7 Best Clean Guitar Amps of 2024

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Clean guitar amplifiers are crucial for any guitarist, especially for those who prioritize pristine, undistorted tones in their music.

These amps are revered for their ability to reproduce the natural sound of the guitar with exceptional clarity and precision.

Whether you're a jazz guitarist aiming for smooth, warm tones, a country player looking for twangy brilliance, or a versatile musician seeking a blank canvas for your effects pedals, clean guitar amps are indispensable.

So, let’s take a look at some of the best clean guitar amps you can buy right now!

Our top pick is the Fender ‘65 Deluxe Reverb because it’s an absolute classic amp with fantastic sound and a stunning vintage look.

Best Clean Guitar Amps

1. Our Top Pick – Fender ‘65 Deluxe Reverb

SPECS

• Type: Tube
• Speakers: 2 x 12" Jensen C-12K
• Wattage: 22W

Played on countless hit recordings for decades now, the mid-'60s Deluxe Reverb is a timeless Fender classic and one of the most indispensable workhorse guitar amps ever made.

This reissue of the classic 1965 Fender Deluxe Reverb faithfully captures the vintage charm and legendary sound that made the original so revered.

The '65 Deluxe Reverb is renowned for its sparkling, pristine clean tones and classic American rock sound. Its 22-watt, all-tube design, powered by a pair of 6V6 tubes, delivers rich, lush cleans that are ideal for a wide range of musical genres, from rock and blues to country and jazz.

This tube amp is equipped with Fender's classic spring reverb and tube-driven vibrato effects. The reverb provides a lush, spacious ambiance, while the vibrato adds a subtle, pulsating modulation to your sound.

It has two channels, Normal and Vibrato. The Normal channel provides pristine clean tones, while the Vibrato channel adds the aforementioned vibrato effect. Both channels share the same EQ controls, including Treble, Bass, Reverb, and Speed/Intensity for the Vibrato.

The Deluxe Reverb's compact size and manageable weight make it a great choice for gigging musicians. This perfect amp is loud enough to cut through in live performances but can also be used in studio settings just like its predecessor '65 Princeton Reverb by Fender.

2. Best Value – Fender Pro Junior IV

SPECS

• Type: Tube
• Speakers: 1 x 10" Jensen P10R
• Wattage: 15W

Long-revered by players of all stripes, the 15-watt Pro Junior IV adds a modified volume circuit and a classic tweed appearance to this workhorse amplifier.

The Pro Junior IV follows a minimalist design philosophy. It's a single-channel amp with basic controls, making it incredibly user-friendly. This simplicity is part of its charm, allowing you to focus on your playing without getting lost in a sea of knobs and switches.

Like many classic Fender amps, the Pro Junior IV is a tube amplifier. It's powered by a pair of EL84 power tubes and two 12AX7 preamp tubes, which contribute to its warm and responsive tone and classic sound.

This great amp offers 15 watts of power, which may seem modest compared to some high-powered amps, but it's more than enough for small to medium-sized gigs and studio recordings.

The lower wattage also means you can achieve power tube saturation at lower volumes, making it great for cranking up the overdrive.

Weighing in at only about 23 pounds (10.4 kg), the Pro Junior IV is highly portable and easy to transport to gigs or jam sessions.

A compact and straightforward tone machine, this Fender amp is ideal for performing guitarists who need great tone and remarkably touch-sensitive dynamic response.

3. Premium Choice – Dr. Z Z Wreck Jr.

SPECS

• Type: Tube
• Speakers: 1 x 12" Celestion G12M Greenback
• Wattage: 15W

Entering production 10 years ago, the original Z Wreck amplifier has reached somewhat of a legendary status among Z players.

As a half-powered sibling of the original Z Wreck, the Z Wreck Jr. is ideal for studios and small clubs, offering players a more portable option without compromising on sound quality.

The Dr. Z Z Wreck Jr. is a boutique guitar amplifier meticulously hand-wired to ensure exceptional build quality, vintage-inspired design, and impressive versatility of sound.

The Z Wreck Jr. delivers 20 watts of all-tube power, making it suitable for a variety of performance settings, from small clubs to studio recording.

