Real guitar amps are great for home recording and there are many different types of amplifiers in different shapes and forms.

Every home recording studio needs to have at least one real amp. You can have a clean amp, a dirty amp, or a guitar amp that is great for both types of tones.

Also, there are various types of amps with different sounds, features, and prices. They may be more expensive than guitar amp sims but they have a better tone.

What’s The Best Guitar Amp For Recording?

In this ultimate guitar amp list, you will find different types of amps that are great for recording. All amps cost under $1000 and every home recording owner can afford them.

1. Vox AC15C1

One of the best tube amps to record guitars.

  • 15 watts
  • 12″ speaker
  • EL84
vox ac15

Vox AC15C1 is a great tube amp for home recording. Vox is one of the most popular amps among musicians. It has a very distinct and unique sound. Offers great clean tones and also a very rich dirty tone. Great for clean guitar tones, rock, and blues.

This particular model has 15 watts and it’s enough for home recording. Has master and normal volume control, bass, treble, and tone cut knobs. Additionally, has built-in reverb and tremolo effects. It’s a very versatile amp and you can create different types of guitar tones.

2. Marshall DSL 20 CR

Classic Marshall tone in a small yet powerful package.

  • 20 watts
  • 12″ speaker
  • ECC83/EL34
marshall dsl combo

Marshall DSL20CR is a great tube amp. It’s versatile and great for almost every music genre. You can record pop, rock, blues, and metal music with this amp. It has default preamp controls, gain and volume for both channels and also a reverb control. Also, you can choose between 20W and 10W power.

DSL20CR is a 20-watt amp with a 12″ speaker. It’s a two-channel amp and you can switch between channels with a footswitch. With the classic channel, you can get a crunchy tone, and with the ultra channel, you can create a heavy, metal sound. Also, it has a great clean sound. Amazing tube amp for home recording.

3. Orange Rocker 15

One of my favorite tube amps for recording.

  • 15 watts
  • 10″ speaker
  • ECC83/ECC81/EL84
orange rocker amp

Orange Rocker 15 is one of the best guitar amps for recording metal. This is a tube combo amp with great sound and features. You can create and record different types of electric guitar tones. Its twin channel feature offers clean and dirty channels. It comes with no built-in FX.

The controls are very simple. You have the volume control for a clean channel. But the dirty channel has gain, volume, bass, middle, and treble. And the great thing is that you can switch between different watts. You can use a full 15 watts or use 7 watts, 1 watts, or even 0.5 watts.

4. Fender Blues Junior IV

Amazing tube guitar amp to record rock and blues.

  • 15 watts
  • 12″ speaker
  • 12AX7/EL84
fender blues junior

Fender Blues Junior IV is a 15-watt tube combo that produces an amazing sound. This amp is great gear for any home recording studio. You can record great clean or crunchy tones with it. Perfect tube amp for pop, rock, or blues music. An awesome alternative to Twin Reverb.

Junior IV is a very straightforward yet powerful amp. It’s very easy to dial a guitar tone. You get simple controls such as volume, bass, middle, treble, master volume, and a reverb. It’s a single-channel tube combo with a rich and beautiful tone. Blues Junior IV is one of the best guitar amps for recording jazz.

5. Joyo Jackman

Great-sounding hybrid amp for recording.

  • 20 watts
  • Class D
  • 12AX7
joyo jackman head

Joyo Jackman is a hybrid amp head. It’s based on the Marshall JMC series and has a great sound. It’s a member of the BanTamp series which includes other small amp heads based on popular guitar amplifiers. It’s very versatile and is great to record rock or heavier music.

Jackman produces 20 watts of power and it’s a Class D guitar amplifier. Has two channels – clean and dirty. And offers three control knobs for gain, volume, and tone. Very easy to use yet very diverse and great-sounding amp. It requires an additional speaker cabinet.

6. Orange Micro Terror

Hybrid amp head from Orange that sounds big.

  • 20 watts
  • 8/16 ohms
  • 12AX7
orange micro terror

Orange Micro Terror is perhaps the most popular mini amp head for electric guitars. It’s a hybrid amp head with simple controls but a powerful and rich sound. Although it’s a 20-watt head, it’s great not only for recording but for small club gigs too.

Micro Terror is a very simple amp. Has only three controls – gain, volume, and tone. Also, it has a headphone output and aux input. Although it’s a single-channel amp, it produces a great and versatile sound thanks to the preamp tube. Orange Micro Terror amp head is one of the best guitar amps under 300 bucks.

7. Laney LV300

Powerful and awesome-sounding combo from Laney.

  • 120 watts
  • 12″ speaker
  • ECC83
laney combo

Laney LV300 is one of the best guitar amps for recording. It’s a massive, 120 watts hybrid combo amp with three channels. Has great features and the sound is awesome. Although it’s a discontinued model, you can still get it on the used gear market.

Because it’s a three-channel combo, you can dial various sounds. It has one clean and two dirty channels. You can easily record clean, heavy, or lead tones with LV300. Each channel has its controls and the amp offers features such as reverb, FX loop, channel switch, etc.

8. Vox VT40X

A hybrid guitar combo amp with awesome features.

  • 40 watts
  • 10″ speaker
  • 12AX7
vox valvetronix

Vox VT40X is a versatile hybrid combo for recording. It’s a cross-over between a hybrid and a modeling amp. Has many great features and you can create and record unlimited types of guitar tones. Vox VT40X is one of the best guitar amps for rock.

