Mini guitar amplifiers is everything a guitarist would want when they’re not playing on-stage. The idea here is besides already having a main amp to use for shows and jam sessions. Smaller or mini guitar amplifiers can work as the guitar players second amplification to work on stuff in lower volumes, or just plain doodling around with the guitar.
Their small size is an advantage rather than a disadvantage for being portable and the volume these amps can provide is quiet loud to actually enjoy playing. The battery powered type can be great for travels. While the small combo or a small head amp paired with a speaker cabinet are best for home use. Other things these type of amps can do is to be mic’d up on a PA system for recordings, and for the most obvious reason as a starter amp for beginners to learn well with.
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Blackstar FLY3 Mini Guitar Amp
- Portable 3 watt mini guitar combo amplifier
- 1×3” inch speaker
- Clean and overdrive channel
- Patented ISF EQ (Infinite Shape Feature)
- Digital ‘tape’ delay effect
- MP3 / Line-In audio
- Headphone out for silent practice or recording
- Battery or DC powered
Backed-up with countless good reviews from beginners and veteran players alike. The Blackstar FLY3 is one of the best deals out there a player could find when it comes to a good sounding affordable mini guitar amplifiers.
It is a 3 watts 2 channels amp that can run by power supply or using it with batteries. Controls are straight forward consist of a volume, gain, EQ called the ISF and a delay effect that can be tweak to sound like a reverb. Added features on the amp are MP3 line-in for audio and headphone out that also work as its speaker out.
Boss Katana Mini
- 7 watt mini portable guitar amplifier
- 1×4” inch speaker
- 3 channel amp that can deliver a clean, crunch and brown sound
- 3 band EQ bass, middle and treble
- Delay effect with a time and level control
- Aux input for jamming with music and headphone/recording
- Battery or adapter powered
Another amp that is making waves when it comes to a mini battery-powered amp and also out of the Roland brand is Boss Katana Mini. This 7 watts amp with 4” inch speaker is catching up fast or probably has already overtaken the Blackstar Fly3 popularity as the top choice when it come to amplifiers of this category.
The Katana Mini is a 3 channel amp that can deliver a clean, crunch and brown sound to use for practice or to get mic’d up. Control to shape tones are 3 channel selector switch to go from clean-crunch-brown, gain. Volume, EQ bass-mid-treble, and delay effect with a time and level control. Aux input for jamming with music and headphone/recording are also available.
VOX Mini5 Rhythm
- 5 watt mini amplifier for practice
- 1×6.5” standard speaker
- Controls are volume, gain, tone, amp selector, effects selector, reverb selector, mic trim, mic send, rhythm selector, rhythm tempo, rhythm level
- 11 authentic amp models and on-board 8 effects
- 99 adjustable rhythm patterns and a metronome to play along
- Powered by batteries or AC adapter
Powered by batteries or with a power adapter which is already included as its accessory. The Vox Mini5 Rythym is an ideal small amplifier to use for bedroom practice, dorm room and to bring on the road.
It has 99 adjustable rhythm patterns and a metronome to play along making each practice session fun, interesting and progressive. 11 authentic amp models and on-board 8 effects make this small amp versatile allowing any guitarist to try out ideas by having a variety of classic and inventive guitar tones. The amp is capable of producing pure clear clean and heavy gain sound that seems unthinkable for its small size. With a road worth housing and the packs features, this amp is ready for any playing style and guitar players who are always on the go.
Blackstar ID:Core Stereo 10
- 10 watts programmable guitar combo amplifier
- 2×3” inches speaker for stereo wide sound
- Voice select from 6 classic channels namely clean warm, clean bright, crunch, super crunch, OD 1 and OD 2
- EQ with patented ISF to go from British to American or something in between
- 12 Stereo Effects
- Stereo MP3/Line In with dynamic EQ for great sounding music playback
- Speaker emulated line out for silent practice or recording and USB port
- Mains powered via a separate PSU (Included)
The Backstar ID:Core 10 is a 2×5 watts practice guitar amplifier that offers a stereo wide sound and also has the ISF feature along with all the six channels found on the 20 and 40 watts ID:Core model. Consisting of clean warm, clean bright, crunch, super crunch, OD 1 and OD 2.
