Finding the best cheap guitar amp under $100 is pretty hard because not all budget guitar amplifiers sound good and have many features. That’s why I made this amp comparison.
I think you should be able to get a great sounding amplifier without having to break your budget. There are plenty of affordable electric guitar amplifiers out there that have tons of features. You just have to know what to look for.
We’ve reviewed all of the top inexpensive guitar amps out there for electric guitars, so you can figure out with one is best for you and your wallet. Let’s check them out!
Click Below to Compare the Top Budget Guitar Amps
Contents
- 1 Click Below to Compare the Top Budget Guitar Amps
- 1.1 Fender Champion 20 Electric Guitar Amplifier
- 1.2 Blackstar LT-ECHO 10 Guitar Amp
- 1.3 Peavey Solo 12Watt Transtube Amp
- 1.4 Orange CRUSH12 Amplifier
- 1.5 Pignose 7-100 Legendary Mini Amp
- 1.6 Vox Pathfinder Combo Amp
- 1.7 Peavey Backstage II 10Watt Transtube Amp
- 1.8 Blackstar FLY3 Inexpensive Amplifier
- 1.9 Fender Mini Twin Amp
- 2 What We Recommend and Why
Here is a list of the best cheap guitar amplifiers that sound great and are still the most affordable amps on the market.
- Fender Champion 20 Electric Guitar Amplifier
- Blackstar LT-ECHO 10 Guitar Amp
- Peavey Solo 12Watt Transtube Amp
- Orange CRUSH12 Amplifier
- Pignose 7-100 Legendary Mini Amp
- Vox Pathfinder Combo Amp
- Peavey Backstage II 10Watt Transtube Amp
- Blackstar FLY3 Inexpensive Amplifier
- Fender Mini Twin Amp
Fender Champion 20 Electric Guitar Amplifier
Specs, features, and benefits
Fender Champion 20 is a 20Watt solid state combo amp with one 8″ Fender Special Design speaker. It is powerful, loud, and with that classic Fender tone – it is one of the best combo amps in this price range.
It has one channel with control knobs for Gain, Volume, Voice (Tweed, British, Blackface, Metal), Treble, Bass, FX Level, FX Select, and Tap Tempo button.
Then we have the Aux-in, and the Headphones out ports. The Fender Champion 20 has Reverb, Delay/Echo, Chorus, Flanger, Tremolo, Vibratone, and Wah effects onboard, so you don’t have to spend a fortune to build your first rig.
The Fender Champion 20 is an easy-to-use combo amp that offers a decent amount of flexibility. Perfect for beginners!
Pros and Highlights
- Compact – The Fender Champion 20 is a small size amp – it won’t take a lot of space in your bedroom!
- Flexible – The FX and the Amp-Voicings on the amp allow you to have different sounds for different music situations. And you don’t have to spend a fortune when you are just beginning to mess around guitars.
- Easy to use – just plug in, turn around the knobs, and play!
Cons and Potential Flaws
- Small speaker – Well, you can’t expect a huge sound from an amp that has one 8″ speaker, right? This amp is great for playing and practicing in your bedroom.
Bottom line
The Fender Champion 20 is an easy-to-use, small size combo amp, great for beginners and stay-at-home guitar players. It has flexibility, yet is not overwhelming like many of the modern-day guitar amps are. Many players love this amp unconditionally – it is perfect for great rock shows in the bedroom.
Blackstar LT-ECHO 10 Guitar Amp
Specs, features, and benefits
The Blackstar LT-ECHO 10 is a great, little, combo amp with 10 watts of power and two 3″ speakers. It is very easy to easy, as it has only three control knobs – Volume, EQ (ISF), and Delay. It also has a button for engaging the Overdrive, and a separate button for engaging the Delay. What makes this amp a great practice amp, are the mp3/Line in port and Emulated Out/Headphones output. You can practice with this fella, without waking up your parents.
You can also record with the same out you would use for the headphones. The Blackstar LT-ECHO 10 is small, practice combo amp, most suitable for beginners.
