A great guitar amplifier doesn’t only amplify sound, it also shapes and colors the sound it produced. In this regard, tube amplifiers are the best for you to get a studio-grade and professional-quality sound.
They are known to produce really great sound, but tend to be more expensive and fragile.
However, you don’t need to worry about how to find the best tube amps that’s perfect for budget buyers. Our team has researched, tried and tested various amplifiers to come up with our list of the best tube amplifiers under $300 this 2024.
These products are versatile, durable and have more features you can’t possibly imagine in a low-cost amp.
Contents
10 Best Tube Amplifiers Under $300 in 2024 (reviews)
- Yamaha THR10C Mini Guitar Amplifier
- VOX VT40X Modeling Amp
- BUGERA V5 5-Watt Class Amplifier
- VHT AV-SP1-6 Special 6 Combo Amplifier
- Monoprice Combo Tube Amplifier
- Celestion Vintage
- Laney LG35R 35 Watt Guitar Combo
- Orange Amps Amplifier Part Crush35RT
- BOSS Katana KTN-50 Guitar Combo Amplifier
- Fender Blues Junior IV Amplifier
Runner Up | Editor's Choice | Also Great |
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Yamaha THR10C Mini Guitar Amplifier
Yamaha is dedicated to making great music instruments and it’s time to get serious with your career using Yamaha THR10C Mini Guitar Amplifier.
It’s a personal amp which allows you to achieve great sound fidelity with easy integration with Cubase AI recording software and other music software. It has five class amp models with clean bass, acoustic and flat models with effects like those in THR10X.
With Yamaha’s signature VCM technology, you’ll be able to do great effects processing. Moreover, you can add a bit of personal taste to the tone of your guitar or pickups. It’s packed with standard mono phone and stereo phone input, AUX IN, USB and full-range x 2 speakers.
- Gives full and deep low volume tones
- Perfect for home use
- Great amp for playing blues
- Classic rock and country music
- Easy to change controls produce great sounds on desktop or table-top
- No ability to change channels
- Design could be better for more quality and playability
VOX VT40X Modeling Amp
Virtual Elements Technology (VET) delivers excellent sound quality based on the analysis of components and amp circuits in an amplifier. Thankfully, the VOX VT40X Modeling Amp embraces this technology to produce the most accurate and realistic sounds you’ve never heard before.
It features multi-stage Valvetronix tube preamp that incorporates authentic analog circuitry to have fine tonal adjustments distinct of vacuum tube amps.
The VT40X has 11 realistic amp models, 13 high-quality effects and 33 preset programs to get started. It has a built-in tuner, AUX-in jack, headphone out and USB connectivity to help you integrate and connect with your computer.
The new VOX Tone Room editing software allows you to customize existing amps and effects to make it your own!
- Provides a great dynamic range
- Has very useful editing software to craft your style
- Lightweight and has big sounds
- Especially in closed rooms
- May not be loud enough for bigger gigs and open venues
- Doesn’t support wireless editing
BUGERA V5 5-Watt Class Amplifier
Built with the world’s famous British-engineered 8-inch TURBOSOUND speaker, the BUGERA V5 5-Watt Class Amplifier is hard to resist. It has a cool vintage look and feel, allowing you to think of the silky smooth music production in the ‘60s.
It has an authentic preamp with ‘60s design featuring 12AX7 tube with EL84 power tube, so you can achieve purring blues and incredible crunch. With power attenuator, it gives you more flexibility to find the sweet spot for the best volume of your music production.
The INFINIUM Tube Life Multiplier Technology gives you reliability and consistency of the sounds produced by these tubes.
- Great power attenuator to cut output from 5W to 0.1W
- Produce really great sound
- So the power attenuator is a great plus
- Quality build with outstanding craftsmanship
- Sound produced is a little dark and muddy
- There are some complaints with the buzz and the rattles at low-frequencies
VHT AV-SP1-6 Special 6 Combo Amplifier
Especially loved by tube amp enthusiasts, this mod-friendly VHT AV-SP1-6 Special 6 Combo Amplifier comes with unique features and delivers tube amp goodness better than any product under $300.
