for itself. There is no brand that creates a better sound than Marshall. It's not just my opinion, it has been the most used amp by some of the most famous musicians that has ever played an instrument. This amp in particular is absolutely perfect for use in the home use or in front of a small crowd. Perfect sound and perfect size.Michael

The amplifier was delivered quickly and in perfect condition, well-packed and with everything necessary (manuals and cables, etc). I phoned Andertons to confirm a delivery date and spoke to a very helpful and friendly employee who was able to give me ask the information I needed.Reviewed by Andertons Music Co.

Small, light, huge tone! However it does take time to really explore the amount of different tones that can be got. This is not just a hi gain Mesa, the clean tones are excellent, as are the classic rock tones but it takes time understanding how to dial in and how all the controls interact. Small changes can make a big impact. Cons: Built in reverb is not switchable, fan could be quieter. Just comes with a cover not a bag, at this price I expected a bag like the Mini Recto & the H&K Tubemeister.Reviewed by Andertons Music Co.

Based on a friend's recommendation, I purchased a new Boss Katana 100 MK 2 in June 2021. The first thing that impressed me was it's power…it seemed to be a real 100 watts in a portable and lightweight package. I was able to dial in some useful tube-like tones right from the start with the clean channel. The Katana warmed up quickly to single coil or hum bucking pickups. The tone "variations" are also very useful for dialing in the right sounds to your liking. The delay adds the right amount of sparkle to your overall sound…very cool! Unfortunately, I was not able to get much help from the Boss Tone Studio when I downloaded it to the amp. (The response was: "Amp not connected"). Another disappointment is no Boss Tone Studio for iOS users…really guys? The required Boss foot switch is another issue…look online to see pedal "hacks" that use standard one-button or two-button formats. (Save a few bucks with a regular pedal). All in all: I'm very pleased with the amp. The line-in is a great feature to use with backing tracks along with the headphone jack for late night practicing. The basic amp tones has a realistic tube texture that reminds me of Marshall, Fender or Vox models.Scotty, M.

I have had the 50 watt for several months which is a great amp, but decided I wanted more foot switching options provided by the GA-FC controller. I figured if I was to buy the 100 watt it might as well be a 2X12. The 100 2X12 sounds awesome. And it is really loud to play at home even on the .5 watt setting. I'm tired of messing with tube amps and effect pedals so the Boss Katana series is just what I need. I have not dived in to the software and deep settings on either amp yet. These are apparently had to get. SAM Ash had it on backorder from Boss. The web and phone support at SAM Ash is great. Chris from phone support helped me complete the order and was super knowledgeable and helpful throughout. He even called me back a couple of times to update status and follow up once it was delivered. Oh… And the 2X12 is way heavier and bigger than the 1X12.Pupster

Having been messing around with an acoustic for far too many years I decided to treat myself to an electric, and started the search for an amp. I had a few options but went with the Crush 20RT and haven't regretted it. For its size the sound quality is great, and the eq controls allow you to get a nice range of distinct tones. Having the dirty volume away from the gain dial takes some getting used to, but isn't a deal-breaker, and if you find the rather small switch to swap between clean and dirty channels a bit fiddly, you can pick up a foot switch which connects nicely on the back of the amp. Built in reverb is nice, but if you are big on using reverb I'd imagine you'd want to get a dedicated pedal. Tuner seems hit and miss, and again more accurate results will be obtained via a stand alone product. Both good features to have, especially as a starter amp. Overall, highly recommended!Kevin E.

This is definitely the best sounding practice amp I've ever used. The gain channel has several different levels of gain, all sound great. Anywhere from a slightly crunchy overdrive sound to sizzling distortion. I've never had an amp this size handle metal tones so well. The clean channel handles distortion pedals well and maintains the tone of the amp, and if you wanna add a little something extra, putting an overdrive in front of the dirty channel really pushes the mids through. All very impressive for an 8 inch speaker.
The big downside to this amp… is that its deceptively loud. At bedroom volume, it sounds kinda like a shoebox. but bump the volume knob even just a little bit and the full, rich tone punches you in the face, far too loud for playing in an apartment at 10pm. Kinda defeats the point of buying a small practice amp. The clean channel is even louder than the dirty channel.
I'm not knocking off any stars from my review for this however, because it has a headphone jack that actually imitates the speaker response quite well. So if you wanna play this amp late at night, plug in some headphones or you'll wake up the neighbors.
The only practice amp I've ever liked more was the old marshall valvestate, and those are hard to find these days, so this little amp fills that void well.Noah Nicotine