Pros and Highlights
- Affordable – If your son (or your nephew) is a wanna-be guitar player, you don’t need to spend a fortune to get him a decent, first amplifier. The Blackstar LT-ECHO would be perfect in that kind of situation.
- Built-in effects – On the amp, you have all the basic effects, and even some modulation effects. This is a great thing – you can start experimenting with effects, and never get bored again.
- Small – It will save up space in your bedroom. It is a very small amp – compact and portable!
Cons and Potential Flaws
- No cons! – The Blackstar LT-ECHO is a great beginner amp. If you are more like an advanced player, you should try something else, something bigger.
Bottom line
If you are just starting out to play the electric guitar, you need an amp to be able to hear yourself. This is where the Blackstar LT-ECHO comes in use. It is a small, yet decent sounding combo amp, perfect for beginner guitar players. However, if you are an experienced player, you probably want an amp with a bigger speaker, and a bigger tone.
Peavey Solo 12Watt Transtube Amp
Specs, features, and benefits
The Peavey Solo 12W Transtube is a solid combo amp, perfect for beginners and practice at home situations. it has 12W of power, and an 8″ Blue Marvel speaker. The circuitry of the amp a “Transtube” one, which means that the amp is a transistor, but it emulates a Tube amp sound.
It has two channels that can be switched with a button, Lead, and Clean with an Overdrive control knob, Volume control knob, and Low, Mid, and High control knobs.
It also has a CD/Tape input, and Headphones output. It is a great sounding combo amp, considering its size and its price.
Pros and Highlights
- Great sound – For the size of the amp, it has a pretty cool sound. It is not so often to stumble upon a small amp that sounds decent.
- Overdrive, EQ – These controls allow you to set the perfect tone in your bedroom!
- CD input and Headphones out – These two ports make the amp perfect for practice!
Cons and Potential Flaws
No cons! – Well, some players might want some effects other than distortion on their amp, but usually, on a small amp like this one, the effects are not the best ones. If you ask me, I would not compensate a decent amp sound for a few barely tweakable effects.
Bottom line
Peavey is a world-known amp manufacturer. Pretty much all of their amps are great sounding, and very durable and reliable. The Peavey Solo 12W Transtube amp is a great amp for those who are just starting out to play the electric guitar, and for the players that need a practice amp in their home. It has a decent sound for such a small amp, and the CD input and Headphones out can be great tools for home practice.
Orange CRUSH12 Amplifier
Specs, features, and benefits
If you are looking for a sturdy, affordable, great-sounding, practice amp, you can’t go wrong with the Orange Crush12. It has 12W of power, and Custom 6″ “Voice of the world” speaker.
It has control knobs for Gain, Overdrive, Bass, Middle, Treble, and Volume. It also has Headphones out for quiet practicing. The Orange Crush12 is an analog amp, and that’s why it is one of the best sounding beginner amps on the market. It doesn’t offer effects or some fancy features like some other amps on this list, but in terms of quality in sound and performance, it is hard to beat this orange fella.
Orange Crush12 is a 12-Watt amp with a six-inch speaker.
Pros and Highlights
- Great sound – Don’t get fooled by the size of this amp, it provides a great and punchy sound, due to the analog circuit and high-quality speaker.
- Affordable – The amp comes for a very reasonable price;
- Sturdy, compact – The amp is very small, meaning you can carry it on the road without any problems, and it is very sturdily built – this is pretty standard for all Orange products.
Cons and Potential Flaws
- No other effects than Distortion/No Aux in – Well, the lack of built-in effects might not be a flaw because the Orange Crush12 handles pedals very nice. However, the fact that it lacks an Aux-in port is making this amp go behind in a race with similarly priced guitar amps.
Bottom line
Orange Crush12 is a high-quality, sturdily built, awesome sounding, and little amp. It provides great sound due to the analog circuit and high-quality components. You will be surprised how loud this amp can be; having in mind that it has a 6″ speaker. Some of the players might want to have some effects on their beginner amps, but we encourage them to rather buy some cool pedals since this amp sounds great.
There are other options for a beginner amp that have a lot of built-in effects, but either their price is high, or their sound quality is low. The only flaw of this amp is that it lacks an aux-in port.
