Not a Single Tube Amp Cracked Reverb's Top 10 Last Year

Here's a stat that would've gotten you laughed out of a guitar shop ten years ago: in 2025, not a single tube amp cracked Reverb's top 10 best-selling list. Zero. The entire top five? Modelers and modeling amps. The Quad Cortex sat at number one. Line 6 grabbed three spots. The Positive Grid Spark 40 rounded things out.

If you're a tube amp die-hard, that probably stings a little. If you're running Tonex captures or Kemper profiles into your DAW at 2am, you're probably nodding and thinking "yeah, obviously."

But here's the thing. This story is way more interesting than "modelers win, tube amps lose." The actual data tells a much weirder, more nuanced tale. And if you're someone who cares about tone (which, if you're reading this, you are), there's a massive opportunity hiding in these numbers.

The Numbers Don't Lie (But They Don't Tell the Whole Truth Either)

Reverb publishes their best-selling gear lists every year, and the 2025 edition hit different. The top 20 included the Neural DSP Quad Cortex at number one, followed by the Line 6 Helix Floor, Line 6 Helix LT, Line 6 Catalyst 100, and the Positive Grid Spark 40. The first "traditional" amp on the list? The Orange Micro Dark at number six. And that's a solid-state amp.

The only actual tube amps that made the top 20 were the Vox AC15C1 at number 15 and the Marshall DSL40CR at 16. That's it. Two tube amps out of twenty slots.

Reverb themselves said it plainly: "It's clear to see that amp modelers have won the battle."

But then they dropped the plot twist. Guitar amp combos and heads still outsold amp modelers four to one in total volume during 2025. Four to one! There are just so many different traditional amps trading hands that they still dominate the overall market, even though no single model can compete with a Quad Cortex or Helix in raw unit sales.

So what does that actually mean for you, the person trying to get great tone without selling a kidney?

Why Modelers Keep Winning the Popularity Contest

This isn't complicated. Modelers win on convenience, versatility, and value. A single Quad Cortex or Helix gives you hundreds of amp tones, effects, cab sims, and the ability to run NAM captures, third-party IRs, and community-made presets. You can go from a pristine Fender clean to a fire-breathing high-gain monster in one tap.

Try doing that with tube amps. You'd need a storage unit and a very understanding spouse.

The recording angle is even more decisive. Plug a modeler into your interface and you're tracking killer guitar tones at any hour without waking up the dog. No mic placement. No room treatment headaches. No "my amp sounds amazing cranked but I live in an apartment" problems.

And the price thing is real. A used Helix LT goes for roughly the same price as a mid-tier tube combo. But the Helix gives you dozens of amp models, a hundred effects, and a direct-to-DAW workflow that would cost thousands to replicate with real gear.

But Tube Amps Aren't Dead (They're Just Not Bestsellers)

Here's where the "modelers killed tube amps" narrative falls apart. That four-to-one ratio in total sales volume is significant. People are still buying tube amps constantly. There are just so many different models, brands, and variations that no single tube amp can compete with the Quad Cortex's concentrated popularity.

Think of it like streaming vs. vinyl. Streaming dominates the charts, but vinyl sales keep climbing year after year because a certain type of music lover wants that experience. Tube amps are the same. There's a feel, a response, a presence in the room that digital hasn't fully nailed yet. And plenty of players still want that.

The real question isn't "which is better." It's "how do I get the best of both worlds?"

Captures and Profiles: The Actual Plot Twist

This is where things get really interesting for anyone who loves great tone. The technology that's quietly winning this whole debate isn't modeling at all. It's capture technology.

Kemper profiles, Tonex captures, NAM captures, NeuralDSP captures, HeadRush clones... these aren't generic algorithms guessing what a Marshall Plexi sounds like based on circuit analysis. They're direct snapshots of real amps, captured with real mics, in real rooms, at real settings.

That's a fundamentally different thing than modeling. A model says "we think this is what a JCM800 sounds like." A capture says "this IS what that specific JCM800 sounds like, cranked to 7, with an SM57 right on the cone, through a vintage 4x12."

You get the convenience of a modeler with the authenticity of the actual tube amp. It's the cheat code that both sides of the debate keep ignoring.

Every Platform Has a Sweet Spot

One of the coolest things about the current capture landscape is how many options you have. Each platform has its own strengths, and the best choice depends on your rig and workflow.

Kemper has been in the profiling game the longest. Kemper profiles are mature, refined, and the ecosystem is massive. If you want the deepest library of tones available on any single platform, Kemper is hard to beat. The new Profiling 2.0 update made the capture engine even more accurate, and Six String Lab's Kemper profiles take full advantage of it.

Tonex has been on an absolute tear. IK Multimedia's capture engine sounds fantastic, the software is affordable, and with TONEX 2.0 recently dropping, the platform just keeps getting better. If you want killer tones on a budget, our Tonex captures are a great place to start.

NAM (Neural Amp Modeler) is the open-source wildcard that keeps punching above its weight. It runs on basically everything now, the capture quality is absurd for free software, and the community around it is incredible. Our NAM captures are some of our most popular packs for good reason.

NeuralDSP captures on the Quad Cortex are in a league of their own when it comes to accuracy. The hardware is premium, the capture engine is surgical, and if you're running a QC, our NeuralDSP captures will make that touchscreen sing.

HeadRush quietly added NAM support with the 5.1 update, which was a game changer. HeadRush clones already sounded great, and now HeadRush owners can run NAM captures too, giving them access to a whole universe of community-made tones.

What the Reverb Data Really Means for Your Tone

Here's the takeaway that matters. The reason modelers dominate Reverb's top 10 isn't that tube amps sound bad. It's that modelers are more practical for more people in more situations. And capture technology is the bridge that lets you have both.

You don't have to choose between "convenient but generic" and "incredible but impractical." You can run real amp DNA through a modeler that fits on your pedalboard, records silently at midnight, and travels in a backpack.

The tube amp purists are right that nothing beats the real thing. The modeler crowd is right that convenience matters. Captures let you stop arguing and start playing.

Get Started Without Spending a Dime

If you want to hear what we're talking about, grab one of our free packs and load it up on whatever platform you're running. We've got free captures and profiles for every major platform, and they're the exact same quality as our paid packs. No "lite" versions, no limitations. Just real amp tones captured from real gear.

The data is clear: players are moving toward modelers and captures in record numbers. The question isn't whether this trend will continue. It's whether you're getting the most out of the rig you already own.

Check out the full Six String Lab collection and find your next favorite tone. Because the best amp you've never played might already be waiting in your modeler.