Best tube amps under $1,000

Marshall publishes two channels with independent gain and volume, a genuine effects loop, digital reverb, a Resonance control and a half-power switch — that is more functionality than anything else here.

EL34s into a 12-inch Celestion Seventy-80 is the classic British mid-forward voice, and the Ultra Gain channel means you do not need a distortion pedal to get there.

The half-power setting takes 20 W to 10 W, which is about 3 dB. Useful, and not the same as making the amp quiet. At 35.2 lb it is also the heaviest amp on this page.

There is one channel, and it is a very good one. Fender publishes three 12AX7s and two EL84s into a 12-inch Celestion A-Type, with a FAT switch for a mid boost and a footswitch included.

As a pedal platform at moderate volume, or as a valve amp pushed into its own breakup, this is a complete answer to a lot of playing situations.

No effects loop, no channel switching and no power reduction. If you want time-based effects after the preamp, this amp cannot give you that, and there is no way to run it quietly.

Vox publishes 10 W into a 10-inch Celestion VX10 with a master volume, which is the specification that makes it usable in a small room — you can drive the preamp without the power section being flat out.

12.3 kg against 31.5 lb for the Blues Junior and 35.2 lb for the Marshall. If you carry your own amp, that difference is not trivial.

The 10-inch speaker gives less low end than a 12. No effects loop, no channel switching.

Blackstar publishes two footswitchable channels with the ISF tone control, digital reverb, an effects loop, a USB audio output and a speaker-emulated line output.

The emulated output is the practically useful part: you can record or practice silently through the amp's own preamp rather than bypassing it.

5 W of valve power is still too loud to push the power section in a flat. Low wattage buys less than people expect — 5 W against 20 W is only about 6 dB.

We are not picking this in a valve roundup, and it belongs on the page because the honest comparison is uncomfortable.

For roughly a third of the price of a valve combo, BOSS publishes 50 W into a 12-inch speaker, five amp characters, five effects sections, a Power Control switch that makes it usable at home, a Power Amp In jack, a Rec Out and USB recording. It weighs 11.6 kg.

What it does not do is compress and bloom the way a valve power section does when you drive it. That is a real difference and for some players it is the whole point. But it is worth being clear about what you are paying for, because it is not features and it is not volume.