Best Tube Amps For Home Use - 2021

Valve or Tube amps are made to be played loud - any musician will tell you! They sound amazing when you absolutely crank the life out of them and you start to feel those tubes screaming. There's simply nothing else like it. Until recently, however, the only way to achieve this tonal sweet spot was to turn the volume ALL the way up and rock out - not ideal if you value your hearing. Driving your valves as hard as possible to get that coveted "breaking up" sound is not always possible, especially if you don't want to be evicted, annoy your neighbours or blow out your windows.

Although cranking tube amps right up and letting rip feels and sounds amazing, it's not always practical when you're at home. So where do you go from there? What do you do when you want that all-valve sound at a lower volume? You downsize, without downsizing in tone! Let's take a look at 7 of the best tube amps for home use, designed to be neighbour friendly without ever sacrificing tone.

SHOW ME THE 7 BEST TUBE AMPS FOR HOME USE

First up we have Laney CUB Series SUPER12 15 Watt Valve Combo Amp. Don't let the small size fol you, as this is a powerhouse valve ap perfectly designed to provide incredible tube amp tone and dynamics at bedroom, home and apartment-friendly levels.

WHY IS THIS A GOOD TUBE AMP FOR HOME USE?

You have 15 watts of power at your disposal pumping out through a HH custom 12" speaker all powered by 3 x 12AX7 preamp valves and 2 x EL84 output valves so you can easily play small gigs with it.

However, it's the Laney CUB Series SUPER12 15 Watt Valve Combo Amp's ability to drop from 15 watts to 1 watt via the additional input is what makes this a contender for the best tube amp for home use.

This means you can enjoy all the dynamics and tonal features of a cranked Laney tube amp at lower volumes without ever having to worry about loss of sound quality. On board reverb and gain features make it a particularly useful live and studio amplifier too!

The people at Orange Amps understand all too well the importance of driving a valve amp hard - they've been making amplifiers for the worlds stages for years! However, they also make a great deal of amplifiers ideal for practice backstage and at home utilising a mixture of valve and solid state technology so you can get that gorgeous valve sound and response at a lower volume. But alas, there's simply no substitute for the "real thing" so the team at Orange have crafted the ultimate option for lovers of tube amps - the Orange Rocker 15.

WHY IS THIS A GOOD TUBE AMP FOR HOME USE?

The huge benefit to the Orange Rocker 15 amp lies within the "Bedroom/Headroom" switch, which allows you to change the output power of the amplifier. Although it's a 15 watt amp, you can drop to 7 watts or as low as 1 watt via the flick of a switch. This means you can enjoy all that tube amp sound, whether clean or dirty, at home without destroying the relationship with your neighbours! Simply flick it back up to 15 watts when you're ready for the stage or when you're in the practice room. If you want to go louder, there's the Orange Rocker 32, which is a 30 watt amp capable of dropping to 15 watts - ideal for the gigging musician - or someone who hates their neighbours/housemates/windows. Already got a cab? Well, the Orange Rocker 15 Terror 15W Valve Amp Head is a head only version, which is great if you have a cab that's lying around gathering dust.

Since the original Marshall JCM800 2203 amplifiers were released in 1981, the amplifiers have taken on an almost God-like status as the ultimate "must have" for tone snobs. Unless you wanted to get evicted due to noise complaints, playing one cranked at home has been almost impossible - until now. The Marshall Studio Classic SC20C 20W Valve Combo Amp has been constructed for those of us who want the sound of this seminal amp, in a smaller, more compact package.

WHY IS THIS A GOOD TUBE AMP FOR HOME USE?

The Marshall Studio Classic SC20C combo is a great gigging amp thanks to the fact you have 20 watts of power at your disposal, however you can use the three position standby switch to drop the power output to 5 watts. This means you get the same JCM800 roar at a lower volume - perfect for recording at home or just jamming. The 10" Celestion V-Type speaker also harks back to the sound of 1980's Marshall amps offering an overall vintage tone ideal for the likes of 80s and 90s style rock lovers. Adjust your gain, presence, bass mids and treble and enjoy the beautiful tones on offer at all volumes thanks to the separate preamp and master volume control controls which you can use to get those lush tones regardless of your environment.

The Fender Pro Junior IV Combo Valve Amplifier has quickly become an industry-standard amplifier for those in need of a portable valve amp that is small enough for home and studio use, but loud enough for the smaller stages of the world. It's an extremely straightforward amplifier to use with a single channel, making it a great first amplifier for the valve amp "first-timer", professional gigging musician or home studio owners.

WHY IS THIS A GOOD TUBE AMP FOR HOME USE?

