While this guitar amp list is by no means exhaustive, read on to learn about some of the most popular amplifier manufacturers and what musical flavors their products bring to the table! Check out other useful articles on our Repair Page as well.
Fender amps have been around since nearly the beginning, and they quickly built a reputation of being reliable and defining the industry standard. They produce the quintessential “American” guitar amp tone and are known for their sparkling cleans. Early Fender tube amps like the Tweed Champ, Deluxe, and Bassman offer harmonically-rich breakup and overdrive that respond well to picking and dynamics. Powerhouse models like the Twin Reverb and more modern Blues Deluxe or Blues Deville are known for their extreme volume output and high headroom. Some models from the 1970s and 1980s were built with an “ultra-linear” method. This means that they had nearly indefinite clean headroom and would never distort.
Today, countless options are available in both tube and solid state packages. Combo amps with onboard digital modelers like the Mustang are great options for at home practice, plus there are frequent reissues of the original tube circuit designs. If you’re looking for a good pedal platform that excels at clean tones, Fender may be the brand for you. Most Fender amps aren’t capable of roaring distortion, and many players agree that their onboard overdrive tones can get flabby and “bottom out”. Still, having a great Fender guitar amp (and maybe a few pedals) will help you play nearly every genre that you like.
To hear the sound, listen to bands including the Grateful Dead, B.B. King, and Stevie Ray Vaughan.
A giant from the British Invasion, Marshall still champions incredible tone with amps that are made to rock. From their beginning with the JTM45, Marshall has always had the edge (pun intended) on the competition with genre-defining distortion. Fans of rock, hard rock, punk, and even some metal will instantly recognize the sound of a cranked Marshall tube guitar amp.
The JCM800 was introduced in 1981 and changed the history of rock forever. While the Fender Deluxe (or Bassman, depending who you ask) may be the most recorded amp in history, the JCM800 was the sound of multiple decades of music, and is still going strong with heavier iterations like the JCM900.
Marshall amps often boast circuits that are loaded with many stages of tube gain and the ability to cut through the band. If you’re looking for the iconic sound of rock and hard rock, Marshall is the brand for you. While their clean tones are still useful, most players use Marshall for their high gain channels and rich distortion and play clean through other amps (or complement the Marshall clean tone with pedals).
To hear the sound, listen to bands including AC/DC, Guns ‘n Roses, and Rage Against the Machine.
Another colossus from Britain, Vox amplifiers are a unique middle ground between Fender and Marshall sounds. Vox tube amps like the AC30 and lower-output AC15 have clean sounds that never quite clean up to sparkling crystal. They often have a bit of crunch, and their high-gain (called “Top Boost” with Vox) is a fiery, growling distortion that can go head-to-head with many Marshall amps while having their own unique voice.
A big component of the Vox sound is the unique EQ and Cut controls that are onboard most of their flagship models. While Fender amps can suffer from too much treble (the “ice-pick” sound), Vox amps can overwhelm the band with too much presence. This Vox Cut allows the player to dial back the biting edge and tweak just the right amount of distortion to rock the band.
To hear the sound, listen to Brian May of Queen, Tom Petty, and the Beatles.
As the saying goes, Orange is the new Marshall! These amps are another example of British sound, but in a far more modern and punchy format. This brand is known for heavy music and modern metal. While sometimes they are critiqued for sounding too sterile or flat, Orange amps excel at the ability to overwhelm with high gain crunch and chug, tones that can compete in niche genres like djent and doom.
Much like Marshall amps, Orange offers usable clean channels, but their bread and butter is the sweet roar of guitar amp distortion. If you are a fan of metal in an often affordable package (like the Orange Micro Terror or Dark Terror), this brand may be for you!
To hear the sound, listen to bands like Slipknot, Mastodon, Korn, and Asking Alexandria.
Ampeg is, and has been for a while, the leading giant of bass guitar amplification. Their amps have been used on countless records throughout the decades, and they offer products in both tube and solid state packages. Much like with Fender and their clean sound, the Ampeg tone is ubiquitous across nearly every genre.
Some famous guitarists have used Ampeg bass amps to get extra clean headroom. Bands to listen to for this example include the Rolling Stones, Jeff Beck, and Peter Frampton.
For the famous bass guitar sound, listen to bands like The Who, Billy Joel, Sheryl Crow, David Bowie, and Heart.
Peavey amps blossomed into popularity throughout the 1980s and continue to hold their niche in certain genres, specifically metal. The flagship model of the Peavey guitar amp line is the 5150, made famous and used heavily by Eddie Van Halen. The 5150 is still the king of that specific tone and is available for players who want deafening volume and screaming leads.
Other, less expensive, Peavey models like the Backstage, Rage, Classic, and Bandit offer indestructible reliability and cheap barriers of entry. These amps are pretty common on the used markets and tend to last forever if treated gently.
To hear the sound, listen to Van Halen, the Pixies, and Queens of the Stone Age.
Mostly known for their keyboards and digital pianos, Roland hit it out of the park with arguably the most famous solid state guitar amp of all time: The JC-120 (Jazz Chorus 120). Don’t reach for the remote – you would never be able to tell that it’s a solid state amp. It has fantastic onboard distortion that mimics the sound of real tube breakup, plus it boosts ultra clean tone and high headroom that is perfect for guitar pedals.
The real gem of the JC-120 guitar amp is a special onboard chorus effect that is true stereo. The amp has two onboard speakers, each controlled by an independent output transformer. The stereo chorus sends the guitar signal washing through each speaker, resulting in an immersive, swirling tone that surrounds the player in the room. The JC-120 is available in smaller and lighter packages if you don’t need a lot of volume but still want the incredible chorus effect.
To hear the sound, listen to bands like U2, Eagles, Muse, Aerosmith, and the Cure.
Hiwatt amps complete the trio of the British Invasion sound of the 1960s, paired with their friends and competitors at Vox and Marshall. These amps are quite similar to Marshall products and also excel at high gain applications. While Hiwatt amps do have their own unique tones and flavors, the main difference is their build quality and internal specifications: all Hiwatt amps are made with military-grade soldering and wiring with their point-to-point layouts within the chassis, plus they are made with marine-grade vinyl. A Hiwatt guitar amp is a work of art and a thing of beauty when opened. What's more, they are meant to withstand even the toughest of shows and are built like tanks!
To hear the sound, listen to the Who, Pink Floyd, the Moody Blues, and the Rolling Stones.
Personal Favorites
While it’s hard to pick from all of the awesome amps and brands that are available, I’d say that my favorites (at the moment) are as follows:
Clean tone: Roland JC-120
Dirty tone: Fender 5e3 (Tweed Deluxe)
High Gain tone: Vox AC-15
Wild Card: Silvertone 1484 Twin (no longer in production, but check out this cool article about it!)
If I were stranded on a desert island and could only have one guitar amp, it would be the Vox AC-15.
