Best Guitar Amps Ever (2024 Update)

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 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

I got this to play at gigs and fill in to gaps for 60s and 70s classic rock numbers. It sounded great mic's with just enough stage sound for sustain. I especially liked the foot switch layout to flip between clean and dirty numbers when covering Stones, Bowie, Mott The Hoople, Doobie Bros and stuff, but needed help with a pedal with early metal sounds. Still, found it a very flexible amp overall. About eight months in it got a hissing sound and was useless as a mic'd amp through the PA. It was still under warranty, and – long story short – they repaired the hiss by replacing some circuit components, but after a few weeks it came back. The is the one time I wished I got the replacement warranty. I ended up giving it away to a friend who tinkers in electronics. Do and internet search and you'll see this amp has a long history of hiss and other noise problems that are hard to isolate. That said, I know of some players who liked this amp very much and it never let them down, so I'm not hating on Fender. I like the Fender sound and own a very reliable 65' Twin two Blues Deluxe Issues. If you really must have this amp, I'd recommend getting the full replacement warranty.RJ

Just purchased this beautiful blond amp. The clean channel is perfect. Decent gain. Reverb is adequate. Highly recommend purchasing the amp head and the 2X12 cab because you get two Clesetion Vintage 30's vise the single Eminence in the combo. Sound great out of the box even before the tubes are burned in and the speakers broken in. I'll say this again, the clean channel is perfect, Les Paul, Strat, Tele, ES 195 with P90's and effects never sounded better. Gives this bad boy a test drive, you wont be disappointed. If you have never used a tube amp, 22 watts is quite a bit of power compared to solid state, possibly two to three time the power. Yes! this amp can get quite loud. Perfect for small gigs. Highly portable and easy to move and transport.Karl

'm a novice guitar player with less than 2 years experience, but I reached the point that I wanted to experiment with different tones and effects. The problem is that it would be very expensive to do this with different pedals, amps, guitars etc. I ordered the CODE 50 sight unseen after researching reviews & videos online, and it fits the bill perfectly. CODE 50 is an affordable way to play around with a crazy number of tones and effects & find your sound. I'm sure there are plenty of experts & purists out there that will find flaws with this amp, as it models (imitates) a number of historically great amps from Marshall, & what I presume are a version of Fender amps ("American Clean" etc). Does the BluesBreaker preset sound identical to the BluesBreaker amp that Clapton was playing in the 60s? Close enough for me cause it sounds pretty radical! There are a number of presets that are just epic for playing blues, rock, metal, on & on. Pick a genre of music and you can generate a tone that will fit right in. All of the presets can be tweaked to the players specifications. You want more reverb on that reverb? Dial it up. Some of the things I notice after just playing it a few times: As billed, CODE 50 is LOUD, so be careful. Not a complaint; I wanted something versatile enough to practice at home, but be loud enough to jam with others. There are some pretty big discrepancies in the volumes between a few of the presets, another thing you have to be careful with when toggling back and forth between presets. While plenty of the presets sound unique, there are a few that sound a bit redundant, or maybe just so close in tone to another that it feels that way. There are one or two that I can't imagine anyone using ("Virus?" Virus sounds like someone is strangling an organ-at least that's what she said!). Overall, if you want an affordable way to experiment with tone, get loud, and have fun, the CODE 50 is a rad choice. Thanks Marshall!Jeremy

I've been playing on and off for 20 years. Mostly an attenuated tube amp guy and a gear tinkerer. Found one of these on the showroom and gave it a quick whirl. This quickly led to buying one. Cons: The more time I spent the more I realized how limited the stock speaker is. It's super directional and the bass is a bit boomy and hard to dial out without removed too many lower mids. It still sounds good, but it can be much better. The stock preset settings, like a lot of reviews, leave me scratching my head. The resonance, presence and gate settings in particular tend to screw with the quality of sound as set from the factory. There's no speaker out, so I installed one. If you want this amp to shine, you'll need to do a speaker swap or plug into a 4×12. Marshall should have done this. Pros: The goods are definitely there, but you need to scratch the surface. Once you get that direction figured out, it's very easy to dial in your own settings which will differ quite a bit from the factory presets. I have a 4×12 w/ Vintage 30's and this amp sounds amazing plugged in. The JTM, Plexi, JCM, JVM, American amps all sound outstanding. But the JTM45 in particular sounds outstanding. Effects are great and I'm starting to use certain effects that I normally wouldn't buy a pedal for simply because they're in the amp. Another must do is to figure out your speaker choices for each amp. I'm a Vintage 30 fan, so after changing the speaker to V30's on all the amps, to me it sounds much better. It's a good tool to be able to hear what different speakers will do at the turn of a button, just to see what characteristics in speakers you may like. My secret sauce with this amp is my Les Paul through a 10 band EQ (to boost the highs you loose using the speaker emulations through a 4×12 with those emulated speakers), through a Marshall BB-2 for boost, into Marshall Code on JTM45 through the 4×12 w/ Vintage 30's. Absolute heaven going on with this, even at low volumeWisconsinski

