Vintage tweed Champs have been used on some of the most famous classic rock and blues songs ever, such as Eric Clapton’s Layla (though there is some debate as to whether it was a tweed or silverface champ), Joe Walsh’s Rocky Mountain Way, Aerosmith’s Shame, Shame, Shame and ZZ Top’s La Grange.

This amp is a custom shop reproduction of a vintage Fender Champ. The Weber speaker is designed specially for this amp in order to achieve the closest reproduction possible of vintage Champs. The amp also comes with a tube rectifier (a rectifier converts electricity between AC and DC, and most rectifiers are currently solid state), which helps to give that compressed tone and “bloom” you hear with vintage amps.

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

The coolest thing about this amp is that it makes a genuine tweed tone both affordable and reliable. Vintage amps are expensive, tweed amps especially, and tend to be fragile and prone to technical issues. But with the Fender Champ, you get a new amp (and all of the benefits that come with that) and a great vintage tone.

The Fender Blues Junior is arguably one of the most positively received low-wattage, mid-range tube amps currently produced. The amp packs an amount of quality that is almost jaw-dropping for the price it commonly retails at, making it one of the best “bang for your buck” amps currently around.

The Fender Blues Junior III Lacquered Tweed isn’t just stylistically different from the standard Blues Junior, it also packs a vintage voiced Jensen speaker. This speaker isn’t an upgrade (it’s also not worse, it’s best defined as a “side-grade”) over the modern voiced Eminence speaker found in the standard Blues Junior, but it definitely gives a great approximation of a vintage tone.

Specifications:

• Power Rating: 15-Watts
• Preamp Tube(s): 3x 12AX7
• Poweramp Tube(s): 2 x EL84
• Speaker: 12” Jensen C-12N
• Cabinet: Open
• Controls: Reverb, Master Volume, Middle, Bass, Treble, Fat Switch, Volume
• Input(s): Normal
• Output(s): Speaker Extension Out
• Weight: 31 lbs

The amp also comes with a “FAT boost” switch, which boosts mid-range frequencies when engaged. This helps to give the amp a bit more versatility, as the mid-range boost is great for adding additional gain and smoothness for solos and lead lines.

Lastly, the Fender Blues Junior III Lacquered Tweed also comes with genuine Fender spring reverb. Spring reverb is defined by its wet and shimmering tone. For an idea of how this reverb sounds, think of vintage surf music (though Fender reverb has been widely used by musicians across tons of genres).

The Vox AC15C1X is essentially the same amp as the Vox AC15C1 above, but with one key difference: the speaker. The C1X uses a Celestion Alnico Blue speaker, while the C1 uses a Celestion Greenback. Alnico Blue speakers have a more traditional Vox chime (think the tones of British bands like the Beatles). The Greenback speaker handles distortion a bit better and has a stronger low-end and mid-range response, while the Alnico Blue has more definition and a stronger high-end response. Blues are also more expensive than Greenbacks.

Looking beyond the Alnico Blue and Greenback debate, the amp is really solid on its own merits. At 15-watts you have enough headroom for clean tones at a decent volume, and you can still access overdriven tones at reasonable (though still loud) volumes.

Specifications:

• Power Rating: 15-Watts
• Preamp Tube(s): 3 x 12AX7
• Poweramp Tube(s): 2 x EL84
• Speaker: 12” Alnico Blues Speaker
• Cabinet: Open
• Controls: Gain, Treble, Bass, Volume, Hot/Cool switch
• Input(s): High, Low
• Output(s): External Out, Speaker Out
• Weight: 48.5 lbs

Like the C1, this amp comes with both reverb, tremolo, a clean channel, and a top boost channel. The tone controls are a bit limited when compared to other amps, but even with that in mind the amp is still really versatile. Outside of jazz and metal, there isn’t much that this amp can’t do exceptionally well.

The Orange OR15H 15W Compact Tube Guitar Amp Head is a vintage voiced compact tube amp. The standout feature of this amp is that it features switchable wattage (amp attenuation), allowing you to switch your amp from having the response and head room of a 15-watt tube amp to a 7-watt tube amp.

While this won’t dramatically change the peak volume, it does change the amp’s headroom. Basically, when the amp is switched to its 7-watt mode you can get organic tube distortion at significantly lower volumes than you could on the 15-watt version.

Specifications:

• Power Rating: 7 to 15-Watts
• Preamp Tube(s): 3 x 12AX7
• Poweramp Tube(s): 2 x EL84
• Controls: Volume, Bass, Middle, Treble, Gain
• Input(s): Normal
• Output(s): 16ohm Speaker Out, 8ohm Speaker Out, 2x16ohm Speaker Out
• Weight: 17.77 lbs

Beyond the wattage switch, this amp’s features are pretty minimalist. It doesn’t come with a boost or multiple channels, but you don’t necessarily need either of those depending on the gear you already have available to you and the tone you’re looking for. While having an onboard boost is helpful, you can get similar results with a boost pedal (which you can easily pick up for $30 or less) and a distortion pedal.

The Fender Super-Champ series is essentially a modeling amp bolted onto a standard tube amp. As far as versatility is concerned, nothing surpasses a modeling amp. The Super Champ is no exception, featuring 16 models and a variety of effects.

The cool thing about this amp is that you can dial in a ton of different tones and effects, and so long as you buy the footswitch you can switch between them remotely. The bad thing is that when you buy a modeling amp you do get a somewhat digital tone. However, this isn’t a deal breaker for a lot of people. Personally, my main amp is a Fender Mustang because the cleans are great, it doesn’t need any maintenance or expensive repairs, I can play it in my apartment and still get a good sound. I’ve done shows with it, I’ve recorded (only at an amateur level) with it, and I think it sounds pretty good.

Specifications:

• Power Rating: 15-Watts
• Preamp Tube(s): 1 x 12AX7
• Poweramp Tube(s): 2 x 6v6
• Controls: Volume 1, Channel Select, Gain, Volume 2, Voice, Treble, Bass, F/X Adjust, F/X Select, Tap Temp
• Input(s): Normal
• Output(s): Two Speaker Outs
• Weight: 18.5 lbs

So really, it’s an issue of what you want. If you want to cover as many genres as possible you’ll really like this amp, because it can do an approximation of almost everything. However, if you’re looking for an amp to play a particular genre (or a group of closely related ones) you’ll be happier with an amp that’s built for that purpose.