Written by Lily Hartman, staff writer, research expert, and active lifestyle enthusiast.
Updated June 30, 2023
It doesn’t matter where you are—on a stage in front of thousands of people eagerly waiting for you to spark their emotions with a single guitar string, or a beginner guitarist getting ready to learn some basic chords in your bedroom. You still deserve to own a quality guitar amp that brings your music to life.
A good guitar amp will allow you to shape the sound of your playing, and bring your expressions to life with unique guitar tones and built-in effects, whether you’re looking to craft your sound output with a collection of effects pedals or just plug in and play along with your favorite bands. If you’re shopping around online and don’t know where to begin, you probably want a single piece of equipment that won’t break the bank—something you could perform with on a small stage, maybe, or at least use to practice and record with at home.
To make your search a lot easier, we put together this list of some of the very best all-in-one combo amp models you can buy online right now.
What You Should Know About Guitar Amps
What is the Difference Between a Solid-State Amp and a Tube Amp?
If you simply want to play your guitar in the comfort of your own home, then a solid-state amp will work just fine for you, but if you’re an avid, on-stage guitarist, then you’ll want to go with a tube amp.
Solid-state amps have various features to play around with and usually have a better price tag. They also require less sustentation. As for tube amps, they produce better sound quality at increased volumes, so they’re a better pick for those who perform on stage.
What is a Good Wattage for a Guitar Amp?
The amount of watts you’ll need for your guitar amp to sound efficient will depend on where you’re playing, who you’re playing with, and the type of guitar amp you have. For an at-home guitar amp, good wattage will be anything between 1-watt to 20-watts. The amount of watts you’ll need for good sound increases once you get into recordings and live performances. For example, for those playing at a small venue with a tube amp, anything between 20-watts and 60-watts will work great.
Do Guitar Amps Make Good Speakers?
Technically, guitar amps can be doubled as a speaker; but that does not necessarily mean that they should be used that way. In fact, using an amp as a speaker will lower the sound quality.
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