Learn about the types of amps that exist, how to choose a size, and other considerations you need to know before buying.
An electric guitar without an amp is like pasta without sauce. Plugging your guitar into an amplifier – or “amp, ” if you’re nasty – allows you to unleash the full potential of its sound. Not only does an amp allow those notes and chords to ring out, but it provides guitarists with a mechanism to alter their sound and play with effects.
Whether you’re practicing on your couch or playing a gig in a small venue, there’s an amp for every occasion. We’ll walk you through the basics of buying an amp, what considerations you should keep in mind, and share some of our favorite picks for the best amps for beginners.
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Congratulations! You’ve got an electric guitar and have taken the first steps on a lifetime musical journey. While your guitar will be your trusty companion, you’ll need an amp to help you hear the powerful sound that instrument is capable of producing. Playing while plugged into an amp can allow you to better master finger positionings of chords and hear your guitar’s sustain and resonance while playing.
While you may have had a list of considerations in mind while shopping for your first guitar, you’ll also want to be aware of several factors when choosing an amp. The types of music you enjoy, the size of the space where you’ll be playing and volume, portability, and even effects you may want to use will likely influence your choice of amp.
Before we dive into what to keep in mind when choosing an amp, let’s start off with some of our top picks for beginners. From ultra-portable amps to amps packed with built-in features and effects, there are quite a few affordable and awesome amps available. Here are some of our favorites:
Best Combo Amps For Gigging & Home Use
The Mustang Micro checks many of the boxes for an outstanding amp for beginners. At 3 inches tall by just one inch wide, this tiny amp plugs directly into your guitar, allowing you to sit or walk with it while you practice. Despite its small size, the Mustang Micro is loaded with 12 amp models and 12 effect combinations. It’s also bluetooth compatible, has a headphone jack for quiet practice, and a USB-C input for recording, updating its firmware, or recharging the Micro’s included lithium ion battery. Whether you’re practicing at home or squeezing in a session on the road, the Mustang Micro is the ideal amp for the guitaris-on-the-go.
The Frontman 10G keeps it simple for beginners who want to plug in, practice, and experiment with their tone. The Frontman 10G is a 10 watt practice amp with a 6” ® Special Design Speaker, and gain, volume, treble, and bass controls. This easy-to-use amp also features an overdrive switch that gives you a variety of tones. With just a flick of a switch, you can go from the classic clean tone to a tube-style sound, or full-on distortion. The Frontman 10 includes an auxiliary in port, as well as a headphone jack for silent practice.
For players who want to try all the effects and crave flexibility, the Mustang LT25 offers ease-of-use and an endless array of effects. This 25 watt amp’s compact size is ideal for playing in a small practice space, or even for a recording session at-home. The Mustang LT25 has 30+ built-in presets that give you a wide range of tones, from country picking to thrash metal. It also has 25 different effects, giving you the ability to carve out a sound that’s uniquely yours. This powerful and portable amp also contains a built-in tuner, auxiliary jack to easily plug in and play, and a headphone jack for a quiet practice. It also has a USB port to easily update the Mustang LT25’s firmware, giving you even more access to new tones and effects.
Loud & Clear: The Best Acoustic Guitar Amps For Playing Gigs
Despite its sleek, intimidating, black-on-black aesthetic, the Champion 50XL is easy to use. But don’t sleep on its ability to deliver a sonic boom. With four stompbox effects and 12 amp tones easily dialed-in via the vorce selector knob, the Champion 50XL amp is perfect for rehearsals or extended jam sessions. Its heavier sound is made even more impressive by its built-in assortment of classic effects (including delay, wah, reverb & chorus). The Champion 50XL also includes a tempo button you can tap for time-based effects.
Modeling amps pack all of the sound features of classic and current models into a single package. The Mustang 50GTX gives you a variety of options to craft your perfect sound, pulling in a variety of effects (including overdrive, fuzz, delay, and pitch shift), as well as the tones of several classics like the Vibro King and Silver Jubilee. The Mustang 50GTX is packed with 200 onboard presets via the TONE 3.0 app to help you dial in your tone. The bright LCD color display makes it easy to see your settings and easily spin through its interface. Once updates are available, you can use the amp’s built-in Wi-Fi to update, or download presets directly from the cloud.
Now that you’ve gotten a look at some of our favorite amps for beginners, it’s time to deepen your knowledge of the various types of amps available and considerations to help you narrow the field. The type of music you play will likely influence your choice.
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Do you get fired up when you hear the overdrive of a metal solo? Do you groove to the crisp precision of country picking? Or does the sound of mellow acoustic chords strike something within you? The style of music you play – and your personal playing style – may dictate the type of amp you choose.
When asking yourself, “what amp do I need, ” look to the types of music you love to play. Look for amps that boast features that can give you the sound you’re looking to produce. Many guitar amps are designed with versatility in mind, boasting a variety of built-in options for tones and effects you can dial in to produce a sound that feels at home with your favorite genres.
For instance, if you play pop, country, or jazz, an amp that delivers a crisp, clean sound is ideal. If you like your playing to have more crunch or fuzz, opt for an amp with pre-loaded effects. If you’re still experimenting with your sound or unsure, look for an amp that gives you the best of all worlds.
The Best Guitar Amps For Different Genres, And Why
While these amps are great overall choices for those who play lead, as well as rhythm, you may be looking for something a little different if you play an acoustic electric guitar or bass.
A bass amp is designed to give you more of that low-end rumble, adjust your tone via presets and built-in effects, plus makes use of many of the features baked into electric guitar amps. While you can play bass using a guitar amp, a bass amplifier is specially designed to pump out your instrument’s sound without it getting muddied. Typically, a bass amp has a bigger speaker and slightly higher wattage for output.
If your guitar-of-choice happens to be an acoustic electric guitar, you’ll want an amp designed to enhance the gorgeous tones of an acoustic guitar, allowing its natural resonance to pour through. Acoustic guitar amps aren’t often equipped with the full range of presets and tones that many electric guitar amps include. However, some have built-in reverb to bring out the acoustic flavor and amplify it, as well as a looper that allows you to layer your sound. Many acoustic amps can also double as a PA system or have a second channel to plug in a microphone for solo singer-songwriter performances.
Rockjam Full Size Sunburst St Style Electric Guitar Kit With 10 Watt Guitar Amp, Lessons, Strap, Gig Bag, Picks, Whammy, Lead, Spare Strings & Lessons
When weighing how to choose the right guitar amp, keep size in mind. How big – or how small – is your practice space? Will you be taking your amp with you to practice or jam sessions? If you’ve already started playing gigs, what is the size of the venue and how much amplification will you need to fill the space?
When choosing a beginner’s practice amp, keep in mind where you’ll be practicing. If you live in a house with other people or in a small apartment, look for an amp that has a headphone jack that will allow you to hear the full power of your sound without disturbing your neighbors.
When you’re beginning your learning journey, a smaller amplifier for your guitar may be all you need. Practice amps are typically no more than 8 to 12 inches. (However, even smaller amps like the Mustang Micro can plug directly into your guitar without taking up any floor space at all.) Smaller sized amps are also ideal for packing up and taking to practice sessions. This eliminates the need to cart around heavy equipment. And even smaller-sized practice amps come equipped with built-in effects, which means you’re not sacrificing versatility for a more portable size.
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The size of your amp and its wattage often go hand-in-hand. The
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