Pignose 7-100 Legendary Mini Amp
Specs, features, and benefits
The Pignose 7-100 is a legendary portable amp introduced to the market in 1973. A piece of history! It can run on six AA batteries or on a 9V AC power adaptor. The batteries compartment is inside the case, which is easily accessed.
As simple as it can get, the Pignose 7-100 has only Master volume knob, Input for your guitar, and Preamp out. The amp’s sound is very distinguishable, and many legends like Eric Clapton, Frank Zappa, etc. even recorded this amp on their tracks back in the day. The Pignose 7 is a 5-Watt amp with 5-Inch Speaker.
Pros and Highlights
- Easy-to-use – This amp is so easy to use, we think it can’t go any easier than that.
- Legendary – This amp is a piece of history! 1973! Imagine that…
- Vintage look – The amp looks very nice, it has that vintage vibe to it.
Also, it is sturdily built!
Cons and Potential Flaws
- The older version sounded better! – Well, there might be some nostalgia in there, but many of the older folks will agree on that matter.
Bottom line
The Pignose 7-100 is a legendary guitar amp. It is the first portable guitar amp ever. Many legends have used it on records; some even use it as a fuzz pedal. It has classic, vintage looks, and the sound of this amp is very distinguishable – that’s where its name came from.
It is a great amp for the traveling musicians due to the fact that it can run on batteries.
Vox Pathfinder Combo Amp
Specs, features, and benefits
The Vox Pathfinder Combo is a 10-Watt Guitar amp with 6.5″ speaker. As you probably know, Vox is a company famous for its high-quality, awesome sounding guitar amps, and this is the case with this amp too! It has a push-button for engaging the Overdrive, and control knobs for Gain, Treble, Bass, and Volume. It also has a Headphones/Line Out jack.
The amp is built with high attention to details; it looks just like all the classic Vox amps and has the signature, warm Vox sound that is really easy to distinguish from others. The Overdrive on this amp is the classic Vox distortion, which can go from blues to metal in seconds with just a tweak on the Gain control knob. The amp comes for a very affordable price.
Pros and Highlights
- High attention to details – The amp looks very nice. You can’t mistake it for some other amp brand!
- Easy to use – The Vox Pathfinder has the core controls on it, and you can set a clean or crunchy tone in seconds.
- Affordable – Very affordable!
Cons and Potential Flaws
- Low volume, not lasting – Many owners are not satisfied with this amp. Some say that the amp is very low at volume, and others claim their amp completely stopped working after a short period of light usage. Pretty bad, huh? Well folks, try it before you buy it! Or save some buck, and get a decent amp. 😉
Bottom line
While many beginner guitar players are absolutely satisfied with this amp, we do not recommend it if you are a professional who wants to practice on the road between gigs or something like that. Many players reported having issues with the amp short time after they bought it, and that is not something Vox is famous for, but we must be sincere here, right? Hey Vox, take notes!
Peavey Backstage II 10Watt Transtube Amp
Specs, features, and benefits
The Peavey Backstage 10W Transtube amp is something like a little brother to The Peavey Solo 12W Transtube amp. They look alike, and they have a similar layout of controls. The Peavey Backstage has 10W of power, and a 6″ Custom Speaker.
It has two channels (switchable), Clean and Lead, which are switched by a button with control knobs for Overdrive, Volume, Low, and High. It also has a Tape/CD (aux-in) port and Headphones output.
Pros and Highlights
- Affordable – You probably don’t want to spend a fortune on a first amplifier, right?
- It is a Peavey! – Peavey is a serious guitar amp manufacturer, famous for its top-notch products.
- Great for practice – The Aux-in and the Headphones out are making this amp great for practice!
Cons and Potential Flaws
- It is for practice only/It dies after some time – You can’t take this amp on stage, or on a rehearsal with a drummer, that’s for sure. Well, you can’t expect a huge sound from a 6″ speaker. Also, many owners reported that their amp died after a short period of usage.
Bottom line
If you are a beginner (or your son us a beginner), the Peavey Backstage might be a great fit.
