Find the Best Tube Amp for You

Date:2020/3/3 11:19:52 Hits:

In this buying guide, we’ll talk about the best tube amps and help you pick the best amplifier for you. Thanks to digital modeling, we can conjure up any and every flavor of guitar tone. But for true tone aficionados, it always comes back to tube amps. Why is that? What’s so special about tube amps? After all, vacuum tubes are obsolete technology. Solid-state amps use diodes and transistors that are far cheaper, more practical, more reliable, and more technologically advanced than tube amps. The answer is simple: it’s the sound. Rich, warm, sweet — choose whatever adjective you want — beginners and experts alike agree that there’s nothing like the euphoric, harmonic-drenched sound of a tube amp.

Tube Amps: Even-order Harmonics Equals Tonal Bliss

So what’s the secret to this coveted gear? Well, it all starts with even-order harmonics. These harmonics are what give tube amps their gorgeous, complex sound. Tube amps also produce a mild distortion and distinctive compression when you push them the right way. Beyond that, the nonlinear nature of these amplifiers allows you to change the tone of your amp, simply by altering your dynamics — they stay clean when you play softly and break up when you play harder. Tube amps also tend to sound louder than their solid-state equivalents.

Aren’t Tube Amps Loud and Expensive?
best tube amps: vox ac15c1 combo amp
So tube amps are loud and expensive, right? Not necessarily. There are 1-watt tube combos, like the Blackstar HT-1, that offer high-gain tube amp tones at bedroom volumes, and they’re very affordable. And the Fender Blues Junior IV and Vox AC15C1 both offer classic tones from big-name brands for less than $1,000. Take a trip through Sweetwater’s inventory of tube amps, and you’ll see — there’s a flavor and wattage available for just about every need and budget.

Best 1-channel Tube Combos
Best Tube Amps Combo: Morgan Amps MVP23
Looking for a sweet-sounding combo amp that offers great cleans but isn’t afraid to get rude? The Marshall Origin 50 Combo is a great choice, serving up vintage-tinged crunch by the truckload. Or if you’re searching for something more boutique, check out the Morgan MVP23 — it churns out everything from pristine cleans to liquid overdrive, and it sounds sublime.

Best 2-channel Tube Combos
Some buyers prefer channel-switching amps, allowing them to go from clean to blistering on a whim. The Marshall DSL40CR is a great entry into this realm, offering two channels that cover every Marshall tone from past to present. The Egnater Rebel-30 112 MKII is another 2-channel tube amp that goes from shimmering cleans and touch-responsive overdrive to full-on metal at the tap of a footswitch. Want something more vintage-inspired? Then you’ll love the Supro 169RT Black Magick Reverb. This amp’s two channels can run independently or in parallel for even more crunch and tone-shaping options.

Check out more of our best 2-channel tube amps here.

Best Classic Tube Combos
Best Tube Amps: Fender 65 Twin Reverb comb amp
There are some classic tube combos that deserve a section all to themselves. The Fender ’65 Twin Reverb pretty much sets the bar for clean tube amp tone and includes a spring reverb and tremolo. This is a great pedal platform, and it’s the gold standard for players who want cranked-up cleans, thanks to its ample headroom. The Vox AC30C2X is a versatile take on Vox’s venerable AC30 — THE sound that defined the British invasion. With the AC30C2X, you can achieve everything from a classic chimey Vox sound to edgy, overdriven tone, and more. The Mesa/Boogie Mark Five:35 provides you with access to the whole history of Mesa tones. From sweet cleans to roaring leads (and all the fat, crunchy stuff in between) — they’re all in there.

Build a Monster Tube Amp Stack
Best Tube Amp: Mesa Boogie Dual Rectifier Amp Head
Expert and beginner guitarists alike dream of being onstage in front of a huge amp stack. Sweetwater stocks a wide range of the best tube amp heads that are just begging to be planted on top of a stack of 4 x 12 cabinets. Marshall’s JVM410H is a hard rock guitarist’s dream come true, yielding 100 watts of fat, thunderous growls and metallic screams, while the Marshall JTM45 kicks out more vintage Plexi tones than you can shake a stick at. The Mesa/Boogie Dual Rectifier epitomizes modern metal guitar tone with 100 watts of lethal crunch and fire-breathing lead tones, while the Mesa/Boogie Triple Crown offers three versatile channels that go from spanky American-style cleans to face-melting gain, along with a whole bevy of player-friendly features.

Modern Classic Tube Amps
Best Tube Amp: Freidman Runt 50 Amp Head
Marshalls and Mesa/Boogies deserve their place in the legendary pantheon of rock guitarist’s best tube amps. But there are plenty of others that have become legends in their own right. The Friedman Runt-50 employs custom transformers and a purist signal path, supplying the tight bottom end, midrange punch, and muscular output you need to rock the big stages. The Orange Rockerverb 50 MKIII delivers the one-of-a-kind Orange tube tone that’s been a staple for years, supplying you with everything from chimey cleans to all-out grind. The handwired Bogner Helios Eclipse takes boutique tone, hot rods it to modern high-gain levels, and gives it a touch of Plexi vibe. If you’re into high gain, then the Diezel VH4 should need no introduction. This high-octane head is a modern icon, with four distinctly voiced preamp channels that provide more tonal flexibility than perhaps any other metal-voiced guitar amp on the market.

Not all tube amp heads cost an arm and a leg. Sweetwater carries the best tube amps under $1,000, many of which have found their way onto stages all around the world. The Peavey 6505 is built for a single purpose: to DOMINATE. This 120-watt high-gain monster tube amp pumps out furious tone but still has headroom to spare for clean sounds. The Blackstar HT Stage 100 MKII shatters the quality/price barrier with three vastly shapeable channels of studio-quality tones at every gain range. And if you want Eddie Van Halen’s signature tone without mortgaging your house, the EVH 5150 delivers 50 watts of arena-filling volume that’s sure to please even the pickiest of rock guitarists.

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