Best Guitar Amp Under $500 (Jan 2023 Update)

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

I live in an apartment building, and it's just not realistic to crank up my large tube amps while I'm at home. So, I searched for a small combo to use at home. I just needed something small with a great sound, for practice and songwriting. I looked at all of the usual contenders, but the form factor and name brand of Orange really caught my eye. I've played Orange tube amps before, but never one of their small practice amps. I set up this amp on my bookshelf, roughly at eye level. And wow, this amp sounds unbelievably amazing at home volume levels. I can play at a volume which I enjoy, without disturbing my neighbors. I can get an amazing tone without having to crank up my volume. This amp takes pedals so extremely well. I do not use the onboard distortion, but rather I just use my favorite distortion pedals. I simply cannot say enough about how awesome this amp sounds. I strongly suggest, however, that this amp needs to be at a higher elevation, ideally at the same elevation as your head. My amp is roughly 6 feet off the ground, on the top shelf of my bookcase, and it sounds incredible up there compared to having it on the ground. Time will tell regarding its durability. But, I don't plan on taking it out of my house or playing at live settings with it. I envision that it will just stay on my bookshelf permanently. I don't even adjust any of the knobs, now that I have it dialed in. I just turn it off and on.OrangeNYC

First one I ordered arrived D.O.A. That should have been my warning sign to get something else instead. Guitar Center was nice enough to quickly send a replacement, though. The replacement arrived and all was well for about 3-4 months. Amp didn't sound bad but it wasn't spectacular or anything. Decent distortion, nice clean tone. Basic. But now the replacement amp is dead too, for no reason that I can discern besides faulty workmanship or bad parts or something. It sat plugged in and never got moved the entire time, wasn't cranked to 11 or anything like that…it just, like, gave up. I probably had less than 10 hours total on the thing. My advice would be to avoid this one and buy something else.Just a Guitar Guy

So many good tones outta this thing. I bought it cheap but it does heavy metal just as well as clean styles and everything in between. Good amp. My friends love it as well.

Edit: she takes pedals like a total champ and I only say this because I am using very very cheap Chinese mini pedals and a boss metal zone. Lot of my other small amps dont like all the cheap pedals plugged in but the orange can handle all.

Edit 2: I've accidentally dropped the amp from about 4 feet twice now and she hasn't broken. Was 100 percent sure it was gonna be busted but it's fine. Tough little guy.Duncan Whopper

I bought this amp to have a small, cheap portable amp to play harmonica through. For that, it is decent enough. I use a Shure bullet mic and the amp produces good enough tone and is plenty loud for practice or small gigs. When I plug my tele into it the clean channel is decent and clear, but the overdrive channel is junk and hurts my ears. I would rather run the clean channel and use a fuzz or distortion pedal. So that being said it is decent enough to practice licks on and it is tiny so it tucks away easy. If you look around you can find a bigger amp with more features used for the same price but if you want a new amp, this one is probably worth what they charge for it. I would only buy it if you have a specific purpose for it though.Roy

It's small, and pretty portable. However, the sound quality is trash, given the speaker is tiny, but the overdrive is just horrible. If you buy this, try returning it. If you can't return it, just get a fuzz pedal and leave it on clean. Imo, just buy the mustang lt25-50Hotdog Games

Unbelievable. This is NOT my Vox AC30, and nor is it my 100W Katana. However, for a package that is powered by batteries and can, quite literally, fit into the palm of your hand, the Katana Mini is simply fantastic. The amp models are brilliant and the delay (reverb) function is an excellent feature. On "clean" settings the volume of the amp is perfectly adequate and will fill a room with no issues, and on the "crunch" and "brown" settings, the amp was more than loud enough to fill a large room at 2/3 volume. Whilst I personally think that this is not quite enough for an advanced/intermediate players sole amplifier, I would completely agree that for a beginner, they would need no more than this. Having tried options from Yamaha and other brands, this is firmly my favourite battery powered micro amplifier for any level of guitarist and equipment, the tone is simply that good! The best way I can describe it is this – when I first plugged my PRS McCarty 594 into it, I was vaguely aware that I wasn't playing through my Vox. However, after five minutes or so, I had completely forgotten this wasn't a "real" amp, and had to keep looking down at the tiny box on the floor to believe it! Well done, Boss!Mr I. F.

