When it comes to playing in a band and being on the road, having a great guitar amp is the key to sounding amazing, without having the drummer be louder than you.
And since gigging often requires traveling, you definitely don’t want an amp that’s too heavy to lug around. I mean, let’s face it, you’ve got other gear to worry about too.
Small amps are really light, but may not be loud enough for jamming with your band while on gigs. Big stack amps are huge and are definitely not convenient to lug around.
By all means, if you’re playing in a stadium, then yes, you’ll need something bigger like that. But for the rest of us who perform in smaller clubs and venues, both convenience and sound go hand in hand.
In this buyer’s guide, we narrowed it down to the top 5 best performing guitar amps that are perfect for gigging.
A few of the amps on this list are even perfect for both home use and gigs, by simply hooking up headphones.
What you’ll also find, is that you don’t have to spend thousands of dollars on equipment just for rocking out with your band at a gig.
Table of Contents
Best Overall Gigging Amp - Editor's Pick
The Fender Champion 100 amp makes for an awesome gigging amp for small clubs and venues.
This amp also has an aux input and a headphone jack so you can plug your headphones into it and jam away to your favorite tracks.
This amp also features dual 12″ specially designed speakers and a few nice guitar effects as well.
Effects include reverb, chorus, tremolo, and delay just to name a few. This makes it very easy to dial into the specific genre of music or tone that you are looking for.
We picked this amp as our favorite because of its versatility, which makes it perfect for the stage, studio, or for home use. It’s also a very affordable amp, perfect for a musician’s budget.
- When ‘burying’ your drummer in volume is important, the 100 watts thrown out of 2 – 12” Fender special designed speakers will get your point across.
- Jam along with your favorite tracks by simply plugging your MP3 player into the Auxiliary input and you instantly become part of the band and /or practice privately with the 1/8th headphone output jack that also mutes the speaker output.
- Toggle between 100 Watts of clean or mean from the 2 channels with the kick of a footswitch during a stage or studio performance.
- Explore many very usable musical tones from the many amp classic to modern amp voicing’s and the various spacial effects such as digital reverb, chorus, delay and vibratone.
- Limited Warranty Included.1/8 inch aux input
Last update on 2024-09-16 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
Best Gigging Amp for Bass Guitar
Founded in 1968, Orange Amps has been making quality guitar amplifiers for numerous years, and the Orange Crush 100-watt bass amp is no exception. This powerful amp features a heavy-duty 15-inch speaker with all-analog power.
This Orange Crush bass amp also features top-quality EQ circuitry, which makes them really stand out from the rest of the bass amps on the market today.
The midrange EQ features a parametric frequency sweep and the bass EQ provides a nice boost.
Other features of this cool amp include a tuner, aux input, headphone jack, and a buffered effects loop.
So not only can you jam with the band, but you can also plug your headphones in and get some quality practice time at home or on the road as well.
- Active 3 Band EQ
- Parametric Mid Control
- Bi Amp Inspired Blend and Gain Controls (Foot switchable)
- Balanced Output
- Buffered Effects Loop
Last update on 2024-09-16 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
Best Gigging Amp for Acoustic Guitar
The Fender Acoustic 100 amp is the creme of the crop when it comes to gigging amps for acoustic guitar.
It has a beautiful wooden shell that will complement any acoustic guitar. Not only that, but it gives you 100 amazing watts through an 8″ speaker.
This is the perfect system for going it alone or playing with your bandmates. But one of our favorite features is its Bluetooth wireless streaming capability and universal voltage options, which makes it a great option for traveling abroad for gigs.
- The Fender Acoustic Guitar Amplifier features 100 Watts, 14Hx18.5Wx9.25D inches
- Two channels designed for instrument or microphone use deliver studio-quality effects
- The 8 inch full-range speaker with "whizzer" cone delivers enhanced clarity
- Take convenience to another level with Bluetooth wireless streaming
- 2 Year Limited Warranty: Fender amplifiers are designed for players and built with unmatched quality, down to the last screw—Fender warrants this amplifier to be free from defects in materials and workmanship for two (2) years from original purchase
Last update on 2024-09-16 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
Best Gigging Amp for Clean Tone
The Roland Jazz Chorus line-up of guitar amps has some of the cleanest sounding tones you could possibly get when it comes to loud amps for gigging.
It is universally recognized by professional guitarists and sound engineers as being the grandaddy of clean guitar sound.
But don’t let the name of this amplifier fool you, because you can use this guitar amp for any style of music and it still sounds amazing.
It features 2 twelve inch silver cone speakers that blast out 120 watts of nice clean guitar sound.
It also has built-in vibrato, distortion, and spring reverb allowing total overall control of your tone.
This amp also has two input channels and a stereo effects loop for connecting your pedals.
- Legendary flagship of the Roland Jazz Chorus series since 1975
- Historic “JC clean” tone and signature Dimensional Space Chorus effect
- Powerful 120-watt stereo amp with two 12-inch “silver cone” speakers
- Two input channels (Normal and Effect), each with three-band EQ and bright on/off
- Built-in vibrato, distortion, and authentic spring reverb
Last update on 2024-09-16 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
Best Budget Gigging Amp
The Marshall Code 50 is a great amp for both home use and small gigs. It’s also very lightweight, making it highly portable.
And if you haven’t already noticed, it’s also very appealing to the eye and gives a great guitar tone.
What’s equally amazing is its wide array of pre-sets which include distortion, compressor, wah, chorus, tremolo, and a whole lot more. This will definitely give you some good control of your overall tone.
This budget amp is usually under $300, which makes it perfect for someone just starting out or for those of us who need a good quality sound without going broke.
And plus, it’s a Marshall! You can’t go wrong with a Marshall amp, especially at a budget price.
- 50-watt Modeling Guitar Amplifier with 12" Speaker
- 4 Digital Power Amp Models
- 14 Digital Preamp Models
- Bluetooth Connectivity
- Speaker Emulation
Last update on 2024-09-16 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