It has that single 12AX7 preamp tube with 6V6 output tube. This is the only one of its kind to feature a foot-switchable boost.
You can use its foot-switchable gain boost that expands the range of tones from clean rhythm to overdriven lead tones. In addition, it has a high/low power switch that gives you more versatility when using.
It gives smoothness and richness to low-volume tones and accommodates high-frequencies even from the strongest drummers.
- Produce clear tone
- Good for most guitar styles
- The overdrive channel is perfect for blues and rock
- Can easily mod and pedal-friendly
- Amp build might not be of great quality
- Can be better if the tubes are being replaced
Monoprice Combo Tube Amplifier
Monoprice 611815 15Watt Combo Tube Amplifier features a 15-Watt tube power amplifier as the name suggests. It has three ECC83/12AX7 pre-amplification tubes, two EL84 power tubes for amplification and Celestion Red Truvox 1215 speaker.
The EL84 tube can produce a full output from small signals which can be overdriven to produce chiming and treble-heavy sound.
This combo amplifier is capable of handling frequencies between 80Hz and 10kHz, with low noise at -75dB and has 0.5% total harmonic distortion. It features low input (attenuating the signal by 50%) and high input (easier to overdrive).
You can also maximize its spring reverb, which can be remotely enabled via a footswitch and you can also send/receive FX to a processor or use for line in our line out connections.
- Produce excellent tone with nice clean tones
- Very loud and reliable to play even with drums
- Has an effective line out and effects
- Hex nuts on the outputs are plastic and seem really cheap
- Reverb is very subtle
- Not audible as you go all the way up
- Might have a little buzzing produced by the tubes
Celestion Vintage
The cheapest tube amplifier under $300 in our list, the Celestion Vintage is not a disadvantage since you got everything for your next music production.
It’s packed with Classic Celestion tone that is perfect for playing different styles and genres. This amp is able to produce warm low frequencies, rich vocal mid-range, and detailed top-end.
This tube amp is primarily used to reveal the complexities in hardwired boutique amps, so you can hear it from thousands of recordings of diverse guitar players. It has a ceramic magnet 12-inch guitar speaker with 60-watt power handling. And, it’s known as the best-selling premium guitar speaker in the world
- Produce warm and powerful sound
- Works well with other devices
- Great build quality
- Need a little configuration right outside the box
- Some users claimed sound is a little too harsh and brittle
- Might give up if you try to push your gear to its limit
Laney LG35R 35 Watt Guitar Combo
Laney LG35R 35 Watt Guitar Combo provides 35-watt RMS output with 10-inch custom-designed driver. It has two channel pre-amps — clean channel (with single volume control) and distortion channel (with drive and master volume).
Both channels have three band tone controls, for a more subtle degree of shaping. In addition, the drive channel comes with a radical scoop switch to achieve the classic British gain tone.
The AUX IN makes learning and jamming more fun, while the on-board review provides a nice color to your music. Ideal for bedroom practice and recording, it comes with a headphone socket and CD Input/Line In.
Moreover, it comes with a 10-inch the custom-designed speaker inside an open back cabinet with black basket weave Tolex finish and solid black plastic corners.
- Fantastic amp
- Given its price
- Great for jamming and practicing
- Clean sound is good
- But not of high-quality
- Might not be ideal for playing metal and other powerful genres
Orange Amps Amplifier Part Crush35RT
If you are looking for a killer amplifier, the Orange Amps Amplifier Part Crush35RT might satisfy your cravings. It gives you high overdrive with mind-blowing saturation level.
It comes with two foot-switchable channels that give you wide-range of tones — taking you back to the old days when old school guitar amps were still used.
You can enjoy Orange’s innovative CabSim circuit that matches the muscle of an Orange 4×12-inch cabinet through its headphone/line out, onboard tuner and reverb. This amplifier has three-band EQ, gain and volume controls which can be tweaked to give you satisfaction in your music-making.
