Guitar Amp With Distortion For Sale (2024 Update)

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

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

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

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

Was looking for a small light weight amp whilst away from home, not wanting to lug around my heavy tube amp, cab and good sized pedal board. This amp fit's the bill perfectly. This amp sounds great, the onboard effects sound good to my ear. And I also like the controls on this amp. Simple layout that makes it easy and fast to dial in a decent sound. If you need more flexibility the architect software, which is a free download from Blackstar, is straight forward to use giving you even more flexibility. Another thing I like about this amp is as I'm away I often need to us headphones, no to disturb the neighbours, through the architect software, you can change the cab simulation from 112, 212, 412, even choose what mic simulation is used, which I think it's an excellent addition to this already impressive small amp. This amp also sounds great through its built-in speakers, giving it a great stereo sound. For this price I honestly cannot fault it, I did look at other amps but settled for this. And I'm so glad I did. This amp is a bargain!!Lesley C.

I hate amp hunting. I wanted something small and specific for a home studio. Shiny cleans with some grit too? Quality build? Under $600? I searched the used listings for weeks trying to find a deal. Nothing really GETS me. Finally, utterly sick of shopping, I walked into Sam Ash, saw this thing on the shelf and just bought it. Didnt try it. Just read the specs online, read a few reviews and snagged it. I figure, worst case scenario I'll return it tomorrow. Let me say, the sound from this amp is just so incredibly nice. Even without pedals, the built in reverb sounds very good. Not splashy, more like a plate reverb. Adding a transparent overdrive makes my G&L ASAT sound like a tone monster. I have no specific affinity for Blackstar. Never owned a single one of their products and I am totally blown away by this thing. I don't know a thing about the tonal waveforms and harmonic frequencies of the most expensive boutique amps but, on a stage or studio I'd put this amp up to pretty much anything. It FEELS good. It sounds good. Between my guitar and an overdrive pedal and the tone knob on the amp itself, I'm able to pull at least 6 very distinct tones before I even engage the dirty channel. It's even got an effects loop. Get one! You'll like it!DANIEL

I bought this amp a few months ago after LOTS of research, having finally decided to replace my previous amp of about 20 years! (A Marshall AVT half stack) Firstly, it looks amazing IMO and build quality looks and feels great too. I play in two bands, one playing southern rock, the other heavy rock/classic metal so needed something that was going to cover a pretty wide range of sounds. The Blackstar handles it amazingly! Wonderful warm crunches all the way to chugalicious highly saturated metal gains. The high gains are so smooth and creamy too and not 'scratchy'. (Something I always struggled with with the AVT) The clarity is also pretty amazing at high gain too. Individual notes can be picked out clearly and not just lost in a fuzzy mush. The 2 OD channels work perfectly for the two separate sounds I'm looking for to suit each band, with Voicing on each channel giving even more versatility. This amp produces beautiful cleans too, which can also break up nicely if you push the clean channel volume up. I'd also really recommend the optional 5-way footswitch, shame this doesn't come as standard, but hey..! All in all, I'm absolutely over the moon with this amp. It can do everything from sparkling cleans to tasty crunch and up to all the gain you could wish for. I've even been able to get THAT Stevie Ray Vaughan tone! 😍 But not only that, it's not some 'Jack of all trades, master of none'…it absolutley nails all of these brilliantly! This amp delivers the sound I've been looking for elusively for years now, funny that Blackstar's slogan is "The Sound In Your Head"… Big thanks to the team at PMT Newcastle when testing the 40 Watt version, and the distribution team for the speedy next day delivery!Davey S.

