As with almost all guitar gear, amplifier prices are coming down, and quality is going up rapidly. As a result, there’s never been a better time to be an amplifier shopper on a budget.
For those on the tightest budgets, finding a cheap amp that’s genuinely good may seem a daunting task at first, but we’ve got you covered. In this Guide we rounded up the 5 best amplifiers under $300 on the market today. As with all of our amp reviews, we looked specifically for build quality, features, and tones
Our top pick in this roundup is a rare find indeed – a quality all tube amp that slips in well under the $300 budget. The Bugera V5 Infinium is a powerful unit that delivers quality tones, and looks frankly excellent!
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Budget conscious shoppers will love our best budget pick, the Blackstar Fly 3 Bluetooth. This tiy amp delivers big across the board; it sounds great, it’s highly portable, and it even features Bluetooth connectivity.
If you’re just looking for the best possible amp under $300, we think you can’t go wrong with our Editor’s Choice, the Boss Katana 50 MKII. This amp has reigned supreme in the compact combo modeling scene for years now, and it doesn’t look like any new challengers are equipped to take the crown, either.
This amp delivers big on vintage styling and classic tube tones. It looks great, and features some clever technology to reduce wear and tear on the tubes, effectively extending their lifespan, and giving you even more enjoyment from the fantastic organic crunch.
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The Bugera V5 Infinium is a 5-watt, Class AB guitar amplifier with a 12AX7 preamp tube and an EL84 power tube, making it much more powerful (in reality) than most of the amps on this list, despite having a lower listed power rating (full review here).
Build quality was absolutely solid all around. We liked the vintage vibe, with classic black tolex around the main part of the body, and the off white panel up front giving it a distinctive look. It had a single 8” speaker, which worked really well at delivering a wide frequency response.
Played without any FX, we found that it had plenty of headroom, making it a great option for those looking for a solid clean amplifier. With this headroom we were able to get some great sounds with pedals, too, with no real coloration of the FX units’ inherent character.
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With the gain cranked, we managed to get some pretty gnarly organic crunch and distortion, and the best part – because it’s just a 5 watt amp, the crunch was extremely usable at lower volumes.
Assisting in the useability at bedroom levels was the built in attenuator. The V5 Infinium allowed us to turn the power down to 1 watt, which gave us even more opportunity to dirty up the tones, all at socially acceptable volumes.
It had a really nice reverb feature, too. The reverb was natural sounding, and gave us some great ambience to our tone without coming across “digital”, something that often puts us off on cheaper tube amps.
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Seems to defy convention when you stop to think about the fact you’re getting a fantastic all tube amp for such little money. The tones were excellent, it had some great features, and as far as build quality goes, it’s bulletproof. Whether you need your amp for practice, jamming, gigging, or recording, this Bugera really punches above its price tag.
This might technically be considered a micro amp, but it’s no toy. It features many of the same features found on larger Blackstar models, albeit in a much smaller package. It offers exceptional sound quality, multiple channels, tape delay, and even the ability to switch between British and American tone.
The Blackstar Fly 3, as you might guess from its name, packs 3 watts into a tiny battery powered package. Despite the low power, we found it to be a solid performer across the board (full review here). It was constructed from a sturdy ABS type plastic, and being a portable amp, it was clearly built to be able to take some knocks.
Best Guitar Amp Under $300
We really liked the simple control layout. The panel was top mounted for easy access, and had controls for volume and gain, as well as delay time and level. The EQ control took the form of an ISF knob; ISF stands for infinite shape feature, and it took the tone from a moody, bass heavy British tone, to a bright, sparkly American sound.
Tonally speaking, it delivered crisp, clear tones, with a pretty broad frequency range which was incredible considering it had just a 3” speaker. It kept its composure across the volume range in both the clean and overdrive channels, and gave us some really nice crunch with the gain cranked.
If you need an amp with basic FX, then the tape delay on the Fly 3 won’t disappoint. It had 2 axis control, giving us the ability to modify both the delay level and length, which was far more than we would have expected from such a small unit.
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Is a fantastic choice that comes in significantly under budget, leaving you more money freed up for either a better guitar, or all the accessories you could ever need if you’re in the market for a full package. Its tones are sharp and offer great variety, and surprisingly, it even takes pedals well. It’s about as portable as amps get, and it’s very deserving of the best budget title.
This is a full featured amp that truly works for players of all levels. It provides the flexibility, versatility, and feature set necessary to work as everything from a practice amp, to a recording input, to a rig for small gigs.
The first time we got our hands on a Boss Katana 50 MKII (for our full review) we were floored to find out that it was less than $500, let alone less than $300. From the enormous feature set, to the build quality and tones, it really doesn’t get better in the sub $300 category.
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The build quality exceeded that of much more expensive amps we’ve had on the test bench. Everything about the construction was rock solid, which meant no knocks or rattles, even when all 50 watts were being pushed through the 12” Boss special design speaker. The built in attenuator was also incredibly useful, allowing us to switch between 50, 25, and 0.5 watts – this was great for shifting between bedroom and jam volume levels without impacting the tone or having to adjust any EQ.
As for ease of use, despite the fact that it was a full featured modeling amp, the top mounted panel was simple to navigate, and offered tons of control over every aspect of the amp’s capabilities, from EQ through to FX. We’ve seen tons of modeling amps over the years, and we’re yet to find one in the price range with a more cohesive control layout.
The built in models of the Katana 50 were all great. So, while there are tens of thousands of models available to download from the huge online Katana community, if you don’t want to get into that side of things, the standard selection is more than sufficient. The 5 models that come on this amp out of the box are Acoustic, Clean, Crunch, Lead, and Brown. They range from glassy clean, all the way through to gut punching chug, making this easily the most dynamic amp in the roundup.
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We also loved the built in effects selection. There were 60 built into the amp, and like the amp models, there are thousands more to download, or to build yourself in the Boss Tone Studio companion app.
Brings so much to the table, and all for under $300! It offers enough power to jam or play small gigs, while still retaining enough fidelity to play with great tone at bedroom volumes thanks to the built in attenuator, and the amp models and built in FX mean that pedals aren’t even necessary. The USB out adds even more versatility, and the impeccable build quality ensures you’ll be enjoying this amp for many years to come.
If you’re as interested in the looks of your amp as you are in the tones, then this is a fantastic choice for you. It’s one of the best looking desktop amps on the market, and being a Yamaha, build quality and great tones are assured.
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The Yamaha THR5 is a truly compact amp, and despite its diminutive size, it still put out 10 watts by way of a pair of 3” speakers (full review here). This was ideal for practice at bedroom levels, but it wasn’t really sufficient for jamming with a band. On the plus side, it did boast a USB output, which let us use it as a recording interface.
It had 5 amp voicings built into the unit, including Clean, Crunch, Lead, Brit Hi, and Modern. From these amp models we got a great range of tones! The clean setting was crisp, with a nice frequency balance, the crunch setting
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