Very versatile and definitely one of the best tube amps under $500. Chimey, slightly overdriven sounds? Yep! Crank the gain and you’ll get everything from crunch to seriously hard rock tones easily. It’s very easy to get great tones from this amp: if you want jangly, sparkly cleans, it can do that. There’s actually quite a lot of gain available, so if you’re after something to deliver heavy, chunky tones then this could well be it. This is a real no-nonsense amp – it’s got a single channel that you can dial gain into.

They’re the same in terms of spec, and actually look identical apart from a few minor details, so there’s every chance they’re made in the same factory. In Europe, you’re going to have an easier time getting hold of the Harley Benton Tube 15, whereas in the US, the Monoprice Stage Right is more obtainable. It’s rated at 15W, but you’ve got the option to reduce the output to 1W so you can manage the volume a little easier when playing at home.įirst up, we’ve listed what look like two amps, but they’re basically the same thing. This is a straight-up, budget single-channel tube amp, fitted with a good quality 12” Celestion speaker. There are two voices per channel, as well as onboard reverb so you’ve got a lot of scope to nail the sound that's in your head. It offers amazing value for money, as well as a wide range of tube amp tones – from beautiful cleans to all-out distortion. If we’re choosing just one amplifier on this list, then it’s got to be the Blackstar HT-1R MKII. Best tube amps under $500: Guitar World recommends Recent price increases across all walks of life have pushed the price of many budget amps - that were previously under our $500 cap - over the mark, but we’ve still included a few of these, as they still represent great value for money.

When compared to solid state and modeling amps, valve amps tend to be more expensive – however, we’ve rounded up our pick of the best tube amps under $500 to show that you don’t have to spend loads to get great tone. There are some incredible non-tube options out there – modeling is getting better than ever, for example – but sometimes you just can’t beat the real thing! You can also push the tubes to get them to break up naturally, giving you beautiful driven tones. They offer a certain feel, sound and response that helps them play with expression, dynamics and emotion. From country and pop to hard rock and heavy metal, tube amps are the preferred choice for many guitar players. Tube amps have been used to create some of the most iconic guitar tones ever heard.

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