Furthering the sound it can deliver, the amp also includes modulation effects like a delay and reverb making the ID:Core 10 a suitable beginner amplifier with a technology unique for its size and to blow the away competition.
Marshall MG15
- Compact 15 watts solid state guitar amplifier
- 1×8” inch speaker
- Controls are clean volume, channel select button, gain, volume, and 3-band EQ bass, middle, treble
- Includes a headphone jacks for quiet practice and aux-in jack to play along with an audio backing track
- Fixed power cable
The sought after Marshall tones and looks of its cab is made all possible on a small amp by the Marshall MG15. This 15 watts solid state practice amp has a clean and overdrive channel having separate volume, and has a shared 3-band EQ control to further enhance the overall quality of the sound. The MG15 doesn’t carry any modulation effects compared to the MG15R model with a reverb and MG15FX model with digital effects that includes a reverb, chorus, phaser, flanger, delay and octave.
Other features that comes with the amp are headphone jacks for quiet practice and aux-in jack to play along with an audio backing track.
Fender Champion 20
- 20 watt modelling guitar amplifier
- 1×8” inch speaker to deliver the tones
- Controls on the panel are 2-band EQ bass-treble, gain control, master volume, voice, FX select and FX level
- 12 amp models from Fender blackface, tweed, and for a British type of crunch and metal
- Effects of this combo amp are reverb, delay/echo with tap tempo, chorus, tremolo, flanger and vibratone
- Included are headphone out and aux-in input jacks
The Fender Champion 20 is a 20 watts modelling amplifier with 8” inch speaker that is recommended for budding player on a minimum budget. It banks around 12 amp models from Fender blackface, tweed, and for a British type of crunch and metal.
Carried effects of this combo amp are as follows, reverb, delay/echo with tap tempo, chorus, tremolo, flanger and vibratone. Other controls on the panel to shape tones are 2-band EQ bass-treble, gain control, master volume and FX level to change the texture. Also included are headphone and aux-in input jacks.
Monoprice 611815 Guitar Tube Amplifier
- 15 watt guitar tube amplifier
- 1×12” inch celestion speaker
- 3x12AX7 tube preamp and 2x EL84 power tubes
- Front panel controls are master volume, gain, tone, and 3-band EQ bass-mid treble
- With a built-in spring reverb that can be switch on/off using a foot pedal.
- Input jacks for external speaker and FX loop
This amp from Monoprice is a 15 watts amp with 12” inch celestion speaker placed on a open back cabinet that offers players a legit tube powered tones using its 3x12AX7 tube preamp and 2x EL84 power tubes.
The front panel controls to produce classic sounds of a tube amp are master volume, gain, tone, and 3-band EQ bass-mid treble. It also has a built-in spring reverb that can be switch on/off using a foot pedal. Input jacks are present at the back for external speaker and FX loop which allows to insert effects on the preamp and power amp sections.
ZT Lunchbox Junior Amplifier
- 35 watt class D powered small amp
- 1×5” inch speaker housed in a sealed cabinet
- Controls are volume, tone and gain
- Powers 9V pedals
- 12 volt DC-in that allows to power the amp on batteries or via car battery to take it anywhere
- Switchable 115V/230V for international travel​
The ZT Lunchbox Junior Amplifier is a powerful sounding 35 watts class D powered small amp with a 5” inch speaker housed in a sealed cabinet, and the controls are very simple to use consisting only of a volume, gain and tone control to capture both iconic and modern tones.
It has a 12 volt DC-in that allows to power the amp on batteries or via car battery to take it anywhere. Another feature to look forward into this amp is the 9 volt DC-in that allows to power and daisy chain effects pedals which is a unique feature not seen on other small speaker amplifier. It is incredibly rich sounding ultracompact pro-grade guitar amp and surprisingly loud sounding for its size-to-volume ratio for the amount of volume it can produce.