Now let me first state that Guitar Center is the only place I'd buy this from, to try it out and return it to the store. Guitar Center is the BEST. This little amplifier is the WORST. I bought this specifically for it's cabinet output and the fact that it can run on a 9 volt battery. I own four other mini amplifiers, two of them are pedals and the other two are Blackstar Fly 3 (with the extension cabinet.) Here's the crux of my review: The Blackstar Fly 3 is louder and sounds far better than the Orange Crush Mini, even if that Crush Mini is powering a larger speaker cabinet (a 2×10, in this case.) So yes, two 3" speakers in the Blackstar are louder, and the sound quality is far superior to the Orange Crush Mini driving a 2×10" cabinet. The Crush Mini's 3" speaker is unusable, sounds very tinny and is very low volume. Now, I also have two pedal amps that run on 9 volts, an Electro Harmonix 5mm and a VHT Redline 6. The 5mm is amazing, and the VHT is very good also. So if you want to drive a cabinet with a pedal size amp you can put in your pocket, try the Electro Harmonix 5mm. The VHT Redline is also very good and has the added features of an aux in jack and headphone out jack. An adapter cable to use a battery can be had (I have a few of them.) Avoid the Orange Crush Mini, the Blackstar Fly 3 is far superior.John

This is a remarkable little amplifier. The positive reviews are all justified. Very diminutive, even senior management, who tends to frown when black boxes arrive, approves. And it produces a variety of great tones in remarkable amounts bearing in mind its small size. Perhaps not for the O2, but great in our lounge and enough muscle for a small venue before it gets a bit chesty. Very happy.biga268

I use it for practice. Although it has a bass setting you can program via the phone kit, the speaker is not as good as a basic bass amp like a fender rumble. The default presets sound the best, and if you need a different sound, it's probably best to use pedals on the clean setting. The effects aren't as good as I hoped for. The chorus effect is nice; but delay, reverb, and spring could be loads better. It gets the job done and I wasn't needing the other effects to be there at all so a good purchase for me, but if you need all the features to be awesome, look elsewhere.Waukegan

Purchased this along with the Squire Bullet Tele. Worked beautifully. All effects. Everything. Then nothing. No power. Nada. Probably why it's discounted $40 when you buy the Tele. Avoid.Joe

Overall: This amplifier absolutely rocks! With so many options you can dial in any sound that you want, from crystal clear clean to roaring rhythms and screaming leads. As everyone has already said, the reverb is almost nonexistent. However, the amp, tubes and build are rock solid. BUT… if you really want to blow your mind, swap out the speaker with one that fits your style. My style is classic hard rock so after much research I swapped out the 70 watt Celestion V-Type speaker that it comes with for a 150 watt Eminence Swamp Thang and I swear that it sounds as loud and ballsy as my full-on DSL100 full stack with 1960 cabs. The difference is mind boggling. No fizz, no speaker distortion at all. Just a loud, clear representation of my sound. Obviously the Swamp Thang might not be your speaker of choice but do your research and this will be the only amp you will ever need again!Scott

Sound: With good tubes properly biased, yes. Features: One feature that I absolutely detest is the effects loop button. When it is activated the front of the amp ceases to operate and when deactivated, the front works but the effects loop deactivated. There's no reason for this feature to exist. Substantially limits what the user is able to do. Bad decision in the design. Ease of Use: Just need to fix the owners manual to include specifically how to bias the tubes. Value: At the time I bought it, it was around $800. So at that time, yes. Overall: It took me a while for this amp to grow on me as it sounded like crap out of the box. I replaced the stock speaker with a Celestion V30 and replaced the stock tubes with Ruby EL34STR and a 5751 in the PI as is my typical configuration. Still couldn't get an acceptable tone was fuzzy and grindy. Years later, I learned that you can self bias the amp. After reading forums, there is little info on how to bias the amp and nothing in the manual. I discovered the bias was at 31mv so I turned both to 40mv and HOLY SMOKES this was the tone I've been seeking all these years. Eureka, I found it and it's incredible now. Completely unacceptable that Marshall included zero information in the manual regarding this, which is a pretty important feature. Moreover, it's important that I explain how to bias this. When you place the multimeter leads in the ground and point, one point will give a reading and the other red test point will read zero, always. YOU WILL NOT BE USING THIS TEST POUNT AT ALL. Go back to the one that gives the reading and keep it in that test point and adjust the pot to 40mv. Then, keeping the multimeter lead in the same pot, turn the other bias adjust til they both read 40mv. Next onto the effects loop, there is a button to turn the effects loop on and off as you can not use both simultaneously like in other amps. What good is this feature? Worthless and is an absolute thorn in my side as I would like to use the midi to switch between both which is why I bought it, but can't. Now, the amp does sound good now that it's properly biased as well as replacing the stock speaker, but I lost years of good tone due to the lack of instruction in the instruction manual.Jonathan

