BEST CHEAP GUITAR AMPS UNDER $200
Best Cheap Guitar Amps Under $200
There are a TON of amps out there - Some great guitar amps, many not-so-great. Though many amplifiers come with a high price tag, many of the lower cost amps can compete with them.
Guitar amplifier companies try to help make each guitar amp unique in their own way. What it really comes down to is what the guitarist wants in a guitar amplifier to satisfy his guitar playing needs.
To help you out - We have produced a great list of the best guitar amps for cheap.
Here's 8 of The Best Guitar Amps Under $200
- Fender Champion 40
- Monoprice 5 Watt Tube Combo
- Fender Mustang I V2
- Orange Crush 20RT
- Marshall M-MG15GFX-U
- VOX Pathfinder 10W Combo
- California Tone Research Set5
- Bugera V5
1. Fender Champion 40 Electric Guitar Amplifier
Typically Fender is a great go-to choice for guitar amps. They're tones are very versatile - from great mids, to smooth lows. You can typically access any guitar sound you're going for. This combo amp is no exception. Absolutely fantastic for this price range.
Coming in at 40 watts with a 12" speaker - this can put out a decent amount of volume. Comes with a clean and a gain channel and also FX Settings to add Delay, Reverb, Flange, Wah, Chorus, Tremolo, and Vibrato.
Many people that have bought this particular amp seem to rave about the sound, especially at this price point.
We would highly recommend this amp if you're looking for a guitar amplifier just under 200 bucks.
2. Monoprice 5-Watt 1x8 Guitar Combo Tube Amplifier
Monoprice amps are becoming a bigger name brand in the guitar industry, and who doesn't love tube amps? This should be one of the cheapest, if not THE cheapest tube amp to buy right now. Don't be fooled by the wattage - as tube amps will surprise you by how loud they can get.
Built with a 6V6GT tube, 12AX7 Preamp Tubes, and an 8" Celestion Speaker. This small tube amp sounds fantastic. I would most likely use this for small practices, or easy great recordings.
Really digging the classic cream exterior of the amplifier as well.
Check out the video above and hear for yourself.
3. Fender Mustang I V2 20-Watt 1x8-Inch Combo Electric Guitar Amplifier
Another great Fender amplifier here. Solid Fender amp sound with great tonal range. The features on this small guitar amp are awesome. Comes in at about 20 watts with an 8" Fender special speaker - this digital modeling amp can accomplish almost any specific sound you're trying to attain with 17 amp models and 24 presets.
The Preset effects comes with 3 different versions of each preset, and you can dial in with the preset knobs to fit your sound. Also has a list of effects - Reverb, Delay/Echo, Tremolo, Phaser, etc - to add to the sound as well.
Along with that, it also comes with a built in tuner, and a USB plugin feature - which you can plug into your computer and use fender's software to manipulate the sounds even more.
4. Orange Crush 20RT Electric Guitar Amp
Orange amps are known for their amazing tones. When they first came out, they were too expensive for my budget. I feel after a while Orange caught on and decided build more affordable guitar amps for everyday use.
The drive on these small amps sound awesome. With a built in tuner, 3-band eq, and reverb - this small solid state amp is pretty versatile. The headphone / line output also has a 'CabSim' feature which will emulate a classic Orange 4x12 cabinet, which you can create a huge sound on your recordings or on your headphones in your room.
If you're looking for a little smaller guitar amp, they also have a
Orange Crush PiX CR12L on Amazon with a 6" speaker available for much cheaper as well.
5. Marshall Amps Guitar Combo Amplifier M-MG15GFX-U
For a great Marshall Amplifier sound at a great price, this amp has alot to offer. From Pete Townsend to Jimi Hendrix, there are many great guitarists that have made the Marshall name what it is today.
The Marshall MG15GFX has an 8"speaker bringing out a great 'British' guitar tone. It has a 3 band eq, and not 1, or 2, but 3 Overdrive / Distortion channels built in to define your perfect heavy or not-so-heavy sound. There are also onboard effects (Phaser, Flanger, Delay, Chorus) as well to add more variety without pulling out any pedals.
