Fender Amp Comparison Chart (side-by-side)

Fender amps are some of the nicest on the market, especially if you're looking for a warm tube amp combo. They're not as well known for their solid state amps or for amp heads, but if you're looking for a tube-driven combo, there are plenty to choose from.

And on this page, we've built a Fender amp comparison chart that lets you browse and compare these amps easily, side by side.

We've added the most popular and well known Fender amps, including the solid state options. Use the compare buttons to see pricing and basic specs for each amplifier. Those allow you to compare up to four at a time.

If you have questions about the amps, feel free to drop those in the comments section below.

Fender Amp Comparison Chart

What is a guitar amp?

A Fender amp, like any guitar amp, is designed to run your electric guitar's signal through two stages:

• Preamp
• Power amp

The preamp provides gain and EQ while the power amp provides reverb and sets the final volume level for what gets pushed out to the speaker. This is how most guitar amplifiers function.

A guitar amp can be defined as any device - with or without a speaker cab - that provides these preamp and power amp stages together.

In simple terms, it makes your electric guitar loud and gives it an audible electric signal.

Fender amps are no different. 

How to Choose a Fender Amp

When trying to choose the right Fender amp for your situation, it's important to consider your budget first, then work within those constraints.

You should also be thinking about whether you want a solid state or tube amp.

If you're interested in a solid state amp, we might recommend looking outside of the Fender brand.

Read more: Best solid state amps

You should also look at some basic features, including the following:

• Number of channels
• EQ options
• Onboard effects (vibrato/reverb)

The more you know about Fender amps, the easier it will be to choose an amp from their roster that's right for your situation.

What to Know About Fender Amps

For those looking to buy a Fender amp, there are a few things that you should note before making a decision.

Circuit Type

As mentioned earlier, most Fender amps are built with tube circuits in both the preamp and power amp. This is what they're known for more than their solid state amps. However, tube amps also tend to cost a lot more than solid state amps, which we see in most of Fender's nicer amp lines.

EQ and Channel Setup

Most Fender amps run two channels with gain, volume, and a two band EQ. This means you can dial in two different sounds on each channel, then switch between them. Most players do one clean channel and one dirty channel with distortion. We recommend buying an amp that has at least two channels, regardless of brand or circuit type.

Distortion and Gain Style

It's important to mention here the limitations of Fender amp distortion. Most Fender amps produce more of an overdrive tone that's warm and subtle, but certainly not metal or aggressive. If you're looking for a metal distortion you'll either need to add a pedal or go with a different type of amplifier entirely. Tube amps of other brands can handle metal, but the Fender tube amps are simply not built for it.

Pricing Considerations

Most Fender amps retail between $1000 and $2000 with some of the solid state variations coming down to $500 or even cheaper. As a general rule, those looking to buy a Fender amp should plan to spend at least $1000, and likely more depending on which model they settle on. Even used Fender tube amps tend to hold their value and still carry a hefty price tag.

Though in the realm of tube amp pricing, Fender amps are definitely not overpriced, especially if you're into more of a bluesy style, which they can handle really well.

Are Fender amps good for metal?

As we've already mentioned briefly, Fender amps are not good fits for metal. They're too subtle and bluesy, and rely far more on the quality of their clean tone than that of their distortion. 

One brand that is exceptionally good with metal tones and tube circuits is Mesa Boogie. We'd recommend checking those out if you're in the metal market.

Read more: Best Mesa Boogie amps

Which Fender amp is best for blues?

You could say that blues styles are a Fender amp specialty. Nearly every tube amplifier on the Fender roster handles that genre exceptionally well. Though if we had to choose just one, we'd probably go with the Hot Rod Deluxe or the '68 Custom.

Which Fender amp is best overall?

The Fender '68 Custom Deluxe is our favorite of the group, though it's difficult to choose a "best." We've actually written a full page on that here:

Read more: Best Fender amps

Where can I buy Fender amps?

There are plenty of big box manufacturers that carry Fender amps. In fact, most major music gear retailers in North America have agreements with Fender and keep most of their amp lines in stock.

Some of the more popular retailers include the following:

• Musician's Friend
• Guitar Center
• Sweetwater
• Amazon

Sites that often sell used Fender amps include the following:

• Reverb
• eBay
• Amazon

Any place you can find music gear for sale, you're likely to find Fender combos as well, since they're some of the best selling amps on the market.

Fender Amp Warranty

All Fender amps come with a two-year limited warranty, applying only to the original purchaser of the amp. You can read the full text of the Fender amp warranty here: Full Fender amp warranty

Conclusion

Hopefully this Fender amp comparison chart has been helpful to you. If you can think of a Fender amp we've missed that you'd like to see included, drop it in the comments section below and we'll have a look. You can leave questions or thoughts about Fender amps there as well.

Related Articles