Crank the volume up with the best guitar amp under 300. These affordable guitar amps will let you play your riffs and licks without breaking the bank.
Digital & Solid State Amps | Digital & Solid State Amps Product Image | Product Title | *GEARANK | **Sources | Check Prices |
 | 95 | 1325+ | |||
 | 91 | 90+ | |||
 | 94 | 825+ | |||
 | 92 | 8650+ |
Hybrid & Tube Amps | Hybrid & Tube Amps Product Image | Product Title | *GEARANK | **Sources | Check Prices |
 | 94 | 1125+ | |||
 | 91 | 800+ |
Amp Head | Amp Head Product Image | Product Title | *GEARANK | **Sources | Check Prices |
 | 93 | 65+ |
*Gearank = Rating score out of 100.
**Sources = Number of gear owner and user opinions analyzed for these product Gearank Ratings.
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There are plenty of good quality amps in the $200 to $300 price range. From amp modelers, to traditional plug-and-play solid state combo amps, you have a lot of good options. You can even buy hybrid tube amps from big name brands like Vox in this price range.
Many amps in this range offer built-in effects and modeling capabilities, providing a wide range of tones and features for practice and performance.
Whether youโre a beginner or an experienced player looking for an extra amp, these affordable high-quality amps will meet your needs. Featured here are the best among the different types of amps, including combo amps, and amp heads, as well as selections that cover solid state, tube amp, and digital amp modeling.
Whichever your amp type preference is, thereโs one here thatโll suit your needs.
Best Guitar Amp Under 300 -Digital & Solid State Amps
Orange Crush 35RT
The Orange Crush 35RT delivers iconic Orange amp tones with a built-in reverb and tuner. Its simple controls and powerful sound make it perfect for practice and small gigs.
Pros:
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The Orange Crush 35RT is a straightforward rock and roll amp with a 2-channel design. It doesn’t have any complex modeling features, instead, it relies on its 4-stage analog preamp circuit to deliver a familiar tone.
Despite its simplicity, it consistently receives high ratings. It may have dropped a few notches from its previous rating, but it still tops the Solid State Amp category for this edition of our guide.
This amp includes useful extras like an onboard tuner, cabinet-emulated headphone output, and built-in reverb. Orange is known for its rock-oriented amplifiers, and the signature Orange saturation is present in the Crush 35RT, even at lower volumes.
Even without tube circuitry, it also doesn’t compromise the thick grind of the Orange tone. This is because the solid-state Crush series has been meticulously designed to emulate tube tone as closely as possible.
With 35W of power and a 1 x 10″ combo configuration, it functions well as a practice amp and has enough volume for jamming with friends.
However, one of its limitations is that its 10″ speaker results in less bass response compared to the standard 12″ speaker. It can get lost in the mix when playing alongside louder amps and a drum set.
So if you’re seeking a great blues and rock tone without the hassle of tube guitar amplifier maintenance, the Orange Crush 35RT is an excellent choice for jamming.
- Power: 35W
- Speaker: 1 x 10″
- Effects: Reverb
- Input: 1 x 1/4″, 1 x 1/8″ (Aux)
- Outputs: 1 x 1/4″ (Headphones/Line)
- Weight: 25 lbs.
Boss Katana 50 Gen 3
The Boss Katana-50 MkIII offers incredible tone and flexibility with its amp voicings, built-in effects, and user-friendly software. While its digital design may not fully satisfy tube amp purists, itโs an outstanding choice for players seeking affordability, portability, and professional-quality sound.
Pros:
- Wide range of amp models and built-in effects.
- Customizable via Boss Tone Studio software.
- Power Control for low-volume practice.
- Lightweight and portable for gigs or home use.
- Affordable price for its feature set.
- Complex Controls.
- Lacks the warmth of a true tube amp.
