Shocked by the price of your dream tube amps? Think you won’t ever get to experience the excellent tone of the tube amps when playing your blues? Let’s start looking on the bright side here, shall we?
Even the expensive tube amps can disappoint and currently, solid-state amps simply delight you with their new improved tones.
It’s the age of science and you thought the convenient, portable, affordable, solid-state amps won’t catch up in terms of tones? It did.
However, you’ll have to look pretty hard for the best solid state amp for blues. It doesn’t just come walking to you.
Top 5 Best Solid State Amps For Blues
1. Fender Champion 100
Our top choice is the Fender Champion 100 Electric Guitar Amplifier. The price and tone are great and are the two main concerns when buying a solid-state amp. This amplifier fulfills both by being a quality product at an affordable price with a great tone for blues. It contains effects and features that you’ll love as well.
Want your bandmates to hear your blues over the deafening drums? If so, this Fender Champion 100 is your thing. When you mention price and quality in the same sentence – this amp stands out due to the best quality and affordable price.
Having this amp, you won’t get a hole in your heart thinking about the tube amp you couldn’t buy. The reason? It sounds absolutely amazing. It doesn’t contain a massive number of effects but the ones it does contain, are very good. They’re certain to bring out the best blues.
The lack of flexibility the controls offer is a potential setback, although they’re easy to deal with – though they don’t offer a lot. Otherwise, the channels are easy to switch to. The power makes the amp loud enough but disconnecting may bring some unwanted loud pop.
Pros:
- Excellent quality as expected of Fender
- Great tone for blues
- Suitable effects
- Good volume
- Easy to use
- Compact and portable
- Great value for money
Cons:
- It doesn’t offer you a lot of control
- May have a loud popping sound when disconnecting
2. Marshall Amps Code 25 Amplifier
Do you want an amp to blow you away with its features and effects? If so, let the Marshall Amps Code 25 amp do the honors, while you play blues. In fact, it’s got 10 presets and 24 effects to make your life better. Further, setting them is almost effortless.
This unit contains USB connectivity, alongside the app and other software, including Bluetooth connectivity. As long as you can connect to the software, you will enjoy using it. However, connecting can be a challenge. Because with more technology involved, there are more chances of errors that you cannot solve yourself.
What’s more, it contains a tone and sound quality that you expect from Marshall! You’ll absolutely love it. However, it may get a bit distorted at higher volumes. For the price, you don’t expect such a high volume either!
Pros:
- Great number of features and effects
- Very easy to use
- Great tone quality
- Good sound
- Very portable
- Looks great
Cons:
- May not always connect
- May sound distorted at louder volumes
3. Roland BC-HOT-VB
The Roland Blues Cube Hot amp has Blues in its name! How can it not serve the genre of blues in quality, right? Further, you will love the looks of the Vintage Blonde version of this amp and it doesn’t disappoint with its performance either.
The tube amp sound you’re looking for is what this amp can provide you. In fact, it adds a bit of vintage sweetness to it. At 30 watts, this amp is pretty loud for practice and good for gigs too. That said, it might not be so great for the loudest gigs.
On top of that, it has a good number of features, three-band EQ, and more. The unit is super durable and portable too.
However, the potential setback is the price. It’s pretty expensive considering a solid-state amp. But, it still offers great value.
Pros:
- Looks amazing
- Great tone – very much like that of tube amps
- Very durable
- Quite portable
- Easy to control
- A good number of effects and features
- Quite loud
Cons:
- A bit expensive
4. Roland JC-120
Do you want power? The Roland JC-120 gives you power! This amp meant for jazz and chorus is a great choice for blues as well, due to its amazing clean channel tone.
Yes, it comes with two channels. And a number of effects you can experiment with. It doesn’t sound as great as a tube amp but it sounds good. But here, the volume is more notable – this unit can be loud. What more can you expect at 120 watts?
The amp is big and durable. It doesn’t look the best but it’s built well. You may not like the price, but, it’s a solid heavy-duty amp.
Pros:
- Extremely durable
- Sounds great for blues
- Pretty loud
- Easy to set and control
- A good number of effects
Cons:
- Quite expensive
- No foot-switch
- Doesn’t look the best
5. Line 6 Spider V 240 HC
Want something very versatile, flexible, and doesn’t let you run out of things you can do with it? Meet the Line 6 Spider V. It’s named Spider because of the many places it has its legs on.
You can do almost anything with this amp. It’s a very small unit that you can carry very easily. But that doesn’t reduce its volume – you’ll be blown away by the sound it can produce. Further, the tone is great too. The quantitative superiority of features doesn’t impact the quality at all.
You can easily play blues on it while listening to the song through the aux cable. Further, this unit is well built, with many channels, effects, inputs, and outputs that are easy to use.
The only potential con is, it costs a lot for a small amp.
Pros:
- Very compact and portable amp
- A ton of features and effects
- Sounds great
- Great tone
- Very durable
Cons:
- A bit expensive
Buyer’s Guide
You must know the basics of a solid amp to find the perfect one for you and your blues. So, let’s figure them out.
- The Quality of the Build: Tube amps have vacuum tubes that you can quite possibly see with your eyes making it functional. You can tell the quality simply by looking at them. But, solid amps mostly have things in their interior. The exterior protects it. So make sure the build quality is great and nothing can harm it. The material and the build quality should be of the highest standards.
- The Features included: There are a few effects that work best in blues, if you can control them digitally – even better! On the other hand, there are other features, flexibilities, ranges of control that help determine if the amp is a good choice for playing blues or not. Even the tone of the amp has a very important role here.
Since you’re looking for an amp specifically designed for the genre of blues, make sure you’re choosing the right features.
- The Wattage: If you play just for your friends or just out of hobby, you don’t really need a concert-loud expensive amp. An amp that’s more affordable and efficient with lower power wattage would serve home practice sessions better. In fact, you will find various amps with several power capacities for various purposes. Choose the one that fits your purpose.
- The Channels: Planning to sing or play other instruments along with your guitar? If yes, you’ll have to consider the number of channels your amp comes with. Of course, there’s the existing consideration for the clean and dirty channel too.
Last Words
With all that information at your disposal, you can consider yourself eligible enough to choose the best solid state amp for blues. Go ahead and pick the one that best suits you.