The best combo amps for all styles and budgets
Your brain probably says choose a combo amp, not a stack. Choose a really good model, and your heart and your ears might agree.
Combos have always been convenient, with less bulk than a stack made up of a head and cab(s). And the really bad news – for roadies, specifically – is that some manufacturers have made their combos even more portable in recent years. Thanks to innovations such as smartphone controls and the wider use of neodymium speakers, guitarists can get a powerful, feature-rich amp in a smaller package.
You have some decisions to make before buying a combo amp. Will you choose a tube amp, or a solid state model? How much wattage or volume do you need? And do you want a wealth of on-board effects and tonal options, or a simple platform to augment with effects pedals? Oh, and how much money do you have?
There’s a lot to consider – so to help identify the best combo amp for you, we’ve brought together potted reviews of our 10 favourite options below.
At a glance:
Our Pick: Fender Tone Master Princeton Reverb
Best modelling combo: Boss Katana Gen 3
Best combo for beginners: Blackstar Debut 50r
Best practice combo amp: Positive Grid Spark Mini
Best gigging tube combo: Blackstar St James 50 EL34
Best combo for heavy music: Orange Rockerverb 50 MkIII Neo 2×12
Best high-end tube combo: Bad Cat Hot Cat 1×12
Best low-wattage tube combo: Fender 68 Custom Vibro Champ Reverb
Best combo amp for acoustic guitarists: Yamaha THR30IIA
Best affordable tube combo: Fender Pro Junior IV SE
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Our Pick: Fender Tone Master Princeton Reverb
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Fender Tone Master amps are a special breed of combo, with classic, tube-alike tones and controls backed by convenient, dependable digital tech. The Princeton Reverb.is the smallest, freshest addition to this best-of-both-worlds family – and it might well be our favourite, too.
Our reviewer reckoned this Tone Master amp sounds as close to the tube-equipped original as you could get – although it weighs less than half as much. Fender has subtly incorporated some useful innovations, including an XLR output that can send the amp’s signal straight to a DI box, and a six-way power-scaling option that adjusts the output, by degrees, from a neighbour-friendly 0.3 watts to an ASBO-baiting 12 watts.
Need more? Read our Fender Tone Master Princeton Reverb review.
Best modelling combo: Boss Katana Gen 3
Boss Katana-100 Gen 3. Image: Adam Gasson
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The Boss Katana Gen 3 range gives you plenty of bang for your buck. Featuring a comprehensive, high-quality effects unit that builds Boss’s brilliance for sound manipulation straight into your amp, it’ll free up some space on your pedal board.
Versatile, affordable and loud, the third-gen Katana is a crowd pleasing all-rounder. It’s not a perfect amp – for instance, its Bluetooth feature requires the additional purchase of a costly dongle – but there’s plenty here to admire, including a brand new ‘Pushed’ amp model that occupies a rich sonic space between clean and crunch.
There are two wattages to choose from in the range: 50W and 100W. Both are powerful enough to gig, assuming you’re not Jimmy Page.
Need more? Read our Boss Katana Gen 3 review.
Best combo for beginners: Blackstar Debut 50r
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The Debut 50R is what a really good entry-level amp looks and sounds like in 2024. Rather than scrimping on quality, Blackstar has cut the frills, with an analogue, stripped-back setup that will help beginners focus on great playing and tone, rather than getting bogged down with advanced settings.
What this amp does give you is a high-quality selection of foundational sounds. Its clean channel is bright, jangly and crystal-clear, while the overdrive is delightfully meaty. The output can be toggled between 5W – ideal for practising at home – and a stage-ready 50W. All things considered, this combo is a humanely-priced monster.
Need more? Read our Blackstar Debut 50r review.
Best practice combo amp: Positive Grid Spark Mini
Image: Adam Gasson
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Given its miniature size and relatively low price, the Positive Grid Spark Mini sounds unbelievably good. When the amp is placed on a hard surface, its integrated passive radiator delivers some seriously impressive low end, a world away from what you’d expect of the average mini practice amp.
This is an ideal amp to fit some creativity into a busy lifestyle, with a form factor that could sit nicely on a desk or coffee table, and featuring a remarkably user-friendly smartphone app – which is just as well, since there are only three physical control knobs. You get 30 amp models to swipe between, ranging from Golden Era classics to some ear-catching, creativity-fuelling newcomers.
Need more? Read our Positive Grid Spark Mini review.
