Guitar amp matters. Having a great one can significantly improve the sound of your guitar.
That’s why you should consider getting yourself a good quality amp. Here, in this article, I’m going to present you some great, affordable guitar amps. I hope you’ll like some.
Let’s go through each.
Fender Mustang LT-25 – Digital Guitar Amplifier
- Price: 149.99 $
- Rating: 4.7 / 5
Fender is, arguably, the most famous guitar builder in the world, shaping the sound of generations of musicians.
They did not stop there, but did the exact same thing with amplifiers. They creating some of the most iconic models that have power to many of the hits we still hear today. That legacy was condensed by them in a series of digital amplifiers that were named Mustang.
PROs:
This version of the Mustang boasts 25 watts of anything, from country to heavy metal. It has 30 presets made especially for Fender players around the world.
It features an 8” speaker which makes it super fun, light and easy to take anywhere you want to jam out to someone else. Also, it comes fully packed with every famous amp model by Fender. Also, it has some effects to help beginners shape their sound and sound like their heroes if they want to.
I really liked the fact that it does have an AUX in with a simple 1/8” to plug some musical source and play over it. It’s particularly handy that they kept it simple using the same plug as a regular headphone use.
Headphone in is also great to keep practice low and family harmony high. Finally, it has a USB connection to upload any kind of system update and such things when needed.
This connectivity also works for recording straight to the computer, which I think is killer.
CONs:
The only drawback for some players might be that it is not as easy to use as other models. You can’t make all the tweaking on the fly. Instead, you have to go into the menu and create the sound piece by piece selecting from a list.
It is true that it is more intuitive and easy to use than others in the market. Still, it’s not as easy as those featuring just the knobs.
However, I think it is great for beginners and advanced players that have some time to dedicate to shaping sounds and are not fed up by a learning curve. Once you get a hand of it, it really becomes easy to use.
See how it works in action.
Check it out in more details on Amazon, here.
Fender Frontman 10G Electric Guitar Amplifier
- Price: 59.99 $
- Rating: 4.5 / 5
This is the smallest amplifier that Fender makes for those who want to be immersed in their sonic universe. It is as simple as it seems.
Just pure, no frills Fender tone coming from a classic silver-front amp that almost fits in the palm of your hand. The 10 watts that this amplifier generates come out of a 6” original Fender speaker.
It’s great for small dressing room rehearsal before hitting the stage. Or bedroom practice. It is the ideal first amp for those who are beginning to walk the path of electric guitars. You might think of it as the ideal partner for a starter-pack guitar.
The main difference between this and the Mustang series is the ease of use. All you have to do is to dial the sounds you want to hear by tweaking the knobs in the front panel and playing your instrument.
You have two modes to select from: dirty and clean. When you use it as a clean amp, the GAIN knob works very much as a clean gain, until it starts to break a little and sound distorted.
To achieve the best Fender trademark clean sounds, you need to keep it low and keep the VOLUME knob high. Other than these two knobs, you have BASS and TREBLE to shape the sound with as an equalizer.
By pressing the little white button next to the GAIN knob, you turn on the O.D. mode which stands for overdrive. In this setting, by taking the GAIN knob higher, you’ll get more dirt in the signal, making it ideal to play some heavy tunes.
The AUX IN and Headphones jacks are great for practicing silently.
CONs
The one thing that many players complain about this amp is that it sounds a tad small.
Yes, it is a 10-watt amp for beginners, and home practice and it is not fit for rehearsing with a drummer.
Another thing that can be a minus for some players is that it doesn’t have any built-in effects. In other words, the amount of available sounds is very limited.
It does resemble the original Fender Amps that it is built after. If you want a plain, plug and play amp that is very easy to use and small enough to take anywhere, this is your best choice.
See this amp in action.
Anyway, get yourself one from Amazon, here.
Fender Champion 20 – 20-Watt Electric Guitar Amplifier
- Price: 129.99 $
- Rating: 4.6 / 5
So far, you may find that Mustang is too complicated for you, due to the screen. On the other hand, you may find Frontman too simple and plain for what you are looking for.
This one, on the other hand, is the best of both worlds combined in a powerful Fender amp.
This amp takes the knob-driven concept of the Frontman along with the Fender trade mark silver face front that comes from the 60s iconic models like the Twin Reverb or the Deluxe Reverb.
It is a 20 watts amp so you can use it to play along with someone else. It might be a tad too small to use it with a drummer, but it is a great one to play with a bass player, a piano player or even another guitarist.