The marshall code 50 and all other modeling amps are not plug and play,you have to dig in and change the parameters in the amp and create user presets that sound good to you! If it sounds good then it is good! If you want your amp model to sound just like the tube amp it is modeled from,then buy the tube amp. I have other modeling amps and my peavey vypyr 75 recto model that i like very much does not sound just like a mesa but i tweaked it to sound good for what i like,i think the marshall code amps sound very close to there own tube amplifiers that there modeled after and that is how good amp modeling is getting.I just want to mention some things you can do to improve the sound of your marshall code,first break in your amps speaker for about 100 hours by playing your amp fairly loud a few hours a day,about two months or you can play MP3 music through the AUX input. This will smooth out the harsh higher frequencies and break in the speaker for better low end without the speaker farting out.Here is a great tip for the bluesbreaker and other amp models that have too much low end,when i first heard the bluesbreaker model the low end was muddy and had too much bass even with the bass and resonance turned down to 0! I tried my behringer PB100 pre amp booster pedal with the bass control turned down to a 7 o clock position and that did the trick,the low end mud was gone and the mid frequencies stood out like i never heard before! It just sounded great now! I then tried my behringer TO100 tube overdrive pedal and i could not believe that the bluesbreaker model even sounds better then the pre amp booster! The TO100 overdrive also cut out the low end mud and the mid frequencies were smoother and the higher E and B strings on my guitar had a nice round tube tone without thin sounding harshness! I also tried the marshall codes internal OD and GVR pedal effects but my behringer TO100 sounded much better!MarshallMan50

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 Dual Terror has all of the positive features of the Tiny Terror while improving on some of the weaknesses of its smaller counterpart. The DT sports 30 watts of class A tube power in contrast to the TT's 15. This provides more clean headroom for the user as compared to the tube breakup at relatively low volume that often occurred when playing the TT. Fortunately, the Dual Terror has variable wattage for those who like the early breakup or want arena crunch at bedroom volume. The DT may be run at either 30 or 15 watts via the "full power/half power/standby" switch on the front. The user can also drop the wattage even further via a switch on the back panel. The switch allows the user to power down two of the four EL84 power tubes. This allows the amp to be run at 7.5 watts when in the "half-power" setting. This versatility makes the Dual Terror an excellent choice for stage, studio, and anything in between. The amp gurus at Orange also added a second channel to increase the DT's versatility. The new "Fat" channel truly lives up to its name. This channel has all the sweet British tone of the Tiny Terror channel only warmer and fuller. It is a great addition to an already great sounding amp. The only downside to the two-channel operation of the DT is deciding which of the channels to use as clean and which for dirty as both have their own unique voice and sound great both clean and overdriven. The operation is incredibly simple, three knobs per channel, nothing fancy just gain, volume, and tone. Orange proves that you don't need a million knobs and switches to get great tone, just a well-crafted valve amp. Anyone in the market for great tube tone in a smaller package that won't kill your wallet should get their hands on one of these amps as soon as possible. Plug it in, turn it up, and let yours ears feast on some of the best Class A valve tone on the market today…Stanton H.