Overall: This thing is awesome if you like that Marshall tone this amp is for you, it's really a 4 channel amp if you get the six way Marshall foot switch, if I had to nit pick this amp would be the reverb, don't get me wrong it sounds great and is useable for 90% of what you would need it for, but if your wanting that Gilmour type reverb you'll need to add a reverb pedal in the chain. Where this amp really shines and I discovered this on accident I was messing around with the effects loops and added an EP booster which I would normally run on the front in, and just WOW…adding the EP booster to the loop really opened it up, tamed some of the compression and evened out the gain while improving the tone, sounds more like a JCM800 at this point, I'm super impressed with this little amp and I have some really nice amps in my collection. Let me say I would totally gig with this amp without question. This fact that Marshall made it easy to change and bias tubes is a huge thumbs up as well. Other manufactures please take noteRick

I’m in love with the way my telecaster sounds through this amp. Just pure beautiful tone. Pedal board all sounds amazing through it too. Especially delay + reverb. Have seen some reviews say it doesn’t take overdrive/distortion pedals too well but it sounds phenomenal to me with my Fulltone Full-drive 3 overdrive pedal. Perfect for the really dirty alt rock/pop punk tone I use sometimes. In fact, even the amp’s own much maligned distortion sounds pretty decent to me, although I probably will rarely, if ever, use it Only tried in my living room so far but it goes LOUD. I’m in no doubt that it will have more than enough volume for small/medium gigs in pubs/clubs etc. There’s a line out too if I ever need more and don’t have a spare mic. I had the volume on 2 and was still wary of disturbing the neighbours as it was quite loud. Anything above half way gets pretty deafening. Also feels really light which will be a plus for gigging.Doug E.

This JC40 is outstanding. It's so pure and brings out true guitar sounds and also makes any pedal/effect sound, sound just as it was intended to. These models are gems. And it's so loud it shakes my house I can't imagine how loud the 120 is. This is most definitely enough to play smaller to mid size shows. I couldn't be happier and they're was one problem in shipping but Sam Ash handled it immediately and professionally as expected. Always trust Sam Ash.Eduardo115

Beautiful, wonderful stereo chorus, what a wonderful clean tone for jazz, pop, blues and any other music where clean guitar tone is desired! Speakers do have a bit of breakup and cabinet rattle when turned up loud, past about 6. Distortion tone strange and not tube-like. Digital reverb OK. Stereo inputs and stereo effects loop are great! This amp loves stereo pedals! Sounds absolutely glorious with guitar fed into amp through a stereo effect such as a Boss Digital Delay or Neo Ventilator rotary speaker simulator, and just a touch of the amp's stereo chorus. The stereo chorus is addictive, just a bit of it sounds great and makes this amp well worth it! Enjoy, you'll love it!Dave M

Wasn't sure about this little guy – – but the one I received was in pristine shape, with power brick and carry handle. I power it with 6 rechargeable AA Lithium batteries – and it'll run x 6 hours easy without recharging. I play an acoustic guitar (i installed a Fishman rare earth pickup) in a small orchestra with a piano, trumpets, trombones, saxophones, etc, and only need to run at about 35% max volume to blend in well with the group. The effects are great and well modeled. I'm very happy with this Roland – Highly Recommended.oxydoc