I use it primarily as a practice amp at lower levels, but I'd feel confident doing coffee house gigs with it, and maybe smaller clubs too. It sounds warm and rich at low volumes, and the EQ is effective. All three voices are useful and I'm not left wanting. I have to make special mention of the delay. I adore reverb (including and especially spring reverb and gritty, trashy reverb of all kinds) but a simple delay circuit is way more useful in this amp. Doubling, slapback, echoes. The treble roll-off and fixed feedback are well-tuned. If you're using this for busking or other guerilla performance, you will suddenly realize that a single delay is worth more than a thousand reflections, because those reflections sound godawful* against naturally-occurring surfaces. *maybe awesome in a sound design way thoughChesterfleet

I bought this amp based on the good print reviews and the way it sounded in you Tube reviews. I did a lot of homework and finally placed my order. I was excited when it showed up at my house and plugged my Jay Turser Les Paul copy right in. Boy, is this thing dark! I turned all the tone controls to 10. I changed the strings. I removed the covers from my pickups- that just made it dark and tinny. After three days I decided that I had to either send it back or make some changes. I took the speaker from a Squier 15 amp and installed it in the Bugera. Right away there was more life and clarity to the sound, though it still sounded tinny (because it's a speaker from a Squier 15), but it was some progress. Next I pulled tubes from a circa 1959 Curtis-Mathes console stereo and swapped them into the Bugera. Now we were getting somewhere- the overtones, the reason we use tubes, were now present and accounted for. The same console is full of Oxford speakers, which are a Jensen knockoff and well respected. I took an 8" from that and installed it in the V5. OH YEAH! Now this is a great little amp. The clean tones are super sweet, clear, full and bell-like with tons of sustain. The overdrive has a huge range of grit, and the reverb is better than any other amp I've had. So after installing a set of +/- 60 year old tubes and speaker, it sounds great. But out-of-the-box stock, I would have sent it back, no question. If you have a too-bright guitar or are willing to make upgrades, this amp is a super value. My one complaint about build quality is that the wattage selector switch is extremely touchy- it goes from .1 to 5 watts and has to be fiddled with to get it to stay on the 1 watt setting.Farmhand

Perfect at home tube amp. I generally use 1 watt mode. Great tone whether clean or breakup. Loves my telecaster and Boss BD-2 into it, and takes pedals great in general. Couldn’t get over how nice it looked when I unboxed mine, either. Beautiful looking amp on top of sounding great. Really an incredible value. Can’t recommend this one enough if you’re looking for a home use valve amp.Grandaddy Jeff

I picked this up for my son so he could practice around the house. Killer stocking stuffer! When the son is away the dad will now play. I started playing my Mustang Bass through this and it did the job. It's a small amp, not a practice amp. This is perfect for camping trips, rocking at the office or kicking it in the backyard. Oh yeah and you can plug in 1/4 headphones and keep the concert to yourself. It runs on a 9-volt battery or you can plug in a 9-volt adapter.SERGIO

Took a chance on this and purchased it without every playing it. Watched video reviews on it and gave it a shot. Yes, I know that it's small in size, smaller than a kids lunchbox but I hoped it'd produce quality sound and what I got was muddy sounds at increased volumes. It's not clear sounding and my goal to play through an amp is to sound good and I felt if I actually played this in front of people, the muddyness would make me sound amateurish. So, for what you pay for this, yes, you get amplified but it's not real great quality, unless you're a metal player because you don't get a clean sound from this. I rate this 3 stars because it's convenient to have a portable battery operated tiny amp that you can plug into and get sound from, however, the quality almost makes you not even want to play it.Jesse