You can use the 17 amplifier models to go from crystal clear, pristine clean Fender tone all the way to the dirtiest you can hear in one of these amps. To these seventeen amp models you have to add some effects like Reverb, Delay, Chorus and Vibrato.
CONs
The good thing about these effects is that they sound really well. The bad thing is that since you have to dial them with a wheel you, can’t make any combination you want.
It is more varied in options than the Frontman, but not as complete as the Mustang. It is up to your taste and demands. This model doesn’t have a USB connectivity either.
Adding to the effects and the seventeen amp models, you have TREBLE and BASS knobs to shape your sound further. There is also an FX LEVEL knob available to manage the amount of FX you have in the final signal.
The VOICE knob will allow you to set your amp type and these change the entire sound of the amp, as if it would turn it into a different one.
This amp also features two 1/8” jacks for headphones and some music source to play along with.
The Fender Champion 20 is for those looking for some more versatility than the Frontman 10, but don’t want to have a screen with buttons and presets to deal with.
See how this amp performs.
Get yourself one from Amazon, here.
Fender Acoustasonic 15 – 15 Watt Acoustic Guitar Amplifier
- Price: 99.99 $
- Rating: 4.5 / 5
Designed for the singer songwriter, this amp doesn’t only feature a guitar input, but also an input for a microphone with a dedicated XLR jack as well.
With the dual volume controls, you can easily adapt to any situation. The original Fender 6” speaker is precisely tuned for the high frequencies of the acoustic guitar and the vocals.
Another great plus of this amplifier is that it is really light weight and small to be carried anywhere effortlessly. The dedicated headphones out is great for those late-night jamming times as well. It’s also suitable for travelers who like to play and sing without disturbing others too much.
The company also added to this brown-themed amplifier a cool chorus knob for the guitar. With it, you can imitate those clean chorusy tones that were so famous in the 80s and early 90s
On the first channel that controls only the voice, you have a single knob for the volume. For the guitar, you have some other additions like the EQ and the chorus.
It is important to say that this amp works very well resisting feedback. Only at very high volume it emits a high squeal or a low rumble.
The amp has a transferable 5-year warranty from the giant Fender Company. That should give you some peace of mind. The construction is rugged, and since the back is completely closed, the sound projection is loud and clear.
The Fender Acoustasonic 15 is for those who love to play their acoustic and sing. It’s suitable if you want to practice with the guitar and the microphone at bedroom level, or in very small venues.
The Acoustasonic range goes up to over one hundred watts in more complex designs, but out of these, the 15-watter is perfect to take a step in the performing direction.
Check this amp in action.
Look into this amp in more details on Amazon, here.
Orange Amps Electric Guitar Power Amplifier, (Crush12)
- Price: 99 $
- Rating: 4.6 / 5
Orange is one of the most respected guitar amplifier brands in the world.
This tiny iteration of their classic Crush range is just as powerful and articulate as I expected. If you are familiar with the brand, you know that it provides a rock ‘n’ roll oriented sound from the expensive valve heads, all the way down to the smallest designs.
This amplifier is no exception to the brand’s heritage. With only 12 watts, it has the ability to create some very powerful tone. From crystal clear clean to dirty rocking.
Instead of having two channels or several amplifier models to choose from, it works with the master volume and the gain control to generate the balance between clean and dirty.
It is an all-analog circuitry which gives the tone warmth that other amplifiers of the same range do not have.
The only digital addition is the cabinet emulation that the headphone jack offers. That way it allows you to hear a huge sound when playing through them.
The same tones dialed in with the knobs will not sound even remotely alike if you played them through a full stack than through the amp itself.
Hence, this amp sounds way better through headphones than with the 6” speaker it comes loaded with.
Playing through an English-designed and English-voiced amp is very different from playing through an US-sounding amp.
You will realize very quickly that the mids sound different. With it, you are way closer to the tones of English bands such as The Who, Led Zeppelin and such than you are to country or blues.
For those who enjoy playing a more rocking-style than those who enjoy playing crystal-clear tones, the Orange Amplifiers Crush line is a great option.
See how it performs live.
Get yourself one from Amazon, here.
Fender Mustang I V2 20-Watt 1×8-Inch Combo Electric Guitar Amplifier
- Price: 139.99 $
- Rating: 4.6 / 5
This amp is Fender’s boldest bet when it comes to the relationship with the computer.
