Shootout: Combo Amps
THE ULTIMATE TUBE, SOLID STATE AND DIGITAL COMBO AMPS FOR EVERY GENRE, FROM MOTOWN TO METAL AND EVERYTHING IN BETWEEN.
TFinding the best combo amp for you can be tough. When you’ve got the perfect guitar amp, even the worst guitars can sound amazing – but if you don’t have the right amp for you, you’ll never get that sound you’ve been looking for. The right electric guitar feels like an extension of your limbs, whereas finding a great combo amp can take a whole lot longer.
So what do we mean when we say ‘combo amp’? A combo is an amp that contains both the amplifier and speaker in the same box – making it ideal for small spaces or where portability is a consideration. A lot of amps on the market are configured as a head and cabinet, meaning that the bit that actually amplifies your signal is separate from the speakers that your signal comes out of.
Some people prefer the versatility of a head and cab, but we feel that combos win on both points of consistency and convenience. With a good combo, you never have to worry about how terrible the house cab is when you’re always bringing your own speakers with you!
It’s worth thinking about what you like to play, and how you like to play it. Everyone’s playing styles are different, and all amps respond differently. Do you want ultra clean tones to help you hone your jazz chops? Or do you want endless amounts of gain to downpick your way into oblivion? These are the questions you need to ask yourself. All we’d suggest is that as soon as you find something you love, never let it go – and that advice comes from painful experience.
In this guide, we’ve picked 15 of the best combo amps money can buy, and listed them in price order to make it easier for you to cut through the noise and find your dream combo. You’ll find digital amp modellers that can recreate any amp tone you like, solid state amps that will give you ultimate reliability and a very precise sounding tone, or tube amps that will fight back a bit, and bring a whole new element to your sound.