Guitar Amp That Plays Backing Tracks For Sale (2024 Update)

Unbelievable. This is NOT my Vox AC30, and nor is it my 100W Katana. However, for a package that is powered by batteries and can, quite literally, fit into the palm of your hand, the Katana Mini is simply fantastic. The amp models are brilliant and the delay (reverb) function is an excellent feature. On "clean" settings the volume of the amp is perfectly adequate and will fill a room with no issues, and on the "crunch" and "brown" settings, the amp was more than loud enough to fill a large room at 2/3 volume. Whilst I personally think that this is not quite enough for an advanced/intermediate players sole amplifier, I would completely agree that for a beginner, they would need no more than this. Having tried options from Yamaha and other brands, this is firmly my favourite battery powered micro amplifier for any level of guitarist and equipment, the tone is simply that good! The best way I can describe it is this – when I first plugged my PRS McCarty 594 into it, I was vaguely aware that I wasn't playing through my Vox. However, after five minutes or so, I had completely forgotten this wasn't a "real" amp, and had to keep looking down at the tiny box on the floor to believe it! Well done, Boss!Mr I. F.

I use it primarily as a practice amp at lower levels, but I'd feel confident doing coffee house gigs with it, and maybe smaller clubs too. It sounds warm and rich at low volumes, and the EQ is effective. All three voices are useful and I'm not left wanting. I have to make special mention of the delay. I adore reverb (including and especially spring reverb and gritty, trashy reverb of all kinds) but a simple delay circuit is way more useful in this amp. Doubling, slapback, echoes. The treble roll-off and fixed feedback are well-tuned. If you're using this for busking or other guerilla performance, you will suddenly realize that a single delay is worth more than a thousand reflections, because those reflections sound godawful* against naturally-occurring surfaces. *maybe awesome in a sound design way thoughChesterfleet

This is a remarkable little amplifier. The positive reviews are all justified. Very diminutive, even senior management, who tends to frown when black boxes arrive, approves. And it produces a variety of great tones in remarkable amounts bearing in mind its small size. Perhaps not for the O2, but great in our lounge and enough muscle for a small venue before it gets a bit chesty. Very happy.biga268

I use it for practice. Although it has a bass setting you can program via the phone kit, the speaker is not as good as a basic bass amp like a fender rumble. The default presets sound the best, and if you need a different sound, it's probably best to use pedals on the clean setting. The effects aren't as good as I hoped for. The chorus effect is nice; but delay, reverb, and spring could be loads better. It gets the job done and I wasn't needing the other effects to be there at all so a good purchase for me, but if you need all the features to be awesome, look elsewhere.Waukegan

Purchased this along with the Squire Bullet Tele. Worked beautifully. All effects. Everything. Then nothing. No power. Nada. Probably why it's discounted $40 when you buy the Tele. Avoid.Joe

Huge sounding and a lot of power for such a small amp. The Spark Control App gives you loads of choices from classic sounds to the most modern of amps out there today. You also have tons of effects to use in conjunction with all of these modeled amp choices. All of these possibilities can be saved as your own personal presets which can endlessly be tweaked to make you sound and play your best. You can also use the Jam Along feature which syncs to iTunes, Spotify, etc. while also displaying the chord changes as you play. The Spark amp also connects easily to any DAW for professional sounding quality recordings. This amp does it all for a fraction of the price.Javier

Used it only for practice. Unusable for live performance. Every update was a fiasco and after 11 months, it only works as a Bluetooth speaker as the Amp section gave up. Google that issue and found it happens to many other users. Defective chip and Positive Grid helpdesk is not responding.Cory

The amp is awesome. Well built and solid, very pleasant to look at, easy to use and the sound! Oh man, the sound of that little amp is just beyond belief. Full and rich, it fills the room as though it were five times the size. With the app on my android phone, fine tuning the sound is easy and intuitive, and you can save your sounds as presets if you wish. But even without using the app, the presets that ship with the amp are simply stellar. In my opinion, the amp is well worth the price.Richard L.

I have never offered a product review for any product but I had to make an exception for this one. I am 69 years old, have been playing music for over 50 years, and I have just begun learning the harmonica. This amp is perfect for me for a number of reasons. First of all, it's portable. I can take it anywhere – from my living room – to that picnic table at the park – to my guitar player's front porch. I've had it for a while and I'm still on the batteries that came with it. (You can get an optional power supply for it if you want.) Second – it sounds great and has plenty of volume for personal practice and for use in small settings. With the GAIN and VOLUME controls, you can easily get the response you want. The EQ control only makes a subtle difference in frequency response but nothing dramatic. The DELAY function, however, is very effective and fun to use. Next – a variety of additional input and output jacks make it very flexible. I can plug in my MP3 player and play along with a backing track, for example. It also has a headphone jack, an extension speaker jack, and a DC power jack. Finally – and most importantly – It's fun to use and, because of that, I find myself practicing longer and enjoying it more. I'm new at holding a mic and at first it felt awkward. Now, because the FLY 3W is so much fun to use, holding the mic has become second nature. OK – now you're waiting for the downside. Well, other than the EQ control comments I made earlier, I don't have any. At first, I thought it could benefit from a handle but, upon closer inspection, I discovered the recessed finger grip on the top of the case. (Very clever Blackstar.) This is a well designed portable practice amp. (It even looks aesthetically pleasing.)Bill