You can select between different amps models. Also, you can create your presets and save them. You can add effects or overdrives to the amps. Tone creation possibilities are unlimited with Valvetronix VT40X. It’s a great recording amp.

9. Orange Crush 35RT

My favorite solid-state amp for recording.

  • 35 watts
  • 2 channels
  • 10″ speaker
orange crush 35

Orange Crush 35RT is an amazing-sounding solid-state guitar amp. Perhaps the best solid-state combo amp for home recording. It has two channels, great features, and sounds amazing. And it’s very affordable relative to other Orange amplifiers.

For both channels, you get a separate volume knob. It has other controls for gain, bass, middle, and treble. Additionally, you get a built-in spring reverb and guitar tuner. Features, sound, and price make Crush 35RT the great recording guitar combo and one of the best guitar amps for beginners.

10. Fender Champion 40

A great solid-state guitar combo to record clean tones.

  • 40 watts
  • 2 channels
  • DSP mixer
fender champion combo

Fender Champion 40 is a great solid-state combo for recording clean tones. It has power, a 12″ speaker, and two channels. It’s not good for heavy tones, but if you record clean and crunchy tones, then perhaps it’s the best choice. Great for rock and blues in general.

It has default sound controls like volume, gain, treble, and bass. Also, has the option to choose a different tone and distortion voicing. Another great power of Champion 40 is in FX. You can choose from reverb, delay, chorus, tremolo, and control the effect amount with a dedicated knob.

11. Diezel VH Micro 30

Tiny yet powerful amp head for home studios.

  • 30 watts
  • Single channel
  • Great for metal
diezel micro head

Diezel VH Micro 30 is a great solid-state amp head for heavier music. It has a powerful and unique sound that allows you to create different heavy guitar sounds. Diezel is a great amp brand and Tool’s Adam Jones is known for using Diezel amps. A great metal guitar amp.

It’s a straightforward amp. But offers some interesting sound features. It’s a single-channel amp with simple controls. But an interesting addition is the deep knob which allows you to add more low-end to your electric guitar tone. Diezel Micro 30 is a great solid-state amp for heavy guitar tones.

12. Friedman BE Mini 30

One of the best amp heads to record crunchy tones.

  • 30 watts
  • Single channel
  • Marshall alternative
Friedman amp head

Friedman BE Mini 30 is another great solid-state amp head. It’s very similar to Diezel Micro but more versatile. It’s great not only for recording metal guitars but also for clean and crunchy tones. very simple yet powerful single-channel amp for recording.

The front panel consists of default sound controls such s gain, volume, and preamp knobs. But the exciting features are cut and tight switches that allow you to control your sound even more. The amp has an FX loop feature.

13. Boss Katana 50

One of the best studio guitar amps in the modeling category.

  • 50 watts
  • 12″ speaker
  • 5 amp models
boss katana combo

Boss Katana 50 is a cool practicing and recording modeling amplifier. This combo amp can produce a massive, 50-watt sound and is packed with features. With Katana amps, you can create unlimited types of guitar tones, save them as custom presets, and use them any time.

You can choose between five different amp types. You can use it with acoustic guitars too. Then you can add any effect you want. It consists of famous boss effects. You can save presets on different channels and switch between them with a footswitch. Also, it has an option for power reduction and you can use 0.5 watts, 25 watts, or full 50 watts.

14. Peavey Vypyr X2

Feature-rich modeling combo for recording.

  • 40 watts
  • 12″ speaker
  • 12 amp models
peavey vypyr x2

Peavey Vypyr X2 is a very versatile digital combo and one of the best guitar amps in the digital category. It’s packed with so many features that there is a very small amount of amplifiers that can beat it. And one of the best features of Vypyr X2 is that you can record electric, acoustic, and bass guitar with it.

You can choose between twelve different amp, effect, and instrument presets. Then you can edit your sound with preamp controls. It also has a tap tempo and looper features. In total, you can create and save sixteen presets. Comes with an iOS app.

15. Fender Mustang GTX 50

Tons of amps and effects in one combo.

  • 50 watts
  • 12″ speaker
  • 40 amp models
fender mustang 50

Fender Mustang GTX 50 is a cool modeling guitar amp to record music at your home. It’s versatile, great-sounding, and includes too many features. Also, it has one of the best interfaces to create electric guitar tones. You can choose between forty different amps, and many effects, and save two hundred presets.

Mustang GTX 50 has a small screen from where you can choose amps, and effects and create your guitar tone chain. Then you can save it and use it any time. Also, it comes with many factories presets. Features and sound make Fender Mustang GTX one of the best recording amps.

16. Vox Cambridge 50

Great-sounding modeling amp for recording.

  • 50 watts
  • 12″ speaker
  • 10 amp models
vox modeling amp

Vox Cambridge 50 is a modeling amp that offers ten amp models and eight effects. It uses Nutube 6P1 in the preamp section which makes it like a hybrid amplifier. Other features include aux input, headphone output, and a USB port to control the sound from the app.

It’s very easy to use the Cambridge combo. First, you choose an amp. The amp collection includes the famous Vox and other amps. After that, you can tweak preamp controls, and add effects such as modulation, reverbs, and so on. If you are looking for the best guitar amps under 500 bucks, it’s the one.

Conclusion

Guitar amps are essential music gear for every home recording studio. You will create better guitar tones and guitar mixes with real amps. If you have a big budget, you can get a tube amp. For smaller budgets, solid-state or hybrid amps are great. But if you want to have many features at a low price, then a modeling amplifier is the best solution for you.

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