9 Best Acoustic Guitar Amps Under $500 2024

Looking for an acoustic guitar amp?

They can sure come in handy, whether you’re practicing, jamming, performing, or even recording.

Although there aren’t a ton of options to choose from, they are all a little different, and it’s worth knowing about these differences before you commit to a purchase.

In this guide, we’ll look at the best acoustic guitar amps under $500.

Fender Acoustic Junior Go – 100-Watt acoustic Amp With Rechargeable Battery

How many times have you thought to yourself, “I need an acoustic amp I can take wherever I go and be able to play anywhere!”

Well, if you’re not a busker, you may not find yourself saying this at all. But buskers love the flexibility of an amp that works anywhere.

The Fender Acoustic Junior Go is a two-channel acoustic guitar amplifier with a 8” woofer compression tweeter, rechargeable battery, balanced XLR outputs, and Bluetooth playback.

I love the way the Fender Acoustic Junior Go sounds. It offers the perfect balance of warmth, clarity, and punch (of course, you can adjust with EQ).

If you’re not going to be sold on its sound, you certainly aren’t going to be sold on its features.

The Acoustic Junior Go is lightweight, and amazingly, both channels come with controls for volume, FX level, FX select, as well as low, mids, and highs. Both channels also have phase buttons, just in case the two channels cancel out each other.

The onboard effects include room reverb, hall reverb, echo, delay, chorus, vibratone, delay and chorus, and delay and reverb. It even comes with a built-in looper!

Although we’re not saying this is the best acoustic amp in existence, it would be mighty hard to beat for the price.

Buyers of the Acoustic Junior Go were likewise sanguine, saying they were impressed with its sound and effects.

Item weight: 1 lbs.

Package dimensions: 16 x 16 x 20 inches

Orange Crush Acoustic 30 Combo Amplifier Bundle

The Orange Crush Acoustic 30 combo amp bundle is an excellent deal for those in need of an amp along with some essential guitar accessories.

The bundle includes an instrument cable, guitar picks, and an Austin Bazaar polishing cloth. Not a big deal if you’ve already got everything you need, but if not, you’ll probably enjoy the bonuses.

The amp itself features a two-channel design for acoustic guitar and vocals, an 8” speaker, wall/battery operation for maximum flexibility, and an FX loop.

To me, the amp doesn’t sound like anything special. It sounds a little like what I would expect to hear if you were to play your guitar directly into a tin can. The mids and highs are especially accentuated, making it sound tinny. There just isn’t enough bass.

To be fair, you can tweak the onboard EQ until you’re happy with the results, and the guitar you’re using will make a difference too.

The amp comes with volume, EQ, and effects controls. And yes, you can power it with a battery if you plan to take to the streets.

Happy customers said they liked that the tone packed a punch and the amp sounded good at any volume.

Others echoed my opinion that the amp sounds kind of tinny.

Item weight: 18 lbs.

Package dimensions: 17 x 12 x 12 inches

Orange Crush Acoustic 30

“Wait… didn’t you cover this amp already?”

Well, in a manner of speaking, yes.

We covered the Crush Acoustic 30 bundle, which comes with a few accessories and a different colored amp.

The Orange Crush Acoustic 30 doesn’t come with accessories, but it does come with the classic, trademark Orange exterior. Choices is always good, isn’t it?

This amp certainly doesn’t sound or function any differently than the one we covered earlier, so if you’re expecting some changes there, you’ll be disappointed.

So, my opinion still stands that while it’s a decent little compact and portable amp, it sounds tinny. It might be right for some situations (in a band for example), but it could be a little brash for solo performances.

Some people still love it though, so to each their own. Customers liked the Crush Acoustic 30 for practice, jams, and small gigs.

Again, some users echoed my opinion that it sounds tinny.

Item weight: 17.8 lbs.

Package dimensions: 11 x 10 x 13 inches

NUX Stageman 50-Watt Acoustic Guitar Amplifier

NUX has a knack for coming up with products that disrupt and delight. And when it comes to acoustic amps, the NUX Stageman delivers something a little extra, which makes it compelling.

This impeccably designed amp comes with two channels for guitar and vocals, three band EQ, chorus and reverb, FX loop (send/return), built-in 60-second looper, and Bluetooth control pedal.

It also features a 50-watt RMS with a 6.5-inch woofer and a 1-inch tweeter, built-in drums with 20 styles, and a free Stageman app to control effects and the Jam function.

I love how the controls are laid out on this amp. There’s nothing confusing about the operation of it, and it’s mostly plug and play.

