Best Beginner Guitar Amps
A good beginner amp can help you make the best start when you learn to play electric guitar, but what are the features of the best beginner guitar amps? Different types of guitar amps offer their own unique features, so do have the knowledge of how they work before deciding on one.
Let's take a look at the best beginner amps and try to take some of the mystery out of the process of choosing a good electric guitar amp for beginners, that will serve you well for the future too.
Solid-state amps
Professional guitar amps are powered by small glass vacuum tubes, and this was the original technology used to build a guitar amp. Modern electronics led to the creation of solid-state amps, which replace the vacuum tubes with transistors on a circuit board.
While purists still consider tube amps (also known as valve amps in the UK) to be the better option, there are several reasons why solid-state amps can be good beginner amps.
Versatile
The digital technology used in solid-state amps leads to a more clear and crisp tone, compared with the more natural, analogue output of a valve amp.
While it's a matter of personal preference, solid-state amps can be the best beginner guitar amps in genres like jazz guitar, where the clearer tones provide the perfect sound quality.
Affordable
Solid-state guitar amps are among the cheapest guitar amps on the market. Their solid construction means they're low-cost to manufacture, and those savings get passed on to the customer.
There's also less to go wrong with a solid guitar amp, so the long-term maintenance costs should be lower too - a win-win if you want to learn to play electric guitar on a budget.
Small and Portable
Transistors are tiny and light, and a printed circuit board (PCB) can house many transistors in a very small amount of space. This lends itself to building very small, light and portable solid-state amps, perfect for beginners and for learning to play guitar, if you want to be able to transport your amp easily to your neighbour’s house for a jam, or to the back garden for a performance in front of friends and family at a party.
Useful features
A good electric guitar amp for beginners will offer a number of useful features beyond just amplifying the output of the guitar itself. Here are a few examples of extra features to look out for on a good beginner guitar amp.
Headphones
Most solid-state electric guitar amps include a headphone socket. This is not always the case with tube amps - and you should always make sure the output jack is labelled 'phones' or 'headphones' before plugging a standard set of headphones into it.
A headphone jack is handy when practising guitar at night or in an urban area, as you can almost silence your performance for anybody nearby (there may still be some audible strumming noise from your strings, depending on your guitar). You might also prefer to practise on headphones until you build your confidence with basic guitar-playing skills.
USB and aux
USB and aux connectors give you more ways to connect to your amp. USB in particular allows your amp to act as an audio interface with your computer, so you can record and analyse your practice sessions.
An aux socket allows you to connect all kinds of other equipment with the correct cable or adapter - so for example, you could play a backing track from CD or DVD while you lay a guitar track over it, with the combined audio coming out of your amp. Playing along with existing records is highly recommended as part of the practice routine for guitar players of different styles at any level, whether you are a beginner just starting out or an advanced professional.
Built-in tuner
If you see an electric guitar amp with built-in tuner, it doesn't mean FM radio. It means that the amp has a built-in tool to check that your guitar strings are tuned correctly - so you don't need a tuner pedal, clip-on string tuner or guitar tuner smartphone app.
Again, this is an excellent feature on solid-state guitar amps, as it's one less piece of kit you need to carry with you, making them good beginner amps if you expect to move around to attend guitar lessons, play for friends and family, or attempt open-mic nights.
Modelling amps
Modelling amps are one of the cheapest guitar amps you can buy, and have come a long way from the first time they hit the market. The name comes from the fact that they try to recreate or 'model' the sound of one or more specific brand-name tube amps.
Tone
Early modelling amps were not considered to be very good. Despite their best efforts, they struggled to produce an authentic-sounding tone and lacked the natural mix of harmonics and overtones produced by the valve amps they mimicked.
More recently this has improved. Modelling amps can now give a reasonable approximation of many different valve amps, including leading brands like Fender, Roland and Peavey. Combined with their cost and portability, this makes them good beginner amps.
Effects
Versatile modelling amps are a really great way to start exploring the different tones and effects of big-brand amps - and that will help you to take your guitar learning to the next level. The alternative to built-in effects in amps are individual guitar pedals.
If you want to learn from the masters, a modelling amp is a good way to get a close simulation of their equipment, on a tighter budget.
Cost
Cost has been a running theme throughout this guide, but it's not all about buying the cheapest beginner guitar amp on the market. As you improve and develop your skills, you'll want an amp that can support you at least through intermediate level.
A good beginner guitar amp will have everything you need, so you don't have to upgrade or replace it too soon. The features mentioned above can be worth paying a bit extra for too, such as a built-in tuner, or external connection options to playback and record from other devices.
Recommendations
From my experience these are the best beginner guitar amps which I have owned and played through for practice and sometimes even gigs.
Boss Katana 50
The Boss Katana 50 guitar amplifier features most of the topics we covered above such as affordability and versatility in terms of the tone of the sound, further emphasising the benefits of a solid-state amp with the beginner in mind. The portability is great as it is not heavy to carry around, with an all black design themed with a silver logo which is stylish and doesn’t attract much attention at all. There is the option of further exploring tone settings once hooked up to a computer software.
I particularly like the boost knob at which I set it low enough just so it is engaged, which gives my chords and double-stops some dirt and grit whilst maintaining a fairly clean but strong dynamic for the single notes in soloing. I have used this amp for gig performances as it is loud enough to cut through a drum kit in the setting of a jazz band. For heavier and louder styles you have the option to go up the 100-watt, or downsize to the mini which features a wireless system.
Watch me perform a jazz ballad with this amp!
Read more on the official BOSS website.
Yamaha THR10
The Yamaha THR10 is also called the desktop guitar amplifier for the right reasons as it is so small in size (more than half the size of the Boss Katana 50) with a creamy colour that suits a wooden desk. There is an orange glow from the interior that shines through the speaker which looks stunning. Once again it features a three-band EQ (I much prefer amps with those rather than just a tone control) for effective shaping of your sound.
This modelling amp can go from sparkling clean to saturated distortion in just a few seconds, and does not compromise in the quality at low or high volumes. With built-in effects, tuner, aux in and headphones out, this is the ultimate practice amp. You have the option of running it on AA batteries, so there really is no excuse for a quick jam at your neighbour’s garden. You can always go for the newer THR30 if you need more volume.
Read more on the official YAMAHA website.
FAQs
Which amp is best for beginners?
It depends on a few factors: cost, genre (e.g. solid-state amps are often preferred for jazz guitar) and what you need in terms of versatility, portability and so on. If you're not sure, contact Bryan for advice on this.
How do I choose a beginner guitar amp?
Again, think about what you want from your beginner amp. If you just want the cheapest option available, that's fine. But if you plan to learn electric guitar to intermediate and advanced level, you'll spend less overall if you buy quality at the start.
Each amp sounds differently with each type of electric guitars, so do make sure you go in store to try it out with a selection of guitars.
How many watts do I need?
Like speakers, the power output of an amp is rated in watts. This can vary a lot. For an ultra-compact, highly portable amp you could be looking at as little as 10-12 watts, enough for practising in a small room but probably not for performance.
Standard practice amps are around 20 watts, but if you plan to go busking or play open-mic nights, you might want to put a bit extra into your budget and buy a 40-50 watt amp that can throw out the kind of volume levels you'll need to cut through the rest of the band and reach your audience.
Read more blogs about guitars, music, and learning.
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