It has all that a beginner would need to practice in his bedroom. It is a small size and has Headphones out. However, some owners have reported that their amp died after a short time-period of usage. You should try it before you buy it, or consider buying some other, more decent amp.
Blackstar FLY3 Inexpensive Amplifier
Specs, features, and benefits
The Blackstar FLY3 is a tiny little amp with huge power. If you want to buy an extremely portable amp, that runs on batteries that has a decent sound, the Blackstar FLY3 is highly recommended. It is loved by buskers all around the world, and it is a great practice amp.
It has control knobs for Gain, Volume, EQ (ISF), and Delay. There are push-buttons for engaging the Overdrive and Delay effects. It also has Mp3/Line in and Emulated Line out. You can power it with six AA batteries or a 6.5V DC power adaptor (sold separately). You can also pair the Blackstar FLY3 with the Blackstar Fly 103 Extension Cabinet for making your FLY3 stereo. Many owners of this amp also like to use the Fly 3 amp and speaker cabinet as a set of stereo speakers for music from their phone, tablet, etc.
Pros and Highlights
- Sturdy – The Blackstar Fly3 will take the beatings without any problem; it is a tough little amp!
- Affordable – It comes for a fairly low price!
- High quality – This amp stands out in this list, that’s for sure. It sounds great; it is sturdy-built and extremely portable!
Cons and Potential Flaws
It doesn’t come with an adaptor – You must buy it separately if you want to use one. However, the batteries last a really long time, so you might find yourself not even needing the adaptor. Also, you can buy yourself rechargeable batteries, so this is not a huge flaw…
Bottom line
The Blackstar FLY3 is pretty famous among portable amp fans around the world. It is one of the best, if not the best, portable amplifier. You will be amazed by how loud this little amp can be. The distortion on the amp is also great, and the Delay effect is just the cherry on the top. The EQ (Infinite Shape Feature) on the Amp is awesome, with just a few tweaks you can get a lot of different sounds.
It is a great amp for every kind of player – it doesn’t matter if you are a beginner, a busker that plays on the street, or a professional touring musician that needs a practice amp on the fly, you will love this little fella. Great portable and practice amp!
Fender Mini Twin Amp
Specs, features, and benefits
The Fender Mini Twin amp is a “micro” amp with 1W of power and 2″ speaker.
Yes, it is tiny, but it is also a great practice amp. You don’t need a 15″ speaker and a 100W tube-amp to be able to practice in your bedroom. You need something like the Fender Mini Twin amp.
The amp has three control knobs, Volume, Drive, and Tone. The On/Off switch on the amp looks like a control knob too, so be sure not to mistake it with some of your controls during your “show”. The amp can be powered by either a 9V battery or by a 9V power adaptor.
Pros and Highlights
- It is tiny! – This means it won’t take a huge space, for the matter of fact, you can even keep it on your desktop and carry it in your pocket.
- Extremely portable – It runs on a 9V battery too! How cool is that?
It is a beautiful gift – You have a close friend or member of your family that is a guitar player? - Buy one of these as a birthday gift! He / She is going to love it!
Cons and Potential Flaws
- No clean sound – Apparently, the Fender Mini Deluxe is too small to be able to produce a decent sound. It might be good for practice, but still, it cannot be taken for a serious guitar amplifier.
Bottom line
The Fender Mini Twin amp might be a great gift for a guitarist, but it is too small to be useful. The amp cannot produce a sound decent enough, and it is only good for keeping it in the bedroom. It is extremely portable and looks very nice, but there are certainly some better options in the price range.
What We Recommend and Why
It depends on what kind of situation you are, and what you actually need, but anyway there are a lot of options when you want to buy an amp under $100. We tried to cover here the best of the best.
If you want a decent amp, that you want to practice with in your bedroom, for under $100, we recommend the Fender Champion amp. If you are looking for an extremely portable amp however, you should go for the Blackstar Fly3 amp. If you want to buy a gigging amp, we suggest that you should save some money, and buy something that cannot be easily overwhelmed by the other instruments.
Always try it before you buy it, folks. This way you will save up on both headaches and money.