It comes equipped with the FUSE software. It allows you to shape your tone in your computer and then upload it to the amp. That way you can take it with you wherever you want to.
The screen found in the Mustang 25 is gone and its replacement is a very handy triple-knob system.
The Mustang I V2 is the second version of this amp that corrects all the drawbacks that users reported to Fender in the manufacturing of the V1.
The seventeen amp models present in other amps are here too, as well, as an onboard tuner, digital FX and some knobs to tweak each preset on the fly intuitively.
The sounds coming from it are very close to those of the Mustang LT25 with the addition of the Ableton Live Lite 8 Fender Edition recording software. The software is ncluded with the combo to make some quick recordings straight from the amp, without having to use microphones.
Finally, it also houses the AUX In and headphones in jacks to play along with your favorite music wherever you are and practice silently.
The Mustang I V2 is a very complete and diverse amp ideal for those who want an all-in-one approach to guitar playing.
See this amp in performance.
Get yourself one from Amazon, here.
Marshall Amps Guitar Combo Amplifier (M-MG30GFX-U)
- Price: 229 $
- Rating: 4.5 / 5
Orange is one of the iconic English rock guitar amps brand, but Marshall is the most iconic of them all.
It doesn’t have an orange tolex to go with the brand, but the combination of gold and black is already a classic .Along with the hand-written logo of the front.
What you think you will get from an amp like this is exactly what you will get. It is a straight-forward tone machine for beginners and a cool rehearsing amp for warming up in the backstage.
The layout is very close to that of a Fender Champion 20 but those extra 10 watts make it very suitable to play with a drummer.
To start with, this amp is a four-in-one model, because you can choose between the clean (never as clean as Fender) and crunch (AKA overdrive) in the first channel. Then you can change the channel to OD1 and OD2, which are two distinct types of overdrive or distortion.
It is a build-up of gain. By the time you hit OD-2, you are in full-on metal territory. If there is one thing that Marshall is known for, it is the great distorted sounds they’ve provided the world with for decades.
There are some more tweaking at hand and you can play with the gain and volume knobs to create louder cleaner tones, just like with the Orange Crush. This amp adds an overall “Master” control which controls the overall volume of the amp.
The controls include a three-band EQ, Reverb and some digital effects with a TAP tempo to control Delay speed. You have the option to store presets per channel that you can later select from a foot switch. That is very handy for live situations.
The headphone out and the AUX IN (with a completely obsolete iPod logo) make it a great bedroom playing amp as well as a good live amp. The 10” speaker sounds a little bigger than the rest of the amps in the list.
The emulated headphone out sounds superbly huge. If you are a rocker and want some serious tones from a guitar-amp legendary company, this is the best bet in the market.
See the performance of this amp.
Get yourself one from Amazon, here.
Ibanez, Electric Guitar Mini Amplifier, Black (IBZ10G)
- Price: 69.99 $
- Rating: 4.8 / 5
The IBZ10G is the ideal amp for those who just start practicing guitar and want a completely no-frills, no add-ons amplifier that can sit in the palm of your hand.
This 10-watt amp powers a 6” speaker finely tuned for guitars. The best sounds on this amp are not through the speaker. It sounds way better through the headphones jack.
This amplifier has two different sounds switched by the “Dist” button. There are gain and volume knobs available to share the volume and gain duties. Along with them, there is a two-band EQ that is very handy.
Especially through the headphones out. The AUX in works great to play with some of your favorite artists in the background or backing tracks and build up your chops.
You can think of the Ibanez mini amplifier as a great first amp that goes hand in hand with the Frontman 10G or any of the same size.
Just like the guitars made by both brands are very different, this amplifier is voiced to attract players who enjoy distorted sounds, rather than those who like playing clean. (Those who would be more seduced by the Fender Frontman 10G. Although cleans sound great, too).
If playing like Joe Satriani, Steve Vai or any of the virtuosos endorsed by Ibanez is your dream, this is a great first step in that direction.
See the review and performance of this amp.
Get yourself one from Amazon, here.
Final Words
I hope this article gave you some valuable insights and information about these great amps. I tried to pick up affordable, and yet good quality amps. Those great both for beginners and advanced players.
If you enjoyed reading this article, as much as I’ve enjoyed writing it, I’m more than happy about it.
Don’t forget to check out other interesting articles about various guitar topics and issues from this site!
Cheers, and rock on!