If you're expecting an amazing Marshall sound, you might want to invest in some of the bigger amps Marshall has to offer. If you think you can get a concert level sound out of this little guy, you will not be the happiest person. However, that level of "high" expectation would not be very reasonable or even realistic for such a little amp. This is a very cute, small amp that will help you plug your guitar so you can practice quietly in any room in your house without annoying your wife. It will distort if you crank the volume all the way out, and if you're used to the full sound of a bigger Marshall (like I do) it might make you feel like you're hearing your guitar over an old telephone (just my opinion). However, if you calibrate your instrument volume & tone you can find a happy medium. With that said, for the price it is a very nice solution to practice and if the sound seems too weak for you, you have the choice of putting headphones. I personally use it just for practice on the fly, it serves it purpose, but then again I was not expecting the best sound output. So I am happy with the purchase.BeeZee

It's basically a toy amp. I can see it being used as a portable amp for non-serious performance. Personally, I like it for a quick jam and for (relatively) quiet practice in my apartment setting. Won't disturb my neighbors but it does get noticeable at the highest volume. That and the overdrive knob are the two main controls. By default it just does a clean sound but overdrive lets you toggle in some gain for that distortion. It has a good look that definitely models after its bigger brothers.Rick

I don't know what some of you guys expect from this thing, but be realistic: it's an inexpensive 5 inch tall, 1 watt amp. It's not designed for anything but sitting in a chair and entertaining yourself or a couple of people. Within that context, I enjoy this thing and sometimes get it off the shelf and play around with it for awhile. Also, when I owed somebody a 1 minute long riff for his podcast and my main amp was getting some regular tech service, I plugged my American Standard Strat into this thing, mic'd the amp, used the OD channel with the volume and tone both on 10, played the part, then added tons of bass, reverb, and chorus to it in post, and it sounded great and nobody ever knew that I recorded the part using a 5 inch tall amp. It is what it is as long as you don't expect the world.Steve

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

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

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

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

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

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

I 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

Going back and forth between the LT25 and LT40s to compare identifical presets, both sounded good and similar even with the differences in cabinet and speaker size. A subjective impression is that the LT25 sounded a bit more distant or maybe dispersed. The LT40s sounded a bit more focused. It was a tough call as the LT25 is less expensive but I walked out of there with the LT40S. For desktop placement and low volume practice, the LT40s sounds great and with plenty of low end. I don't need loud volume but this amp can fill a 16'x24' loft with sound. The USB connection to my laptop was initially a no go. After deleting and then reinstalling the application, it has sinced worked great!Wally

I wanted an amp for practicing that gave me a massive range of options for a reasonable amount of money. I have to say that I am very impressed with the 30 included presets and I've not even branched out into the additional ones you can add. The quality of the LT25 is fantastic, not super heavy and all the switches feel robust. I've found the sound can vary depending on the preset you choose though that is to be expected with those that have high gain. I mostly play clean and blues and this amp is fantastic for both of those. If you want a more classic rock sound there is a preset for this which I think needs a bit of tweaking. All in all very impressed and as this is my first Fender amp, I will definitely be getting another in the future.Alex G.

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

Purchased the Orange Crush RT35 through Musicians Friend. The amp on its own is a joy. However, the send and return used with a pedal board loaded w/o overdrive properly transports this amp on the Clean channel to an extreme I've experienced on a tube amp level. I used a Walrus EB 10 parametric pedal then a reverb, delay and slight echo at the end of the chain. The amp incredibly warmed, thickened and boosted the tone to one that competes with any of the high end tube amps I have ever used. Totally shocked! I will experiment with the overdrive on the dirty channel and an OD on the front end very soon. I expect good results. For the money and it's being a solid state, it is super impressive and a great value. I did do a lot of research and comparison, took the plunge, and the payoff was more than I could expect. I just A/B'd it with a 40 watt Fender Hot Rod Deluxe (with this set-up) in a studio and it definitely held its own and, I feel, it sounded better. That's what I know.My customer service rep, Conner at ext 3119, chewed over Bugera V5, Boss Katana MK2, and the Orange RT 35. I leaned toward the RT35 because the German engineering was advanced, the build build quality superior, its weight at 25 lbs and its great reviews.TonyC