I've taken up giving lessons in my home and, in other locations and, dragging around even a moderate size amp was not in my plans. I did some shopping and, came up with the Micro Cube as my answer, WOW what a feature filled little powerhouse! I debated going to just a plain small practice amp but, after I tried one it reminded me of trying to play through an old transistor radio. Very bland boring sound and, only a push button to get an overdrive sound that sounded pretty bad. This Roland unit sounds Fantastic at 3w and, with only a 5" speaker, I don't know how they do it but, it's Great!! The convenience of battery power is something that I really enjoy also. Take it anywhere! The FX sound Super, amp models are a nice touch and, even a tuner. The 1/8" input is a nice touch to jam with backing tracks or any type of sounds. Taking this to lessons is sooo much more handier than a 30lb. amp. There is only a tone control but, it is really all you need to get the sound you want. The memory function is a handy feature so save preset sounds for each amp model. The only thing I haven't tried is to plug a Mic in and, check it out but, I definately will and, I'm betting that the results will be positive there also. I'm soooo glad I spent the extra dinero and, went with this amp. I'm very satisfied and, definately recommend this anyone looking for small portable amp for practice or any other reason to have a light weight amp that sounds really good. I don't think that I would run a bass through it but, at low volume I wouldn't be surprised that it could handle it. I play a lot of different instruments, fiddle,mandolin,ulelele and, harmonica and, going to try them all in this amp.terrygh

In general this is a great little amp. It is loud, but its frequency range is narrow. I would expect something so small to be weak on bass, but I am surprised at how poor the high frequency is. I have to turn the tone all the way up to make it sound like a regular amp. I will try different speakers and the line out into a different amp to see if the poor high end is either the speaker or amp. The headphone output sounds much better, so I believe the issue is not in the internal electronics. In general I would recommend this amp. So much that I am buying another to give to my son in college as a dorm amp. He is interested in the headphone feature, which sounds very good. As a practice amp this little thing does a great job. The effects are better on some settings than others. but I think there are more effects on this amp than other brands. The portability is great. The battery life it pretty good for how loud it is. With the line input you can not only play along to songs, unaffected by the guitar effects, but it turns your phone into a loud jam box. There is a lot of loud "bang for the buck" in the little amp.Dowacky

Surpasses expectations. Excellent tone and brings out the individual characteristics of each of my guitars. A compact package with all the sounds and features I need.Reviewed by Andertons Music Co.

Was looking for an amp with a good clean sound as a base for my outboard effects that was smaller and lighter than my current backbreaker but still powerful enough to cope with most gig scenarios. Cleans on this valve amp are gorgeous and it turns out that the driven channels actually sound sweeter than my choice of pedals. So not only did I find the clean sound I was looking for and in a smaller package but I can now reduce the size of my pedal board as well. Awesome product from Mesa Engineering.Reviewed by Project Music custom

Best amp i have ever owned, Perfect at bedroom home levels & takes all my pedals really well. Was easy to get great sounds straight out the box and looks really sleek and well made. For a blues/rock amp this was definitely a great choice, some beautiful cleans to be had from this amp too. It is a loud amp when cranked but at lower levels it fits perfectly into my home environment. I tried various reverbs & delays into the FX loop and sculpted the sounds even further, also tried different overdrives straight into the front and got great results but even without added fx i love the core sounds this amp gives.Reviewed by Andertons Music Co.

Overall: Wow. I have a lot of very nice amps, but this little monster is the real deal! Sounds like "your guitar"; not like a Marshall, or like a Fender, or like a 'whatever'…just smooth, accurate, detailed reproduction of what's plugged into it. The clean channel doesn't stay clean except for low volume levels. Love the two channel foot-switch capabilities. Reverb is foot switchable, too. You can dial up nearly any sound straight out of this amp, with no pedals, except for full-on thrash metal. Love it!! It has a very big sound…no "little amp/little speaker" sound here. The 12" speaker really pumps it out. Extremely touch sensitive to pick attack, too.Phil

Overall: This is the tops. 5 watts just does not do it justice. Powerful, yet oh so much tone!! It can give you all the dialed in tones. Pedals in front or not this amp does it all. Reactive to pick attack is an understatement, I have not experienced such a sensitive amp. Laney has this one just right. I own Mashalls (JTM 45 and TSL 60), Fender pro reverb, and Blackstar (which is nice sounding) but the Laney is just the Go To amplifier. You wion't be disappointed, go for it!!Tim