First things first; this combo pack DOES include the power supply but batteries are NOT included in the combo pack. Despite the great reviews, don't expect this to sound like a full-size amp; the small speaker mean this amp lacks low end. The pair does sound OK playing in stereo music through the aux input; good detail and sound quality except for the missing bass. As a practice amp, especially through headphones, this thing rocks; with the ISF control you can make it sound like a Fender or a Marshall Amp. Cleans are good but the high gain channel can sound a bit messy if you crank it to 11. The amplifier is more than loud enough for home practice even without doubling the power to 6 watts by adding the second speaker. I don't own a full-size electric amp but I've found out that running the cab-simulated headphone output into my acoustic amp's aux input gives an excellent equivalent so I probably won't bother with a 'real' electric guitar amp; this setup sounds sooo good.Dave W

I was very pleasantly surprised and the range of EQ and the control of compression the Fly 3Bass gives me, not only a great practice amp but mic it up through a PA and it sounds amazing. Great running on batteries (last about 12 hours) or mains. I did a back garden set with couple of friends on acoustic guitars me on electric bass via Fly 3 and it sounded really good so i am very pleased with my purchase. Only thing i had to do was back off tone and bass enhancer on my active bass as it slightly overpowered the amp but i get that on my stage rig as well so expected that.Barry J.

I have played through the almost decade old THR10c, which is a fantastic little amp. Through a SM57 in front of it and out to the PA and you can sound great. But I thought that by now, with Yamaha buying Line 6 about 5 years ago, the newest version of this little amp would have some state of the art effects. Wrong! The effects, and the apps that control it are seriously out of date. I mean, the reverb, tremolo and chorus are fine. But they remain exactly as they did ten years ago. No upgrades and nothing fancy. The app is poorly designed and not that easy to use. and there is no way that I have found access the THR10C classic blues models all in one place. So its actually hard to get the classic blues and country sounds that I need all in one place. I went back to my THR10c and sold the new one.Bruce

dial in your sound in seconds not minutes, I look at it and then I want to play my best, those amp lights man, wow, dim the lights you will see. No instructions needed. if you need to move some Air for clubs shows or band practice this is not the one for you. What it does is creates a killer vibe for personal guitar growth, very organic and the tones? Man, you have got to play through it to believe it. It will cover any genre and crash most all the competition in the personal practice amp catagory. its about quality tones at lower DBI, it's not a marshal and it doesn't want to be. You can boot this sting up 3 at night and sound like your at an arena in your bedroom without waking up the neighbors and your flat-mates. No getting up or leaning over the amp to adjust setting like a marshal. No LCD's to mess with with or crummy menu diving. Traditional Bluetooth audio is pretty decent for using the amp speaker for guitar youtube vids and playing along instrumental tracks. Someone else said terrible sound, what??? you have got to be kidding me, id call that person an amateur guitarist. the biggest stars have these in the studio, tour buss and green room, hotel room. amazing for writing sounds, its the sound you have always wanted without going deaf sounds good anywhere. saves your hearing from the ringing. if you want to expand this sound on stage get the 30 which has proper outs for studio and stage, and re-amp it. leave it on a partially cleanish tone for your genre, then output to normal amp setup, the smiles will come. Of course many are still going to need their volume pedals but in a lot of situations, if you know how to gain control and then crank it for a lead/ chorus, (id drive it out to the mains / monitors for ramp) but it sounds amazing as you turn it up, the character truly changes, for the better. it's pretty wild. its pretty good about feedback. iv heard people hook these up on tour or use them in the greenroom preshow, it's that good. stick with the new models that are lighter and sound better. these are industry standard personal practice amps. again, if you are gigging you will need some sound reinforcement, but I would find a way myself, it's just not that hard to figure out. it's never fed back at me once and I'm jamming right infant of the cab on me desk. no surprise loud feedback sounds like other amps. small, light goes anywhere. probably need that case if you travel a lot. metal, country, hard rock, pop, blues jazz, hip hop, it nails it. the 30 could drive your current big amp. whatever magic is going on with the sound, full gain w guitar at full gain, is something that has to be heard not seen.J

Upgraded from the original cream colored THR10 after finding out that all three of the original THR10 amps (boutique, classic, and high gain) were consolidated in one amp and that the speakers underwent an upgrade (10W->20W). Sonically, the tones in this amp are superior to those of the original THR10, which makes practicing and playing very satisfying and inspiring. Note: Boutique and high gain amps can only be accessed through the desktop or mobile THR remote app. This isn't the case with the larger THR30 amp. All amp models can be access through the unit. The remote app also allows the user to change cabinets to further tweak tone. Here is why I rated this product 4 stars. * Mobile THR remote app crashes all the time. I've been using the remote app on my laptop exclusively. Yamaha rep informed me that this tends to be the case with iPhone users. Doesn't seem like they plan on fixing this anytime soon. * Setting the unit up as an audio interface was not clear at all. The original THR amps required downloading the yamaha steinberg usb driver and selecting this as your driver in your DAW. After configuring your MIDI and audio source in the DAW, you would then get sound. Well, that's not how it works on this amp. I reached out to yamaha after repeatedly getting errors from my DAW about the yamaha steinberg usb driver. Long story short, tech service couldn't figure out the issue and told me to request an exchange for a new unit at GC. After hooking up the new replacement, I got the same error. Turns out you have to download the ASIO THR10ii/30 driver on yamaha's site, not the most current yamaha steinberg usb driver. Select this driver in your DAW. Then you have to go into the app's settings and check the box for "record dry." Now you can configure your MIDI and audio source. I'm baffled about how yamaha's own techs did not know that the steinberg usb driver is not compatible with the THR10ii/30 amp.Ben G.

