What Mini Electric Guitar Amplifier is the Best?
Best is always a relative term, and in the world of guitar, best is what is best to you! However here are 3 mini electric guitar amplifiers that I have owned and can recommend.
You’ve probably seen them in guitar shops. Maybe you’ve even owned a few of them. Until fairly recently, you’ve probably been VERY underwhelmed with the sound of a mini guitar amplifier. They have the reputation of looking cool, but the performance has not been up to par.
Within the past 5 years of so, I’d have to say that mini guitar amp technology has improved drastically. It all seems to have started with this mini amp: the Blackstar Fly 3.
When I’m talking about mini amps, I’m referring to small amplifiers that have a fairly small footprint and can be battery powered. Not requiring a power plug makes them so great and portable. You can basically play them anywhere.
Before the release of the Blackstar Fly 3, most mini amplifiers sounded like clock radio speakers and had very little or no bass response at all. And honestly I think that’s really what most people expected from an amp of that size, so no one really complained. The Fly was the first mini amplifier that had great clean tones, as well as really solid overdrive/distortion tones. It also produced some serious low end which was unheard of from mini amps.
The Blackstar Fly 3 forced competition to make better mini amps
Here are the official specs for the Blackstart Fly 3:
3 Watt compact mini guitar amp
2 channels - Clean and Overdrive
Patented ISF (Infinite Shape Feature)
Digital 'tape' delay effect
MP3 / Line In for jamming along or listening to music
Emulated Line Out for 'silent' practice or recording
3" speaker producing true Blackstar tones
Battery or DC powered
Revolutionary sonic performance
You can buy the Blackstar Fly 3 at these online shops:
After a few years, other amp manufacturers realized they needed to increase the sound quality of their mini amps to compete with the Fly 3. In turn this has created an exciting market full of great mini amplifiers. Top brand like Vox and Boss have released some great mini amplifiers lately.
While not being as small, there are some other mini amps worth mentioning that I have also tried and found to be impressive. The are the Vox Mini3 G2 and the Boss Katana Mini.
The Vox Mini3 G2 is the largest of the 3 amps, and also packs in the most features. The name refers to the fact that is has a 3 watt speaker and it’s the 2nd generation of this amp. It would be considered a modelling amplifier because it has built digital effects that simulate other Vox amplifiers. It also a large number of built-in effects which makes it a great all-in-one package. If you even wanted to sing it had a MIC line-in.
Here are the official specs and features of the Vox Mini3 G2
OUTPUT POWER
3 Watts RMS - 4 Ohms
SPEAKER
1 x 5″ Standard Speaker
INPUTS
1 x Normal Input Jack
1 x Mic Input Jack
1 x Aux Input Jack
OUTPUTS
1 x Headphone Jack
POWER SUPPLY
AC Adapter (included)
6 x AA Batteries (not included)
DIMENSIONS (W X D X H)
262 x 174 x 223 mm | 10.32 x 6.85 x 8.78 inches
3.0 kg | 6.61 lbs (without batteries)
Vox Mini3 G2 with the classic Vox look.
Vox Mini3 G2 is loaded with built-in features
You can buy the Vox Mini 3 G2 at these online shops:
Last on my list is my personal favourite at the time of writing this article (my fav can change from time to time). The Boss Katana Mini is a mid sized mini amp that has something unique that the Vox and Blackstar don’t have. It has a 3 band EQ to control the bass, middle, and treble. This is a huge advantage over the other two amps, because I find it let’s you find tune your tone no matter what kind of guitar you are playing with. Here are the official specs and details for the Kat Mini:
Great Katana tone in a highly portable amp
Rich, full sound that far exceeds other amps in its class
Authentic multi-stage analog gain circuit and three-band analog tone stack
Three versatile amp types: Brown, Crunch, and Clean
Built-in tape-style delay for warm ambience
Aux input for jamming with music from a smartphone
Phones/recording output with cabinet voicing
Runs on six AA-size batteries or optional AC adapter
You can buy the Boss Katana Mini at these online shops:
So I definitely recommend all three mini amps. My current personal top pick is the Katana Mini. My main reason is the fact that it has the 3-band EQ. I find this make it more versatile with single-coil and humbucker pickup guitars. You can dial in a decent sound with pretty much any guitar.
So all this being said, keep in mind that the tones you will get from a mini amp will not really compare with a large amp. It’s just not a realistic expectation. However it’s exciting to see how the technology is getting better every year. Smaller amps powered only by battery that are great for home practice and in some case recording!
Check out my recent demo video to hear how they each compare to each other.
This is a recent video about my top 3 fav mini guitar amplifiers