This ain't no micro cube or vox. This less than 20$ & runs on 1 9v battery or 9v plug in the wall.(transformer not included)& Holy Friggin' Smokes does this baby perform.Monster overdrive tone & super bright, clean tone.Headphone input.Probably exceeds 60 decibels,which is beyond city ords. could get U a fine it's so damn loud. My Strat Squire sounds soooo Fender good out of this lil sucka & my electric/acoustic, sooo crisp.Ultra light to carry around.I've been using the JOYO mini,I love it,plug in,no chord,fun but this Fender mini is a bit more.More tone options and louder.I've yet to find out how quick it eats batteries. The JOYO burns them up fast.Get the rechargeables.Also the JOYO has an MP3 input.This doesn't. I run guitar strap thru the handle so the chord is like non-existent or U can old school it and have a 10 or 20 ft chord.So light it can be pulled over by the chord.These mini amps also pick up radio signals. When I turn them on I can hear radio stations at certain angles. So get 1 for the road.It's all about the fun.annoyingted1

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

This is a great little amp. The sound is clear, and it fits in my son's backpack for when he needs to take it to school.ktw1050

It arrived earlier than expected. Just what we needed to have our son practice His Bass playing for school . At home . Thanksjistilwel-5

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

The Ac-10not only looks the business but it has since real depth and warmth to its tone. Clean – it’s bright and has the chime you’d expect. Turn up the gain and your tone breaks up but still retains clarity. Having the gain wide open and master volume down means you can still have the saturated crunch but not disturb others . Perfect for home use but would not be out of place in a small pub gig. Takes pedals will and with a multi-fix like a GT 100, if you disable the amp sim and use like a conventional pedal board, you don’t lose any quality of the AC10’s natural tone. A masterful amp and it even smells nice with those tubes cooking.Mark R.

Ive been playing 35 years and this is probably the best all around practice amp ive ever heard. Pros- looks great, sounds very good, cleans thump and chime, distortion can wail. Its loud for its size. Seems built well. Have had no bad issues. Cons- clean isnt near as loud as w the gain cranked up. No reverb. In short if this amp was 50-100W and had reverb and an external speaker jack id never play another amp. Good job VOX.jjsrvfan

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

I was really surprised at how good this amp sounds. Years ago I tried Line 6 and was not at all happy with the tone; but this is another story. It does take me awhile to dial in a specific classic rock tone, but when I do, it sounds better than any other amp that I've tried. I have tried the Marshall Code, Blackstar id Core, Vox Valvetronix, Boss Katana; as well as some all tube amps. The only other amp that is a close 2nd is the Fender Mustang GTX; also a great amp. The Spider V is fairly easy to operate. It offers lots of choices for amp models and cabinets. I like that it has variations of a mic'd cabinet. The parametric eq is a plus. I haven't played around too much with the effects yet, so I can't comment on that. The only negative thing I could say is that when you're editing a preset and want to hear how it sounds before you save it, you only have a short time before it goes back to the Home Screen. This really is a small price to pay for the quality of the amp and all the versatility it has. I like the App too. Musicians Friend got me a great on this as well; and their agent is following up making sure that I'm satisfied. The funny thing is that I came across this by accident. I placed an order for a Peavey amp that was on back order. I called Peavey multiple times, but they never returned my call. I also emailed them, but they didn't respond to that either. As far as I'm concerned, Peavey doesn't have any customer support.crrkr

Been playing about a year, so my review is from the perspective of a complete newbie. The things I like- Lots of presets, mobile app functions, computer interface, and loads of user created effects available. Nice and loud, but no real basis of comparison to say if clarity is better or worse than other comparable amps. Don't likes- The micro-usb interface. I had to get an adapter and it's just not as good a connection as nearly anything else would be. IMHO, micro-usb is far too flimsy. Connecting to PC is far more problematic than just using the spider mobile app. It's probably a little more complicated than it should be for a beginner, but it's feature rich for the money.Nic T