If you're expecting an amazing Marshall sound, you might want to invest in some of the bigger amps Marshall has to offer. If you think you can get a concert level sound out of this little guy, you will not be the happiest person. However, that level of "high" expectation would not be very reasonable or even realistic for such a little amp. This is a very cute, small amp that will help you plug your guitar so you can practice quietly in any room in your house without annoying your wife. It will distort if you crank the volume all the way out, and if you're used to the full sound of a bigger Marshall (like I do) it might make you feel like you're hearing your guitar over an old telephone (just my opinion). However, if you calibrate your instrument volume & tone you can find a happy medium. With that said, for the price it is a very nice solution to practice and if the sound seems too weak for you, you have the choice of putting headphones. I personally use it just for practice on the fly, it serves it purpose, but then again I was not expecting the best sound output. So I am happy with the purchase.BeeZee

It's basically a toy amp. I can see it being used as a portable amp for non-serious performance. Personally, I like it for a quick jam and for (relatively) quiet practice in my apartment setting. Won't disturb my neighbors but it does get noticeable at the highest volume. That and the overdrive knob are the two main controls. By default it just does a clean sound but overdrive lets you toggle in some gain for that distortion. It has a good look that definitely models after its bigger brothers.Rick

I don't know what some of you guys expect from this thing, but be realistic: it's an inexpensive 5 inch tall, 1 watt amp. It's not designed for anything but sitting in a chair and entertaining yourself or a couple of people. Within that context, I enjoy this thing and sometimes get it off the shelf and play around with it for awhile. Also, when I owed somebody a 1 minute long riff for his podcast and my main amp was getting some regular tech service, I plugged my American Standard Strat into this thing, mic'd the amp, used the OD channel with the volume and tone both on 10, played the part, then added tons of bass, reverb, and chorus to it in post, and it sounded great and nobody ever knew that I recorded the part using a 5 inch tall amp. It is what it is as long as you don't expect the world.Steve

I just bought this amp with the Line 6 FBV short board; they work well together of course. The amp is a lot of fun with the looper and presets and the endless ways you can tweak your tone. I love the amp but there are a few things which could be better. You must use a 2 gig or smaller SD card or it reboots if you try to save to a bigger card. So just get a bunch of small Sd cards before they are unavailable–only a few places still have them–which is kind of a pain. It does record nice but I haven't figured out how to record the mic input and the guitar input at the same time, so I always have to do two tracks. There is a switch which switches the input for recording back and forth from mic input to guitar jack. With the short board you can turn the looper and presets on on the fly, but you must put the foot pedal in the recording mode, and when the FBV is in the record mode you have to switch it back to channel mode to switch different guitar tones. So to switch to a different guitar tone you have to do another track to reset it. Anyway, I just thought these few drawbacks could have been easily figured out and fixed. Hopefully the next generation can take the more available SD cards, record more than one track at a time, and make the FVB do all the functions in one mode. However, it's nice having all the gimmicks for having fun in one package. Even thought I give it four stars instead of five, it "is" worth the low price, and I would buy it again knowing what I know now.Songwritunfool

The Line 6 spider jam changed my life in many ways. First and foremost you can save every idea that you come up with! 2nd it helped me to become a songwriter, it has everything you need so you dont have to rely on other people showing up to practice. Its allowed me to put the time into writing that I never could before, because face it most people dont want to rehearse 7 days a week, or even 5 for that matter! I thank God and Jesus for leading me too this life changing built in studio in a guitar amp!Skip Farfugnugen

If you are looking for a versatile and fun practice amp that you can record and gig with, this thing Rocks. I am primarily a bassist and just learning how to do leads on guitar and this amp fit the bill perfect. It does not have the warmth of a top of the line tube amp, but I did not need that as an intermidiate player. This thing has pretty awesome effects and tone varieties for about a couple hundred varieties and most I will never use. You can record, you can plug in a mic or a bass, you can jam tithe rhythm tracks, it has headphones so you play without waking the wife or neighbors, and a built-in tuner! That is just what I have discovered so far! The price makes this the perfect amp for practice, recording, and even small venue performances (half way up on the master and it is loud!) the only thing is it takes time to figure out and discover all the tones and capabilities, but that is also half the fun! Also the clean tones are good but not great. The distortions are fantastic! Not that the cleans are not useable, but they are bit thin for me. HIGHLY recommend!! Have fun!DFW_Bassman65

I bought this amp to use in a limited space and at a low volume for very low cost. It obviously doesn't compare to a normal size amp in quality but for being a practice amp it is perfect. Many reviews across the web say it loses power or sounds bad after a short time, but its literally as simple as changing the battery in my case. The manual even says to change the battery if there is an issue with sound, and the battery that comes with it isn't really the best and doesn't last long. It has great sound at a low and mid range volume for the little power it actually has but when you ramp it up it does sound a little distorted but not bad at all for $23-$29. Hopefully my review helps someone get a decent product!Lucas