Delivered what I was looking for: 1) Clean to overdriven tube tone 2) Attenuator to allow for late night guitar fix 3) Loud enough for small stages, I can leave the 1/2 stack at homeDanny b

This amp, like all Tone King amps, sounds great. It hit early fender Tweed and blackface tones to a tee. Perfect 5 watt amp. The attenuator works great. Can get cranked amp break up at any volume so you don't upset and interrupt entire house when you want to play. Definitely sounds like at bigger amp than it is, cabinet and celestion 870 sound great and pair fantastically with this combo. You could easily play out with this mic'd or turned up with drummer. Takes pedals fabulously. On the lead input with volume cranked and tone up you can get early Marshall type mid pushed tones also. The volume and tone controls work very well together and it's a find the sweet spot and go amp, you don't have to worry about tweaking eq constantly like lots of other amps. It is pricey for a 5 watt amp but you definitely get what you pay for. I have and have had lots of other high end amps and this amp to me sounds the best and most practical for building onto with pedals to push it into a more modern sound if needed. You can clearly "hear" your different guitars tone through this amp and extremely reactive on your playing approach as if it is a whole separate instrument.N. Collins

I really like this amp. I bought it used at a really good price, so I was very pleasantly surprised at how nice it sounds. It has loads of power and nice tone. I bought it as a practice amp, but I wouldn't hesitate to use it on stage in a small club.voltyr

THE 8 INCH SPEAKER IS ALITTLE WEAK SOUNDING ,CAB IS BUILT WELL, EFFECT ARE GOD THE ACTIVE EFFECT IS REALLY KOOL SOUNDING,WELL WORTH THE 100 DOLLARS I PAID JUST NEED TOO UPGRADE SPEAKER SIZE TO A 10 INCH!!PAUL

Fantastic amp for the price! The clean channel is great, and has time delay effects that is unexpected for an amp in this range. The overdrive is excellent too, and you can control different frequencies as well. It also has two inputs for guitars, and a microphone input! So you can jam with friends and sing along. At 40w output, it is pretty loud. If you are in the fence, get it! You won't regret it!integrationbyparths1

I've been playing guitar since a kid. My Dad used to own a guitar store where he was an amp technician. I'll always remember sneaking into his room when he wasn't home and playing his salmon pink Strat and Twin reverb amp. There was always a magic in them and they really inspired me. Fast forward 30 years and I've grown up just like him. Been playing professionally for a long time through some pretty nice gear but something in me always wanted to revisit that amp, it just had the perfect sounds I played lots of amps before choosing a Marshall 50w plexi as my amp of choice for gigging and it was good, no doubt a about that, played it for almost 15 years straight until one day buying that Twin I'd always so wished I also had. Found I played it far more than the plexi so actually ended up selling the Marshall and just sticking with the 65' reissue! It does everything the Marshall did and more I think. Playing them side by side before making the final decision to sell set my mind at ease because I couldnl get the same sounds from the Twin. Even did a little A/B recording with overdrive and no one could pick which one was which I play mainly classic rock and this amp is everything I'll ever need. Small wattage Amos always sound and feel small to me so was never interested in them, of it's too loud turn it down, the volume is far better than the plexi because that one sat on a hair trigger, really difficult to get a bedroom volume out of. The Twin is quote easy and pot smooth to use. Plexi goes from 0-almost full volume at half way to 1 on the dial. Love itJez

I received the amp yesterday and have only played it (both the vibrato and normal channel) for about half an hour in my living room, but I was so impressed that I wanted to go ahead and write a review, which I almost never do. I've been playing electric guitar almost 50 years and have owned many different amps, almost all Marshall or Fender, including a late 60s or early 70s 100 watt Marshall (no master volume), a mid 70s silver face Twin Reverb and Dual Showman, a 1987X 50 watt Marshall reissue, a '59 Bassman reissue (before the LTD version), a '65 Super Reverb reissue, a Twinolux, and a standard '65 Deluxe Reverb reissue. The only other amp I have currently is a wine red '65 Deluxe Reverb reissue (DRRI) with a P12Q Jensen speaker. The '65 DRRI has been one of my favorites. I like the 6V6 sound and I think it's hard to get a bad sound out of that amp. I really like the clarity of the 64 Custom Deluxe Reverb compared to my '65 DRRI. It is noticeably brighter than my '65 DRRI, but part of that may be because the '64 has a C12Q speaker while my current '65 DRRI has a P12Q speaker. Since reverb and vibrato work on both channels of this '64 Custom Deluxe Reverb, the vibrato channel is like having the bright switch on (it reminds me of the way my super reverb sounded with the bright switch on) and the normal channel is like having the bright switch off. I like the way both the reverb and vibrato work and sound on this '64 more than the '65 DRRI. The same guitar (a Strat with '69 custom shop pickups) has noticeably longer sustain when I play it through this '64 compared to my '65 DRRI. Some people have mentioned a possible problem with noise (hiss or hum) from this amp, due to the way the channels are connected together, but I hear virtually no noise at all from this amp, not when it is sitting still (with both normal and vibrato channels turned up to 3), and not when I turn any of the knobs. I wish I had bought this amp in the first place instead of the '65 DRRI.Kenneth