I had a Line 6 120w amp for years that I regrettably sold a while ago and was looking for another amp. I looked at all the amp reviews I could find and decided that the new Katana was the way to go. I got the Katana home and absolutely loved it but the second day I had it it started a really loud buzzing that I couldn't stop. It probably was an easy fix but the fact is the amp was way too powerful for my purposes and their software wasn't compatible with the new Catalina OS. I returned and started looking again. I saw the 60w Spider V and the price was excellent so I made an on the spot decision to buy another Line 6 and I'm really glad I did. The tones this amp can get are incredible. There are so many amp models and cabs that you can dial in pretty much any tone you want from a crispy snapback country clean to the most vicious heavy metal and everything in between. You can use the presets as they are or you can use them as a baseline and tweak to your own liking or you can start from scratch and build your own rig from the ground up. The controls are intuitive and easy to use but there are some features where you'd have to be a professional to really know how to use or even care to use. The software and the mobile app are so easy to use and give you all the options at your fingertips. The amp comes with a lot of presets that I find are completely useless but there are a lot that are excellent as I already talked about. There are only four empty slots for your own custom presets and I wish there were more but if you use the mobile app you can have your own tone library on there. I bought the FBV3 foot controller so that gives me a lot of flexibility to have various effects. One of the limitations is the lack of good effects though. There's enough that if you work at it you can get a decent sound but there could be some better ones. Overall I would recommend the amp. Don't listen to the naysayers or the amp snobs, it's a quality amp and extremely versatile.Just Plain Joe

The Ac-10not only looks the business but it has since real depth and warmth to its tone. Clean – it’s bright and has the chime you’d expect. Turn up the gain and your tone breaks up but still retains clarity. Having the gain wide open and master volume down means you can still have the saturated crunch but not disturb others . Perfect for home use but would not be out of place in a small pub gig. Takes pedals will and with a multi-fix like a GT 100, if you disable the amp sim and use like a conventional pedal board, you don’t lose any quality of the AC10’s natural tone. A masterful amp and it even smells nice with those tubes cooking.Mark R.

Ive been playing 35 years and this is probably the best all around practice amp ive ever heard. Pros- looks great, sounds very good, cleans thump and chime, distortion can wail. Its loud for its size. Seems built well. Have had no bad issues. Cons- clean isnt near as loud as w the gain cranked up. No reverb. In short if this amp was 50-100W and had reverb and an external speaker jack id never play another amp. Good job VOX.jjsrvfan

A great mini amp suited to acoustic guitars for private use applications in living rooms or bedrooms. The sound quality is very crisp and clear. There is a choice of microphone emulation to simulate mic-ing up your acoustic guitar. The signal from this mini amp can be fed into a PA or a mixing desk using the Phones output socket. This amp is not really suitable for rock electric guitar sounds like crunch and distortion. The Yamaha THR5 is more suitable for this purpose.Danny

I have looked at the Yamaha THR line of amps many times in various retail shops. Finally saw one on MF in open box condition. Thought, "What the heck." Looks and functions as new. I bought the THR5A to use with my acoustic-electrics. I wanted a small portable amp with good effects for small venues and home practice. For me, a solo singer song writer playing originals, this little amp is a true gem. I use it for effects support in stereo, the other line run through my 40 watt Fender Acoustasonic. For years I have used the durable Acoustasonic as my PA, monitor, and for my vocals, and my Boss RC3 Looper. The THR5A is used simply to tweak the sound of the guitar. The effects are very nice, lots of range to dial in. The modeled Mics offer enough variety to cover the 3 different AE guitars I use. (Carvin AC175, Carvin AE185, Huss and Dalton CM). I can even use my OCD pedal through the THR5A for playing blues leads over the Loops. I would recommend this amp to any player of AE guitars because the sound quality out of this small inexpensive amp is truly amazing. But remember young squires, the THR5A is a very low watt amp with tiny speakers, so do not expect it to support you in a setting of more than 15-20 attentive listeners!Surflad