While you certainly could use it in the studio for certain alt/auxiliary tones and/or layers and achieve fantastic results (producer/artist discretion advised), It's not meant for that. It's meant purely for being able to enjoy playing electric, untethered, while wandering about randomly and/or practicing. …Whether outdoors or indoors. …At home, in the park, around the neighborhood, at a camp site or a BBQ, wherever. Perhaps even during your breaks at work. It's not meant for playing in a full band situation (especially with drums), nor is it meant for getting a half-stack sound (or even normal combo-amp sound), for a fraction of the price, during a high-end studio session or full-on concert. It's a fantastic tool, meant to serve a single purpose. Choose and use your tools accordingly.Cristyn, E

mini-amp works great as a travel amp, or playing early in the am when ppl are sleeping lol it fits perfectly inside my hardcase, along with my electric guitar, headphones, tuner, cables, etc. performs as expected.. dont look to be amazed at its performance lol but for practice/travel its the perfect amp. has a heavy grind for chunky metal riffs. doesnt pick up the p[inch harmonics that great, but they do come through. the clean setting is great, too, and for a tiny little fkr it really kicks pretty good! had my finacee yelling at me to "turn that fkn thing down!" so, lol, it hits pretty hard for a small little guy.. but like i said, dont expect it to put out the tones of a line 6 spider IV or a Marsall half-stack cuz it aint capable for that. it isnt designed for gigs lol so dont expect that kinda sound. but, i love this mini-amp; its my new best friend!da.davc.mcoumykeiu

I was looking for a pair of SS amps to gig with (I run stereo reverb), ones that sounded good clean but also had a tube like attack and compression. These TransTube do. Sure they aren't AS good as a tube amp, but they sound really good none-the-less. Better than all my other SS amps. They DON'T have the annoying ultra-high freq, almost ice-picky thing going on that so many SS amps have.I own four of the TransTube amps: the Solo, Rage, Envoy and Bandit. If you're looking for clean tones, this Rage 258 seems the best of the bunch.On the higher end models (Envoy and Bandit), you get to select separate EQ'ing for your clean and lead channels, but I find most of the lead selections not really my taste. But the Rage's three EQ selections all sound good to my ears.The other three models' clean channels tend to start breaking up earlier on as well. With the Rage, you can be almost to full volume before the break-up starts.I did a side-by-side with the Envoy and the Rage. I connected each to a single spkr in my Peavey Classic 50 combo, so both were playing from identical speakers in the same cabinetry.I found that the volume level of the Envoy wasn't really much greater than the Rage, and if you turned them up just to the point of break up the Rage was slightly louder. The Rage is EQ'ed a bit differently, so even the two models' clean channels sounded a bit different. The Rage was a tad brighter, a bit more presence, perhaps a bit less compression. I also noticed that going through the 10" speaker from my cab, the Rage had all the depth and character of the Envoy. In other words, I'm betting the limiting factor on tonal depth with these amps is the speaker and enclosure. I suspect I could plug my tiny Solo up to a warm 12" speaker and get some thunderous bass. I'll have to try that with my Solo and Bandit!How am I using this amp as a clean amp? By running ultra clean, I can more easily make my electric sound like an acoustic (I use an EH Knockout pedal). I also have the option of getting whatever kinda dirty I like, without limiting my ability to play clean – I treat the whole amp as the power-amp stage of an amp and use overdrive pedals to emulate the pre-amp stage, putting effects in-between like an fx send/rtrn on an amp would. I put my dirt boxes in front of my phaser pedal (A behringer PH9 – the cheapest phaser I found, and the BEST one [true bypass, low stage count so it sounds all warm and gooey like the Vintage 74 MXR]). After my phaser I've got a Vox Cooltron Big Ben Overdrive (basically a pre-amp stage from an amp). Then I do my chorus and reverb before going in the Rage.Chorus and Reverb sound MUCH nicer when not overdriven. By putting a tube pre in front of those effects, I get nice glistening effects. I put the phaser before the tube pre because it's a bit bitey and the tube pre smooths the edges a bit. More of a Robin Trower effect that way as well.FrostBottomBoys

Overall: As a studio musician, I get to try dozens of Boutique tube amps for free in return for my opinions and advice. You can spend thousands more and not get better tube-tone or "feel" than this little guy. As another reviewer pointed out, the speaker could be improved but is OK for low volume practice or very quiet jazz gigs, like those where people eat dinner. You can very easily improve the already good tone by plying this through a better 8 inch speaker OR putting the head into a better cabinet with a premium 12 inch speaker. I use both of those strategies. For lightweight low-volume jazz gigs, I bring TWO of these to run in stereo from my stereo effects board. In those, I merely replaced the stock "blue marvel" speaker ( which is not terrible) with a much better 8 inch with wider frequency response and a lower FS. You'd be amazed. I had a woodworking friend build another cabinet that encloses this amp with an italian neodymium speaker. WHOW! You probably won't believe how beautiful and loud this thing gets! So, if you just want a good little practice amp or play VERY quietly, use this as is. These are so inexpensive, you can get two and make a very affordable stereo rig that fits in a rolling suitcase. And if you need boutique low-wattage tube tone, just use this amp with a good 12".Geo

Love the quality of the product. Easy to use and sound quality for the price is excellent. I love buying products from Sam Ash!!!! Selection is great and everyone is knowledgeable and very helpful.Rita