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The Boss Katana-50 MkIII is a powerhouse of an amp that brings professional-quality tones to players at an affordable price. With 50 watts of power and a 12-inch speaker, itโs loud enough for small gigs but remains versatile enough for home practice and recording. The real star of the show is the built-in amp models and effects, which range from shimmering cleans to aggressive high-gain distortion, all fully customizable via the Boss Tone Studio software. This amp is perfect for guitarists who want tons of options without hauling around a massive rig.
What sets the Katana-50 MkIII apart is its user-friendly interface and advanced features. The five amp voicings offer a wide tonal range, and the customizable effects make it feel like youโve got an entire pedalboard built right in. With the ability to save multiple presets and the power to tweak every detail through the Tone Studio, itโs an amp that grows with you as your playing evolves. Additionally, its Power Control feature lets you scale down the output for practice without losing tonal richness, making it ideal for players in any setting.
While the Katana-50 MkIII has plenty of strengths, itโs not without a few downsides. The control panel can feel overwhelming to beginners due to its many options, and some players might miss having physical knobs for all parameters.
Also, while the amp delivers a lot of tonal flexibility, purists looking for true tube warmth might find it slightly lacking. Still, for the price, the Katana-50 MkIII offers an incredible balance of features, versatility, and sound quality.
- Power: 50W (25W, 0.5W setting)
- Speaker: 12โ
- Channels: 2
- Amp Models: Acoustic, Clean, Pushed, Crunch, Lead, Brown
- Effects: 60 Boss Effects
- Input: 1 x 1/4″ (in), 1 x 1/4″ (power amp in), 1 x 1/8″ (aux in)
- Output: 1 x 1/4″ Headphone Out
Yamaha THR5
The Yamaha THR5 packs realistic amp modeling and studio-quality effects into a compact, battery-powered design. Ideal for home practice and travel-friendly playing.
Pros:
- Delivers excellent, tube-like sound quality.
- Recording capability.
- Built-in Multi-effects with simple controls suitable for beginners.
- Lightweight, can run on batteries.
- Cool design, with stylish ambient lighting.
- 1/4-inch jack headphones
- May lack definition for high-gain settings.
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Small good guitar amps are no longer only meant to be practice amps; some are now designed for home recording, like the THR5.
Traditional guitar combo amps can be too bulky or awkwardly positioned for a small home studio. However, with the THR5’s compact design and 2-channel USB recording, this is not a problem.
The amp’s ability to conjure different tones makes it recording-friendly, with 5 amp models, 4 modulation effects, and 4 delay/reverb effects.
But it’s not just for recordingโthis 10W amp powers two 3.15″ speakers, ideal for small rooms. It can also run on 8 x AA batteries as well, making it even more portable.
The Yamaha THR5 is a great addition to a guitarist’s home studio setup and a fun tool for practice or playing on the go.
If you’re a musician into recording, this one is worth considering. It looks cool too, so placing it on your workstation adds a great aesthetic appeal to your setup.
- Power Rating: 10 Watts
- Battery Life: ~6 hours
- Power Source(s): AC Adapter / 8 x AA Batteries
- Speaker: 2 x 3.15″
- Controls: Amp, Gain, Master, Tone, Effect, DLY/REV, Volume, Tap Tempo
- Amp Models: 4 Virtual Circuitry Modeling
- Effects: 8
- Input(s): 1 x 1/4″ Guitar Input, 1 x 1/8″ Aux-in
- Output(s): 1 x 1/4″ Headphones
- Extra Features: 2-Channel USB recording
- Weight: 4.4 lbs.
- Dimensions: 6.57″ x 10.67″ x 4.72″
Positive Grid Spark 40
The Spark 40 offers excellent modeling tones and app-based controls, including smart jam and backing tracks. It’s a cutting-edge choice for practice and creativity.
Pros:
- High-quality amp and effects modeling.
- Stylish and compact design ideal for home use.
- Packed with features with Bluetooth.
- Includes ‘Smart Jam’ for practice with bass and drums.
