The AC15 is the quintessential Vox guitar amp, and arguably the sound of the 60's British Invasion. Its bigger brother, the AC30 was designed to compete with growing stage (and crowd) volumes. While the small but powerful voice of the AC15 gave rise to many electrified groups in the 60s.

Today, this tube amp retains the Class A flavor it is famous for while employing more consistent construction and materials. It has a bright voicing that can be too bright for some. Thankfully, it has a tone cut control that lets you shave off some of the excess highs.

Compared to vintage Vox amps, the Greenback speaker gives it a more modern tonality. This gives it a tighter bottom end. It still has the same clarity and chimey tone as the original, but more open and overdrive friendly.

This makes the AC15C1 more versatile than what you'd normally expect from a vintage AC15. For a more traditional sounding speaker look at the AC15C1X instead.

It can get quite loud for a 15 watt amp, but it's not advisable to drive this amp too much, as it loses some of its clarity at high volumes. If you need more projection, better go for the more powerful AC30 version.

All in all, the AC15C1 is the best low watt tube amp for fans of Vox Tone. It has everything you need for a vintage 60s style tone. With reverb and tremolo, many classic sounds can be achieved from The Beatles to The Shadows and beyond. It's the best clean amp for modern indie rock chime and jangle as well.

Specifications

• Power Rating: 15-Watts
• Preamp Tube(s): 3 x12AX7
• Poweramp Tube(s): 2 x EL84
• Speaker: 12” Celestion G12M Greenback
• Cabinet: Open
• Controls: Master Volume, Master Tone, Tremolo Depth, Tremolo Speed, Reverb Level, Top Boost Bass, Top Boost Treble, Top Boost Volume, Normal Volume
• Input(s): Normal, Top Boost
• Output(s): External Loudspeaker Jack, Extension Loudspeaker Jack
• Weight: 48.5 lbs
• Suitable for: Classic Rock, Blues, Indie, Alternative

Since 1948, the Fender Champ 5 Watt tube amp has been a practice and recording standard for many blues and country artists.

It's been used on several iconic recordings such as Eric Clapton’s "Layla", Joe Walsh’s "Rocky Mountain Way", Aerosmith’s "Shame, Shame, Shame" and ZZ Top’s "La Grange".

Many players of this generation, like jazz guitarist Julian Lage, have also found their voice in the Champ. It's one of the most instantly recognizable small Fender amplifiers.

This valve amp is a custom shop reproduction of a vintage Fender Champ, as such build quality is top-notch. It also means that it hits the mark when it comes to tone, albeit at a higher price tag. Even the Weber speaker used is designed especially to be as accurate to the originals as possible.

This small fender amp also comes with a tube rectifier. A rectifier converts electricity between AC and DC (most rectifiers are currently solid state). This helps produce the compressed tone and “bloom” common with these designs.

At 5 watts, it is not intended to be a main stage amp, although there have been acts that use it live by miking it up. It is one of the smallest and lowest in wattage on our recommended list.

The 57' Custom Champ also competes as the best low watt tube amp for recording. It gives you big league tweed tone in a small Fender amp.

This experience is usually reserved for those who can pay top dollar for a vintage model. The 57' Custom Champ is the best 5 Watt tube amp in this price range. It makes the classic tone more accessible for the rest of us who just want to plug in and play.

It may not be enough for a loud band in live use. But for practice, recording, or playing a light jazz gig, the 57' Custom Champ is a small tube amp that packs a punch.

Specifications

• Power Rating: 5-Watts
• Preamp Tube(s): 1 x 12AY7
• Poweramp Tube(s): 1 x 6V6
• Speaker: 1x8” Weber Special Design with Alnico Magnet
• Cabinet: Open
• Controls: Volume
• Input(s): Normal, Bright
• Output(s): N/A
• Weight: 15 lbs
• Suitable for: Classic Rock, Blues

The Monoprice Stage Right 611705 is a compact 5 watt tube amp that has similar innards to the iconic Fender Champ, but at a more affordable price.

This small tube amp sports a 12AX7 preamp tube and a 6V6GT power tube, and it drives an 8" Celestion Super 8 speaker. This combination gives you genuine tube amp tones that you can enjoy at lower volumes, and at a substantially lower cost.

This 5Watt amp only has two knobs, volume, and tone. Tone behaves like an EQ, while the volume knob serves as the gain knob. Like old tube amps, raising the amp's volume knob adds grit and overdrive to the tone. You can then clean up the tone by dialing down the volume knob on your guitar.

To steer away from being a straight-up clone, it has a distinct "input selection switch", it works like a power attenuator but with a twist. The switch lets you choose between 5 watt and 1-watt power ratings. The 5 watt tube amp setting is easier to overdrive and has restricted lows to reduce low end "mud". The 1-watt tube amp setting has a full range clean sound.