Bought my Dual Terror used without a case a few years back. Went without one for a long time because these cases were going for over $100, and I wasn't willing to spend that much on a simple cover. Just recently, wear and tear and constant gigging finally caught up with me, and a jack screw came off, along with a switch breaking off clean. Knew I had to buckle down and finally get a case. Luckily this one came at more than half the price. Fits perfectly, extra pocket is great for cables, and actually makes it easier to lug around. Thanks!noizewerm

The PRS Sonzera 20 is a very good guitar amplifier. It sound exactly like a FENDER Twin Reverb in terms of providing a clear, realistic sound with plenty of powerful bass response. Unlike the TR, the PRS Sonzera 20 is much more compact and a lot easier to transport. It weighs about 42 lbs. compared to the TR's 62 lbs. This amp uses the same 6L6GC power tubes as the TR. I really like the PRS Sonzera 20 a lot…I'm actually thinking about purchasing a second one as a spare! It's that good!Greg

Great sounding amp other than the rattling tubes. I realize I could re tube and get rid of that for a bit but can't rationalize re tubing a new amp. Also the standing hum seemed much louder than any other amp I own. I tried recording with it and between the tube rattle and hum the track was ditched. I assume that's why it was an open box sale. I called customer service and they couldn't tell me Why it was returned. That's no good. There should be a way to track those issues Otherwise you just keep selling folks thsame lemon.Hambone612

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

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'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've been playing night clubs, Casinos, Hot Rod Runs, Bike Runs, weddings, parties, and everything since 1979. I used to use 2 Fender Twin Reverbs with Celestian G-12-65's and a rack of effects processors (to run STEREO), with a octopus of wiring to set up at every gig, plus an octopus of switches and stomp boxes and wall warts on power sttrips on the floor. Set up time and tear down time took hours. Sometimes all that wiring maze would pick up the 60 cycle hum, and what a mess locating the buzz! After a gig I had to set all that stuff up again at my home studio to practice. Sometimes there was no time… In 1996 I bought a Line 6 Flextone 2-12 (stereo) and that changed everything. It ended all the major problems and electrical buzzes. I programmed the Flextone right next to my Fender Twins and matched the tones exactly on the Flextone. WOW! No more Octopus Monster and Heavy Gear! I have since had a Spider III HD 120 with 412 bottom, 2 Spider III 210 combo's a Spider Valve 100 head, and recently a Spider IV 120 210. I Use the Spider iii 120 210 and Spider IV 120 210 amps on stage exclusively, with an FBV floorboard. Very Simple for stage and Awesome Sound everywhere I play! But again, many times my gear is loaded in a trailer, or at the venue and I need something that sounds like my Spider IV,,, so I got a Spider IV 15 watt. I quickly dialed in my 6o's Fender Reverb Tone for Country and Surf Tone on Ch 1, my StevieRay Vaughan "Little Wing" tone on Ch 2, The Stevie Ray Vaughan Roto-Vibe Tone on Ch 3, and a Van Halen tone on the Insane CH 4. I'm good to go! The only thing missing, is that the larger Spider Amps have a separate Reverb knob and the Spider 15 shares either the Echo Delay or reverb on the same knob, so you can't have both to smooth out the delay. It's one or the other on the Delay or the Reverb, but that's not a big deal on a great practice amp, that i could use onstage if I had a mishap with my other amps. Sounds best when you aren't pushing the master all the way to the max. Crank it up, dial in your tones, then back it off about 7 on the Channel Volumes, match them, and run the master at about 6 or 7. I can switch the channels with my FBV Floorboard and use it for practicing in real small rooms with a band. If it's not loud enough…Mic it! The tones I use are there and I can pack this amp in 2 minutes and walk out with my guitar without breaking my back with the heavier stuff. Fits right on my front seat. Done Deal! If it's your first amp, it's probably the best starter amp for the money, and for me, I have my tones dialed in for practice anywhere with no hassles.Kenny

Ups dropped it off yesterday, and it is everything I hoped, but better. The metal and insane channels are perfect. The clean is gorgeous, for a sort of metal clean tone. If you want to play a lot of Zeppelin or Pink Floyd, you might be better off with a Vypyr. but if you want Mettallica and Crue, to A7X, back to AC/DC and Aerosmith, youll love it. The metal channel is heavy as hell, and can still get up and throw piercing highs and mids. Everything is tight and punchy as hell. The biggest thing that shocked me was the clarity at seemingly stupid volumes for such a small amp. MF was out of stock when I ordered it, and I still had it in 7 days with free shipping. I highly recommend this amp to all metalheads. Thanks Musicians Friend and Line 6. RNFRJag

Very satisfied with this guitar amp. It has a lot of great effects, like flanger, reverb, tremolo, and tape echoes (to name a few). It's very fun to mess around with settings to create great spacey sounds and heavy, sludgy tones. It's also very easy to use. The amplifier also has very useful features, like a built-in tuner and a "save" feature, where the amp can save and remember four different settings at the push (and hold) of a button. It has great tone, volume, and variety, and it picks up things like pinch harmonics extremely well on the Metal and Insane tones. It's also pretty light to carry. I'd definitely recommend this amp for someone just starting out and for someone who's rather experienced with guitar playing. Great price for an amazing amplifier.Katastrophecy

