[Closed] Best micro guitar amp on a budget?

I was watching an Anderton’s video that included one of those Orange amps - they described it as a novelty gift for someone you hate. (I’ve never seen them be anything but positive about stuff they sell, but I’ve only been watching them for about a year.)

The Blackstar Fly 3 gets decent reviews, but is a bit more expensive.

Yamaha THR used to be the benchmark for small room home use. I love mine

so really, £30 or less?

Gumtree or Facebook marketplace

I tried a few before buying a Vox Mini 5 Rythm. It was the cheapest that didn't sound really bad. I'm not saying it sounds great but it does the job and has enough models and effects to play different styles.

I don't know about quality or sound but if the intent is to have fun and be inspired to play, I'm loving the Roland Micro Cube I got for Christmas. Lots of different effects and amp styles, I guess the risk is that I spend too much time making sounds and not enough time practising!

I'd look second hand for a Yamaha THR but you won't get one for 30 I suspect ...

We have one of those little orange crush amps - fine for playing in the bedroom.

Alternative - the Jam Jar amp.
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Linky

Look at the little Laney amps as well. Not used one but they found alright on the vids.

If you are in London I have a Marshall mg10 you can have for free....

Thanks for all the tips, and especially @robvalentine for kind offer, however I'm in Scotland.

On the basis of "buy cheap, buy twice" I'll up my budget a bit and scour eBay/etc for a used Yamaha THR series.

Does it have to be a micro amp?

I ask as whilst the THR is great it’s still fairly expensive and something like a VOX VTX20 will likely be a fit bit cheaper, albeit at the expense of portability.

I sold a VTX and bought a THR last year by the way and both are V good.

The THRs are brilliant but pricey. A cheap basic practice amp and multi FX pedal is another option - often get cheap amps on facebook market place etc

On the basis of “buy cheap, buy twice” I’ll up my budget a bit and scour eBay/etc for a used Yamaha THR series.

You will up your budget a lot. THRs go for well over £100 second hand (and that is the THR 5 model) but on the plus side you will be able to easily resell it if guitar turns out to be a fad.

A good option for £30 is to look at eBay for local collection only amps within say 10 miles as the price will be low as local collection and for some reason people don't like posting amps. You should be able to get something that was originally £60-£80 and it will sound A LOT better than something like the Orange micro amp.

I have a Vox Amplug. It sounds very good with either headphones or plugged into a stereo or my Minirig.
The downside is that it's a bit of a fuss to change from one effect to another but once you've got the sound you like it's great.

Now that you've mentioned you're prepared to up the budget and look at used amps have you considered the Boss Katana Mini?

I have one and also have the Orange Micro Crush (predecessor to the original amp you mentioned) and the Boss sounds much better. It's not as good as a Yamaha THR but it sounds decent and costs much less. It runs on 6 AA batteries or you can buy a mains adapter.

Alternative – the Jam Jar amp.
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I've just ordered a Jam Jar, should be novel.

I would second the Roland Micro Cube. I notice lots of buskers use them too. They can run on batteries or mains, have effects built in and are certainly loud (or quiet) enough. They are also really solidly built.

Thanks for all the tips, and still thinking about *my* next mini/micro amp. Went for a THR series for the daughterkins, she's happy with it. I think I'll be looking for budget electric guitars in my next thread, to reclaim my guitar.

Not sure how much sense these 'micro Amps' make, I'd go for a Vox Amplug for now and get her something a bit beefier down the line she's still keen.

They sound suprisingy good and are super compact and convenient, she's also more likely to still use it after she gets a 'proper' amp down the line whereas the Micro Amp will probably ever get touched again.

I have used Amplugs for years and like them as having headphones pretty much directly attached to guitar makes it so much easier to just pick up and play rather than having a cable going to an amp or effects processor then headphones from that device.
I only ever play through headphones as I don't feel the need to force my wife to endure my practice sessions (especially as I mostly play black/death metal)

They can be a bit hissy though if you don't use the right headphones (i.e earbuds are typically awful as they seem to allow more high frequency sounds)

I have a vox amplug, a tiny fender front man amp and a vox valve tronic.

If she wants to jam and play with people I'd get a wee amp.

Of she wants to learn I'd go for the amplug as it sounds good and is easy to store

When I was learning I went for the vox valve tronic as it has loads of effects built in and I thought it would stop me from buying effects pedals. That's mostly worked.

For £30 I'd go second hand. People can't be bothered posting amps as they are heavy and you might get a local bargain.

If you are now after a budget guitar I bought a squire affinity strat as gift after a mate had given me a load of help.

It was a great guitar and cost ~£100 second hand.

I've got a Harley Benton PRS copy. It is also great, but required some setting up. I don't know what brexit has done to the price delivered from Germany. There are b stock ones for about £150, mind the shipping/ Becky costs

Thoman Harley Benton guitar