8 Best Guitar Amps For Rock Music (Reviewed)
Want a guitar amp that’s great for playing rock?
If so, you’re in the right place.
In this post, I’m going to share quick reviews of 8 guitar amps that could just be your ideal first (or next) amp.
For the most part, this is a list of tube amps (or valve amps as we say in the UK), but you’ll also find a bit of a curve ball.
And to be clear, this isn’t a “best of” style list – these are simply 8 amps that I’ve owned and/or tested over the years.
1. Orange Brent Hinds Terror Head
Orange helped kick-start the trend of the portable “lunchbox” style head amplifier. The signature amp of Mastodon’s Brent Hines is one of the more recent additions to the family.
My review of the “Orange Brent Hinds Terror Head” (pictured above):
The Brent Hinds Terror is essentially a modded version of the Rocker 15 Terror. While I don’t have a Rocker 15 Terror to compare it to, I hear they’re fairly close in tone.
As you may imagine, this amp kicks out 15 watts. But, what you might not expect is the power soaking functionality. There’s a half power switch on the front – that’ll knock the amp down to 7 watts.
But, on the back, there’s a very appropriately named “bedroom to headroom” switch. Once in “bedroom” mode, full power is 1 watt and half power is 0.5 watts.
On the front, we’ve got the channel switching that’ll take you from clean (or natural as Orange call it) to dirty. The dirty channel has gain, bass, middle, treble, and volume controls.
While, the clean channel just has a volume control. It’s true, this may offer less functionality but it’s a more “natural” sounding clean channel – which makes for a nice pedal platform.
On the back, we’ve got speaker outputs, send/return jacks for a valve buffered FX loop, and a footswitch jack.
The footswitch is sold separately but the amp does come with a carry case. You can use any basic footswitch but the Orange branded pedal is built like a tank.
Speaking of the build, this amp is seriously robust. Ok, sure, I haven’t thrown it off a roof or kicked it down the stairs, but it feels exceptionally well built.
What about tones? I was expecting to not like the cleans too much, but they’re better than I expected. The “natural” approach means it’s up to you to shape your clean tone using your guitar & pedals – that’s probably something we should all try doing more often.
The gain is still classic Orange, but with a bit more fizz than you might expect. Regardless, it’s a great sounding overdrive. Although, it’s worth noting that there’s not super heavy amounts of gain on tap here.
But, if you want more gain, there are other amps in the Orange line up that would be a great fit.
Wattage: 15 watts (scales down to 7, 1 and 0.5 watts)
Also available:
This amp is part of the Orange Terror series, so, there are a bunch of other amps with slightly different configurations. There’s the unmodded Rocker 15 Terror which is fairly close to this.
If you want more gain, you may want to check out the Jim Root signature. While it has the “Rockerverb” tone stack, you won’t have a clean channel to play with.
There’s also the Dual Terror – it’s similar to a Tiny Terror (now discontinued), but with the addition of an extra channel. You’ll also find a few smaller amps like the Micro Terror.
2. Kemper Profiler PowerRack
If you’re looking for a tube amp, this won’t be for you. Want the option to play a close representation of any amp, without worrying about tubes blowing? The Kemper Profiler is well worth checking out.
My review of the “Kemper Profiler PowerRack” (pictured above):
Ok, so, what is the Kemper Profiler PowerRack? Well, it’s digital amp modelling taken to the next level. You can create a “tone profile” of amps you own, or download the Rig Manager software to download profile made by other users – and wow, there are a lot of them!
You can then tweak, add FX, and more.
The Kemper Profiler ships with plenty of profiles so it’s ready to go, out of the box.
I went with the PowerRack version so I can connect this directly to any speaker cab. I can also run it directly into my audio interface – there are plenty of routing options. There is a “head” or “toaster” version, as some call it, but the rack mounting is convenient.
There are four modes on the front – tuner, browser, perform, and profiler. Each do exactly what they say.
You can store a limited number of profiles on the Profiler, but there’s a USB port on the front so you can use a memory stick. The headphone connection on the front makes it a nice tool for a quick plug in and practice session.
You’ll find plenty of controls on the front, and various FX can be used. You can tweak the EQ, gain, add noise gates, delay’s, reverbs, and more.
On the back, we’ve got a huge array of connections. Here are a few:
- Return input
- Alternate input
- Direct output/send
- Monitor output
- Main output (Jacks + XLRs)
- S/PDIF
- Midi (thru/out/in)
- Switch/Pedal (1+2)
- Network (Ethernet)
- USB
And if you find yourself getting any hum – several of the connections have ground lifts. Nice touch!
But, what can you connect to the Kemper Profiler?