Okay, nice features and all… but how does this thing sound?

To me, the tone is the perfect combination of warm and round. It’s an incredibly pleasant tone, but a little different from the Fender Acoustic Junior, which offers a woody high end. Still a great tone, though!

The foot controller is also easy to use and quite handy. I’m not sure how much I would use the drums myself (except in practice) but being able to control the looper and effects for each channel is golden.

Users were quite impressed with this amp’s colorful and clean tone. It’s worth checking out for sure!

Item weight: 27.1 lbs.

Package dimensions: 12.2 x 9.4 x 12.6 inches

Fender Acoustic 100 Guitar Amplifier

Yes, we’ve got another Fender entry for you and that shouldn’t come as much of a surprise, since they have a reputation of making excellent acoustic amps (it feels like the Acoustasonic was about the only acoustic amp you’d see in guitar stores back in the day…).

Here we have the smoothly-designed Fender Acoustic 100, which has 100 W of power, Bluetooth connectivity (for streaming audio from your phone), 8” full-range speaker with “whizzer” cone for added clarity, onboard digital effects, and USB jack for streaming or recording audio to a computer.

Seemingly, they’ve thought of everything.

Peeking at the controls, each channel comes with volume, low, mid, high, FX level, and FX select controls. The effects are basically the same as the Acoustic Junior – room reverb, hall reverb, echo, delay, chorus, vibratone, delay and chorus, and delay and reverb.

As you would expect from a Fender, its tone is quite good, and even versatile. You won’t have any trouble dialing in punchy and beautiful highs. That’s kind of a big deal because some amps have especially brash highs.

My first impression with the amp is that the lows are little “boomy,” and that’s not too much of a surprise considering its wattage. It would be worth having a listen for yourself, though, and I’m not saying it sounds bad by any means. Overall, it’s got a solid tone.

Plus, you can’t deny that this would make a great gigging amp.

Overall, buyers liked its natural tone.

For its wattage, the amp doesn’t go terribly loud, though, so if you’re looking for an amp that you can crank up, you’ll want to keep looking.

Item weight: 18 lbs.

Package dimensions: 21.8 x 13.1 x 18.3 inches

Fender Acoustic Junior – 100-Watt Acoustic Amp

Before you go “wait, didn’t you cover this amp already?”

Yes, the Fender Acoustic Junior comes with all the same features the Acoustic Junior Go does.

But there is one minor difference – this amp isn’t battery powered.

You get the same great features, same great effects, same great tone, all that. But this amp is better suited for use at home, in rehearsal, at coffee shops, or in the studio.

If you don’t need to be able to take your amp everywhere you go, but you like the Fender Acoustic Junior (and want to save a bit of money), then this amp is ideally suited to you.

And yes, the amp is still lightweight, regardless of which model you pick.

As with the Acoustic Junior Go, users loved the Acoustic Junior. Specifically, they loved its high-fidelity sound, and even thought it was superior to most acoustic amps out there.

Item weight: 19.26 lbs.

Package dimensions: 16 x 16 x 20 inches

Marshall Acoustic Soloist AS50D 50-Watt Acoustic Guitar Amplifier

Marshall, of course, is another highly recognizable brand name in the guitar amp space. But how do they do when it comes to acoustic amps?

The best-selling Marshall Acoustic Soloist AS50D comes with 50 Watts of power, two channels, as well as digital chorus and reverb.

Looking a little more closely at the front panel, you also get anti-feedback and master volume controls.

Still a little sparse compared to some of the other amps already mentioned, but sometimes simple is good.

These little boxes are stylish and versatile because of their various connectivity options. And, true to form, the amp does sound good. Overall, it has a round sound with an especially strong bass. But what it does, it does right. Depending on what you like, this amp is a must see.

Reviewers loved this amp for its projection and pure tone.

Some said they were able to get a tone that matches the Acoustic Soloist on a much cheaper amp, but they were in the decided minority.

Item weight: 35.3 lbs.

Package dimensions: 21.34 x 10.28 x 16.38 inches

Wangs Amp AC60 60W Dual Channel Acoustic Amplifier Vocal Amplifier

Here we have the Wangs Amp AC60. Wangs Amp isn’t exactly a well-known brand, but they have been slowly gaining some attention across the world with their sneaky good tone.

And the AC60 does look like a solid piece of gear – not just another knock-off.

This amp comes with 60 W of power, a 15mm Baltic birch enclosure with finger joints, 8-inch double cone speaker, two channels with EQ and digital reverb, chorus, Aux in, FX loop, DI out, High/Low control for additional tuning, and a high-fidelity circuit.

