If you are searching for the best combo amps for metal, you have a great amount to choose from.
Combos are great for different reasons – size, convenience, price – and there are various combo amps that are good for different music genres.
But today I will talk about metal combo amps that have an awesome and powerful sound, features, and quality.
What’s The Best Combo Amp For Metal?
Here are my favorite combo amps for metal which can be used on stage, for recording, and so on. Also, if you are interested, you can check some cool amp heads for metal.
1. Mesa/Boogie Mark Five:35
Mesa/Boogie Mark Five is one of the most popular amps among metal musicians and it’s been used by famous guitar players such as James Hetfield and John Petrucci. It has a very unique sound and features to tweak the sound in depth. This metal combo is a 35-watt version of the famous amp head with a 12″ speaker.
This Mark Five combo amp offers two channels and each channel has different preamp voicing which gives you more diversity regarding sound. But what it’s famous for is the 5-band graphic EQ with additional features which allows you to dial in a great metal tone. Also, this combo has a spring reverb.
2. Marshall DSL40CR
Marshall is a classic amp brand and many metal songs and guitar tracks are recorded with some kind of Marshall amp. And this particular amp, Marshall DSL40CR, is another great modern combo amp for metal which is great for modern and classic metal tones. Offers 40 watts of power, a 12″ speaker, and built-in digital reverb.
DSL40CR is a two-channel amp with two modes for each channel. The Classic Gain channel has clean and crunch modes while the Ultra Gain channel offers OD1 and OD2 modes. It has a 3-band EQ with presence and resonance controls and separate reverb control for each channel which sounds very good. I recommend this amp for guitar players who love the mix between modern and classic metal sounds.
3. Orange Rocker 32
Orange Rocker 32 is one of the best combo amps for metal with a famous Orange sound. It produces a heavy and rich sound with enough power to be used on stage and is a great combo to record guitar tracks. Outputs 30 watts of power and a superb feature is that it’s a stereo combo amp with two 10″ speakers.
This Orange tube combo is very simple yet powerful and versatile with great clean and awesome heavy tones. Offers two drastically different channels with a full EQ section. It’s a very dynamic amp and can be used in any style of playing but for me, it’s a metal combo with an option to play clean tones which makes it a great recording combo. Additionally, it offers half power mode to use only 15 watts.
4. Mesa/Boogie Badlander
Another awesome metal combo amp from Mesa/Boogie is Badlander which offers 25 watts, two channels, and a 12″ speaker. It’s a Rectifier amp and has a famous American metal sound we all love. Each channel has separate controls, you can use a footswitch for channel-switching, and has a power switch to use only 10 watts. A great combo to record with a microphone.
Badlander combo has an open back, FX loop, headphones output, and USB connection which can be used for IR loading. It’s loaded with 12AX7 and EL84 tubes and features Celestion Creamback 65 speaker. Both channels have three modes – clean, crunch, and crush – which makes it a versatile amp and can be used for rhythm or lead guitar.
5. EVH 5150III Combo
EVH 5150III is one of the best combo amps for metal and offers various features to dial in desired sounds. It’s a stereo combo with two speakers, three channels, and built-in reverb. It uses JJ ECC83S preamp tubes and JJ EL34 power tubes, has an FX loop, and 3-band EQ, and for speakers, it uses Celestion G12H. Just an amazing metal machine with versatile tones.
The first channel has amazing clean tones that are great for recording and the second and third channels are great for heavy rhythm and lead guitar tones. Apart from 3-band EQ, each channel has gain and volume controls and master presence control. This 5150III combo offers features such as headphones out, MIDI in, preamp out, and various impedance outputs for guitar cabinets.
Summary
These combo amps for metal are great for any metal guitar musician who wants to have a reliable and great-sounding amp to record or play live. You can dial classic and modern metal tones easily and also have options to use clean tones.