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The Stagg 10 GA is definitely one of the lowest priced guitar amps in the history of the universe, selling for as little as £24.99.

At this price you’d be right to be wary (I know I was), you’d need to ask questions like; ‘is it made from old beer cans?’ and ‘will it not sound like a dying cat?’. The only way to find out is to plug it in.

Compared to its predecessor the Stagg CA-10, this amp has definitely moved up a notch in build quality. The CA-10 was a funky little ultra portable practice amp, however the plywood casing was a bit too thin to provide much in the way of bass or tonality and it didn’t look very cool. These issuses have been remedied in the 10 GA, the case is much chunkier and care has been taken making the ‘look’ of the amp.

On the control panel the 10 GA features gain, overdrive selector switch, volume, treble, mid, bass, mini jack headphone socket, mini jack CD/MP3 input and the necessary power switch. The knobs themselves are a retro style with smooth action and are solidly mounted.

To test the 10 GA I used an Ibanez at around the £200 mark, so not to taint the sound with a lesser guitar and not to colour the sound too much, as would happen with a £3000 guitar with custom pickups. The amp was quite surprising, starting with the clean sound it provided a very chirpy bright sound and not a tinny one. After messing around with the EQ I managed to get very acceptable bassy blues and twangy jazz sounds. Then moving on to the inevitable overdrive button. It does exactly what it says on the tin, the sound is a very fuzzy grungy one and after tweaking the EQ there seemed to be a good variety of sound. After messing around with the rather confusing Mid control (it’s hard to tell if it’s boosting sweeping at times) it was possible to get some nice vintage sounds and also the clinical metal sounds.

To sum up, it’s VERY hard to criticise an amp of this quality when it only costs the same as two albums or your Christmas turkey. As a starter amp it’s ideal and it can go louder than even the most supportive parent would find acceptable. As a secondary practice amp (while your stacks in storage) it’s ideal, being portable and light. All in all this amp is not a cracker prize, it’s damn cheap and does the job well.