Users were quite impressed with the AC60, noting that it offered a full, open sound, along with plenty of headroom.

Some thought it was a little overpriced though.

Item weight: 16.53 lbs.

Package dimensions: 16.93 x 15.59 x 15.5 inches

Fishman PRO-LBT-500 Loudbox Mini Acoustic Guitar Bluetooth Amplifier

Most acoustic guitarists will know Fishman for their acoustic guitar pickups and electronics. That being the case, they are a trusted brand when it comes to acoustic amps.

The stylish Fishman PRO-LBT-500 Loudbox features 60 Watts of power, two channels, reverb and chorus, 1/4-inch and 1/8-inch Aux ins, and Bluetooth connectivity.

This is Fishman’s lightest and most portable acoustic amp, and honestly, it sounds amazing. I find no flaw with the tone. I would play around with the bass frequencies until they felt right to me, but aside from that, it accentuates all the right things in an acoustic guitar.

Customers loved its tone, value, and durability.

Some thought it was not worth the money though.

Item weight: 22 lbs.

Package dimensions: 26 x 16 x 16 inches

What Should I Look For In An Acoustic Guitar Amp?

Let’s keep this simple.

When it comes to selecting an acoustic amp, the three things that matter most are:

• Sound
• Controls and effects
• Budget

That’s what we’re going to be looking at here.

Sound

What matters more than sound? Well, that depends on who you ask, but most players agree that sound is quite important when it comes to choosing the amp.

Tonal qualities? Yes. But even more than that, feedback (does the amp have anti-feedback?), volume and headroom, 1/4-inch or XLR connectivity, and effects are all going to play a part in the amp’s sound too.

Our favorites were the Fender Acoustic Junior and the Fishman Loudbox. But that isn’t to say you might not like the others. We recommend checking out the demos and reviews to get a better sense of how each amp sounds and what you like.

Controls & Effects

If you’ve got reverb and chorus, most acoustic players will tell you that you’ve “got your bases covered.”

Some amps do come with more (especially the Fender Acoustic Junior amps), so if you need additional effects, a looper, or even drums, then it’s worth considering the Fender or NUX amps.

The NUX also comes with a foot controller, though you could probably find compatible footswitches for many of the amps listed above.

Bluetooth connectivity might be important to you if you want to be able to control your amp with your phone, so that’s another thing to look for if it’s going to make or break the purchase.

Budget

For this guide, we’ve looked specifically at amps that cost somewhere between $300 and $500 (no more, no less).

Amps in this range can certainly “get the job done.” Most come with effects, some are portable (battery powered), and some give you more headroom for all those times you need to crank up.

Not every amp is going to give you everything you need, so it’s worth doing some digging before you finalize your purchase.

That said, we always like to warn our readers against overspending. Stay within your budget, and if the amp you want to buy is not within your means, save up before the purchase.

What Are The Best Acoustic Guitar Amp Brands?

Here are some of the top acoustic guitar amp brands.

These days, almost every guitar brand has jumped on the bandwagon of making acoustic guitar amps, so this list should not be considered comprehensive.

AER

Not represented here, but German brand AER is a titan when it comes to high-quality acoustic guitar amps. Virtuoso Tommy Emmanuel has his own signature series AER acoustic amp, so that should tell you something!

Fender

Fender certainly seems to know what they’re doing when it comes to acoustic amps, and it probably helps that they’ve had a long history with the Acoustasonic amp line.

Orange

So far as we’re concerned, Orange still has some things to work out with their acoustic amps. But they do make great electric guitar amplifiers, so we think it’s only a matter of time before they crack the code. Keep an eye open for what Orange comes up with next!

Marshall

Apparently, Marshall has it figured out where Orange doesn’t, and their best-selling acoustic amps are proof enough. While hunting for an acoustic amp, you should not ignore the Marshall name.

Fishman

As a brand that specializes in acoustic guitar electronics, Fishman tends to live up to their reputation, and their amps make for a solid choice for any guitarist.

Top Acoustic Guitar Amps Less Than $500, Final Thoughts

When it comes to buying an acoustic guitar amp, it’s always good to think about how you’re going to be using it.

Just about anything will do for home use, but if you’re planning to perform or record, you should be a little more targeted in how you choose an amp.

We’ve highlighted some of the best amps in the market within a certain price range, and you can’t go wrong with any of them. But just make sure you know what you’re buying, because the amps aren’t all created equal.

Happy shopping!