Tiny practice amps for guitar, bass, or keyboard are not for use with a band or at a performance.
This quick tip is mainly for parents with kids who are just starting on electric guitar or bass. You can practice on guitar or bass without an amp at all, you can still hear it and it is hard to annoy the rest of the family with the noise (but not impossible – try having someone clicking away on an unplugged bass while you’re trying to enjoy Netflix and you’ll see). But it is easier to hear, more fun, and more satisfying to have an amp for practicing at home. Enter the “practice amp”.
A practice amp is a tiny, underpowered thing designed to be used at home for personal practice. They aren’t for gigging or playing with a band. You need a louder, more powerful amp for that.
Do practice amps have to be tiny?
No. One of the great things about amplifiers is that they have a volume control. Yes, it can be used to disturb the peace as your rising star rocks out in the loungeroom. But big amps can also be turned down. So, a full-size gigging amp can also be used for quiet home practice.
Can you perform with a tiny practice amp or even play with other people?
No. Not really. Sure, you can mic up a tiny amp and run it through a PA. But will you be lugging a PA to every rehearsal, jam, or gig? Will there be a PA at every place your child plays? No.
A tiny amp sounds loud enough at home when it is quiet. As soon as you try to play with other people, like drummers, a rock band, a jazz band, a concert band, or a stage band, it becomes inaudible. Even cranked to its highest volume, it will probably sound overstrained and terrible. You need a louder, more powerful amp to do the job properly.
You might consider buying a tiny practice amp for a few main reasons:
- They are cheap and the beginner must prove they are serious before you invest more money on better gear. Just be thankful your child isn’t playing sax, where a “student” model can still cost thousands.
- The person in the guitar shop convinced you to buy one. They know that if you get a tiny little amp now, you’ll be back before too long to buy another, bigger one once you discover that baby-sized practice amps aren’t loud enough to play with other people. Why sell one amp when you can sell two? The same applies to ultra cheap and nasty “beginner” guitars, by the way.
- They don’t take up much room and are light enough for a youngster to carry. Yes, they are small, but almost every parent ends up carrying around their child’s amp. And guitar. And music. And everything else.
But I’m not rich and can’t afford a big amp
You can buy a second hand amp. Really, it’s fine. Facebook Marketplace, Reverb, lots of guitar shops, pawn shops – they all have lots of decent amps, big enough for jamming and small gigs, available at cheaper prices. You’ll save some money, your young musician will be able to play with other people, and you’ll help reduce electronic waste by not buying another little throwaway amp.
Related Tip: Buying an ultra-cheap wind instrument is also usually a false economy. They will typically break sooner rather than later, sound bad, are hard to play, hard to repair, and harder to sell used. You will hear demonstrations of cheap instruments by professional players who CAN make them sound good and argue that “see, they are perfectly good”. However, your child isn’t a professional and will struggle to get any musical sound, let alone sound good. Also, the pro player isn’t playing that cheap horn every day and carrying it on the school bus and dropping it on the floor, and all the things kids do. Don’t be tricked. Buy a decent instrument. Why not get a decent second-hand instrument? They can be found for great prices and in good usable condition. Ultra cheap wind instruments also just contribute to waste. Do the right thing.