While it's known for its excellent clean tones, the Z Wreck Jr. can also produce smooth and harmonically rich overdrive when you push the volume and gain controls, making it versatile for various music genres.

This powerful amp includes built-in reverb and tremolo effects, adding lush ambiance and modulation to your sound.

This tube amp features a vintage-style tone stack with controls for Volume, Treble, Mid, Bass, and Cut. These controls provide a wide range of tonal shaping options, making it an incredibly versatile amp that allows you to tailor your sound to your liking.

4. Best for Pedals – Supro 1968RK Keeley

SPECS

• Type: Tube
• Speakers: 1 x 12" Celestion G12M-65
• Wattage: 25W

The Supro 1968RK Keeley is a special edition amplifier that brings together the classic Supro sound with the renowned pedal designer Robert Keeley's expertise. This unique tube combo amp was literally built as the perfect platform for your pedalboard. 

The Keeley Custom 12 features the legendary Celestion G12M-65 Creamback speaker, developed in the mid-1960s and beloved by the biggest guitar players in history. It produces a vintage, woody tone while still offering major power, perfect for modern amps.

This 25-watt all-tube amp features two ECC83S preamp tubes and two 6V6GT power tubes, making it loud enough to be heard in a band context but can also be dialed down for recording or home practice.

The amp's preamp and 2-band EQ section are voiced perfectly for running your gain pedals in front of the amp while still maintaining Supro’s signature midrange heft and phenomenal touch dynamics—a low-end heft that complements warm and vocal mid-range, with crunchy upper-mids and sweet, articulate highs.

Designed to be the perfect platform for pedal aficionados, the Keeley Custom 12 features a transparent effects loop, allowing players to inject their modulation effects directly into the all-tube signal path, avoiding unwanted distortion and delivering a sweet, clear effect-pedal tone. I recommend that you try pairing it with Keeley's Katana pedal for even cleaner sound.

5. Best for Jazz – Roland JC-120 Jazz Chorus

SPECS

• Type: Solid State
• Speakers: 2 x 12"
• Wattage: 2 x 60W

First introduced way back in 1975, the Roland JC-120 Jazz Chorus is certainly an iconic clean guitar amp. Known as the “king of clean,” Roland’s long-standing flagship is universally recognized by pros as the benchmark in clean guitar sound.

The standout feature of the JC-120 is its built-in stereo chorus effect. It produces a lush, shimmering chorus that is synonymous with the "JC" sound. The stereo output creates a spacious and three-dimensional clean tone that's perfect for jazz, ambient, and clean pop music.

This moderately-powered amp has two 60-watt amplifiers, each driving a 12-inch speaker. This dual-amp configuration contributes to its pristine clean sound, high headroom, and the ability to project your guitar tone with clarity even at high volumes.

Roland's Jazz Chorus amp features a 3-band EQ and two channels, one for clean tones and another for distortion. The clean channel is where the JC-120 shines, offering a crystal-clear and transparent canvas for your guitar pedals or the stereo chorus effect.

The amp's stereo input and output capabilities make it ideal for stereo effects setups and panning effects across the stereo field. It's one of the most versatile amps for players who want to explore spatial and ambient guitar tones.

6. Budget Pick – Vox Pathfinder 10

SPECS

• Type: Solid State
• Speakers: 1 x 6.5″ Vox Bulldog
• Wattage: 10W

The Vox Pathfinder 10 is a popular and highly regarded guitar amplifier known for its quality sound, compact size, and affordability. It offers a range of features that make it a great choice for practice and small gigs.

This little Vox amp captures the essence of classic, full-sized Vox amps, known for their distinctive, chimey clean tones. It delivers a British-inspired vintage sound that's great for rock, pop, and blues styles.

The Vox Pathfinder 10 is incredibly compact and lightweight, making it easy to transport and ideal for musicians on the go. It's a perfect choice for home practice, jamming with friends, or small gigs.

While not extremely powerful, the 10-watt output is great for practice and small venues. It provides enough volume for bedroom practice and can even hold its own in an intimate jam session.

