Best Guitar Amps 2023 – Our Top 5 Amps of the Year
Our favourite five guitar amps of 2023
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The Best Guitar Amps 2023 is an end-of-year roundup of our favourite new amps that have been released in the last twelve months. Each one offers something great tonally and should be on your list of models to check out.
Best Guitar Amps 2023
First up is the new Marshall Studio JTM ST20 range that launched in July this year and these amps are a nice 20-watt design. Available as either a head or as a combo. These tube amps are powered by 2 x ECC83 preamp tubes, 1 x ECC83 (phase splitter), and 2 x 5881 power tubes.
Both models come with power reduction down to a more manageable 5 watts.
Marshall Studio JTM ST20H Head & JTM ST20C Combo
Classic Marshall
The amp’s basic controls consist of treble, midrange, bass, and presence. These are then shared for both channels. Plus they have one channel with two voicings: High Treble (Loudness 1) and Normal (Loudness 2). They also have four inputs with high/low sensitivity.
Marshall was acquired by Zounds Industries back in March, and so it was great to see this new range of products that has put them back as a viable amp option for guitarists.
These models also include a DI Out, a serial FX loop, plus a variety of speaker outputs on 16 Ohm, 8 Ohm, and 4 Ohm. Marshall also makes a matching 1×12 and 2×12 slant cabinet to go with these new amps.
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Orange OR30
Nest up is the new Orange OR30 and this Class A, single channel amp head rated at 30 watts of power is an all-tube beast of an amp that is loud, unforgiving about being so loud, and an absolute tone monster.
Made in the UK and designed to be a great-sounding tube amp.
It’s simple, effective, and based on a 5AR4 tube rectifier, 3 x 12AX7 preamp/phase inverter, a single 12AU7 in the fx loop, and 4 x EL84 power amp tubes. The total antithesis of guitar amp modeling and DSP do-it-all solutions.
But, it sounds great when cranked up and is about as much fun as you can have with your clothes on.
Orange OR30
2-watt
It will also let you knock the power down to a mere 2-watt and so it will put a smile on your face without deafening yourself. There is a foot-switchable second volume that will act as a volume boost and it has a three-way bright switch plus a Presence control designed to work well at any volume.
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Soldano SLO-30 Combo
Mike Soldano’s Soldano SLO-30 Combo model is an American boutique combo loaded with a Celestion G12H-150 Redback speaker. It launched back in May and has already made a lot of players smile, once they got their hands on one.
This new combo has 30 watts of power and uses five 12AX7 tubes in the preamp and two 5881/6L6 tubes to achieve this. Plus, they have that famous Soldano Depth control to keep the low-end tight. Making them perfect for higher gain amp tones.
Soldano SLO-30 Combo
Twin Channel
The amp has a 3-band EQ plus a Presence control and the two channels come with independent Preamp and Master controls. This model has Normal to Overdrive channels that are accessible instantly via the included footswitch.
Hopefully, next year their new ASTRO-20 announced earlier this month will make the Best of 2024 list as well.
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Friedman JEL-20
The new Friedman JEL-20 Jake E Lee signature amp is a two-channel head with a cab simulated XLR out, their famous ultra-transparent effects loop, and it is powered by three 12AX7 tubes in the preamp, and a pair of EL84 power tubes.
This little red 20-watt head and the matching cab were announced back in August and sound marvellous. It has two channels distinct voicings and is perfect for rock styles and a whole lot more.
Friedman JEL-20
Plexi and more
They come with Gain, Master Volume, Bass Middle, and Treble, plus a Gain control with a push/pull high/low gain voicing. Then you can play via the Plexi channel which shares the three-band EQ with the JEL channel but has its own independent Gain and Master Volume controls, plus a Bright switch.
They also added a rather handy cab simulated XLR out which makes it even more flexible. The matching JEL-112 CAB has a Baltic birch cabinet, is a closed cabinet design, and has a single 12″ Celestion G12M-65 Creamback 16 Ohm speaker and is rated at 65 watts.
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Revv Dynamis D25 Combo
Finally, we chose the Revv Dynamis D25 Combo as it was a standout model for us this last year and is feature-packed. It was released back in April but should be on your radar as one to check out if you need a versatile amp. This is a 1 x12 format combo powered by two 12AX7 preamp tubes, then in the power section, it has two 6V6 tubes.
It features shared controls for controls Gain, Treble, Middle, Bass, and Volume. Features a vintage voiced Reverb, and a switchable Gain Boost with voicing for a punchy top end.
Revv Amplification D25
Two notes & Speaker Load
This model can also switch between 5 to 25 watts and has a built-in switch for Speaker Load. This will completely deactivate the speaker so that a reactive load intercepts the complete power of the power amplifier. Allowing users to access what is described as first-class studio sound from the XLR output.
Onboard Two notes technology then allows for the ability to select from 6 Cab Sims. It also features a buffered effects loop, MIDI, USB, and connectivity for footswitches and external speakers.
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- Marshall Studio JTM ST20H Head & JTM ST20C Combo: Marshall
- Orange OR30: Orange
- Soldano SLO-30 Combo: Soldano
- Friedman JEL-20: Friedman
- Revv Amplification D25: Revv_Amplification
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3 responses to “Best Guitar Amps 2023 – Our Top 5 Amps of the Year”
Not even 1 Fender? I don’t think so.
I think you’re right, Robert. They’ve missed a lot by not having fender in one of those five slots.
I have several different amps, but there are some gigs I wouldn’t even attempt without a Fender amp would still gets a signature sound that no other amplifier of any brand name can duplicate live or in the studio.
2023 was not a great year for new Fender amp models, so that is why they did not make my Top 5 list.