- The app allows detailed control over settings.
- Can handle both electric and bass guitar.
- Speakers can be too deep sounding.
- Potential conflicts between knob settings and the app.
- Full functionality requires using the app.
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Positive Grid is known for their excellent ‘BIAS’ software guitar modeling app. That experience shines through in the Spark 40.
It has good guitar amps, and the effect models are quite good. But the sound is hampered by the speakers being too bass-heavy, which can muddy the tone when you boost the bass via EQ. While this may not be a problem for everyone, many, including myself, have found it to be an issue. It is a good thing for a bass player though.
The Spark 40 aims for the look and feel of a small boutique amp and does a pretty good job at making it home-friendly. It features classic amp control knobs for gain, Hi/Mid/Low, and Master volume, as well as Mod Level, Delay, and Reverb.
The control knobs on the Spark 40 amp itself.
You can store 4 patches in the unit, and the controls are well organized with 10 knobs on the top of the amp.
If you’re a guitarist who likes to tweak knobs, then you won’t get that here, with limited control offered by the physical knobs.
For more fine-grained control of effect parameters or amp models, you need to use the app. The drawback of this setup is the potential for conflicting controls between the analog knobs and the app or patch values. The signal chain is laid out as a virtual pedalboard with 6 effect pedal type slots and one amp model as below:
Regarding the sound, some users have experienced issues with the speakers being overly “bassy” for electric guitar. This leads to a lack of brightness and the obscuring of crucial midrange tones.
The package includes features that allow you to play along with songs on YouTube. Another is a ‘Smart Jam’ feature that provides bass and drum accompaniment, as well as a generic track for you to jam with.
Overall, if you’re looking for a great amp for home use, with a variety of sounds and practice options accessible (via the app), the Spark 40 is a great choice.
However, if you prefer a more traditional combo modeling amp, other options to consider include the Code 50 for its classic Marshall tones and the Line 6 Spider V amps.
- Power: 40W Class D
- Speaker: 2×4″
- Effects: 30 Amp models, 40 Effects
- Input: 1 x 1/4″ (Instrument), 1 x 1/8″ (Aux)
- Outputs: 1 x 1/8″ (Headphones)
- Weight: 11.46 lbs.
Best Guitar Amp Under 300 -Hybrid & Tube Amps
Orange Micro Dark
The Orange Micro Dark combines tube-driven warmth with modern high-gain sounds. Despite its size, it delivers impressive power and versatility.
Pros:
- Compact and portable with big tone.
- Tube-driven preamp for warm and dynamic sound.
- High-gain capabilities ideal for heavier styles.
- Headphone output with cab simulation for silent practice.
- Solid-state power section lacks full tube amp warmth.
- No onboard effects.
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The Orange Micro Dark is an impressive little amp head that packs a serious punch despite its compact size. Combining a tube preamp with a solid-state power section, it delivers the warm, dynamic tone that Orange is known for while remaining portable and budget-friendly. Whether youโre into clean tones, crunchy overdrive, or high-gain distortion, the Micro Dark offers a surprising range of sounds, making it suitable for everything from home practice to small gigs and studio recording.
The Orange Micro Darkโs rear view and outputs as well as its effects loop.
It has a Shape knob, which allows you to sculpt the EQ easily, from deep and scooped tones to mid-forward aggression. The headphone output with cab simulation is a fantastic addition, letting you practice silently without sacrificing tone quality. While it excels in delivering high-gain tones for rock and metal, itโs also versatile enough to handle clean and lower-gain settings, proving to be a surprisingly well-rounded amp head for its size.
However, the Micro Dark does have a few limitations. The solid-state power section, while powerful, doesnโt provide the same warmth and dynamic response as a full tube amp. It also lacks onboard effects, which might be a downside for players looking for an all-in-one solution.
Despite these minor drawbacks, the Orange Micro Dark is an outstanding choice for guitarists seeking big, high-quality tones in a small, portable package.