Extremely versatile amp. I play a lot of electric blues but I grew up on hard rock/metal. Today I also play a little bluegrass, country, classical, pop and whatever suits my mood at the time. But at the end of the day, I usually revert to a heavier sound. Now the Marshall has a nice clean sound, although not as clean as my old Fender Pro Reverb. You can't have everything. Where this amp really shines is in its ability to generate anything from mild overdrive to extreme high gain. With this amp I can get high gain harmonics that I could not get from other amps, even with heavy gain effects. The only negative really is that the amp is quite physically heavy.Fuzzy

Firstly, I am in a bar/party cover band of older (>30 years to nearly 60) musicians with day jobs. We are not all Recent Hits, but do mostly songs people have heard of in all years from mid 60s to this year. The flexibility of this head is its big feature for someone like me. This is not a prescriptive review — this is just how I use it. Some of the skeptics have wondered why you would need 4 channels with 3 tones each. They have a good point, but not one that applies to a cover band. If I had to have one amplifier, it would have to produce the tones that this amp can do on channel 2 (crunch) green and orange, and channel 3 (OD1) green and orange. Crunch orange and OD1 green are quite similar and are the tones of the classic plexis and old Marshalls. Crunch green is what you would want for "clean" tone with a Marshall level of compression and just a little breakup for an electric guitar. OD1 at orange is what you would do for distorted classic rock — adding an overdrive in front of a plexi or a very saturated pickup, for example. For every song I really like, and everything I would do if I wasn't doing covers, those two channels at those two colors would cover it. For gigs, I can set channel 1 (clean) and Channel 4 (OD2) to be more extreme. The clean channel is actually what i use to be my acoustic guitar and occasionally as my hollow body electric emulating an acoustic. It is not perfect, nor is as good as having a specialized acoustic amp or clean tone jazz amp. However, it is good enough, and it simplifies the signal path to not have separate amps, and there is enough separate EQ to make it work. Channel 4 can be used for dirtier, more distorted stuff, and the weird thing is that now I use it entirely for country. My band doesn't do any metal, and the heaviest guitar sounds we do are the likes of Carrie Underwood. Getting the hiss to go away is not that big of a deal — put an MXR Smart Gate or any other gate I've tried into the _serial_loop_ and twist the knobs — it will take care of the problem. The JS head might be better and I haven't tried it. I do appreciate that you can't use the OD channels on this without a noise gate, but it isn't a big dial to fix. The reverb is good but nothing special. Reading this review before submitting, I realize that the oddest thing is that I personally have no use for any of the red versions of the four channels. That is probably a classic rock attitude — this thing has a lot more metal tone than I will ever use, so you should use other reviews if you want that.Iceandsnow

This is just and amazing head… I can't complement it enough. I wanted so many of the iconic Marshall tones but couldn't afford to go out and buy a JCM 800, 900, Plexi…etc. This head truly does a great job of getting all the tones your looking for. It does take a little dialing in with all the different modes in each channel to find what they all do… but once you have it kind of figured out its a tone machine. the included foot switch is a pleasant surprise also. It's programmable and works like a charm with just a normal guitar cable. I have also used the midi switching capabilities and they are also wonderful, though not as easy to use as the foot switch. If you are a gigging musician or just want a lot of options…..get one of these!Tony

I really wanted to like this amp. I've ownned almost every amp made over the past 40 years playing, and currently own 2 other marshall 100 watt heads. I bought the origin 50 head. This thing is UNGODLY loud, easily louder than my 2 other 100 watt heads. I really thought it was defective even in 20 watt mode it easily keeps up with the loudest drummer in 50 watt mode the loudest thing I have ever played through a 4×12, 2 4×12 cabs, and a 112 cab. I spent almost a month tweaking this amp and just could not get that crunchy/clean plexi tone I was wishing for. My head had zero sag when hitting notes, the tone is really immediate and dare I say sterile sounding through a variety of high end speakers. You MUST use a pedal with vintage output single coils, or else you just sound squeeky clean with no edge. So whats the point? I have many amps I can stick a tube screamer in front of. I just cant justify buying the latest and greatest tube amp, only to have a 100 dollar dirt box be the core ofHobbyBobby