Yamaha THR10C Guitar Amplifier
- Lightweight and portable 10 watt guitar amp
- 2×3” inch speakers
- Amp, gain, master, bass, middle, treble, effect, dly/rev, 5x user memory switch, guitar output, usb/aux output and tap/tuner switch
- Cllassic amp types to play with are duluxe, class A, US blues, Brit blues, mini, acoustic, flat and added Bass in true hi-fi stereo sound
- Range of effects like chorus, flanger, phaser, tremolo, tape echo, echo/reverb, spring reverb, hall reverb and with optional compressor and noise gate easily available in the THR edito
- Can run on AC power or with batteries
- Built-in chromatic tuner
Yamaha is known over the years for the technology they apply in their manufacturing of pro-audio equipment. With that being said and not a secret, the Yamaha THR10C is no exception. This amp has everything a guitarist would want on small amp to let them go out there and play.
The amp has classic amp types to play with. Namely Duluxe, Class A, US Blues, Brit Blues, Mini, Acoustic, Flat and added Bass in true hi-fi stereo sound. Also included are range of effects like Chorus, Flanger, Phaser, Tremolo, Tape Echo, Echo/Reverb, Spring Reverb, and Hall Reverb with optional Compressor and Noise Gate easily available in the THR editor. It is lightweight and portable amp that can run on AC power or with batteries.
Peavey 6505 Piranha Head
- Delivers 20 watt of high gain and crisp clean tones
- 12AX7/ECC83 tube driven preamp and solid state power
- Controls are master volume, gain knob, single rotary EQ, and Crunch/Lead channel switch
- Set of Input/output jacks for the effects loop, auxiliary input for tracks, speaker output, and headphone
- 4 ohm minimum impedance to match and use only speaker cables
This simple to operate loud sounding mini 6505 Piranha head amplifier can deliver 20 watts of high gain and crisp clean tones using its 12AX7/ECC83 tube driven preamp and solid state power.
It has a master volume, gain knob, single rotary EQ, and Crunch/Lead channel switch to blend-in tones. Set of Input/output jacks are present for the effects loop, auxiliary input for tracks, speaker output, and headphone. 4 ohm minimum impedance to match and use only speaker cables.
Quilter MicroBlock 45
- 45 watts of solid state power
- Control layout of three knobs consisting of gain, tri-Q and master volume
- Headphone jack and aux-in to use an audio source
- 33 watts into 8ohms, and full 45 watts of power into 4ohms using proper speaker cables
This compact and pedal format amplifier to be carried anywhere when placed on a gig bag can produce 45 watts of solid state power to use for solo practice and jam sessions is called the Quilter MicroBlock 45.
It has a very basic control layout of three knobs consisting of gain, tri-Q and master volume to deliver efficiently a smooth clean and a wide range of dirty rocking tones. This small amp that weighs only half a pound can push 33 watts into 8ohms to a full 45 watts of power into 4ohms using proper speaker cables. Also part of the features on the amp is a headphone jack and aux-in to use an audio source.
Orange Micro Terror Head
- 20 watt solid state output power
- 12AX7/ECC83 preamp tube
- Huge tones using only a master volume, gain and tone controls
- Roadworthy casing with handle
- Headphone jack, aux-in jack and at the back is a jack for the speaker cabinet
- 8 ohm minimum to 16 ohm impedance to match and use only speaker cables
On a relatively friendly and sensible price. The Orange Micro Terror is definitely a must have head when on a budget that can always guarantee to deliver awesome overdriven and clean sound with its 12AX7/ECC83 tube preamp and solid state power.
Controls to process these huge tones is by using only a master volume, gain, and tone which is so simple. For input/out jacks to use a headphone, audio source are all present, and at the back is a jack for a speaker cabinet. 8 ohm minimum to 16 ohm impedance to match and use only speaker cables.
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