This nifty little amp is packed with 15 watts of power through 2 x 12AX7 preamp tubes, 2 x EL84 power tubes, and 1 x solid state rectifier tube as well as a 10" Jensen P10R speaker, so getting that authentic "tube break-up" sound isn't a problem. The single volume and single tone knobs make it extremely easy to use and the fact it only weighs 9kg means bringing it home from practice won't break your back! It's also quite small too at around 40cm high/wide so it won't become an obnoxious focal point of your room. A beautiful sounding amplifier ideal for practising at home or mic'-ing up on stage.

Vox amplifiers are renowned for their "cranked tube" sound, but getting that classic tone means cranking the volume too - which is not always practical! Thankfully, the team at Vox understand how important it is to achieve that sound at a lower volume, hence the introduction of the VOX AC4C1-12 Custom Series Guitar Amplifier Combo.

WHY IS THIS A GOOD TUBE AMP FOR HOME USE?

The Vox AC4C1-12 is a highly portable amplifier packed with 4 watts of power and a Celestion 12" speaker. The fact it's only 4 watts means you can drive the 2 x 12ax7 preamp tubes and el84 power tube without destroying your hearing. You have that classic Vox tone at lower volumes! The addition of the Top Boost tone switch means you can add more high-end dynamics and bite to your sound, which is extremely useful for those in need of that coveted tube grit! The team at Vox are yet again proving you don't need a huge amp for a huge sound!

The Orange Brent Hinds Terror 15w Signature Valve Amp Head is one of our favourite tube amps designed in conjunction with the legendary Mastodon guitarist Brent Hinds - so you know you're in good company with this.

WHY IS THIS A GOOD TUBE AMP FOR HOME USE?

The cool thing about the Orange Brent Hinds Terror 15w Signature Valve Amp Head (aside from the fact it's the legendary guitarists signature amp) is the introduction of the output power switch, which allows you to drop the output of the 15-watt amp to 0.5, 1, 7 Or back up to 15-Watts when you're gigging. This means you can make good use of the Dirty and Natural channels within the amp and push those Ecc83 power tubes as much as you want without the huge volume. A great amp that you can use to perfect your sound at home and then transfer to the live arena by flicking the switch back to 15 watts! We also think it's one of the best tube amps for those on a budget as it's way under £500!

Achieving the tone and crunch of a fully cranked 100 watt amplifier without damaging your hearing (and that of those around you) is nigh on impossible, yet the team at Blackstar Amps have managed to reproduce those characteristics in a 10 watt all-valve amplifier! The single-ended Blackstar 10th Anniversary Series One Combo Amp has a great reverb effect, Clean and Overdrive setting as well as the patented ISF circuit technology so you can sculpt your perfect tone. Whether you love the sound of classic British amplifiers (fully CW) and all the 'woody tones' they're famous for or the more American characteristics in an amplifier (fully CCW) with a tighter bottom end and overall more aggressive tone you can achieve it all at lower volumes.

WHY IS THIS A GOOD TUBE AMP FOR HOME USE?

Did we mention that the Blackstar 10th Anniversary Series One Combo Amp is 10 watts? You'll be surprised at the amount of tone and sound on offer here. You'll also love the fact you can utilise all the lush gain from the amp, but turn the volume down to neighbour friendly levels via the Master volume. The KT-88 tubes provide the lush tonal response of a classic valve amplifier and the Celestion 70/80, 12" loudspeaker provides you with a clear sound, whether you're driving the 'Overdrive' channel or enjoying the bell-like cleans on the 'Clean' channel. A perfect amplifier for those in need of a versatile, studio ready amplifier or a great all-valve practice amp that can be enjoyed at lower volumes.

 Finally, we have the Fender Bassbreaker 007 Combo Guitar Amp, which has become a go-to amplifier for both tone snobs and discerning musicians in need of an all-valve amplifier that can achieve that cranked valve sound at lower volumes. With 2 x 12AX7 preamp tubes and a single EL84 power tube, you get 7 watts of gorgeous Fender tone in a small, compact (and stylish) package.

WHY IS THIS A GOOD TUBE AMP FOR HOME USE?

Due to the fact the Fender Bassbreaker 007 is a 7-watt amplifier,  you run less of a risk of annoying your neighbours when you decide to crank this thing! However, to achieve that awesome Bassbreaker tone you don't have to push it to the limit. The vintage-style treble boost, which can be activated by the optional footswitch or button on the top offers a lush amount of drive and added harmonic content, even at lower volumes. A gain and master volume pot means you can enjoy those glass-like cleans and gritty crunchy tones Fender amps are renowned for, at any volume. By far one of the best tube amps for home use available on the market. Want more?

Check out a full selection of valve amplifiers over at PMT Online or call in to your local PMT store to try out a selection for yourself. 

Here's our Best Tube Amps For Home Use video with Dagan, from PMT Newcastle:

Updated 2020-09-01