It's a budget amp so you can't expect it to do the same as an expensive one. With that said it just doesn't punch above it's weight, it's punching well above it's weight. I have a pre tube amp that has some tubes in it's pre amp, that isn't quite a full tube amp and this isn't quite a full tube amp either or on the face of i an any tube amp, being it's solid state, but it does sound as warm as the pre tube I have, so that's a bonus for me, I prefer warmer tones. So that means not only heavy rock/metal but some very nice bluesy soft rock tones as well. Bult in reverb sounds really nice. The tuner is perfect, no faffing around trying to dial in the tuning. Best tuner on a lower end amp yet and better than my clip on one I have. It has 4 stages of gain, if you will. So pretty versitile. The amp is loud. I never run it in the house over 3 on the volume. It has one volume for clean but the dirty dial is for the gain volume. And it's adjusting this and the gain knob that gets you all your tones for the not clean sounds Two seperate channels with a simple EQ to use for both. Amp is sturdy as you like, well built. And the clincher is the return and send loop on the back., which works very well, a lovely clean loop. The most surprising thing was you associate orange with rockier sounds but this is a nice clean amp too. I might even prefer the clean channel actually. My advice is see reviews for it. There is one thats 20 or so mins long and shows you all the settings and the tones you can find. No brainer for the price and probably worth 100 quid more if you ask me but don't say I told you so or they will put up the price.R O.

I admit I've cycled through several practice amps – a couple of Fender Champions, Marshall MG, Orange Crush Mini, Strymon Iridium, a bunch of headphone amps, etc. This one is a winner. I've always heard good things about Orange quality and longevity. I like the Orange clean sound but I admit it's not for everyone. I play ambient guitar, mostly clean, with some overdrive from pedals. You'd think Fender would be my thing, right? Nope, the Champions just don't sound good compared to the Orange Crush amps. Plus, this combo amp is built like a tank. At the moment I'm running a stereo rig with the Orange Crush 35 and a Marshall MG15 (modded with speaker out pushing a Marshall 1×12), both on clean channels only, and it sounds really good. I have a Super Crush 100 head on order and can't wait for that!Rob

This little amp is quite amazing in sound and features. With the Guitar input, Aux In, and headphone jack it nails the features desired for practice. EQ/Gain control and volume can make a huge difference. I read the one critical review below about no bass or treble/AM radio sounding, etc…I don't get that? Probably doesn't understand the gain/vol/ and boost…or his was pre-owned and maybe had issues. Hey, if you're expecting the Fender tube sound of a Princeton or Vibrolux or Deluxe…get real, this is a 10 watt practice amp. For the money, it's a quality Fender product and does everything needed to practice.madillac09

This is doing the job I wanted. It doesn't have fancy effects like reverb, but it produces a nice sound for practice. I don't do public performances, so can't say how well it works in that environment. For the price it's a winner.lndi2007_yrggd7or

Im really disappointed with this amp. I know its not supposed to be super loud because its only 10 W, but I was hoping that the sound quality would be better. The sound reproduction frequencies are all mid range. Sounds like cardboard. Color is grey. Bass and treble tones are all but nonexistent. The eq is useless because speaker cannot reproduce bass and treble frequencies. The sound is very cheap and does not give a representation of the Fender vibe whatsoever. You are better off just playing your guitar with no amplifier at all rather than using this, because it make a good guitar sound bad. I equate the sound to that of an a.m. transistor radio. Its really bad. I actually read some of the favorable reviews on this amplifier before I bought it, and Im seriously starting to think that none of those reviews are actually real. There are better practice amps with better fidelity out there, and I would avoid this one if your ear demands quality sound.mrmarksiii

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

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

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

I'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

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

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

This is a fantastic practice amp! The sound is clear, and the knobs give me the ability to change the sound to emulate any guitarist's sound I wish. There is no reverb on this amp, but it is still one of the best amps available for practicing like the pros.Jason

I wish I would have spent a little more and got a higher model. The distortion leaves a lot to be desired. Clean channel sound great. Also, the power cord is really short.Scott

