@DarrellW often recommends 
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Orange amps don’t have the “fashionable” bells and whistles, they’re just a simple amp. Their Valve amps are fantastic, but the clean tones can be a bit meah on the older ones and they’re expensive!
The Crush series are solid state but are Analogue not digital, they have a very nice tone and touch sensitivity, and they’re not expensive but they tend to be a bit heavier than some of their competitors but they’re also really well made.
If it were me, I would buy a Orange Crush CR60 pro combo plus a Sonicake Matribox 2 multi fx; for around £450 if you shop around.
Currently I use a Hotone 5W Mojo diamond (Fender Tweed style) with an Orange Cab and the multi fx I suggested. For my needs it’s perfect!
I used to use a Harley Benton 10” Celestion loaded speaker but I sold it to an offer I couldn’t refuse!
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Well there’s a true comment, with good reason!
And up it pops 
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Ohh that’s a hard thing to nail down. 
I play everything and anything that is rock n’ roll. Bands from Pink Floyd, Gun n Roses, R.E.M., Radiohead, Green Day, U2, the list goes on. Classic rock, alternative indie rock, etc.
I would say the only style I’m not that interested in playing is heavier stuff like metal (except for the obligatory Enter Sandman).
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just checked it on thomann , too bad it has no headphone plug …
@LindaCas81 Definitely a modelling amp then with that variety of genres! 
Lots of love here for the Katana - I tried the Katana 100 but didn’t like it personally, gain was a bit ‘fizzy’ to me but I have been told that the 50 sounds better. Blackstar Silverline sound much more realistic to my ears but you don’t get the endless effects and patches - it’s got a very analog style interface.
Can’t recommend the Positive Grid Spark stuff highly enough - I recently downsized my gear ready to relocate and am currently using a Spark Go for practice. Tiny little thing, sounds outrageously good for the size and price. A Spark 40 (with one of their cabs) may suit what you’re after -I’ve had a 40 & it sounds amazing but not enough output for gigs. Enjoy the search!
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FWIW - I like similar music to you, Linda. Like Anna @annadomini, I have a Spark 40. I’m a beginner player, and while I love toys, I had enough trouble choosing (and playing) a guitar, much less worrying about electronics. My guitar playing and loving brother-in-law suggested the Spark 40, my hubby bought it for me for Christmas (and reclaimed his little Yamaha that I’d adopted). Works for me! I realize they are not very popular here, and if you’re interested you can search the community to find people’s comments. Maybe others have already said this, but because your gigging needs are “potential” at this point, if you are able you might consider a specific amp for that purpose when you get there.
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The spark gets mixed reviews, its somewhat limited and from my exp of bias fx2 (similarish desktop software) the sound isnt top notch but ok.
If you want to gig spark do a bigger/amp/speaker add on that looks ok (effectively a frfr cab)
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The fizz on the Katana is easy enough to tame with the global EQ set to output & high cut at 6.3k. I had concerns about it when I started cranking the gain on mine and google was handy there.
The Katana is love or hate for sure, but there’s absolutely a reason it sells 10:1 compared to any other amps on the market. It really is that good, and has a feature-set well beyond it’s price point.
Regarding the Spark amps, I think it’s probably worth waiting to see if a Spark 40 (gen 2) is on the horizon before investing into that ecosystem. Given that the 40 released in 2019, it is likely due a refresh and it would stink to buy one only for a new version to release shortly after. I think the Mini is the best value currently, for sound vs portability but isn’t giggable unless you also buy a spark cab.
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also note the spark cab is just an frfr amp/speaker combo, any frfr would do and the spark cab can be used with anything with a line out etc.
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I’ll add one more vote for the Mustang GTX 100.
Not only does it have great Fender tones and enough volume for a gig, but it comes with a foot switch that allows you to step through presets, turn effects on and off, control the built in looper, and even access a built in tuner.
It’s essentially a full pedal board at your feet. To make it even better, it gets its power from the amp, meaning it only requires a single cable from the amp to the foot switch - no need for batteries or an additional power cable.
The amp also has an FX loop if you ever want to use a separate looper pedal or any external effects.
Bluetooth for streaming is also built in. I know that some have had issues with Bluetooth, but those only happen when you are connected to the Tone app and Bluetooth streaming at the same time. Once you have your presets created, just disconnect the Tone app and you will have no problem streaming music, drum track or even Justin’s Time Trainer app to play along with.
I know there are a lot of good choices out there, but the GTX100 with the foot switch really offers a unique feature set without the need for additional cables or power.
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Happy Katana 100 user here. Straight out of the box it sounds great and is eminently tweakable with the supplied software. Best feature is the power output switch at the back that lets you select 1W output for home practice up to 100 W for playing out.
All the other amps suggested are ace too. You really can’t go wrong.
Something you might want to consider scaling up:
I like to separate
- What makes the tone
- what makes the noise
Tone is HOW it sounds, the noise is how loud it sounds and how wel it goes on that volume.
By separating these 2 aspects physically, I can scale both end to both a smaller or bigger scale no matter the vanue or circumstance.
I want quite far in this, as my amp sim and speaker simulation (which does A LOT for your tone!) is on the “tone” side. My “loud” side is currently a flat, powered PA speaker.
Buying an combo amp that has little frills but takes “stuff in front” well and does the loud part, can be a good investment in such a scaleable scenario where you might plan to upgrade or scale your effects later. If you forsee a future with digital amp AND cab modelling, start thinking about a pragmatic tone/loud split.
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In that case then I would suggest Quilter, they’re modelled on two different types of Amp, UK or US - the UK ones are 1979 series JMP Marshall (pretty iconic) Vox AC30 and AC30 top boost; the US ones are based on 60’sTweed / 62 Blonde / 65 Blackface again all iconic amps. They’re the equivalent of a 25/30W tube amp so quite loud despite being pretty small. For around £500/550 you can get one with a 1x12” Celestion loaded Cab. To me these are actually better than Orange because they have more flexibility in the sounds.
Oh yeah I like the sound of it
real nice !
you mean the bundle with a harley benton ?
Yeah, that’s the one, either the US or UK bundle whichever sounds you want.
I like the US version because Fender amps have a really nice Clean tone and take fx really well. The Greenback ones are the best option, both of those would be pretty good!
I listened to the test sound and the green one is really tempting
thanks for the advice , id never have thought of buying something like that
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Hello, you may be able to answer a question for me about Katana50 vs 100. I am getting one of the new gen3 versions and was sad the 50 did not have an effects loop, as there is a need for using a looper in practice. So, it was recommended to just get the 100 with the effects loop. My concern is that I normally practice in an office sized room, and was concerned that I could not really use it effectively because it would be TOO loud for the room. What do you think? thanks
paul@paulmilleradvisor.com Paul Miller
Those old Mustangs, I have one as well, are great for building your own tone. Doing so will help teach you about tone whereas presets are less useful than you would expect. I keep an old Windows PC to run the studio, since they discontinued support. Aside from that, it’s still a great amp.
Since you have a good solid state amp I would consider a tube amp. I can recommend both from monoprice.com (I have the 5W and the 15W) or the Harley Benton rebranded versions.
Not a problem. It has a knob on the right hand side of the panel labelled Power Control, that sets the output power between 100W, 50W and 0.5W. It also has a standby mode in which there is no power output to the loudspeaker at all, but everything still works if you’re connected via USB to some other system, or you’re using the headphones.