Tube or Solid State amps don't often have this same high-gain versatility, but if you're going to be playing with mostly clean tones, then a small tube amp may just be what you need. Known for their signature “crunch”, Marshall were game-changers in developing the saturated “distorted” sound that we are all familiar with. You’ll see JVM series guitar amps played by some professional players, and it’s no surprise why – they’re incredible. You get a fair bit of clean headroom, and you can forget all the dated preconceptions about Marshall amps not having a great clean sound, because the JVM205 has a beautiful clean channel. You’ve then got Plexi-style overdrive, as well as JCM-800 style crunch, and saturated high gain sounds, ideal for modern and classic metal. If you’re looking for the best Marshall amp for at home, then you might want to consider the size too. A combo with a single, smaller speaker might work better than an amp with two speakers or a head and a cab.

Here at Guitar World, we are experts in our field, with many years of playing and product testing between us. We live and breathe everything guitar related, and we draw on this knowledge and experience of using products in live, recording and rehearsal scenarios when selecting the products for our guides. Early amplifiers included the iconic ’59 Super Lead (“Plexi”), a tube-powered head with incredible volume and headroom that could fill the biggest of venues. Legendary acts such as Led Zeppelin and The Jimi Hendrix Experience used this amp, cranking them to pioneer that famous Marshall grit.

About Marshall Practice Amps

If you're familiar with amp and effects manufacturers, you'll know all about Line 6. Famous for its Spider and POD amps, and more recently its Helix and HX floorboards, Line 6 has upped the ante in the amp-modeling game and in turn, created some of the most highly sought after products on the market. Expanding their range with combos, acoustic guitar amplifiers and bass amps over the years, Marshall provide guitarists and bassists with incredible tone and quality. The Marshall MG15CF practice amp is part of the MG "Carbon" Series from Marshall. Based around the MG Series, but in a new harder wearing livery, the MG Carbon series is made-up of great, amazingly comprehensive, amps for everything from practice to gigging. Take a look at the bands or artists you like for inspiration on this – most often, you'll be able to buy a more practice-friendly version of the amps they use – or at the very least, you'll get an idea for the characteristics of their amps and their sound. What features do I need? Orange amplifiers are something of a connoisseur’s choice in the amp world. Beyond the garish colour scheme, the British brand’s most signature element is the unique gain sound they offer.

On the iconic gold-plated front panel of these beauties you'll find an array of satisfying, responsive controls. From three-band EQs for shaping the bass, midrange, and treble frequencies, to drive, reverb, channel switches and more, this innovative amp maker pays attention to the details. Some models, like the Marshall MG15GFX Gold 15W Combo, make use of more modern solid state technology too, meaning they're lighter and often have more built-in effects than their heavier valve counterparts. Regardless of what you need, the Marshall DSL40C has to be considered one of the best Marshall amps available. It’s an all- tube amp, so you get the response, dynamics and tone that comes with that. It’s got two independent channels, but within each one, you’ve got two different sounds. The first channel covers clean and old-school crunch tones, and the second channel has two different overdriven sounds that cover heavier sounds. Think about how much power you need from your amp. Do you want to take it gigging? If so, how big are the venues you’re playing and will your amp be mic’d up? A 50W tube amp can be great when you’re playing in big clubs, but it might not be as practical if you’re only wanting something for home use. The vast majority of practice amps that are available in today's market come with a huge array of effects, different amp voicings and even easy recording functionality. Some also feature remote control over parameters via a tablet, laptop or mobile device, as well as savable and shareable patch editing. Long story short, amps these days have become very smart – and very capable of recreating near enough any tone you can think of. Do I need to consider the styles I play?

About Marshall Guitar Amps

Jim Marshall started the company in the 60s and actually used a Fender Bassman as a guide amp. Due to the different materials available to him at the time, the amp he ended up making – the JTM45 – was a very different animal from the Fender it copied. The components he used meant the amp’s voicing sounded different and, arguably more importantly, broke up sooner than the Fender. It’s this breakup sound that eventually helped Marshall gain (pun intended) the reputation it’s so well known for today.

All you really want is an amp that sounds good to your ears, and that you can plug in to and play without too much thought. Us guitarists all have an idea of what the perfect tone sounds like, and practice amps are getting much much closer to that benchmark. Long gone are the wasps in jar sounds of the past.It’s a two-channel amp, but each channel has three different sounds within it giving you six different tones at your disposal. These are foot switchable too, making it the perfect live performance amp. Alongside these incredible amp tones, you’ve got a studio quality reverb and two master volume controls.