The best guitar amps for 2024 - a Buyer’s Guide

It’s impossible to underestimate the difference a good guitar amp can do for your sound. But with so much variety and choice out there, deciding between amps can feel impossible too. 

Be it a practice amp, studio amp or something to take out on the road, we all need amps to do wildly different things for us. So before you dive into our rundown of the best guitar amps for 2024, take a moment to think about what you want your amp to do.

Aside from your budget, the first thing you need to think about is how you’re going to use your guitar amp. Do you need a headphone amp for practising any time of the day or night? Are you looking for a digital modelling amp packed with effects? Do you need 100 watts of raw power to blow the roof off a huge venue? Knowing how loud you need your amp to be is key. 

Then you need to think about the sound you want to achieve. Are you all about distorted power chords or jangly clean tones? Do you live on the edge of break-up and use your strumming hand to take you from clean to crunch? Do you play rock music, jazz, country or blues? Do you love classic British or American tones, and prefer the sound of a Fender, Marshall or Vox amp? 

For example, if you’re looking for a great bedroom amp that gives you the classic Marshall tone at a reasonable volume and price tag, the 5-watt Marshall DSL5CR 1x10 valve combo with reverb could be the best practice amp for you. 

Maybe you want to go even quieter with a practice amp that no one else in your home, your neighbours or the other people in the park can hear. Something like the Blackstar amPlug2 Fly headphone amp could fit the bill, offering three different channels, built-in chorus, delay and reverb plus 17 hours of battery playback. 

Or maybe you’re after a portable and affordable acoustic guitar amp that’s perfect for jamming with friends on the go or busking. The Blackstar Fly 3 Acoustic Amplifier offers plenty of punch and comes either on its own or in a stereo pack for some extra oomph. 

Whatever it is, have a clear idea of what it is you want from your amp before you start shopping. To help you out, we’ve put together a list of 10 of the best guitar amps currently available, including some old favourites and newer options for you to consider. 

If you’re looking for the best portable amp to use with an electric guitar, the Boss Katana-Mini is hard to beat. Running on six AA batteries and packed with features like a built-in tape-style delay and aux input you can use to jam along with your phone, it’s one of the top mini amps available today. 

Perhaps you’re just starting out on your guitar journey and want to know what the best amp for beginners is without breaking the bank. Or maybe you’re working to a tighter budget. Either way, the Antiquity ATG-10 is a 10-watt combo with separate clean and drive channels that offers unbeatable value for the price point.

Also known as tube amps across the pond, lots of people love valve amps for their dynamic response and rich harmonics. The 12-watt Gibson Falcon 20 1x12 combo pays tribute to Gibson’s iconic range of 1960s amps, combining vintage tones with modern features. It comes in a lovely vintage cream colour and is also available as a 7-watt 1x10 combo. 

Valve amps can often be too loud to really get the best out of them, especially if there’s no master volume. Digital amps offer consistent performance at all volumes, as well as useful features like changeable amp characters, independent effects sections, programmable presets and recording outputs. The Boss Katana-50 MkII is a stage-ready, 50-watt combo that offers all of these things and is right up there as the best modelling amp you can get. 

Solid state amps can be more rugged, durable and affordable than valve amps, while offering a more dynamic response than digital amps. If you like the sound of this happy medium, be sure to check out the Orange Crush 12. This 1x6 combo offers 12 watts of warm rocky tones Orange are so well known for, along with a solid emulation of a mic’d 4x12 cabinet.

The Fender 65 Deluxe Reverb is always in the conversation about the best combo amp you can buy. This vintage reissue delivers beautiful cleans and comes alive as you turn up the volume. It’s a loud amp when it gets cooking and there’s no master volume, so you may want to get an attenuator like the Two Notes Torpedo Captor if you want to crank it at home without falling out with your neighbours. Or if you’re looking for a more affordable alternative, check out the Antiquity ATG-15R.

While combos are super convenient, amp heads can offer much more versatility as you can easily switch out speaker cabinets to experiment with your tone. The Orange OR15H is one of the best guitar amp heads currently available. It pays homage to vintage Orange amps from the 70s and gets very loud for a 15-watt amp. Not least because you can turn the volume up to 11. Or down to the 7-watt setting if you prefer.

Headphone amps are brilliant pieces of kit to have, no matter your experience or level. Whether you’re playing at the crack of dawn or late at night, plugging in on the go or even working on some new material on a tour bus, silent practice can be invaluable. And with the Fender Mustang Micro headphone amp,  you can access a huge array of tones right there in your pocket. It features 12 amp models, 12 effect combinations and an adjustable EQ, as well as Bluetooth audio streaming so you can jam along to your favourite tunes.

Ideal for practising, desktop amps are super portable and practical. The best ones can also take you a long way towards having your own recording studio at home too. Like the Yamaha THR10II desktop amp, which serves up valve amp tones across a range of amp styles along with a selection of electro-acoustic sounds. It also comes with built-in effects like delay, reverb, chorus, flanger and phaser.

Our pick for best guitar amp overall released in 2024 is the powerful, practical and yet affordable 20-watt Blackstar HT-20R MK II 1x12 combo. This feature-rich valve amp delivers instant access to both British and American tones, along with an impressive cab simulator and professional connectivity for recording and performing. Ready for the stage, you can also reduce the power to just 2 watts for home practice that makes no compromise on your sound. 

Whatever you want your amp to do, we have a huge selection of guitar amps to suit every need, style and budget. If you're still unsure of the right amplifier for you, contact us or head to your local PMT Store to speak to one of our experts.