I'm a Fender fan to the core. I love their electric guitars and amps but their Amps aren't even affordable anymore. They've completely out priced themselves and either you are going to pay for a severely overpriced bare bones amp or a severely overpriced amp with far more electronics than a lot of us care to deal with. This is a great sized combo amp that's easy to use and has a great sound and plenty of power and all at a great price!!! There is no reason Fender couldn't do more of this…combo's that aren't easy to use with plenty of effects and a fair price for blue collar musicians. I used a Fender Princeton Chorus combo this same size mic'd through a sound system for over two decades and it started having issues. This was the closest amp I could get (and afford). The 100 has everything you need in a combo amp and at a fraction of the price of everything else Fender makes. Buy it! You won't be disappointed!Josh

I bought this amp because my gig amp died a cyber twin 2-12s 100 watts that was about 16 years old. I have had many Fender amps they were great. I do country and 50s and 60s rock and roll. I figured 100 watts would put it out there and it does. At performing volume, the distortion is a pure heavy metal on the clean channel. Mine is not much good for high volume for my type of music. I have an old champion 110 75 watt that I will be using It has worked for me when the others were down. Not sure what to do.stev_majo

Sound: With the second channel .First it had the twin reverb and super sonic voicing with a chain loop for pedals I was set on that alone. When it got to the house and realized I didn't need my pedal chain and it sounds amazing even though ill still use my pedals here and there. The bassman, tweeds , Princeton all clean or dirty are amazing to play . again to get those sounds with out the tubes and speakers is amazing.. You get volumes that punch against you that are clear without any nasty whitenoise or unwanted sounds. the dirty settings added with the compression build in make all that possible. Outta all my guitars I enjoy to plug into this amp .My 63 firebird , g400 s.g. and my jaguar Ease of Use: Its real easy for me to get the sounds I need .I'm well aware of all the amps they used for the voicing.For new players it might take a little to understand but with no time you'll understand how to dial it in and add the right effects to the amp models to get those amazing fender amps . Quality: Only had it for a week but as for holding it up and down 3 flights of stairs at the studio in Philadelphia id say the strap is well build . Speakers have not blown but I have not had to dial all the way up amps loud as it is half way . Value: yes it is im surprised its not another $100 more.Wish more companies would do this. Manufacturer Support: No problems yet . But in the past fender has always been amazing to me. Overall: (DON'T LET THE $399 TRICK YOU)When dialed up there are so many different fender amps you have here. First off the blackface style clean channel is just amazing. id say that its a twin or deluxe especially when you dial in the spring reverb only thing missing to call it that are the speakers/tubes but fender has made it very clear they can accumulate that sound with out the tubes . I know the tubes will make a difference but not much to this amp unless you have the trained ear for tubes you can't tell.The 2nd channel with all the voice modeling Id say every setting is 99.7 spot on with the models . I love this amp .After watching a few videos online of the 100 I decided to go with it .My friend has the champion 50 so I have already played through this style of amp. When I saw the 2×12 combo version with a double channel pedal it was set in stone . I love combos more than any kind of amp . I came on zZounds looking for an amp to hit the road to the higher states of the new England area of the states in November and December and a long ride from New Jersey to Chicago and Milwaukee in January . the amazing price for a well build and sounding amp there was no way i wasn't gonna leave the website with out another toy.So after adding to the card I headed over to guitars and ordered the squier 70s classic vibe jaguar .One of my favorite things about this amp is I don't have to change out the speakers to get that sound I want. its easy for me to use because I know how to dial in the right sounds to get the sound of the amps in amp unit.Mike

