Modelers were certainly on the agenda for consumers throughout 2021, with Fender’s best-selling full-sized guitar amp – once the Blues Junior, which reigned supreme in 2017, 2018 and 2019 – this year arriving in the form of the 10th-place Tone Master Deluxe Reverb.
At the upper end of the table, even more modelers can be spotted. Owing to both the nature of the pandemic and the increasing quality of new modeling amps – sound, size and weight – the top 10 is littered with non-tube amps, including the Boss Katana MKII and Yamaha THR10II.
It's likely that the pandemic has been responsible for the emergence of such a trend. Over the past 24 months or so, the demand for electric guitars has rapidly increased, with Fender reporting 16 million people picked up the instrument for the first time.
Naturally, the increase in demand for guitars translates to an increase in demand for guitar amps, with versatile modeler amps offering beginner guitarists a wealth of tones to experiment with.
Likewise, it's probable that many have sought out practice-friendly modeling amps due to the prevalence of at-home playing sessions, which were forced upon players by national lockdowns.
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The top spot, however, goes to the Fender Mustang Micro – a new release for 2021 that boasts 12 effects and 12 amp emulations. Boss’s solid-state Katana MKII claims second spot, closely followed by Positive Grid’s innovative Spark.
Two Orange amps – Micro Dark and MT20 Micro Terror – round up the top five, with Yamaha’s THR10II and THR30II in close proximity, occupying sixth and seventh. The top 10 is completed by the Vox AC15C1, Orange Crush CR35RT and the Fender Tone Master Deluxe Reverb.
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Vox AC15C1(Image credit: Vox)
Boss Waza Air(Image credit: Boss)
Fender Tone Master Deluxe Reverb(Image credit: Fender)
Kemper Amps Profiler Stage(Image credit: Kemper)
Fender’s first tube amp – the ‘65 Reissue Deluxe Reverb – takes up position in 11th, with the brand’s Rumble 100 tied for 12th spot with the Boss KTN-Mini.
Boss’s Waza Air headphone amp has certainly made an impression, and sensationally beats the once-dominant Fender Blues Junior III to 13th spot. The Marshall DSL20HR, Fender Champion 20, Orange Terror Stamp 20 and Fender Rumble 40 V3 follow suit, solidifying the hypothesis that, for this year at least, tube amps are not as popular as they once were.
Kemper’s Profiler Stage unit weighs in at nineteenth, and manages to miss out on last spot, which goes to the Marshall Studio Vintage SV20H MKII – only the brand’s second product to be included in the list.
Matt is a Senior Staff Writer, writing for Guitar World, Guitarist and Total Guitar. He has a Masters in the guitar, a degree in history, and has spent the last 16 years playing everything from blues and jazz to indie and pop. When he’s not combining his passion for writing and music during his day job, Matt records for a number of UK-based bands and songwriters as a session musician.
