The 10 Best Guitar Headphone Amplifiers

Editor's Notes

May 26, 2020:

The guitar is one of the most ubiquitous musical instruments, largely due to its ergonomics and its portability. Electric guitars are somewhat limited by the fact that they need to be plugged in, and matchbox-sized headphone amplifiers remedy this issue, while also greatly enhancing the playing experience, thanks to their tonal qualities and onboard effects.

These include gain controls that drive the signal to produce a “clipped” or distorted sound, common in all forms of rock music since the sound was popularized in the 1960s. The Andoer Vitoos Heavy Rock, Sonicake US Classic, Vox AP2AC and the NUX GP-1 all feature the option of driven tones, with the last two using modeling technology to emulate the amplifiers of classic British rock groups, such as The Kinks, Yardbirds, Cream and The Rolling Stones.

In addition to their various distortions, some, such as the Donner Heavy Metal and the Valeton Rushead Max, have integral modulation effects that may include flanger, tremolo, and chorus, while others, including the Vox AP2AC and Ammoon PockRock feature ambient effects such as delay and reverb. The latter is similar to the Line 6 POD series of amp modeling tools, in that it incorporates an onboard sound library with multiple modeled amps and pedals, patches, and even a drum machine and tuner.

Whether you wish to use it for quiet practice without disturbing others, as a mobile practicing device on the road, or as an in-line effects unit for jamming through a small practice amp, a headphone amplifier is useful in a variety of situations for electric guitarists and bassists of all styles and abilities.