What Makes a Good Practice Guitar Amplifier?

We have spoken about different ways to classify guitar amps, which you can read here “Making The Choice: Tubes or Solid State”, but that doesn't answer another very important question.

The only way a guitar player can become good is through hours upon hours of constant practice. Playing guitar is muscle memory for the most part, so you will definitely have to get hands on with your favorite ax and start practicing those riffs and solos. This leads us to another question. What makes a good practice amp?

In order to answer this completely, we must first separate some scenarios. There are two forms of guitar practice. You either do it alone or with a band. Recommendations related to practice amps varies significantly between these two cases. That is something we will discuss in depth further down in this article, but it is also what should be one of your major criteria when shopping for a guitar amp.

Band Practice

When you are in a band, that means you will have a number of people around you who all play some sort of an instrument. In order to cut through the mix of your band, you will need an amp that is capable of delivering that kind of power. Not many compact amps do, which is enough to cause you problems down the road.

For a band practice, you will want something that is powerful enough so that you are heard loud and clear, while it should also be mobile. For a decent example of a practice amp, check out our list of guitar amps.

Finding this balance is not as easy as it sounds. You will have some limited choices, especially if you want high-quality models. If money is not an issue, you will have a considerably smaller amount of issues going down this road.

Home Practice

Home practice is a lot different from band practice. Not only is there no one bu you there, you also don't have to chase the high volume output specifically. Modern-day amps have reached a point where even a small compact one can light up the whole room with sound. The fact that smaller is sometimes better can be supported by the fact that tube amp manufacturers are racing to build the best sounding and most affordable low power tube amps for this specific reason.

When you are in your home and you decide to practice guitar, you are definitely going to try and be as quiet as possible. Before anyone says to just plug the headphones in, we are just going to say that nothing substitutes a good quality amp.

Small practice tube amps are all the rage at the moment simply because they come with such low power ratings that you can push the tubes into that sweet spot without exposing yourself to unimaginable levels of volume. Nowadays you are going to find a whole bunch of 5 Watt or 10 Watt tube amps in possession of numerous guitar players around the world.

Still, if you combine the term practice and affordable, you will see that solid state technology is dominating that market. Solid state amps have proven the be the most popular form of amplification in the world. You can get a pretty capable little amp at prices which look too good to be true.

However, that is just the truth of the matter. If you are buying a practice amp to use at home, there is really no need to go for tubes or more expensive setups if you don't have to. On the other hand, if money is not an issue, you probably already have this whole thing figured out .

Conclusion

Practice amps are every bit as important as the ones you will use on stage during a performance. A guitar player who doesn't hone their skills from time to time will end up seeing their abilities starting to collapse at a certain moment. Since you can't really practice electric guitar with at least some sort of amplification, it's best to just get a smaller and cheaper practice amp until you come up with something better.

Picking the best practice amp for your needs comes down to what your expectations are, and where you draw the line in the sand. If you are looking for a variety of effects and different distortions, a solid state amp will probably be your best bet.

On the other hand, if you have some disposable income and you want the best of the best, a decent tube amp will get you all the refinement you need. It's no secret that tube tone is something that every guitar player strives to achieve one day, so you might as well just skip some steps.