The best 5 watt tube amps will allow you to enjoy that cranked up amp sound without being louder than you necessarily need it to be, whether you’re practicing or playing in a small room. So in this article, we’ll investigate some of the best options you can buy.
Quick Answer: If you’re looking for an affordable head with the most happy owners, take a look at the Bugera G5. If you want a premium quality head then the Marshall SV20H might be what you’re looking for.
For combo amps the Monoprice 5-Watt is the cheapest on this list, with plenty of good reviews from its owners. But if you’re not afraid to pay for quality, you can’t go wrong with the Fender ’57.
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Top 10 Best 5 Watt Tube Amps
- Monoprice 5-Watt Guitar Combo Tube Amplifier (611705)
- Bugera G5 Infinium 5-watt Class-A Tube Head
- Fender ’57 Custom Champ 5-watt 1×8″ Tube Combo Amp
- Marshall SV20H Studio Vintage
- Marshall DSL5CR 1×10″ 5-watt Tube Combo Amp
- Blackstar HT-5R Guitar Amplifier Combo with Reverb
- Fender ’68 Custom Vibro Champ Reverb 1×10″ 5-watt Tube Combo Amp
- Supro Delta King 10 1×10-inch 5-watt Tube Combo Amp
- Tone King Gremlin
- Supro ’64 Reverb 1×8″ 5-watt Tube Combo Amp
Best 5 Watt Tube Amps Reviews
Monoprice 5-Watt Guitar Combo Tube Amplifier (611705)
Pros
- Value for money
- Rich tone and great sound quality
- Can be used with pedals
- Lightweight and portable
Cons
- Build quality isn’t that solid
- Can’t be used with headphones
- LED light easily gets broken
See price @ Amazon
Monoprice 5-Watt Guitar Combo Tube Amplifier is a very compact amplifier with a Celestion speaker, open-back cabinet, and a very stylish vintage design with a cloth speaker grill and a cream-colored synthetic leather exterior.
Best features and specs
This 5-Watt amp uses a 12 AX7 preliminary tube and as the main driver it features a 6V6 GT tube, which combined give you a well-rounded and rich tone.
User impressions
Users say that this 5-Watt amp is perfect for beginners, has nice vintage looks, and lets users easily control the tone. Also, this amp is lightweight and portable, which makes it easy to take it on the road and use it for small out-of-town gigs. Some add that those who play blues shouldn’t look further.
What we think
In case 5 watts are still too loud for you, this amp has an attenuator that brings power down to 1 watt.
Bottomline
This 5-Watt amp is a great choice for someone who is looking for a vintage-looking amplifier with a great tone and very simple and minimalistic controls.
Bugera G5 Infinium 5-watt Class-A Tube Head
Pros
- Headphone jack
- Attenuator
- Affordable
- Built-in digital reverb
- Built like a tank
Cons
- Metalheads won’t like its distortion
- Caters more to blues players (could be a pro in your case)
- Can’t be used with batteries
See price @ Amazon / @ Sweetwater
Bugera G5 Infinium is a tube head with built-in reverb and the ability to switch between classic British or American tone.
Best features and specs
A power attenuator lets you switch from 5 watts down to 1 watt or even 0.1 watts, which is ideal for late-night home practice.
User impressions
Users like this 5-Watt amp for being a high-quality, affordable amp with a well-thought design of the front panel. The feature that users are in favor of is that this amp has a headphone jack at the back of the amp, which gives them a wonderful possibility to practice any time of the day.
What we think
The best thing about this 5-Watt amp is that it distributes the load on tubes evenly and compensates for the wear of the tubes so they wouldn’t require maintenance for a significantly long time.
Bottomline
This 5-Watt amp is a great choice for someone who is looking for a modern tube head with the ability to switch between British and American tone and the technology that makes the tubes last longer.
Fender ’57 Custom Champ 5-watt 1×8″ Tube Combo Amp
Pros
- Perfect for recording
- Vintage looks
- Characterful tone
- Overdrive pedal-friendly
Cons
- On the pricey side
- Not that versatile
See price @ Amazon / @ Sweetwater
Fender ’57 is a reissue of an iconic vintage amplifier but with less output power, completely hard-wired, and made from authentic components.
Best features and specs
Its Weber Special Design speaker features an Alnico magnet to emphasize its vintage tone even further.
User impressions
Users agree that this 5-Watt amp has that certain vintage look and feel as legends do. It is well-built and sounds absolutely great when it is cranked up, giving warm, fat overdrive. As it’s well-built and thought-through, this amp is very responsive to your sound and pick-up positions.
What we think
If you’re interested in authentic vintage tone, it would be extremely hard to find a better alternative than this amp.
