Best Practice Amps: Affordable Amplifiers for Practicing at Home
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Best Practice Amps: Affordable Amplifiers for Practicing at Home · Source: Positive Grid
Practicing the guitar at home is extremely important if you want to get better at it, and practice amps should inspire you to keep at it. From the classic tone of valves to the advanced solid-state sounds and next-gen features, these best practice amps each offer quite a lot for very affordable prices.
Best Practice Amps: Why not Use Headphone Amps or Multi-Effects?
Many headphone amps and multi-effects pedals that include amp and cab emulations have become so realistic-sounding that using these to practice at home is rather common these days. But there is something to standing in front of an actual amp, however small it is, and actually feeling the sonic impact, however quietly you’re using it.
One could also argue for modelers or multi-effects pedals in combination with headphones, since using in-ears on stage is rather widespread these days. Practicing with headphones is a more similar experience to using in-ears than looking for the best practice amps. But twiddling physical knobs, creating feedback for creative lead sounds – these simply cannot be replicated by touch screens and headphone amps.
Before all of this sounds too old-timery, most of the best practice amps I’ll be suggesting today offer some form of modeling, a headphone output, and other modern features. Most of these things are just to necessary and useful to do without.
What to Look for when Shopping for the Best Practice Amps
As always, it all depends. It depends on whether you’re looking for a jack-of-all-trades, which offers every guitar sound under the sun, or a simplified solution that provides 1-2 sounds and nothing more. Generally speaking, practice amps should be small and lightweight, offer ways to attenuate the sound without sacrificing their dynamic response, and ideally include a headphone output.
Bonus points for features like a metronome, an aux-in to play along to backing tracks, possibly Bluetooth connectivity both for audio streaming and dialing in sounds through your smartphone, and a USB port. Some of these amps, like many modelers, offer audio recording functionality, as they can be used as an audio interface once connected to your computer. Which can be great for recording your practice runs.
As always, these suggestions are simply ranked by price not by any other metric.
Check Out These Affordable Practice Amps!
Blackstar FLY 3 Mini Amp
Make no mistake, the 3 watts the Blackstar Fly 3 delivers might look tiny on paper. But this thing is perfect for practicing at home, for endless jams and noodling on the couch, without angry neighbors, annoyed partners or scared cats. It delivers crisp cleans, gritty overdrive, and even built-in delay for added depth—all with just a few simple controls.
The compact design and battery option make it easy to take anywhere, and it sounds far bigger than it looks. You can also plug in your phone to jam along to your favortite tracks, or use headphones for late-night sessions. It even lets you record direct with speaker simulation, capturing real amp feel. And at this price*, it’s practically a no-brainer, and one of the best practice amps to get started with.
Positive Grid Spark Go
The Positive Grid Spark Go is portable guitar amp, Bluetooth speaker, and audio interface all in one smart device. Weighing just 400 grams, it delivers 5-watt power through a 2″ speaker. Which is more than enough for practicing at home. With 43 onboard effects, smart jam features, and Auto Chords for learning songs straight from YouTube, it’s built for both practice and creativity on the go.
The amp includes a guitar input, headphone out, and USB-C connectivity, plus simple controls for guitar and audio volume. The rechargeable battery, one-channel design, and seamless Spark app integration make it a powerful tool for jamming, recording, or simply enjoying music. Get it here* from Thomann for 122 euros.
BOSS Katana Mini
The Boss Katana Mini has earned its place as a go-to practice amp, and it’s easy to see why. It’s got solid tone, it’s super portable, and it won’t break the bank. With three voicings—Clean, Crunch, and Brown—you can go from smooth and clear to gritty and aggressive in no time. Brown mode even gives you that classic British amp vibe.
There’s a built-in tape-style delay for a bit of atmosphere, and you can run it on batteries or with a power supply. Plug in your headphones for quiet practice or go direct using the speaker-emulated out. Want to jam along to your favorite tracks? Just use the aux input. It’s available from Thomann* for 109 euros.
Mooer Hornet
The Mooer Hornet White is a feature-packed practice amp with 15 watts of power and a custom 6.5″ speaker. Whether you’re after clean jazz tones or full-blown metal distortion, the amp’s nine digital models cover a huge range of sounds. Add in modulation, delay, and reverb (each with three selectable types), and you’ve got everything you need for an inspiring practice session.
Perfect for bedroom use, the Hornet White runs up to 5 hours on a built-in rechargeable battery. Bluetooth and the headphone output let you stream backing tracks directly from your phone. With all these features packed into a lightweight, good-looking amp, the Hornet White easily earns its place as one of the best practice amps available today, check it out at Thomann*.
Nux Mighty Air
With 7 amp channels including Clean, Overdrive, Distortion, Acoustic Sim, and genre-specific voicings like Pop, Rock, and Funk, the NUX Mighty Air is a super-compact amp designed for home practice. Onboard delay and reverb, as well as built-in drum patterns and a metronome, make practicing not only productive but fun.
It runs up to 18 hours on batteries, includes a built-in wireless system with a transmitter, and offers Bluetooth and AUX connectivity for jamming along to your favorite tracks. So, you don’t even need a cable to connect to the amp, it’s all there! The Mighty Air is available from Thomann* for 159 euros.
Orange Crush 35RT
This solid-state amp is ideal for use in a variety of settings, from the rehearsal room to live performances. Despite its single 10” speaker, the Orange Crush doesn’t sacrifice any of the low end.
It features on-board tuning and reverb, and the amp is available in traditional orange* or black Tolex* from Thomann. If you need something more compact, the Crush line also comes in smaller variants, all the way down to a 12 W model with a 6″ speaker* – also one of the best practice amps.
*Disclaimer: This post on the best practice amps contains affiliate links and/or widgets. When you buy a product via our affiliate partner, we receive a small commission that helps support what we do. Don’t worry, you pay the same price. Thanks for your support!
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