Best Mid Range Guitar Amp (2024 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

If you like Fender modelling amp sounds, you'll find this perfect for headphone practice. The selection of Amps is a bit more limited than in a Fender Modelling amp, and the Effects depths similarly limited, but hey, the thing is the size of a matchbox and it allows you to jam along with your online selections, via Bluetooth. Your headphones must be cable, not Bluetooth, however, to avoid latency. But as the headphone cable goes over your shoulder straight into the Mustang Micro, you are not hampered by any connecting cable to your playback device. Until you try this, you may not appreciate how liberating and convenient this is. Its pivoting jack also allows it to go into a Strat recessed socket, many others don't.Geoff

Overall: I'm very pleased with the Micro overall. Read my review below. It really is great. If I were to suggest any changes to the Mustang Micro, it would be this: 1. Include some earbuds with the amp…I mean, why not? You can buy decent earbuds for ten bucks these days…probably cost Fender fifty cents and would mean ready to go out of the box. 2. In the new model, set it up to have a bluetooth output for using wireless headphones. While not a huge deal, I'd really rather not have that wire running from the headset to the guitar. I always end up fumbling with it when taking the guitar off or putting it on. 3. Go ahead and print the basic amp settings on the Micro. The reference card works. But, just having the amp models printed on the amp itself would be handy. There is enough blank space on the Micro to accommodate this.These are just my ideas for improvements. The amp is already a great sounding and super handy device.Ericbstl

I picked this up on a friend's recommendation as a better than average headset amplifier. My Likes: In terms of sound quality it is quite good. It is compact and I do like the USB charging feature a lot. The amp models are better than I expected and sound different with each guitar I use, just like a good amp should. The effects were a nice bonus, simple and effective. I haven't tested bluetooth connectivity yet, but I presume that it will do its job. My concerns, Use while Seated – nearly impossible,as with most headset amplifiers, especially with a side mounted jack . With my Fender Stratocaster, it is more easily used because of the top mount, but with any side mount, it gets caught on my knee and can get pulled out when seated. EQ feature. It does not seem to impact the sound very much in clean or driven settings. I would have preferred paying an extra $20 for a small set of wheels for hi/mid/low Overall it is a B+ for Fender, which could be a quick A with some more mounting options and a small 3 band EQKAS

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'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

The good: small, portable, can run off batteries. The wireless connectivity is really nice. Sounds decent for what it is. The bad: The interface on the unit itself and the app are confusing to say the least, and you are pretty limited in the use of effects. The ugly: all those free Katana patches being posted on the Boss site? Incompatible. All the patches for regular Boss Katana amps WILL NOT WORK on this unit. Thanks for that Boss.Alexander

Overall: I may be mis-reading the manual but I've yet to figure out how to keep the wireless transmitter charged. I'm not new at this having gotten Line 6's wireless transmitters when they first arrived on the scene. They were easy to use and worked as advertised. While I am a huge Roland/Boss fan, I'm thinking they may have missed the mark in the "ease of use" category on the Katana Air. From a sound perspective, the amp, when plugged into a wall socket sounds great; just what you'd expect from a Katana amp. And when the transmitter is fully charged, the same can be expected. The problem arises when trying to figure out how to keep it charged. When running the amp on batteries only, this seems this seems to be problematic in that the amp stops charging the transmitter when the batteries are low. The problem is you don't know the transmitter is dead until you try and use it.My most predictable approach is to plug in the amp with the provided DC cable and do my charging while the amp is "hard-wired" to the juice coming from a wall socket.Once the transmitter is fully charged, in this manner, I can disconnect the amp and run it on a fresh set of batteries. This will afford you a "temporary" wireless operation. The transmitter that I received didn't have any where's near the claimed lifespan. I'd be curious to see how other's experience with the Katana Air played out. I will keep fiddling with the KA and if I discover what it takes to make it truly wireless, I'll get back to you in a follow up review. Strangely I did keep this item, hoping for a downloadable software cure.There is a nice free ap that accompanies the KA…..It allows you to change all of the amp's audio settings and to download free patch sets. This works well with my iPhone 7+.Martin

I've been seeking a modern, portable, reliable practice amp that can satisfy BOTH Acoustic and Electric guitars since Line 6 introduced their Amplifi series. I loved the Amplifi's techie saturated concept but no matter how bad I wanted it to work… it was always a low-fidelity 'noise' amp first without the ability to produce clear, hi-fidelity sound for either my acoustic or classical guitars. Designing an amp that can accurately reproduce hi-fidelity, low distortion sound begins with a good designed, quality build and above average components. As the old proverb states, "You can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear", you can build a noisy amp but don't ever expect it to reproduce quality sound. Amplifi is the sow's ear. I thought about testing their newer Amplifi 30 but after many bad experiences testing a 75 and reading that I was not alone … I lost all confidence that they could do HiFi right. The Katana Air checks many of my must-have boxes and it worked without a hitch. It was designed as a small practice amp and not a single solution for all your gigging needs. Adding in the convenience features like smart-on and multiple wireless features that include power/updating/tuning/modeling/backing tracks/guitar, makes this the practice amp I have been waiting a long timefor. Finally, I can take an amp sailing without worry of 'butt cleats' or adding more hazardous lines to my boat.pete1tod