There are a range of accessories you can get for this amp. One of which is the “Profiler Remote” – this is huge pedalboard type arrangement that comes with tap tempo, looper, tuner, patch changing, and all manor of other switches & controls. I don’t have the remote since I bought the PowerRack on it’s own, but they are usually available as a bundle, or separately from Kemper.
You can also buy dedicated expression pedals, 2 way footswitches, replacement cables for the remote, gig bag, and a DI box for use with creating your own profiles.
What about the tone? Every digital modeller I’ve tried in the past has been a disappointment. But, the technology behind the Kemper Profiler is leaps and bounds ahead. It’s true, it’s not a 100% replica of tube tone but it’s the closest I’ve ever heard.
More to the point, it’s at a level where on a recording, most probably wouldn’t be able to tell the difference.
This isn’t the most straightforward amp to play through but you can get some solid tones by simply plugging in your guitar and selecting any rig. However, you’ll get the most mileage if you go through the manual or watch some tutorial videos. Kemper have plenty of good stuff in that area.
I’ve had this unit for close to 2 years now and I’m still finding new ways to use it. And the software behind it keeps getting better.
The Kemper Profiler is a great option for the gigging musician. It’s far easier to carry around, can be plugged straight into the live sound desk (there are multiple routing options), and it’s naturally more reliable than a tube amp.
It can be a useful studio tool to quickly switch up your tone, or to profile your amp collection and in a way, you can then take them anywhere in a single box. It’s a great way to take your studio sound to the stage because it’s consistent.
Sure, you can’t reproduce other amps exactly, this is as close as it gets. I’m amazed at how far the technology has come. This isn’t one for the purists, but it puts a lot of power, tone, and convenience at your fingertips.
Just remember that digital modellers and profilers likely won’t hold their value as much as tube amps.
Wattage: 600 watts (it’s solid-state so it’s not as loud as you may think.)
Also available:
You can get the Profiler without the power amp, but I’d guess it makes sense for most to get the powered version – it’s just easier. You can get the powered/unpowered versions as “heads” which have a few more controls, or the rack mounted version.
I prefer the convenience of the rack mounted version but that’s just me.
3. Egnater Tweaker 88 Tube Head
I’d heard the name Bruce Egnater mentioned on forums for years. I knew he made some amps but I had no idea if they were any good. Then I picked up a very fairly priced 15 watt Egnater Tweaker and I just had to get the full 88 watt version.
Note: The 88 watt version seems to have been discontinued.
My review of the “Egnater Tweaker 88 Tube Head” (pictured above):
Here, we have an 88 watt tube amplifier loaded with KT88 power tubes. It’s got two channels but with two channel boosts, it’s more like four.
So, each channel has its own boost. You can choose whether each boost is set to clean or gain, and you can set the boost level. The included footswitch allows you to switch either of the channel boosts on/off. You can also switch channels and turn the FX loop on/off.
There’s a master volume for each channel, each with a toggle switch to go between vintage or modern tones (this switches the response of the output stage of the circuit).
The EQ section is shared between channels. You’ve got a bass, middle, and treble control as you might expect. But what you may not expect is that you can shape that EQ further by using a toggle switch to go between British and American tones. The middle setting is labelled “AC,” which appears to be going for a Vox style tone.
The gain stage of each channel has the usual gain control, a long with 4 switches.
These are:
- Tight/Deep
- Bright/Normal
- Hot/Clean
- Mid Cut/Normal
The tonal possibilities with this amp are mind blowing but the controls have been mapped out in a sensible fashion so it’s not overwhelming.
On the back, we’ve got an FX level that can be switched between line and instrument level. And 2 speaker outputs. There’s an impedance switch to go between 4/8/16 ohms, and 2 jack sockets to connect the included footswitch.
The Tweaker 88 also includes a fan but it can’t be switched off.
What about tones? This amp is a tonal chameleon. It definitely doesn’t have it’s own thing going on, but you can easily go from glassy Fender tones to cranked Marshall tones. And it’s got a lot of gain on tap, once you hit that toggle switch to “Hot.”
Thanks to the flexibility of this amp, it’s one of the most-used tube amps in my collection. The feature set is incredible and the price is far better than I imagined.
Wattage: 88 watts
Also available:
Unfortunately it looks like the 88 watt version of the Tweaker has been discontinued. You can sometimes pick these up below $400 used. And some retailers may still have new stock.
Alternatively, there’s a 40 watt version and a 15 watt version. Both have less power and features, but damn they still sound good.
In fact, I first picked up the 15 watt version and that’s what sold me on the Tweaker range of amps.
For such a small amp, this is insanely good and has more tonal flexibility than I’ve found in a head of this size.
Is a combo amp more your speed? The 15-watt and 40-watt versions are available as combos too.