Let’s face it – we’d spend our entire life just playing the electric guitar and trying out new gear and seeing how it works. The instrument changed over the years, but the basic principles still remain the same in almost all cases. And, what’s most surprising about it is that it still retains its popularity, even many decades since its introduction in the 20th century. However, in order to get things going, you are really in need of good electric guitar amps. And that requires investment, right?
As you may already know, in order to get a good tone, you need to get a nice sum of money ready to get started with the electric guitar. Being the biggest component of your tone, the guitar amp also takes the most of your budget.
But what if we told you that you can still get a really good tone without spending a large sum? Yes, finding this kind of an amp is not exactly the easiest task. However, we’ve done some research on our own and brought you a list of affordable but great electric guitar amps. Of course, these aren’t as good as those professional-level amplifiers, but you’ll get the chance to have a really good tone, both for practice sessions as well as live gigs. Without any ado, let’s dive right into the meat of it. The amps await below!
No products found.
Boss Katana 50 Mkll
Even if you’ve just gotten into the world of electric guitars, there’s a high chance you’re familiar with Boss pedals. However, they’ve also jumped in the guitar amplifier game, bringing some of the best solid-state amps that you can find on the market today. Called Katana series, it features quite a few interesting models. The one we’re looking into is Boss Katana 50, the MKII version, and it’s a top contender for any list of affordable electric guitar amps.
The most surprising thing here is that it sounds so great and comes with some very useful features, all for a very reasonable price. As the designated model name suggests, the amp has 50 watts of output power. What’s more, you can also use its attenuator feature to reduce the power down to 25 or even 0.5 watts.
The amp doesn’t feature channels in the classic style but rather five different voicings or amp types. Labeled as acoustic, clean, crunch, lead, and brown, each covers different sonic areas. However, the acoustic settings make this amp compatible with acoustic guitars that feature piezo pickups and electronics. The overall output of this amp goes through its amazing 12-inch speaker.
Other than this, we have the classic controls for a 3-band EQ, as well as additional effects. What’s more, you can even pair it with your computer using a USB connection. This way, it turns into a very useful audio interface for home recording.
Yamaha THR10II
Yamaha has a lot of exciting stuff in their wide arsenal of products. When it comes to guitar amplifiers, we’d single out their THR10II as one of the best and most versatile examples that are present on the market. What’s more, this little lunch box-sized amp has an abundance of tone-shaping features, as well as a USB connection that essentially turns it into a sound card.
THR10II comes with eight main amp models, including one for a bass guitar and another one for an acoustic guitar. Along with this, we have two effect groups, one for modulation and the other one for atmospheric effects, which are different types of reverb and delay.
Equipped with two 3-inch speakers, the amp has a total output power of 20 watts. It’s not much, but you can get some serious stuff going on, even for some smaller live gigs. Additionally, we even have a Bluetooth connection, making it possible to connect an auxiliary source for some backing tracks or even entire songs.
Roland Blues Cube Hot
Up next on our list of affordable electric guitar amps, Roland! For many years now, the company has been changing the music industry in pretty much every aspect. Of course, they are also known for their line of great guitar amplifiers. However, here we have something different. Roland Blues Cube Hot is a solid-state amp with the company’s specially developed Tube Logic circuitry that helps it recreate those old school Fender amps from the 1960s. What’s really exciting is that you can even get some of that much-appreciated dynamic response in there as well.
The amplifier comes with 30 watts and a 12-inch guitar speaker that adds some of that low-end punch in the mix. There’s even a very useful control for power attenuation which turns it down to 15, 5, or 0.5 watts. Although it technically has one channel only, there’s a boost switch on it that adds that sweet crunchy overdrive. Roland’s Blues Cube Hot is also equipped with a tone switch for a noticeable boost in the high-end, as well as a very spacious-sounding reverb effect.