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

It's not the greatest amp ever but the sound is absolutely amazing and, most importantly, versatile. You can get so many sounds out of this thing that you realistically wouldn't need any other amp for gigs or recording unless you're an audiophile/perfectionist. Almost any band sound that you'd like is just a community created patch away, it's truly incredible, as long as you have a PC/Mac/Android device plugged into it. The sounds that are built in are still amazing, just a little limited and require some learning to use the effects. Still, you won't find anything near this price that gets you the same quality sound, volume, or variety of uses. The learning curve is nothing compared to the thought and cost of trying/buying dozens of guitar effect pedals – which you can still do, or even use this as an amplified cab for your preamp of choice. If you have a few hundred dollars to try something new then it's worth it. Also worth it if you're looking to upgrade from a practice amp, or need an amp to gig, or don't have the money for pedals, or need to record on your computer, or many other situations. It's worth trying. At worst you'll lose $100 buying it new and reselling it on the off chance you don't like any of the MANY tones you can get from this beast.l_burnett87

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Hot Rod Deluxe is an affordable tube amp good for just about every application. The great expected Fender clean sound makes it an ideal host for pedals. Crunchy tube-driven overdrive can be dialed in to go from Stonesy Grit to ZZ over the Topish tone. This amp is loud enough for most stages and small enough to throw in the front seat next to you after the gig. I am a staff reviewer at Sam Ash Columbus.Jimbo

The Fender Hot Rod Series of amps are some of the best sounding tube amps out there. The Hot Rod Deluxe features straight forward controls, a massive 40 watts of tube power, classic Fender clean tones as well as some really nice, crunchy over-drive. Since the clean channel is so pristine it handles effects pedals very well, or just go straight in and use the 2 button foot switch (included). Lush reverb & great tone, make it perfect for any performance situation. I am a Guitar Sales Associate at Sam Ash in Edison NJ'Big Time

So a guitar buddy of mine has had this amp for a little while now and everytime we play together I just sit there and let him play for me first because it just sounds so beautiful. We mostly do a lot of jazz and blues and classic rock and this is the perfect tube amp for that! It is powerful without blowing you out of your pants. It really focuses on the mid range and keeps the lows or highs in check. I would definitely recommend this amp! I am a staff reviewer at Sam Ash MusicThe Bearded Guy

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 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

Love this amp. I got it for a portable grab and go that's loud enough to be heard over drums. It's a million times easier to move than my head and cab, and it's plenty loud when you crank it. It was easy dialing in tones in both channels. The clean channel is good, but not spectacular. The reverb choices help a lot. I'm not a reverb guy, but I actually love the reverb on this amp. If sparkling cleans are your priority get a JC120. The dirty channel is a monster. Add some hall reverb and you have a killer Van Halen tone. Turn off the reverb and you have Pantera up the wazoo. The voice of the world speaker sounds pretty decent. As you turn up the amp the tone stays generally the same, and doesn't get muddy. I put a Celestion 75 watt creamback, and a heavy gauge speaker cable in mine and it's phenomenal sounding now. Fat and full at low volumes, and when you crank it the punch and clarity get better the louder you go. Get this amp. Sounds great straight out of the box. Upgrade the speaker and you'll have a pro grade sounding amp that will destroy anything in its path.Lank Dangle

This is stellar I had no idea just how good it would be. Looks great in black – I was so close to an orange Orange but a just preferred the understated looks of this… The clean channel is punchy and I've had no trouble dialling in a great bright clean sound with my Les Paul on 10 its just before break up my Tele sounds sublime through it. The dirty channel can go crazy, but that's not my thing. I've got a nicely screaming tone available but tend to roll the guitar volume back to 7/8 sounds good… cleans up around 6 and is very useable. It's a keeper the reverbs are good I'm running around 2 maybe just 3 using plate. The master volume is good dosen't suck the tone when low so very useful for playing at home. I've push some drive pedals into the front but I love the dirty channel so have been using that on its own. With my looper I'm using the dirty channel creating a loop with the guitar vol backed off and then pushing the amp with the guitars vol control for lead. it's so much fun sounds ace.Nicholas C.