For a more extended look into this great sounding amp, check out Raphael’s Orange Micro Dark Review.
- Amp Type: Solid State/Tube hybrid Head
- Tubes: 1 x 12ax7 Preamp
- Power Rating: 20-Watts
- Speaker Out: 1/4โณ โ min 8 Ohm
- Channels: 1
- Controls: Volume, Shape, Gain
- Amp Models: None
- Effects: None built-in, but has an Effects Loop
- Inputs/Outputs: 1/4โณ Input, 1/4โณ Speaker out, 1/4โณ Headphone out, 1/4โณ Effects Send, 1/4โณ Effects Return
- Dimensions: 5.3โณ x 6.5โณ x 3.74โณ
- Weight: 1.72 lbs
Bugera V5 Infinium
The Bugera V5 Infinium provides rich tube tones with a built-in attenuator for home-friendly volumes. It’s an excellent choice for beginners and vintage-tone enthusiasts.
Pros:
- Enables cranked tones even at lower volumes.
- Easy to upgrade with better tubes and speakers.
- Ideal for apartment living or other small spaces with its low power settings.
- Good guitar amp. Ideal as an entry-level tube amp.
- Absence of even a basic EQ.
- Lack of volume.
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Bugera is well-known for creating affordable tube amps. Among Bugera’s budget guitar amps, the V5 Infinium is among their best amp under 300.
This 5W all-tube amp features a 12AX7 preamp tube and an EL84 power amp tube. It comes with a built-in power attenuation that allows you to switch the power down to 1W or 0.1W.
This feature lets you crank the guitar amplifier at lower volumes. This delivers great tube amplifier tones even at more room-friendly volume levels.
Bugera’s Infinium technology is worth noting, as it extends the life of tubes. It does this by ensuring that it operates within the ideal parameters.
This amp excels at producing low- to mid-gain amp tones, making it suitable for a wide range of musical styles. The ability to attenuate its output power down to 1/10th of a watt is also important for those who need saturation at a more manageable volume.
However, the amp’s simplified tube amp setup does come with compromises. For instance, the lack of amp tone shaping limits the range of tones you can achieve. It’s also not suitable for super-scooped metal tones.
Despite these limitations, the Bugera V5 Infinium is still a great entry-level amp in the world of tube amps.
Check out the best combo amp for metal the Bugera V5 Infinium. This amp is ideal if you want to practice at bedroom levels while having genuine tube tones.
- Power: 5W, 1W, 0.1W
- Speaker: 1×8″
- Effects: Reverb
- Input: 1 x 1/4″ (Instrument)
- Outputs: 1 x 1/4″ Internal Speaker, 1 x 1/4″ Headphones
- Weight: 22.1 lbs.
Best Guitar Amp Under 300 – Soldano SLO Mini 30
Soldano SLO Mini 30
The SLO Mini delivers Soldanoโs famous overdrive in a portable, 30-watt amp head. Itโs perfect for players seeking boutique tone without the hefty price tag.
Pros:
- Excellent high-gain performance.
- Captures the classic Soldano tone.
- Versatile tone-shaping capability.
- Works well with pedals and different cabinet configurations.
- Small in size but delivers powerful performance.
- Clean tones are not that great.
- Difficult to adjust volume precisely at low levels.
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The Soldano SLO Mini is a compact version of the iconic SLO-100 high-gain amplifier. It is the perfect guitar amp for guitarists who prioritize portability without compromising on tone.
This 30-watt amp head delivers the classic Soldano sound that has been admired since 1986.
It features a 3-band EQ, gain, master, and presence controls, as well as Normal/Deep and Crunch/Overdrive switches. This allows for a wide range of tones, from rich cleans to high-octane metal leads.
Additionally, it includes an onboard fx loop, making it a versatile platform for pedals. For gigging musicians, the SLO Mini’s small size and light weight make it easy to transport.