The control panel includes a basic 2-band EQ section with controls for Bass and Treble and a Clean/Overdrive switch that allows you to toggle between a pristine clean tone and a gritty, overdriven tone. It provides great versatility, allowing you to experiment with different styles and sounds.

The headphone output is a valuable feature for silent practice, allowing you to play without disturbing others, making it ideal for late-night or private practice sessions.

7. Best Under $1000 – EVH 5150 Iconic Series 40-Watt

SPECS

• Type: Tube
• Speakers: 1 x 12" EVH Celestion Custom
• Wattage: 40W

The EVH 5150 Iconic Series 40-Watt amplifier is part of the EVH Iconic Series, known for capturing the spirit of classic Van Halen tones. It's a versatile and powerful amplifier with several standout features that cater to a wide range of players.

The EVH 5150 Iconic Series is designed to emulate the legendary guitar tones of Eddie Van Halen. It captures the essence of his iconic sound, making it a go-to choice for fans and players looking to replicate those classic tones.

Delivering 40 watts of power, it provides ample volume for rehearsals and gigs while remaining suitable as a practice amp. It strikes a balance between power and portability.

The EVH 5150 Iconic Series features built-in effects, including reverb, delay, and chorus, allowing you to enhance your tone and add depth to your sound without the need for external pedals.

A unique Resonance control knob allows you to adjust the low-frequency response, tailoring the amp's response to your preferences and the acoustics of your playing environment.

A power scaling feature that allows you to adjust the wattage from 40 watts down to 1 watt, 3-band EQ Bluetooth Connectivity, a built-in noise gate, and footswitch compatibility make the EVH 5150 one of the best guitar amps on the market.

Best Clean Guitar Amps Buyer's Guide

When shopping for a clean guitar amp, there are several important factors to consider to ensure that it’s able to maintain a clean tone even at higher volumes.

Still, clean guitar tones can be quite diverse, so it's essential to know what to look for so you can find the right amp to suit your needs and preferences.

Headroom

The first thing you should consider, since it’s the factor that that will affect how an amp performs with pedals, is the headroom.

Headroom refers to the available margin of power or signal handling capability an audio system or amplifier has before it begins to distort or clip. In essence, it's the space or "headroom" between the maximum signal level an amplifier can handle cleanly and the point at which distortion occurs.

Having ample headroom leads to cleaner, more transparent sound reproduction, especially in situations where the audio source has a wide dynamic range, like orchestral music or percussive instruments.

So, in the case of a clean guitar amp, you should look for an amp with high headroom, as this will ensure that the signal is clean even when pushed to high dB levels.

Tube vs. Solid-State vs. Modeling

Tube Amps

Tube amps (also known as valve amps) are renowned for their warm, organic sound and for producing harmonically rich, responsive, and dynamic clean tones. Many iconic clean guitar tones in jazz, blues, and classic rock have been created using tube amps.

However, tube amps are generally heavier and more expensive than solid-state alternatives.

Solid-State Amps

Solid-state guitar amps use semiconductor components (transistors) to amplify the signal. They are known for their reliability and clean, transparent sound. Solid-state amps can provide pristine and uncolored clean tones.

On the other hand, solid-state amps may lack the harmonic complexity and warmth of a tube amp. They also have a limited ability to naturally overdrive for classic tube-style distortion, but if you’re looking for a strictly clean amp, this shouldn’t be an issue.

Modeling Amps

A modeling amp uses digital technology to emulate the sound of various amplifier types, including tube and solid-state, and often offers a wide range of clean tones, effects, and amp simulations in one unit.

So, while you can get a clean guitar amp sound, some players may find digital emulations lack the nuance of real tubes, not to mention that quality can vary among different modeling amps.

It’s crucial to consider your tonal preferences and budget before you choose among these different types of amps. Whenever possible, test the amp with your own guitar and pedals to ensure it delivers the clean tones you desire and responds well to your playing style.

Single-Channel vs. Multi-Channel

Single-Channel Amps

Single-channel amps are straightforward and easy to use, making them ideal for players who prefer a no-frills approach to their sound. You set your clean tone and focus on your playing.