This amp runs the gamut from standard clean to pushed clean to crunchy to fully saturated forever sustain. The distortion is fabulous. Responds nicely to volume knob changes and picking dynamics. It has a voicing that is familiar yet its own. The clean tone is also very usable so it can be the workhorse amp that does it all. The effects loop is great. The reverb is OK. It is loud. Even at ten watts you won't get past three on the volume dial to maintain bedroom / apartment levels. Bought it on a Sunday afternoon, played all afternoon and all night. Called in sick Monday morning and played all day. It's a keeper…Matt

Absolulty love this combo and have no complaints on sound what so ever. The only down side to this combo is it has NO HEADPHONE jack unlike the 50w version. Other than that Great.Peter

Sound: The EVH 5150 Iconic Combo sounds great. In my opinion, it does what it sets out to do. You can't go into it expecting it to be one of the Stealth Models – it's not that. It is a very straightforward and easy to use amplifier, and it will do pretty much whatever you need it to do. Features: It's versatility, and the built in noise gate and boost. All high gain amps should have a noise gate built into it in today's day and age. Ease of Use: It was super easy to get a great sound out of the the EVH 5150 Iconic Combo. I started with everything (except reverb and gate) set to noon, and plugged in and let her rip. I have to do a bit more tweaking with the clean channel, but this thing REALLY shines with the overdrive on. To me (much like the original 5150 from the 90s) that is where money is. The red channel is pretty good too. By itself, the red channel sits between the green channel with overdrive on and the red channel with burn – and tbh I prefer it with the burn button off. Cranking the gain will take away some of your playing dynamics, and on both channels I found that setting it between 11 and 1 'o clock was sufficient. Quality: The amp appears to be solidly built (I've only had it for four days, so time will tell) It's quite heavy, and looks good. The footswitch was quite a bit smaller than expected, but seems like it's ruggedly built with a long cable. Value: I think the EVH 5150 Iconic Combo is a great value for the price range it sits in. It would have been better at the $799 price, but hey – inflation is what it is. The Wow Factor: I mean, it's a 5150 – you are going to get what you pay for. I wish the overdrive on the green channel could be kicked on with a footswitch. Overall: I really enjoy this amp. It sounds much better than what I expected, and it's very straight forward to use. Straight plug and play – no boosts necessary 😀Aaron

I've owned this amp for a few years. With the clean channel engaged, it sounds great with pedals (mxr super comp into boss od) and gets surprisingly loud for a small apartment. I dont think it would be loud enough for most band practice settings as far as volume. The biggest gripe I have with it is that it defaults to the distortion channel, which is useless for any application. Muddy, buzzy, no low end, no smoothness… just rigid cold distortion that muddied your notes even with the gain at the lowest settings. It's in fact the worst distortion I've ever used. Whenever I turn it on, I immediately switch the channel to clean.Alan

Bought this for practice when lower volume is required. Looks great, Sounds great. From the research that i've done, this is the best sounding solid state amp of is size and class and i feel like the research really holds up!Tony

This amp is perfect for the practice I have. The clean has amazing clarity and the overdrive has enough grit to fool around. I can experiment with any pedal as well. Sounds great. Great purchase.EDGAR

This is a great high gain tube amp head. 40 watts is all you need for gigging out and with the wattage reduction setting it makes a great amp to play at home. I upgraded from my boss katana 100 and let me tell you this amp is way more powerful and responsive. You can get some awesome cleans as well as a killer metal tone on the lead channel. It's nice to have an independent clean channel to adjust the EQ from the crunch and lead. I paired this with the 2×12 matching cab. The head is super lightweight/compact and very versatile. The only downside is I wish it had a built in reverb. Aside from that I see no downside to this amp headAlex

Was really looking forward to adding this amp to my collection, as it is perfect to use straight into my audio interface to record. How ever the TSC system showed damaged tubes on the 1st day after unboxing, then the next day it completely shut down, no sound on any of the power soak settings. I was using a brand new speaker cable into a brand new cabinet. Extremely disappointing. I would not buy or want another H&K after this experience and after reading that this problem has happened regularly to other people globally. But i have to say the staff and service from BetterMusic Canberra was 1st class. Very very much appreciatedDarren B.