Given its 5 watt rating, this amp is meant for more intimate use, like quiet practice and recording. It doesn't have enough volume for rehearsals, let alone stage use. Don't let this discourage you as I still think it's the best tube amp for home use.

This guitar combo amplifier is housed in a cabinet with a rear port. And it comes with simple vintage-style aesthetics. Given the price, don't expect it to have premium components and features like genuine hand wired circuitry.

All these perks and quirks make it the best low watt practice amp in this price point.

Specifications

• Power Rating: 5 Watts
• Preamp Tube(s): 1x ECC83/12AX7
• Poweramp Tube(s): 1x 6V6GT
• Speaker: 1 x 8” Celestion Super 8
• Cabinet: Open Back
• Controls: Volume, Tone, Power Attenuator (5W/1W)
• Input(s): 1/4"
• Output(s): External Loudspeaker Jack
• Weight: 13.2 lbs
• Suitable for: Rock, Blues, Indie, Alternative

For Bruce Egnater, the number one influence of a guitar amplifier's tone is the tone stack. The Egnater Tweaker series was originally planned to be a modular amplifier with different swappable components.

Down the line, Bruce Egnater decided to use toggle switches to enable the user to choose between a British, American, or AC (Marshall, Fender, and Vox respectively) tone stack. In addition, A "vintage/modern" switch, a "normal/bright" switch, and a "tight/deep" switch provide additional options for tonal customization.

And tone customization is exactly what this amp is for, allowing for a wide range of parameter control while retaining genuine tube and analog circuitry. More importantly, all the tones and voicings sound good and respond really well. The Tweaker 15W does all this while retaining a small profile and a very accessible price tag. The 15 watt amp also looks classier than it actually is.

Being a single channel amp with no digital brain. So there is no amp modeling, channel switching, or preset management. This means that there is no way to instantly change the amp voicing. This limits its versatility in live performances but isn't much of an issue when recording or practicing.

If tone customization is high on your list, and you want to do so without resorting to digital technology, then the Egnater Tweaker head is for you. It's the best clean amp to use as a pedal platform.

Specifications

• Power Rating: 15-Watts
• Preamp Tube(s): 3 x 12AX7
• Poweramp Tube(s): 2 x 6V6
• Controls: Master Volume, Gain, Bass, Mid, Treble, Voicing Switch
• Input(s): Normal
• Output(s): Main Speaker Out, Extension Speaker Out (for a second cabinet)
• Weight: 19.6 lbs
• Suitable for: Classic Rock, Blues, Indie, Alternative

The Rocker 15 terror is a lunchbox sized amp head with true 2-channel operation, melding aspects of the Tiny/Dual terror and the higher gain Rockerverb.

The clean channel is a straightforward clean-to-grit affair with no other controls except volume. Its warmth allows it to be a good platform for pedals.

Channel 2 has a three-band equalizer and goes from light crunch to thick and sludgy doom metal tones. At lower gain settings, the warmth of the crunch is unmistakably Orange, but this 15 watt amp really bares its fangs at higher gain settings.

Unlike other high gain amplifiers that focus on tight modern metal, the Rocker 15 Terror sounds more along the lines of early Sabbath and other saturated 70s metal tones. Modern incarnations of sludge and doom metal are more in line with the brand of tone the Rocker 15 presents.

Warmer sounding modern rock tones are also easily achievable via the controls. Controls are a bit limited, but they are very responsive, especially the EQ. This allows for good tone shaping right on the amp.

Those who prefer tighter tones will not be too happy with the Rocker 15 Terror's loose feel with palm mutes. And while the neutral sounding clean tone is good for pedals, it's a bit too plain sounding for those who prefer sparkling cleans.

It also features a tube buffered effects loop to incorporate other pedals like reverb and delay without saturating the preamp.

The Rocker 15 Terror lives up to its name: it was made to do rock and it does so exceedingly well. If you want a low-watt amp that gets your "nasty face" on doing big classic rock power chords, this is the amp to get.

Specifications

• Power Rating: 7 to 15-Watts
• Preamp Tube(s): 3 x 12AX7, 1 x 12AT7
• Poweramp Tube(s): 2 x XEL84
• Controls: Channel 1 - Volume, Channel 2 - Volume, Bass, Mid, Treble, Gain
• Input(s): 1 x 1/4", 1 x 1/4" (channel)
• Output(s): 2 x 1/4" (8 ohm), 1 x 1/4" (16 ohm)
• Misc: Tube Buffered Effects Loop
• Weight: 14.1 lbs.
• Suitable for: Modern Rock, Alternative, Punk, Metal