They also tend to provide a pure, uncolored representation of your tone. This can be especially important if you want to preserve the natural sound of your guitar and rely on your playing technique for expression.

For a consistent, pristine clean tone, a single-channel amp tailored to that specific sound can be an excellent choice. It allows you to achieve "the" clean tone you desire.

Multi-Channel Amps

Multi-channel amplifiers provide the flexibility to switch between different clean tones and gain levels. This versatility is valuable if you play in various musical styles or require different clean tones within a single performance.

If your repertoire includes songs with both clean and overdriven sections, a multi-channel amp allows you to seamlessly transition between the two without needing additional gear.

Some multi-channel amps come with built-in effects like reverb and chorus, enhancing your clean tones and reducing the need for external pedals.

Many multi-channel amps feature preset storage, enabling you to save and recall your preferred clean tones for different songs or recording sessions.

Wattage & Power

Wattage refers to the amp's power output or the amount of electrical energy converted into sound. The wattage of an amplifier plays a vital role in determining its volume, headroom, and how it responds to your playing dynamics.

In general, amplifiers with higher wattage produce louder sound levels. A higher-wattage amp can deliver more volume, making it suitable for larger venues, outdoor performances, and scenarios where you need to be heard over a loud band.

As we mentioned before, headroom is the amplifier's ability to handle dynamic peaks without distorting. Amps with higher wattage typically have more headroom, allowing them to stay clean and undistorted at higher volume levels.

Lower-wattage amplifiers tend to reach their maximum clean volume relatively quickly, making it easier to push them into overdrive or distortion at manageable volume levels. If you are also looking for a more compact amp, read our high-quality mini amps reviews.

The combination of wattage and speaker size/configuration affects an amplifier's overall sound. Smaller speakers may break up and distort more quickly than larger speakers, even in low-wattage amps.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Do all guitar amps produce the same clean sound?

No, not all guitar amps have the same clean sound. In fact, clean tones can vary significantly between different amplifier models and types.

Several factors contribute to the differences in clean sound among guitar amplifiers, such as the amp type, components, speakers, EQ, and build quality, among many others.

What are the benefits of using a clean guitar amp as a pedal platform?

Using a clean amplifier as a pedal platform, also known as a "clean canvas," has several benefits for guitarists who rely on effects pedals to shape and enhance their tone.

Essentially, clean amplifiers provide a neutral and transparent foundation for your pedalboard. This allows you to explore a wide range of possibilities by adding various effects and distortion pedals.

You can achieve anything from pristine clean tones to heavy distortion without being limited by the amp's inherent coloration. A good clean boost pedal can push your tube amp to its sweet spot for pure clean tone heaven.

A clean guitar amp does not color the sound in the same way that overdriven or distorted amps do. This means that the characteristics of your effects pedals, such as delay, reverb, modulation, and EQ, come through clearly and faithfully. You have full control over the sound of each pedal.

This makes these amps ideal for stacking multiple pedals in your signal chain. You can combine various effects to create complex and layered sounds, experimenting with different orderings and configurations to achieve unique tones.

Which is better for clean sound: a tube amp or a solid-state amp?

Whether a tube or solid-state amplifier is better for clean sound depends on your personal preferences, playing style, and specific requirements. Both types of amplifiers have their own characteristics that can excel in clean tones, but they offer distinct sonic qualities.

As mentioned before, tube amps are favored for their warm, dynamic, and harmonically rich clean tones, making them suitable for players who appreciate vintage character and expressive playing.

Solid-state amps excel in providing transparent, clean, and accurate tones, making them a preferred choice for genres and styles where clarity and accuracy are paramount.

The "better" option ultimately comes down to your individual preferences and the sonic qualities you seek in your clean guitar sound.

Conclusion

Ultimately, the best clean amp for you depends on your specific musical needs, so consider your playing style, genre, and budget when making your choice.

There are plenty of options to choose from, and we’re sure you’ll find your ideal clean amp in no time!

Our top pick is the Fender ‘65 Deluxe Reverb, a classic amp with fantastic sound and a lovely vintage look that can be used by beginners and pros alike.