Every guitar player on God's green earth should have one. The different tones offered with the app inspire you to play differently. It allows you to play along with the songs you love, and download the tone. It also tells you the chord progression to the song. It's an amazing Amp, and if nothing else the GREATEST speaker in the world. I could absolutely ruin my neighborhoods night with the most absurdly clear version of my favorite songs. But I could Also practice at midnight with out waking up my roommates using my headphones.
Amazing tones made by professionals. If you care about being a musician… you need this Amp. This Amp was recommended to me by John Moyer… of disturbed.Teryn Surratt

As a practice amp, you will soon lose interest if the tone is thin, boxy and generally sounds like crap. The Spark is none of this. An incredibly wide range of tones are available via the app with sounds that you just don't expect to come from such a small package. The sound is loud, rich without the boxiness that you seem to get with amps loaded with small speakers. If you've used PG's Bias software, you'll be in very familiar territory – great emulations that have a depth that rivals some of the serious modelers available now. The effects, while not giving you a massive selection, supplies pretty well every type of effect you would ever need. The reverbs and delays are particularly good and while more than good enough for noodling at home, are more than up to the task of recording. The unit is quite sturdy with a timber cabinet and looks great – very traditional with an "English" type of styling. Using the Spark as a Bluetooth player for music is more than up to the task – good bass, clean mids and treble and loads of volume. The app overall is very good with some truly inspiring practice opportunities, though the function where the app analyses your playing and constructs a suitable backing track is hit and miss and is probably the weakest part of the app. Bluetooth connection for both control functions and audio playback is stable and very quick to pair with your device. Overall, I don't think you will find and amp sounding this good with the flexibility and functions available, from anywhere else and that is before taking into consideration, the extra functions the app gives you.Mick G.

I bought this amp on the back of all the rave reviews on YouTube etc. For me, it's just not a finished product yet. It feels very "beta". The hardware seems robust and of good quality. The modelled sounds are very good, albeit very bass heavy. But most of that can be EQ'd out. There are several problems I couldn't live with, and had to sell it on. The hum problem which is due to the supplied, un-earthed PSU was very apparent in my example. I contacted Positive Grid support about the issue in December 20, and as of selling the amp at the start of March 21, I had not yet received the replacement PSU. There are temporary workarounds, but I wanted the problem sorted permanently. As said above, the sound is very bass heavy. The amp models' EQ can be used to deal with the guitar tone, but music playback through the unit via Bluetooth has no EQ control, so the sound quality is very poor. In addition to this, the playback level is far too high. When using as a Bluetooth speaker it is very difficult to get the volume low enough using the tiny trim pot volume control for comfortable listening when sat in close proximity to the unit. The Auto Chords feature is a gimmick and needs serious work. It only works for E standard guitar tuning. For example, when listening to a song in dropped standard tuning such as "Yesterday" (guitar tuned down one whole step) Auto Chords will show fingerings for F, Em, A7 etc instead of the G,. F#m, B7 shapes that are required. At the very least, a "transpose" button is required to allow for dropped standard tunings that are very common. When using the tuner, you have to look at the lights on top of the amp. The app should have a screen that displays the tuner on your connected device when in use. The app metronome tempo can only be set by tap. It should have the ability for the user to enter the exact required BPM by inputting the figure required, or selecting the tempo with up and down or + and – controls. All of these niggles were too much for me to live with. Hopefully Positive Grid implement the changes in future releases, but I won't be buying Spark again until they do.Paul

Have the Spark 40 and am very happy with it. The Mini, not so much. Biggest issue is that it is much to easy to overdrive the speakers, especially the bass. It is not very loud. It's OK for a small quiet room, but I really can't use it outdoors on the patio. It works best sitting on a reflective surface like a table. You don't want the bottom mount bass speaker facing, say, a rug. I love the iPhone / iPad app. It has a good variety of amps and pedals, but you really can't get the same sound as a tube amp like my Blues Jr IV. While it has a variety of reverb pedals, it does not have spring reverb. A big disappointment. I really like that it is battery powered, usb chargeable and really like the Bluetooth speaker function.Dave

I fell in love with the capability of the PG Spark 40 and I had to have this mini for it's portability! I pre-ordered mine direct from Positive Grid when they were running their pre-production discounts. I've been playing on and off for about 30 years. I wish this was available then instead of that clunky, weak Squire 15 amp I started with. The app for Android and iPhone opens up all kinds of possibilities! A starting musician and use the features to play along to their favorite songs or you can look up backing tracks to tinker along with. The standard hardware sounds are very warm, and the tone cloud gives you access to an unfathomable amount of tones modeled after near all of your favorite artists! It is more than enough to appeal to the budding guitarist to keep you interested! And for more experienced players, the options that are part of this thing are incredible, and will have you noodling with your Sunday morning coffee before you know it! Got the PG Spark 40, ABSOLUTELY had to get the Mini! If you're on the fence, you won't be disappointed!Dave