Perfect for what I was looking for just to have a small amp in my kitchen when I want to strum in there. Clean sound is nice. Overdrive sounds tinny which is to be expected. But overall not bad for a small practice amp to make some noise. I much prefer my Marshall DSL40Mike

I have 3 of these amps so far and love them. You can't expect a big tube sound because it's not that but rather a smaller very useful sound. I customize them slightly with an 8" speaker that fits in them and do a few other little things. For very little money you can have a killer little tweed looking amp. Works great for rockabilly and roots music with an archtop for me and takes any pedals well. Can't beat these little work horses.Travis

Beautiful cover and vintage tweed appearance. Good for an office. If it got ripped off you would get over it quick. Have to use pedals or limited functionality makes practice boring rather quickly. Clean very good. Gain option is unfortunately toy-like and useless. Just leave it off.Records Reills

Cool little amp. Been spending some time playing with it. Love the tweed look. Wish they hadn't put the Rogue plaque on the front of the grill, and had kept true to the Champ 600 look by putting it on the top of the amp over the speaker. The clean channel is good, wish it had some built in reverb. The distortion channel is good too. I ran my "Bluesdriver" pedal into it and it sounded even better. I will likely change out the stock speaker for the Eminence 6.5 speaker to try and coax a little more sound out of this great little amp.KWB MUSIC

I have never offered a product review for any product but I had to make an exception for this one. I am 69 years old, have been playing music for over 50 years, and I have just begun learning the harmonica. This amp is perfect for me for a number of reasons. First of all, it's portable. I can take it anywhere – from my living room – to that picnic table at the park – to my guitar player's front porch. I've had it for a while and I'm still on the batteries that came with it. (You can get an optional power supply for it if you want.) Second – it sounds great and has plenty of volume for personal practice and for use in small settings. With the GAIN and VOLUME controls, you can easily get the response you want. The EQ control only makes a subtle difference in frequency response but nothing dramatic. The DELAY function, however, is very effective and fun to use. Next – a variety of additional input and output jacks make it very flexible. I can plug in my MP3 player and play along with a backing track, for example. It also has a headphone jack, an extension speaker jack, and a DC power jack. Finally – and most importantly – It's fun to use and, because of that, I find myself practicing longer and enjoying it more. I'm new at holding a mic and at first it felt awkward. Now, because the FLY 3W is so much fun to use, holding the mic has become second nature. OK – now you're waiting for the downside. Well, other than the EQ control comments I made earlier, I don't have any. At first, I thought it could benefit from a handle but, upon closer inspection, I discovered the recessed finger grip on the top of the case. (Very clever Blackstar.) This is a well designed portable practice amp. (It even looks aesthetically pleasing.)Bill

First things first; this combo pack DOES include the power supply but batteries are NOT included in the combo pack. Despite the great reviews, don't expect this to sound like a full-size amp; the small speaker mean this amp lacks low end. The pair does sound OK playing in stereo music through the aux input; good detail and sound quality except for the missing bass. As a practice amp, especially through headphones, this thing rocks; with the ISF control you can make it sound like a Fender or a Marshall Amp. Cleans are good but the high gain channel can sound a bit messy if you crank it to 11. The amplifier is more than loud enough for home practice even without doubling the power to 6 watts by adding the second speaker. I don't own a full-size electric amp but I've found out that running the cab-simulated headphone output into my acoustic amp's aux input gives an excellent equivalent so I probably won't bother with a 'real' electric guitar amp; this setup sounds sooo good.Dave W

I was very pleasantly surprised and the range of EQ and the control of compression the Fly 3Bass gives me, not only a great practice amp but mic it up through a PA and it sounds amazing. Great running on batteries (last about 12 hours) or mains. I did a back garden set with couple of friends on acoustic guitars me on electric bass via Fly 3 and it sounded really good so i am very pleased with my purchase. Only thing i had to do was back off tone and bass enhancer on my active bass as it slightly overpowered the amp but i get that on my stage rig as well so expected that.Barry J.

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

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