Best gigging tube combo: Blackstar St James 50 EL34
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The St James 50 has a unique, lightweight design that opens up a novel possibility: gigging an EL34-driven, pedal platform tube amp, without putting your back out during pack-down.
Sure, it weighs less than some dachshunds, but we reckon the St James 50W has all the substance of a classic tube combo. Channel 1 is a masterclass in 60s, black-panel tone, combining bright tonality with some solid low end. Switch to channel 2, and you’ll find a lively, chiming AC30-like tone, straight out of the swinging sixties.
Both tonally and logistically, this amp is an ideal portable platform to pair with your fuzz or distortion pedal of choice. Pitch up, plug in, and wig out.
Need more? Read our Blackstar St James 50 EL34 review.
Best combo for heavy music: Orange Rockerverb 50 MkIII Neo 2×12
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The Orange Rockerverb line is legendary among rock and metal guitarists for its raucous sounds. This latest incarnation features neodymium speakers, which have given the amp a more convenient form factor – without watering down its genius for raising hell.
Take your pick from well-rounded, articulate cleans and no-holds-barred, full-throated overdrive – however you play, this amp remains the gold standard among Orange’s storied range. We really appreciate the responsiveness of its controls, which can adjust the EQ and distortion finely or dramatically, as you wish.
In terms of power, it’s hard to imagine a context where this amp would get drowned out. It’s seriously loud, and Orange’s trademark mid-heavy voicing is here to emphasise the effect.
Need more? Read our Orange Rockerverb 50 MkIII Neo 2×12 review.
Best high-end tube combo: Bad Cat Hot Cat 1×12
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A no-expenses-spared, beautifully designed amplifier for the discerning player, the Hot Cat 1×12 is our top pick for guitarists who are happy to spend big on a premium combo.
Powered by two EL34 tubes, the Hot Cat delivers the sparkling cleans and exhilarating high-gain tone you’d hope for in a vintage tube amp. The clean tones of channel 1 are gloriously expansive, with crunchier textures available near max volume and via the Boost function. But to experience the Hot Cat is at its very best, switch to channel 2 and pump the gain for hair-raising, 80s metal tone.
Need more? Read our Bad Cat Hot Cat 1×12 review.
Best low-wattage tube combo: Fender 68 Custom Vibro Champ Reverb
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Putting a tiny tube amp through its paces is always a lot of fun, and this character-packed vintage reissue proved no exception during our hands-on testing.
If you’ve never played an original Fender silverface amp, you’re missing out on a sparkling, energising gem of an audio experience. The 40-watt ’68 Custom Vibro Champ Reverb gives you something close to that thrill in miniature: bright, expansive tone, lively bass and crunchy gain.
Our reviewer was impressed with this little Champ’s in-built tremolo and reverb – although he encountered significant background noise with the reverb turned up over halfway.
Need more? Read our Fender 68 Custom Vibro Champ Reverb review.
Best combo amp for acoustic guitarists: Yamaha THR30IIA
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Eminently portable and packed with a plethora of tonal options, the Yamaha THR30IIA is our top-rated acoustic guitar amp – perfect for intimate gigs or playing at home.
There are some interesting, unusual features and settings to master here, including a tonal control with three blendable simulated microphone sounds, a three-way stereo imager switch, and five assignable presets (which you will need).
It may be feature-rich, but the THR30IIA is arguably at its best when used straightforwardly. Set all three EQ knobs to halfway and add a touch of reverb for a wonderfully warm and natural sound. Classical guitarists will find a friend in the amp’s sensationally good nylon string voice.
Need more? Read our Yamaha THR30IIA review.
Best affordable tube combo: Fender Pro Junior IV SE
Ready to get hooked on tubes? Once you’ve played through the Fender Pro Junior IV SE, you’ll struggle to revert to your former state.
This surprisingly affordable 15-watt combo is loud, no-frills, and at its best when pushed towards its ear-splitting limits. There are only three knobs to twiddle – but they hold the keys to an amazing spread of tones. At a volume setting of around 6 or 7, the SE’s clean tone starts to break up in beautiful, Kinksian fashion.The overdrive setting is tight, fierce, and ear-splittingly loud – when you want it to be.
While single band EQ is not for everyone, the SE does it superbly well, serving up a range of sounds from the thick, woolly tone of setting 1 to the sweet, trebly jangle at the opposite end of the dial.
Need more? Read our Fender Pro Junior IV SE review.
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