But it still delivers significant volume through any cabinet, maintaining the articulate and harmonic-rich tone Soldano is known for.
Its control set is straightforward and familiar, especially to those who have used Soldano amps before. It offers plenty of options for shaping your sound to fit various music styles.
Whether you’re playing at home, in the studio, or live on stage, this amp is versatile and reliable. Guitarists who have used the SLO Mini appreciate its ability to replicate the signature Soldano high-gain tones and the quality of its clean amp sounds.
It integrates well with different guitars and effects pedals as well, making it a flexible choice for many setups.
Overall, the Soldano SLO Mini is a solid option if you’re looking for a powerful, portable amp that captures the essence of the classic Soldano sound.
- Power: 30W
- Speaker: None
- Effects: Presence
- Input: 1 x 1/4″
- Outputs: 2 x 1/4″ (8/16 ohm)
- Weight: 4 lbs.
Things to Consider When Buying an Electric Guitar Amp Under $300
Starting off, the thing to consider is the price. If you think this price range is a stretch, you may want to look at the best cheap guitar amps under 200. Alternatively, if you would like to go with something better, you may want to look at the best guitar amp under 500.
Amp Head vs Combo Amp
Amp heads are amplifiers without speakers built into them, and in the best amp under 300 come with a compact form factor. >b>This means that you’ll need to spend more on a compatible speaker cabinet to make it work, but it also means that you are free to pick the speaker you prefer, as long as it is compatible with the amp head.
Guitar combo amps combine both the amplifier and speaker(s) in a single cabinet, making them more practical and affordable. They provide all your guitar amplification needs in one unit. This also means that they are bulkier and heavier compared to amp heads, but when you factor in the weight of the speaker cabinet, they are equal.
Tube vs Solid-State or Digital
Tube amps are generally regarded as better sounding, but they are more fragile and often more expensive. So the lower the price range is, the harder it is to find good tube amps. Thankfully, there are still a few good ones, but they are mostly limited to compact and low-power rated models.
While some tone purists consider digital and solid-state amps to be inferior to tube amps in terms of tone, they cannot discount their practicality, affordability, and reliability.
There are also some good quality amps that combine the warmth of tubes with the flexibility of digital sound processing, also called hybrid amps. This is usually done by equipping the preamp section with actual tubes. Some of them have been rated high enough by guitarists to get featured in this guide. Electric guitars require more tone coloration than their acoustic counterparts, so an acoustic guitar amp like the Fishman Loudbox Mini won’t be ideal.
Amp Modeling & Effects
Modeling amps utilize DSP (Digital Sound Processing) to replicate the sound of many good guitar amps, adding sonic flexibility to what once were one-trick ponies. And since we are dealing with the best budget guitar amps here, the quality of amp models is not as good as that of more expensive modelers, but they are still good enough for practical use. Some of these best amps can even handle bass guitars to a reasonable degree.
Like amp modeling, many guitar amplifiers carry with them digital effects. Again, it’s unreasonable to compare the quality of these effects to expensive stompboxes, but they can provide the basic sonic variety that many musical styles require.
Power Rating and Speaker Size
The general idea is that power rating is proportionate to how loud the amp is, and since high power ratings also mean a higher cost, there aren’t that many guitar amps that are big and loud in the best amp under 300 price range. Thankfully, compact and low-power amps are quite popular because they are ideal for practice and small venue jams.
The same can be said about tube amps, where lower power makes it easier to crank the amp at lower volumes. Just don’t expect these best amps to give you full sound on stage. Also in line with power rating, there are some amps that feature power attenuation, where you can cut the power rating back to get cranked tones at lower volumes.
Speaker size affects sound clarity and projection, and obviously, they are limited by the size of the cabinet and the power of the amplifier. Smaller speakers have emphasized mids, which will appeal to a guitar player who plays blues. Bigger speakers are often preferred by those who want extra bass emphasis.