A mini version of my full sized Bluesbreaker. I really needed something a bit quieter for smaller gigs and practice at home. I didn’t want to compromise by buying a different type of small amp that wouldn’t get the sounds I had become used to, that’s where the Origin 50c comes in. It’s a great stand in for my JTM45 and it has power scaling to tone it down for smaller gigs. It does clean, it has natural grit if you push it, the tilt and gain boost controls are amazing additions. No need for jumping channels, just blend in the “High Treble” part of a JTM45 with the tilt knob and you can add some clarity and sizzle to stand out in the mix.Daniel Warfel

I bought it to go back to a old school setup. I've had it with all this new age software and modeling, and programming! That's not for me! I have two different pedal boards that I custom made that have every effect I could possibly need at a gig. This amp has an effects loop for those who prefer it….I just plug everything right into the front like I did in the eighties, and it works great! This amp is made for pedals….. unless you just like a dry clean sound. I also have a 412 cab to plug it in too! It gets even better with that! So.. I got the combo for smaller gigs, and for the bigger venues I add the 412 cab. Works out great! I plan on adding some corner protectors and wheels soon.Glenn

A ZT LBR1 showed up yesterday nicely double boxed from Musicians Friend. I bought and returned an original Lunch Box when they first came out. It did not sound that good to me. But here is the temptation repeated, this time with reverb! My QSC CP8, HX Stomp, cable, and power supply weigh nearly 24 lbs. By the way all purchased at Musicians Friend. The CP8 is rated at 124 dB peak SPL and the ZT LBR1 at 123 dB peak SPL. As is often the case the marketing gets ahead of reality… The ZT box says 9 lbs., the ZT manual says 10 lbs., and my scale says 10 lbs., 4 oz. My wife is working from home and I did not have a chance yet to try it at stage volumes. At reasonable volumes it compares nicely with the Black Face Deluxe Vibrato Channel plus 63 Spring Reverb running on an HX Stomp into my QSC CP8. Maybe a little less very high-end brightness and I did put the LBR1 treble control to 2 o'clock where the Stomp patch is configured with Bass and Treble set to "5". With my guitar's volume controls set to "8", I have both the HX Stomp and the LBR1 (gain at 12 o'clock) set to give a little distortion for richness when strumming or fingerpicking. Both setups give me a nice sounding light overdrive when I push the guitar volume controls to "10" The bottom line is it does exactly what I want at half the weight and bulk. My only criticism is the hiss is louder than the CP8 and while I would never imagine using the CP8 on a desktop, you could. Whereas the LBR could easily sit on a desktop but you wouldn't due to the hiss. No issues sitting on the floor even in a quiet room. The bass response might have been tuned for floor placement anyway. One observation… I like to "burn-in" new electronic toys and the LBR1 runs warm. I am guessing it is a class A-B power amp. Still not any hotter than the HX Stomp with its SHARC DSP.Jon Fields

Used for taking to friends' houses to play with a group…certainly loud enough. The cleans are amazing. Had to add an external distortion pedal (got a discontinued ZT Extortion…also amazing!) and now am all smiles.ibrewalot

The luxury of having a small, reliable amplifier that's loud enough for small gigs is incredible. I run it through a small, closed-back 1×12 cabinet. There's not a TON of headroom, but it can EASILY be heard over a drummer, even if the drummer is loud. Its natural tone is bland as can be, so it's best to use an equalizer pedal, and possibly even a compressor pedal to make it sound a bit more tube-like if that's your schtick. Here's the bottom line: you buy this product for convenience. It's not a recording amp. You buy it because you can get it from gig to gig easily. Because you don't want to hurt your back or worry about your tube amp dying on you. Because it sounds just good enough. Practically speaking, you don't need more power than this. If your gig is big enough for you to need more headroom, your gig probably has a PA system that you can mic your amp into. Reduce your stage volume, save your hearing, and make it easier for your sound engineer to get your levels right. Goal: make your job easier. This product will make your job easier.Tuna

First off, the base clean tone of this thing is very not bad. Well-rounded & full bodied. However, the base tone will be disengaged of powering a preamp-type pedal. I use a Diezel VH4 overdrive pedal with the 44 as a preamp/power amp setup, and I like the tone as much if not better than any solid-state amp head out there. But if you're trying to get tube punch out of it, a 212 cab is about as much as you can push before you start losing oomph. It will drive a 412, but you'll lose some punch along the way. A great fly rig solution if you like showing up with a guitar and a pedalboard & using a house cab, or a no-brainer if you tire of hauling too much gear.Ninja Joe