I just bought this amp with the Line 6 FBV short board; they work well together of course. The amp is a lot of fun with the looper and presets and the endless ways you can tweak your tone. I love the amp but there are a few things which could be better. You must use a 2 gig or smaller SD card or it reboots if you try to save to a bigger card. So just get a bunch of small Sd cards before they are unavailable–only a few places still have them–which is kind of a pain. It does record nice but I haven't figured out how to record the mic input and the guitar input at the same time, so I always have to do two tracks. There is a switch which switches the input for recording back and forth from mic input to guitar jack. With the short board you can turn the looper and presets on on the fly, but you must put the foot pedal in the recording mode, and when the FBV is in the record mode you have to switch it back to channel mode to switch different guitar tones. So to switch to a different guitar tone you have to do another track to reset it. Anyway, I just thought these few drawbacks could have been easily figured out and fixed. Hopefully the next generation can take the more available SD cards, record more than one track at a time, and make the FVB do all the functions in one mode. However, it's nice having all the gimmicks for having fun in one package. Even thought I give it four stars instead of five, it "is" worth the low price, and I would buy it again knowing what I know now.Songwritunfool

The Line 6 spider jam changed my life in many ways. First and foremost you can save every idea that you come up with! 2nd it helped me to become a songwriter, it has everything you need so you dont have to rely on other people showing up to practice. Its allowed me to put the time into writing that I never could before, because face it most people dont want to rehearse 7 days a week, or even 5 for that matter! I thank God and Jesus for leading me too this life changing built in studio in a guitar amp!Skip Farfugnugen

If you are looking for a versatile and fun practice amp that you can record and gig with, this thing Rocks. I am primarily a bassist and just learning how to do leads on guitar and this amp fit the bill perfect. It does not have the warmth of a top of the line tube amp, but I did not need that as an intermidiate player. This thing has pretty awesome effects and tone varieties for about a couple hundred varieties and most I will never use. You can record, you can plug in a mic or a bass, you can jam tithe rhythm tracks, it has headphones so you play without waking the wife or neighbors, and a built-in tuner! That is just what I have discovered so far! The price makes this the perfect amp for practice, recording, and even small venue performances (half way up on the master and it is loud!) the only thing is it takes time to figure out and discover all the tones and capabilities, but that is also half the fun! Also the clean tones are good but not great. The distortions are fantastic! Not that the cleans are not useable, but they are bit thin for me. HIGHLY recommend!! Have fun!DFW_Bassman65

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

I have a Marshall 412 cabinet with a 100 watt Marshall head. I needed a smaller amp to practice at home and for small jam sessions. I picked the Marshall MG15FX because I know and like the Marshall sound and quality. The Effects features sound good too. I bought the footswitch for it too. This amp sounds good and powerful enough for any small jam or studio work. Marshall makes a MG30 if you need more power.Max

I really like this amp. I don't have to turn up the master volume very much for it to get loud enough. I plan to hook up a Line 6 Pocket Pod for heavier distortion and more effects options. I'm a big fan of delay and am happy with the delay that comes with this amp but I did get a Boss DD-8 digital delay pedal and it works well with this amp. I previously had a cheap 100 watt amp but it only sounded well at low volume. I feel this Marshall amp is better quality and I am glad I got this one.Ferdad

i use this fun little amp at home to practice and jam. sometimes with friends. i've have owned fender and peavy practice amps and this Marshall is just as good or better. i like the clean and various overdrives..the effects do a good enough job and really like the two different reverb effects. i like the headphone option for keeping the neighbors and girlfriend happy when playing late night. i play a Epiphone Les paul traditional pro iv and the combonation sounds super for hard rock and blues but i needed to get a heavy metal pedal for metallica songs. wish it had a longer plug in cable. but over all it sounds really good for what i payed.. ;owned it for two years and keeps on rocking.rob