Bottomline
This 5-Watt amp is a great choice for someone who is looking for a truly vintage amp with a very stylish and iconic design. It’s, of course, on a pricey side of things but don’t let that discourage you, as you’re totally getting your money’s worth.
Marshall SV20H Studio Vintage
Pros
- Authentic Plexi tones
- Great for recording
- Responds well to guitar controls
- Sleek design
Cons
- Bright high input
See price @ Amazon / @ Sweetwater
Marshall SV20H Studio Vintage is a modern 20-watt head that is based thoroughly on the circuitry of an iconic Marshal 1959 Super lead.
Best features and specs
This 5-Watt amp has a power reduction circuit that brings down total power to 5 watts and an iconic 3 band EQ with presence control.
User impressions
Users like this 5-Watt amp for its sleek design and giving the vibes of vintage Plexi in a new compact form factor. Users say that this amp provides thick and clean drive tones.
What we think
Any talk about tube amplifiers simply cannot avoid bringing Marshall amps up. And it’s no wonder since they basically invented the sound of rock music.
Bottomline
This 5-Watt amp is a great choice for someone who is looking for an iconic amplifier with a flexible sound and the most impressive heritage.
Marshall DSL5CR 1×10″ 5-watt Tube Combo Amp
Pros
- Very responsive amp
- Pleasing low gain tone
- Crunch tone
- Responsive EQ
- Pedal-friendly
Cons
- Lack of bottom end
- Not impressive built-in reverb
See price @ Sweetwater
Marshall DSL5CR is a highly modernized version of the iconic JCM 2000 in a combo body and with 2 channels of a pure rock sound.
Best features and specs
This 5-Watt amp has a power attenuator and a speaker-emulated output to connect your amplifier directly to the line.
User impressions
Users agree that this 5-Watt amp delivers that well-recognizable classic Marshall tone, and the fact that it has 2 channels results in getting some serious overdrive. Also, this amp has outstanding tonal flexibility because of the refined EQ section, rear-panel series effects loop, and studio-grade digital reverb help you to develop your own sound.
What we think
Line output was exclusively designed by Softube, the company that most certainly knows a thing or two about analog emulations.
Bottomline
This 5-Watt amp is a great choice for someone who is looking for a very versatile combo amplifier with 2 channels of distinguishable Marshall sound.
Blackstar HT-5R Guitar Amplifier Combo with Reverb
Pros
- Affordable
- 0.5W attenuator
- 12-inch speaker
- Versatile
- Footswitch
Cons
- Weak reverb
- Gritty distortion
See price @ Amazon / @ Sweetwater
Blackstar HT-5R is a boutique low-watt combo amplifier with a USB output, effects loop, and tone-shaping capabilities.
Best features and specs
This 5-Watt amp has a signature Infinite Shape Feature that shifts between iconic Britsih vibe and distinguishable American character.
User impressions
Users are quite impressed with this 5-Watt amp because of its versatility, unique, different voicing, and two channels being clean and dirty. Users add that this amp gives them a perfect distortion for metal and hard rock.
What we think
Alongside a USB output, this amp also features a Softube designed speaker-emulated output with 1 by 12 and 4 by 12 cabinet options, which makes it perfect for home studio recordings.
Bottomline
This 5-Watt amp is a great choice for someone who is looking for an extremely versatile low-watt boutique amplifier with a USB output and tone-shaping capabilities.
Fender ’68 Custom Vibro Champ Reverb 1×10″ 5-watt Tube Combo Amp
Pros
- Compact form factor
- Perfect for home and small gigs
- Affordable
Cons
- Isn’t loud enough
See price @ Amazon / @ Sweetwater
Fender ’68 Custom Vibro Champ is a tube combo amplifier that shares its lineage with a classic line of vintage Fender amps that are distinguished by a brilliant and sparkly sound.
Best features and specs
This 5-Watt amp has an onboard analog vibrato and a whole reverb. It also features a second attenuated input designed to accommodate high-output guitar pickups.
User impressions
Users like this 5-Watt amp for being their first choice for a home studio set up thanks to its compact form factor and maxed-out tone. It’s easy to push this amp way beyond its limits, and if you add drive pedals to the mix, you will indeed get a more characterful distortion sound.
What we think
For us, the 60’s sound like a Fender Silver Face amp, and this amp sounds exactly like that, which is a huge plus.
Bottomline
This 5-Watt amp is a great choice for someone who is looking for a compact and low-power version of an iconic Fender Silver Face that has its distinguishable fat and sparkly tone.