Orange Crush 20RT
Orange amps are kind of specific. They’re not exactly for everyone’s tastes. Nonetheless, these are always the choice for those who admire those fuzzy or “wooly” harmonically rich tones which are especially popular with psychedelic rock or old school metal musicians. If you’re into this kind of stuff, we’d recommend you look into Orange’s Crush 20RT.
This little amp comes with one 8-inch speaker and 20 watts of power. It’s all accompanied by the company’s well-known design and the overall simplicity in operation. We have two channels, clean and distorted. We have two individual volume controls for these two modes, as well as a unified 3-band EQ.
As far as additional features go, you can plug in an external source and even practice with headphones. What’s interesting is that this headphone output features the company’s CabSim circuit that emulates its well-known speaker cabinets. You can also plug it into a PA system through this output. Adding more practicality in there, we have a built-in tuner. This is a perfect amp for those who like fuzzy tones and want to keep their rig on a reasonable budget. A good choice overall, let’s keep those electric guitar amps rolling.
Fender Champion 20
Fender is an unavoidable brand when it comes to guitars and electric guitar amps. Looking through their collection of amazing products, we’re bringing their Champion 20 as a great affordable amp. This is a 20-watt amp with the company’s signature design and tone, all stripped-down to bring a simple operation for guitar players of every genre.
Although it essentially has just one channel, there’s a voicing switch that lets you choose anything from sparkling cleans and up to metal leads. Aside from that, we have a standard 3-band EQ for basic tone-shaping.
However, the amp is also equipped with an effects section bearing 7 different effects. There’s also a tap button that allows you to set the desired rate for some of the effects. It’s all rounded up with a simple 1/8-inch aux input and a 1/8-inch headphone output. Although designed as a practice amp, Fender’s Champion 20 can deliver quite a punch, even for some smaller live gigs.
Fender Super Champ X
Knowing how awesome their amps, guitars, and other equipment is, we can’t help but include yet another Fender product on this list. However, we have something really special here. Although you’d expect tube amps to be way higher up on the price scale, Fender Super Champ X brings this amazing feature within a very reasonable price range.
This one is a 15-watt amp with one simple 10-inch speaker specially designed by Fender. It’s driven by one standard 12AX7 valve in the preamp section and two 6V6 tubes in the power amp section. This particular configuration makes it sound smooth and close to what those old Fender amps from the 1960s were like.
However, there’s an additional feature here that gives you 16 different voicings, which helps you in making an abundance of different tones in combination with the amp’s standard controls. What’s more, we even have a section with 15 different effects. There’s also an emulated speaker output, as well as a USB connection feature that turns it into a tube-driven audio interface for home recording via your computer. If you’re looking for the cheapest and most practical tube-driven amp, this is the one that you’ll want to check out.
Line 6 Spider V 60 MKII
And finally, we’ll wrap up this electric guitar amps rundown with Line 6 and the continuation of their legendary Spider amp series. The one in question is Line 6 Spider V 60 which features 60 watts of power. This is also the improved MKII version that brings more useful features and overall improved performance and tone.
The main idea behind such an amp was to bring the combination of solid-state and digital modeling technology to a whole new level. And as expected from digital masters like Line 6, this amp manages to bring an abundance of different tones and amp presets for a very reasonable price. But what also makes it special is that it has a full-range speaker system that includes a tweeter aside from the basic guitar speaker. This way, Spider V 60 becomes a device that can truly replicate some of the famous amps.
The controls are pretty simple, but you get over 200 professionally made presets for you to choose from. Its digital processor comes with an option to recreate so many different amplifiers, anything from old school stuff and up to modern metal amps. What’s more, you can connect it to any Windows, Mac, iOS, and even Android devices and record your music using it as your audio interface. All this is available for a very low price, at least considering all the things that you get with it. It’s more than just a guitar amp – it’s an actual guitar workstation.
Great Affordable Electric Guitar Amps – Conclusion
And that wraps it up! We hope this rundown was useful to you and that you’ve managed to find one of the very best affordable electric guitar amps for your needs. Stay safe and rock on, guys!