This amp has many hidden features that guitarists should consider: 1) Solid pine cabinet reduces the weight and gives it a warm solid sound. 2) Even though this amp has a 12AY7 tube chosen for George Benson, it can be easily changed to the standard 12AX7. 3) The lighter 12" speakers sound great and work well with the bright switch, something not usually found on this style amp. 4) Although the wattage is 85 watts, two output tubes can be removed to reduce wattage if desired 4a) instant spares 4b) reduced wattage and earlier breakup sound if desired, 5) the reverb and tremolo are classic sounds, and both channels take pedals well. 6) The amp covering and grille cloth look great and are unique. 7) The amp cover provided is thicker and better than standard Fender amp covers. The only design change I would have asked for is reverb in both channels like the '68 Custom Twin Reverb. This amp is one of those that will be sought after when everyone realizes the features and versatility it offers. This amp gives my guitars their true sound and with my playing, choice of pedals and setup, I am developing my unique sound.Goletasound

I have owned this amp for three years now and it is a keeper. The neodymium speakers combined with the pine cabinet gives it a little more punch and resonance than the regular twin. The taper on the volume knob allows you to gradually increase the volume, which is a nice change from other fender amps I have had where I had trouble dialing in a volume that wasn't too soft or too loud. The 13 pounds of reduced weight is also a major plus. If you have ever picked up a twin you will appreciate it. I think a lot of people are sleep on how great an amp this is. Pristine fender clean tones and great sounding reverb and tremolo. It also takes pedals extremely well.BW

This is THE amp that shaped music since 1963. Everything sounds good from this amp. It is beautiful piece of gear looking way better than the black tolex covered ones. The Celeston speakers sound very good. I think the pine cab improves resonance, bass responce and overall tone. Amp arrived perfect. Recommend overnight ship to reduce time in carrier hands. Now there are only 119 left of the 120 total. Better hurry before they're all gone. Thanks Musicians Friend for having this limited edition run,Otto Mechanic

I bought a Fender Champion XL 50 for a small light weight amp to bring to local jam sessions. I have to say I am not disappointed. I know there's no comparing solid state to tubesl when it comes to filling up a room with sound but this little amp cranks. It's closest competition is the Boss Katana and those are really nice. I like the ones I've played, but I'm really into that clean Fender sound and this amp has it in spades. You get the full range of cleans, from black or silver faces to tweeds. There's overdrive and high gain models in there too but as I said it's the cleans that sold me. It is a two channel amp, but I'm not sure why anyone would use the first channel as tall the digital goodies are on the second. That being said, the digital reverb in this amp has a bit of a whistle I don't like. Instead I used the chorus on the amp and a Boss Fender Reverb pedal. If your playing on a stage lugging around a forty pound tube amp may be the thing to do, but for sitting around a garage with friends this amp will save your back and please your ears.ADarkBard

I usually don't leave comments, but feel I must let the frustrated AMP user know, yes Jessica there IS a Santa Claus! Was looking for an AMP that was "SIMPLE" – On channel 1 ONLY the volume is usable, I didn't check but probably the Bass & treble too! On Channel 1 the gain control is set and turning the knob does nothing, and none of the FX are accessible! I was so busy checking out Channel 2 that I didn't check to see if Treble & Bass could be adjusted. You have 12 "Voice Settings" and 13 FX Selections. So I checked out all 12 Voice Settings combined with all 13FX settings – add this to checking these out with a single coil Strat and a Jazz/Full Shred Charvel DK24. I feel this is one of the BEST choices I have made in electric guitar choices! The AMP sound CLEAN!!!! I Imagine Channel 1 would be great with an Accoustic as well! Don't have one though! Channel 2 is GREAT and I don't need any more than it has to offer. It is so uncomplicated & stress free! If you are an expert guitar player and can concentrate more on AMP settings, rather than playing, then go for the Katana 50 MKII, or the VOX Cambridge. I was thinking hard on all three. When I got to GC I had pretty much decided on the Fender Champion 50XL. The VOX Cambridge is $150 to $160 more, with only $10 between the Fender & Katana. Since what is on the AMP is all my mind can handle, I decided to go with the Fender 50XL. It has to be on of the simplest AMPS to operate. I do have an Ibanez Tube Screamer, and if I have a need I can look at other pedals down the road. I do plan on getting a Cry Baby! Latter down the road I might get more pedals, but for right now this AMP has all I need. The Celestion Speaker sound GREAT! I couldn't be happier – it is as loud as I need – It's EASY to learn – NONE of the settings sounded muddy, muffled, or shrill. If I was going to get an AMP that needs a lot of downloading, I would have gone with the VOX Cambride. Glad I traded in my old AMP!Karl, M