This amp is incredible! There is no reason for a bad review of this product!!!! I've played for 44 years on stage, recorded, collected guitars and amplifiers, I am a guitar tech, sound engineer, touring musician, also I have one set of ears! I have played almost every giggable amp made, and every guitar sound from humbuckers to single coils. I love this amp because in one beautiful box at 60w I can get almost any sound that I want, I dont care if I can plug into a toaster through a 4×12 cab, if it sounds great, it is. If your guitar is set up, your cables are good, your amp is properly grounded, and your strings are clean, you do not have to get into the I need 21 pedals thing, just plug in, maybe have a few pedals, and turn it up!!!! Tubes sound great, but with all the pcb problems a lot of amps do not have the mojo that they did back in the days of craftmanship. This amp is the modern choice for me, at a great price, It sounds fantastic, no tube swap, failure, pcb burn through, or babying. This amp reminds me of old tube amps I played in the 70s that were made in the 60s get one, I got mine price reduced. After cranking it for 20 hours, I will see if it gets better, it already sounds second best of any amp I've ever owned, its portable, you can mike it, also it sounds close to my all time favorite amp, a jcm 800 50w!Eddie Chicago

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

I have nothing but great things to say about this amp! Perfect for the solo acoustic artist. I've been a solo acoustic gigging musician for years and this is the best amp I've played through. You get a nice rich sound from your guitar and I love the reverb effects on both the vox and guitar. The chorus is a nice touch, though I don't use it much. I've played Marshall amps almost exclusively so I knew they'd handle my guitar well, but I was really surprised with the vocal sound. A very warm tone with minimal knobs for a quick set up. It sounds great mic'd or you can run a line out to a PA for further EQ if you'd like. It's light enough and compact enough to throw in your car for a last minute gig. Great for small to medium rooms, mic it or line out for a larger one and get rocking. You won't be disappointed.CT

If you've been reading (and watching) the reviews, then you know this is likely going to be a great amp. However, even after researching it, there were 4 unknowns for me. These are now clarified, now that I own this amp. 1) Bass. Yes, it has more than enough bass. 2) Clean sound. Yes, when reverb and chorus are off, the clean (natural) sound is fantastic. As good as the chorus and reverb are, I think I'm going to be playing it "clean" a lot. 3) Weight. As you know, it's heavier than most amps in this category; don't worry about it. It's not bad. You can always put it on a small self-made dolly if need be. 4) Plug-In for the Footswitch pedal — what is it, and how does it work? The one that's made for this amp has two buttons: one for reverb, and one for chorus. Yes, you have to pay extra for this (and the amp is also a bit more expensive) — but worth it. Very happy with this amp. It is such a warm, fantastic sounding amp.B

Speaking from experience with various sound reinforcenent systems. There are many options here with the phantom mic power and even an rca input for devices (drums or other audio.) Other reviewers note the solid build and good looks. I have one in white. Marshall knows speakers and this closed back box provides wide range good definition, and good projection. Not box like. I have run electric guitar or bass straight in. I would think it fine for jazz guitar. Or use your choice of pre amp devices/emulators. Acoustic electric guitar and condenser mic for live app and you are ready for the coffee house.Michael Eastin

I dont normally write reviews but…. This amp is amazing! After my son played it for a few minutes his first comment was what I thought about him selling his tube combo. To me that spoke volumes. I bought the foot switch , a must have because it opened up the versatility of the amp, and now plan on purchasing an FV500L volume pedal to complete the package. We cant wait to get this amp connected to the Boss website to see what the capabilities are. It definitely packs a punch and the sound is so clear at any volume.rx7357

Affordable / flexible / portable / (hopefully) reliable – no need to lug a pedal board around, just a tuner – less stress about whether modern flaky valves are going to pack up mid gig (several outdoor gigs with generators have turned me against using my valve amps for those). I have previously borrowed and gigged a friend's Katana 100 head and GA/FC, so knew what to expect. Really needs an external 8 / 16 Ohm speaker jack socket (c.f. Artist model) to be even more flexible for those of us with external cabs. Will be using this one live this afternoon – fingers crossed!Reviewed by Andertons Music Co.

I just played a club that holds about 300 using this amp and was very satisfied. After putting it through the paces in a live situation I would easily recommend this for the gigging guitarist. I ran the 100 watt full volume mode and kept it around 3 with the master volume up full in the clean mode. As I was using pedals, (The usual selection of overdrives and delays) I kept it in the default clean setting that comes right out of the box. The amp was mic'd with an sm57 and the speaker sounded great. Upon further inspection the variable output and full array of effects makes this a good choice for the home studio. Lightweight, loud and pretty inexpensive, I give it 5 stars.DrJ

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

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

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

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

My answer will be short and sweet, I'm PRS all the was from Se models,core models and amps! Every instrument has always been spot on. Also AMS is a great company to deal with and always provides the best gear!!Paul Eddie

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