- You got good clean and full distortion
- Nice amp with incredible sound and more features
- Perfect for jazz
- Rock and country
- Produce noise when the sound cuts out during play
- Can do medium or light distortion
- Switch easily breaks
BOSS Katana KTN-50 Guitar Combo Amplifier
The stage-ready BOSS Katana KTN-50 Guitar Combo Amplifier comes with a 15-Watt amp with a 12-inch speaker. It’s great for home playing and practice since it features five unique amp characters — clean, lead, brown (from Waza amp), crunch and acoustic (for acoustic-electric guitars).
With its stunning design and powerful controls, you’ll enjoy great music, even at low-volume settings.
It comes with a huge selection of customizable effects, dedicated gain, EQ, Tone setting memories, power control and more.
The BOSS Tone Studio editor software allows you to make effect routing configurations while the Tone Settings memories help you store amp and effect settings for easy recall and retrieve. Now you can enjoy more flexibility and versatility with this feature-packed Katana KTN-50.
- Speaker has great bass response
- Simple to use and gives more value for the price
- Comes with multiple high-quality effects
- Could be better to have channels to save pre-set tones
- Doesn’t come with built-in tuner like the Yamaha amps
- You might encounter some problems with the Boss Tone software
Fender Blues Junior IV Amplifier
A Fender fan who wants to have a quality tube amp? Go for the Fender Blues Junior IV Amplifier — a Hot Rod amp that guarantees a Fender tone with the flexibility to make your own signature sound.
It’s the world’s beloved small combo amp that’s packed with great features that will blow your mind, yet won’t let you spend all your hard-earned money.
This is a 15-watt amp with Celestion 12-inch A-Type speaker, modified preamp circuitry for increased fullness, spring reverb, enhanced smoothness and great aesthetics.
The Celestion speaker is known for its distinct “rock ‘n’ roll” character with a modern touch and classic sound, so every guitarist, from different walks of life love this tube amp, even though it comes a bit pricey. It’s ideal for stage and studio use.
- Nice channels
- Great reverb and sounds wonderful
- Sound gets loud enough and warm
- Easily portable and lightweight
- May come a little pricey than the rest of the list
- Comes with a lot of buzzes and hisses
HOW TO CHOOSE THE BEST TUBE AMPLIFIER UNDER $300
Many have been searching for the best tube amplifiers under $300 this 2024, but failed to pick the best. It’s because they are looking at the wrong side of the coin and are just too excited. So, to pick the right one for you, just relax and read our tips below.
Purpose — Are you gonna use it at home for practice or you’re gonna play live? You need to use two different tube amps for each of these. But, choosing just a single device requires you to get to know your needs first.
Speaker — Amps don’t produce sound without a speaker. The quality of the sound tube amps produces might depend on how great your speaker is. In addition, you also need to consider the size of the speaker, says The Vault at Music & Arts.
Budget — Higher price doesn’t always mean a better quality of tube amps. However, the bigger your budget, the broader your choices and the more you pick the perfect one for you. But if you’re on a budget, this list will surely be of great help for you.
Cabinet — Some might not consider this, but if you are a wise buyer, you should put this in mind. There are open back and close back amplifiers. The former produce natural ambient sounds, while the latter produce clearer tones. Gearank explains how the cabinets can affect your music production.
For those of you who are still doubtful whether to have a tube amp or not, this YouTube video will give you some light. Hopefully, after you’ve watched the video, you’ll be able to choose the one that’s perfect for your needs.
OUR TOP PICK
With rigorous review and testing, we conclude that Yamaha THR10C Mini Guitar Amplifier is the best tube amplifier under $300 in 2024. It has a great tube system with a reliable speaker to produce excellent sound. With all its great features, you can maximize it to be used for late night practicing, jamming, and recording.
How about you? Do you have another choice in mind? Don’t worry, whichever it is that you choose from the list, you are assured of its quality, reliability, and durability, especially at the price under $300.