Great overall amp. The obvious comparison is the Boss Katana 50. I tried both and I found I could dial in a sound I like from the Champion easier than the Katana. The Katana has way more features and the connect-ability. I prefer just plug in and playing which was far easier with the Champion. One of the largest selling points for me was the headphone jack feature for silent playing. The Champion has it right in front of the control panel and it's a 3.5mm jack. The Katana has one but its on the back and it's a 1/4inch jack which would require an adapter to 3.5mm. The location and the fact that it's 1/4in jack gave the Champion the edge. I also preferred that taller design of the Champion. It made it more comfortable to reach and adjust. Some of the cons are the knobs. especially for the "voice" and the "fx-select". A rotary knob would make it far easier to select the presets. Fender does provide a 3 color LED light that changes when you reach the next model or effect. However, a rotary knob that stops at the preset would be a better. Another con is that the reverb effect is combined with chorus and delay. I would much prefer it to be on it's own rather than combined. This is something that the Katana has. Overall the Champion is great for home use and I would recommend it to someone that wants a good amp that is easy to just plug and play. If you want more effects and enjoy experimenting then the Boss Katana would be a better choice.E. Bran

It is a great amp. Very good sound and options for the price. It is not heavy which is a big deal to someone who has had back surgery. I gave it a 5 in spite of one big complaint. When you turn it off you hear a loud "POP!" Wow, is that loud is what I thought the first time I heard it. I read about it online and there is a simple fix. Find an old set of ear phones or ear buds that you would use on a cassette player or a Sony Walkman. (Yes, these are ancient electronic relics from the past for you younger people. You might ask your parents if they have a cassette player and borrow the ear plugs.) Just plug that earphone jack into the "PHONES" input BEFORE you turn it off. THEN you only hear a little blip when you turn it off. THEN just pull the jack out of the "PHONES" input before you start it next time.chasmigu

This amp is better than I thought. I've had it for over a year. I use it for practice sessions (classic rock mostly), and I haven't gone over '4 1/2' on the volume (it does give good feedback if you want it). I did upgrade the speaker to a 12" 'Celestion' Vintage 30 and am absolutely happy! This could easily be mic'd for larger venues. Lightweight, powerful enough, and the effects are a good assortment. One small glitch…when using the footswitch, there is a short, instantaneous volume boost when the pedal is pressed for distortion. Could possibly be a problem for recording. Besides that, 5 stars for me.Myk

After playing acoustic guitar for 15+ years and rarely plugging in, I finally decided to make the plunge and try out an electric. I was advised by a buddy to not buy too big, that 15W-20W would be plenty to practice with. So, I found this little Champion at Sam Ash, and so far it's been great! I bought the display model and have had no issues at all with it. Great sound, enough presets and effects to play around with, and sounds great clean too. Having a blast and loving it.Nate-O

Took them a while, but Boss have blown the competition out of the water with an amp that sounds as great as it is versatile, and provides an amazing platform that’s as at home in the studio as it is in the rehearsal room.Zach G.

Fantastic quality and love having all the settings to play with physically. Sounds phenomenal through headphones, monitors and straight into the DAW.Reviewed by Andertons Music Co.

An amazing 2 channel or dual amp zero watt amplifier pedal. Used it at a rehearsal and could dial in great tones very quickly – from Marshal type distortion to clean reverby Fendery tones. Great through headphones for practice and DI'd into PA for live use. Only disappointment was that there was no power supply supplied, but it does come with a very useful channel/reverb foot switch.Reviewed by Andertons Music Co.

Amazing for recording, the pedal sounds the way your amp would before adding the mic. So easy to dial in any sound, I added a nobble Od1 into the chain and it blew my mind. I gave a good on looks because its hard to read what the knobs and switches do in a studio environment.Reviewed by Andertons Music Co.