Connectivity
While they are of secondary importance, extra input/output options add to the overall functionality of amplifiers. An aux input allows you to play along with your favorite tracks, while a headphone output lets you practice quietly via headphones. Speaker output lets you use the amp with other guitar speaker cabinets, while DI output lets you connect straight to a PA speaker system or recording console. Many modern guitar amplifiers come with USB connectivity for direct computer recording and software control, while some even come with wireless streaming via Bluetooth. If you’re planning on using multiple amps, then you’ll need an ABY Pedal, which can split your signal to go to two different amps.
Best Amp Under 300 Selection Methodology
The first edition was published in 2018. The current edition was published in January 2025.
To be eligible for this guide an amp had to be either a guitar combo amplifier or Amp Head (no pedal amps were considered), have a street price between $200 and $300, and be available from a major US-based retailer.
To start our search for the best guitar amp under 300, we created a short list of 47 popular good quality amps that met the criteria, and then we collected retailer ratings, user reviews, and forum discussions about each one – which totaled more than 34,000 rating sources. We then processed that data with the Gearank Algorithm to produce rating scores out of 100 for each one which we then used to select the highest rated options in each category above. For more information about our methods see How Gearank Works.
About the Author and Contributors
Here are the key people and sources involved in this guide’s production – click on linked names for information about their music industry backgrounds.
Lead Author & Researcher
Contributors
Jerome Arcon: Co-Writer and Product Research
Daniel Barnett: Positive Grid Spark Review.
Jason Horton: Editing and Illustrating.
Media / Image Credit
Main/Top Image: Created by Gearank.com using photographs of the Vox MV50 Clean, Positive Grid Spark and Boss KATANA-50 MkII.
The individual product images were sourced from websites, promotional materials or supporting documentation provided by their respective manufacturers except for the Spark Controls and Spark App pictures which were taken by Daniel Barnett.
The videos have been embedded in accordance with YouTube’s Terms of Service.
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Comments:
7 responses
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The following amps came off the recommended list above when we published our August 2022 Edition:
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We have moved our recommendation for the Vox VT40X to our guide for The Best Guitar Amps Under $500 due to a price increase that put it above the $300 limit for this guide.
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Publication of the May 2021 Edition resulted in the following coming off our recommended list above – but you can still see our analysis of it: Roland Cube Street.
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We have removed the Marshall Origin5C from the recommended list above due to it being discontinued.
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The following amp has been removed due to a price increase putting it above this guide’s price limit, but you can still see our recommendation in the Modeling Amp guide: Marshall Code50.
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As a result of our April 2020 update the following amps came off our recommended list above, but you can still see our analysis of them:
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Today the following amp was removed from our recommended list above, due to having been discontinued, but you can still read our analysis of it: Blackstar HT-1.
More Guitar Amps
Disclosure
About the Author and Contributors
Here are the key people and sources involved in this guide's production - click on linked names for information about their music industry backgrounds.
Lead Author & Researcher
Alexander Briones
I have been writing about and researching music gear for many years, all while serving as a music director at my local church. I engage in guitar playing and singer-songwriter stints, in addition to mentoring young musicians and teaching guitar and bass.
Having used many different amps over the years, the 5 best guitar amps under 300 that I personally recommend are very similar to how real world ratings are trending. If you're looking for a good starter or step up amplifier, it's hard to go wrong with the ones in this list.
Contributors
Jerome Arcon: Co-Writer and Product Research
Daniel Barnett: Positive Grid Spark Review.
Jason Horton: Editing and Illustrating.
Media
Main/Top Image: Created by Gearank.com using photographs of the Vox MV50 Clean, Positive Grid Spark and Boss KATANA-50 MkII.
The individual product images were sourced from websites, promotional materials or supporting documentation provided by their respective manufacturers except for the Spark Controls and Spark App pictures which were taken by Daniel Barnett.
The videos have been embedded in accordance with YouTube's Terms of Service.
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