The sound and tone quality from such a small amp is amazing! It sounds huge. You will quickly forget you are playing through a 6 inch cube. There are a bunch of amps and effects to create your own sound, and the Smart Jam and play along features are both fun and inspiring. Plus, the various tones in the ToneCloud are great for matching a tone to a song you are learning to play. Believe the hype from the reviews online. I will say that this is amp may not be for everyone. At 10 watts, it is not loud enough to gig with. Plus, I would not recommend this for a first amp. There are a lot of options that can be overwhelming for beginners, and the limited on-board options do not allow for simple plug and play. Beginners may want to start with something like a Black Star ID Code. There are also a few things I am not crazy about. Because of the limited on-board controls, 6 to 8 presets would have been better, plus the default presets are not that good. The amp models in the app are OK, but some sound too similar, plus each amp has the same knobs (Gain, Bass, Middle, High and Volume). Nothing to distinguish one amp model from another (Channels, Presence knob, Intensity knob, etc.). The same goes for the reverb pedals (each has 6 knobs whether or not the pedal being replicated has 6 options). The Vox Tone room has better amp and effect modeling but does not have all of the other jamming and recording options. So all of that being said, this amp is still fantastic for someone with some knowledge of amps (for example, the difference between gain and volume) and is looking for something small and discrete to play around the house (or apartment) that does not want to sacrifice tone quality. The battery power is nice for playing anywhere without having to plug it in. I've played mine for a couple hours without having to recharge. It is also a great option if you want to record your work. All in all, this is an innovative amp that is just fun to play, has a ton of options and sounds way too good for its size. Get one, you'll love it!Dan

This amp is FUN. The sound quality is great, and it is packed full of amp models, effects, and pre programed drum loops. That combined with a 40 sec looper, and it's become the most effective practice tool I own. And it's so simple, I don't need a bunch of equipment, it's all in the amp. For me, it brings the fun back to practicing.Russ

This amp has a great range of sounds, including some earthy grungey stuff, and weird vocoder setting. The most all-round versatility of this unit is a combination of the Rhythm section, the separate input and control of the Mic, and the Looper section. With up to 10W of output this unit can entertain more than just yourself. I like the tri-select of output power, (especially when the missus wants to watch tv!). The footswitch to select between effects, rhythm and looper is more essential rather than desirable, yet it cost me another $100+ to buy, which seems like a lot for just switch (although it's heavy duty). The only other downside is the rhythm tempo switch, which needs a guess in the time between button presses to alter timing. This would be better done and made more repeatable with a rotary switch. Great little portable unit, and my new GoTo.David M. C.

Good guitar amplifier which is small, easy-to-carry, but powerful enough. Especially love the power switch feature so I can run it as 1W in my room without driving my roommate crazy.QI

I bought this amp after not playing for a couple years, been playing around with it for about 4 months before writing this review and I have to say I'm pretty disappointed with it. At first I loved it because of the on board delay effect and I still find it to be a fun addition to this amp. Onto the bad, the eq knob doesn't adjust the tone as much as I had hoped and the overdrive isn't adjustable. If you're gonna play clean this is a great practice amp but if you're looking for a cheap amp that does a lot of things this ain't it palBrandon I

Super clean tones and the built in delay is hella cool! Always love purchasing from AMS, the payment plans are the only way I can buy the gear I want/need!very fast shipping and customer service is always superior. Would recommend this amp for anyone practicing in an apartment like myself. I’m was surprised at how powerful the 10 watts sounds when I have it cranked.Evan

It's not a bad little practice amp. There's not a lot lot of range on it, but it doesn't boast to be. It has a fairly nice clean channel. The overdrive is a bit lackluster, but it offers a decent little punch. Speakers sound good. They have a good sound just using this as a speaker for an MP3 player through the AUX in. If you're looking for nice cleans and a decent little rock sound in a small form this will do the trick. The AUX and headphone jacks are a nice touch, and do their job. If you're looking for a more heavier sound I would suggest the 15e for a couple of dollars more. Definitely not disappointed.Charlie

It is a great amp. Very good sound and options for the price. It is not heavy which is a big deal to someone who has had back surgery. I gave it a 5 in spite of one big complaint. When you turn it off you hear a loud "POP!" Wow, is that loud is what I thought the first time I heard it. I read about it online and there is a simple fix. Find an old set of ear phones or ear buds that you would use on a cassette player or a Sony Walkman. (Yes, these are ancient electronic relics from the past for you younger people. You might ask your parents if they have a cassette player and borrow the ear plugs.) Just plug that earphone jack into the "PHONES" input BEFORE you turn it off. THEN you only hear a little blip when you turn it off. THEN just pull the jack out of the "PHONES" input before you start it next time.chasmigu

This amp is better than I thought. I've had it for over a year. I use it for practice sessions (classic rock mostly), and I haven't gone over '4 1/2' on the volume (it does give good feedback if you want it). I did upgrade the speaker to a 12" 'Celestion' Vintage 30 and am absolutely happy! This could easily be mic'd for larger venues. Lightweight, powerful enough, and the effects are a good assortment. One small glitch…when using the footswitch, there is a short, instantaneous volume boost when the pedal is pressed for distortion. Could possibly be a problem for recording. Besides that, 5 stars for me.Myk

After playing acoustic guitar for 15+ years and rarely plugging in, I finally decided to make the plunge and try out an electric. I was advised by a buddy to not buy too big, that 15W-20W would be plenty to practice with. So, I found this little Champion at Sam Ash, and so far it's been great! I bought the display model and have had no issues at all with it. Great sound, enough presets and effects to play around with, and sounds great clean too. Having a blast and loving it.Nate-O

