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Best Beginner Guitar Amps – What Guitar Amp is best for Beginners?
Introduction
Welcome to another beginner gear guide! This time, we’re diving into the best beginner guitar amps. Which guitar amp is best for beginners? What amp should you consider if you’re just starting out and looking for something versatile enough for practice and gigs? Our recommendations range in function, price, and size, tailored to suit different needs!
Just like in our beginner guitar article, we won’t recommend cheap and low-quality products. Instead, we’ll suggest amps that are reliable and will last you a long time, saving you the cost of frequent upgrades. Check out our other beginner gear guides using the links below:
Best Beginner Guitars Amps!
Choosing the right guitar amp can be tricky. You’ll hear debates like “tube amps are better” versus “you can get those sounds from a modeller.” Our focus is to recommend the best beginner guitar amps that are suitable for learning, practicing, jamming, and even gigging. We’ve categorized our recommendations into three genres: Blues/Rock, Metal, and Universal.
We always advise that you spend more on your amp than your guitar. A high-end guitar won’t sound its best through a cheap amp. If you have a budget of £1000 for both a guitar and an amp, we suggest allocating 70% of your budget to the amp and 30% to the guitar. Let’s explore the best amps for each genre.
Blues/Rock: Harley Benton TUBE15
Starting with a great blues amp, we recommend the Harley Benton TUBE15, available exclusively through Thomann. This 15-watt all-tube amp features a 12” Celestion speaker.
The controls are straightforward and perfect for beginners: an on/off switch, gain, volume, tone controls, a 3-band EQ, and built-in reverb. It also includes a built-in attenuator, allowing you to reduce the output to 1 watt for bedroom practice. There’s an effects loop for your wet effects and a real spring reverb, which can be activated with a footswitch.
The TUBE15 is compact and lightweight, ideal for home use or your first gigs. While 15 watts may not provide extensive headroom, it’s more than sufficient for getting started and handling small performances.
Metal: EVH 5150 Iconic
Looking for a metal amp? The EVH 5150 Iconic, inspired by Eddie Van Halen, is a powerful yet affordable option. This 40-watt, tube-driven amp is loud enough for gigs, featuring two channels for a range of sounds—from clean tones to the iconic 5150 overdrive.
With 6L6 tubes in the power section, it delivers that classic American ’80s metal sound. The amp includes a Cab Sim DI and a power soak option, making it versatile for both bedroom practice and live performances. Despite its reputation for high-gain sounds, the EVH 5150 Iconic can also produce beautiful clean tones. It even comes with built-in reverb!
Priced between £600-£700, this professional-grade amp is built to last, making it a solid investment. You might also find good deals on the second-hand market.
Universal: Boss Katana
Need an amp that can do it all? The Boss Katana is a versatile, reliable, and highly popular choice. It’s known for its great sounds, user-friendly design, and built-in effects from Boss’s extensive pedal lineup.
The Katana’s robust build quality and low price make it an excellent option for beginners. You can use the amp as a plug-and-play device or dive deeper with software for sound customization. Whether you want simplicity or advanced features, the Katana delivers.
With three versions available, you can choose based on your needs and budget. The MKIII 100-watt version, priced around £300, is highly recommended for its additional features, such as a power amp input, MIDI and footswitch controls, and Bluetooth connectivity.
If you are not to concerned with gigging and don’t need volume or power, Then the Boss Katana Mini is a great option for home and bedroom playing! Running batteries and being super compact, it makes for a fantastic practice amp. We have recently put a review out which you can check out here.
Conclusion
So that is 3 options for the best beginner guitar amps. We hope this guide helps you choose the perfect first “proper” amp. While there are other options like modellers, load boxes, and plugins, we focused on traditional amps that are simple, sound great, and are easy to use. Perhaps we’ll cover the best amp alternatives in a future article! If you’d like to see that, drop us an email here!
If you have any ideas for the best beginner guitar amps, then please let us know! As we know we have only just scratched the surface with these 3! Maybe we will have to do an updated version of this article with a few more best beginner guitar amp.
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