Supro Delta King 10 1×10-inch 5-watt Tube Combo Amp
Pros
- Flexible sound
- Great touch sensitivity
- Powerful
- Handles pedals well
- Versatile
- Portable and lightweight
- Sleek design
Cons
- No footswitch
- No midrange EQ control
See price @ Amazon / @ Sweetwater
Supro Delta King 10 is a modern combo amplifier with a unique design that gives you very distinguishable 1950’s vibes.
Best features and specs
This 5-Watt amp has a 2-band EQ and an analog custom-made spring reverb on top of a line-out that eliminates the need to use a microphone.
User impressions
Users agree that this 5-Watt amp is a real legend as it helped shape the sound of American and British blues, rock-n-roll in the 50’s and 60’s. Users like that this amp is versatile, works great with pedals and any pick up configuration.
What we think
One might think that there’s an abundance of vintage amplifiers, but we believe no matter how many of those you actually have, you’re always one short of a perfect amount.
Bottomline
This 5-Watt amp is a great choice for someone who is looking for a very compact combo amplifier with a very fresh and unique design and a tone with strong vintage vibes.
Tone King Gremlin
Pros
- Compact form factor
- Lightweight and portable
Cons
- Isn’t exactly budget-friendly
See price @ Sweetwater
Tone King Gremlin is a vintage tweed-era combo amplifier that recreates the American tone of the 60’s.
Best features and specs
This 5-Watt amp has pretty straightforward controls, a power attenuator, and 2 separate inputs for rhythm and lead tones.
User impressions
Users agree that this 5-Watt amp has a compact form factor and is highly portable. Also, it easily delivers the 60’s cleans and gritty American tones with lead inputs and rhythm that let you tweak gain, tones, and headroom any way you like. Users add that you can easily switch between channels thanks to the footswitch.
What we think
Although this 5-Watt amp is all about the tone, the design and build quality are also something to admire.
Bottomline
This 5-Watt amp is a great choice for someone who is looking for a boutique combo amplifier with a high-end vintage tone and very unique high-quality design.
Supro ’64 Reverb 1×8″ 5-watt Tube Combo Amp
Pros
- Compact form factor
- Nice clean sounds
- Built-in spring reverb
- Perfect for home studio recording
- High-quality build
Cons
- More on the pricey side
- Sounds boxy in the room
- Not suitable for metal
- Not for band practice and gigs
See price @ Sweetwater
Supro ’64 Reverb is an ultra-compact combo amplifier with a Janson C8R speaker and tube-driven spring reverb. It also features 3 line output jack driven by the preamp tubes.
Best features and specs
This 5-Watt amp has a pretty straightforward 2 band EQ, gain and master volume controls, and 2 channels of sweet and crunchy classic tube tone.
User impressions
Users say that this 5-Watt amp is perfect for home-style recordings and for traveling musicians. Also, this amp gives a nice clean sound and has a comfy vintage look.
What we think
Having 3 separate line outputs means that you also can use this amplifier as an analog studio effect. Send output from your DAW straight to your amp and connect one of the line-out to your audio interface and you’re good to go.
Bottomline
This 5-Watt amp is a great choice for someone who is looking for a sweet-sounding vintage tube amplifier with analog spring reverb that can also be used as a studio effect unit.
5 Watt Tube Amps Buying Guide
If you wish to take a more thorough approach in choosing an amp, you may want to consider a few points that we’ll highlight below.
What is a 5 Watt Tube Amp?
A 5-watt tube amp is a conventional guitar amplifier which output is reduced to only 5 watts.
Why would you need a 5 Watt Tube Amp?
Tube amplifiers with low power output are extremely useful when you need a full overdriven tone without sounding too loud. In other words, amplifiers with low power can be cranked up in very small places without actually being extremely loud.
Important features
While choosing a low-watt tube amplifier, you may keep in mind such as versatility, the number of channels, and whether or not there are built-in effects.
Versatility
If you’re a very dedicated blues adept, you probably don’t have much interest in modern metal guitar tone. But for most of us, the more different sounds you can squeeze out of the amp, the better.
Number of channels
At the dawn of rock music, guitar players used to get by with single-channel amps. But things have evolved since. So whether you want a separate channel for your clean tone and overdrive is up to you.
Built-in effects
It’s been a long time since digital equipment learned to emulate analog sound indistinguishably. This means that there’s no practical reason to carry a large pedalboard if you can have all the necessary inside of your amp. Unless, of course, you exclusively want to use effects from your pedalbord.
How to choose the right one for you?
In order to choose the best 5 watt tube amps for your needs, you have to make sure that its tone suits your preferences and you’re comfortable with the number of channels it offers you. Whether or not it has built-in effects might also influence your final decision.