This amp would be great for easy practice sessions so you don't have to lug around your heavy live rig. There's also a line out as well to plug straight into your computer to record with ease.
6. Vox Pathfinder Combo, 10W
The VOX sound in a little package at an amazing price! Love the tones that come out of VOX amplifiers, and this one is no different. VOX amps have a great bright signature british rock sound to them. The gain overdrive off this amp sounds amazing.
With a 6.5" VOX Bulldog speaker, these are great for home playing and low-key practice as well as great guitar recordings.
The signature VOX diamond grille also adds a great vintage look and feel to the amplifier. For the sounds and the price of these bad boys, we would recommend this amplifier to anyone looking for a low-cost and easy to use amplifier.
7. CALIFORNIA TONE RESEARCH SET5 Single End Tube Guitar Amplifier
This great low cost tube amp has a fender feel. It has a great bright tone to it - great for surf or blues guitar. This tube amp is 5 watts or great tones packed with EL84 and 12ax7 tubes and an 8"speaker. These things can get fairly loud if you want to go there.
Not many features on the amp as you don't really need much. You can crank the volume up to get some of that great tube break up overdrive sound or even tone it down and some smooth blues guitar tones out of this.
We really dig the simplicity of this great affordable tube amp and we're sure you will too.
8. BUGERA V5 5-Watt Class Amplifier Combo
The Bugera Tube amp comes with an EL84 and 12ax7 tubes. The amp, though 5 watts, again can and will pack a punch. With a simple tonal knob, gain, volume, and reverb - this amp can dial in with ease.
For being this cheap in cost, this amp sounds really great. It has a very great mid-range tone, almost reminds me of a Marshall. You can crank the volume to get a great overdrive tube sound, or even add the gain for more distortion for a great rock guitar sound.
The size and weight of these also helps with transporting to and from practice, and you can also play in your own bedroom without disturbing anyone.
Things to consider when choosing the best guitar amp under $200:
1. Guitar Tone
There are many amps priced under 200 bucks that sound like exactly that - cheap. The amplifier's listed above are of great quality and speak for themselves with great praise for their overall sound. You can typically get a good understanding of how they sound just by listening to them even through a simple youtube review.
2. Speaker Size
The size of the guitar speaker will help determine what situation you would be able to play the particular amp. Smaller amps are more difficult to play over a full band if that is what you are going for so you definitely want to keep that in mind when choosing a great amp under 200 dollars.
3. Guitar Amp Power
Guitar amplifier power goes almost hand-in-hand with speaker size as typically the lower the wattage of the amp, the smaller the amp speak is. Now perhaps you're not looking a 'loud' amp at this price range, maybe you would want to compensate volume with more features and tonal quality - this is all up to the player.
4. Tube Guitar Amp vs Solid State
Solid State and Tube amps have different qualities which make alternating so much fun. Tube amps are overwhelmingly the preferred choice due to their 'warmth' tonal quality and great natural tube overdrive, though typically expensive. Solid state amps are much more durable, and you can get super clean guitar sounds while still playing loud.
5. Guitar Amp Effects
Many guitarists at home or on the go don't want to deal with the hassle of setting up their guitar pedals or pedalboard so having a great set of already built in guitar amp effects will help these low cost amps even more. Most amps will already include some sort of overdrive / distortion and reverb, but some also add additional effects such as a delay, phaser, chorus, etc.
6. Guitar Amplifier Features
Lastly, don't disregard additional features - that's what makes alot of these amps stand out. Some add built in tuners, line outputs to plug directly into your computer to immediately start recording, headphone jacks to play loud in your ear and not your family and neighbors.
What Is The Best Tube Guitar Amp Under $200?
That would have to be the Monoprice 1x8 Combo Tube Amp simply for it's construction, and with it's 8" Celestion speaker it's hard to beat at that price range. If you're interested on more stats, you can check it out on Amazon
here.
Do Tube Amps Sound Better than Solid State?
Every guitarists is going to have their preference, however - we absolutely believe Tube amps are FAR superior to the solid state builds. We're just glad that many amplifier companies are catching on to the demand for quality tube amps at a better price.
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