I was really surprised at how good this amp sounds. Years ago I tried Line 6 and was not at all happy with the tone; but this is another story. It does take me awhile to dial in a specific classic rock tone, but when I do, it sounds better than any other amp that I've tried. I have tried the Marshall Code, Blackstar id Core, Vox Valvetronix, Boss Katana; as well as some all tube amps. The only other amp that is a close 2nd is the Fender Mustang GTX; also a great amp. The Spider V is fairly easy to operate. It offers lots of choices for amp models and cabinets. I like that it has variations of a mic'd cabinet. The parametric eq is a plus. I haven't played around too much with the effects yet, so I can't comment on that. The only negative thing I could say is that when you're editing a preset and want to hear how it sounds before you save it, you only have a short time before it goes back to the Home Screen. This really is a small price to pay for the quality of the amp and all the versatility it has. I like the App too. Musicians Friend got me a great on this as well; and their agent is following up making sure that I'm satisfied. The funny thing is that I came across this by accident. I placed an order for a Peavey amp that was on back order. I called Peavey multiple times, but they never returned my call. I also emailed them, but they didn't respond to that either. As far as I'm concerned, Peavey doesn't have any customer support.crrkr

Been playing about a year, so my review is from the perspective of a complete newbie. The things I like- Lots of presets, mobile app functions, computer interface, and loads of user created effects available. Nice and loud, but no real basis of comparison to say if clarity is better or worse than other comparable amps. Don't likes- The micro-usb interface. I had to get an adapter and it's just not as good a connection as nearly anything else would be. IMHO, micro-usb is far too flimsy. Connecting to PC is far more problematic than just using the spider mobile app. It's probably a little more complicated than it should be for a beginner, but it's feature rich for the money.Nic T

I had a Line 6 120w amp for years that I regrettably sold a while ago and was looking for another amp. I looked at all the amp reviews I could find and decided that the new Katana was the way to go. I got the Katana home and absolutely loved it but the second day I had it it started a really loud buzzing that I couldn't stop. It probably was an easy fix but the fact is the amp was way too powerful for my purposes and their software wasn't compatible with the new Catalina OS. I returned and started looking again. I saw the 60w Spider V and the price was excellent so I made an on the spot decision to buy another Line 6 and I'm really glad I did. The tones this amp can get are incredible. There are so many amp models and cabs that you can dial in pretty much any tone you want from a crispy snapback country clean to the most vicious heavy metal and everything in between. You can use the presets as they are or you can use them as a baseline and tweak to your own liking or you can start from scratch and build your own rig from the ground up. The controls are intuitive and easy to use but there are some features where you'd have to be a professional to really know how to use or even care to use. The software and the mobile app are so easy to use and give you all the options at your fingertips. The amp comes with a lot of presets that I find are completely useless but there are a lot that are excellent as I already talked about. There are only four empty slots for your own custom presets and I wish there were more but if you use the mobile app you can have your own tone library on there. I bought the FBV3 foot controller so that gives me a lot of flexibility to have various effects. One of the limitations is the lack of good effects though. There's enough that if you work at it you can get a decent sound but there could be some better ones. Overall I would recommend the amp. Don't listen to the naysayers or the amp snobs, it's a quality amp and extremely versatile.Just Plain Joe

The Ac-10not only looks the business but it has since real depth and warmth to its tone. Clean – it’s bright and has the chime you’d expect. Turn up the gain and your tone breaks up but still retains clarity. Having the gain wide open and master volume down means you can still have the saturated crunch but not disturb others . Perfect for home use but would not be out of place in a small pub gig. Takes pedals will and with a multi-fix like a GT 100, if you disable the amp sim and use like a conventional pedal board, you don’t lose any quality of the AC10’s natural tone. A masterful amp and it even smells nice with those tubes cooking.Mark R.

Ive been playing 35 years and this is probably the best all around practice amp ive ever heard. Pros- looks great, sounds very good, cleans thump and chime, distortion can wail. Its loud for its size. Seems built well. Have had no bad issues. Cons- clean isnt near as loud as w the gain cranked up. No reverb. In short if this amp was 50-100W and had reverb and an external speaker jack id never play another amp. Good job VOX.jjsrvfan

I bought this amp based on the good print reviews and the way it sounded in you Tube reviews. I did a lot of homework and finally placed my order. I was excited when it showed up at my house and plugged my Jay Turser Les Paul copy right in. Boy, is this thing dark! I turned all the tone controls to 10. I changed the strings. I removed the covers from my pickups- that just made it dark and tinny. After three days I decided that I had to either send it back or make some changes. I took the speaker from a Squier 15 amp and installed it in the Bugera. Right away there was more life and clarity to the sound, though it still sounded tinny (because it's a speaker from a Squier 15), but it was some progress. Next I pulled tubes from a circa 1959 Curtis-Mathes console stereo and swapped them into the Bugera. Now we were getting somewhere- the overtones, the reason we use tubes, were now present and accounted for. The same console is full of Oxford speakers, which are a Jensen knockoff and well respected. I took an 8" from that and installed it in the V5. OH YEAH! Now this is a great little amp. The clean tones are super sweet, clear, full and bell-like with tons of sustain. The overdrive has a huge range of grit, and the reverb is better than any other amp I've had. So after installing a set of +/- 60 year old tubes and speaker, it sounds great. But out-of-the-box stock, I would have sent it back, no question. If you have a too-bright guitar or are willing to make upgrades, this amp is a super value. My one complaint about build quality is that the wattage selector switch is extremely touchy- it goes from .1 to 5 watts and has to be fiddled with to get it to stay on the 1 watt setting.Farmhand

Perfect at home tube amp. I generally use 1 watt mode. Great tone whether clean or breakup. Loves my telecaster and Boss BD-2 into it, and takes pedals great in general. Couldn’t get over how nice it looked when I unboxed mine, either. Beautiful looking amp on top of sounding great. Really an incredible value. Can’t recommend this one enough if you’re looking for a home use valve amp.Grandaddy Jeff

Wasn't sure about this little guy – – but the one I received was in pristine shape, with power brick and carry handle. I power it with 6 rechargeable AA Lithium batteries – and it'll run x 6 hours easy without recharging. I play an acoustic guitar (i installed a Fishman rare earth pickup) in a small orchestra with a piano, trumpets, trombones, saxophones, etc, and only need to run at about 35% max volume to blend in well with the group. The effects are great and well modeled. I'm very happy with this Roland – Highly Recommended.oxydoc

I've taken up giving lessons in my home and, in other locations and, dragging around even a moderate size amp was not in my plans. I did some shopping and, came up with the Micro Cube as my answer, WOW what a feature filled little powerhouse! I debated going to just a plain small practice amp but, after I tried one it reminded me of trying to play through an old transistor radio. Very bland boring sound and, only a push button to get an overdrive sound that sounded pretty bad. This Roland unit sounds Fantastic at 3w and, with only a 5" speaker, I don't know how they do it but, it's Great!! The convenience of battery power is something that I really enjoy also. Take it anywhere! The FX sound Super, amp models are a nice touch and, even a tuner. The 1/8" input is a nice touch to jam with backing tracks or any type of sounds. Taking this to lessons is sooo much more handier than a 30lb. amp. There is only a tone control but, it is really all you need to get the sound you want. The memory function is a handy feature so save preset sounds for each amp model. The only thing I haven't tried is to plug a Mic in and, check it out but, I definately will and, I'm betting that the results will be positive there also. I'm soooo glad I spent the extra dinero and, went with this amp. I'm very satisfied and, definately recommend this anyone looking for small portable amp for practice or any other reason to have a light weight amp that sounds really good. I don't think that I would run a bass through it but, at low volume I wouldn't be surprised that it could handle it. I play a lot of different instruments, fiddle,mandolin,ulelele and, harmonica and, going to try them all in this amp.terrygh

In general this is a great little amp. It is loud, but its frequency range is narrow. I would expect something so small to be weak on bass, but I am surprised at how poor the high frequency is. I have to turn the tone all the way up to make it sound like a regular amp. I will try different speakers and the line out into a different amp to see if the poor high end is either the speaker or amp. The headphone output sounds much better, so I believe the issue is not in the internal electronics. In general I would recommend this amp. So much that I am buying another to give to my son in college as a dorm amp. He is interested in the headphone feature, which sounds very good. As a practice amp this little thing does a great job. The effects are better on some settings than others. but I think there are more effects on this amp than other brands. The portability is great. The battery life it pretty good for how loud it is. With the line input you can not only play along to songs, unaffected by the guitar effects, but it turns your phone into a loud jam box. There is a lot of loud "bang for the buck" in the little amp.Dowacky

Great sounding clean tones for playing at home, which is why i bought it – my beloved Mustang 1.1 started having issues and I MUST have a great clean tone to relax. Wanted a tube amp and did my research. Decided on the Blackstar. I must say I'm extremely happy with it. The reverb is KILLER to my ear and does a great job at adding shimmer without destroying the tone. No external effects are needed to get a gorgeous clean tone – I use my Zoom G3Xn into the front end to get univibe and compression. The effects loop is very functional. The amp can be very bass heavy, depending on your instrument, but if you run a 10 band EQ (go with MXR) in the loop you amp can achieve any tonal result you want. My best sound comes with everything at 12, with some of the bass rolled off with the MXR EQ – but its just a matter of taste i guess. This amp moves a lot of air when you use the drive channel, and if your not pleased with the amps distortion it does respond really well to distortion pedals. I'm mostly in the clean blues zone but must brag on the amps darker side: it can get very loud and stay rich. I haven't tried any of the direct recording features. The 2 selectable characters of clean that the amp offers thrill me and ,again, the reverb is classy and a bit different from other amps ( I read that is a room reverb). Highly recommended.Tim H.

This amp out of the box sounds fantastic. Crystal clear clean tones and a snarly gain channel that lets you choose between a more American gain tone and a British gain tone. I would say ‘cater for everyone’. But, I received my first amp and within an hour of playing I’d noticed a loud ‘POP’ when changing channels. This pop occurred if a note was being played at the same time as the channel change. (Footswitch and Amp buttons) So, of course I returned the Amp to PMT. they arranged DPD next working day collection for me, completely hassle free. I awaited my next amp, as a direct replacement. A few days later the next Blackstar HT-5R mkii arrived, box fresh like the last. I plugged the amp in, let the tubes warm and away I went. Within minutes of found a great tone again, but the loud ‘POP’ I heard from the first unit was there again on this amp. I tried 4 sockets in the house in case there was any kind of interference/static, but to no avail. Absolutely gutted, I called PMT again. The amp was returned for the second time. Apparently this hasn’t happened to anyone else, I may just be unlucky or the amp may not get along with the electrics in my home. Just check this out as soon as you buy one. I’ve tried two other valve amps on my house since, including a Blackstar Artist 10 AE and an Orange terror with cab, and there’s absolutely zero noise with these. Very important to note here, this is not a slam of PMT, they’ve been absolutely brilliant throughout this whole thing. Customer service is second to none and they are very easy to contact. Used these for a very long time and I will be returning once stores open to try out a new amp.Jack H.